I love it when a plan comes together.
A few weeks ago, I found a Twitter thread by Sam DeBrule, Heyday’s co-founder and head of marketing, explaining how he and his co-founder have reduced customer churn by improving their onboarding process.
I sent him a DM asking if he would like to adapt the thread for a guest post on TC+; he said “yes”, and we published it earlier this week.
If new users can’t quickly figure out how to use (or take advantage of) your products, it doesn’t matter how many new customers you get on board each month.
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That’s why marketing and product teams need onboarding goals, says Sam, explaining the tactics he used to integrate himself into the customer journey and how those changes helped them reduce sales by nearly 3x.
Thanks again to Sam for sharing the benefit of his experience! If you’ve solved a problem in your organization and want to share your solutions with an audience, check out our recently revised submission guidelines.
In what I think is first a businesskinda.com, I host two Twitter Spaces on Tuesday, September 13. These should be lively conversations, so I hope you join in; the details are below.
Have a fantastic weekend,
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, businesskinda.com+
@yourprotagonist
Contents
- 1 5 Metrics Series A Investors Look for Dev Tools Startups
- 2 Dear Sophie: Can I start a business or a side business with a TN visa?
- 3 Twitter Space: A Gen Z VC Speaks Out
- 4 Twitter Space: What can today’s founders learn from the 2000 dotcom bubble bursting?
- 5 Do you want to survive the crypto winter? Start building confidence in the regulations
- 6 Our 11 Favorite Companies from YC’s S22 Demo Day
- 7 Our 10 Favorite Startups From YC’s S22 Demo Day: Part 2
5 Metrics Series A Investors Look for Dev Tools Startups
Image Credits: I like it (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
The median Series A raised by developer tooling companies fell to $47.5 million in the third quarter of 2022, “the lowest since early 2021,” writes Rak Garg, a director at Bain Capital.
After meeting hundreds of companies since the downturn began, Garg has written a fundraising guide for seed stage founders hoping to take it to the next level.
“I’ve noticed a common trait among founders who have run successful Series A rounds: they’re great at telling the stories of their companies,” says Garg.
Dear Sophie: Can I start a business or a side business with a TN visa?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/businesskinda.com
Dear Sophie:
I am a Canadian citizen working on a TN visa as a software engineer in the US. I want to start my own business or at least make money through a side business.
Is this possible on my TN, or can I only do it via a green card? If yes, is it possible to get permanent residency as the TN is for non-immigrant intent?
— Smart Canadian
Twitter Space: A Gen Z VC Speaks Out
Image Credits: Anastasiia Yanishevska / EyeEm (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
According to Andrew Chan, a senior associate at Builders VC, GenZ investors are “still a bunch of kids, myself included.”
In a Twitter space at Tuesday, September 13 at 8am PDT/11am EDTChan will join me to give his take on why “Gen Z is not a real investment trend.”
Twitter Space: What can today’s founders learn from the 2000 dotcom bubble bursting?
Image Credits: Chris Hondros (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
In 2000, many high-flying internet startups turned into smoking craters. Anna Barber was VP of Product at Petstore.com when her company was sold in a brand sale to Pets.com, their closest competitor.
“We laid off all of our staff, except for one person, who stayed with the CEO to help wind down the company and settle all of our creditors,” said Barber. “That person was me.”
on Tuesday, Sept 13 at 12pm PDT/3pm EDT, Barber will talk to me about how today’s startup operators can avoid many of the missteps founders have made in past recessions. Bring your questions!
Do you want to survive the crypto winter? Start building confidence in the regulations
Image Credits: ekspansio (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Crypto entrepreneurs still have room to grow, but they would do well to be on the right side of regulators, said Stephen Aschettino, US head of fintech at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP.
“To seize new opportunities and stay competitive as the seasons change, regulatory clarity is key.”
Our 11 Favorite Companies from YC’s S22 Demo Day
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin
This week, 240 companies presented themselves at Y Combinator’s S22 Demo Day, a sharp drop from the 402 that participated in the Winter ’22 session.
After listening to more than 100 presentations, businesskinda.com employees Anna Heim, Christine Hall, Tage Kene-Okafor, Kyle Wiggers, Natasha Mascarenhas, Alex Wilhelm and Andrew Mendez selected their favorite companies.
- Subway station
- anchor
- hilos
- Capsule
- Knowtex
- Resilience
- Gullak Money
- Shinkei Systems
- Relay
- pana
- Chowdeck
Please note: “These are startups that caught our eye for some reason. They are not recommendations and sometimes they are just for fun.”
Our 10 Favorite Startups From YC’s S22 Demo Day: Part 2
Image Credits: Getty Images
Here are the Day 2 companies that caught the attention of Mary Ann Azevedo, Natasha Mascarenhas, Amanda Silberling, Anna Heim, Andrew Mendez, Alex Wilhelm and Kyle Wiggers:
- Kashin
- Ash
- Hedgehog
- Deecard
- moment
- Tangia
- Paige
- light source
- drip
- Birch Life Sciences
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.
