Follow-on financing has become harder to raise, which leaves startups striving for a Series A in a real bind.
Pre-downturn, startups with strong growth could be more confident about finding additional funds. Today’s investors are looking for product-market fit and hard numbers that trend toward profitability.
If you’re fundraising and someone wants to advise you on “storytelling,” you have my permission to skip that meeting and work on your data room instead.
Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members.
Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUPto save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription.
At TechCrunch Disrupt, Tim De Chant interviewed three VCs to get their advice for founders who want to reach the next level:
- Maren Bannon, co-founder and managing partner, January Ventures
- James Currier, general partner, NFX
- Loren Straub, general partner, Bowery Capital
Thanks for reading; have a great week!
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before Sept 26 to save up to $668.
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before Sept 26 to save up to $668.
San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025 REGISTER NOWHow to raise a Series A in today’s market
Adapting to a world with higher interest rates — a guide for startups
I once found myself driving a hybrid vehicle with a low battery and an empty tank in a rural area. I made it to a gas station by driving about 5 miles per hour.
The CFOs and VPs of finance out there are nodding right now: They know that trying to coast as far as you can with limited resources is stressful.
TC+ guest columnist Mohit Agarwal says scaling startups need to consider every savings option at hand, like negotiating with vendors or buying short-dated Treasuries.
“Some boards will prohibit the buying of any form of securities, but most will be on board. After all, why not when there is a riskless 5%+ rate of return to be had.”
Adapting to a world with higher interest rates — a guide for startups
How our new AI feature earned 5% adoption in its first week
Rolling out a new AI-enabled product feature is great — as long as it creates real value for customers.
In a post for TC+ that deconstructs the product development and engineering process they used, Gigasheet co-founder and CTO Garth Griffin explains why his company’s secondAI feature “achieved a 10x better return on engineering effort.”
How our new AI feature earned 5% adoption in its first week
SBF’s trial promises to be just as riveting as the rest of the FTX drama
Under Sam Bankman-Fried’s leadership, crypto company FTX reached a $32 billion valuation before it collapsed and dragged the industry down with it.
Today, the former CEO is on trial in NYC, where he’s charged with fraud and conspiracy. If found guilty, the 31-year-old could be sentenced to more than 100 years behind bars.
“Still, there’s a lot of speculation about what the case could look like,” writes Jacquelyn Melinek. “So to get to the meat of the matter, we spoke to a handful of legal experts on what to expect.”
SBF’s trial promises to be just as riveting as the rest of the FTX drama
Get the TechCrunch+ Roundup newsletter in your inbox!
To receive the TechCrunch+ Roundup as an email each Tuesday and Friday, scroll down to find the “sign up for newsletters” section on this page, select “TechCrunch+ Roundup,” enter your email, and click “subscribe.”
Click here to subscribe
VC Office Hours: How data can help improve social impact investing
Dominic-Madori Davis interviewed senior director of investment for Pivotal Ventures Erin Harkless Moore to learn more about how the “part-venture fund, part-philanthropic organization” operates:
In a world where so many investors prioritize vibes, why focus on data and analytics for social impact investing?
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. We see the value in tracking the ownership percentages of diversity in our demographic data across the organizations. Looking at that data will let us know if we’re making progress.
VC Office Hours: How data can help improve social impact investing
Startups may have trouble finding their enterprise footing
According to a new survey from Battery Ventures, people who buy enterprise software aren’t pinching pennies as hard as they used to.
“Contract approval timelines are no longer stretching longer, and focus on cutting SaaS spend more generally is fading,” write Anna Heim and Alex Wilhelm in The Exchange.
“The kicker is that if you are selling AI-related software tools or tooling, you are probably having a better year than your friends who are building non-AI products.”
Startups may have trouble finding their enterprise footing