The year is coming to an end

and 2024 is looking good!

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We hate to be the ones delivering the news, but guess who's just around the corner? ho ho ho - You guessed 🎅🏽!

And let's face it, none of us are quite ready for that just yet. On the bright side, we've got some good news for the upcoming year—after all, they say optimism takes you places. Plus, we've got a bunch of intriguing startup gossip you need to know to stay in the loop and be the coolest kid on the block.

XOXO…

Anticipating a Positive Shift in 2024: Three Trends Worth Watching

Good news fellow reader: after weathering the storm of a multi-year downturn, the exuberant influx of capital and surge in unicorn births that characterized 2021 might just make a comeback - but keep reading before you get too excited.

💡 These are the three key factors that contribute to this optimism:

  • A projected growth rebound,

  • A potential upswing in venture capital,

  • The defrosting of the IPO market.

According to insights from TechCrunch+, many tech companies are bullish about software sales in 2024, indicating a shift from the optimization focus of 2023 to an accelerated pace of operations. As interest rates are expected to fall in the coming year, a potential resurgence in venture investment is on the horizon. Moreover, the prospect of Shein and Reddit leading the IPO charge in 2024 suggests a market thaw that could bring some much-needed liquidity, injecting warmth into both venture and LP wallets.

Amidst this positive momentum, there's a belief that AI-powered automation will enhance startup efficiency, reducing burn rates and improving overall profitability. 2024 may well be the year to flip the charts upside down, only time will tell!

#FOMO

Startup events and deadlines

  • You might want to keep an eye on Slush - starting today in Helsinski 📍 - the self claimed most founder focused event on earth. check their livestream if you couldn’t make it to the snow! ❄️

  • Free webinar - How to Capitalize On Your Good Ideas, with Clinton Sparks. Register here 💡

The Ear

We listen so you don’t have to.

👂🏽 The Hasty Selection Problem: Founders often choose co-founders hastily with little due diligence, sometimes based on a single interaction or because they need a technical skill that they lack. The hosts emphasize that thorough vetting is necessary, just like you would when choosing a long-term partner or getting married 💍😮

Ryan Rutan & Will Schroeder on ‘Startup Therapy’

👂🏽 Janz explores the potential of AI in customer support, noting that while established players have advantages, there's room for innovation among new entrants, especially at the intersection of AI and helpdesks 🆘

He highlights the challenges of competing with giants like Microsoft and Google in broad markets where products are often free. He emphasized that AI needs to bring significant improvements, not just modest upgrades, to disrupt such markets ⚡

Des Traynor interviews Christoph Janz from 0.9 Capital on ‘Inside Intercom’

Discover the many benefits of global hiring

You might say it’s a down to Earth solution

With Deel’s Business Case for Global Hiring Guide, you’ll discover how to overcome the most common global hiring challenges and what route works best for your expanding workforce.

Follow the $$

These companies just raised money

  • Neuralink is developing implantable chips that can read brain waves and just raised an additional 43M to keep growing. Elon did it again 🚀

  • 24M for Cradle! A a biotech and AI startup that uses an AI-powered generative approach to protein design which simplifies and accelerates the drug development and production process 🧬

  • Construex, an Ecuador-based SaaS marketplace for the construction and design industries, secured 4.6M in seed funding. Now ‘lets get to work!’ 🏗️

Is Climate Tech the new Fintech?

Founders from the fintech realm are getting involved in the climate change forefront, and Rishi Stocker of Safi, once a key player at Revolut, is leading the charge. In a funding round that closed in a mere four weeks, Safi secured $19.5 million. Along with fellow fintech veterans, he is now venturing into climate tech, citing a desire for more impactful work and steering clear of niche financial projects.

The move reflects a broader trend of fintech experts embracing climate challenges, with Stocker's Safi building a B2B recycling marketplace to tackle "hardcore climate" issues and bridge the gap between recycling facilities worldwide.

In this evolving landscape, fintech know-how meets climate consciousness, ushering in a new wave of startups with a purpose-driven twist.

💬 In a quote: ‘Europe’s climate tech funds have been a bit more risk averse with these more difficult problems, but some of the US funds like Lowercarbon encouraged us to take that step’, Rishi Stocker.

Rushin’ Roulette

Six bullets of updates

  1. Big data unicorn Dataminr, valued at $4.1B, is axing 20% of its staff (150 people) to bolster its AI focus 🤖

  2. Generative AI (GenAI) is giving the SaaS market a bounceback, with a recovery rate faster than post-2000! 🚀

  3. Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis defends pre-sale contracts, saying they're a path to product-market fit, with $1.8B already signed! 💸

  4. New wave of startups aim to combat deforestation using tech and the market's potential is $150 trillion 🌳

  5. Peter Diamandis announces a $101M XPRIZE for tech that combats aging, aiming to restore 10 years of health in a year ⚕️

  6. Cybersecurity startups saw $1.9B in VC funding in Q3, but yearly VC investment in the sector could hit its lowest since 2019 🔒

Investor Tracker

Forget about updating a boring spreadsheet. Slidebean Investor Tracker helps you easily browse your investor leads conversations, never miss a follow-up, find the right investors, and more.

The recap - with a twist

So that you can pretend you were there all along

We bet you've even dreamed of Altman!

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