Highlights of the Week (April 1, 2022)

Today, there are two types of people in the world: people who acknowledge April 1st as the start of Q2 and people who have carefully devised pranks for those nearest and dearest to them. I’d say I’m an April Fools' girl living in a Q2 world. In celebration of both days, here’s a little backstory on each.

Q2 denotes the second fiscal quarter of the year and the close of Q1. Quarters were designed to create a consistent and comparable reporting basis for a business's operations. In the first three months of 2022 (aka Q1), for example, we saw the first losing quarter for stocks in two years.

April Fools’ Day’s origins are somewhat fuzzier, potentially resulting from historical moments like France’s switch to the Gregorian calendar, changing the start of the new year from April 1 to January 1, and labeling those slow to get with the program, fools. Or perhaps it was the ancient Romans celebrating the cult holiday of Hilaria, in which they would dress up and mock one another.

Here’s a look back on the week’s top stories from PrivCo. 

• Monday, we looked at the market correction taking place on the public stock exchanges and its effect on private investments. It was a reminder that private company valuations are written in pencil, not stone. Check it out.

• Foodtech is planting seeds in plant-based alternatives. We’re profiling the companies coming up for harvest. ‘Meat’ them here.

• What happens when we work smarter, not harder? We might create an innovative company that bypasses all the competition. Learn about one company building a better battery. Check it out.

• Our latest PrivCo Insight covered the top 30 most valuable companies in crypto, NFTs, blockchain, and DeFi. Learn about crypto then and now here.