Office Hours with Sam Altman of Y CombinatorSam Altman and Craig Cannon go through questions submitted on Hacker News. [ YC Blog ] Social Capital’s Chamath Palihapitiya: It’s Time To Go After ‘Hard Things’Solving challenges like healthcare require a longer-term outlook and a willingness to work with regulatory bodies. VC investment right now is focused on generating press and quick returns, rather than on creating real value, according to Chamath Palihapitiya, founder of VC firm Social Capital. Venture capitalists have the classic definition of the “principal-agent problem,” as they never invest their own money, Palihapitiya said. “You’re there to get credit, [get] a TechCrunch article, to get a press release.” It fosters a culture where people get promoted for “making good decks… not creating value.” [ CB Insights ] Food Delivery Startup Munchery Cuts Staff, Parts With FoundersFood delivery startup Munchery cut about 30 employees this week. The company's founders Tri Tran, the former chief executive officer, and Conrad Chu, the company's chief technical officer, will leave the startup at the end of the month, CEO James Beriker said. Beriker joined Munchery in November, with Tran becoming chief strategy officer. The company announced the reductions to employees Tuesday, said a person familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified because the cuts haven't been made public. The dismissals touched the company's culinary team, research and development staff, photographers and business development employees, the person said. [ Bloomberg ] World Positive Term SheetObvious Ventures, a firm focused on "combining profit and purpose," today announced a modest proposal: Why not bake your company's values directly into your term sheet? Today the firm unveiled something called "World Positive Term Sheet." It's a template that startup founders can use to get their investors and employees on board with the company's values. [ Via Term Sheet ] Online lenders are emerging from a scandal-plagued 2016 older, wiser—and now richer. Small-business loan platform Funding Circle has raised an additional $100 million in equity funding, cofounder and U.S. managing director Sam Hodges said today. Accel Partners led the round, with other existing investors, including Index Ventures and Rocket Internet, also participating. Is Mark Zuckerberg (or another tech titan) prepping a run for president?The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic organization founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to pursue a number of breathtakingly audacious goals, this week announced a pair of eyebrow-raising additions: Uber board member David Plouffe, as president of policy and advocacy, and KKR global head of public affairs Ken Mehlman as leader of the group’s board. You may best know Plouffe and Mehlman, though, for their previous work. Plouffe was the campaign manager for Barack Obama in 2008, while Mehlman managed George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004. Together, they helped elect the two men who ran the US for the previous 16 years. [ PitchBook ] Palantir CEO Has Not Been Asked To Build A Muslim Registry, And Would Refuse AnywayPalantir CEO Alex Karp said his company has not been asked to build a registry of Muslims living in the United States and would not do so if asked. The statement, made in an interview with FORBES on Thursday, is the first time Karp has addressed the contentious idea, which was suggested and later taken back by Donald Trump during the election campaign, and which thrust various Silicon Valley companies into the spotlight. Curated by Venture Pulse Team. Find us on : [ Venturepulse.org, CrunchBase,
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