From the Investors
Glenn Solomon of GGV Capital finds three keys to success, and two absolute deal-breakers, in “Shooting for an IPO? Take These Steps Now Before It’s Too Late” in First Round Review
Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures illustrates the compression on venture-backed consumer IPOs in “The Current State of the Consumer Internet Market”
Boris Wertz of Version One Ventures explores the runway and airspace for Bitcoin in “The Challenge Facing Bitcoin Startups”
Roy Bahat of Bloomberg Beta imagines first customers as first hires in “Picking Your First Customers: the Gradient of Influence”
From the Operators
Michael Thomas of Highfive builds a 3-person dream-team in “What is The Best Way to Start a Startup?”
Chris Poole of 4chan learns “if you don’t treat security as a top priority, it will bite you,” in “When a Bad Day Gets Worse – Getting Hacked Twice in One Day”
Robin Chase of Buzzcar gives a founder’s plea for net neutrality, voicing before Congress the concern of all founders in a competitive market
People Are Talking About
Alibaba filed to go public in the U.S. today, reporting $2.85 billion in net income during the first three quarters of the 2013 fiscal year. Brush up on your watercooler stats with reports from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and TechCrunch. We encourage you to read Alibaba’s F-1 Registration Statement on the SEC website for comprehensive information on the company.
Featured Founder
Marcie Rogo of Stitch.net created companionship tinder for adults over 50. “We’re simple and match based on what matters (interests and activities) and not what doesn’t (height and occupation).”
Mattermark: How did you come up with your startup?
Marcie: After working in seniortech for years, my users were asking me who is single, or complaining about Match, or something like that, and finally I realized – okay, this is a real problem, and I need to pay attention.
Mattermark: What is a recent milestone that your team celebrated?
Marcie: We got into 500 Startups Batch 9!!!
Mattermark: If someone thanked you in a restaurant for creating your startup, what would you hope they say?
Marcie: It helped me live longer, healthier and happier. I found my travel companion for life and have finally been able to see parts of the world I never wanted to go to alone.
Mattermark: Tell us about your team.
Marcie: We are an Aussie and American team, split between Sydney and San Fran. When Marcie from America goes to the boys in Sydney there is forced “Sport” – and blood has been shed! We are hiring interns right now to come work out of 500 and hopefully stay on board after demo day.