In this edition, I’m going to look at Brex’s latest round of layoffs, the state of fintech investing in 2023 and more!
I may be taking some time off in coming weeks but never fear, TechCrunch Fintech isn’t going away.
While interest rates were low, the company saw a bump in business and VC money was easier to come by.
The move came after reports the company burned $17 million in cash each month during the fourth quarter and that it is trying to preserve runway.
Fintech investors injected $34.6 billion in startups across 2,055 deals in 2023, a –43.8% and –32.4% YoY drop, respectively, according to PitchBook data.
Founding a company during economic uncertainty and excelling takes more than just a hungry founder with a good idea.
Investors are engaging with fewer pitch decks from founders, according to DocSend data — investor activity dropped less than 2% year-over-year (YoY) from 2022 and 4% from 2021.
Just a few years ago, a founder’s market led to “zombie” companies raising money at unrealistic valuations with a “growth at all costs” mindset, proving there are pitfalls even in a highly founder-friendly market.
There will be founders who fail in 2023, but there will also be founders who succeed in ushering in the companies that define a generation.
Instilling solid building blocks for the company’s foundation is even more critical in a tighter economy and investor’s market.
