Welcome to hot due diligence summer – TechCrunch – Californianewstimes.com

Wow, did the headline work?

The recent board battle at the Digital Health Unicorn reminds entrepreneurs that it’s important to set boundaries, even in dizzying quantities and speeds. Trading frenzy this summer..

How I published the scoop this week Bessemer Venture Partners replaces Hinge Health boardAfter that, board members invested in competing startups. Hinge Health co-founder Daniel Perez claims that board members didn’t notify him before leading the round at an early startup in the same sector.

Status Gives a peak with unusual nuances In a world of competitive tension between startups. Founders expect certain standards of conduct from investors, such as notifying them of their investment in directly competitive startups, but investors are quicker to clash with founders they already support. You may be feeling pressure to make a decision. Their portfolio. In the post-NDA world, You need to rewrite the rules on how to have these conversations.

I’m not sure if more due diligence is the solution to everyone’s worries, but I don’t think transparency and clarity between the founder and the investor will hurt. It’s not just for the founders. Investors who are obliged to return to LP do not want to be unable to invest in a booming sector because they are investing another in this sector.

The situation is endless:

• What if a startup enters a different market than the one that sold the investor and suddenly competes with the portfolio company?
• What if your portfolio company’s future roadmap includes market development strategies that conflict with potential investments?
• Can Sequoia India’s partners help companies that are in direct competition with Sequoia India’s companies?
• Is it okay to have competing investments within the same company as long as different partners are on the board?

Based on my DM, Hinge Health isn’t the only one dealing with current investors backing their competitors. Add an asterisk to the barrage of funding rounds. Welcome to the hot due diligence summer, do I guess?

The rest of this newsletter will cover Duolingo S-1, the creator economy rebranding, and exclusive interviews with top startup marketers.As always, you can find me on twitter @nmasc_ — Send me a hint Or A note about the competitive tensions you have dealt with.

Wall Street, it’s time for your language lesson

Duolingo, a language learning unicorn, was finally worth $ 2.4 billion. Submitted for publication this week. Beyond the puns of puns— Thanks to this reader for today’s subhed — S-1 has secretly peaked in the finances of a rare educational technology company with sufficient ambition to be listed on the stock market.

Here’s what you need to know: A Dive deeper into finances and details We’ve seen how Duolingo’s monetization efforts led to 129% revenue growth and solid conversions between free and paid users. The document also revealed many other fun facts, including the fact that only four people left the company in 2020 and that Duolingo is actually trying to scoop up some companies.

About other languages ​​of language learning companies:

Creator Economy Rebranding

In this week’s equity, Alex and I brought tech comedian Alexis Gay. Talk about the creator economy.

Here’s what you need to know: Gay has moved from helping creators through his role at Patreon to becoming creative himself. We talked about pet pee, why it’s important to be clear when building tools for this economy, and whether rolling funds are inevitable for those who follow Twitter. Check out the episodeI think it’s one of the weirdest things ever.

And as your post game:

Marketing some marketing

TechCrunch’s Miranda Halpern and Eric Eldon are enthusiastic about TechCrunch Experts, a directory that hosts scrutinized professionals within the startup industry. Currently, they are looking for the names of the top growth marketers behind your favorite tech startup — And they are still submitting!

Here’s what you need to know: Halpern interviewed Kathleen Estreich and Emily Kramer, co-founders of strategic marketing firm MKT1.The· Reveal the conversation Marketers turnover, why their job Lots How they tackle the stigma of marketers who are more than just advertising and are often considered “second-class citizens” within the enterprise.

Deeper dive:

Around TC

TechCrunch Early Stage 2021: Marketing and Financing is next week! The entire event is for founders seeking tactical tips on everything from how to survive the growth of fast startups at COVID-19 to how to uncover unprecedented fantastic product market suitability. It is made. Buy a ticket, Because it makes me very happy.

Throughout the week

Seen on TechCrunch

Seen at extra crunch

Thank you for your time. It doesn’t really get old. Enjoy the long weekend and start over next week.

Let’s talk

N