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Startups are hoping for a turnaround in funding

Aug 30, 2024
Startups are suffering a hangover from the binge years of early COVID-era investment.
"A lot of the 2021 tech IPOs did not make public investors money,” says Kyle Lui, general partner at venture capital firm Bling Capital. “Eighty-four percent of the IPOs from 2021 are still underwater.”
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

U.S. startups should be wary of knowledge theft disguised as investment

That's the message from the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, which says foreign industrial espionage is on the rise.
Companies have to take risks, but "this is a 'Please take smart risks' warning," said Michael Casey of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

For aspiring CEOs, being a buyer rather than a founder is an increasingly attractive path

Mar 27, 2024
Raising "search funds" to find a business to buy may be an answer to a challenging startup landscape.
Although the concept has been around for decades, the number of "search fund" starts went from 20 in 2013 to 105 in 2023.
(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Women getting their wings as angel investors

Jan 9, 2024
The practice of personal investment in startup companies is becoming more diverse. That’s influencing which startups get funded.
Tech executives Allison Barr Allen, Deidre Paknad and Adriana Roche speak on a panel at a TechCrunch gathering in 2022.
Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for TechCrunch

After the podcast industry boom and bust, what's next?

Dec 6, 2023
"All of these companies, new and old, public radio and private, threw a bunch of money into podcast departments. And I think they quickly learned that the economics of this high-quality journalism is complicated," said Micah Loewinger of "On the Media."
Barriers to entry are low in the podcasting world, but turning a profit is a different story.
Jason Davis/Getty Images

How “age tech” is creating opportunities for older adults

Growing numbers of entrepreneurs and their financial backers are starting to see aging as an opportunity for innovation and profit.
An aging population, especially in Asia, is getting investors excited, says senior economics contributor Chris Farrell. Above, an older man uses his phone in Beijing.
Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

Legal challenges could have chilling effect on workplace diversity efforts

Oct 3, 2023
It's possible that employers will roll back racial diversity initiatives even if they’re perfectly legal.
Above, portraits of Black women entrepreneurs at an event co-hosted by the Fearless Fund. A federal appeals court temporarily blocked a contest hosted by the Fearless Fund that awards grants to businesses that are majority-owned by Black women.
Shannon Finney/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

These startup health insurers tried to disrupt the market. Now, their customers are scrambling

Sep 15, 2023
Bright HealthCare and Friday Health Plans were part of a new class of health insurance startups, but both have imploded in recent months.
Lauren Gibbs penciled out math equations to manage the complex transition from her now-defunct Friday Health Plans insurance plan to a new insurer.
Andrew Kenney/CPR

Startups pitch banks as alternative to VCs

As venture capital becomes scarce, demand is rising for venture debt — the kind of loan Silicon Valley Bank provided before it collapsed.
Venture debt is a specialized bank loan that doesn’t involve an ownership stake. Silicon Valley Bank was a leader in the field.
Ong-ad Nuseewor via Getty Images

Chinese investment in U.S. startups under scrutiny for espionage

Jun 21, 2023
The difficult relationship between the U.S. and China has many economic contours to it. One of the complaints on the U.S. side for years has been about theft of intellectual property. That tension is now extending into the world of investment, particularly startups.
“Unlike American companies, Chinese-owned companies are required by their government to support the military," said Andy Weber, a senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks.
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images