"Italian company Bending Spoons flew largely under the radar - until last month. In a span of 48 hours, the company announced the acquisition of AOL and a massive $270 million raise, quadrupling its valuation to $11 billion from $2.55 billion set in early 2024. Bending Spoons has grown rapidly by acquiring stagnating tech brands like Evernote, Meetup, and Vimeo, then turning them profitable through aggressive cost-cutting and price increases."
"Andrew Dumont,the founder and CEO of Curious, a firm that also acquires and revitalizes what he calls "venture zombies," is convinced this "hold forever" strategy will become increasingly prominent in the coming years as AI-native startups make older VC-backed software businesses less relevant. "Our belief is that the venture power law, in which 80% of companies 'fail' produces many great businesses, even if they're not unicorns," Dumont told TechCrunch."
Bending Spoons accelerated growth by acquiring stagnating tech brands like Evernote, Meetup, and Vimeo, then restoring profitability through aggressive cost-cutting and price increases. The firm announced the acquisition of AOL and a $270 million raise that pushed its valuation from $2.55 billion to $11 billion. A growing cohort of investors follows a 'buy, fix and hold' playbook, purchasing underpriced VC-backed software companies, reviving cash flows, and keeping them long-term rather than flipping them. Curious raised $16 million in 2023 to buy stalled software firms and has acquired five businesses, including UserVoice.
Read at TechCrunch
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]