Snap stock sinks as Kylie Jenner says she doesn’t use Snapchat anymoreAt this point, if you haven’t accepted the celebrity influence of the Kardashian/Jenner machine, you probably haven’t been paying attention to pop culture at large. Snap is definitely paying attention. Yesterday, Kylie Jenner tweeted a pretty brutal takedown of Snapchat with the nonchalance that only a celebrity who has mastered social media better than most can do. [ Tech Crunch ] 25 black founders and VCs to watch in 2018Co-founder and CEO of Code2040, a nonprofit aimed at helping underrepresented minorities achieve educational and entrepreneurial success. [ PitchBook ] Glossier’s investors have pumped $52 million more into the popular beauty brand. The New York City-based startup has now raised nearly $90 million in venture funding.Glossier, the digital-native beauty brand whose products have become a hit among teen girls as well as women in their 20s and 30s, has raised a new $52 million round of financing from its existing investors. IVP and Index Ventures led the round, which brings the startup’s total funding to $86 million. Glossier grew out of Into the Gloss, a beauty blog that founder and CEO Emily Weiss created in 2010. Since then, the company has built out a line of affordable makeup and skincare products that have helped it create a fanatical following. The company sells its wares almost exclusively through its own website and its New York City showroom. [ Recode ] You can now buy and sell bitcoin and ethereum without paying any commission on Robinhood — but you'll have to get in line
Airbnb debuts premium Plus program and new listing categoriesAirbnb today announced a series of changes to give people more ways to decide what kind of home they want to stay in when away from home. Starting this summer, Airbnb will allow people to search for properties based on new categories like unique homes, vacation homes, bed and breakfasts, and boutique hotels. Unique homes include listings that let you stay places like barns, boats, campers, caves, and treehouse. Right now Airbnb’s 4.5 million listings can only be searched for based on three categories: shared room, private room, and entire home. [ Venture Beat ] Founder Stories: Alexander Mistakidis of GamelynxFounder Stories are conversations with people that have been through YC. Alexander Mistakidis is cofounder and CEO of Gamelynx (YC S17). Discussed: Esports; Student Entrepreneurship; Mental Health; Working at Riot Games; Alexander’s Favorite Games Craig: What does Gamelynx do? Alexander: Gamelynx is building team-based competitive games on mobile. Our goal is to unlock the future of eSports so they can overtake traditional sports. We grew up loving these kinds of games on PC, and it’s the perfect time for them to come to mobile. Craig: Esports are already growing fast, aren’t they? What’s limiting them? Alexander: It sounds silly but for such a large generational shift, it’s actually grown slowly. To me, a lot of the issues are with the actual games themselves. Whether you play games or not, it’s clear that most eSport games have huge informational barriers around understanding how the games work. Successful games like League of Legends are super fun and engaging for players, but it takes a big commitment to even begin to appreciate it as a sport. The objectives and characters are complex, and they constantly change. In the long term, this makes it difficult for spectators, game developers, and committed players to keep up and stay engaged over generations like traditional sports. [ YC Blog ] Reddit boss on entrepreneurship, the future, and how Singapore changed his lifeIn front of a packed crowd at Tech in Asia Singapore 2017, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian made it clear that the Lion City holds a place close to his heart. “It changed my life,” he said of Singapore. “This was where I decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur.” Humble beginningsIn a Wednesday afternoon fireside chat with Mashable APAC director of strategy and business development Gwendolyn Regina, Ohanian explained that his first trip to Singapore – well over a decade ago – came as part of a tech entrepreneurship competition at the National University of Singapore. Inspired by the atmosphere, he pitched his professor an idea and then fired off a very enthusiastic email to his friend Steve Huffman. That email marked the beginning of Reddit. [ Tech in Asia ] How 'The Lean Startup' Turned Eric Ries Into an Unlikely Corporate GuruThe Warfield Theatre in San Francisco’s gritty Mid-Market neighborhood is a legendary temple of rock, host over the years to the likes of Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and Guns N’ Roses. It’s jarring, then, to walk through its beer-soaked halls, plop down onto a threadbare seat in the cavernous auditorium, and listen to smartly dressed business types evangelizing about entrepreneurialism. [ Fortune ] An investing startup managing $10 billion is copying the largest hedge fund in the world
Risk parity is a portfolio strategy that focuses on the allocation of risk, rather than on the allocation of capital. It was made famous by Bridgewater's All Weather Fund, which launched in 1996. Risk parity is the newest addition to Wealthfront's PassivePlus suite of investment solutions. Other features that make up PassivePlus include tax loss harvesting, direct indexing, and smart beta. "Wealthfront's PassivePlus marries decades of academic insights with technology to deliver disciplined investment approach that helps our clients achieve their financial goals," Dr. Jakub Jurek, Wealthfront's VP of research, said. [ Re/Code ] Priceline’s acquisition of Booking.com was so transformational that it is changing its name to Booking HoldingsNVCA looks to curb sexual harassment issues throughout venture capital worldKapor Capital’s new partner talks health startups, African-Americans in venture capitalInclusive venture capital, high-growth Ethiopian businesses, India’s electric vehicle marketFull transcript: Benchmark partner Sarah Tavel on Recode DecodeChina overtakes US in AI startup funding with a focus on facial recognition and chipsThis startup wants to use AI to prove that it knows your skinTwilio co-founder promises ice cream to students facing detention for attending walkoutsPower Financial adds to investment in robo-adviser WealthsimpleWHATSAPP CO-FOUNDER PUTS $50M INTO SIGNAL TO SUPERCHARGE ENCRYPTED MESSAGINGStealth space catapult startup SpinLaunch is raising $30MOnly 10 big players will survive fintech consolidation wave: Lendingkart CEOIndianapolis tech community sees lack of funding and diversity as its biggest challenges |