Plus, industry insiders concerned about potential conflict of interest with AICPA's investments
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A Forbes article highlights that lack of customer engagement, high employee turnover rate, and slowed product development pace are some key early signs indicating the startup may fail. Identifying the signs is crucial for founders and stakeholders, as the odds of running a startup are stacked against them, with the article highlighting that ~90% of startups fail. Background: - The article highlights that startup founders must not lose focus of their primary goal and change directions too often.
- However, startups must remain adaptable to changing trends and competitors.
- Financial spirals, poor project execution, and lack of teamwork are also signs to watch for.
Share your thoughts: - What are some early signs a startup is going to fail?
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Indian startup VerSe Innovation, which owns short-video platform Josh and news aggregation app Dailyhunt, reduced its workforce by 5% (150 employees). VerSe has also lowered the salaries of employees who earn at least one million Indian rupees monthly ($12,200) by 11%. Co-founder Umang Bedi said the layoffs were designed to "streamline costs." More: - VerSe raised $800M at a $5B valuation in April.
- Its revenue was $118M in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, a 45% increase YoY.
- The company's losses rose by 217% YoY to $314M.
- VerSe has raised $1.7B since its inception in 2007, according to Crunchbase.
- The company has raised money from multiple notable investors, including Google and Microsoft.
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TikTok is partnering with startups like ChannelEngine, TalkShopLive, and YunExpress to build a more robust eCommerce platform. The social media company previously debuted an in-app shopping experience for the U.K. and Southeast Asia. However, it was riddled with issues. TikTok hopes the startups will help alleviate these problems. More: - When TikTok launched "TikTok Shop" in the U.K. and Southeast Asia last year, customers complained of shipping delays, employees suffered from burnout, and slow sales led to brands leaving the platform.
- According to one employee, TikTok Shop received ~200 complaints a day over the summer. The complaints were mainly about shipping delays.
- TikTok is now building an internal "fulfillment service from scratch" to complete shipping requests in the U.S., EU, and U.K.
- ChannelEnginer is a startup that connects brands and retailers.
- The group currently hosts 1,500 brands and 200 retailers.
- TikTok partnered with TalkShopLive in February.
- The arrangement allowed TikTok to launch live, in-app product sales in North America.
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Industry insiders are concerned about the potential conflict of interest arising from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) investments in audit-related tech startups. AICPA sets the U.S. auditing standards and oversees self-policing audits of private companies, pension funds, and other entities across the nation. The trade body also invests in startups and provides $25,000 grants and product development mentorship to startups through its accelerator. More: - AICPA’s accelerator is run by its not-for-profit arm CPA.com and has invested in over 20 startups to date.
- AICPA is one of the investors in cybersecurity audit software ByteCheck.
- The company was removed from AICPA’s accelerator-backed companies list after they were found to misrepresent its marketplace activities.
- Michael Shaub, an accounting professor at Texas A&M University, says, “Instead of focusing on what we need as a profession, they have leveraged the name to create revenue streams.”
- An AICPA spokesperson assured the WSJ that their investment activities are separate from its standard setting and other public interest work.
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Indonesian startup TipTip raises $13M at an undisclosed valuation. TipTip helps content creators sell content such as videos to their fans. Creators can also interact with their fans by holding live video sessions on TipTip's platform. More: - TipTip has raised $23M since its inception in 2021, according to Crunchbase.
- The company's revenue has increased by 20x since October 2021 to an undisclosed amount.
- TipTip founder Albert Lucius sold his previous startup to Grab in 2017 for an undisclosed price.
- 2,500 content creators, with an average monthly earning of over $200, are on the company's platform, and TipTip wants to raise this number to over 30,000 by 2023.
- The company wants to 10x the number of users on its platform to over 300,000 by next year.
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The task-management startup Amie announced it raised $7M Seed in June 2022. Spark Capital led the round with participation from Guillermo Rauch, Creandum, Hanno Renner, and Quick Coffee Ventures. The startup is using the funds to prepare for its public launch in 2023 and grow its team. More: - Amie's task management app displays users' scheduled calendar appointments alongside their to-do lists.
- Users can drag and drop to-do list items into the calendar.
- Amie designed the app with teams in mind. For instance, users can view a team member's real-time availability to book meetings.
- The app also allows users to join calls directly from the app.
- The company is looking to add new tools like Spotify, allowing users to see what their co-workers are listening to.
- Amie also plans to add GitHub, Stripe, and Typeform integrations.
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Quick Hits: - HubSpot and Brandwatch partnered this year to survey over 1,000 individuals across the U.S. to better understand consumer purchasing habits, thoughts, and behaviors.*
- Keith Grossman, the current president of Time, will depart the publisher on Dec. 31 to assume a new position as the president of enterprise at cryptocurrency startup MoonPay.
- Cyndx launched Valer, a new artificial intelligence-powered cloud-based company valuation tool for startups.
- EnBW New Ventures and Orbia Ventures led a $10.5M (€10M) Series B funding into Deepomatic, a French startup developing an artificial intelligence-powered computer vision tool for field workers.
- Logistics and supply chain company Cofactor raised $6M in seed funding led by Bain Capital Ventures. The investment came through SAFE notes capped at $25M.
- Tech innovation is surging in education, finance, health care, and other industries. See what your competitors are building with Crowdbotics.*
*This is sponsored content.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.
Jigney Pathak is a Business Researcher at Inside who loves technology, finance & sports. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a finance specialization & has previously worked at Salesforce.
Courtney Rawlings is an Inside Research Analyst living in Los Angeles, California. She has returned to her hometown of LA after spending several years working at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is completing a Ph.D. in Art and Architectural History.
| | | | Editor | Vibha Chapparike is a Freelance Writer & Editor at Inside.com. With her post-graduation in Management and Finance completed, Vibha is expanding her knowledge in venture capital, business, startups, and technology. She has had a career in public relations and communications. An ardent reader and writer currently residing in Singapore, you can follow Vibha on Twitter @VChapparike. | |
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