Turning around a struggling startup A high risk of failure is part of any startup’s DNA. Even those fast-growing companies that are subject to investors’ hypes sometimes end up in distress, with their founders being forced to resign as directors and shareholders finding themselves in dismay over their lost investment. On occasion, founders and investors…
Did you follow startup developments this week? Berlin VC Point Nine creates new €75 million fund Point Nine Capital, a Berlin-based venture capital firm, announced the creation of their fourth fund with a total of €75 million ($83.9 million). Horsley Bridge Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Vintage Investment Partners from Israel, Flossbach von Storch from Cologne and several internet…
2016 has been a wild and crazy year, especially for the 10 fastest growing startups in Germany, as ranked by the German startup news site Gruenderszene (German). Only time will tell what the future holds for these companies next year. First place goes to Lesara, established in 2013, with a growth rate of 1,425 per cent in 2016. The E-commerce…
In their attempt to empower women and solve “lady problems,” some women are guilty of the soft bigotry of low expectations. AKA sexism. This past weekend I attended AngelHack’s Lady Problems Hackathon in Berlin. It was fantastic. The event brings people with different skills together to tackle issues facing women. Christina Lila, AngelHack’s Middle East…
Take a casual browse of the World Wide Web and you’ll probably notice that a number of websites look suspiciously similar. If you believe in the motto “you don’t have to reinvent the wheel” that probably doesn’t bother you – and that a site has a borrowed another’s navigational structure or colour palette doesn’t seem…
Dreamlines raises €14 million Cruise portal Deamlines raises another €14 million which leads to an overall investment of €44 million (in four rounds). The investment comes from existing such as Hasso Plattner Ventures, Holtzbrinck Ventures, Dimaventures, Truventuro, Target Global and Altpoint. However, Rocket’s Global Founders Capital did not join the round.[Gründerszene] (German) Home Eat Home files for bankruptcy…
With the DLD Tel Aviv Conference kicking off tomorrow, part of a full week of festivities in one of the world’s most sizzling tech hubs, we invited Israeli venture capitalist and tech journalist Gil Kerbs to share his take on the startup nation’s success… “What are the things that make Israelis so strong at entrepreneurship?” Linsey from VentureVillage asked…
Peter Thiel’s Venture fund Valar Ventures invests in Granify Granify announces a $7 million Series A round led by Peter Thiel’s Venture fund Valar Ventures. Existing investors such as iNovia Capital, Social Starts and many known business angels also joined the round. The new investment will be used to expand. A first international office will open…
We often hear that a happy worker is a hard worker. But for a growing number of companies worldwide, it’s a truism that’s revolutionising workplace culture. Enter the Feelgood Manager or Feelgood Department; a Santa’s workshop for your workplace happiness and lifestyle needs. From finding you new friends and hobbies to organising drinkathons and StarCraft-themed…
Caught between venture capital and a hard place? Founders trying to get companies off the ground may see only two options: bootstrap – work in a garden shed, build desks out of scrap wood – or jump on a treadmill of equity-sucking financing rounds. Not so, says O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures co-founder Bryce Roberts. Speaking at tech industry conference NEXT Berlin yesterday, he called…