Weflow Raises Funding to Tackle Salesforce Fatigue | Daily Crunch

Daily Crunch: November 12, 2021

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Greetings, and welcome to Daily Crunch for November 12, 2021. It's Friday, and thus the conclusion of another workweek.

The TechCrunch staff wishes you good health and a well-deserved period of rest.

Featured Content

For those with remaining energy, the Equity podcast released a new episode. This episode provides insight into Tiger Global’s investment strategies and capital deployment.

Additionally, the Found podcast features an interview with Megan O’Connor, the founder of Nth Cycle. This interview is highly recommended for listeners.

Today’s News

Now, let’s move on to the latest news updates. — Alex

TechCrunch's Top 3 Insights

This week, TechCrunch highlights key developments in the startup ecosystem, focusing on Africa, the potential revival of MoviePass, and continued investment in neobanks.

African Startup Landscape: Challenges Amidst Growth

Despite unprecedented levels of capital investment in African startups, the venture capital environment isn't without its difficulties. While deal flow is robust, concerns are emerging regarding the quality of due diligence processes.

Interestingly, investors suggest a potential need for increased funding in later stages of development, a surprising observation considering the prevalence of large investment rounds elsewhere this year.

MoviePass: A Potential Resurrection

The story of MoviePass is often cited as a cautionary tale of rapid growth and unsustainable spending. However, the brand may be poised for a remarkable comeback.

Drawing parallels to the biblical story of Lazarus, MoviePass is reportedly exploring a return to the market, signaling a potential second life for the once-dominant movie ticket subscription service.

Neobank Funding Continues

Investor enthusiasm for the challenger banking sector remains strong, even as attention focuses on Nubank’s upcoming IPO.

Oxygen, a neobank specifically catering to freelancers and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), is currently in negotiations to secure funding that would value the company at $500 million, as reported by TechCrunch.

This ongoing investment demonstrates continued confidence in the potential of neobanks to disrupt traditional financial institutions.

Startups and Venture Capital Updates

The valuation of recipes is being tested. Foody, a new startup, believes recipes possess inherent value and are willing to bet on consumer willingness to pay for them. They have successfully secured $1.5 million in funding for their food creator marketplace.

While it's established that people do purchase recipes, this typically occurs in the traditional book format. The adaptability of this model to a digital environment remains an open question.

Enhanced Marketplace Search with Promoted.ai

Foody may potentially benefit from the technology developed by Promoted.ai. This company focuses on improving search functionality within digital marketplaces, enabling consumers to locate desired products more effectively.

Promoted.ai recently raised $2 million in funding. Considering the substantial investment already made in marketplace startups, a considerable list of potential clients for Promoted.ai’s services can be readily identified.

Weflow Aims to Simplify Salesforce Usage

It’s important to distinguish Weflow from Webflow. Webflow is a well-funded platform assisting users in creating no-code websites. Weflow, however, is a tool designed to alleviate the burden of CRM data maintenance for sales professionals.

Unlike Webflow’s substantial funding, Weflow has secured a more moderate $2.7 million in its latest funding round.

Bellabeat's Ivy Wearable: Initial Impressions

A new health wearable from Bellabeat, the Ivy, has been evaluated by TechCrunch. According to Amanda Silberling, the wristband aims to monitor various health metrics, including sleep patterns, heart rate, menstrual cycles, steps, hydration, activity levels, and mindfulness.

However, the review noted that the accompanying software requires further development and refinement.

Zembo Secures Funding for Electric Motorcycles in Africa

Demonstrating that startup activity in Africa extends beyond the fintech sector, Zembo has received funding from Toyota and other investors for its electric vehicle (EV) business.

Zembo is headquartered in France but maintains a strong focus on the African market. They offer their vehicles through a lease-to-own program, making electric transportation more accessible.

The funding amount totaled $3.4 million.

The decision to sell a company represents a significant turning point for any founder.

Determining whether or not to pursue a sale requires careful consideration. To gain insight into the thought processes of founders facing this pivotal choice, Ron Miller facilitated a discussion at TC Sessions: SaaS.

Panel Participants

• Jyoti Bansal, previously founder of AppDynamics, which was acquired by Cisco for $3.7 billion.
• Monica Sarbu, founder of Packetbeat, sold to Elastic.
• Nick Mehta, founder of LiveOffice, which was acquired by Symantec.

Bansal described the sale process as intensely involved. “The decision followed four days of extensive board meetings, discussions, debates, and even disagreements.”

Despite the substantial $3.7 billion valuation, the choice wasn’t straightforward. It wasn’t automatically considered a foregone conclusion.

(Access to exclusive content and resources for founders and startup teams is available through TechCrunch+. Sign up here.)

Big Tech Inc.

The landscape of technology continues to evolve, with major players adapting and innovating. Here's a look at recent developments from Microsoft, Instagram, and Facebook.

Microsoft's Cloud Transition

Microsoft underwent a significant shift towards cloud-based services. According to Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365, the company proactively guided its customer base to the cloud.

This transition was particularly noteworthy given Microsoft's substantial existing investments in traditional, legacy software. The move demonstrates a strategic realignment to meet changing market demands.

Instagram's Reels Enhancements

Instagram is actively refining its short-form video platform, Reels, in response to the popularity of TikTok. The platform recently introduced new features designed to enhance user creativity.

These updates include both text-to-speech functionality and a variety of voice effects. These additions aim to provide users with more tools for content creation within Reels.

Facebook's Focus on Live Shopping

Facebook, under the umbrella of Meta, is expanding its e-commerce capabilities with a focus on live shopping experiences. New shopping features are being implemented across the platform.

These include a group shopping feature, allowing users to shop together, and a test of Live Shopping specifically for content creators. The success of live shopping in markets like the United States remains uncertain.

However, Meta isn't alone in exploring this area. Companies like Talkshoplive and Pinterest are also actively developing and testing live shopping functionalities.

TechCrunch's Network of Experts

TechCrunch is dedicated to assisting startups in locating qualified professionals for their specific requirements.

Currently, we are compiling a curated list of leading growth marketers.

Gathering Recommendations

Since the launch of our survey, a substantial number of valuable recommendations for growth marketers within the startup ecosystem have been submitted.

We are actively reviewing and analyzing the incoming data to ensure a comprehensive and reliable resource.

Contribute Your Insights

Further responses are eagerly anticipated and will be carefully considered.

Your input is valuable; please complete the survey at this link.

• The goal is to connect startups with top-tier talent.
• Growth marketers are a key focus of this initiative.
• The survey is the primary method for gathering recommendations.

TechCrunch’s commitment to the startup community drives this effort to facilitate access to essential expertise.