WeWork is launching what reportedly will be a start-up incubator
WeWork is launching what appears to be a start-up incubator in New York City. The company launched a website for a project called Area 51 Paradise Ranch, which according to Wired (which first reported on the project) is intended to be a "launchpad" for start-ups, beginning with a beta program in New York City. [ CNBC ] Can This Man Build a Better Bitcoin?Two years ago, Bryce “Zooko” Wilcox was running a struggling startup and sleeping in his car. Today he’s collaborating with JPMorgan Chase on the privacy tech that could give Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies a run for their money. Here’s how he got from A to Z. [ Fortune ]Bill Miller's hedge fund has half its money in bitcoin
Springboard raises $9.5M to offer an online alternative to the master’s degreeSpringboard is a platform that helps people advance their tech skills, and ultimately career. Today it took a step further to realizing its own potential after it landed a $9.5 million Series A round to develop specialisms. I wrote about the U.S.-based service nearly two years ago when it was just starting out and it had gobbled up a $1.7 million seed round. [ Tech Crunch ] Sam Altman: I should have the freedom to say stupid shit, you should have the freedom to applaudYou know the old saying: Writing about Y Combinator is like wrestling with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig threatens to fabricate a smear campaign against you and your company. Then there’s the sheer redundancy of the exercise: If by now you don’t understand the extent to which Paul Graham’s bro creche is responsible for so much that’s wrong with Silicon Valley then one more blog post ain’t gonna help you. Bro. [ Pando ] How ex-Microsoft exec Bob Muglia triumphed over 2 humiliating demotions to become CEO of the hot startup SnowflakeAfter 23 years at Microsoft and two at Juniper Networks, Bob Muglia is in his first CEO role, happily running a fast-growing cloud-database startup called Snowflake for the past four years. But Muglia will forever be known as a former key executive at Microsoft. He joined Microsoft under Bill Gates in 1988 and helped build the company's first database (still a huge product for it today), worked on Office, MSN, and Windows, and then ran Servers and Tools, one of four major business units that was worth $15 billion and employed about 10,000 people. [ Business Insider ] A VC just passed on you? It’s probably you.So a VC just passed on investing in your incredible, can’t miss, seed-stage startup and you’re perplexed as to how they could be so foolish. You’re certain that you check all the boxes: Your background is amazing, the market is huge, and you’ve got incredible early signs of product-market fit. How could they say no?
Or one of the myriad and lame other excuses we use when we pass because…well...we just aren’t feelin’ it with you. That’s right. As seed investors, many of the deals we pass on are driven 100% by how we feel about the team. At Primary, Ben and I are singularly focused on finding founders about whom we have incredible conviction. At such an early stage in a company’s life - often before there’s a real business to speak of - there are very few metrics to quantify, no material tires yet to kick. What we’re left with is our conviction about the founders and their overarching vision for the business and the market as a whole. When we’re talking about opportunities that pass a basic hurdle of large market and thoughtful product concept, this founder conviction ends up comprising the vast majority of our investment decision. [ Primary.VC ] Want To Launch A Disruptive Blockchain Startup? First Find A Sympathetic Regulator“Because this is all new, most regulators don’t understand, “ says Olga Feldmeier, CEO of blockchain startup, Smart Valor.”Those regulators that do have the knowledge will enable the creation of crypto-finance hubs.” An alumnus of the UBS banking group, Feldmeier has latterly pitched her entrepreneurial tent on what she describes as the intersection between banking and the rapidly evolving world of blockchain-enabled finance. To be more precise, her company - currently based in Switzerland - is focused on enabling ‘high net worth’ individuals to purchase assets using blockchain- administered tokens that can subsequently be bought or sold in a secondary marketplace. [ Forbes ] A startup backed by Bill Gurley wants to fix one of the most frustrating things about the doctor’s officeWhen it comes to healthcare, some of the communications tools used may seem a bit dated. Pagers, fax machines and phone calls all still have a place in the system, and the information one doctor has about a patient may not be the same information another healthcare professional has about that same patient. That can leave a lot of room for miscommunication and mistakes to arise, which can be frustrating for both doctors and patients who have to repeat themselves or clarify. [ BusinessInsider ] Michigan's Emerging Tech Leaders | 2017 MICHauto SummitSkySpecs CEO Danny Ellis, Light Guide Systems creator Paul Ryznar, and May Mobility founder and Chief Technology Officer Steve Vozar discussed the abundance of resources for tech startups in Southeast Michigan while sharing insight on how they were able to scale their business through valuable networking and investment from venture capital firms. Can an Old Mill Town Become the Silicon Valley of Human Organ Manufacturing?MANCHESTER—Long waiting lists are a drag, but when they’re for an organ transplant, they can also be lethal. Over 120,000 Americans are waiting for a donated organ, and the list gets longer all the time. Twenty-two of them die each day, and many of those lucky enough to make it perish from routine illnesses because their immune systems have been hobbled by drugs to prevent the rejection of the transplanted organ. But inside a massive repurposed 19th-century mill complex in New Hampshire’s largest city, a world famous inventor has teamed up with some of the country’s leading scientists and biomedical engineering firms to wipe out that list once and for all. [ Pilitico ] Silicon Valley Is Bringing the Startup Hub to the VaticanIt’s quite a cocktail: throw in some profit-seeking techies, mix in the age-old Roman Catholic Church and add a twist of anti-globalism. What you get is a startup hub. A year ago venture capitalists Stephen Forte of Fresco Capital Fund and Eric Harr of Imagine Ventures -- both based in California -- asked the Vatican to back a technology competition among startups addressing climate change, energy and managing resources. [ Bloomberg ] Venture capital investment hits all-time recordHyperloop One revs up funding and speed as billionaire Richard Branson takes chairTovala, which sells ‘smart’ ovens for $399, just raised fresh funding from local VCsE12: Boldstart Ed Sim: 20yrs& 50+ enterprise, father fled N.Korea, NYC deep tech, being 1st $ inTencent and JD.com invest $863M into e-commerce firm Vipshop to battle AlibabaHow One China-Based VC, Backed By The Government, Invests At Home And Abroad |