Hey Reader,

Altitude Edition 010 is hot off the press from Cirrus Capital Partners 📰

Every couple of weeks, we give you a bird's eye 🦅 view of the most exciting news and insights around...

• Successful Companies and Founding Teams
• VC, PE, M&A, and Credit Transactions
• Growth Metrics, Benchmarks, Charts & Data
• New and Emergent Technologies
• Productivity Hacks

Created for founders, bootstrappers, VCs, angel investors, marketers, technologists, executives, and operators—everywhere.

Let’s get into it:

Money and startups...and money.

​

​Lessons from 1,000+ YC startups: Resilience, tar pit ideas, pivoting, more​

Dalton Caldwell shares insights from advising over 35 YC unicorns.

My favorite pull quote from this is "Just don't die," which is his comical way of emphasizing the importance of resilience for founders. Common startup failures stem from "tar pit ideas" — initially appealing but ultimately problematic concepts that are hard to avoid. Caldwell advocates for pivots based on deep understanding and prior experiences, as seen in successful transitions by companies like Brex and Segment. He also discusses investor rejections, often not a disbelief in the idea but a strategy seeking higher returns.

​The Mixed State Of Startup Funding In 2024, In 11 Charts​

It's a cautious start to the year in startup investment. There is overall restraint except in sectors like AI and healthcare, which saw significant funding. Global early-stage investments increased, with seed and angel investments showing resilience. Cybersecurity investments remained resilient despite economic downturns, and while funding in Asia and Latin America was generally subdued, certain regions and sectors, like Chinese electric vehicles, saw notable increases.

Andreessen Horowitz emerged as a leading investor, particularly bullish on new technology sectors. Take notes...

​Twitter’s former Head of Product opens up: being fired, meeting Elon, changing stagnant culture, building consumer product and more ​

Kayvon Beykpour, former Head of Product at Twitter, discusses his experiences with the company's culture, the impact of Elon Musk's acquisition, and the lessons from Periscope's failure. Some key insights...

→ It's essential to challenge stagnant assumptions

→ Use acquisitions to foster innovation

→ Strike a balance between copying and innovation based on customer needs

→ It is crucial to have team alignment with a shared vision.

→ Careful about internal platforms. They could be competing against each other and creating friction in your business.

​Everything you need to know about pre-seed startups​

Since 2020, US companies on the Carta have raised 101,865 individual SAFEs and convertible notes before any priced funding. This is the most significant data set for pre-seed investing on the planet. Everything you want to know in 17 different charts. Save this one.

What in the world?

​

​Tesla Autopilot investigation closed after feds find 13 fatal crashes related to misuse​

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded its probe into Tesla's Autopilot system, initiated after 13 fatal crashes. Now, they are assessing Tesla's recent Autopilot recall fix, which was intended to improve these safety measures but may have been insufficient.

Tesla faces additional investigations and lawsuits related to Autopilot's advertised capabilities and actual performance.

The Tesla Autopilot case highlights a few things that the Founders of any company should keep in mind, regardless of their product (but especially if their product involves high-risk activity—like driving).

→ Data Transparency and Integrity: The accuracy and completeness of data you collect can significantly impact regulatory assessments and public trust.

→ Regulatory Engagement: Continuous interaction with regulatory bodies is crucial, especially for public safety products.

→ Product Communication: Communicate your products' capabilities and limitations to prevent misuse and effectively manage customer expectations.

→ Adaptive Response: Be prepared to adapt your product swiftly in response to feedback from users and regulators to enhance safety and compliance.

​Biden signs Israel, Ukraine, TikTok bill into law​

President Joe Biden signed a law providing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and mandating TikTok's divestiture from ByteDance to avoid a U.S. ban. The legislation follows intense debates and includes significant foreign aid allocations and a potential TikTok ban within nine months unless an extension is granted. TikTok will challenge this in court, arguing it would harm millions of businesses and users. It likely will.

You never know when sudden regulatory changes happen and how they can impact business operations. But we know for sure that Founders who were prepared and managed through political and regulatory crises often sustained operations and public trust.

Fundings, from big to small.

​Nvidia, a Tel-Aviv-based company that streamlines AI hardware infrastructure management for developers and operations teams, acquires AI workload management startup Run:ai for a price tag of $700M.

​BlackRock Neurotech received $200M from Tether, specifically its venture division, Tether Evo. Blackrock Neurotech, known for its advanced brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), plans to use the investment to commercialize its offerings and boost R&D efforts.

​Edia, an AI-powered math education platform that leverages AI for personalized student feedback and real-time data for teachers, is backed by $9.4 million Series A funding. Edia allows students to type out math work on Chromebooks and proudly promises better math outcomes for school districts within a year or a refund. They aim to disrupt traditional education methods by providing real-time proficiency predictions and targeted support.

AI is once again coming up with solutions to complex problems—and that's why it's where the money is going.

Cool shit you didn't know existed, but now you know.

​How Adam Robinson bootstrapped to $22m ARR. Download the ebook.​

​Drake Uses AI Tupac and Snoop Dogg Vocals on ‘Taylor Made Freestyle,’ References Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’​

It's been a minute since there was a rap feud. But I never thought I would hear AI in a diss track.

Drake released "Taylor Made Freestyle," featuring AI-generated vocals from Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. The track serves as a stopgap in a feud involving Kendrick Lamar, responding to Lamar's silence after his diss track. The song, which references Taylor Swift's new album overshadowing current hip-hop events, was removed from social media following a lawsuit threat.

Who knows, instead of "you have a ghostwriter," we might hear "you use ChatGPT for your verses" as a rap diss sooner than we thought.

Tanay Jaipuria @tanayj People are making $70-80K per year selling restaurant reservations in NYC on the secondary market 😯 5:42 PM • Apr 23, 2024 1610 Retweets 18011 Likes Read 278 replies

​

​Identifying Network Effects Specific to Your Business Model​

Network effects create a virtuous cycle, enhancing a company's competitive advantage. These effects vary, including physical, direct, two-sided, local, indirect, and more, requiring different cultivating resources. Physical network effects grow with more nodes, while direct effects increase with user numbers. Two-sided effects depend on the mutual growth of supply and demand. Understanding and leveraging the appropriate type of network effect is crucial for building a robust business model.

For founders, understanding and leveraging network effects can significantly amplify a startup's growth and defensibility. Here's what I took from this newsletter edition:

→ Choose the Right Type: Different network effects suit different business models. For instance, a tech platform might benefit from direct network effects, whereas a marketplace might leverage two-sided effects.

→ Start Small and Local: Focusing on local network effects can help secure a strong initial user base before scaling.

→ Facilitate User Interaction: Enhance user engagement by making interactions valuable and accessible, naturally encouraging more users to join.

→ Monitor and Adapt: As your user base grows, continuously adapt your strategy to maintain and strengthen network effects.

→ Leverage Data: Utilize data from user interactions to improve the product and personalize user experiences, reinforcing the value of the network.

Until our next flight,

Ryan, Sutheshna & your friends at Cirrus​

Ryan Ridgway Co-Founder, Managing Partner

Sutheshna Mani Chief Copywriter

Thoughts on today's newsletter?

Loved it 😍: Tell us about it, forward along to a friend, or keep in touch with us on LinkedIn.

It was aight 🤷: Hey we're not for everyone. You can unsubscribe anytime here.

Hi, I just got here 👀: Pack your bags and subscribe to our future flights.

​