Recode Daily: Here’s the story behind VC Steve Jurvetson’s sudden fall from graceJurvetson is the highest-profile VC to be ousted since women this year started to speak out about a range of abuse from male investors in Silicon Valley and beyond. He was recently pushed out of DFJ, the premier venture capital firm he co-founded, after an internal investigation found, in part, a pattern of dishonesty with women, including extramarital affairs that, in the eyes of some, crossed into the professional world. [ Recode ] The hole in the middle of venture capitalI regularly hear people complain that our region lacks venture capital. Last week I asked members of our entrepreneurial community about this perceived funding gap and what they thought we should do about it. The first thing I learned was that the venture capital funding gap was most profoundly felt when a start-up needed capital to accelerate its climb towards success, what I’ll call “acceleration capital.” The entrepreneurs pointed to many start-ups successfully finding their initial risk capital from friends and families, or smaller venture funds, and raising the first $250,000 to $1 million necessary to get started. [ Washington Post ] A French Uber Rival Wants to Become a Car Insurance BrokerBlablacar has an internal team exploring potential insurance unit, with peer reviews and data on 50M users feeding the brokerage business. French Uber rival Blablacar has fetched a billion-dollar-plus valuation by attracting some 50 million drivers and passengers to its ride-sharing app. Now it’s exploring whether to step on insurers’ toes to cash in on that crowd. [ Bloomberg ] I Was Blown Away By This Stockholm Venture CapitalistA former McKinsey consultant takes a Silicon Valley-infused approach to building some of Stockholm's leading startups. It takes decades to turn a city into a hopping startup scene. A pioneering entrepreneur has to start a company in the city that enriches early investors -- often through an acquisition by a bigger company. (Think about how Skype was acquired by eBay and then Microsoft.) It often helps if the big companies in that city -- which had previously been thought of as safe employers who could provide lifetime security -- suffer economic downturns that put thousands of talented people on the street. That's what happened with Ericsson in Stockholm -- which announced in August 2017 that it might layoff 25,000 people (23% of its employee base). [ Inc. ] Tencent becomes the first Chinese tech firm valued over $500BTencent has became the first Chinese company to be valued at more than $500 billion. Shares of the 19-year-old company, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, rallied to reach HK$418.80 to give it a market cap of HK$3.99 trillion which takes past the $500 billion mark. Close rival Alibaba is Asia’s second-highest-valued firm at $474 billion. [ Tech Crunch ] I believe that your dreams and your day job can coexist. I always have at least four projects going on at the same time, and I switch frequently between them. If I’m struggling to work on a project for Windows Insiders, I’ll write a chapter of a nonfiction book I am writing, or I’ll sketch something from my fashion line, or I’ll watch a short [tutorial] video. If I have a pocket of time—seven minutes or 20 minutes—I set my timer and do a work sprint. You can whip off 10 emails or five ideas in five minutes. If I have seven minutes to write a document, I will finish it: It may not be the best document in the world, but all the bones will be down, enough to the point that I can share it with someone and ask them what they think of the overall framework. [ Fast Company ] London-based app Peanut raises from Ashton Kutcher’s VC firmLondon-based Peanut, an app which seeks to connect new mums based on common interests, has raised a Seed round co-led by Sweet Capital Investment and Female Founders Fund. Peanut also received cash from Greycroft and Sound Ventures, the venture capital firm founded by Hollywood A-lister Ashton Kutcher. Details of the raise are not being disclosed, but the company says it will use the funds to grow its team and expand its community of users. [ UKTN ] Why I’m leaving Silicon ValleyDon't Start a Company Looking to Sell It, Says Guy Who Quickly Sold His Company for $1 BillionThere’s a debate raging over the new Vanity Fair editor’s fox tightsConfirm or Deny: Anne WojcickiHere’s what you need to know about SAFTs — the cryptocurrency fundraising craze that’s shaking up venture capitalE779: Brian Armstrong Coinbase &Tim Draper: crypto matures, ICO v VC, fiat end, bitcoin resiliencyAs Silicon Valley Gets ‘Crazy,’ Midwest Beckons Tech InvestorsMedia startup Cheddar launches its TV channel in Europe with MolotovJoining a new startup takes bravery — but the rewards can be huge |