Creative capital is the secret sauce, not venture capital

Welcome to TechCrunch+ Tuesday

Before a startup lands its first customer or investor, its founders must invest time and energy to develop intellectual property.

In some cases, IP can be as tangible as a patent, but strategic assets can also take the form of product visualizations, target audience data or early product/engineering prototypes.

Brett Lovelady, founder of design firm Astro Studios, defines these design and development assets as “creative capital,” which “can ultimately last longer and potentially become more valuable” than venture capital.

In a guest post for TechCrunch+, he describes different types of creative capital and includes multiple examples of how startups can leverage it for success.

Extra Crunch is now TechCrunch+.

In addition to updating our name and logo, we’re offering military, student and government membership discounts and have expanded access to new regions.

Also, Extra Crunch Live, our weekly video series with investors and founders, is now TechCrunch Live — and you don’t need to be a member to join the audience.

In the coming months, we’re hoping to allow anyone, anywhere to become a TechCrunch+ member, so stay tuned for more news on that front.

Thanks very much for reading!

Walter Thompson
Senior Editor, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist

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Can direct listings really fix the IPO pricing problem?

It’s a two public-offering week, with both U.S. software company Amplitude and direct-to-consumer eyeglass purveyor Warby Parker set to go public via direct listings.

“Even if you are tired of IPOs, these two warrant your attention,” writes Alex Wilhelm in The Exchange.

“The two direct listings will help us figure out which side of the public-private divide is truly undervaluing startups,” says Alex.

“It’s either pesky bankers extracting unearned value from hardworking Silicon Valley types at graduation day, or it’s private-market investors irked that anyone else accretes upside from startups.”

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Brands considering a live-shopping strategy must lean on influencers

Madison Schill, director of marketing and communications at Livescale, breaks down essential strategies for companies that hope to build their brands via online shopping, livestreaming and social media.

The first step? Start developing relationships now with influencers so your live-shopping experience has an authentic feel.

“Ahead of a volatile retail season, one theme is clear: It’s a now-or-never moment for brands to adopt live shopping, expand their audience ownership and build a new community of influencers,” Schill writes in a guest post that includes case studies from brands like Knix, Urban Decay and Lancôme.

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The enormous challenges and abundant opportunities in climate tech

To repair the damage humankind has inflicted on Earth’s climate patterns, solutions that touch nearly every aspect of our behavior are required.

“We have 100 areas, 1,000 different areas that need to be reinvented and industries that need to be reconstructed,” SOSV managing general partner Sean O’Sullivan said last week at TechCrunch Disrupt in conversation with reporter Kirsten Korosec and Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

“Of course, there’s going to be some percentage of folks who are going to stiff-arm the whole thing,” Roberts said. “But by and large, I think the majority of people are starting to cooperate a lot more.”

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5 questions for venture capital in Q3

In today’s edition of The Exchange, Anna Heim and Alex Wilhelm preview five questions that form the basis of their upcoming analysis of global Q3 2021 VC activity:

• Did Europe’s venture scene keep raising record sums?
• What’s going on with China’s venture capital market?
• Is the U.S. holding onto, or losing, venture dominance?
• Where in Latin America are we seeing the most acceleration?
• Are mega-rounds still the key driver in venture aggregates?

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