Hi there, 

I have a question for founders below.

But first: It’s the final day to apply for our annual Blockchain 50 awards. 

If you’re doing something cool with blockchain or crypto, tell us about it. It takes no more than 3 minutes (seriously) to fill out the initial application.

Now, for the founders out there:

What are some non-obvious signals your startup is hitting an inflection point?

Here are a few inflection points I now see (although I didn't always recognize them in the moment):

• Not getting buzzed/drunk with the team (bye-bye picklebacks)

• No longer knowing everyone's name

• Not interviewing every single candidate

• Starting to hire specialists vs. generalists

• Hitting your quarterly target requires modeling quota capacity (as you can no longer rely on heroic actions by a few)

A few other ideas from the smart folks on Twitter:

via Alex Lieberman:

• Firstname(at)cbinsights(dot)com is no longer available

• You’ve moved out of WeWork

• You hire HR

via @impatientcapital:

• When you stop getting invited to drinks (note: so true!)

Any other moments in your startup's life that, as you look back, marked an inflection point?

Some other good ones suggested by others in this Twitter thread. 

Blockchain or bust
 

Blockchain tech funding is off the charts. 

So what is it again? 

We take a deep dive into the technology and the business use cases it’s enabling in this report. 

Coming to you live

Fintech is exploding, with funding, unicorn births, and exits racing to new heights. 

Got questions? We’ll walk you through what you need to know in our live State Of Fintech webinar tomorrow (November 10, 2 pm EST). 

Sign up here. 
 

Chevron’s strategy map

Chevron — one of the world’s largest oil & gas companies by market cap — recently announced a pledge to reach net-zero emissions from its operations by 2050 as it diversifies away from oil & gas.

How will it get there?

We mined Chevron’s acquisitions, investments, and partnerships to discern the company's strategic priorities around climate change & clean energy. See them here.

Networking made easy
 

Looking to make deals?
 

At the Future of Health (Dec. 8-9), we’re expecting hundreds and hundreds of meetings will be set up using our 1:1 networking app. We’re also offering a bonus speed networking opportunity prior to the event if you sign up by November 19.
 

How does it work? 

1. You create a profile that indicates what you do and what kind of people you’re looking to meet.
2. All the other attendees do the same.
3. The app algorithm suggests who you should meet.
4. One person suggests a meeting, the other person accepts, and the app provides you with a private video meeting link.

Then all you have to do is show up. Networking made easy.

The audience will be a great mix of providers, payers, pharma companies, & investors. Here’s a snapshot of the folks you can meet:

There's plenty more on the list, plus tons of startup CEOs & founders.
 

Save $300 off a single ticket with code networking.
 

Tokenizing the world

With blockchain, physical items can be represented as digital "tokens."

This process of tokenization — creating digital representations of physical objects — allows for business models which were previously impossible.

From electric vehicles to solar panels, find out how RIDDLE&CODE tokenizes real-world objects here.

Retailers will be lost without it

Retailers like Kroger and Target are deploying indoor mapping analytics solutions to get e-commerce-level data for their physical stores.

We surveyed the indoor mapping analytics players and mapped them using our ESP vendor assessment methodology. They include:

• Aura Vision

• Butlr

• Deep North

• Gorilla Technology

• Palexy

• RetailNext

• Scanalytics

• V-Count

• Veda Labs

• Walkbase

• Zensors

If you are looking to understand the landscape or initiate a vendor selection process, download the 52-page ESP Vendor Assessment report here.

Payments Dive. Lynne Marek (@LynneMarek) digs into record payments venture funding, quoting CB Insights senior analyst Anisha Kothapa (@AnishaKothapa) and citing CBI research.

Financial Times. Ryan McMorrow (@rwmcmorrow) writes about Sequoia Capital China’s Neil Shen using CB Insights data.

Bloomberg. Oscar Medina (@omedinacruz) profiles Colombia-based fintech Trii and cites CB Insights funding data.
 

P.S. We’re hiring a backend engineer. Apply here.