Month: April 2020

There’s a potential climate-related crisis brewing in the beer industry and Province Brands has just raised $1.6 million for its technology that purports to be a solution.

The Canadian company, which has developed a way to make beer from any plant material, is pitching itself as a solution to the increasing shortages of barley and other grains caused by global climate change.

It’s a pivot for the brand. When it launched, the company was taking its technology to cannabis brands as a way to brew beer made from bud. But when the bottom started falling out of the cannabis market, Province Brands switched the pitch to the broader brewery business.

“The cannabis industry was overvalued from an equities perspective for years,” says Province Brands’ co-founder Dooma Wendschuh. “Starting in mid-2019 we started to see that crash… this is an industry that is very capital intensive… it requires a tremendous amount of investment to set up these facilities.”

As the market became less about the puff and more about the pass, Province decided to reach out to its investor base and raise a Canadian $2.2 million convertible note.

“We didn’t want investors to take a bath on it if that could be avoided,” says Wendschuh.

Province Brands’ last funding was its Series B in 2019 when the Company raised CAD $5 million at a CAD $70 million pre-money valuation, the company said in a statement. 

“Closing this round quickly highlights the attractiveness of Province Brands’ technology, IP, and market opportunities,” said Wendschuh.  

The money which came from previous institutional and angel investors will be used to continue marketing its technology more broadly to brewers impacted by rising prices for beer staples like barley and to launch its own branded hemp lager into the market.

The company’s Cambridge Bay Canadian Hemp Lager will be the first beer brewed from hemp, according to a statement from Province Brands. Made of only hemp, hops, water and yeast, the beverage contains no THC, CBD or phytocannabinoids and can legally be sold wherever alcohol is sold, the company said. 

“The technology we created to brew beer from cannabis would allow us to brew beer from any non-starch plant material,” Wendschuh said. “This could be transformative for beer companies where the price of barley has gone through the roof.”

In some cases barley is too expensive for large-scale beer production, Wendschuh noted. 

“Funds raised will help us complete Phase 1 construction of our 123,000-square-foot brewing facility and will enable us to receive additional licensing from Health Canada,” said Province Brands’ co-founder Jennifer Thomas. The company received its research and development license from Health Canada in late 2019. 

Province Brands is already working with some bigger name liquor companies on making beer substitutes from their feedstocks. In one case, the company is working with an undisclosed tequila manufacturer on a beer made from agave.

It is notable that the transaction closed in less than two months at a time when capital markets have been challenging. 

Source: Tech Crunch

The startup world is going through yet another evolution. A few years ago, VCs were focused on growth over profitability. Now, making money is just as important, if not more, than sheer growth. And we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, which has brought the economy to a crawl and forced entrepreneurs to rethink both their short and long-term priorities.

Startups want to hear from the voices they trust for guidance on how to navigate this difficult situation. That’s why we’re excited to introduce Extra Crunch Live, a virtual speaker series complete with live Q&A for our Extra Crunch members. We’re also thrilled to announce that Aileen Lee and Ted Wang, partners at Cowboy Ventures, will be joining us for our very first Extra Crunch Live call on April 20 at 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET. (Full details at the bottom of the post.)

Aileen Lee founded Cowboy Ventures, a well-known early-stage firm, after serving as a partner at KPCB from 1999 to 2012. She coined the term “unicorn” (in a TechCrunch article, no less) and has been named one of Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women, The Top Women Investors on Midas and The Times’ 100 Most Influential People.

She has worked hands-on with companies such as Bloom Energy, Blue Nile, One Kings Lane, Rent the Runway, Shopkick and Tellme (acquired by Microsoft) during her time at KPCB, and has investments in StyleSeat, Textio, August Home, Brit+Co, Crunchbase, Dollar Shave Club and Drop via Cowboy Ventures . Lee is also a co-founder of AllRaise, a nonprofit to accelerate the success of women in the tech ecosystem.

Ted Wang was one of the country’s leading tech startup lawyers, at Fenwick & West, before joining Cowboy Ventures. At the law firm, he served as outside counsel to some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Square, Sonos, Spotify, Jet, Stripe and Wealthfront.

Wang’s specialty is helping early-stage startups understand the metrics they need to hit to go from seed to Series A and beyond, and he likes to say one of his investment focuses is “Unsexy Tech,” with an interest in both consumer and enterprise tech.

We’re excited to talk to Lee and Wang about how they’re advising their portfolio companies during COVID-19, if there are new and innovative ways for early-stage startups to secure capital beyond the traditional VC route, and whether startups should hunker down or lean in during these uncertain times.

We have plenty of questions of our own, and you’ll also be able to ask your own questions. Make sure you come prepared! But you’ll need to be an Extra Crunch member to participate in the call.

We’ll be announcing more speakers very soon! Sign up for Extra Crunch to be the first to hear about the upcoming schedule. Information to join Aileen Lee and Ted Wang can be found below:

Source: Tech Crunch

As silently and swiftly as it has devastated families and communities around the world, COVID-19 has also left many startups gasping for air. Emerging companies with strong 2020 revenue forecasts have seen their high-confidence plans reduced by 60%-80% in a matter of days. Even in the best of times, startups must reach value-unlocking milestones to successfully raise new capital. But today, a globally synchronized halt to business activity has made irrelevant normal benchmarks for financing rounds.

Obtaining payroll support from the recently enacted special government programs for small businesses will not resolve the cascading problems startups are grappling with, regardless of whether or not they are VC-backed.

Product development roadmaps in many innovation-driven industries are changing in ways that may permanently alter a company’s future strategic direction. Merger and acquisition discussions are being shelved. Normal financing rounds, in process and contemplated, are contracting or being abandoned altogether. Many venture funds, including corporate venture programs, have unilaterally “taken a pause” to reevaluate the radically changing landscape for their early-stage company portfolios.

I last experienced this phenomenon in the aftermath of the Great Technology Bubble: 2002-2003. And all signs show that we are at the beginning of a new round of punitive “incentives” for venture investors to keep their companies alive.

Several of my current portfolio companies have recently proposed “emergency bridge” convertible note financings of between $5 million and $15 million, each featuring a painful feature for non-participants: multiple liquidation preferences benefiting only the new money above 3x, with discounts greater than 20% on conversion in a new equity financing. Of course, these financings are open to both existing and new investors. But the likelihood of another round is actually diminished by this type of structure.

Source: Tech Crunch

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the manufacture of the Coventor ventilator, a new hardware design first developed by the University of Minnesota. The project sought to create a ventilator that could provide the same level of life-saving care as existing ventilator models, but with a much lower cost to help ramp production quickly and make them affordable to the health institutions that need them.

The Coventor becomes the first of these types of novel ventilator designs to earn an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA. Just like it sounds, an EUA isn’t a full traditional medical device approval like the drug and device regulator would ordinarily issue, but an emergency, temporary grant in the interest of helping provide access to resources in short supply, or without the usual full chain of approvals, in times of crisis.

The coronavirus pandemic is potentially the best example of such a crisis in modern memory, and the respiratory illness caused by COVID-19 requires treatment including intubation and ventilator breathing support for the most severe cases. Ventilator hardware has been in short supply given the volume of cases, both in the U.S. and abroad, and a number of solutions have been proposed including new hardware designs and modifications to other types of medical breathing apparatus to account for the gap.

U of M’s Coventor, developed with a team including engineering and medical school faculty, is a desktop-sized device that costs around $1,000 to produce, making it a much more viable alternative if sold at cost to medical facilities when compared to the $20,000 to $25,000 retail price of your average existing hospital-grade ventilator hardware.

Both medical device maker Medtronic (the company that’s also working with Tesla on its ventilator manufacturing plans) and Boston Scientific (which will be producing the Coventor for distribution following this approval) contributed to the development of the design. The University also announced today that it would be making the Coventor’s specs open-source so that it can be manufactured globally, provided other companies seek and secure similar approvals from the FDA and relevant international health authorities.

Source: Tech Crunch

Bradley Tusk is relatively unique among investors. Where other VCs shy away from heavily regulated industries and businesses, Tusk leans in.

The Tusk Ventures founder and CEO has investments that include Uber, Bird, Coinbase, Lemonade, FanDuel and Alma Health.

At a time when good governance is front and center, and innovative thinking to evolve the status quo is necessary, we couldn’t be more thrilled to have Tusk join us for a live Q&A session.

In the last decade, public perception of the tech industry has changed dramatically. When Tusk first invested in Uber, the ‘ask for forgiveness, not permission’ era was well underway. Since, tech has slowly been seen as an enemy after an erosion of public trust by big and small firms alike. Has the coronavirus pandemic shifted the tide of public sentiment in favor of tech? This is but one of many questions we’ll ask Tusk.

We’re also excited to hear from Tusk on adaptation strategies for tech startups during this time, how they can catch the ear of government officials and regulators during COVID-19 in a way they couldn’t just a few months ago, and how founders can be better leaders to their companies during a time of crisis.

We’ll also chat specifically about the potential of digitized voting tools and the explosion of telehealth amidst the pandemic.

There will be plenty of time for audience questions, so come prepared!

Hit up this link to drop the Zoom details into your calendar! See you there!

Source: Tech Crunch

Here’s another edition of “Dear Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.

“Your questions are vital to the spread of knowledge that allows people all over the world to rise above borders and pursue their dreams,” says Sophie Alcorn, a Silicon Valley immigration attorney. “Whether you’re in people ops, a founder or seeking a job in Silicon Valley, I would love to answer your questions in my next column.”

“Dear Sophie” columns are accessible for Extra Crunch subscribers; use promo code ALCORN to purchase a one or two-year subscription for 50% off.

Dear Sophie:

I’m an E-3 visa holder and I usually go back to Australia to extend my visa.

Given the COVID-19 travel restrictions, how do I extend my immigration status from inside the U.S.?

— Aussie Programmer

Dear Aussie:

Thanks for your question. The extension process from inside the U.S. is similar for you and anyone on a working visa, such as H-1B, H-1B1 (from Chile or Singapore) or TN (from Canada or Mexico). You might be used to traveling back home, or to Canada, to renew your visa. However, there’s another way to do it.

Source: Tech Crunch

NBCUniversal’s new streaming service Peacock is launching for Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex customers tomorrow, April 15, at no additional cost.

Comcast says the rollout to its platforms begins tomorrow and will complete by month’s end.

This lines up with the schedule that the company announced in January, which pointed to a broader launch on July 15. NBCUniversal says that’s still happening, though the launch will no longer coincide with the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Comcast subscribers will get access to Peacock’s premium tier, which it says will include an on-demand library of more than 15,000 hours of TV and movies, including “30 Rock,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Yellowstone,” “Law & Order” and its various spin-offs, “Jurassic Park” and “Shrek.” It also will include early access to NBC’s late-night shows “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon and “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”

When the service launches more broadly in July (which is also when it launches on mobile), there will be a free tier with roughly half as much content. If you pay for Peacock Premium separately, it will cost $4.99 per month with ads, or $9.99 per month without ads. (Peacock’s ad load will be relatively light at launch, with no more than five minutes of ads per hour.)

Like every streaming service, Peacock will eventually feature original programming, including a reboot of “Battlestar Galactica.” The release dates for some of that original programming may be delayed, however, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down productions worldwide. But Peacock Chairman Matt Strauss told reporters today that a few of its series are on track for 2020, including the “Psych” movie, “Brave New World” and the reboots of “Punky Brewster” and “Saved by the Bell.”

Strauss added that he remains “very optimistic” about Peacock’s prospects, thanks to “a vast library of content that we know is going to resonate.” (Lest this seem like merely putting a brave face on a tough situation, it’s worth noting that Disney+ recently passed more than 50 million subscribers despite — “The Mandalorian” aside — a relatively limited slate of originals.)

“What’s postponed in 2020 will come back to us, even bigger, in 2021 — when Peacock will, arguably, really be hitting its stride,” Strauss said.

Dana Strong, president of consumer services at Comcast Cable, also noted that “viewing on every dimension of our platform is up during this period,” with a year-over-year increase of two hours per day per household, as well as a 50% increase in video-on-demand viewing.

Strauss also downplayed COVID-19’s impact on advertising, noting that Peacock reached the milestone of 10 advertising sponsors at launch, and characterized its deals as being more focused on the “long-term.”

And while Comcast (as NBCUniversal’s parent company) makes sense as the initial cable partner for Peacock, he said, “We see an opportunity to do similar bundling deals with other distributors.”

Source: Tech Crunch