TechCrunch+ roundup: Africa investor survey, biz model basics, video marketing tactics

If your marketing plan doesn’t include TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram Reels, well, can you really call it a marketing plan?

Video content is vital for driving early engagement, which is why growth expert Jonathan Martinez (formerly of Postmates, Uber and Chime) shares four tactics for getting started:

• Leverage creator marketplaces
• Produce short-form videos
• Build lasting creator relationships
• Cross-pollinate your videos

Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members
toptechtrends.com/subscribe/”>Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription

“If you’re entering 2023 without toptechtrends.com/2023/02/09/4-video-content-tips-for-your-startups-growth-marketing/”>a video content plan for your startup, you will be missing out on a significant resource for creating brand awareness and reaching more consumers,” writes Martinez.

To find more growth marketing tactics and strategies you can implement on your own, check out his recent five-article series:

• toptechtrends.com/2023/01/05/teach-yourself-growth-marketing-how-to-set-up-a-landing-page/”>Setting up a landing page.
• toptechtrends.com/2023/01/12/teach-yourself-growth-marketing-how-to-launch-a-paid-acquisition-channel/”>Launching a paid acquisition channel.
• toptechtrends.com/2023/01/19/teach-yourself-growth-marketing-how-to-boot-up-an-email-marketing-campaign/”>Booting up an email marketing campaign.
• toptechtrends.com/2023/01/26/teach-yourself-growth-marketing-how-to-perform-growth-experimentation-through-a-b-testing/”>A/B test growth experimentation.
• toptechtrends.com/2023/02/01/teach-yourself-growth-marketing-which-metrics-really-matter/”>Deciding which metrics matter most for your startup.

Thanks very much for reading TC+ this week,

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist

How to manage third-party cybersecurity risks that are too costly to ignore

toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg” alt=”A fallen white ceramic plate of spaghetti, with a fork beside it. Pasta bolognese in tomato sauce is scattered on a white background or table. The concept of vegetarian and vegan food. Food background. Copy of the text space.” width=”1024″ height=”683″ srcset=”https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg 2121w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=680,453 680w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1304043853.jpg?resize=50,33 50w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Image Credits: Aleksandr Zubkov (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Every early-stage startup relies on third-party vendors to handle some aspects of their operations: no one wants to build a shopping cart, credit card processing or ID verification app from scratch.

But now that third-party data breaches are a regular occurrence, teams need to make managing that risk a part of their day-to-day operations, writes Jon Siegler, co-founder and chief product officer of LogicGate.

“No matter how well you clean things up, the reputational hit to your organization will continue to cost you in lost business down the road,” he writes.

After a record 2022, 8 investors explain why it’s ‘still just Day 1’ for Africa’s startup ecosystem

toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg” alt=”Paper plane on a blue background.” width=”1024″ height=”674″ srcset=”https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg 2134w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=150,99 150w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=300,197 300w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=768,505 768w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=680,447 680w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=1536,1011 1536w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=2048,1347 2048w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=1200,790 1200w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1403960458.jpg?resize=50,33 50w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Image Credits: Natalia Ivanova (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Despite the downturn, Africa had a record year in 2022: 1,100 investors poured $6.5 billion in to the region’s startups, reports Tage Kene-Okafor.

To learn more about “what drove such volumes when the rest of the world was reining back the collective enthusiasm of 2021,” he interviewed eight investors:

• Kola Aina, general partner, Ventures Platform
• Zachariah George, managing partner, Launch Africa Ventures
• Olumide Soyombo, co-founder, Voltron Capital
• Stephen Deng, co-founder and managing partner, DFS Lab
• Karima El Hakim, country director, Plug and Play Egypt
• Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, founding partner, Future Africa
• Maya Horgan Famodu, founder and partner, Ingressive Capital
• Kyane Kassiri, partner, RaliCap

Dear Sophie: Will published articles boost my odds of getting an O-1A or H-1B visa?

toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg” alt=”lone figure at entrance to maze hedge that has an American flag at the center” width=”1024″ height=”576″ srcset=”https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg 3200w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=680,383 680w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dear-sophie-immigration-maze-3.jpg?resize=50,28 50w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

Dear Sophie,

I’m the founder and CEO of a startup in Istanbul, and I’ve heard that articles in publications about an entrepreneur or a startup can be a big plus when applying for an O-1A or H-1B visa.

Is that true? Which publications are valid? Should they be tier-1 or in English? Thank you for your help!

— Tenacious in Turkey

Pitch Deck Teardown: Spinach.io’s $6M seed deck

toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg” alt=”” width=”1024″ height=”576″ srcset=”https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg 1920w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg?resize=680,383 680w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spinach.ioSeedPitchDeckTechCrunchPitchDeckTeardown-Slide-COVER.jpg?resize=50,28 50w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Image Credits: Spinach.io (opens in a new window)

Before the pandemic, engineering teams typically started their days with face-to-face standup meetings so members could coordinate efforts and track each others’ progress.

Once those sessions became remote, Spinach.io developed a service that integrates with project management tools like Jira and Slack, as well as online meeting tools like Google Meet and Zoom.

“What we were trying to do here is really solve a very specific use case for engineering teams that follow the Scrum Agile development process,” said co-founder and CEO Matan Talmi.

Last August, Spinach.io raised a $6 million seed round; here’s the pitch deck they used:

• Cover slide
• Team slide
• Problem slide
• Mission slide
• Product slide
• Traction slide
• Customers slide
• Investors slide
• 18-month plan slide
• Thank-you slide

Think about your business model as part of a VC pitch

toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg” alt=”Image of tiles indicating parts of a business model on a dark blue background.” width=”1024″ height=”650″ srcset=”https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg 4928w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=150,95 150w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=300,191 300w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=768,488 768w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=680,432 680w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=1536,976 1536w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=2048,1301 2048w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=1200,762 1200w, https://toptechtrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1410342955.jpg?resize=50,32 50w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Image Credits: Andrii Yalanskyi / 500px (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

No one needs an MBA to craft a credible business plan, but if you want an investor’s attention, you’ll need to demonstrate a solid grasp of the fundamentals.

Haje Jan Kamps shares a framework for developing a plan slide for a pitch deck that focuses on five aspects:

• Cost of goods sold
• Customer acquisition cost
• Lifetime value
• R&D cost
• Pricing model

“Breaking those numbers down and presenting them the right way can greatly benefit how you tell your startup’s story to investors,” he writes.

toptechtrends.com/2023/02/10/techcrunch-roundup-africa-investor-survey-biz-model-basics-video-marketing-tactics/”>TechCrunch+ roundup: Africa investor survey, biz model basics, video marketing tactics by toptechtrends.com/author/walter-thompson/”>Walter Thompson originally published on toptechtrends.com/”>TechCrunch