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Today we are mostly listening to acoustic covers of songs we love (a surprise Iron and Wine cover, perhaps?), and mentally preparing ourselves for TechCrunch Disrupt. Which reminds us — did you know you can get 15% off passes with the DC discount code for being a Daily Crunch reader? Don’t say we never did anything for you, dear reader! — Christine and Haje
The TechCrunch Top 3
- Simple crypto: Cryptocurrencies are still complex, or that’s the viewpoint of Solvo, a new app that is making crypto investment simpler, Romain reports. What’s different is that instead of being offered dozens of currencies to choose from, Solvo has curated a list of 10 so you don’t get lost in all the names.
- Well that didn’t last long: On Monday we brought you news that “the OG app is out to bring Instagram back to its glory days.” Today, Ivan has an update that the app was removed from the Apple App Store after Meta said the OG was Instagram in “an unauthorized manner.”
- Long live IPOs!: Travel is back and with it news that TripActions was making a possible play for an initial public offering, which would value the company at $12 billion, Mary Ann reports. Catch Alex’s take on the matter down in the TC+ section.
Startups and VC
Eviation’s Alice electric aircraft took off for the first time yesterday, teasing a future in which regional flights of hundreds of miles will be done with zero emissions and a lot less noise. It’s still a ways off, but today’s demonstration shows it’s at least just a matter of time and money, Devin reports.
Apropos electric vehicles, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has (finally!) begun production of Lordstown Motors’ electric pickup truck. The news is a milestone for both companies, Rebecca reports. Foxconn as it diversifies from manufacturing consumer electronics like iPhones to electric vehicles, and Lordstown as it finally gets its much-anticipated Endurance truck off production lines and, hopefully, into customers’ hands.
We have more, of course. Because that’s what we do:
How to make coaching work for your sales team
Image Credits: Richard Drury (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
A strong sales organization is the tip of the spear for every SaaS startup, but because so few founders have meaningful experience in this arena, they don’t know how to set their teams up for success.
In this TC+ article, contributor Kevin Varadian explains how to chart a sales coaching journey that boosts retention and increases revenue.
“It’s important to recognize that today’s sales teams are more problem-solvers than deal-closers — soft skills are more important here than technical capabilities,” he says.
Three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
Google’s Stadia is donezo, Brian reports. Stadia, the company’s game streaming service, was young, just under three years old, but just wasn’t getting the expected traction. However, based on Stadia’s remarks, there may be something new brewing.
We had a rather long Big Tech section for you yesterday, so enjoy these five shorter snippets: