TechCrunch Summary: History lessons from the dot-com bust, post-M&A strategies, climate tech heats up

What can today’s founders learn from the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000?

The late 1990s were a fascinating time to be working in startups and living in San Francisco.

I didn’t need to be an economist to realize that many of the companies I worked for and sponsored lacked solid foundations: the same unprofitable startups that offered in-home massages, catered meals, and laundry services were also buying ads for the Super Bowl and freeways. in open.

I still have storage containers in my kitchen from Webvan, the grocery delivery competitor that has become so popular that MBA candidates now study it in business school. Likewise, courier bags for Kozmo.com, which promised “videos, games, DVDs, music, magazines, books, food, basics and more” to customers in 60 minutes or less, now sell for $100. 350 or more on Etsy.

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In 2000, many of these high-flyers left behind smoldering craters. Anna Barber was vice president of products at Petstore.com when her company was sold to Pets.com, a competitor.

“We fired our team, except for one person, who stayed with the CEO to help close the company and settle all of our creditors,” says Barber, now a partner at M13. “That person was me.”

Noon PT/3pm ET todayshe’ll join me to talk about how today’s startup operators can avoid many of the mistakes founders made in past crises.

We’ll discuss the economic, social and emotional impact of so many companies closing their doors at once, and Barber will talk about how founders can align with their investors and employees while managing the uncertainty.

This Twitter space is open to everyoneso I hope you will join the chat.

Thanks for reading,
Walter Thompson
Editorial Director, TechCrunch+
@seuprotagonist

You sold your company. What now?

Scaling a company from conception to acquisition is quite the accomplishment, but it’s not the goal, according to Marjorie Radlo-Zanda, a TC+ investor and frequent contributor.

“You may wonder if the customer really understands your products, values, culture, or the customer needs that drive the business,” she writes. “Employees will wonder if there will be a place for them in another company.”

In her latest column, she shares “six guiding principles that will set up your transaction for success” and help you achieve full profits.

Enterprise eCommerce 2022: As TAM Expands, Platform Wars Heat Up

Image authors: Getty Images

E-commerce platforms have onboarded new merchants at a rapid pace since the start of the pandemic, and there are no signs of slowing down, according to market intelligence platform PipeCandy.

“The major enterprise e-commerce platforms have added more than 10,000 merchants,” according to co-founder Ashwin Ramasamy, who compared the relative performance of Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Drupal Commerce and four other players.

“This is huge, especially since the year is still far from over and these platforms already have only 1,000 fewer merchants than last year.”

Use DORA metrics to support the next generation of remote work models

Image authors: Edwin Remsberg (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Non-technical CEOs often rely on the judgment of others to know how good their developers are. But without data, this is a very subjective process.

Startups that do not use DORA metrics (DevOps Research and Assessment) tend to measure the performance of the software delivery team. For example, a group that has a high failure rate can cover its shortcomings (for a while) by deploying rapidly.

Working remotely is the new normal, especially for engineers, says Alex Circei, CEO and co-founder of development analytics tool Waydev. But using DORA metrics, CTOs, CEOs and HR managers can “get back on the same page to support their technology teams and business results.”

Climate technology is a hot investment in 2022 – the next five years could be even hotter

Image authors: Monty Rakusen (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Is the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act creating a tailwind for climate technology start-ups?

Reporter Tim De Chant found that the number of deals for climate technology startups grew by 15.4% in the second quarter of 2022, “and the average value per contract remained stable at $23.6 million, more than triple the previous five years.”

Tax credits and other incentives in IRAs can spur interest in financing proprietary technology, recycling, ecosystem monitoring, and companies that extract carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.

“In other words, the opportunities to invest in climate technology are only increasing,” he writes.

For payment orchestration startups in Latin America, market fragmentation is a blessing in disguise

Image authors: alomartinezfotografia (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

In Latin America, e-commerce is plagued by high fraud rates. Almost 20% of adults have a credit card, and many who have one cannot use it abroad.

It is also true that e-commerce there is growing faster than in any other region since the start of the pandemic. According to one study, online sales in Latin America will reach $379 billion, which is 32% more than the previous year.

“The payments landscape in Latin America appears hopelessly fragmented and riddled with fraud,” says Rocio Wu, director of F-Prime Capital.

“However, we believe that fragmentation really provides a great opportunity for vertically integrated payment orchestration startups to realize great value.”