TechCrunch+ roundup: Headcount data study, SaaS sales mistakes, financial close strategies

For the past 24 months, Thomvest Ventures recorded headcount information for 150 Series A to C endeavor SaaS startups, and we person the numbers.

This study prepared by Eddie Ackerman, Thomvest’s strategical concern operating partner, looks astatine startup hiring velocity since February 2021 by region, institution benignant and, notably, however overmuch clip passed since past fundraise.

Ackerman says helium expects to spot different tranche of layoffs successful respective weeks, aft startups clasp their Q4 2022 committee meetings.

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That’s not thing immoderate idiosyncratic wants to work a fewer days earlier Christmas, but forewarned is forearmed.

“For companies with a beardown equilibrium sheet, beardown backers, product-market acceptable oregon debased burn, present is the champion clip to marque captious hires,” says Ackerman.

And if that doesn’t picture your company, you should already beryllium readying to trim headcount.

“The pugnacious determination to frost hiring should beryllium made early, adjacent if your equilibrium expanse is successful a bully position,” writes Ackerman.

If you’re a laminitis who’s speechmaking this: When layoffs are successful the cards, you person a motivation and ethical work to fto your employees cognize arsenic soon arsenic possible. Do the close thing.

TechCrunch+ volition people connected a airy docket adjacent week, and we’ll resume our accustomed cadence connected Monday, January 2. I’m taking a abbreviated interruption for the holidays and volition nonstop the adjacent TechCrunch+ newsletter/roundup connected Tuesday, January 3.

Thanks precise overmuch for speechmaking america successful 2022. Have a precise blessed caller year!

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist

How to marque the astir of your capitalist relationships successful 2023

As Santa Claus refactors his database of who’s been naughty and nice, it’s besides a bully clip for startup founders to instrumentality banal of their capitalist relationships.

Vidya Raman, a spouse astatine Sorenson Ventures, has written a TC+ nonfiction with dos and don’ts for upcoming committee meetings, her thoughts astir which connection channels are champion for antithetic assistance requests and circumstantial information points you should rise successful your discussions.

“Be ruthless astir however you walk your time,” she advises, “especially with your investors.”

Holiday shipping is easier this year, but the tech is inactive lagging

Global proviso lines are successful amended signifier than this clip past year, but that doesn’t bode good for the future, writes Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen.

“This year’s improvements successful shipping mostly bespeak a pullback successful depletion alternatively than immoderate betterment successful the underlying infrastructure,” helium says, noting that labour shortages, planetary instability and precocious substance prices person created persistent bottlenecks.

“Fortunately, the information disposable contiguous is affluent beyond measure, and we besides person the tools to leverage it successful ways that tin boost efficiency.”

Pitch Deck Teardown: Card Blanch’s $460K platform for its angel round

Fintech startup Card Blanch precocious closed a $460,000 circular for its pre-launch work that promises to fto customers way idiosyncratic spending from a centralized app.

To spot wherefore this platform was smiled upon by angel investors bearing bully tidings, we’re sharing the founders’ non-redacted deck:

• Cover slide
• Problem slide
• Market size slide
• Solution slide
• Product slide
• “How it works” slide
• Competition slide
• Revenue exemplary slide
• Market accidental slide
• “Next steps” — the inquire slide
• “Your full wallet successful 1 card” — worth prop slide
• “Complete spending analytic successful 1 place” — summary slide

Dear Sophie: What are the pros and cons of the E-2 and L-1A visas?

Dear Sophie,

We co-founded a startup successful Colombia, and we’re reasoning astir opening a income bureau successful the U.S.! I would beryllium moving, and my co-founder volition proceed to tally our engineering squad from Colombia.

I’m presently considering some the E-2 capitalist and L-1A enforcement visas. What are the pros and cons of each?

— Courageous Colombian

How to lick the fiscal adjacent dilemma: 3 strategies that ne'er fail

Be honest: Did you unreserved your November month-end adjacent owed to the December holidays?

New Year’s resolutions are hard to instrumentality to, but due to the fact that this is the slowest clip of year, it’s a bully clip to found healthier accounting habits.

Before moving your December numbers, look for ways to automate the month-end close, advises Shagun Malhotra, a CPA and CIA who’s besides an experienced auditor.

In a TC+ post, she shares 3 strategies for digitizing this process, on with suggestions for sub-metrics to way that volition springiness you an close snapshot of your fiscal health.

“The information gathered successful these steps volition let you to place your business’ basal issues quickly, which volition past fto you measure what to bash next.”

3 Black investors speech astir what they’re looking for successful 2023

Investors are mostly optimistic astir tech’s semipermanent quality to recover, but erstwhile it comes to expanding opportunities for Black founders, Dominic-Madori Davis says they’re mostly fatalistic.

She interviewed 3 Black investors to get their thoughts connected interaction investing, which trends they expect to instrumentality disconnected successful 2023 and however they similar to beryllium approached by founders:

• Alexis Alston, principal, Lightship Capital
• Richard Kerby, wide partner, Equal Ventures
• Jadyn Bryden, vice president, Xfund

Avoid 3 communal income mistakes startups marque during a downturn

Analysts estimation that IT spending volition summation successful 2023, but archer that to SaaS income teams trying to adjacent contracts with customers who’ve been instructed to slash spending.

“What each institution needs present is businesslike sales,” says Anand Shah, CEO and co-founder of Databook, who explains wherefore reactive moves similar expanding income quotas oregon raising prices won’t determination the needle.

“Make existent changes to conscionable your buyers’ needs. Use the macroeconomic backdrop to marque the indispensable income productivity improvements.”