Connect with us

Science & Technology

Investing in people first with Contrary and AtoB

It’s been tough to raise funds in the last few years for most sectors, and most VCs will tell you that a startup needs to have a killer product-market fit before getting that check. But Eric Tarczynski of Contrary Capital believes in investing in people over businesses, and the wisdom to this approach has been…

Published

2 years ago

on

It’s been tough to raise funds in the last few years for most sectors, and most VCs will tell you that a startup needs to have a killer product-market fit before getting that check. But Eric Tarczynski of Contrary Capital believes in investing in people over businesses, and the wisdom to this approach has been proven out with AtoB.

AtoB actually started out as something akin to Uber for buses, but due to the strength of the founding team, the company was able to quickly pivot and become a platform that’s more like Stripe for transportation. It’s an integrated financial platform that’s based around the core product of a fuel card for truckers. Since founding in September 2019, AtoB has scaled to a network of 25,000 businesses and 100,000 truck drivers in the U.S. To give you an idea of how huge this potential market is, Harshita Arora, co-founder of the company, says she thinks AtoB has captured around 5% of the market share in the U.S. and can already project for $100 million in revenue.

Arora herself actually presents as the perfect example of why VCs might want to find the gems of the world and let them do their thing. Born and raised in India, the now 21-year-old founder dropped out of school when she was 14 for more challenging pursuits. At 16, she founded the Crypto Price Tracker, which became an App Store hit and was acquired by Redwood City Ventures in 2018. In a startup world that has been defined by the so-called Boy Genius (AKA a hoodie-clad MIT dropout at whom VCs have historically thrown billions of dollars), Arora represents the future of investing in the next generation of Girl Geniuses.

We hosted Arora and Tarczynski on TechCrunch Live to discuss why VCs should invest in people over businesses, red and green flags of founding teams, AtoB’s journey of building a product based on trucker pain points and more.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement
3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. 👉 BUY YOUTUBE VIEWS 👉 Link in Bio

    March 22, 2023 at 5:22 pm

    This video is on Point!

    Reply

  2. Fernando Lorenzo

    March 24, 2023 at 10:37 am

    I worked with Harshita to develop an app that leverages AI and biology before as project manager. I’m proud of what she accomplished since then!

    Reply

    • ruby villarubia

      March 27, 2023 at 4:29 am

      thank you❤

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Science & Technology

Building trust in crypto with Jonathan Levin of Chainalysis | Equity Podcast

Late last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler said that he was “proud to serve” the agency, which some are taking as a hint at an upcoming resignation. Gensler has faced heavy criticism for his crackdown on crypto, including a recent lawsuit from 18 states, and is likely to be replaced under…

Published

11 hours ago

on

November 22, 2024

By

Late last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler said that he was “proud to serve” the agency, which some are taking as a hint at an upcoming resignation. Gensler has faced heavy criticism for his crackdown on crypto, including a recent lawsuit from 18 states, and is likely to be replaced under President-Elect Donald Trump who has vowed to oust Gensler. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is meeting with Brian Armstrong, the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, to discuss potential personnel appointments. 

This episode of Equity brings you an interview between Rebecca Bellan and co-founder and CSO of blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Jonathan Levin. The pair caught up at our Strictly VC event in New York shortly before the Gary Gensler news dropped to discuss the imminent change for crypto in the wake of the US election and Chainalysis’s choice to run its operations in the US. 

Equity is a show about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. New episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

For episode transcripts and more, head to Simplecast:

Check out more from the TechCrunch Podcast Network.
Chain Reaction:
Found:

Follow TechCrunch
YouTube:
Instagram:
TikTok:
X: tcrn.ch/x
Facebook:
Read more:

Continue Reading

Science & Technology

Ben Horowitz’s cozy relationship with the LVMPD – and why it matters | Equity Podcast

Over the last few years, VC Ben Horowitz has donated at least $7.6 million to fund police department purchases – including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s new drones from a16z-backed Skydio. Skydio is not the first of a16z’s portfolio companies to benefit from these donations, either. Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl dig…

Published

11 hours ago

on

November 22, 2024

By

Over the last few years, VC Ben Horowitz has donated at least $7.6 million to fund police department purchases – including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s new drones from a16z-backed Skydio. Skydio is not the first of a16z’s portfolio companies to benefit from these donations, either.

Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl dig into the implications of Horowitz’s approach and why others in the VC world should maybe hold off on praising the controversial move

Equity is a show about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. New episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

For episode transcripts and more, head to Simplecast:

Check out more from the TechCrunch Podcast Network.
Chain Reaction:
Found:

Follow TechCrunch
YouTube:
Instagram:
TikTok:
X: tcrn.ch/x
Facebook:
Read more:

Continue Reading

Science & Technology

Marc Benioff says it’s ‘crazy talk’ that AI will hurt Salesforce | Equity Podcast

Today on Equity, TechCrunch Editor Julie Bort is sitting down with Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce and one of the tech industry’s biggest hype men, about his latest work with Time Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, and why he thinks AI agents are the next big thing for enterprise software.  Equity is a show about…

Published

11 hours ago

on

November 22, 2024

By

Today on Equity, TechCrunch Editor Julie Bort is sitting down with Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce and one of the tech industry’s biggest hype men, about his latest work with Time Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, and why he thinks AI agents are the next big thing for enterprise software. 

Equity is a show about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. New episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

For episode transcripts and more, head to Simplecast:

Check out more from the TechCrunch Podcast Network.
Chain Reaction:
Found:

Follow TechCrunch
YouTube:
Instagram:
TikTok:
X: tcrn.ch/x
Facebook:
Read more:

Continue Reading

Trending