This CEO was so broke he had to crash on Travis Kalanick's couch — now he's raised $18 million from Andreessen HorowitzToday, programming software company Mashape announces a $18 million investment, led by famed Silicon Valley firm Andreesen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz general partner Martin Casado, who cofounded networking startup Nicira before VMware gobbled it up in 2012 for $1.26 billion, will also join Mashape's board. Inside the Jewelry Startup that Wants to Reinvent Women’s WorkStella & Dot says it empowers women by helping them sell jewelry to their friends — but don’t call it “direct sales.” [ Backchannel ] Ruport Murdoch reportedly sold $125 million in Theranos stock for just $1Rupert Murdoch has sold his $125 million stake in beleaguered blood testing startup Theranos, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. Citing a source familiar with the deal, the Wall Street Journal says the company bought back Murdoch's shares for just $1. That price tag could potentially allow Murdoch to write off his investment in Theranos as a loss, a move that could let the media mogul save millions on taxes owed on other investments, the report speculated. [ Business Insider ] Why I quit Google and built an app that teaches personal finance to kidsMany of my friends thought I was crazy to leave a great position at Google to help parents and kids learn about money. Maybe they’re right. Building a creative, engaging app to teach financial literacy to kids is challenging. But it’s also important work. Given that many schools aren’t yet teaching personal finance in the classroom, I felt compelled to make this work my mission. I founded Pennybox with a simple yet audacious goal: educate kids and families about money. Before I started coding, I spoke with hundreds of parents and asked them this question: Do you teach your kids about money and what are the results? [ Medium ] From Student Side Project to StartupIf you’re a student entrepreneur, turning a side project into a startup is one of the most important steps in your journey as a founder. Done well, this transition builds the determination and commitment that’s necessary to overcome the challenges of a startup that lie ahead. Done half-heartedly, the transition can be toxic for both the fledgling startup and the rest of your commitments. My co-founder Henry and I became aware of the importance of this transition when we started Meetingbird as a side project in college. In making the leap from side project to startup, we focused on three steps in particular that we think hold true for other student founders. Insights From A YC Alum On How To Prepare For The Y Combinator Interview Danielle Morrill THE GIG ECONOMY CELEBRATES WORKING YOURSELF TO DEATHLast September, a very twenty-first-century type of story appeared on the company blog of the ride-sharing app Lyft. “Long-time Lyft driver and mentor, Mary, was nine months pregnant when she picked up a passenger the night of July 21st,” the post began. “About a week away from her due date, Mary decided to drive for a few hours after a day of mentoring.” You can guess what happened next. [ The New Yorker ] Everyone Knows Tech Workers Are Mostly White Men—Except Tech WorkersThe lack of diversity in the tech industry is pretty well understood by now—by everyone except those who work there, it would seem. According to a recent survey of 1,400 tech employees, 94 percent of American tech workers give the industry, their companies, and their teams a passing grade on diversity. That’s in a sector where 76 percent of technical jobs are held by men, and blacks and Latinos make up only 5 percent of the workforce. [ Bloomberg ] Money isn’t buying America happinessIt should come as little surprise that the United States is not a particularly happy place right now — and things seem to be trending down. The World Happiness Report 2017, a survey by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, called the U.S. “a story of reduced happiness.” Although the country’s per capita GDP is rising, America’s happiness rank dropped from third among OECD countries in 2007 to 19th in 2016. [ The Outline ] |