Extra Crunch Tuesday: Five VCs discuss how no-code is going horizontal across the world’s industries

Extra Crunch Newsletter

Tuesday, August 25, 2020 • By Walter Thompson

Welcome to Extra Crunch Tuesday Image Credits: Malte Mueller / Getty Images One of the reasons why there’s so much hype surrounding no-code/low-code software: we’ve been using it for a long time. Years ago, I made a web site for a small business that included a reservation calendar, a shopping cart and a customer database. More recently, updates I make to centralized editorial calendar are propagated to my personal calendar, as well as a Slack channel. Alex Wilhelm and Lucas Matney surveyed five VCs to get their sense of which industries no-code entrepreneurs are targeting. Their responses help explain why low-code/no-code startup valuations have been growing and offer some useful context for recent investor enthusiasm. Here’s who they spoke to: Laela Sturdy, general partner at CapitalG Raviraj Jain, partner at Lightspeed Darian Shirazi, general partner at Gradient Ventures S. Somasegar, managing director at Madrona Venture Group Rajeev Batra, partner, Mayfield Fund Our second investor survey today looks at how Chicago’s startup ecosystem is adapting in the COVID-19 era. The region offers big-city amenities, a deep talent pool supported by higher education, lower costs and plenty of optimistic VCs, found Managing Editor Matt Burns. Although the current downturn may have reduced local capital, investors said the Midwest may benefit as newly-remote workers relocate from pricier coastal tech hubs: Guy Turner, partner, Hyde Park Venture Partners Constance Freedman, founder and managing partner, Moderne Ventures Katie McClain, partner, Energize Ventures Bess Goodfellow, principal, Hyde Park Angels Rachel Stillman, associate, 7WireVentures There’s no paywall on the Chicago VC survey, so please share it widely. Thanks very much for reading Extra Crunch; have a great week!   Walter Thompson Senior Editor, TechCrunch @yourprotagonist Read more

Our 11 favorite companies from Y Combinator's S20 Demo Day: Part I Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch Yesterday, four members of our editorial team virtually attended Y Combinator’s demo day for its Summer 2020 cohort. Based on how likely each startup seemed to succeed and how impressed they were with the creativity of their vision, our team rounded up 11 of the most-promising companies. “We're not investors, so we're not pretending to sort the unicorns from the goats. But if what you need is a digest of some of the day's best companies to get a good taste of what founders are building, we have your back.” Stay tuned: we’re publishing the rest of our demo day coverage this afternoon.   Read more

Join Twilio's Jeff Lawson for a live Q&A today at 2:30 pm EDT/11:30 am PDT Sponsored by TechCrunch We'll discuss the current IPO landscape, remote work and many other hot topics. Bring your questions! Read more

Unity, JFrog, Asana, Snowflake and Sumo Logic file for IPOs in rapid-fire fashion Image Credits: Nigel Sussman The public markets are heating up again. Last Friday, Alex Wilhelm looked at six startups that were poised to file for an IPO. Yesterday, five startups announced plans to go public: Unity JFrog Asana Snowflake Sumo Logic “For each company, we'll discuss what they do, how much they have raised, their initial IPO raise expectations and their financial performance. We'll wrap with valuation notes as we can,” he writes. Read more

Earn the best backlinks with high-quality content and digital PR Image Credits: Colin Hawkins / Getty Images At the risk of being reductive: publishing high-quality content is the best way for a web site to rise in search results. But hoping for a boost in organic traffic is as effective as praying for rain. Instead of putting blind faith in SEO consultants or keeping an expensive PR firm on retainer, storytelling that’s based on the same data you’re using to develop products and services might help you connect with skeptical journalists like myself. Read more

Red Antler's Emily Heyward explains how to get people obsessed with your brand Image Credits: Red Antler As co-founder of branding company Red Antler, Emily Heyward has helped companies like Allbirds, Casper and Brandless define themselves for consumers. She joined us for TechCrunch Early Stage for a discussion that will help set expectations (and create some guard rails) for entrepreneurs who want to foster a connection with skeptical audiences. "Most people are stuck in their ways, so you really have to think about the problem you're solving for people," said Heyward. Read more

How to raise your first VC fund Image Credits: Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images Charles Yu, a principal at Bling Capital, has quarterbacked investments in nine unicorns and steered more than $200 million to first-time fund managers. His advice for investors raising their first fund: seek to understand the LP mentality, build trust with your investors and find ways to differentiate yourself. “In an industry that only rewards top performers, be prepared to show why you are exceptional,” Yu advises. Read more

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