Top 4 Curated VC Picks + Must-Read Top 3 Books for 06Mar2024
🗒️ AI Takes Center Stage: Survey Reveals Financial Industry’s Top Trends for 2024
Nvidia: The financial services industry is undergoing a significant transformation with the adoption of AI technologies. NVIDIA’s fourth annual State of AI in Financial Services Report provides insights into the current landscape and emerging trends for 2024.
The report reveals that an overwhelming 91% of financial services companies are either assessing AI or already using it in production. These firms are using AI to drive innovation, improve operational efficiency and enhance customer experiences.
🗒️ Common Wealth Announces the Launch of the World's First Free VC Fund
Hackernoon: Common Wealth, the powerful, all-in-one platform for early-stage Web3 investments, today announces the launch of a world-first initiative: a Free “earn-to-own'' VC Fund. This launch represents a completely novel fusion of community-driven Web3 principles with the sophistication of venture capital investment. The initiative will see Common Wealth’s first fund opening up the venture capital sector to the masses, ensuring that the power of early-stage access in Web3 is now in the hands of the community it serves.
🗒️ Seed funding: Everything founders should know about fundraising, seed rounds and more for 2024
Techcrunch: If you’re looking at the current seed funding climate and thinking it’s rough out there, you’re not alone. The last few years have been a roller coaster for startups. First came the uncertainty in the early days of the pandemic, then came the exuberance mid to late in the pandemic when cash flowed freely to startups of nearly every stripe. Seed funding sizes were up, and so were valuations.
Today, things aren’t quite so copacetic. Money is tighter, and the hurdles for startups are higher. But for entrepreneurs early in their journey, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good time to raise a seed round.
🗒️ VC Roundup: Are VCs returning to crypto? February suggests renewed confidence
Cointelegraph: For the first time since March 2022, venture capital investments in crypto startups witnessed an increase, reaching $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. The figure represents a 2.5% rise from the third quarter, according to a recent PitchBook report.
The growth is consistent with an apparent resurgence of investor interest in crypto startups in early 2024, spurred by the approval of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In February, a diverse group of crypto startups announced recent funding raises, including Lava Protocol, Analog, Helika, Truflation, and Omega, among others.
Top 3 book summaries this week 📚
Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
In his book - based on 10,000 hours of development experience - Oren Klaff suggests this brain entered conflict is the main reason why our pitches fail. He claims there is a fundamental disconnect between the way we pitch anything and the way it is received by our audience. As a result, at the crucial moment, when it is most important to be convincing, nine out of ten times we are not.
Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders
How do you create and live a richer, more meaningful and effective life? You begin by watching this fascinating video summary of the new book by Tim Sanders.
The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
How you choose to spend your time has an enormous impact on your success. Learn the secrets to becoming more productive with the time you already have.