Issue 47

What will be the state of startups for 2016?

Hey fellow founders,

In this week's issue we heat up the discussion around hackathons, diversity, and privacy to peal off the superficiality in the startup scene.

Also read about the challenges and opportunities of running an innovation lab, creating a marketing strategy a la Slack and failing with a mobile app.

What are your intentions for your startup and the global ecosystem for the next year? We would love to hear.

Have a nice weekend,

Larry & Leon

Must read

State of Startups

First Round comes with the State of Startups 2015, the ideal reading material for the weekend!

Culture

Hacking the hype: Why hackathons don’t work

"They are divorced from reality." Ouch, this is harsh but perhaps the hackathon formula should be changed if you really want to create a lasting impact.

4 forces at work against women in venture capital

"Women are clearly qualified and will join the highest ranks of venture, but right now, they are fighting on at least four levels to get there. The next question should be: How do we address the dysfunction, open the opportunity to everyone, and build the platforms that enable all venture investors - women and men - to maximize their learning curves, networks, and success."

Analyzing the subtle bias In tech companies' recruiting emails

We need to fix our current startup culture by changing the language we use to become more inclusive and diversified.

“F**k unicorns, build the company you wouldn’t sell”

Sit back and relax when watching this epic interview with co-founder of Basecamp, David Heinemeier Hansson. Don't forget to read their previous blogpost 'Reconsider' as it will shake all that startup bull out of you. It made our day!