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Tag: funding

  • Sona launches its music streaming platform and marketplace to reward fans for buying 'digital twins' of songs | TechCrunch

    Sona launches its music streaming platform and marketplace to reward fans for buying 'digital twins' of songs | TechCrunch

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    Sona is a new web3 streaming protocol that uses DeFi primitives (decentralized finance basic building blocks) to put the financial power back into artists’ hands with its rewards model, auctions and ad-free streaming. Sona emerged from stealth today, announcing the open beta launch of its first product—Sona Stream, a free music streaming service with zero subscriptions or ads combined with a marketplace where artists share music and auction off SONAs, “digital twins” or digital assets of songs that can only be owned by one person at a time.

    Alongside the launch news, the company also announced its $6.9 million seed funding round from Polychain Capital, Haun Ventures and Rogue Capital. The funds will be used to develop new features and hire engineers.

    Sona’s marketplace allows artists to auction their SONAs to collectors for 24 hours. They set a minimum price and sell to the highest bidder, getting instant liquidity. What’s most notable is that the owner of a SONA receives 70% of the streaming payout rewards based on a pro-rata share of total streams on the platform. Meanwhile, artists get 30% and the company takes a 7% fee. Plus, the rewards pool is funded from a percentage of SONA sales, meaning each purchase supports all artists on Sona Stream. In the future, Sona will include other transactions like tipping, merchandise, ticket purchases, stem downloads and fixed-price audio downloads for DJs

    “It’s pooled every two weeks and then redistributed to every artist and collector, proportional to how much [the specific song] is streamed,” co-founder Laura Jaramillo explained during a private demo. “So, you’re paying artists for their work quickly, incentivizing the creation of that work, and then also rewarding the people that are actually supporting those artists.”

    The main idea with SONAs — and music NFTS in general – is that it encourages fans to invest in their favorite artists and promote their work. In this case, when a SONA owner shares the song on social media, their followers are directed to Sona Stream, helping the streaming service grow its user base and earn revenue at the same time. And unlike other music NFTs, SONAs are unrelated to royalties from other streaming platforms. Rewards are from the Sona ecosystem only.

    “The artist and rightsholders retain 100% ownership of the original song — so that’s a bit different and why we don’t really see ourselves as a music NFT platform. We’re focused on the relationships between artists and fans,” co-founder Jennifer Lee, aka producer and DJ TOKiMONSTA, told us. Last year, TOKiMONSTA sold 100 editions of her latest single, Loved By U, on Sound.xyz, a marketplace for music NFTs.

    Collectors must live in the U.S. and be at least 18 years old to buy a SONA. They are also allowed to sell and trade SONAs, both on Sona and third-party marketplaces.

    Sona’s streaming service is currently home to five million tracks by artists Rochelle Jordan, CRi, Adam Oh, Cakes da Killa, Gavin Turek, Dakytl, Aquiles Navarro and Sara Hartman, among others. By next year, Sona will have 16 million songs on the platform.

    Sona co-founders Laura Jaramillo and Jennifer Lee

    Jaramillo, a long-time NFT product designer, created Sona to help her mother Raquel Gonzalez, a Puerto Rican artist and activist, along with other independent artists who find it difficult to earn a living off their music.

    “I wanted to create something that ultimately my mom could use, who is running into some of the biggest challenges that an artist faces– building an audience and making sustainable revenue. I designed a protocol that she could use to monetize off those 100 to 1,000 true fans who want to show how much they appreciate her music, but then also have sustainable revenue coming in every two weeks and combat the fact that artists are not making that much on streaming. And if they are making something on streaming, they don’t see it for three to six months,” Jaramillo said, while also revealing to us that musical talent runs in the family. While her music career was short-lived, Jaramillo was 16 years old when she was offered a label deal.

    “The secret story is that when I was when I was in elementary school to high school, I was a competing songwriter and singer who represented Puerto Rico multiple times… The [music label] wanted me to drop out of high school, move to LA and be a Latin pop star. But that was the opposite of my music. I wrote music to help you go through catharsis, so I very quickly gave up on that dream because I was like, ‘Oh, they see me as what they could sell me as and not what I can create,’” Jaramillo said.

    “[Sona] is trying to make it easier for someone to enter music without completely selling out or being taken advantage of,” she added.

    Sona will host its first-ever auction tomorrow, December 7 at 8 p.m., featuring TOKiMONSTA’s Grammy-nominated track Rouge. Released in 2017, the song marked her monumental return to music after her battle with moyamoya, a rare brain condition.

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    Lauren Forristal

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  • 'Mega-deals' could be inflating overall AI funding figures | TechCrunch

    'Mega-deals' could be inflating overall AI funding figures | TechCrunch

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    It’s safe to say that VCs struck while the iron was hot this year where it concerned generative AI.

    While venture capital investments overall fell compared to last year thanks to macroeconomic challenges and other related factors, startups in the generative AI space — and AI more broadly — did quite well.

    Funding for AI-related startups surpassed $68.7 billion in 2023, according to PitchBook, with generative AI vendors like OpenAI, Stability AI and Anthropic accounting for a substantial portion of that figure. And it appears that the sector will likely close the year with substantially higher investments than the past couple of years.

    But could the top-level numbers be misleading?

    A report on AI investment in Q3 by PitchBook, released this morning, found that “mega-deals” (i.e., multi-hundred-million-dollar investments from big-name backers) vastly inflated deal totals this year.

    For example, just a few months ago, Amazon pledged to invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, the company developing the AI-powered chatbot Claude. OpenAI secured a $10 billion investment from Microsoft (albeit not all at once and partly in the form of cloud compute credits). Inflection AI, a firm creating what it describes as more “personal” AI assistants, raised $1.3 billion in a funding round led by Microsoft. The list goes on.

    In Q3, VC funding inclusive of mega-deals totaled around $22.1 billion. But after subtracting the tech-giant-led tranches secured by generative AI startups, the total is closer to $15.1 billion for the sector.

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    Kyle Wiggers

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  • Serial Entrepreneur Turned VC Reveals 4 Numbers You Need to Know to Scale Your Company | Entrepreneur

    Serial Entrepreneur Turned VC Reveals 4 Numbers You Need to Know to Scale Your Company | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As a serial successful entrepreneur turned angel investor and venture capitalist and one of the top female seed-stage investors in the world, I see dozens of pitches from entrepreneurs every single day – some through the form on our company site, others in email and loads of them via LinkedIn. Often, though, entrepreneurs reach out to me for advice rather than funding. As a former entrepreneur who once struggled to raise capital myself, I’m sympathetic to their pleas for help.

    One of those requests came from Emma. Her passion for her stationery business was undeniable. She’d spent years perfecting her craft and had a small but fiercely loyal following of customers who adored her exquisite, custom-made stationery. Now, she was ready to take her business to the next level and sought funding from venture capitalists to scale it up.

    Unfortunately, her fundraising efforts were a complete disaster, with investor after investor turning her down. Discouraged, she reached out to me for assistance.

    I had Emma send me her pitch deck, and the problem was immediately clear. She had a good vision but lacked an understanding of what investors look for. Her deck and pitch didn’t align with what investors needed to see, overlooking four key numbers – I call them BFHL – that are most fundamental to scale.

    B. Big market numbers

    The foundation of any scalable business is the market it serves. For investors, the bigger the better. To understand why, it’s essential to understand VC math.

    Assume my fund invests in 15 companies. Ten of them will fail, and I’ll lose my money. Three or four will do okay – I’ll get my money back or make a bit (1 to 5 times my money). That means the remaining one or two companies need to generate enough returns to make up for everything else (i.e., 100 times my money). Otherwise, my fund won’t do better than other far less risky things my investors could have put their money into.

    VCs look at every company through this homerun lens. What is the maximum revenue your business could generate if it captured 100% of the available market (Total Addressable Market, or TAM)? While no business can realistically achieve that, TAM provides a sense of the market’s overall size.

    For some industries, a market size in the billions of dollars might be considered large. In others, it could be in the trillions. Either way, a substantial market size offers massive potential for growth and a high ceiling for revenue and profitability.

    Related article: What Nobody Tells You About Taking VC Money

    F. Fast growth rate

    The market’s growth rate is also vital. VCs favor rapidly expanding markets because they enable a company to scale more quickly.

    Again, let’s turn to VC math to understand why rapid growth is crucial. Remember, VCs back the most risky companies (startups are unproven; most of them fail), so they and their investors expect extremely high returns. VC funds are also time-bound. They have eight to ten years to scout for startups, make their bets, help portfolio companies grow and achieve “exits” to get their returns. As a result, they want to know:

    1. How quickly can your business grow? How long until you can sell your company or take it public so they can sell their shares and get a return?
    2. How big can your company get? How much could it be worth (“valuation”) at the point they sell our shares?

    To deliver homerun-level returns, you need to grow from a startup to $100 to 500 million in revenue in the five to eight years your investor has left in its fund life. Why? We determine what a company is worth based on “multiples of revenue.” On the high end, SaaS companies can be valued at ten times or more of revenues. E-commerce firms come in around 2 to 3 times. Others can be as low as 1 to 2 times. So, to build a company that is a “unicorn” ($1 billion valuation), you need to quickly grow enough to generate $100 million to $500 million in revenue. Growing that big is hard to do, and do quickly, in a stagnant, crowded market.

    Related article: 4 Crucial Indicators To Know Before Seeking Venture Capital Funding

    H. High revenue numbers from each customer

    VCs want businesses that can generate high levels of revenue from each customer — from the initial sale and subsequent purchases, upsells, cross-sales, and retention (aka, keeping them for the long term). This is called the Lifetime Value (LTV) of a customer, and it’s a critical indicator of scalability.

    Investors prefer businesses with recurring revenue over those relying on one-time purchases because they provide predictable and continuous streams of income. Sell once; earn revenue indefinitely. Even better if that recurring revenue grows through upsells and new offerings. Better still if customers become advocates and bring in more new customers. It’s all about demonstrating to investors that your business is a revenue growth machine.

    Relevant article: 8 Things You Need to Know About Raising Venture Capital

    L. Low cost to get customers signed up

    VCs also prefer businesses that can find, sell to and secure customers efficiently. This includes your marketing and sales tactics (and budget) and the rate at which you convert prospects into paying customers. A low cost of acquiring a customer (CAC) means your business is efficient, which is vital for scalability.

    CAC is also a critical metric because it directly affects a company’s profitability. VCs favor businesses that can scale their customer acquisition efforts without proportionally increasing their costs. And a scalable customer acquisition strategy is crucial for achieving rapid growth.

    So, where did that leave Emma? After our talk, she could see how essential it was to have a business (and a deck) that aligns with investor preferences:

    • A massive market with high growth rates and an open landscape to disrupt and capture market share.
    • Subscription models and recurring revenue streams that increase over time, with customers that drive virality.
    • And a combination of high customer lifetime value and low customer acquisition cost ensures that the business can grow quickly and efficiently without eroding profits.

    The BFHL framework gave her what she needed to rethink her pitch and her approach to growing her business. Whether you’re an entrepreneur like Emma trying to attract investment or you’re simply seeking to scale your business, these four key numbers — market size and growth rate, lifetime value and cost of acquisition — should be your guiding lights. By focusing on these crucial metrics, you can set your business on a path to scalable success. Understanding these numbers and optimizing them is the key to unlocking the full potential of your venture.

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    Donna Harris

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  • UiPath’s stock soars after profit, revenue and ARR rise above forecasts

    UiPath’s stock soars after profit, revenue and ARR rise above forecasts

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    Shares of UiPath Inc. soared late Thursday after the automation-software company reported fiscal-third-quarter earnings and revenue that rose above expectations, amid strength in the licenses and subscription-services businesses.

    The stock
    PATH,
    -0.55%
    shot up 11% in after-hours trading, putting it on a path to trade at the highest closing levels seen since April 2022.

    Net losses for the quarter to Oct. 31 narrowed to $31.5 million, or 6 cents a share, from $57.7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as stock-based compensation expenses, adjusted earnings per share rose to 12 cents from 5 cents to beat the FactSet consensus of 7 cents.

    Total revenue grew 24% to $325.9 million, above the FactSet consensus of $315.6 million.

    Licenses revenue jumped 25.3% to $148.1 million, well above the FactSet consensus of $137.5 million, and subscription-services revenue climbed 28.7% to $167.5 million to top expectations of $166.9 million. Meanwhile, professional services and other revenue dropped 28.4% to $10.3 million, to miss forecasts of $11.2 million.

    Annual recurring revenue increased 24% to $1.38 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.36 billion.

    For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of $381 million to $386 million, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $383 million.

    The stock, which fell 0.6% during Thursday’s regular session after closing the previous session at a 15-month high, has run up 26.6% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF
    XSW,
    -0.60%
    has tacked on 1.3% and the S&P 500
    SPX,
    +0.38%
    has edged up 1.2%.

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  • Craft a Winning Pitch Deck That Wows Investors | Entrepreneur

    Craft a Winning Pitch Deck That Wows Investors | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It takes both art and science to create a pitch deck that will result in funding. You must be able to express the idea for your company clearly and concisely while simultaneously appealing to the sensibilities of potential investors. The average time spent by investors studying decks is approximately three minutes and forty-four seconds. Therefore, it is pretty essential to create a fantastic first impression in a short amount of time.

    What investors want in a pitch deck

    Savvy investors look for certain types of information when evaluating pitch decks. Skipping over or only briefly glossing over these key details can make or break your ability to secure funding. A pitch deck gives potential investors a thorough grasp of your company. Seeking an emotional bond that goes beyond financial gain, they inquire about the goals and objectives of your organization. They require a concise synopsis of the product or service that highlights its special qualities and advantages. A thorough target customer profile that goes beyond demographics to understand their challenges and perspectives is also necessary for investors. They are looking for reliable total addressable market statistics as well as an accurate analysis of the competition environment. It is essential to have a well-considered go-to-market plan backed by specific traction measures. Investors want to see your business plan, financial forecasts, goals for fundraising and a profile of your competent staff. Effectively addressing these issues is essential to winning their support for long-term success.

    Related: 3 Key Things You Need to Know About Financing Your Business

    Tips for improving your pitch deck

    Carefully crafting your pitch deck slides and overall presentation can truly make or break your ability to secure startup funding. Keep these tips in mind:

    Know your audience

    Gaining a deep understanding of your target investors should be a top priority when creating your pitch deck. Avoid the rookie mistake of only including information you personally find interesting or want to share about your company. Be ruthlessly audience-centric in your approach.

    Do extensive research into your investors’ interests, motivations, goals and pain points. Conduct stakeholder interviews and analyze past investments to identify their preferences. Adapt your messaging, design choices and content to closely align with your investors’ worldview, not just your own.

    Speak directly to your investors’ needs and concerns. Put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself, what excites them? What keeps them up at night? What past investments have they made and why? What types of language and messaging appeal to them?

    Emphasize design

    Design choices are critical for an impressive pitch deck. Avoid information overload and leave whitespace for a clean design by prioritizing simplicity and clarity. Begin with a visually appealing presentation template that provides polished and unified graphics that adhere to presentation best practices. Customize these templates to reflect your company’s identity. Use high-resolution, relevant visuals and photos, keep the text concise, and keep fonts, colors and styles consistent throughout. For a clean, professional appearance, use readable word sizes, high-contrast color schemes, and strategic alignments. Consider modest movements and transitions for increased impact, but avoid anything distracting or unprofessional.

    Make the ask clear

    Being direct and unambiguous in requesting funding is critical. Don’t make investors work to figure out what you actually want from them. Clearly state your need for cash and the amount of money you want to raise right away. Explain how you plan to use the money and how it will help the business grow by doing things like hiring engineers or adding more office space. Link the use of the fund to concrete goals. This will give investors a sense of time. Don’t make unrealistic predictions; instead, be honest about your plans and stress the return on investment (ROI) for investors. Avoid using hard-to-understand jargon, and keep your language simple. Also, use graphs and charts to make your ideas easier to understand. Lastly, add “contingency buffers” to your conservative projections to show that you can be flexible and build trust.

    Tell a compelling story

    Structure your content strategically to craft an emotive, memorable narrative. Hook investors’ attention immediately. Make them care about the problem you’re solving. Build intrigue around your company as the hero. Walk investors through your origin story, product innovation, traction and team. Sequence key information and visuals to build momentum, culminating in a call to action to invest.

    Take your audience on an informative yet entertaining journey, mixing logic and emotion. Outline a vision that inspires investors to join your mission.

    Related: 7 Questions Every Founder Should Ask Potential Investors

    Exude passion

    It’s crucial to convey genuine excitement and passion for your company’s purpose, product and growth potential. Investors invest in people and teams as much as they do in raw ideas. Let your authentic enthusiasm shine through. Share what drives your own personal commitment and investment.

    Be professional but also personable and relatable. Storytelling mixed with vulnerability builds an emotional connection that drives investors to take a chance on you. If you don’t show passion and confidence, why would they?

    Using a strategic, audience-centric approach, you can create a pitch deck that genuinely resonates with investors and secures the funding you need to take your startup to the next level. The work required will be well worth it.

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    Pritom Das

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  • No, Jeff Bezos hasn’t been unloading Amazon stock

    No, Jeff Bezos hasn’t been unloading Amazon stock

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    A number of Amazon.com Inc. executives have disclosed sales of some of their Amazon stock holdings in recent weeks, but Jeff Bezos, the company’s executive chair and a mega-shareholder, was not among them.

    Despite some reports to the contrary, Bezos hasn’t disclosed any sales of Amazon shares AMZN for two years, but he has given some shares away to nonprofit organizations.

    There…

    Master your money.

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  • RepeatMD lands capital to grow its aesthetics and wellness booking business | TechCrunch

    RepeatMD lands capital to grow its aesthetics and wellness booking business | TechCrunch

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    Traditionally, the aesthetics and wellness industry — med spas, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, weight loss clinics, OBGYNS and so on — have leaned on in-person consultations and ad hoc marketing campaigns to drive business. But the pandemic changed the equation. Now, there’s an expectation that these businesses have a presence on major digital channels.

    Not every practice has the skills and expertise to build out such presences, however — which is where companies like RepeatMD come in. Founded in 2021, RepeatMD provides turnkey software solutions to operators in the aesthetics and wellness sector.

    “RepeatMD’s buyers are small- and medium-sized businesses who want to generate a new revenue stream for their practice,” Phil Sitter, ReadMD’s founder and CEO, told TechCrunch in an email interview. “Our platform allows practitioners to sell their treatments around the clock and enhances the patient buying experience through a mobile app.”

    Sitter, a repeat entrepreneur, bootstrapped RepeatMD profitably until late 2022, when the startup closed its seed round. He funded Repeat in part with the proceeds from VIPinsiders, a Houston-based food and beverage loyalty and rewards program (Sitter originates from Houston), and a restaurant Sitter owns, the Houston-based brunch and lunch restaurant EggHaus Gourmet.

    As Sitter alluded to, RepeatMD builds apps for aesthetics and wellness businesses — apps that let customers sign up and pay for monthly memberships to practices and recurring treatments. Through an integration with Affirm, customers can pay for services in monthly installments if they so choose.

    Like many loyalty programs, RepeatMD’s apps also “nudge” customers by sending them notifications with discount offers. Sitter describes these as “Starbucks Rewards-style” experiences.

    RepeatMD

    Image Credits: RepeatMD

    “The aim is to be the Shopify of the medical industry, helping medical practices sell more of their elective based procedures,” Sitter said. “We’re investing in algorithmic solutions to streamline the practice onboarding process and enhance the patient buying experience, making it easier for patients to discover treatments that fit their goals.”

    It appears to be a winning strategy for RepeatMD. The company claims to now service over 3,500 practices and 700,000 users, and RepeatMD’s software-as-a-service revenue increased 130% over the past year, according to Sitter.

    That’s piqued investors’ interest. Today, RepeatMD announced that it’s raised $40 million in a funding round led by Centana Growth Partners and Full In partners with participation from Proof and Mercury Fund, along with a $10 million loan from Silicon Valley Bank. (Sitter says the loan was obtained on “favorable terms.”)

    The new capital, which brings RepeatMD’s total raised to $56 million, will be used to grow the startup’s network of partners, build out RepeatMD’s platform and expand the company’s team of around 130 employees to more than 150 by the end of the year, Sitter says.

    “RepeatMD has seen massive acceleration of its product during the last 12-months as practices are looking for new ways to generate revenue,” he added. “We bring in new revenue for practices and the rewards program solves patient retention.”

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    Kyle Wiggers

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  • Reflections on Web Summit: Out of the frying pan, and out of the fire? | TechCrunch

    Reflections on Web Summit: Out of the frying pan, and out of the fire? | TechCrunch

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    “What controversy?” said the journalist from a global mainstream television outlet to me at the Web Summit Media Dinner, earlier this month in Lisbon. For all the heat and light, the gnashing of teeth, the tearing of clothes and the clutching of pearls, the big technology conference had seemingly managed to pull itself out of […]

    © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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    Mike Butcher

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  • What startup founders need to know about AI heading into 2024 | TechCrunch

    What startup founders need to know about AI heading into 2024 | TechCrunch

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    Now that the OpenAI leadership saga has died down, startup founders building with AI can get back to work building the future. If that’s you, TechCrunch+ has a pile of notes, opinion pieces and forward-looking stories with your name on them.

    Sure, TechCrunch+ is a lot more than AI-related coverage, but we are also going as deep as possible on artificial intelligence because everyone is building with, or on, it. And some cases — as we’ll see shortly — that can be part of the problem.

    Here’s a short list of posts for AI founders looking ahead to 2024:

    It’s busy out there! Stay up-to-date with us.

    You can also keep up with TechCrunch+ on Twitter, and check out all our recent coverage here.

     

     

     

     

     

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    Alex Wilhelm

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  • Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant startup, quietly raises an additional $43M | TechCrunch

    Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant startup, quietly raises an additional $43M | TechCrunch

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    Neuralink, the Elon Musk-founded company developing implantable chips that can read brain waves, has raised an additional $43 million in venture capital, according to a filing with the SEC.

    The filing published this week shows the company increased its previous tranche, led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, from $280 million to $323 million in early August. Thirty-two investors participated, according to the filing.

    Neuralink hasn’t disclosed its valuation recently. But in June, Reuters reported that the company was valued at about $5 billion after privately-executed stock trades.

    Founded in 2016, Neuralink has devised a sewing machine-like device capable of implanting ultra-thin threads inside the brain. The threads attach to a custom-designed chip containing electrodes that can read information from groups of neurons.

    Brain-signal-reading implants are a decades-old technology. But Neuralink’s ostensible innovation lies in making the implants wireless and increasing the number of implanted electrodes.

    In May, Neuralink received FDA approval for human clinical trials after having its application previously rejected, and opened up its first human trials for recruitment under an investigational device exemption by the FDA.

    But Neuralink is under increasing scrutiny for what critics allege are a toxic workplace culture — and unethical research practices.

    In a January 2022 article in Fortune, anonymous former employees described a “culture of blame and fear” — one in which Musk would frequently undermine management by encouraging junior employees “to email issues and complaints to him directly.” By August 2020, only three of the eight founding scientists remained at the company, the result of what a Stat News piece described as “internal conflict in which rushed timelines … clashed with the slow and incremental pace of science.”

    In 2022, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) alleged that Neuralink and UC Davis, once its research partner, had mistreated several monkeys involved with testing Neuralink hardware — subjecting them to psychological distress and chronic infections due to surgeries. Reports from both Reuters and Wired suggested testing was being rushed due to Musk’s demands for fast results, which led to complications with the installation of electrodes — including partial paralysis and brain swelling.

    For nearly a year, Neuralink was under federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding animal welfare violations. The USDA eventually concluded that there was “no evidence” of animal welfare breaches in the startup’s trials other than a previous, self-reported incident from 2019 — but the PCRM disputed the results of the investigation.

    in November 2023, U.S. Lawmakers ask to SEC to investigated Neuralink for omitting details about the deaths of at least a dozen animals who were surgically fitted with its implants. 

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    Kyle Wiggers

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  • Markets – MarketWatch

    Markets – MarketWatch

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    Technology-stock gains drive big day, week on Wall Street

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  • Microsoft stock surges toward another record close, has added about $308 billion in market cap in 11 days

    Microsoft stock surges toward another record close, has added about $308 billion in market cap in 11 days

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    Shares of Microsoft Corp.
    MSFT,
    +2.49%
    hiked up 2.4% afternoon trading Friday, toward its third record close in the past four sessions. The stock has now soared 12.6% over the past 11 sessions, in which is has gained 10 times, including a nine-day winning streak through Nov. 8 that was the longest such streak since the 9-day stretch that ended Nov. 19, 2019. During those 11 sessions, the stock has added $307.8 billion to its market capitalization. Microsoft is the second-largest component in the S&P 500
    SPX,
    +1.56%
    with a market cap of $2.745 trillion, behind only Apple Inc.
    AAPL,
    +2.32%
    at $2.891 trillion. The rally kicked off a couple days after Microsoft reported bumper quarterly results. Market research firm Bespoke Investment said Friday that Microsoft has joined Apple as the second individual company that has a larger market cap that the combined market caps of the companies that make up the Russell 2000 index
    RUT,
    +1.07%
    of small-capitalization companies.

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  • These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

    These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

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    Financial literacy peaks at age 54, according to a 2022 study. That’s around the time you’ve gained enough knowledge and experience to make sound money decisions — and before your cognitive ability might start to ebb.

    “As we get older, we seem to rely more on past experience, rules of thumb, and intuitive knowledge about which products and strategies are better,” said Rafal Chomik, an economist in Australia who led the study.

    If people in their mid-50s tend to make smart financial moves, where does that leave younger generations?

    Advisers often educate clients at different stages of life to avoid money mistakes. While those in their 50s usually demonstrate optimal prudence  in navigating investments and savings, advisers keep busy helping others — from twentysomethings to mid-career professionals — avoid costly financial blunders:

    Navigate your 20s

    Perhaps the biggest blunder for young earners is spending too much and saving too little. They may also lack the long-term perspective that encourages long-range planning.

    “The mistake is not establishing the saving habit early, and not appreciating the power of compounding” over time, said Mark Kravietz, a certified financial planner in Melville, N.Y.

    Similarly, it’s common for young workers to delay enrolling in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Not participating from the get-go comes with a steep long-term cost.

    “ Better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run. ”

    People in their 20s process incoming information quickly. But their high level of fluid intelligence can work against them. Cursory research into a consumer trend or hot sector of the stock market can spur them to make rash investments. Such impulsive moves might backfire.

    “It’s important to resist the hype,” Kravietz said. “Don’t chase fads or try to make fast money” by timing the market.

    Many young adults with student debt juggle multiple loans. Eager to chip away at their debt, they fall into the trap of choosing the wrong loan to tackle first, says Megan Kowalski, an adviser in Boca Raton, Fla.

    Rather than pay off the highest-interest rate loan first (so-called avalanche debt), they mistakenly focus on the smallest loan (a.k.a. snowball debt). It’s better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run.

    Navigate your 30s

    “ Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay. ”

    By your 30s, insurance grows in importance. You want to protect what you have — now and in the future. But many people in this age group neglect their insurance needs. Or they misunderstand which coverages matter most.

    “If you have a life partner and kids, get the proper life insurance while in your 30s,” Kravietz said. 

    It’s easy to get caught up in your career and assume you can put off life insurance. But even low odds of your untimely death doesn’t mean you can ignore the risk of leaving your loved ones without a cash cushion.

    Another common blunder involves disability insurance. If your employer offers short-term disability insurance as an employee perk, you may think you’re all set.

    However, the real risk is how you’d earn income if you suffer a serious and lasting illness or injury. Don’t confuse short-term disability insurance (which might cover you for as long as one year) with long-term disability coverage that pays benefits for many years.

    Assuming you were wise enough to enroll in your employer-sponsored retirement plan from the outset, don’t slough off in your 30s. Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay.

    “You want to give till it hurts,” Kravietz said. “Keep putting money away” in your 401(k) or other tax-advantaged plan until you feel a sting. Weigh the minor pain you feel now against the major relief of having a much bigger nest egg decades from now.

    Navigate your 40s

    “ ‘The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life. Life is getting more complicated.’”

    For Kravietz, the 40s represent a decade of heavy spending pressures. Mid-career professionals face a mortgage and mounting tuition bills for their children.

    “The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life,” he said. “Life is getting more complicated.”

    As a result, it’s easy to overlook seemingly minor financial matters like updating beneficiaries on your 401(k) plan or completing all the appropriate estate documents such as a will.

    “People in their 40s sometimes fail to update beneficiaries,” Kravietz said. For example, a new marriage might mean changing the beneficiary from a prior partner or current parent to the new spouse.

    It’s also easy to get complacent about your investments, especially if you’re the conservative type who favors a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Instead, think in terms of tax optimization.

    “In your 40s, you want to take advantage of what the government gives you,” Kravietz said. “If you have a lot of money in a bank money market account and you’re in a top tax bracket, shifting some of that money into municipal bonds can make sense” depending on your state of residence and other factors.

    If you’re saving for a child’s college tuition using a 529 plan — and you have parents who also want to chip in — work together to strategize. Don’t make assumptions about how much (or how little) your parents might contribute to your kid’s education.

    “Rather than assume you’ll have to pay a certain amount for educational expenses, coordinate between generations of parents and grandparents” on how much they intend to give, Kowalski said. “That way, you’re not duplicating efforts and you won’t put extra funds in a 529 plan.”

    More: 7 more ways to save that you may not have considered

    Also read: ‘We live a rather lavish lifestyle’: My wife and I are 33, live in New York City and earn $270,000. Can we retire at 55?

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  • Charles Schwab stock drops after revenue falls a bit shy of expectations, amid trading weakness

    Charles Schwab stock drops after revenue falls a bit shy of expectations, amid trading weakness

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    Shares of Charles Schwab Corp.
    SCHW,
    +5.42%
    fell 1.5% toward a five-month low in premarket trading Monday, after the financial services and discount brokerage giant beat third-quarter profit expectations but fell a bit shy on revenue. Net income dropped to $1.02 billion, or 56 cents a share, from $1.88 billion, or 99 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 77 cents beat the FactSet consensus of 74 cents. Revenue declined 16.3% to $4.606 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $4.615 billion. Net interest revenue fell 23.5% to $2.237 billion to beat the FactSet consensus of $2.218 billion, while asset management and administration fee revenue rose 16.9% to $1.224 billion, in line with expectations, and trading revenue was down 17.4% to $768 million to miss expectations of $804 million. New brokerage accounts were flat from a year ago but down 7% from the sequential second quarter. The stock has declined 12.3% over the past three months through Friday while the S&P 500
    SPX,
    +1.19%
    has slipped 3.9%.

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  • These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

    These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

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    Financial literacy peaks at age 54, according to a 2022 study. That’s around the time you’ve gained enough knowledge and experience to make sound money decisions — and before your cognitive ability might start to ebb.

    “As we get older, we seem to rely more on past experience, rules of thumb, and intuitive knowledge about which products and strategies are better,” said Rafal Chomik, an economist in Australia who led the study.

    If people in their mid-50s tend to make smart financial moves, where does that leave younger generations?

    Advisers often educate clients at different stages of life to avoid money mistakes. While those in their 50s usually demonstrate optimal prudence  in navigating investments and savings, advisers keep busy helping others — from twentysomethings to mid-career professionals — avoid costly financial blunders:

    Navigate your 20s

    Perhaps the biggest blunder for young earners is spending too much and saving too little. They may also lack the long-term perspective that encourages long-range planning.

    “The mistake is not establishing the saving habit early, and not appreciating the power of compounding” over time, said Mark Kravietz, a certified financial planner in Melville, N.Y.

    Similarly, it’s common for young workers to delay enrolling in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Not participating from the get-go comes with a steep long-term cost.

    “ Better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run. ”

    People in their 20s process incoming information quickly. But their high level of fluid intelligence can work against them. Cursory research into a consumer trend or hot sector of the stock market can spur them to make rash investments. Such impulsive moves might backfire.

    “It’s important to resist the hype,” Kravietz said. “Don’t chase fads or try to make fast money” by timing the market.

    Many young adults with student debt juggle multiple loans. Eager to chip away at their debt, they fall into the trap of choosing the wrong loan to tackle first, says Megan Kowalski, an adviser in Boca Raton, Fla.

    Rather than pay off the highest-interest rate loan first (so-called avalanche debt), they mistakenly focus on the smallest loan (a.k.a. snowball debt). It’s better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run.

    Navigate your 30s

    “ Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay. ”

    By your 30s, insurance grows in importance. You want to protect what you have — now and in the future. But many people in this age group neglect their insurance needs. Or they misunderstand which coverages matter most.

    “If you have a life partner and kids, get the proper life insurance while in your 30s,” Kravietz said. 

    It’s easy to get caught up in your career and assume you can put off life insurance. But even low odds of your untimely death doesn’t mean you can ignore the risk of leaving your loved ones without a cash cushion.

    Another common blunder involves disability insurance. If your employer offers short-term disability insurance as an employee perk, you may think you’re all set.

    However, the real risk is how you’d earn income if you suffer a serious and lasting illness or injury. Don’t confuse short-term disability insurance (which might cover you for as long as one year) with long-term disability coverage that pays benefits for many years.

    Assuming you were wise enough to enroll in your employer-sponsored retirement plan from the outset, don’t slough off in your 30s. Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay.

    “You want to give till it hurts,” Kravietz said. “Keep putting money away” in your 401(k) or other tax-advantaged plan until you feel a sting. Weigh the minor pain you feel now against the major relief of having a much bigger nest egg decades from now.

    Navigate your 40s

    “ ‘The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life. Life is getting more complicated.’”

    For Kravietz, the 40s represent a decade of heavy spending pressures. Mid-career professionals face a mortgage and mounting tuition bills for their children.

    “The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life,” he said. “Life is getting more complicated.”

    As a result, it’s easy to overlook seemingly minor financial matters like updating beneficiaries on your 401(k) plan or completing all the appropriate estate documents such as a will.

    “People in their 40s sometimes fail to update beneficiaries,” Kravietz said. For example, a new marriage might mean changing the beneficiary from a prior partner or current parent to the new spouse.

    It’s also easy to get complacent about your investments, especially if you’re the conservative type who favors a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Instead, think in terms of tax optimization.

    “In your 40s, you want to take advantage of what the government gives you,” Kravietz said. “If you have a lot of money in a bank money market account and you’re in a top tax bracket, shifting some of that money into municipal bonds can make sense” depending on your state of residence and other factors.

    If you’re saving for a child’s college tuition using a 529 plan — and you have parents who also want to chip in — work together to strategize. Don’t make assumptions about how much (or how little) your parents might contribute to your kid’s education.

    “Rather than assume you’ll have to pay a certain amount for educational expenses, coordinate between generations of parents and grandparents” on how much they intend to give, Kowalski said. “That way, you’re not duplicating efforts and you won’t put extra funds in a 529 plan.”

    More: 7 more ways to save that you may not have considered

    Also read: ‘We live a rather lavish lifestyle’: My wife and I are 33, live in New York City and earn $270,000. Can we retire at 55?

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  • Steve Scalise Bows Out

    Steve Scalise Bows Out

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    When Representative Steve Scalise emerged yesterday from the private party meeting where House Republicans narrowly nominated him to serve as the next speaker, he sounded anxious to get started. “We need to send a message to people throughout the world that the House is open and doing the people’s business,” Scalise told reporters.

    The Louisiana Republican wanted an immediate floor vote so that his members could formally elect him in a party-line tally. He had reason to hurry: The pile of problems—both global and domestic—that Congress must address is growing fast, and the House can do nothing without an elected speaker. The federal government will shut down on November 17 if lawmakers don’t act. Ukraine needs more funding from the U.S., and Israel, suddenly at war with Hamas, could soon as well.

    Scalise’s Republican foes, however, weren’t giving in. He needed the support of 217 of the House’s 221 GOP members in order to win the speakership, and defections began popping up almost immediately. Today more Republicans came out in opposition to his bid, and this evening Scalise announced that he was withdrawing from the race. His time as the Republican nominee lasted less than a day and a half.

    Read: ‘We put sharp knives in the hands of children’

    What began as a personal vendetta against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy by a single Republican backbencher, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, has spiraled into a much broader crisis—not only for the slim and fractured GOP majority but for the country and its allies around the world. “It’s very dangerous what we’re doing,” Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters yesterday. “We’re playing with fire.” How the impasse ends, and when, could determine whether federal agencies stay open and whether the U.S. lends more support to its allies overseas.

    Here are three major issues that could hinge on the outcome of the speaker fight:

    A government shutdown

    In what became his final act as speaker, McCarthy averted a government shutdown by relying on Democratic help to pass a temporary extension of federal funding. But the Californian ended up sacrificing his dream job to keep the government’s lights on for a grand total of seven weeks. The supposed goal was to buy time to negotiate budget bills for the remainder of the fiscal year, but Republicans have already wasted nearly two of those weeks bickering over McCarthy and his replacement. “There’s no way we’re going to have a budget,” Representative Lois Frankel of Florida, a Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee, told me.

    Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, whom Scalise defeated for the speaker nomination, conceded as much, reportedly telling Republicans that they would need to pass another temporary extension once the House resumes normal operations. Jordan’s proposal called for the House to extend funding for another six months, which under the budget agreement Congress enacted in June would trigger an automatic 1 percent spending cut across the board.

    The best hope to avert a shutdown might be if Republicans are forced instead to elect a caretaker speaker such as Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, who is currently the acting speaker pro tempore, or Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the House Rules Committee chair, who has good relationships with members of both parties. Some lawmakers have suggested that either Republican could serve for a few weeks or months, helping to resolve the funding crisis before giving way to a longer-term leader.

    Funding for Ukraine

    Although he kept the government open before he was deposed, McCarthy refused to allow passage of $6 billion in additional aid to Ukraine sought by the Biden administration and bipartisan majorities in the Senate. Neither Scalise nor Jordan would commit to sending more money to Ukraine, bowing to pressure from GOP hard-liners who have demanded that the U.S. secure the southern border before approving another infusion of aid.

    Democrats feared that the election of either Scalise or Jordan could effectively end American aid to Ukraine. If Republicans are unable to secure enough votes on their own to elect a speaker, Democrats might agree to support a more moderate candidate on the condition that the House vote on an aid package, among other concessions. “I do think that a majority of House members want to continue to help Ukraine,” said Frankel, who sits on the subcommittee that oversees the foreign-aid budget. “The challenge is having a speaker who would bring up a bill to allow us to do that. That’s the danger of a Republican candidate for speaker making a deal with extremists who say, ‘Hell no.’”

    Funding for Israel

    Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel could reopen a path for Ukraine funding. Despite pockets of opposition on the far left and right, the Jewish state retains overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress; when Scalise left yesterday’s party meeting, he was wearing both American and Israeli flag pins on his suit jacket. Biden officials and congressional Democrats are already discussing a package that would combine funding for Israel and Ukraine, in the hope that yoking the two together would help the Ukraine aid win approval.

    Read: The Israeli crisis is testing Biden’s core foreign-policy claim

    The success of that strategy is not guaranteed, however. When the idea came up yesterday during a classified State Department briefing for members of Congress, Frankel told me that a Republican lawmaker, Representative Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, started shouting “No!” The outburst seemed to encapsulate a week of paralysis in a party that, until it picks a leader, can’t say yes to anything. “I’m semi-optimistic,” Frankel said with a sigh, “that at some point Republicans will come to their senses.”

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    Russell Berman

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  • Subprime car-loan rates are hitting 17%-22%. Should investors be worried?

    Subprime car-loan rates are hitting 17%-22%. Should investors be worried?

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    Many borrowers with subprime credit have been paying 17% to 22% rates on new auto loans this year as the Federal Reserve’s inflation fight takes a toll on lower-income households.

    That borrowing range reflects the average cost, or annual percentage rate, for a loan in recent subprime auto bond deals, according to Fitch Ratings, an increase from last year’s average APR of closer to 14%.

    Higher borrowing costs can mean households need to put more of their income into monthly auto payments, ramping up the risks of late payments, defaults and car repossessions. Those risks, however, have yet to make investors flinch.

    The subprime auto sector already has cleared almost $30 billion of new bond deals this year, according to Finsight, a pace that’s slightly below volumes from the past two years, but still above historical levels since 2008.

    The subprime auto bond market is revved up, even as borrowing rate soar


    Finsight

    “I do believe there has to be a reckoning if rates stay higher for longer,” said Tracy Chen, a portfolio manager on Brandywine Global Asset Management’s global fixed income team.

    Figuring out when the tumult might hit has proven difficult. Instead of slowing, the economy has shown resilience despite the Fed lifting its policy rate to a 22-year high of 5.25% to 5.5%. The central bank also indicated it might need to keep rates higher for some time to fight inflation. Longer-duration bond yields, as a result, have pushed higher, but still hover below 5%.

    Subprime standoff

    Inflation eats away at paychecks, especially those of lower-wage workers, a problem the Fed hopes to solve by keeping borrowing rates elevated. A gauge of inflation out Thursday showed consumer prices were steady at a 3.7% yearly rate in September, above the Fed’s 2% target.

    “This recession has been on everyone’s mind for the past three years,” Chen said. While she thinks the economy will likely contract in the middle of 2024, a lot of damage could be done before that. “The longer rates stay here, the harder the landing.”

    For now, the Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady at its next meeting in November. “Fed policy makers are now shifting their focus from ‘how high’ to raise the policy rate to ‘how long’ to maintain it at restrictive levels,” said EY Chief Economist Gregory Daco, in emailed comments.

    Stocks were flat to slightly higher in choppy trade at midday Thursday after the inflation report came in hotter than forecast, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA
    near unchanged and the S&P 500 index
    SPX
    up 0.2%.

    Past recessions and the burden of higher interest costs typically hit lower-wage workers harder, making subprime credit a canary in the coal mine for the rest of financial markets. Even so, investors in subprime auto bonds have yet to demand significantly more spread, or compensation, to offset potentially higher defaults among these borrowers.

    Related: Subprime auto defaults on path toward 2008 crisis levels, say portfolio managers

    Take the AAA rated 2-year slice of a new bond deal issued in mid-October by one of the subprime auto sector’s biggest players. It priced at a spread of 115 basis points above relevant risk-free rate, up from a spread of 90 basis points on a similar bond issued in August, according to Finsight, which tracks bond data.

    When factoring in Treasury rates, the yield on the bonds bumped up to about 6% and 5.7%, respectively. The shot at higher returns and low delinquencies in subprime auto bonds have likely helped with investor confidence. The rate of subprime auto loans at least 60-day past due in bond deals was about 5% in September, according to Intex, up from historic lows around 2.5% two years ago.

    “I think people still feel confident,” Chen said of subprime auto bonds. When putting a recent bond out on a Wall Street list to gauge its market value, she said bids come in right away.

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  • U.S. stocks post 3-session climb as bond yields, oil retreat

    U.S. stocks post 3-session climb as bond yields, oil retreat

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    U.S. stocks booked a 3-session win streak Tuesday as oil prices and bond yields retreated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +0.40%
    climbed about 134 points, or 0.4%, ending near 33,739, according to preliminary FactSet data. That was the longest streak of straight wins for the blue-chip index in a month, and the best three days of gains since late August, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 index
    SPX,
    +0.52%
    advanced 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite Index
    COMP,
    +0.58%
    gained 0.6%. It was the third session in a row of gains for all three indexes. The brighter backdrop for stock market came as oil prices
    CL00,
    -0.69%
    and bond yields
    TMUBMUSD10Y,
    4.663%
    retreated and after Raphael Bostic, head of the Atlanta Fed, said he didn’t think additional rate hikes were needed to bring inflation down to the central bank’s 2% annual target, but also that he still sees rates staying high for a “long time.”

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  • When Is The Right Time to Raise Institutional Capital For Your Business? Here’s What You Need to Know. | Entrepreneur

    When Is The Right Time to Raise Institutional Capital For Your Business? Here’s What You Need to Know. | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As the founder of Viirtue, my entrepreneurial journey was a rollercoaster of decisions, risks and strategic turns. But one of the most critical turning points was knowing when to seek institutional capital for my business. This is a decision that can make or break a startup, and understanding the correct timing was paramount for us.

    My company was bootstrapped for many years, and we maintained profitability throughout. This was a significant advantage, especially when the economy took a downturn in 2022. It was a moment when investors started valuing profitability more than unicorn potential, which put us in a favorable position.

    But even then, the decision to raise institutional capital wasn’t taken lightly. It came after we saw rising traction and rapid growth. Larger groups had access to more capital and strategic advisory than we did, which fueled our motivation to seek institutional funding.

    We ran a long process, vetting investors just as much as they vetted us. In our eyes, this was not just about finding a partner for financial growth, but also about securing strategic guidance. We were not looking for a mere check; we were in search of a partner who could offer advice and mentorship based on experience and industry insight.

    The process wasn’t without its pitfalls. One of the primary lessons we learned was about the importance of hiring investment bankers that specialize in your industry. Initially, we made the mistake of hiring inexperienced bankers. This decision cost us time, money and a long tail period when we decided to move on from them. If there’s one thing I wish we did right from the start, it would be interviewing many bankers who specialized in our vertical and meticulously checking references.

    Related: Kevin O’Leary Explains Why Institutional Capital Must Have a Role in Sustainability

    Investment bankers are not just intermediaries who connect you with potential investors. They represent you at the negotiation table. Many founders can receive Letters of Intent (LOIs), but the real challenge lies in navigating deals that don’t retrade and negotiating with future stakeholders, especially when emotions run high. These are the moments when a seasoned investment banker can make all the difference.

    Ultimately, we decided to raise capital for a multitude of reasons. The business was growing exponentially, and we needed the development and sales funding to help us scale from a $20 to $30 million company to a company worth over $100 million. We had long-time minority investors who were looking to exit and needed liquidity. And most importantly, we were in search of strategic partners who could fuel our growth thoughtfully as well as financially. Raising capital was the silver bullet that enabled us to accomplish all of these goals in one fell swoop.

    Are you ready to take on institutional capital?

    Firstly, are you ready to commit to the robust reporting requirements of investors? Institutional investors will need regular and detailed reports on business performance, financials and strategic updates. This requires a significant time commitment and a level of transparency that some business owners may find uncomfortable. We had always operated Viirtue with candor and transparency. This made the transition so much more frictionless.

    Secondly, do you truly need the capital to reach a milestone, or are you just taking money? Money for the sake of money can lead to wasteful spending and a lack of focus. It’s crucial to have a clear understanding of what you need the capital for, such as reaching a particular business milestone or achieving a specific growth target.

    Thirdly, do you have a thoughtful growth plan of how you will deploy the capital? It’s not enough just to have money; you need a strategic plan for how that money will be used to grow your business. This includes identifying key areas for investment, understanding how these investments will drive growth and having a clear timeline for when you expect to see returns. Detailed financial modeling is an incredible asset for any founder. We never had a full-time finance leader, yet still were able to create detailed models with our CPAs and bankers. Additionally, when it comes time to pitch to investors, they will want to see these models coupled with market research and other evidence to support your assumptions.

    Finally, have you set the stage to significantly scale your team? Fundraising is a pivotal step, but it’s just a piece of the puzzle. The real task is putting the capital to good use, which often implies expanding your team. This demands not only a well-crafted recruitment strategy but also the capacity to house a growing workforce.

    At Viirtue, we have always held our people in the highest regard. Our human capital, which comprises industry experts and genuinely wonderful individuals, has been our greatest asset, our superpower. The team’s dedication and expertise have been instrumental in shaping my company’s identity and will continue to give us a competitive edge as we move forward.

    The unique culture we have cultivated at my company has been a magnet for new talent, making our scaling efforts more seamless than we could have ever anticipated. But, let me assure you, a strong culture doesn’t materialize overnight. It’s a product of time, open dialogues with your team, investing in their growth and success, and co-creating a vision that resonates with their sense of purpose.

    I have often emphasized the transformative power of finding purpose in work. When you can align a group of uniquely talented individuals towards a shared mission and imbue their roles with purpose, the result is nothing short of magical. A purpose-driven team is not just a group of employees; it’s a community of dedicated contributors who are invested in the company’s journey and its ultimate success.

    Related: 4 Passive Income Investment Strategies That’ll Free Your Time and Peace of Mind

    The quest for institutional capital is more than just a funding round. It’s a strategic move that can catapult a business to new heights if done correctly. But it’s crucial to remember that timing is everything. Raising capital should be considered when the business shows promising growth and needs an additional boost to reach its full potential. It should also be considered when partners are looking for an exit, and the company requires strategic guidance to navigate future growth.

    One more point to consider is the importance of maintaining profitability. It’s not just about creating an appealing proposition for investors. It’s about ensuring that your business can weather economic downturns and still come out on top.

    I hope you find success and the answers you are searching for in your entrepreneurial journey. Whether or not it is the right time to raise capital is ultimately up to you as a founder.

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    Daniel Rosenrauch

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