TechCrunch Live Entering our third season, I’m excited to lead the event again this year. The first event will take place on February 1, 2023, in time to discuss what to do if your company is unable to raise Series A funding.We have Sameer Shariff of Cambly and Sarah Tavel of Benchmark Speak at the first event.
Of course, TechCrunch Live is free to attend. This weekly event/episode is recorded live every Wednesday at 12:00/3:00 PST/EST. Sign up on Hopin to ask questions and connect with guests and other attendees.The event also flows to Facebook life and youtube will also be in Twitter space.
TCL’s mission remains to help founders build better venture-backed businesses. But moving into 2023, a new sense of urgency has emerged behind the task. TechCrunch Live began in the glory days of 2021, and now it’s early 2023, and the startup world is going through a sea change. Fundraising is harder, sales cycles are longer, and investors (and their LPs) have different expectations that are affecting all industries.
Some updates for 2023
- TechCrunch Live is back with Hopin. Each event will have a dedicated Hopin room where you, the audience, can ask the guests questions. You must register and register for each event. But it’s worth the trouble. Believe me.
- I also turned to Twitter to help find some questions for my weekly guests. It’s crucial to me that you ask the questions you find most interesting, so if you can’t log into Hopin, please send me questions via Twitter: @mjburnsy.
- This TCL Podcast! I found a producer, and the lackluster TCL Podcast got some serious love. Every Monday we upload an edited and compressed version of TCL.The logo is changing thanks to @dicebourbon.
- Pitching practice is back!Apply to showcase your company using this form.
upcoming guests
Sarah Tavel (Benchmark) and Sameer Shariff (Cambly) — 2/1/2023
Cambly looks like a sure bet right now, but as you’ll hear from Sameer, getting there is a struggle. After a failed Series A funding round, the company had to change its model overnight. When one VC after another said no, Cambly had to find a way to make a profit to keep the door open. Since then, the company has gone on to raise a $20 million Series A and a $60 million Series B, but only because the company took the difficult step of seeking profitability earlier than expected.
Christina Rose (Cube) and Rajeev Batra (Mayfield) — 2/8/2023
Christina Ross and her company, Cube, are on a mission to improve financial planning and analysis. Unlike its competitors, Cube isn’t trying to replace internal spreadsheets, but rather to live alongside those beloved spreadsheets. Cube’s strategy is to meet customers where they are. Hear how this novel approach was developed and how it has attracted investment from major firms, including Mayfield Fund’s Rajeev Batra.
Christina Cacioppo (Vanta) and Andrew Reed (Sequoia) — 2/15/2023
Christina Cacioppo co-founded Vanta to help companies keep pace with ever-changing compliance. The industry responded enthusiastically. The company quickly raised more than $200 million in venture capital and became a unicorn in October 2022 with its $150 million Series B. Hear from Cacioppo and Sequoia general partner Andrew Reed about Vanta’s growth trajectory and fundraising strategy.
Sagi Eliyahu (Tonkean) and Joanne Chen (Foundation Capital) — 2/22/2023
David Blumberg (Blumberg Capital) and Tanis Jorge (Trulioo) — 3/1/2023
Mark Goldberg (Index Ventures) and Rick Song (Persona) — 3/8/2023
Mamoon Hamid (Kleiner Perkins) and Arianna Huffington (Thrive Global) — 3/15/2023
Eric Tarczynski (Contrary) and Harshita Arora (AtoB) — 3/22/2023
