Some interesting links we found across the web this week:

Should Your Company Implement a Vaccination Mandate? 
As the Biden administration announced the new federal vaccine requirements on Thursday, an increasing number of companies have been mandating their workers to get vaccinated, and many others are trying to decide whether to follow. The decision on whether to implement a vaccination mandate could have a significant impact on companies’ short-term productivity and profits as well on their long-term ability to attract and retain needed talent. This article from the Harvard Business Review lists out some of the actions employers should take as they decide whether to implement the mandate. Some of the actions highlighted by this article include developing straightforward policies and procedures to make the mandate easy to implement and proactively addressing liability concerns.

The SEC Is Serious About Cybersecurity. Is Your Company? 
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now considers cyber vulnerabilities to be an existential business risk and the SEC has been fining companies over inadequate disclosures of cybersecurity issues. This Harvard Business Review article lists out some of the steps companies can take to address cybersecurity issues, including preparing to disclose cybersecurity issues such as vulnerabilities, breaches and other cyber incidents before the full scope of the incident is understood.

August Monthly Recap: Finally a Summer Slowdown, After a Blockbuster Couple of Months
Crunchbase published its August monthly recap. Although funding in August 2021 has slowed with a total of $49 billion invested on a global basis, year-over-year funding is still up over 100 percent with this past month. While IPO market debuts also slowed down in August, the report indicates that there would be a busy IPO season after August. The report also anticipates an active merger and acquisitions environment through the end of the year by both public companies and highly valued private companies.

5 Factors VCs Look at When Investing 
As 38% of failed startups did so because they ran out of cash or failed to raise capital, VC funding is vital to a successful startup. In order to improve a startup's chances of getting funded by VCs, founders need to know what VCs are looking at when evaluating a startup for potential investment. This Inc.com article highlights the five factors VCs consider before investing in a company. These five factors include the founder, market demand, business model, traction, and valuation and exit strategy.

What's Driving Private Equity's March on VC?
Private equity firms have ramped up their exposure to startups. Private equity firms are participating in more than half of all US venture capital deals by value, up from 36.9% just two years ago. This Pitchbook article indicates that as startups are staying private longer, late-stage venture capital deals now more closely resemble the traditional grounds of PE growth investors. As late-stage rounds have demanded ever-larger checks, private equity firms are stepping in to fill that gap. Also, private equity investors are more comfortable with investing in late-stage rounds since these rounds come with a significantly lower risk that the company will fail.