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What’s up, yummy beings. Today I thought a lot about Instagram. Devin wrote about how the platform keeps getting worse with dark lifted designs from TikTok, and Amanda made me laugh with his Instagram responds to criticism with a shocking revelation that he “will continue to support the title of the photos”. The evolution of the platform is close to my heart and I continue to be torn apart by influencers and “thought leaders”. In a nutshell: I love Instagram the way it is, but I’m also curious where photographers can go to frolic these days. Answers on a postcard.
Oh, and you don’t even have to read the article, but do yourself a favor and check out the images in this article I posted this morning: BMF’s microscopic 3D printing powers are magnificent, and I am amazed at the extent of 3D printing has come. — haje
PS: Startup Battlefield 200 applications close this weekso hurry up with your applications!
TechCrunch’s top 3
- Sine qua non first: European customers got a great deal on Amazon’s Prime subscription. The e-commerce giant has just raised prices quite substantially. French customers are a small bite angry at their 43% price hike, while German subscribers think their 30% hike is just the worst, Paul reports.
- A decimation at Shopify: Lots of e-commerce news today, including bad news for a tenth of Shopify staff. As investment in pandemic-related online shopping slows, Shopify is laying off around 1,000 employees, Aisha writing.
- After two years with a16z, the first solo album: Mary Ann reports that Rex Salisbury came to the conclusion that adding a fund to his bustling Cambrian community was a natural next step in the journey. He began the process of raising capital for his own venture capital firm, Cambrian Ventures, and today announced a $20 million fund focused on fintech start-ups.
Startups and VCs
Brian reviewed the third generation Oura Ring in December, but today Kyle reports that the existing hardware has discovered a new trick along the way and can now measure blood oxygen levels, with more fitness features to come.
Our Found podcast had a particularly interesting episode this week – Nikki Pechet joins as a guest. She started Homebound to make building homes easier and more accessible after a wildfire ripped through Northern California and thousands of people were put on years-long waiting lists to start building. build their houses. The episode is titled Why This Founder Feels Confident in the Face of the Economic Downturn. Get this wisdom in your ears as soon as you can. Here is a link to Found on all your favorite podcasting platforms.
I was intrigued by Struck Capital’s $15 million venture capital studio and was a bit alarmed when the founders suggested they use the “thousands of pitches” they receive to inform the businesses they choose to start.
More starter goodies:
- A chain with a bag of money on the end: New York-based Interplay raises $10 million for a new blockchain fund, Anita reports
- Goodbye, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, good night: Based in Germany, Babbel has over 1 million US customers on its platform and is also expanding its business language learning platform in the US, Frederic reports.
- My coins are tinkling: Mike makes the case for hardware wallets poised to make a comeback as crypto markets get a little frivolous.
- Pogo puts a monetized bounce in your step: If Pogo had his way, you’d get paid every time you walk down the street. The only problem is that you give your personal data back to the consumer-oriented fintech. Company has raised nearly $15 million to become ‘real-world honey’, reports Natasha M.
- On social channel: Topl Blockchain Ecosystem Raised $15M to Help Companies Track and Monetize Social Impact Initiatives, Jacqueline reports.
- Feel good, invest money: Mike writes about Europe’s newest health and wellness fund: Exceptional Ventures has a $24 million fund.
- Spiders as robot hands: Certainly the most bizarre story on the site today, brian dives with scientists using dead spiders as robot hands. Weird robotic breakthroughs? I love them so much!
The right questions to ask investors when raising funds in a bear market
Picture credits: MicroStockHub (Opens in a new window) /Getty Pictures
Fundraising discussions can still start with small talk, but startup teams are under more pressure than ever to make the most of these rare opportunities.
Blair Silverberg, CEO and co-founder of Hum Capital, says entrepreneurs should resist the urge to get defensive during these sessions.
“In fact, the more a founder can direct questions to the investor in a way that allows them to better understand their business and investment strategy, the easier the rest of the conversation will be.”
(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams grow. You can register here.)
Big Tech inc.
Some nine months after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed it was carrying out market research into music streaming services, the department has revealed it believes there is no no reason to answer – for now, at least, Paul reports.
GM is a bit in the news today: Jaclyn reports that the auto giant slumped 40% in profits in the second quarter. She also covered the 3 indicators to watch on GM Q2 earnings day, and Rebecca revealed that the company had secured a $2.5 billion government loan for battery factories in the United States.
Go ahead, then, grab a few more:
Tech
