500 Startups still owes money to its latest group of startupsStartup accelerator 500 Startups, whose founder Dave McClure departed in July following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault, has not fully paid the companies that graduated most recently from its program, Axios has learned from multiple sources. Accelerators invest in each startup they accept into their program, but 500 hasn't paid all the money that it owes to companies in the group that finished in October. According to sources, this isn't the first time that it's been late with payments—often stalling by telling companies that it's reviewing their paperwork or other due diligence—although this sounds like the most egregious case. [ AXIOS ] Growth Office Hours with Anu Hariharan and Gustaf AlstromerEquity podcast: Uber’s big discount, more money for Pokémon, and Jeff Bezos is worth how much?Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-themed podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week Katie Roof and Alex Wilhelm were joined by Heather Hartnett of Human Ventures. It has been a surprisingly newsy November, so we narrowed ourselves to just a few topics: Uber, Niantic, Meetup, and Jeff Bezos’ checking account. First up, Uber. We know that we’ve spent a lot of time on the Uber saga in recent months. We’re not enormous fans of the fact, frankly, but as long as the world’s most valuable private tech company founders, we’ll talk about it. This week, happily, was a good week of Uber news, from a conversation perspective. [ Tech Crunch ] Mattress startup Casper sued for "wiretapping" website visitorsA federal lawsuit earlier filed this week accuses Casper, the direct-to-consumer mattress startup, and a software company named NaviStone of illegally collecting information from visitors to the Casper website in an attempt to learn their identities. The 21-page suit, which is seeking class-action status, alleges that New York City resident Brady Cohen visited the Casper website several times over the past six months while he was shopping for a new mattress. He didn't know the company, which has disrupted a $14 billion mattress industry, was using NaviStone's technology to learn his personally identifiable information (PII), such as his name and postal address, without his consent. Cohen wound up not buying a Casper mattress. [ CBS News ] A startup is turning old hotels into dorm-like housing for San Francisco's forgotten middle class — here's what it's like insideThe booming tech industry has caused an ongoing housing crisis in San Francisco, and longtime middle-income residents have been forced out by sky-high housing costs. A startup called Starcity is on a mission to alleviate the situation. Founded in 2016, the 18-person team is creating communal housing for middle-income people who don't qualify for government subsidies but still can't afford San Francisco's sky-high prices. [ BusinessInsider ] Why Do Female Entrepreneurs Receive Less Than 3% Of All Venture Capital Funding?Why do female entrepreneurs receive less than 3% of all venture capital funding? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Heidi Zak, Co-Founder of ThirdLove, on Quora: I once went to a meeting with a venture capital firm to pitch them on my company, ThirdLove. At the end of the session, a guy told me, “Sorry, we only invest in things we understand.” We sell women’s underwear. They invest in incredibly complex and intricate technology, but I lost him when I said “bra.” Why Is It Like This? That’s a pretty pointed example of the problem female-focused businesses face when they’re seeking venture capital. But a lot of it really just comes down to the fact that there are very few women venture capitalists. A VC partner is making a huge decision when they’re thinking about investing. They have to be passionate about the business, the founder, the opportunity. They’re pounding the table, working to convince people that this is a golden opportunity. The next best thing since Uber. And because the vast majority of them are men, I just don’t think they have that passion for female-focused businesses. They don’t use the products. They don’t understand the need. So it’s very hard for them to get excited about them. [ Forbes ] Tim Ferriss explains why he left Silicon ValleyTim Ferriss, the author of "The 4-Hour Workweek" and "Tribe of Mentors," left Silicon Valley after living there for 17 years. Not only did he want the sunshine of Austin, Texas, but Silicon Valley had become for him an echo chamber that wasn't really about open-mindedness anymore. Following is a full transcript of the video. Tim Ferris: My name is Tim Ferriss, angel investor and author of books including "The 4-Hour Workweek" and the latest, "Tribe of Mentors." [ Business Insider ] Judge overturns Trump administration’s delay of Obama-era ‘startup visa,’ siding with investor groupA federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to begin accepting applications for foreign entrepreneurs to enter the U.S. under the International Entrepreneur Rule, blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to delay implementation of the Obama-era policy. Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) in a lawsuit the organization filed in September. The policy in question is often calle a “startup visa” though it is not technically visa category. It lets foreign entrepreneurs spend several years in the U.S. building their startups. [ Geek Wire ] COMB+ announces a $77M fund to help AI startups enter ChinaArtificial intelligence is a hot topic in the tech industry with China — alongside the U.S. — emerging as a key market for talent, innovation and companies. While many AI firms head to the U.S. or set up operations Stateside, China is a harder market to crack for overseas companies. That’s where a new fund wants to help. China-based accelerator firm COMB+ is launching a €65 million ($77 million) fund aimed at helping promising international AI firms enter the Middle Kingdom. The fund, which was announced at Slush in Helsinki this week, is run by COMB+ and the Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI). COMB+ launched its Sino Track accelerator program last year, which is based in Beijing and Helsinki and helps early-stage firms grow in China, and this is the second part of its strategy. [ TechCrunch ] Seven Seeds For Growing A Community That People LoveWhether you’re building a company, a charity, a local community group or global movement you’ll know the challenges of bringing people together to work on a shared vision. This word community gets banded around more and more. But in truth, never have communities been more important than at present. The cracks in society are everywhere. Could a loss of community be at the heart of it? Our traditional communities are dying. Millenials are moving away from organised religion in their droves — churches being one of the casualties of the digital age. In the UK pubs, traditionally the lifeblood of villages and towns, are closing at an exponential rate. Despite all this though, a wave of new kids on the block are emerging to take their place — to fill the need for belonging that all us humans crave. We’re just one of these new community builders looking to bring some long-lost human connection back to this hyper-connected world. [ Medium ] Amazon’s Venture Into Groceries Hasn’t Unnerved InvestorsSilicon Valley venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar accused of sexual misconduct by multiple womenAlibaba is buying Israeli startup Visualead’s tech to establish a Tel Aviv R&D center3 insights from doing 200 VC deals in SE Asia: Vishal Harnal, 500 Startups Investors are shunning new cryptocurrencies even as they pour money into bitcoin |