There was a time when tech companies could grow to be unbelievably massive while facing little interference from the hand of regulation, but venture capitalist Hemant Taneja thinks that era is ending. In his new book Unscaled: How AI and a New Generation of Upstarts Are Creating the Economy of the Future (PublicAffairs), he offers a guide book of sorts for entrepreneurs in a tougher regulatory environment. Taneja, a managing director at General Catalyst, looks at how technology has changed the economy, how regulators must respond, and what responsibilities entrepreneurs must shoulder if they want to chart a better path forward. [ Fast Company ] Michael Novogratz calls himself “the Forrest Gump of bitcoin,” citing his luck at being in the right place at the right time.Michael Novogratz was in a good mood. It was the thirtieth reunion of Princeton’s class of 1987, and the on-again, off-again billionaire was getting a lot of respect. “I want to hit you up about something,” a two-star general said. “Those are the freshest kicks,” a young bro in a dressing gown observed, complimenting Novogratz’s black patent shoes with orange piping and matching tassels. (“It’s all about peacocking,” Novogratz later told me, of his sartorial extravagance.) He huddled with Joseph Lubin, a former roommate and one of the co-founders of the hit cryptocurrency platform Ethereum. It was a warm June day, last year, and the Princetonians were amiably crushing cans of Bud amid chants of “Tiger, tiger, tiger, sis sis sis, boom boom boom, ah!” [ New Yorker ] A lot of people are interested in Coinbase. Now the company has a chief messengerCoinbase continues to fascinate outsiders and journalists who see the company as the startup at the heart of the current cryptocurrency craze. And now the company is finally adding personnel to help it deal with the barrage of interest. Rachael Horwitz, who most recently led marketing at Coinbase investor Spark Capital, is joining the company as its first vice president of communications. Horwitz previously served in top PR roles at both Facebook and Twitter, the latter of which she feels will trigger similar emotions and challenges to her current role. [ Recode ] Uber to buy electric bicycle-sharing firm JumpUber users around the world may soon be able to hire electric bicycles through the app, after the ride-sharing firm bought US bike-hire firm Jump. Based in New York, Jump allows riders to rent electric-powered "pedal assist" bikes via an online platform. [ Tech Crunch ] Comma.ai raises $5 millionTransportation startup Comma.ai has raised $5 million, according to a new SEC filing. George Hotz, the founder of Comma.ai, started the company in an attempt to take on Tesla. Initially, Hotz was working on a self-driving car kit called Comma One. The Comma One was an add-on that would’ve enabled certain cars to have Tesla Autopilot-like driving assistance capabilities. [ Tech Crunch ] How Women Entrepreneurs Are Closing The Venture Capital GapJust 17 percent of startups in the U.S. have a woman founder. Even worse, three percent of all venture capital is going to female-led companies. And yet, according to a study by First Round Capital, companies with a woman on the founding team are outperforming all-male companies by 63 percent. So why aren’t more women getting funded? [ Forbes ] Benioff: Every VC in Silicon Valley turned us down In an interview last month with Julie Bort from Business Insider, Parker Harris and Marc Benioff told the story of how when they first launched the company, they were trying to raise money and nobody would give them a dime. Benioff said he went to every venture capital in Silicon Valley — and was turned down every single time. This could be a lesson for every startup out there with a vision, who is not able to find conventional financing for your idea. Salesforce found the money, but it took one on one fundraising, rather than the traditional VC route. [ TechCrunch ] Cost vs Quality in Edtech – Keith Schacht, Avichal Garg, and Geoff RalstonKeith Schacht - https://twitter.com/keithie - is the cofounder of Mystery Science - https://mysteryscience.com/ - which makes lessons that inspire kids to love science. They were part of the Summer 2017 YC batch. Avichal Garg - https://twitter.com/avichal - is an Expert at YC and prior to that he was the Director of Product Management at Facebook. Geoff Ralston - https://twitter.com/gralston - is a Partner at YC and before that he cofounded Imagine K12, an edtech accelerator that’s now makes up YC’s edtech vertical. Silicon Valley’s Astronomical Housing Price Creates a Problem for StartupsAs Views Of Tech Turn Negative, Remorse Comes To Silicon ValleyHow To Reach More People With Content Marketing By Changing How You Write‘The Bay Area is broken:’ Why local startups are hiring outside Silicon ValleyE809: Bill Barhydt's Abra is 1st global wallet w/20 crypto 50 fiat / ICOs, bitcoin euphoria/crashesE809: Abra Founder Bill Barhydt built the 1st global wallet to buy, store & invest 20 crypto- & 50 fiat currencies; shares insights on ICOs (the good, bad & ugly), bitcoin's euphoric rollercoaster, liquidity, mining, the IRS & crypto's immutable fate to transform the world Silicon Valley Falls to EarthThis women’s suiting startup mixes Italian fabrics, silk linings, and U.S. manufacturingFuture Factory: How Technology Is Transforming ManufacturingStartup Yale showcases a more inclusive vision of entrepreneurshipChinese AI startup dwarfs global rivals with $4.5 billion valuationHephaestus Venture is building a bridge between Corporate Venture Capital and startups in the US and Italy (Sponsored)Investment Fund to Lure Venture Capital to Indiana Is Open for BusinessFounder-to-Founder: 10 Toughest Lessons Getting to the First $100m ARR Laura Bilazarian, CEO of Teamable and Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder and COO of Cloudlfare share the 10 toughest lessons they've learned getting to the first $100m ARR. |