TechCrunch+ Summary: 3 Key Hiring Metrics, Building SDR Teams, Insurance Investor Survey

The cost of recruiting, training, and on-boarding a poorly performing new employee can be as much as 50% of the individual’s first year’s salary.

According to Anastasia Kuzmenko, Head of Talent Acquisition at Flyer One Ventures, “The biggest difference between hiring in a healthy economy and hiring now is that there is no room for mistakes.

Hiring the wrong person can lead to many failures in a startup, which is why she advises founders to focus on three critical metrics to “take a more data-driven approach.”

---

Full TechCrunch+ articles are available to members only
Use discount code TCP PLUS ROUNDUP One or two year subscription to save 20%

---

• Cost per hire
• Time to hire
• Employee turnover rate

In her article, Kuzmenko shares formulas for calculating each metric, along with tactical tips for setting metrics and helping managers align with employee morale.

Thank you for reading

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@your main actor

How to build a sales rep strategy that fills your B2B pipeline

Marketing teams deserve credit for creating creative campaigns that cut through the noise: persuading someone to try a new product or service takes real skill!

In practice, however, sales development representatives (SDRs) do most of the work required to generate new customers, “whether it’s making cold calls, writing email addresses or sending outbound letters,” says GTM strategist Mike Tong.

Because it takes “15 touches to see a demo,” Tong developed the TC+ Guide for CEOs who need guidance on hiring and motivating SDR teams.

“Building a pipeline in early-stage companies is expensive and time-consuming, often more than the sales process. That said, getting it right may be the most important thing you can do for your business.”

YC’s summer class is buzzing with AI companies.

Reminds me of servers at chain restaurants who are mandated to wear flyer pins, and 34% of startups in Y Combinator’s latest class say they are either “an AI company or using AI in some way.” Rebecca Szkutak reports.

“You can’t blame YC companies for leaning towards AI,” she wrote. “If you see VCs throwing dollars — in a strong fundraising market, without much of a dent — into a technology like AI that you can apply to your business, why wouldn’t you?”

6 VCs explain why embedded insurance isn’t the only hot opportunity in insurance

Now that consumers are against betting on everything from canceled flights to throwing away a new cell phone, bundled insurance is gaining momentum.

Still, several VCs active in the space told Anna Heim that other insurance startups could still take off if they “can build a sustainable business model.”

For our new investor survey, she asked the following investors about where the sector is headed, whether ChatGPT could impact the industry, and how Apple’s potential entry into health insurance is shaping their thinking.

• Florian Graillot, Founding Partner, astorya.vc
• Hélène Falchier, Partner, Portage
• Stephen Brittain and Robert Lumley, Directors and Co-Founders, Insurtech Gateway
• Nina Mayer, Principal, Earlybird
• David Wechler, lead insurance investor, OMERS Ventures

Pitch Deck Teardown: Northspyre’s $25 million Series B pitch

Last month, proptech startup Northspire raised a $25 million Series B round led by Charles River Ventures.

The company, which helps developers manage commercial real estate projects, shared the winning pitch with Haje Jan Kamps after “removing a few financial-related slides.”

• Cover slide
• Problem Slide 1
• Problem Slide 2
• Product slide
• Market size slide
• The solution slider
• Value proposition slide
• KPI slide (labeled “financial” slide)
• “The question” slide
• Group slide
• User credentials slide
• Financial history slide
• Thank you and contact the slide

Ask Sophie: What to do if selected/not selected in the H-1B lottery?

Dear Sophie,

After three attempts, I was finally selected in the H-1B lottery this year! What do we do next?

– Amazing winner

Dear Sophie,

I am on STEM OPT. My employer placed me in the H-1B lottery for the third time this year, but I was not selected again! what can i do?

– Lottery loser