Daredevil Unicorns AirBnB & Uber Get Tested
Dear Marker Reader,
Back in September, Marker Editor-at-Large Steve LeVine identified a new class of startups: Uber, WeWork and Juul, among others, were Daredevil Unicorns, run by “aggressively blithe founders who, fueled by chutzpah, raw conceptual genius, and a promise to shatter paradigms, have dominated the last decade of technological history with eye-popping valuations.” At the time, LeVine — who has been covering business and geopolitics for nearly three decades at places including the Wall Street Journal and Axios — predicted a market correction disfavoring the Daredevils.
📉 READ: Daredevil Startups Are Finally Exposed for What They Are
It seems that market correction has finally arrived in the form of a pandemic-induced-recession. This week, as layoffs hit both AirBnB and Uber, LeVine examines exactly how these asset light, billion-dollar startups sitting on lots of cash are attempting to ride this out. “Are the daredevils dying — or only in hibernation?” poses LeVine in Daredevil Startups Are Finally Exposed for What They Are.
For those trying to fundraise right now — or wondering how they are going to save their business — investor Fred Destin provides detailed, must-read advice for how not to get screwed over by VCs when they smell desperation.
✔️ READ: The VC Barbarians Are Coming
Other fascinating reads this week include MIT’s new study identifying which businesses should re-open first, Google’s strategy to pounce on Zoom, and the delicious, yet irrational act of shoptimism in the middle of a pandemic (you’ll have to read it to find out.)
Have a great weekend,
Editor-in-Chief
Marker//Medium
