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22 - Alphadoc, Off Script, and Tatem

May 04, 2023

Welcome to Issue 22!

Picture this: you're walking down the street and suddenly a genie appears, offering to grant you one wish for your startup. What would it be?

Would you ask for unlimited funding? A team of superhuman developers? Or maybe the ability to read your customer's minds? The possibilities are endless!

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Let’s dive in.

Startup spotlight

1️⃣

  • Industry - Developer Tools

  • Headquarters - Netherlands

  • Year founded - 2021

  • Key investors (public source) - Firestreak Ventures and angels (Christian Dahlen, Amir Rustamzadeh, Arje Cahn, and Oana Olteanu)

Documentation is a critical component of any API, yet it's often a frustrating and time-consuming process. Integrations and tech support can take up an enormous amount of time, and outdated or inadequate documentation can cost your company valuable business.

Alphadoc is an intuitive, fast, and hyper-engaging tutorial and documentation builder that keeps itself in sync with all your API versions.

Founder(s) background: Job Rietbergen (CEO) - ex-Chief Marketing Officer @ Founda, Head of Platform Growth @ Growth Tribe; Daan Stolk (CPO) - ex-Product Manager @ Verifone; Hans van Leeuwen (CTO) - ex-Lead Architect @ Verifone

2️⃣

  • Industry - Marketplaces, E-commerce

  • Headquarters - Sweden

  • Year founded - 2020

  • Stage - Pre-seed

  • Key investors (public source) - 3KVC, Watertower Ventures, Antler, Harizury, and angels (Total raised = $1.3 million)

Off Script is the platform for media brands and creators to build curated marketplaces, selling products from multiple brands. No inventory, no hassle, fully connected to your social channels.

On one hand, Off Script connects to hundreds of DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands via its proprietary connector, enabling live product data and direct forwarding of orders to brands' ecommerce platforms. On the other hand, the platform allows you to build your own customizable marketplace, curate from brands' product catalogues, and become a multi-brand retailer in minutes.

The goal is to help a new generation of online entrepreneurs enter the $26 trillion1 retail market and make commerce more human.

Founder(s) background: Pontus Karlsson (CEO) - ex-Business Consultant @ Centigo; Tom Coleman (COO) - ex-Consultant @ Bain & Company; Yuriy Kurylenko (CTO) - ex-Product Manager - Payments & Compliance @ Lenus; Henrietta Fromholtz - ex-Head of Global Influencer Marketing @ The Absolut Company

3️⃣

Tatem is on a mission to revolutionize project management by creating a platform that makes work enjoyable. While this may seem like a daunting task, Tatem has achieved it by eliminating the cluttered UI, outdated design, and unnecessary complexity commonly found in other project management tools. By doing so, Tatem has created an unparalleled user experience that incorporates automated workflows, meaningful metrics, and gamification, making tasks something to look forward to.

Why is this important? As businesses increasingly adopt hybrid2 and remote work models, maintaining productivity can be a challenge without the benefits of in-person interaction. Trust and collaboration can suffer when workers are isolated, and it can be difficult to determine if employees are being given too much or too little work.

Tatem's platform is designed to address these challenges by providing a seamless, enjoyable project management experience that boosts productivity and engagement for all members of the team.

Founder(s) background: Christopher LaFerla - ex-Co-founder & COO @ Companion, Strategy & Finance @ Faire

Do you know of a startup that we should write about in our newsletter? Please send us a reply!

Funding highlights

  • Entendre, the first company to launch a fully automated accounting and bookkeeping solution for Web3 companies, has secured $4 million in Seed funding. The round was led by Basis Set, with participation from Valhalla, Caffeinated, Moonpay, Alumni, MDig, and Alpine.

  • Ctrl, a SaaS startup based in London and Tel Aviv, has raised over €8 million ($9 million) in a Seed funding round to scale its workspace that helps revenue teams “supercharge” their CRM and customer workflows with advanced automation, AI tools and integrations. LocalGlobe and Earlybird led the round, with participation from Dig Ventures, Jibe Ventures, and angels including sales leaders from Slack, Intercom, Personio, and Celonis.

  • Range, the AI WealthTech platform, has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund. The round also included Expa (founded by Garrett Camp, former Chairman and Co-founder of Uber), Red Sea Ventures, 8-bit Capital, and individuals Randy Reddig (co-founder, Square), Adrian Aoun (CEO & founder at Forward Health), Severin Hacker (co-founder & CTO of Duolingo), and Dan Lewis (co-founder & CEO of Convoy).

Notable numbers

$4 billion

Shell has announced a $4 billion share buyback as it posts record first-quarter profits. The energy major reported adjusted earnings of $9.6 billion, with LNG trading and production helping offset lower oil and gas prices.

$1 billion

The EdTech segment has long been mulling over the potential impact of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT on learners. It appears that this wait is now having negative consequences. Reports indicate that US-listed educational firms, such as Chegg and Pearson, experienced a significant loss of approximately $1 billion (£803 million) in market capitalization.

$27-29 billion

OpenAI has recently secured new funding from prominent investors, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive, and K2 Global. In total, these venture capital firms have invested just over $300 million, valuing OpenAI at an estimated $27 billion to $29 billion.

New job openings

Please reach out for more information or an introduction.

  • Casual: The business planning platform for finance and beyond.

    • Frontend (UI) Engineer: 6+ years of experience with React and TypeScript (excluding contracting), Worked at Series A-C startup, Worked on a large in-house component library, or similar UI/UX assets - Remote (US, Canada, UK)

    • Backend (Data) Engineer: 6+ years software engineering experience, Experience with our backend stack (Node/Typescript/Go/Python) and ideally also have experience with the modern data stack (dbt, Fivtetran, ...) - Remote (US, Canada, and UK)

  • Galileo AI: Company operating at the intersection of AI and design with a mission to revolutionize UI design in the age of generative AI.

    • Software Engineer, Full Stack: 4 - 8 years of experience building user facing features and shipping to a production environment, Strong proficiency with the Node.js/TypeScript stack and Python - On-site (SF Bay Area)

    • Software Engineer, Frontend: Strong proficiency with frontend development technologies, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, and React, Strong proficiency with frontend development technologies, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, and React - On-site (SF Bay Area)

  • CyberConnect: Decentralized social graph protocol with identity sovereignty for mass adoption and network effects.

    • Head of Marketing: 4-7 years of relevant work experience in content marketing, writing, editing, journalism, or another relevant field - Remote (Prefer US Time zone)

Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

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