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xoxo,
Jordan
Ed. Note/Correction: Last week I wrote that Meter was backed by $170 million. But that was just their latest round of funding. Their total backing is $255 million. That’s also been corrected in the July 3 edition.
Industry intel
Kia Kokalitcheva is Pitchbook’s senior editor of VC news. She knows a lot about tech and money and who gets it, with stints at Axios, Fortune, and Venture Beat. Kia has spent her career roving all over tech journalism, but, she says, somewhere along the way, VC became her personal sweet spot. It’s kind of like having an advanced degree in funding.
I asked Kia about what’s getting attention from VCs right now, and what job seekers can get from that.
What do the founders and companies that are getting a lot of interest from VCs right now have in common?
One of the things I hear very frequently from seed-stage investors is being almost obsessed with the area that they are building a company in, just being very focused and really caring about solving that problem, because obviously startup ideas and business models will evolve as you’re trying to make it work and finding that product.
So, deep commitment, obsession with what they’re trying to solve. Tenacity is a big one because obviously, building a startup is really hard. It’s going through tons of challenges, tons of unexpected things.
Empathy for the customer, which matters more or less depending on what they’re doing, but usually strong empathy for the customer is a big one as well.
Being coachable and flexible also comes in, especially if they’re first-time founders or they’re starting a company in an area that they haven’t worked in before. Obviously, they’re going to have a lot to learn about that. Thoughtful, but also decisive. Those are also very common things I hear from investors.
Any advice for job seekers who want to get noticed by those early-stage startups, especially ones that are super high-growth?
Finding a way to show passion and motivation. I know founders definitely want folks onboard their team or their rocket ship who are very committed and who are going to be problem-solvers and feel a sense of ownership. But in a similar way, I definitely feel like if you’re trying to get noticed to be an early employee somewhere, showing that, ‘Hey, I also think that creating a simple AI video app or solving X problem for hospital patients or whatever it is, is super important.’ Coming up with all these ideas and just almost being consumed by it is definitely something founders are looking for.
Can folks fake their way into that, you think, or does it have to be sincere?
I mean, you can fake your way into anything, so I’m sure it’s possible. Okay fine, let’s say you fake your way into getting hired, right? There’s going to be a limit to how long you can sustain the charade.
Company spotlight: Cluely
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about Cluely. Mostly because everyone else is talking about Cluely and I never want you to feel left out of IYKYK stuff. Their platform reads your screen and listens to your meetings, then makes you better at your job or studying or coding or whatever you’re doing. Make of that what you will.
Their ARR doubled in one week to $7 million, TechCrunch reports. They’re hiring at their SF HQ.
New jobs
So hot, so fresh, so steamy. Like a plate of job fajitas.
Autonomous freight transportation company Parallel is hiring for a bunch of engineering roles in Los Angeles. They announced a $38 million series B in April.
Guillermo Flor, founder of European early-stage VC fund GoHub Ventures, is creating a personalized, AI-generated newsletter called Alfred, and he’s looking for a founding engineer. More info about the job here. Apply directly here.
Series, which bills itself as the first AI social network for students, is looking for a founding engineer. Check out the post here. The startup, launched by a few college students (from the Ivies, of course), is getting a lot of media buzz. Rightfully so, with some creative events, like this “blind” networking night in NYC.
Melbourne-based Arkeus, which designs and makes autonomous tech for intel and reconnaissance, is hiring at their HQ.
Arbor is generating carbon-negative power. Carbon neutrality isn’t enough—they want to gobble it up. They just received $41 million to build their first commercial-scale power plant. Arbor is hiring in El Segundo, CA.
Also in the world of next-gen technologies that won’t lead to our planet’s demise: Tulum Energy is decarbonizing hydrogen production. They’re hiring for positions in Milan, but they’ll consider remote. Think of all that good food you won’t be eating if you don’t pick Milan.
Venture Beat reported last week AI platform Dust reached $6 million ARR, up 6x from one year ago. They’re hiring in Paris, SF, and NYC. (three words: best croissants ever)
Finally it’s here: Financial operations platform Ramp is hiring a Reddit power user. It’s a remote job in the U.S. or Canada. Here’s the req: “We’re looking for a Professional Redditor who is a Reddit power user and understands the platform’s culture, nuances, and unwritten rules better than most people understand their hometown. You’ll develop and execute a comprehensive Reddit strategy that authentically integrates Ramp into relevant conversations across relevant subreddit communities.”
In other news…
A couple weeks ago I mentioned Maor Schlomo, founder of vibe coding platform Base44, which he sold to Wix for $80 million after just six months, making him almost a solo unicorn. He gave an interview to Lenny Rachitsky about how he did it. See the full interview here.
Remember those $100 million jobs Zuckerberg was advertising? Kylie Robison at WIRED reported on who Meta has scooped up for the “superintelligence” team so far.
Jack Dorsey is creating a new messaging app called Bitchat.
OK byyyyeeeeeee, bitchats.
👨🏻💻 Thanks for reading. I love you.
PS: Want to get matched directly with hiring startups? Let me do that for you. Apply to the a16z talent network and real people with real beating hearts—or maybe racing hearts, we love you so much—will look at what you send us and find good matches for you.