Tag: TechCrunch Early Stage

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Everything you need to know about accelerators and incubators

Early-stage founders need mentorship and support to build a successful startup, and conventional wisdom says, “Get thee to an incubator or an accelerator!” However, the two programs are not interchangeable — they serve very different purposes — and there are roughly 500 accelerators and 1,400 incubators in the U.S. alone.

Which type of startup program do you need, and how do you find the right fit? When should you apply? How do you make the most of the experience if you’re accepted? We’re thrilled to tell you that Matt Segneri, the executive director of the Harvard Innovation Labs, will tackle these and other related questions at TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts.

In his session called “How to Think About Accelerators and Incubators,” Segneri will discuss the types of incubators and accelerators available to early-stage founders and what startups should consider before applying, and he’ll provide tips to get the most out of these programs.

We consider this topic — one that touches all early-stage founders — a breakout you can’t afford to miss.

Matt Segneri is the executive director of the Harvard Innovation Labs, which includes the student i-lab, Launch Lab X GEO for alumni, and the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab. He oversees the i-lab’s strategy and operations, and he acts as the primary liaison to the i-lab’s key stakeholders and the local, national and global innovation community.

Segneri has more than 20 years of leadership experience in organizations of different sizes and stages of development across the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining the i-lab, he was the director of the Harvard Business School (HBS) Social Enterprise Initiative and served as co-lead of the HBS New Venture Competition. He also played a key role in establishing the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

Previously, Segneri was a senior leader on the Government Innovation team at Bloomberg Philanthropies. He co-led the inaugural Mayors Challenge, a $9 million competition to inspire American cities to develop bold solutions to common challenges. Segneri holds an A.B. in psychology from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

All TechCrunch Early Stage sessions include plenty of Q&A time to get answers directly from the speakers. You’ll walk away with a deeper working understanding of topics and skills that are essential to startup success. Save $200 with an early-bird founder ticket — college students pay just $99!

 

Everything you need to know about accelerators and incubators by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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Volunteer at TC Early Stage for a free pass to TC Disrupt

What’s it take to bring a tech conference to life? A village, people. Not to be confused with The Village People, but I digress. We’re searching for outstanding volunteers to support our events team and help make TechCrunch Early Stage, our one-day founder summit taking place on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts, an awesome experience for our attendees.

Whether you’re a college student focused on tech, marketing or event planning, curious about the startup world or interested in learning how to produce a world-class conference, fill out this form and apply to volunteer at TC Early Stage by the April 3 deadline.

Volunteer at TC Early Stage in Boston

We expect around 1,000 people at this event, and volunteers will handle a variety of tasks. At any given time, you might:

  • Help with registration
  • Wrangle speakers
  • Direct attendees
  • Scan tickets
  • Help with general event setup

What’s in it for you? Fair question. If you’re selected, not only will you get a behind-the-scenes look at how events are produced, but you’ll also have time to take in some of the many presentations, breakout sessions and roundtable discussions. Take a peek at the conference agenda.

Plus, because we appreciate your dedicated effort, you’ll also earn a free pass to attend TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 — our three-day flagship event in San Francisco on September 19–21.

Volunteer spots are limited. If you want to gain valuable event experience, take in all the startup goodness and earn a free pass to TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, apply to volunteer before April 3.

Not interested in volunteering but still want to attend? Jump in and save with early-bird pricing. Buy your early-bird ticket for $249 and save $200. Either way, we can’t wait to see you in Boston!

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Early Stage 2023? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Volunteer at TC Early Stage for a free pass to TC Disrupt by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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What you need to know about raising a Series A

Do you have visions of Series A funding in your future? A lot of hard work and preparation goes into securing your first round of VC funding. Early-stage founders are no strangers to hard work — especially those who’ve raised their seed round. But Series A prep is a different beast altogether. And economic headwinds always make things more…interesting.

Here’s just one example of how the two rounds differ. Raising seed funding typically centers on a founder’s big vision. A Series A, however, requires that big vision plus business traction.

And now for the good news. Josh Coyne, partner at Kleiner Perkins, will share his considerable knowledge on this topic at TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts. And speaking of Beantown, Coyne spent his college years there and may know a thing or two about being a young entrepreneur in the Commonwealth.

In a session called “How to Raise a Series A with Headwinds Against You,” Coyne will detail what you need to know about raising a Series A round under normal and less-than-optimal economic conditions.

Whether you’re preparing your startup for a Series A plunge, or you simply want to understand what it takes to secure this type of funding in a tight economy, this session is for you.

Josh Coyne focuses on investments in enterprise software and financial services. Prior to joining Kleiner Perkins, he served at Qatalyst Partners, where he helped advise on multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and financings across a variety of technology sectors.

Just some of Coyne’s many notable investments include Epic Games (valued at $32 billion), Figma (which Adobe is in the midst of acquiring for $20 billion) and Rippling (valued at $11.25 billion). He graduated from Boston College with a degree in Information Systems and Finance.

All TechCrunch Early Stage sessions include plenty of Q&A time to get answers directly from the speakers. You’ll walk away with a deeper working understanding of topics and skills that are essential to startup success. Buy an early-bird founder ticket now and save $200.

What you need to know about raising a Series A by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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You can’t beat student pricing for TC Early Stage

The Northeast, and New England in particular, is known for its plethora of top colleges and universities. These hallowed halls contain multitudes of future entrepreneurs and, if you’re one of them, you can’t afford to rest on your laurels.

Get yourself to TechCrunch Early Stage, a summit for early and aspiring founders taking place in Boston on April 20, and accelerate your startup trajectory.

The Price Is Right: Students and recent grads can experience everything Early Stage offers for just $99 (you save $350). Grab your ticket today! Go with another student, and the two of you pay less than the price of one founder pass.

Opportunities for students at TechCrunch Early Stage

TC Early Stage is the perfect place for students to supercharge their startup dreams. Learn the best way to build from seasoned founders, top VCs and subject-matter experts in all phases of the startup life cycle — from ideation and product market fit to funding, pitching, growth and more.

Prepare for a day packed with expert-led workshops and small-group roundtable discussions with time for Q&A, so you dig deeper into a specific topic. Here are just a few examples of what’s on tap. Read the full descriptions and find more sessions in the event agenda.

  • How to Turn Research into a Business with Pae Wu, general partner at SOSV and CTO of IndieBio, SOSV.
  • Be a Great Mentor, Find a Great Mentor with Lisa Frusztajer, investor in residence at The Capital Network.
  • So You Think You Can Pitch? Heather Widman, partner at Building Ventures; Ginny Miller, investor at 1Sharpe Ventures; Neesha A. Tambe, Startup Battlefield editor at TechCrunch.

Whether you’re looking to meet other ambitious students, score an internship or post-graduation employment, find a mentor or a co-founder, or impress investors, you won’t find a better networking environment. Bottom line: TC Early Stage has the experts, resources and opportunities to advance your entrepreneurial agenda.

TechCrunch Early Stage takes place on April 20, 2023, in Boston. Buy your $99 student ticket and save $350! Then get ready to learn new skills, accelerate your learning curve and move your startup dream forward.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Early Stage 2023? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

You can’t beat student pricing for TC Early Stage by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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Announcing the TechCrunch Early Stage Audience Choice winners

The Audience Choice results are in, which begs the question, could we BE more excited to share this news? No, we could not. Out of hundreds of applications, we curated 10 breakout sessions and 10 roundtable discussions. Your mission? Vote for the topics you want to see live and in person at TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts. And vote you did — mission accomplished!

Click, save, learn: Buy an early-bird ticket now, and you’ll save $200 on a day jam-packed with quality content.

A bit of background before we announce the 10 presentations that won the hearts, minds and votes of TechCrunch readers.

For the uninitiated, TC Early Stage is our annual founder summit. Workshops, breakouts and roundtables — led by established founders, leading subject-matter experts and VCs — cover core entrepreneurial topics across fundraising, marketing and operations. Check out the agenda!

This daylong event gives aspiring and early startup founders — from the idea stage to Series A — the confidence, skills, information, connections and community they need to take next steps and grow their business.

Meet the TC Early Stage Audience Choice Winners

The Breakout Sessions

Breakout sessions consist of a 20-minute presentation followed by a 20-minute Q&A from an audience of up to 125 founders. Each breakout occurs once during the event.

What Unicorns Know: Prep Your Company for Success by Leveraging Lean at the Earliest Stages

Speaker: Pablo Dominguez, Operating Partner, Insight Partners

Description: The most successful startups have one thing in common: They set themselves up for large-scale operational success at the earliest stages, some before they even have a product. But how can founders look that far ahead, in a turbulent market, and predict their future business model? The answer is Scale, a five-principle Lean framework that helps any company accelerate its ability to grow. Survival of the leanest requires hopeful unicorns to examine, identify and remove waste that impedes the free flow of value to customers — without layoffs or knee-jerk cost-cutting. Dominguez will draw on 25 years of experience as an operator to explain how early-stage startups should leverage Lean principles to set themselves up for success.

Assembling the Perfect Founding Team: Insights and Strategies for Nontechnical Founders

Speaker: George Hantzaras, Director of Engineering, MongoDB

Description: Building a strong founding team is essential for the success of any startup, and finding the right technical co-founder can be a particularly daunting task for nontechnical founders. Hantzaras will explore the importance of assembling a diverse and well-balanced founding team and share best practices for finding and working with the right technical co-founder. He will also address common challenges that nontechnical founders may encounter when building their founding team, and he’ll offer practical strategies to overcome them.

Lack of Community: The Not-so-Secret Enemy of Early-Stage Founders

Speakers: Cait Brumme, CEO, MassChallenge; David Chang, Entrepreneur and Angel investor; Diane Hessan, Founder, C-Space

Description: For early-stage founders focused on building the best product, gathering market data and gaining the finances they need, deliberately seeking out community may seem less important. The more than 4,000 early-stage startups we have launched provide case studies of how intentional community development can sustain founders working to accomplish big things while catapulting their ability to build a business. We’ll provide the opportunity for you to ask your most pressing questions and teach you how to:

  • Build your startup community from scratch.
  • Recognize the value of community in each stage of your company’s growth.
  • Identify key players in your field and attract them into your circle.
  • Form relationships with people who will provide value beyond what they ask in return.

Extract the Most Value from “Value-Add” Investors

Speaker: Amber Quiñones, Head of Platform and Operations, BBG Ventures

Description: Whether you call it “Platform,” “Portfolio Impact” or any number of clever euphemisms, we live in the age of value-add VCs. Many firms have invested heavily in the Platform function to grow the firm’s network and help their investments succeed. Yet, the wide range of team structures and focuses leaves founders struggling to determine how to engage appropriately with Platform — and about what. Quiñones will demystify this function, clarify how to leverage the various forms of VC Platform and assemble an operational SWAT team to unlock more value from your value-add investors.

Creating a Successful Pilot Program: How to Prove Product Value and Win Your N’th Customer

Speaker: Ned Brody, CEO, Actifai

Description: An excellent pilot program eliminates initial barriers to customer growth, like license costs and change management. Creating an ideal pilot engages customers in the crucial introductory phase that makes success and future partnership possible. It builds confidence and rapport with decision-makers, and it delivers financial proof-of-concept. Brody will describe how to create and deliver a pilot program that grows technology businesses, including:

  • Designing a “live” value-creating pilot.
  • Creating pilot timeframes and roadmaps
  • Minimizing customer tech and change requirements
  • Creating executive evangelists
  • Standardizing pilot programs and adapting to unique customer needs
  • Developing statistically sound results and A/B test design
  • Building post-pilot rollout terms into contracts
  • Collecting key growth data and feedback

The Roundtable Discussions

Roundtables feature one person leading a 30-minute interactive conversation with up to 20 founders. Each roundtable occurs twice during the event.

What You Need in a Lead Seed Investor. Spoiler Alert: It’s More Than Money

Speaker: Ishan Sachdev, General Partner, Deciens Capital

Description: When you’re struggling to find your first funding, the best investor is usually anyone willing to write a check. In the friends-and-family and angel stages, companies often don’t have a lead investor. Consequently, many founders don’t know why they need one or what to look for beyond a willingness to invest. But when startups approach their first significant seed round, the choice of a lead investor suddenly becomes top of mind. From negotiating investment terms to providing “platform services,” leads can wield powerful influence over long-term success. Ishan Sachdev, whose venture capital firm exclusively leads seed rounds, will discuss how founders can find the right lead investor for an early funding round — and why investor/founder fit matters.

How Founders Can Prepare for Successful Exits at Any Stage

Speaker: David Jegen, Managing Partner, F-Prime Capital

Description: The vast majority of startup exits occur via acquisition, yet remarkably little content exists to help guide founders through post-acquisition life. David Jegen has experienced 11 different acquisitions from multiple perspectives — as a founder, an investor and a board member. He will break down the different types of startup acquisitions and what leverage startups have and will discuss important points that help maximize success and employee happiness in the long-run.

What’s Your Risk Archetype? How to Turn Risk into Your Startup Superpower

Speaker: Ben Jennings, Chief Revenue Officer, Embroker

Description: Everyone who starts a company takes a risk, but that doesn’t mean that every founder is a risk taker — or even understands their risk tolerance and appetite. Using our Risk Archetype quiz, founders can and have discovered what kind of risk taker they are and how that affects everything about growing a business — from fundraising to building a team to critical decision-making. Founders will leave with a blueprint for turning their specific Risk Archetype into their superpower.

Navigating Entrepreneurship as an Underrepresented Founder

Speaker: Ghalia Aamer, CEO, TalkMaze

Description: This interactive discussion will be geared toward young founders and other underrepresented groups. The goal is to create a sense of community among attendees and support one another to succeed as entrepreneurs. Aamer will facilitate the discussion using guided questions to encourage vulnerability. By sharing her personal experience starting a business as a full-time student and young woman of color, she will create space for others to share their own challenges, which they can address together as a group. Founders will walk away empowered by a set of new connections with like-minded entrepreneurs who can help each other succeed.

How to Leverage PR to Get in Front of Investors

Speaker: Liza Vilnits, Founder and CEO, Beyond Trending

Description: Founders understand the value of PR, but they frequently lack the knowledge to leverage it and execute. How do you properly frame your story so that investors notice you through the press? This session will provide an edtech case study example (from a school teacher to Chelsea Clinton and Serena Williams), plus a “roll-your-sleeves-up” discussion to help founders better craft their stories and understand how to engage media.

TechCrunch Early Stage takes place on April 20, 2023, in Boston, Massachusetts. Don’t miss out on the Audience Choice presentations and so much more. Buy your early-bird ticket for $249 and save $200. We can’t wait to see you in Boston!

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Early Stage 2023? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Announcing the TechCrunch Early Stage Audience Choice winners by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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Build online branding to fuel startup success

What early-stage founder wouldn’t love to add metaphorical rocket fuel to their startup? We’re here to tell you that you can, in a form you may not have considered: online communities.

Building an engaged, genuine online community that supports and sustains your business requires authenticity. This worthy art-meets-social-science endeavor can deliver results in a big way, which is why we’re thrilled to have two experts ready to tackle the topic at TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts.

In a session called “How to Turn Your Startup into a Social Star,” Redpoint’s Rashad Assir (head of content) and Josh Machiz (partner) will break down how to capitalize on the multiplier effects of building an online following and a standout brand — for both you and your startup.

You want people to notice your startup, and it takes some doing to cut through the noise. If you’re not sure how to begin — or if you want to up your branding game — this is the session for you.

Before Josh Machiz joined Redpoint Ventures as a partner, he spent nearly 10 years as the chief digital officer at Nasdaq — where he had a front-row seat to the growth and expansion of generation-defining companies. He has extensive experience helping all stages of private companies successfully grow their brands and prepare them for the public markets.

Machiz advises clients on marketing support, growing their digital footprint, evaluating martech stacks and preparing eventual IPO readiness. He received a BS in microbiology from McGill University and an MBA from the Fordham Gabelli School of Business.

When millennial Rashad Assir joined Redpoint Ventures as head of content in 2021, he officially turned his TikTok hobby — observing and commenting on the subtle mundanities of Corporate America, dating and social life in general — into a full-time job. His new focus? The small but absurd world of venture capitalism.

Consistently reposted by some of the largest comedy accounts, including @betches and @9gag, Assir now writes, edits and produces Redpoint’s daily TikTok videos commenting on all things tech, VC and corporate culture. He helps the firm’s investors and portfolio companies reimagine traditionally boring corporate content into something fresh and authentic that stands out from the masses.

All TechCrunch Early Stage sessions include plenty of Q&A time to get answers directly from the speakers. You’ll walk away with a deeper working understanding of topics and skills that are essential to startup success. Buy an early-bird founder ticket now and save $200.

Build online branding to fuel startup success by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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Got product-market fit? Learn how to find it at TC Early Stage

Achieving product-market fit (PMF) arguably ranks as both the No. 1 strategic objective and the biggest challenge for early-stage founders. Hitting this critical milestone tells you — and any investors you hope to attract — that there’s consistent, enthusiastic demand for your product.

Everyone defines PMF differently, and that fact alone makes finding yours a real challenge. This one crucial achievement determines the future growth and profitability of your startup, which is why we’re thrilled to have David Thacker, the general partner at Greylock Partners, join us at TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts.

During his session, aptly named “How to Find Product-Market Fit,” Thacker will share the fundamentals, explain the processes involved and address the challenges. Given his extensive experience building in a downturn, it’s likely he’ll touch on why PMF matters even more during an economic headwind.

You have questions, and this is why we believe Thacker’s the right person to help you understand and find product-market fit now — when you need it most.

David Thacker, a partner at Greylock, invests in founders building productivity tools, front office software and vertical SaaS, along with marketplaces and gaming. During a previous economic recession, he played a key role in several successful investments such as Redfin, Pandora and TellApart. His investments include companies like Magical, Instawork, Curated and Pragma.

An experienced technology leader, Thacker has created new businesses and products for some of the most iconic companies in the world, including Google, LinkedIn and Groupon. Throughout his career as a technologist, he has built, launched and scaled products across several industry verticals, including e-commerce, gaming, social networking and online advertising.

All TechCrunch Early Stage sessions include plenty of Q&A time to get answers directly from the speakers. You’ll walk away with a deeper, working understanding of topics and skills that are essential to startup success. Buy an early-bird founder ticket now and save $200.

Got product-market fit? Learn how to find it at TC Early Stage by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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Announcing the first group of speakers for TC Early Stage

TechCrunch Early Stage is the place to be for the founder who is just getting started. On April 20, we’re excited to bring our show to Boston, Massachusetts. We’re bringing together experts from the Northeast and Silicon Valley to chat through myriad startup core competencies — from fundraising to operations to marketing — and outline step-by-step guides on how you can set up and grow your business.

If you’re sitting at your desk wondering how you even start a company, we’ve got you covered. Worried about how to raise in this economic climate? We have a session (or several) for you.

The format is unique to most TC events, in that our speakers give presentations around their topics (all attendees will get transcripts and visual assets from those sessions) and then dedicate the majority of their time to audience Q&A. We’ll also have dozens of roundtables focused on fundraising, operations and more, where early founders and investors can chat amongst themselves to resolve some of the biggest challenges facing early-stage startups today.

It’s going to be an incredible event, and we’re more than excited to share the first slice of the agenda with you:

How to Raise Outside of SV in a Down Market

Mark Crane (General Catalyst)

  • Silicon Valley’s funding market tends to be more immune to macroeconomic conditions than elsewhere in the world. So how do you raise outside the Valley bubble? General Catalyst’s Mark Crane has ample experience on both the founder and VC side from all over Europe, as well as a firm understanding of the funding landscape in the northeastern U.S., so he’ll give practical advice on how to stay alive and thrive.

How to Raise a Series A with Headwinds Against You

Josh Coyne (Kleiner Perkins)

  • The Series A round is a massive milestone in a startup’s life, and it can also be one of the most challenging to put together when overall economic conditions aren’t favorable. Kleiner Perkins’ Josh Coyne knows how a big round comes together, having invested in Figma, UiPath and Rippling, and he’ll share tips on how to make it happen.

How to Turn Your Startup into a Social Star

Rashad Assir and Josh Machiz (Redpoint)

  • From building your audience to creating viral content that moves your business forward, Redpoint’s Josh Machiz and Rashad Assir will tell you how to capitalize on the multiplier effects of genuine online community. Rashad has experience building his own following, as well as Redpoint’s own TikTok presence, while Josh has helped Redpoint portfolio companies develop their founder and company brands.

How to Find Product-Market Fit

David Thacker (Greylock)

  • Everyone in startup land wants one thing: product-market fit. Greylock’s David Thacker has experience building and scaling some of the most popular products in the world at Google and LinkedIn. David also has extensive experience building in a downturn, so he’s the perfect person to help you find product-market fit now when you need it most.

How to Tell Your TAM

Dayna Grayson (Construct Capital)

  • Dayna Grayson from Construct Capital has invested in a lot of different fields, including automation and manufacturing. She also now focuses on consumer brands, giving her a wide range of experience for understanding exactly how founders should discuss their TAM with investors.

How to Vet Your Startup Idea

James Currier (NFX)

  • Good startup ideas have patterns, and 90% of ideas that James Currier of NFX sees at the pre-seed/seed stage are not going to lead to large exits. From his experience as a VC, as well as a five-time founder, he can explain how to recognize platform shifts and capitalize when something is newly possible; how to identify fast-moving markets where TAM is not large, but increasing; how to de-risk your idea; and much more.

How to Turn Research into a Business

Pae Wu (SOSV)

  • A lot of startups are incubated in the lab, but how exactly do they make the leap from research project to commercialized business? SOSV General Partner and IndieBio CTO Pae Wu can tell you how, thanks to her experience managing her firm’s portfolio, as well as her multiple roles overseeing high-tech R&D and moonshot development projects.

State of the Northeast Seed Market

Kerty Levy (Techstars)

  • As managing director of Techstars Boston and Iowa, Kerty Levy has a unique vantage point when it comes to the state of entrepreneurship and startup funding in the Northeast. She’ll provide a look at the early-stage landscape as it stands, how ongoing economic turmoil could shift the scene and how you can prepare.

Pitch Practice

Ginny Miller (1Sharpe Ventures) and Heather Widman (Building Ventures)

  • So you think you can pitch? Founders selected to take part in this session will have five minutes to wow a panel of judges, including leading VCs, who will then provide feedback.

TechCrunch Early Stage sessions give attendees plenty of time to engage, ask questions and walk away with a deeper, working understanding of topics and skills that are essential to startup success. Buy an early bird founder ticket now and save $200.

 

 

Announcing the first group of speakers for TC Early Stage by Darrell Etherington originally published on TechCrunch

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VC Mark Crane explains how to raise funding beyond Silicon Valley

Once upon a time, if you wanted to build a tech startup, you relocated to Silicon Valley. Full stop. While there’s no disputing SV’s place and continued prominence in the startup world, today’s early-stage founders have more geographic freedom and funding options than ever before.

While that’s certainly a good thing, it’s still far from easy — especially when you’re facing economic headwinds. This is why we’re excited that Mark Crane, a partner at General Catalyst, will hold forth at TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts.

We invited Crane to share his expertise in a session called “How to Raise Outside of the Silicon Valley Bubble in a Down Market.” Founders must understand how markets work outside of Silicon Valley to truly capitalize on attracting investors and raising funds. Here are some of the reasons we think he can provide valuable insight on this important subject.

Crane has been a partner at General Catalyst, a Top 20 global investment firm with a large Boston office, for the past four years. His featured investments include Heyday Technologies, Fivetran, Resilience and TravelPerk.

He has experience both as a founder and as a VC working throughout Europe. Originally from the Boston area, he understands the Massachusetts market and how large VC firms operate both inside and outside of Silicon Valley.

Prior to joining General Catalyst, Crane served as vice president at Cove Hill Partners in Boston. Previously, he was a senior associate at JMI Equity and associate at North Bridge Growth Equity. He earned a BA in history at Amherst College.

All TC Early Stage breakouts include a Q&A for you to get answers directly from the speaker. And, if you want to dig deeper into this particular topic, Crane will stick around and lead a smaller roundtable discussion for up to 20 founders.

TechCrunch Early Stage sessions give attendees plenty of time to engage, ask questions and walk away with a deeper, working understanding of topics and skills that are essential to startup success. Buy an early-bird founder ticket now and save $200.

VC Mark Crane explains how to raise funding beyond Silicon Valley by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

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VC Kerty Levy discusses the Northeast seed market

Information is power, especially when you’re just beginning your startup journey. Whether you’re in the idea stage or building on the friends-and-family plan or preparing to pitch investors, it’s imperative to understand the shifting VC funding landscape as you plan for future growth.

It’s no secret that funding is harder to come by in this economy, and that’s just one reason why we’re thrilled that Kerty Levy, managing director at Techstars, will share her expertise at TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts.

In a session called “The State of the Northeast Seed Market,” Levy will bring you up-to-date on how the national economic picture is affecting VC investments and how that shapes funding trends from Washington, DC, right on up to New York and into the greater Boston area.

What will the funding scene in these major metropolitan areas look like this year? Are there region-specific tips that early-stage founders can use to attract investors? Techstars is deeply grounded in working with founders at the earliest stages, and Levy brings extensive local knowledge to the table.

If you’re an early-stage founder trying to raise —or thinking about raising — your first dollars in the Northeast, don’t miss this session for an inside look at the local seed scene.

Kerty Levy joined Techstars in 2019, where she has served as managing director of the Techstars Iowa and the Techstars Crypto Boston programs. Her global background includes entrepreneurial ventures, corporate executive leadership and management consulting.

Levy received a BA in international relations at the University of California, Davis and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

TechCrunch Early Stage sessions give attendees plenty of time to engage, ask questions and walk away with a deeper, working understanding of topics and skills that are essential to startup success. Buy an early-bird founder ticket now and save $200.

VC Kerty Levy discusses the Northeast seed market by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch