INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Startups reporters everywhere rejoiced Friday morning when the first unicorn S-1 of 2019 emerged from under lock and key for us all to
unpack, analyze and enjoy
The TechCrunch office, at least Megan Rose Dickey’s and my corner, was buzzing with excitement, and Crunchbase News editor-in-chief, (my
Equity co-host), apparently had to make himself a cup of Earl Grey tea to calm down post-S-1 deep dive.I’ve already said a lot about the
filing on Equity’s latest episode, available here, and in my story on the document, so I will keep this short
Here are the nuts and bolts:Lyft’s revenue grew from $1.06 billion to nearly $2.2 billion from 2017 to 2018
Lyft’s costs rose dramatically during 2018, compared to the year prior
In fact, Lyft’s total cost profile rose from $1.77 billion in 2017 to a staggering $3.13 billion in 2018
And as far as losses, the business posted a net loss of $911 million in 2018 and $688 million in losses the previous year.Onwards.VCs want
to help you get pregnant This week, I published a sweeping report on startups focused on improving various pain points in a women’s
I spent months reporting on the space, learning from the founders of FertilityIQ, Kindbody, Nurx, Natural Cycles and more
Check it out here and be warned, you need an Extra Crunch subscription to read the entire piece
You can purchase an Extra Crunch subscription here.WeWork sheds weak talentDespite its mountain of venture capital funding, WeWork confirmed
layoffs that affected 3 percent of its global workforce on Friday
The company told TechCrunch the cuts were part of an annual performance review process and that they still plan to wildly increase the size
of their workforce in 2019
And while we’re on the subject of layoffs, Rackspace, the hosted private cloud vendor, let go of around 200 workers, or 3 percent of its
worldwide workforce of 6,600 employees.Deal of the weekSoftBank’s Vision Fund is pouring $1.5 billion into online car trading group
Chehaoduo, which literally means “many cars” in Chinese
The startup, based in Beijing, operates peer-to-peer online marketplace Guazi for used vehicles, and Maodou, which retails new sedans
through direct sales and financial leasing
TechCrunch’s Rita Liao reports “the sizable funding round arrived at a time when China’s softening economy is sapping consumer
confidence, but the company’s two-pronged strategy makes sure it covers a broad range of consumer demands.”Binary Capital’s
implosionYou thought it was over; Binary Capital has shut down after all
But here’s the latest: Binary co-founder Justin Caldbeck has sued his former co-founder Jonathan Teo, alleging breach of contract, breach
of fiduciary duty, fraud and more
Caldbeck, accused of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances in 2017, took an indefinite leave of absence from Binary, leaving to
Teo all the responsibilities of the $175 million fund
Shortly after, Teo offered to step down in a last-ditch effort to keep the firm afloat
Ultimately, neither of them could save the fallen firm.Startup cashSequoia-backed Medallia raises $70M at a $2.4B valuationSoFi founder Mike
Cagney’s new company Figure just raised another $65MThirdLove, the direct-to-consumer lingerie startup, gets a $55M boostZum, a
ridesharing service for kids, raises $40MClassDojo, an app to help teachers and parents communicate better, raises $35MPresto raises $30M to
bring its AI platform and tabletop ordering hardware to restaurant chainsTwo Chairs nabs $7M for its client-therapist matching app and
brick-and-mortar clinicsDipsea raises $5.5M for short-form, sexy audio storiesSenior techI think tech for seniors will be amongst the
hottest sectors for venture capital investment in the next few years, and HAX Labs looks to be on top of the trend
The accelerator program, located in San Francisco and Shenzhen, announced the launch of an initiative targeted at helping startups advance
the state of tech for people over the age of 65
The program will invest $250,000 in the startups, as well as provide mentorship, office space, education and the other standard accelerator
offerings.Can a term sheet be too longShort answer: No
According to TechCrunch’s Danny Crichton, a shorter term sheet isn’t always better, despite popular beliefs
“Here’s the thing, term sheets have an incredibly important purpose, which is to set forth in clear language the terms of a deal
Unfortunately in modern venture capital, there are a lot of terms that have to be negotiated in any equity round, from financial terms to
option pools, to board structure, to voting rights on major business decisions like selling the company, and much more
Simpler term sheets either relegate many of these items to ‘standard venture capital terms apply’ or some other vague language, or just
wholly don’t mention them at all.” Keep reading here.Uber and Lyft’s discount warOK, just a little more on the ride-hailing giants
If you’ve been wondering why Uber and Lyft have been sending you push notifications complete with sweet discounts, here’s the deal: To
gain market share in the final weeks ahead of their respective IPOs, Uber and Lyft have been deploying discounts to riders to encourage them
The strategy appears to be working; Lyft reportedly increased its market share from 30 to 34 percent amid the discount campaign.Listen to me
talkIf you enjoy this newsletter, be sure to check out TechCrunch’s venture-focused podcast, Equity
In this week’s episode, available here, Crunchbase editor-in-chief Alex Wilhelm, TechCrunch’s Silicon Valley editor Connie Loizos and I
chatted with NEA’s Jonathan Golden about female-founded startup cash, Lyft and Uber’s discounts and more.Want more TechCrunch
newsletters Sign up here.
