Extra Crunch Tuesday: What's ahead in IPO land for JFrog, Snowflake, Sumo Logic and Unity

Welcome to Extra Crunch Tuesday

I’ve been told that the third quarter isn’t a typical boom time for IPOs, but the number of tech companies preparing to debut right now reminds me of Atlantic hurricane season.

As of this writing, meteorologists are tracking eight storm systems, making this the second time in history that five or more tropical cyclones occurred simultaneously.

Similarly, next week, Corsair Gaming, Palantir and Asana are set to make their debuts in the public markets; Sumo Logic and Unity will begin trading this week, and Snowflake and JFrog recently raised their pricing targets.

Alex Wilhelm’s coverage of these high-flying unicorns reminds me of intrepid reporters who head to beaches so they can wait for a wild storm to make landfall.

Yesterday, he delved into Snowflake and JFrog’s pricing ranges, and this morning, he looks ahead at this “big-ass IPO week” and its implications for other highly-valued startups.

“Now, we just need another dozen or two of these periods, and we’ll have made real progress in unlocking some of the world’s frozen unicorn value,” writes Alex.

Read more

How to hire your first engineer: A guide for nontechnical founders

If you hired a contractor to build a backyard barbecue, there’s virtually no chance that they’d end up co-owning your home.

Startups are different — your first engineering hire could very end up as the CTO. And if you don’t have coding skills, how do you even source, interview and hire a skilled developer?

Lucas Matney wrote a guide for nontechnical founders who are considering hiring their first developer that covers:

• Sourcing technical candidates
• How to conduct interviews
• Making an offer
• Taking a nontraditional route

Read more

Extra Crunch Partner Perk: Discount on Dell XPS laptop and Dell for Entrepreneurs program

Sponsored by TechCrunch

Extra Crunch members can get a discount on a Dell XPS laptop and membership to the Dell for Entrepreneurs program.

Read more

As low-code startups continue to attract VC interest, what's driving customer demand?

The disconnect between the available supply of software engineers and organizations that require customized development has always existed.

No-code and low-code solutions are closing that gap, but why do businesses need so many bespoke apps?

Alex Wilhelm interviewed Mendix CEO Derek Roos to learn more about the surge of interest in the sector.

Said Roos, “low-code for the enterprise has come of age and is taking its place as a major player in the enterprise digital agenda.”

Read more

As COVID-19 era drags on, VCs look beyond Zoom calls for due diligence and sourcing

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Natasha Mascarenhas has reported on how sheltering in place has changed the way many investors are making deals.

For her latest story, she interviewed Shashank Polanki, co-founder of Matchbox.VC, a service where VCs and founders connect “over video games to network and source deals in a low-stress environment.”

So far, entrepreneurs and VCs have made more than 671 connections since May, “with roughly a 63% to 37% founder-to-investor split.”

Read more

Unicorn layoffs prompt more startups to consider acqui-hiring

I’ve grown used to hearing the term “acqui-hire” to describe a successful exit, but I hadn’t considered its role when a startup is experiencing troubled times.

After restaurant point-of-sale software company Toast cut of its staff, online mortgage startup Stavvy picked up so many employees, a majority of its team now consists of former Toast employees.

“I think one of the benefits of recruiting from an organization that is sort of an iconic Boston company, is that you know what the hiring practices are,” said Stavvy co-founder Kosta Ligris. “There’s been a level of vetting that has occurred.”

Read more

Facebook investor Jim Breyer picks Austin as Breyer Capital's second home

Jim Breyer recently opened an office in Austin, Texas for Breyer Capital, his personal investment fund.

Breyer, whose investments and board seats include Walmart, Marvel Entertainment and Facebook, told TechCrunch’s Jon Shieber that the move “comes after several years of thinking through where would be the most interesting place to expand Breyer Capital outside of Silicon Valley.”

Read more