Numan is a startup which aims to tackle your tackle problem: erectile dysfunctionA long-time London-based entrepreneur re-surfaces today with the launch of Numan, a new kind of subscription business, with a rather unusual approach to a very old problem. Sokratis Papafloratos (pictured) is one of the more “serial of serial” European entrepreneurs. He was one of the first investors in Calm.com, the mindfulness sleep and meditation site and app which recently attained Unicorn status. He also founded TrustedPlaces, the U.K.’s earliest and oldest local reviews site, which was Acquired by Yell Group Plc; family-photo-sharing platform, Togethera (which shuttered) and Secret Escapes, one of the U.K.’s first members-only travel
companies. Papafloratos is now turning his attention to a tricky subject for men: erectile dysfunction (ED). [ Tech Crunch ] Meet the 20 startups in this year's GCT Startup-in-ResidenceFrom an online platform for luxury jewelry rental to a connected pillow that lets you hear your partner's heartbeat, we rounded up 50+ startups bringing tech to your Valentine's Day plans. It’s Valentine’s Day, and the love — and consumer cash — is flowing. This February 14th, Americans are expected to spend some $30B on Valentine’s Day gifts and activities, with the most popular gifts including candy (which 52% of people plan to buy), greeting cards (44%), flowers (35%), and a romantic night out (34%). [ CB Insights ] DoorDash adds $500M to food delivery duel with PostmatesLately, food delivery startup DoorDash has had a voracious appetite for capital. Six months after closing a $250 million Series E, the Bay Area company is in talks to raise around $500 million from Temasek Holdings at a valuation of more than $6 billion, per The Wall Street Journal, roughly 10 times what DoorDash was worth four years ago. [ Pitchbook ] Women-only rideshare company Shebah launches equity crowdfunding campaignWomen-focused ridesharing service Shebah has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for expansion. Launched by George McEnroe in 2017, Shebah is a rideshare service for drivers and passengers identifying as women. Its focus is on giving passengers the ability to travel, and drivers the opportunity to work, safely without fear. Boys to the age of 13 travelling with a woman are welcome, while boys aged between 13 and 18 can travel unaccompanied until 5pm. [ Startup Daily ] J&J Confirms $3.4B Buy Of Auris HealthSurgical robotics unicorn Auris Health is being scooped up by Johnson & Johnson in a $3.4 billion cash deal. In a press release issued this morning, pharma giant Johnson & Johnson said it may also pay up to an additional $2.35 billion in contingent payments if Auris meets “certain predetermined” and unspecified milestones. [ Crunchbase ] Design platform InVision acquires Australian startup TrunkNew York-based design platform InVision has acquired Australian startup Trunk for an undisclosed fee. Founded by Elliott Risby and Chris Berry, Trunk has been described as ‘GitHub for designers’, allowing design teams to easily manage their design files, collaborate, and solve the issue of file versioning. Graduating from the Startmate accelerator early last year, Trunk has brought on users from companies including Uber, Dropbox, Twilio, and Accenture. [ Startup Daily ] What Morgan Flager Of Silverton Partners Thinks Of Falling VC ConfidenceMorning Markets: Let’s return to our discussion of how confident Silicon Valley is in itself and the larger U.S. economy. After we published our look at two venture surveys that showed falling confidence among venture capitalists, another industry comment came in on the matter we had to share. [ Crunch base ] Peer-to-peer designer dress lending platform Designerex expands to the USMany an Australian closet has seen a thorough clean out thanks to the Marie Kondo craze over the last few months: according to The Age, the St Vincent de Paul Society saw a six percent increase in donations in January compared to the same time last year. For some, however, their closet – listed on the right peer-to-peer lending platform – is a good earning opportunity. [ Startup Daily ] How Big Tech Is Battling To Own The $49B Voice MarketWe take a look at how Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple are looking to transform user experiences beyond the smart speaker and home assistant. [ CB Insights ] Eric Bahn: The Pro's & Con's of Venture Capital MoneyEric Bahn is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco. Hustle Fund invests in software startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, making 100 investments out of its current fund. E902 Looking Glass Factory Shawn Frayne demos his 3D holographic display // Guess the Fake Startup!Looking Glass Factory Co-founder & CEO Shawn Frayne demos his 3D holographic display that creates shared experiences & unlimited potential for human-tech direct interaction // "Guess the Fake Startup!": which chat product is too outrageous to exist? Google expands partnership with Founder Gym to support underrepresented foundersGoogle for Startups has expanded a partnership with startup training program Founder Gym to better serve underrepresented founders through a new scholarship program. [ Tech Crunch ] Startup Grind Global Conference 2019 - Day 1 LivestreamJim Steyer runs the powerful nonprofit Common Sense Media; now he’s using his influence to battle big techCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom earlier today proposed a so-called digital dividend that would let consumers share in the profits generated by California-based tech companies that have been “collecting, curating and monetizing” their users’ personal data. Newsom added that he has asked his administration to develop a proposal for a “new data dividend for Californians, because we recognize that data has value, and it belongs to you.” [ Tech Crunch ] Arlan Hamilton (Founder, Backstage Capital) | Startup Grind Global Conference 2019Three years ago, Arlan Hamilton sat in the balcony as an attendee at Startup Grind. Today, as one of the event's headlining speakers, she engaged in a very raw and authentic dialogue with Bloomberg's Emily Chang about breaking barriers in venture capital, personal security, and twitter feuds. Investors are still failing to back founders from diverse backgroundsThe large majority of venture dollars are invested in companies run by white men with a university degree, according to a new report by RateMyInvestor and Diversity VC. This new data reveals that despite the lip service investors have paid to backing founders from diverse backgrounds, much, much, more work needs to be done to actually achieve the industry’s stated goals. It also shows the vast gulf that separates the meritocratic myth that Silicon Valley has created for itself from the hard truths of its natural nepotistic state.[ Tech Crunch ] Second Measure raises $20 million to analyze companies’ sales and growth ratesPredicting customers’ purchasing patterns is easier said than done. It necessarily involves collecting huge amounts of data, and growing and maintaining the resulting datasets over the course of months (or years). And that’s only the start — sussing out the corpora’s key metrics requires purpose-built sophisticated, scalable analytics tools. [ Venture Beat ] Crypto Detective Firm Chainalysis Raises $30 Million, Cites Growth of 'Stablecoins' Chainalysis made a name for itself by helping law enforcement track criminals’ use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. More recently, as crypto moved into the mainstream, the New York-based firm has developed a second line of business helping financial and investment firms stay on the right side of regulators. [ Fortune ] |