Highlights of the Week (April 8, 2022)

I’m heading out for some R&R this weekend in beautiful Healdsburg, CA. Plans include grilling, riding ATVs (wish me luck), and floating down the Russian River in a kayak with some of my oldest friends. At $75 a head for the rental, it strikes me that summer rentals are good business–if you can handle teenage employees and nature-averse city-folk. Lo-and-behold, a quick search in the PrivCo database uncovers hundreds of private canoe & kayak rental companies generating upwards of seven figures.

                                                                         Me, this weekend.
Before I head out, here’s a recap of the week’s top stories. 

• Monday, we looked at tech’s Hollywood moment, with former founders getting their dramatic debut. Are the Holmes, Kalanicks, and Neumanns aberrations or byproducts of the venture capital universe? Find out.

• Y Combinator has the front row seat for innovative seed-stage startups. In our investment highlight, we looked at the green innovations they’re sprouting. Check it out.

• Building community is the first step for many brands. But capitalizing on that community isn’t a guarantee. Chief, the women’s networking community for C-suite execs, has done both, building a roster of members and achieving profitability. Learn how they did it.

• Venture capital seems to have a catch-22 on its hands. Scale fast so that venture capitalists can see returns ASAP, but not so fast you burn through all your cash before turning a profit. What can we learn about the failure of Fast? Read more.