Andy Rubin’s Essential has reportedly raised $300 millionHype hasn’t been an issue for Andy Rubin’s new hardware startup, Essential. Speculation has been circling the Android founder’s next move since he unceremoniously parted ways with Google. Funding, it seems, hasn’t really been a problem, either. Bloomberg is reporting that the nascent smartphone maker has raised $300 million to bring its technology to the masses. How to Raise Money, and How to Succeed Long-Term - CS183FCharlotte-based financial tech firm raises $300 million for expansion; adds 600 jobsAvidXchange, a Charlotte-based financial technology firm, said Thursday that it’s partnering with Mastercard Inc. and plans to create 200 jobs this year and more than 600 new jobs in Mecklenburg County by the end of 2018. Most of the jobs created will be in the financial service and technology sectors. “We want to build on these kinds of jobs and help brand Charlotte as a place where if you have the talents, you can be successful here,” said Charlotte mayor Jennifer Roberts, who joined AvidXchange for the announcement. [ Charlotte Observer ] Addepar raises $140 million to help rich people manage their assetsAddepar, a company that touts itself as the “operating system for the financial world,” has raised a whopping $140 million in a series D round of funding led by Valor Equity Partners, 8VC, and QuantRes founder Harald McPike. Founded out of Mountain View, Calif. in 2009, Addepar is a data-driven investment management platform targeted at financial advisers, who use the software to track assets and “visualize” information for their clients. [ Venture Beat ] A Buyer in the Unlikeliest of Places: Lessons from Fieldlens’ acquisition by WeWork Summarised by : [ Naomi Newman ] Brad Svrluga, GP at Primary Venture Partners and early investor in Fieldlens, reflects on the news of the company's acquisition by WeWork. He impresses upon founders to keep an open mind when it comes to partnerships and potential exits, as the best acquirers are often those less immediately obvious parties who are making similarly - or even greater - disruptive strides in adjacent markets. Additionally, he addresses the importance of finding cultural fit in an acquirer, as there is no substitute for a partner who shares - or, better yet, expands - your vision, objectives, and values. [ Primary VC ] Dear PMs, It's Time to Rethink Agile at Enterprise StartupsJust like Google's become ubiquitous in our everyday lives — and a popular verb in our language — its influence on best practices in the tech industry is enormous. Nearly 20 years after its founding, the company has literally shaped a generation of tech professionals. To an even greater extent, it’s molded product managers to build high-quality consumer products at scale. 20-somethings managing millions: How venture capital is changingAt first glance, Clancey Stahr looks like any other 23-year-old eager to make his mark on Silicon Valley. But this baby-faced Stanford graduate is already managing $55 million of other people’s money. Stahr and his partner, 24-year-old Phil Brady, launched GoAhead Ventures in their senior year at Stanford, and closed their first investment fund last fall. Even in Silicon Valley, where money flows like Yosemite Falls after a drenching winter, $55 million is a significant sum for a venture capital team just two years out of college. [ Globe Gazette ] Why the Australian startup ecosystem must foster a global mindsetI recently enjoyed a very productive trip to Malaysia and Singapore, which was a great way to experience the startup scene there firsthand. It’s interesting how some of the trends in South East Asian countries are mirrored in Australia. If there’s any one single trait that defines the startup scenes in this part of the world, it’s that they have a global mindset from the outset. Entrepreneurs in Asia start a company with a global market in mind, whereas in the US, most startups are focused on the domestic market. [ Startup Daily ] Uber CEO Kalanick advised employees on sex rules for a company celebration in 2013 ‘Miami letter’In what is arguably an unusual email for the very top executive to send to employees, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick advised his staff in case they decided to have sex at a company outing in Miami in 2013. Internally called the “Miami letter,” it is a saucy rulebook for the then 400 employees at the company, who were headed to Florida’s Shore Club for what was a party-focused celebration of the car-hailing company’s success. [ Re/Code ] Tech’s Backyard: The Most Well-Funded Bay Area Tech Startups By City In One MapThe Bay Area, a collection of cities stretching from the area around San Rafael, in the North, to Los Gatos, down South, is home to the world’s most valuable private companies. Startups like Uber, in San Francisco, and Palantir Technologies, in Palo Alto, are in fact the most valuable and the fifth most valuable private companies in the world, respectively. [ CB Insights ] Why Gwyneth Paltrow and Serena Williams Have Invested in a Frozen Food StartupHouzz will be valued at around $4 billion in a new funding round led by Iconiq CapitalElon Musk's Goals For Tesla Will Require Billions More In Capital; Investors CheerSoftBank Agrees to Buy Robot Maker Boston Dynamics From Google Parent AlphabetThis CEO and her CTO husband have been working together for 30 years — now they're back with a self-funded startupKickstarter hires Slack’s Erica Baker as director of engineeringEx-Hulu CTO raises $7.5 million for YouTube commerce startup PackagdTechnologists in the era of TrumpTrump bump for tech jobs ‘outsourced’ to the MidwestFinding The Right Co-Founder is Worth the TrekSeeking A Cure: The Most Active Pharma Investors In One Infographic |