WeWork parent The We Co. outlined governance changes in a regulatory filing, and sources say the company will market shares next week ahead of a trading debut later this month. The firm's valuation is expected to be significantly less than the $47 billion obtained in a funding round this year and could be less than $20 billion.
Shares of cloud-based startup Cloudflare surged 20% early in Friday's first day of trading and stayed at that level most of the day. The performance contrasts with that of SmileDirectClub, which lost 27.5% from its IPO price in Thursday's trading.
Investors are expecting a surge in 5G-related startups as the wireless technology begins to reach consumers. Verizon Ventures is among the corporate venture firms that are closely watching this space, which Chris Bartlett of Verizon Ventures says could include more of a focus on business and industrial uses than 4G.
Women are underrepresented among partners at venture capital firms, and that needs to change, writes Lauren Robinson, general partner at Highline BETA and executive director of Female Funders. "Without women and more diverse perspectives at the table, funds miss out on deal flow and expertise, and female founders struggle to access capital," she writes.
Entrepreneurs should be careful not to overstaff their marketing departments or invest in vanity marketing, which provides "vague, ephemeral yet satisfying results" but doesn't offer those that actually can be analyzed, writes Dick Talens. "If premature scaling is the leading killer of startups, marketing is the symptomless cancer that leads to its demise," he writes.
Founders may want to be hands-on in all aspects of their startup, but that's not efficient, writes Aytekin Tank, founder and CEO of JotForm. To start prioritizing, entrepreneurs should ask themselves three questions and write down 25 goals, noting the three that are most important, Tank writes.
CEOs of startups must be able to stay calm in a crisis, given the potential for a new company's failure. Learn from these leaders by maintaining the right perspective and by being solution-oriented.
Daqri is the latest augmented reality startup to shutter. The company has laid off employees, has closed its headquarters and is selling its assets, sources say.
