Andreessen Horowitz has closed $400 million seed fund

Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz has closed a new $400 million seed fund that it says will invest in all areas of tech. The fund is the latest in a number of ambitious investment vehicles raised by the Silicon Valley firm, which has been having its best exit year to date in 2021.

TheVentureCity partner Fernando Dal Re provides three reasons why asking for a smart, and therefore smaller, first ticket, paired with close investor accompaniment, is the real golden ticket for emerging startups.

A record number of Europe-based fintech startups are joining the unicorn ranks. Collectively, these companies have raised $22.6 billion to date—with more than half of that funding coming in this year alone—and are altogether valued at $178 billion. We look at the most highly valued and funded companies on the list and the top investors in Europe’s fintech unicorns.

Entrepreneur Carey Smith founded Big Ass Fans in 1999, bootstrapping the fan and light maker to nearly $300 million in sales before selling it four years ago. Now, as head of his aptly named venture firm, Unorthodox Ventures, he likes to tell founders things they’re not used to hearing: That high valuations can be the kiss of death, that a strong business plan from the get-go is essential, and that if everybody’s doing it, you probably shouldn’t.

Defining your ideal customer profile is one of the most important steps in the development of a successful sales strategy. In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about what an ideal customer profile is, why it’s so important to have one, and how to create your ICP and lead your sales team to success.

Online real estate giant Zillow has a track record of its alumni launching other startups including Divvy Homes, Sift, Amino, Pacaso and Glassdoor. We talk to several former employees including former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff about what makes the Seattle-based company a catalyst for so many successful ventures.