Take the time to brush up those pitch decks

The holidays are in full swing, which means you might start getting automatic-reply emails as people take off on vacation.

But don’t let the relative calmness of the holidays stop you from fundraising. According to a DocSend report on fundraising trends, young startups aren’t looking so hot. That means that however they’ve been trying to grab investors’ attention isn’t working. For example, there’s been a dip in how much time investors spend on the “product” and “business model” slides and a significant increase in how long they’re spending on the “competition” slide.

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Now is a great time to brush up your pitch decks, practice your pitch, and get ready for when things kick off again next year, writes resident pitch deck expert Haje Jan Kamps.

Thanks for reading!

Karyne

5 secondaries investors tell us what’s hot and what’s not heading into 2024

As we wrote last week, if startup IPOs pick back up in 2024, as many are predicting, the secondary market could start to return to normalcy. But how are investors in the secondary venture market thinking about things now? One thing that venture reporter Rebecca Szkutak found in her survey: LPs aren’t actually as hungry for liquidity as you might think.

Deep tech startups must use these 4 techniques when fundraising

Roman Axelrod, the founder of smart contact lens maker XPANCEO, knows a thing or two about raising for a deep tech startup: His company just landed a $40 million seed round. He offers four tips on what to focus on when raising for your own deep tech business.

Why in-house platforms can undermine your business strategy

It makes sense: It’s better to build a tool in-house than it is to buy or subscribe to one from a vendor. Having control over every aspect of the business can help reduce costs and even improve efficiency.

But not so fast, says Asanka Abeysinghe, the CTO of WSO2: Having total control over everything is “an illusion” that leads “organizations down a path filled with unforeseen challenges and constraints. What initially seems like an all-encompassing solution can quickly turn into a quagmire of escalating costs, dwindling focus, and stifling complexity.”

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Startups must master operations

“While technological innovation gets most of the glory, operational innovation is the next giant leap for companies striving to gain a competitive edge,” writes Accelsius CEO Josh Claman. He offers some tips on how companies should think about innovation, as opposed to improvement or excellence.