Mon.Apr 12, 2021

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Nigerian fintech Appzone raises $10M for expansion and proprietary technology

TechCrunch

Africa’s fintech space has gained proper attention over the past few years in investments but it is not news that startups still battle with offering high-quality products. However , they seem to be doing quite well compared with traditional banks that face challenges like legacy cost structures and a major lack of operational efficiency. Appzone is a fintech software provider.

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A Scarcity Mindset Will Cripple You Financially

Entrepreneur's Handbook

This is how I stayed broke for a decade. Continue reading on Entrepreneur's Handbook ».

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Memic raises $96M for its robot-assisted surgery platform

TechCrunch

Memic , a startup developing a robotic-assisted surgical platform that recently received marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, today announced that it has closed a $96 million Series D funding round. The round was led by Peregrine Ventures and Ceros, with participation from OurCrowd and Accelmed. The company plans to use the new funding to commercialize its platform in the U.S. and expand its marketing and sales efforts outside of the U.S., too.

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Use Social Media to Identify Target Audiences

Smart Hustle Magazine

The number of social commerce buyers in the US reached 80 million last year and is expected to grow to 90 million in 2021 ( eMarketer ). Thanks to this concentrated digital audience, having a social media presence has never been more of a necessity for small businesses than it is right now. Bottom line. But not all social media strategies are created equal.

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From Curiosity to Competitive Edge: How Mid-Market CEOs Are Using AI to Scale Smarter

Speaker: Lee Andrews, Founder at LJA New Media & Tony Karrer, Founder and CTO at Aggregage

This session will walk you through how one CEO used generative AI, workflow automation, and sales personalization to transform an entire security company—then built the Zero to Strategy framework that other mid-market leaders are now using to unlock 3.5x ROI. As a business executive, you’ll learn how to assess AI opportunities in your business, drive adoption across teams, and overcome internal resource constraints—without hiring a single data scientist.

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Grover raises $71M to grow its consumer electronics subscription business

TechCrunch

A startup tapping into the concept of the circular economy, where people don’t buy items outright but pay an incremental amount to use them temporarily, has raised some funding to scale its business in Europe and beyond. Grover , a Berlin-based startup that runs a subscription model where people can for set fees rent out consumer electronics like computers, smart phones, games consoles and scooters, has picked up €60 million ($71 million).

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Vietnamese electric motorbike startup Dat Bike raises $2.6M led by Jungle Ventures

TechCrunch

Son Nguyen, founder and chief executive officer of Dat Bike. Dat Bike , a Vietnamese startup with ambitions to become the top electric motorbike company in Southeast Asia, has raised $2.6 million in pre-Series A funding led by Jungle Ventures. Made in Vietnam with mostly domestic parts, Dat Bike’s selling point is its ability to compete with gas motorbikes in terms of pricing and performance.

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The Most Important Fundraising Secret of Every Successful Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur's Handbook

It’ll completely change the way you raise venture capital Continue reading on Entrepreneur's Handbook ».

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Battery Resourcers raises $20M to commercialize its recycling-plus-manufacturing operations

TechCrunch

Equipment at Battery Resourcers’ new cathode sintering and analysis facility in Novi, Michigan. (Photo: Battery Resourcers). As a greater share of the transportation market becomes electrified, companies have started to grapple with how to dispose of the thousands of tons of used electric vehicle batteries that are expected to come off the roads by the end of the decade.

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3 Fun Ways to Get More Creative in 60 Seconds

Entrepreneur's Handbook

They actually work best if you wouldn’t call yourself “creative” Continue reading on Entrepreneur's Handbook ».

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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Austin’s newest unicorn: The Zebra raises $150M after doubling revenue in 2020

TechCrunch

The Zebra , an Austin-based company that operates an insurance comparison site, has raised $150 million in a Series D round that propels it into unicorn territory. Both the round size and valuation are a substantial bump from the $38.5 million Series C that Austin-based The Zebra raised in February of 2020. (The company would not disclose its valuation at that time, saying now only that its new valuation of over $1 billion is a “nice step up.”).

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What the Founders of Clubhouse and Hinge Have in Common

Entrepreneur's Handbook

They choose to feel lucky. Continue reading on Entrepreneur's Handbook ».

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GV partner Terri Burns is joining us to judge the Startup Battlefield

TechCrunch

One of the best parts of TechCrunch Disrupt is the Startup Battlefield competition, and one of the most important pieces of the Startup Battlefield is our lineup of expert judges — they’re the ones the founders are trying to impress. Once the demos and presentations are done, the judges need to think quickly and ask probing questions about each startup.

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One Year Ago Today I Quit My Job To Do My Own Thing. Here’s How It’s Going.

Entrepreneur's Handbook

And 5 insights for when you quit yours Continue reading on Entrepreneur's Handbook ».

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15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?

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Docugami’s new model for understanding documents cuts its teeth on NASA archives

TechCrunch

You hear so much about data these days that you might forget that a huge amount of the world runs on documents : a veritable menagerie of heterogeneous files and formats holding enormous value yet incompatible with the new era of clean, structured databases. Docugami plans to change that with a system that intuitively understands any set of documents and intelligently indexes their contents — and NASA is already on board.

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[Stellar Cyber in Business Wire] Stellar Cyber Wins Hot Security Technology of the Year Award

OurCrowd

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Stellar Cyber, the innovator of Open XDR – the only intelligent, next-gen security operations platform – announced today that its Open XDR platform captured a Silver Globee Award as Hot Security Technology of the Year for 2021. Established in 2003, the Globee Awards are the world’s premier business awards, and the Security awards are an international competition judged by analysts and industry peers.

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Cybersecurity training startup Hack The Box raises $10.6M Series A led by Paladin Capital

TechCrunch

Cybersecurity training startup Hack The Box , which emerged originally from Greece, has raised a Series A investment round of $10.6 million, led by Paladin Capital Group and joined by Osage University Partners, Brighteye Ventures and existing investors Marathon Venture Capital. It will use the funding to expand. Most recently it launched Hack The Box Academy.

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[OurCrowd in ThinkAdvisor] Vanguard Cuts Fees on Retirement Trusts: Portfolio Products

OurCrowd

What You Need to Know. Vanguard expects the price cut to save investors $20 million. Meanwhile, Seeds in partnership with JUST Capital and Pacific Life also introduced sustainable investing products. Pershing’s alts platform added a startup investment vehicle. Read more here. The post [OurCrowd in ThinkAdvisor] Vanguard Cuts Fees on Retirement Trusts: Portfolio Products appeared first on OurCrowd Blog.

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The GTM Intelligence Era: ZoomInfo 2025 Customer Impact Report

ZoomInfo customers aren’t just selling — they’re winning. Revenue teams using our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform grew pipeline by 32%, increased deal sizes by 40%, and booked 55% more meetings. Download this report to see what 11,000+ customers say about our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform and how it impacts their bottom line. The data speaks for itself!

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Clim8 raises $8M from 7pc Ventures, launches climate-focused investing app for retail investors

TechCrunch

Ethical investing remains something of a confusing maze, with a great deal of “greenwashing” going on. A new U.K. startup is hoping to fix that with the launch of its new app and platform for retail investors. Clim8 Invest has raised $8 million from 7pc Ventures (early backers of Oculus, acquired by Facebook), British Business Bank Future Fund and a number of technology entrepreneurs and executives including Marcus Exall (Monese), Marcus Mosen (N26), Paul Willmott (Lego Digital, McK

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[Kenna Security in GlobeNewswire] Kenna Security Joins Microsoft Intelligent Security Association

OurCrowd

SAN FRANCISCO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kenna Security, an enterprise leader in risk-based vulnerability management, has joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) to optimize vulnerability management as part of a vibrant ecosystem of independent organizations dedicated to the improvement of cybersecurity through integration and collaboration of their solutions.

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When wildfires rage close, Perimeter wants to tell you where to go

TechCrunch

Out the window, a fire is raging — and it’s moving ever closer. Confusion. Fear. A run for the car. Roads open and then suddenly closed by authorities. Traffic jams. A fire break that stalls the flames and then suddenly the flames jump, changing direction. Everyone has a plan for what to do — a plan that gets ripped up the second someone leaves their home to evacuate.

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My New Metrocard

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

For years, one of my prized possessions has been my MTA EasyPayXpress Metrocard. It’s a little worn down from a lot of use because it auto refills itself. It is a Metrocard that is connected to a “card on file” and it automatically refills itself so that it always has money on it and you never miss a train because your Metrocard has run out of funds.

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How Top Tech CFOs Solve Annual Planning’s Biggest Challenges

Gearing up for 2025 annual planning? Our latest eBook from the Operators Guild is your ultimate guide. Discover real-world solutions and best practices shared by top CFOs, drawn directly from discussions within OG’s vibrant online community. Learn from senior executives at high-growth tech startups as they outline financial planning strategies, align CEO and board goals, and coordinate budgets across departments.

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Binance Labs leads $1.6M seed round in DeFi startup MOUND, the developer of Pancake Bunny

TechCrunch

Decentralized finance startup MOUND, known for its yield farming aggregator Pancake Bunny , has raised $1.6 million in seed funding led by Binance Labs. Other participants included IDEO CoLab, SparkLabs Korea and Handshake co-founder Andrew Lee. Built on Binance Smart Chain , a blockchain for developing high-performance DeFi apps, MOUND says Pancake Bunny now has more than 30,000 daily average users, and has accumulated more than $2.1 billion in total value locked (TVL) since its launch in Decem

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Get Startup Funding Fast! Applications Open for Pepperdine Most Fundable Companies

StartupNation

The Graziadio Business School of Pepperdine University has opened entries to its fourth annual competition, Pepperdine Most Fundable Companies , to identify America’s Most Fundable Companies. All U.S.-based startups with less than $10 million in revenue are invited to participate. Participants in the Pepperdine Most Fundable Companies competition receive a comprehensive feedback report free of charge indicating their attractiveness to potential investors.

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Atomico’s talent partners share 6 tips for early-stage people ops success

TechCrunch

In the earliest stages of building a startup, it can be hard to justify focusing on anything other than creating a great product or service and meeting the needs of customers or users. However, there are still a number of surefire measures that any early-stage company can and should put in place to achieve “people ops” success as they begin scaling, according to venture capital firm Atomico ‘s talent partners, Caro Chayot and Dan Hynes.

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What Is Relationship Marketing? – Examples & Strategies

Feedough

Acquiring new customers is an expensive task when compared to retaining existing ones. With limited resources, the company devises different strategies as and when required. A business may use transactional marketing strategies to acquire a new customer. But to retain customers and ensure recurring sales, businesses have to engage in relationship marketing.

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5 Ways You Can Win Faster with Gen AI in Sales

Incorporating generative AI (gen AI) into your sales process can speed up your wins through improved efficiency, personalized customer interactions, and better informed decision- making. Gen AI is a game changer for busy salespeople and can reduce time-consuming tasks, such as customer research, note-taking, and writing emails, and provide insightful data analysis and recommendations.