The Startup Special — April 2022 Newsletter

The Startup Newsletter — April 2022

No, we aren’t going to talk about Elon Musk buying Twitter. Even though he did just make his mid-life crisis everyone’s problem. No, in our startup newsletter, we’re going to focus on the real heroes of Silicon Valley and beyond, what everyone seems to forget that Grimes’ ex-husband used to be: a founder.

Honestly, we couldn’t find a reliable source for when National Startup Day is, and, honestly, we don’t care. For our April Startup Newsletter, we’re focusing on the news stories, issues, and trends surrounding the heartbeat of the nation’s economy.

Let’s get into it.

What’s Going On?

Q1 US Venture Captial Trends in 5 Charts — PitchBook

Is the pandemic VC bubble about to burst?

It’s Time for VCs to Stop Driving Entrepreneurship — Forbes

Do investors have too much say in creativity and innovation?

Hacked Crypto Startups Get Capital Infusions from Investors — WSJ

Can fewer working days help with burnout? What does it mean for businesses?

Pandemic Startup Boom: Is it Over?

Why Investors Are Worried Our Pandemic Boom Is About to End

We all remember how bad the pandemic was for most businesses. But, oddly enough, Silicon Valley made out pretty well. Like, really well. Since the start of 2021, US VCs invested over $70B, and have increased that investment in every quarter since.

Until Q1 2022, that is. While still around the $70B mark, last quarter saw the biggest dip in US VC funding in over a year. But why? Some say the economy is hard to predict right now, with inflation rates through the roof.

Others are citing shifting consumer trends and interests as lockdowns ease and Spring arrives. And, despite a news cycle including a Twitter buyout and Kim Kardashian’s belly button, there is still a war raging in Europe.

We may see a bounce back if things stabilize. But if the last two-or-so years have taught us anything, stability and normalcy are things of the past.

In With the New

Supergiant Seed Rounds Still on the Rise

This might be the funniest image in existence. Kind of relevant?

Ignoring the general decrease in US VC funding in Q1, the startup world just keeps getting wilder. Well, specifically VCs.

According to Crunchbase News, while the sheer total amount of money VCs are spending may be down, the number of supergiant seed rounds is increasing.

To better define yet another fun and totally accessible Silicon Valley bro term, “supergiant seed rounds” are defined as those that exceed $10M. In 2021, there were 156 of these such seed rounds, up from 64 in 2020.

You might be thinking, “oh, well, the pandemic, right?” Wrong. There were 56 of them in 2019, and we’re already at 90 for 2022. It seems that, while investors may be wary to invest in proven or existing startups, the excitement around blossoming projects is more alive than ever.

That isn’t even to mention VCs actually increasing their investments for crypto companies that have been hacked to “protect investments and restore user trust.”

Takeaway data from Embroker’s 2021 Benchmarking Report.But still, VCs aren’t throwing this money around for fun, and fully expect their investments to be insured against potential losses.

According to Embroker’s newly released Startup Insurance Benchmarking Report, Directors & Officers insurance premiums increase by 155% when substantial funding is introduced.

For more on the state of startup insurance coming out of 2021, and trends for 2022, check out the full report below.

You can even calculate what insurance might cost you with our newly updated calculator, also below.

What’s New from Embroker?

Upcoming Events, Stories, and More

2021 Startup Insurance Benchmarking Report

What can our 2021 insurance data tell us about tomorrow’s business risk? Check out our new report to find out.

Updated Startup Insurance Calculator

Estimate the price of insurance for your startup by finding the average costs for similar companies using our simple, accessible, newly updated calculator.

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