The whistleblowers of Silicon Valley. These 9 Female Entrepreneurs Have Gone On the Record About Being Sexually HarassedIn the wake of Susan Fowler's game-changing blog post about experiencing sexual harassment at Uber—and The Information's story in which half a dozen women reported facing unwanted advances from Binary Capital's Justin Caldbeck—a wave of female entrepreneurs are coming forward to tell their own stories of sexual harassment. A number of women spoke to the New York Times' Katie Benner for a pair of stories published over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Given the sheer number of entrepreneurs involved, Fortune put together this list of women who have come forward since Friday. [ Fortune ] The 10 most valuable food-delivery companiesThe food delivery space is like a clown car—an overstuffed vehicle spilling startup after startup. And just when you think the car can't possibly fit another Postmates look-alike, VCs shell out for yet another multimillion-dollar round. The venture firm that backed Farfetch and Deliveroo has raised £115 million for a new fundA London-based venture capital firm which has backed some of the city's biggest successes, including Deliveroo and Farfetch, has raised $150 million (£115 million) for its second fund. Felix Capital Partners will use the fund to invest in European and US startups. We first saw the news on Bloomberg. Founder Frédéric Court said the fund had been oversubscribed in excess of $200 million, and claimed Brexit hadn't impacted the fundraising process. [ Business Insider ] Click around the complex web of relationships as Detroit and Silicon Valley try to reinvent the carFresh off recovering from a deep recession, the automotive industry was poised for yet another major upheaval as companies like Uber and Lyft entered the fray with the intention of ending personal car ownership. Add autonomous vehicles to the mix and a growing faction of people predicted we were nearing the beginning of the end for many of these car makers. But those auto companies that many criticized for moving too slowly have spent the past few years drumming up partnerships and other forms of relationships with the very players that were perceived to be the bane of the industry. [ Recode ] HOW TO GET BACK TO 200 TECH IPOS PER YEAR, WHY WE ARE IN A ‘BULGE” NOT A BUBBLE & THE IMPENDING FLAT & DOWN ROUNDS TO COME WITH BARRY SCHULER, PARTNER @ DFJ GROWTHBarry Schuler is a Partner @ DFJ Growth, the team that seeks out companies that have gone through the early stages of funding and are category leaders or are poised to be. Their portfolio includes the likes of Tesla, Twitter, Box, Unity 3D and more fantastic companies. As for Barry, he is credited with being one of the pioneers of the modern Internet as chairman and CEO of America Online and an entrepreneur for over 30 years. Today he serves on the board of some truly game-changing companies in the likes of Coinbase, Unity and Foursquare just to name a few. [ 20 VC ] This startup helps Uber drivers make extra cash by selling random stuff in their carsAnyone who's been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in an Uber probably could have used a pair of headphones or an Altoid at some point. Cargo is a new startup that promises to provide those random items you'd be happy to have mid-ride — and, more importantly, offer another source of income for ride-hailing drivers. Cargo partners with brands to put candy, protein bars, tampons, and condoms in a case that sits within reach of passengers. The case comes with a code unique to each driver, which passengers use to record what they took during the ride. VCs Draft Code of Conduct to Battle Sexual HarassmentA group of roughly 30 venture capitalists are drafting a “code of conduct” for members of the industry that will set clear standards for unacceptable behavior—such as sexual harassment of founders—and will outline penalties for violators The proposed code will demand that venture capital firms establish “retaliation-free” reporting channels for women who experience sexual harassment. The group plans to present it to the National Venture Capital Association, the trade group for the VC industry, by Sept. 30. The code also suggests that the NVCA create a list of “good actors” and “bad actors” in the venture capital industry, with the “bad actor” designation in part determined by whether a firm mistreats women or minorities. [ The Information ] Airbnb Restructures to Grow Business Beyond Home RentalsAs Airbnb has diversified into new businesses like luxury home rentals and travel tours, the company’s organizational structure has begun to show the strain, say current and former employees. Reporting chains seemed muddled while information flowed slowly across product teams. CEO Brian Chesky turned to executives from Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon for advice on how to better organize the company NYC Seed Deal Report for Q2 is out. Biggest trends for the quarter were:
South Australian government selects Blue Sky Venture Capital to manage $50 million VC fundAs the annual SouthStart startup festival kicks off in Adelaide, the state government has announced it has selected Blue Sky Venture Capital to manage its $50 million South Australian Venture Capital Fund (SAVCF). Dr Elaine Stead, head of venture capital at Blue Sky VC, will lead management of the 15 year fund. In managing the fund, Blue Sky VC will expand its Adelaide office and appoint dedicated employees to the Fund who will be tasked with identifying startups with high growth potential, and opportunities for co-investment. [ startupdaily.net ] I'm a startup founder and I had sex with an investor — and I am sorryWhere to begin. This is such a complicated topic, and I thought to myself: "Just don't get involved. Just get on with your life. You are married. You are pregnant. You aren't even a founder anymore — why post this?" But the last week has been really triggering for me, and I need to write this for myself and for anyone else for whom it may resonate. First, let me say that most people know me as an opinionated, outspoken, tough as nails, "I don't give a f----" kind of person. Some of what I'll share in this post is nearly paralyzing to write down, let alone post on the internet, particularly when my "honest" blog posts have a tendency of going viral. Some of what I might say may also be unpopular or difficult to hear. I want to say to anyone reading this that I really don't have the emotional capacity right now to be bullied, so please be kind and compassionate when you respond. [ Business Insider ] |