INAUGURATION DAY As we were writing this week's VC post, the inauguration of President Donald Trump was going on in the background. A new admnistration enters the Whit…
I'M BAAAAAACK!! Yes, that's right - Cindy Taylor here, back writing the Top 5 VC columns for DWN. A huge thank you to our friend Teresa Leno who helped us with this co…
Warming up After a three-year lull, 2025 shows signs of gaining momentum for deal activity. There's a stockpile of cash (from VCs and Private Investors holding out) tha…
Auld Lang Syne The Scottish song 'Auld Lang Syne' translates to English as 'for old times' sake.' It is about preserving old friendships and looking back on the year ab…
Goodbye, so long, and farewell, 2024 Another year of VC deal activity is over! As we round out 2024, we reflect on some of the most significant triple-digit deals. Whi…
2025 Emerging tech trends: what and who to watch With all of the technology hubbub, someone must keep track of what's being developed and by whom. As they say in the fi…
When debt is celebrated Week after week, startups receive funding and celebrate the win. Money flows, tech advances, and egos inflate. However, many fail to consider th…
When banks and financial corps show their cards... Watching deals unfold like a poker game requires patience, thoughtfulness, and a keen eye. By paying attention, one c…
4th Quarter blues, the $ is due... The fourth quarter is typically when VCs seek new investments in startups and drop those failing, "rebalancing" their portfolios. On…
When I grow up, I want to be a unicorn... Many unicorn additions, exits, and IPOs signal it's an excellent time for startups. "So far this year, 32 companies have exit…
'D'-regulation? As the world watched the U.S. election this past week, those in the fintech, blockchain, and VC space anxiously await deregulation. If soon-to-be two-ti…
All bets are on... This past week, CB Insights released its FinTech 100: The most promising fintech startups of 2024. Following this column, you'll find familiar names…
Elections and Deals According to research by Crunchbase, venture funding appears to follow a similar pattern to the Presidential Election Cycle Theory. Election and pos…
Promising, Promises, Promissary...the 'magic' ingredients list While the names of startups and award amounts change weekly in this column, the transactional details rem…
AI, the shiny new thing AI is exciting, the possibilities are endless, and VCs are enthralled with the shiny new tool. This is so much so that, according to CB Insights…
About those valuations... In finance, determining net worth is based on numerous factors such as balance sheets, P&L statements, bank records, credit reports, etc.…
Other pockets It's no surprise that 2024 is shaping up to be one of the slowest years for deal activity—way down compared to before the COVID-19 years. While U.S. start…
Big Tech on Banking Much is changing for Big Tech as companies turn to the startup ecosystem to solve pain points like payments, instant transfers, and more. Week after…
Instant Satisfaction Nothing is better than the instant satisfaction of receiving money due to us when we request it. We no longer need to wait for our bank to clear pe…
How much is too much, and how big is too big? Money moving makes the news in VCs, startups, and big tech. That's what this column is about: tracking awards. However, as…
Early to AI, early to rise The case uses for AI are endless, translating into actual cost savings. Recently, Amazon's President and CEO, Andy Jassy, gave Amazon Q, thei…
If you build it, they will come. Many startups could win the game if it were as simple as building a baseball diamond in a cornfield. But first, they must open themselv…
A battle to the end.... As the summer heat continues, deals reveal competitors are battling to fund startups or embed themselves in a move to stay competitive. "While…
Round and round it goes, when it'll stop, nobody knows... Series funding continues for mid to late-stage startups with proven records. Meanwhile, smaller awards with mo…