Search

Showing results for “Startups”

Jump to a topic

StartupsThe term “startup” is typically used to describe private companies in their early stages of operation that focus on innovating new products or services to meet a market gap. Unlike other types of new businesses, most startups have explicit goals of scaling and growth, and often seek to disrupt an existing market or industry. To achieve this, they often must raise significant outside capital. Uber, for example, was originally a startup designed to disrupt the taxi industry, just as Airbnb did with the vacation rental sector. In the US, about 5.5 million new business applications were filed in 2023, and, as of 2024, there were roughly 34 million small businesses—but not all of these companies were startups. The top seven companies in the US by market cap—Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla—all began as tech startups. Combined, they are currently worth more than $20T.Explore Startups

Angel Investing Venture Capital Silicon Valley SpaceX Y Combinator Tesla Fintech Critical Minerals

What we've found

Many startups now have shoes-off policiesThis website keeps track of startups with "no-shoes" offices so you can browse a list of barefoot companies—plus, see which of them are hiring. No Shoes Angel investors funded startups with nearly $28B in 2024Statistics about the angel investing market show that billions are spent funding early-stage startups each year. Companies with more angel interest had higher success rates. Convertible notes represent loans that startups owe investorsIn the second part of a two-part series, convertible notes are explained to be a tool angel investors use to ensure they see a return on their investment in a startup. Kiplinger Angels invest in a mix of startups from different industriesTo diversify their portfolios and mitigate their risk, angels may invest in startups that are at earlier or later stages of development, as well as in various industries. NASDAQ Platforms like AngelList help angel investors find startups to fundAngel investors leverage their high net worths to fund seed-stage startups. While they could see high returns, investing in such an early company is a risk. Nonprofit VC funds invest in startups, but have donors instead of LPsExamples include Andreessen Horowitz’s TxO (Talent x Opportunity) Initiative and Fifth Star Funds, which allows donors to write “Friends & Family” checks for Black tech founders. HubSpot Y Combinator changed the way startups around the world are builtMany of the philosophies that the leaders of Y Combinator have infused into the program’s portfolio companies have become the playbook for building the next big thing, such as its focus on founder personality and more. WIRED 87% of the startups in Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 batch were AI companiesY Combinator also recently increased its number of cohorts or “batches” per year from two to four. Its leaders cited artificial intelligence’s rise as a reason for the increase. Fast Company Silicon Valley startups Orchid, Nucleus, and Genomic Prediction are selling so-called polygenic tests for prospective parentsThese tests claim to show how at-risk a hypothetical baby would be for genetic syndromes. The newfound industry has prompted ethical and medical debates, with critics questioning their accuracy and highlighting the potential problems behind pursuing the perfect baby. The San Francisco Standard The main bank serving Silicon Valley startups and venture capitalists collapsed in 2023Silicon Valley Bank—the 16th largest bank in the US—served many tech startups in the area as well as many venture capitalists. The bank collapsed in 2023—in a single day, bankers took out $42B. NPR Many of the top companies in the US by market cap began as tech startupsCombined, the top seven companies by market cap in the US as of December 2024—Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla—were worth more than $16T at the time. 1440 The infrastructure, talent, and markets of Silicon Valley make the high-tech region ideal for startupsThe number of startup employees, founders, and investors who have flocked to Silicon Valley over the years makes the California region ideal for networking in the tech space. Plus, California’s laws and specific rules around trade secrets help founders of fledgling businesses in Silicon Valley feel protected. Investopedia 75% of venture-backed startups failStartups are inherently risky ventures. Successful startups are relatively rare due to factors including cash flow drying up, marketing issues, and more. Investopedia Startups fundraise in 'rounds' as they prove out their business and scale When startups take on outside funding, those investments are divided into different "rounds." These rounds are catered to different stages in a startup's life cycle—a startup often needs different types of investors and amounts of funding at different stages of the business. For instance, a pre-seed investment round can include investments ranging from about $25K to $500K, whereas a Series D investment can be hundreds of millions of dollars. Rippling Startups follow a 'minimum viable product' strategy to determine demandMichael Seibel, group partner for startup incubator Y Combinator, explains how to build a minimum viable product (also known as an MVP) for any startup idea. Using real companies that experienced the Y Combinator program as examples, he walks through how to determine an MVP feature set, how to present an MVP to potential investors, and more. Y Combinator Unlike small businesses, startups aim to disrupt entire industriesThey also differ from small businesses in that startups have a higher level of risk, may take on outside funding from venture capital firms to boost growth, and more. NerdWallet Many startups in a variety of industries try to reframe themselves as 'tech companies'Tech is still the dominant industry for startups—in part due to its low barriers to entry, high growth potential, investor preferences, and the proliferation of tech into a wide variety of industries. Sweetgreen, the fast-casual salad chain, for instance, has often referred to itself as a tech company. Slate Startups are small, early-stage companies designed to grow fastThe definition of the word “startup” is complicated—so who better to define it than Y Combinator, perhaps the most well-known startup accelerator in the business? YC’s blog also explains how startups make money and build products. Y Combinator The world’s top 20 cities for startups include San Francisco In 2023, Singapore had the highest venture capital funding per capita in the world. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best place to have a startup. In 2023, PitchBook analyzed data to determine the world’s best startup city, including fundraising activity, venture capital deals, and exit value. San Francisco ranked as No. 1. See which other locales landed in the top 20 with this graphic. Visual Capitalist Venture capital is a type of financing that firms and funds use to invest in startups they believe have the potential for long-term growthHousehold name companies such as Airbnb and Uber might not exist without venture capital, which is commonly referred to as "VC" for short. Investopedia A merger between OpenAI and Anthropic was reportedly proposed after Sam Altman's firingOpenAI's board of directors reportedly reached out to Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, about the possibility of taking over the role left by Altman in 2023. Amodei declined to take over as OpenAI's CEO and to a merger between the two AI startups. Ars Technica Explore the differences between private equity, venture capital, and hedge fundsPrivate equity firms focus on buying and improving private companies with the intent to sell them for profit or take them public. Venture capital is technically a form of private equity in which investors focus on startups and generally don't seek majority control of the company. Hedge funds are pooled investments for sophisticated investors that pursue a wide range of often complex strategies. Harvard ‘Eureka Park’ is CES' startup hub at Vegas’ famed VenetianFor years, new ventures looking for funding and a network appeared alongside established bigwigs like Microsoft and Sony at CES. In 2012, CES created “Eureka Park,” a part of the convention where startups could congregate (some viewed it as being sidelined at the time). Producers of hit reality show “Shark Tank” scout new startups in the park every year. CES A 2002 profile of unprofitable Netflix as it bet on a subscription modelThe streaming behemoth saw the potential in subscriptions early, and in this 2002 profile CEO Reed Hastings was already talking about plans to offer "downloadable" movies. The profile serves as a historical artifact confirming the startup's risky bets and showcases the contingent factors that led to its success. (Some users may experience a paywall.) WIRED The dot-com boom sent tech stocks soaring before a historic collapseA look at the dot-com bubble, when investors poured money into unproven internet startups, driving the Nasdaq to dizzying heights before it crashed by more than 80% after 2000, showing how new technologies can detach markets from reality. YouTube Startup founders’ equity becomes diluted as they bring in more investorsWhen an angel investor funds a company in exchange for equity, startups issue new shares to them, rather than giving them existing shares, and boost the company’s valuation. Gray Economics A successful angel investor can multiply their investment by 3 to 10 timesAngel investor Naval Ravikant explains what it takes to be successful in his field, from building an authentic brand to developing the judgment to choose which startups to back. Naval 7 angel investors funded Google in its early daysEntrepreneur Shaan Puri shares how seven strangers acted as Google’s earliest angel investors. The first gave Google $100K without even putting his equity agreement in writing. The investors on “Shark Tank” use their personal funds to support startups, but they’re often more predatory about terms than typical angels. My First Million Angel investors often come together as a syndicateStartups raise money in different rounds from investors that include their friends and family, angels, and venture capital funds. These types of investors serve different purposes. The SEC Angel investors often receive significant equity because of the risk they takeAngel investors fund startups at an early stage, at which time a company’s success is less assured. In exchange, they often ask for a significant equity stake. Stripe More than $3.5B has been invested through AngelListAngelList was created to connect startups and angel investors. It’s evolved since its 2010 founding and has been used by companies like Uber and OpenSea. Insights4VC The term ‘angel investor’ is thought to have originated with Broadway playsThe first so-called angel investors funded theatrical productions. Now, angels invest in startups at an early stage, hoping their investment will pay off in the future. Investopedia Fintech could help democratize access to bankingMore than 1.3 billion adults worldwide do not have access to basic banking services as of this writing—but some experts believe that the fintech industry can help with that by targeting groups of people who have historically been underserved by traditional banks. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)The dot-com bubble burst in 2000 when the Nasdaq dropped more than 76% in 2 yearsBetween 1995 and 2000, the Nasdaq index jumped from 1,000 to 5,000 amid excitement over new Internet companies. As venture capitalists dumped money into startups, those same companies struggled to turn a profit, leading to a bubble. The Nasdaq wouldn't reach its former high until 2015. Investopedia Angel investors typically fund a startup at an earlier stage than venture capitalistsAngel investors and venture capitalists both invest in startups, but they differ in a few key ways. Angel investors typically invest earlier and in a smaller amount. Encyclopedia Britannica Seed funding is often the first round of capital that a startup raisesEarly-stage startups often try to secure seed funding from investors in order to take their idea from concept to reality. The Motley Fool Y Combinator takes its name from a computer science conceptY Combinator, the startup accelerator, gets its name from the “Y combinator” computer science concept. Specifically, something called a “Y combinator” in computer science is a function that runs programs, just like the Y Combinator startup accelerator runs a program that helps grow startups. Lucas F. Costa Startup accelerators offer mentorship and seed funding in exchange for equityThose programs, such as Y Combinator and Techstars, not only offer expert advice to founders, but also seed funding in exchange for equity. The goal is to help young startups learn from successful companies, making it more likely they attract venture capital. Silicon Valley Bank Over 400 tech companies call Santa Barbara homeThe city boasts a strong talent pipeline from UCSB, established tech companies like Sonos and Procore and dozens of startups. Search for any company in Santa Barbara with this regularly-updated directory. SB Tech List WeWork held controversial ‘summer camp’ retreats for employeesStep inside one of WeWork’s “summer camp” retreats full of drugs, alcohol, and exorbitant company spending. Business Insider Rare earth elements may be extracted from mine waste and coal ashRather than focusing solely on new mining operations, which can take decades to establish, some startups are developing methods to extract these metals from the toxic waste of existing operations and thereby minimize environmental impacts. (Some readers may experience a paywall.) MIT Technology Review The top 100 companies in Silicon ValleySilicon Valley has pumped out some of the biggest companies in the world, including Apple, Meta, and Google. Thousands of companies operate in the area, ranging from valuations in the trillions to startups only worth thousands. Silicon Valley Journals Theranos and Pets.com are among some of the biggest startup failures everYou might have heard of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes’s one-time blood testing company that landed the founder in prison for more than a decade after she was charged with fraud. The rest of the startups on a list of five of the biggest startup failures ever might not be as famous as Theranos, but they were met with similarly disastrous fates. CNBC Y Combinator tends to outperform many other Silicon Valley startup acceleratorsIn a podcast episode, Garry Tan—CEO of startup accelerator Y Combinator—speaks about how YC has a better track record than the rest of Silicon Valley at placing bets on startups. Learn how Tan earned his first million dollars, as well as lessons from other successful businesspeople, including Y Combinator’s Paul Graham. My First Million Many startup founders pull out-of-the-box stunts to get their businesses off the groundDo you know Airbnb’s founders used cereal (yes, as in the breakfast food) to secure their initial round of funding? Or that PayPal’s founders once gave out free money to get people to sign up for the platform? These stories might be crazy, but they’re not uncommon. Business Insider Product-market fit is achieved when a product strongly satisfies market demandSome experts argue that product-market fit is what separates the most successful startups from those that never get off the ground. While there isn’t an official rule book for how to optimize and test product-market fit, the CEO of email startup Superhuman has attempted to provide one with a specific four-step process. First Round Capital Beanless 'coffee' is an eco-friendly alternativeAs we consider the role of agriculture in climate change, many people are seeking alternatives to the most resource-hungry crops—coffee included. Are new synthetic alternatives the answer? Startups are exploring beanless “coffee” made in a variety of ways. Grist 80% of a VC firm's returns come from 20% of the deals, per VC's 'power law'Early-stage startups are highly risky investments. Many companies in a VC portfolio will not provide any significant return. Altos Ventures See the anatomy of a venture capital firmVenture capital firms get the money they use to invest in companies from limited partners, also called LPs. It’s the general partner’s job to manage that money and invest it in the right startups. GoingVC In 2023, OpenAI spent $520 million on ChatGPTThe ongoing development and refinement of new AI models requires larger datasets and processing more parameters between words and subwords to improve the accuracy of generated content. New startups are expected to harness this technology to provide unthought-of products and services. Stanford eCorner

Try another search?

Economic Bubbles