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Mike is thinking about his readers here. TechCrunch is essentially a business-to-business publication, which provides market intelligence on technology companie

Mike is thinking about his readers here. TechCrunch is essentially a business-to-business publication, which provides market intelligence on technology companies. It might be 'sexier' than The Aluminium Times or Mining Today, but it's effectively serving the same role -- to inform the industry, and those working within it, about important sector news in a timely way. People who aren't strictly working in the industry read it too because they're interested in tech more generally, or getting involved in it, or want to know the coolest things to download. For that reason, TechCrunch publishes the occasional entertaining piece. But it's primarily purpose is to brief tech entrepreneurs, C-suite executives and VCs who are active in the industry. So, what are these people interested in? They are /absolutely/ interested in who is participating in funding rounds, as well as the level of their contribution. If I run a fashion start-up, for example, and spot on TechCrunch a story about another fashion start-up securing $5m in Series A funding, the first thing I'm going to ask myself is... who participated in this round? Then I can ping them an email to get on their radar. Who is investing is crucial market information for tech decision-makers. It's certainly not just a bit of trivia.

mindcrime 11y ago
If I run a fashion start-up, for example, and spot on TechCrunch a story about another fashion start-up securing $5m in Series A funding, the first thing I'm going to ask myself is... who participated in this round? Then I can ping them an email to get on their radar. Sure, I'm not saying that it doesn't matter to somebody. But in the grand scheme of things, I don't believe it's that important. OTOH, I do believe there are people who think it's important, so in some indirect sense, it matters. But my point is just to say that it's hardly The Most Important Thing, especially compared to the meat of what the company is actually doing. IOW, if you've invented AGI, that's news-worthy regardless of whether you're funded by A16Z, Bull City Venture Partners, or your crazy uncle Bob.
aaronbrethorst 11y ago
TechCrunch is essentially a business-to-business publication, which provides market intelligence on technology companies I couldn't disagree more. Most charitably, it's Sports Illustrated for technology. If I run a fashion start-up, for example, and spot on TechCrunch a story about another fashion start-up securing $5m in Series A funding, the first thing I'm going to ask myself is... who participated in this round? Then I can ping them an email to get on their radar. Dear VC, now that you have skin in the game in this sector, please develop a conflict of interest by investing in my startup that competes with a company you've already invested in. Here's an example of how/why this doesn't work: http://www.bhorowitz.com/instagram http://www.bhorowitz.com/instagram
manigandham 11y ago
TechCrunch is not a B2B publication, it's much more consumer oriented. Most of their market intel is pretty far off precisely because they write about so much in generic/layman terms by writers who don't have strong industry niches. Investors have much better options for investment intel like CBInsights or Mattermark than TC. It's not a bad source of info, but not always reliable or accurate and definitely not a primary source for VCs/execs (outside of perhaps the SV bubble). A good example of B2B publications would be trade journals and sites like the IDG network that offer much more nuanced articles and insights with very focused categories.

mindcrime 11y ago

If I run a fashion start-up, for example, and spot on TechCrunch a story about another fashion start-up securing $5m in Series A funding, the first thing I'm going to ask myself is... who participated in this round? Then I can ping them an email to get on their radar. Sure, I'm not saying that it doesn't matter to somebody. But in the grand scheme of things, I don't believe it's that important. OTOH, I do believe there are people who think it's important, so in some indirect sense, it matters. But my point is just to say that it's hardly The Most Important Thing, especially compared to the meat of what the company is actually doing. IOW, if you've invented AGI, that's news-worthy regardless of whether you're funded by A16Z, Bull City Venture Partners, or your crazy uncle Bob.

aaronbrethorst 11y ago

TechCrunch is essentially a business-to-business publication, which provides market intelligence on technology companies I couldn't disagree more. Most charitably, it's Sports Illustrated for technology. If I run a fashion start-up, for example, and spot on TechCrunch a story about another fashion start-up securing $5m in Series A funding, the first thing I'm going to ask myself is... who participated in this round? Then I can ping them an email to get on their radar. Dear VC, now that you have skin in the game in this sector, please develop a conflict of interest by investing in my startup that competes with a company you've already invested in. Here's an example of how/why this doesn't work: http://www.bhorowitz.com/instagram http://www.bhorowitz.com/instagram

manigandham 11y ago

TechCrunch is not a B2B publication, it's much more consumer oriented. Most of their market intel is pretty far off precisely because they write about so much in generic/layman terms by writers who don't have strong industry niches. Investors have much better options for investment intel like CBInsights or Mattermark than TC. It's not a bad source of info, but not always reliable or accurate and definitely not a primary source for VCs/execs (outside of perhaps the SV bubble). A good example of B2B publications would be trade journals and sites like the IDG network that offer much more nuanced articles and insights with very focused categories.