blogger better: 2016-08-21

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Why founders should care where their VCs get their money

Fundraising for a startup is a notoriously stressful process. Much ink has been spilled dissecting every aspect of what works when pitching a venture capitalist, and there are countless “tips” out there that promise to help close deals. But for all the attention paid to VCs, little has been paid to limited partners — the money behind the money that makes the venture world… Read More

http://ift.tt/2bp4W1b Why founders should care where their VCs get their money http://ift.tt/2bpAAsw

Spotify might not suppress search, but that doesn’t mean artists with exclusives get treated equally

CANNES, FRANCE - JUNE 22: Daniel Ek, founder and chief executive officer of Spotify, attends the Cannes Lions 2016 on June 22, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images)

Accusations that Spotify has been punishing artists for signing exclusives with other streaming services hit the internet in full force this morning, originating from a Bloomberg article. When confronted by TechCrunch, a Spotify spokesperson gave the same response they have been giving since the story broke — that the accusations about burying search results are “unequivocally… Read More

http://ift.tt/2briZxg Spotify might not suppress search, but that doesn’t mean artists with exclusives get treated equally http://ift.tt/2bnRc44

Launching with a marketplace for landscaping, snow plowing and other home care and repair services, Plowz & Mowz has raised $1.5 million from the Los Angeles-based startup studio Science and undisclosed angel investors. On the heels of the firm’s successful exit from Dollar Shave Club, Science has turned to the marketplace industry for its next investment. The idea for the… Read More

http://ift.tt/2bqtsZW Plowz and Mowz raise $1.5 million from LA-based Science for on-demand landscaping services http://ift.tt/2bp49wc

LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 10: A general view of the Microsoft booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 13 and is expected to feature 2,700 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to about 140,000 attendees. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

Today, Microsoft pushed out new resources to reduce hate speech in a blog post for users of its consumer services. Users will now be able to communicate directly with the company to report hate speech, and petition for reinstating content via new online forms. Most people are familiar with efforts by social networks like Twitter and Facebook to ensure safety within their respective online… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2bprFJt Microsoft announces new resources to reduce hate speech John Mannes http://ift.tt/2bNpgrb
via IFTTT

Twitter’s “Trends” are often confusing. Why is #MPBMS or #TechMunch trending? You had to click through and figure it out for yourself. When Facebook copied Twitter’s trends in 2014, it vastly improved them by adding human-written descriptions right below so you knew if you cared or not. Today Facebook is removing those descriptions, and claims it’s to increase… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2bMVnqV Facebook ditches helpful Trending Topic descriptions for global scale Josh Constine http://ift.tt/2cfP6Gl
via IFTTT

US President Barack Obama attends the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the United Nations Compound in Nairobi on July 25, 2015. Obama said today "Africa is on the move", as he praised the spirit of entrepreneurship at a business summit in Kenya during his first visit to the country of his father's birth since his election as president. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an office under the Department of Homeland Security, put forward a proposal today that would allow the U.S. government to offer parole (temporary permission to be in the country) to foreign entrepreneurs starting their businesses in the United States. The proposal specifies that a startup can qualify if it was started in the U.S. in the last… Read More

http://ift.tt/2bqixPH Newly proposed rules for foreign entrepreneurs will help some, but not all, found U.S. startups http://ift.tt/2bMQ2zU

Google Wallet debuts automatic transfers so you can skip “cashing out”

{rss:content:encoded} Google Wallet debuts automatic transfers so you can skip “cashing out” http://ift.tt/2bvsqOf http://ift.tt/2bq7qGC August 26, 2016 at 08:58PM googlewallet-table

Google today is stepping up its battle with Venmo, Square Cash and other person-to-person payment applications with an update to its Google Wallet mobile app, which now allows for automatic transfers to your bank account. That is, transfers will no longer require you to cash out money from your Wallet balance first. This will speed up the time it takes for Wallet users to gain access to… Read More

Flirtey, the drone delivery startup, developed a drone to deliver hot pizzas for Dominos.

Dominos Pizza Enterprises has demonstrated delivery of hot pizzas by drone in Auckland, New Zealand. The company has a long history of embracing high-tech concepts. Last year, they tested out a four-wheeled, driverless pizza delivery vehicle. And in 2012, Dominos launched a casual build-a-pizza game that also let players order the pizza they built digitally for real life delivery. The company… Read More

http://ift.tt/2bTneDD Flirtey flies pies for Dominos in New Zealand http://ift.tt/2bmkC5q

Well that was fast. Just one day after WhatsApp revealed a sea-change in its attitude to user data, by detailing plans to share the mobile numbers and last seen status of its users with parent company Facebook for ad-targeting and marketing purposes, the UK’s data protection watchdog has fired a warning shot across Zuckerberg’s bows by announcing it intends to investigate the… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/18ougfU WhatsApp-Facebook data-sharing deal probed by UK privacy watchdog Natasha Lomas http://ift.tt/2bmHLBY
via IFTTT

A personalized video channel for Apple TV, Rheo, has now closed on $2.3 million in seed funding, the company announced this week. It has also updated its application and expanded its content lineup, thanks to a new deal with Vimeo which brings the network’s catalog of short videos, including its “Staff Picks,” short films, animations, music and more, to Rheo’s service.… Read More

http://ift.tt/2bVKOzj Rheo, a personalized video app designed by ex-Apple product vets, scores $2.3 million http://ift.tt/2bMt4ZS

Mobile ad startup AppLovin in talks for $1.5 billion acquisition

{rss:content:encoded} Mobile ad startup AppLovin in talks for $1.5 billion acquisition http://ift.tt/2bmCYjC http://ift.tt/2bmbGNq August 26, 2016 at 07:26PM

Mobile ad startup AppLovin is in talks with a Chinese buyer for an acquisition of around $1.5 billion, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the company. We have not confirmed the identity of the acquirer. The deal is not yet finalized and details may change. Founded in 2012 by CEO Adam Foroughi along with Andrew Karam and John Kyrstynak, San Francisco-headquartered AppLovin operates… Read More

How are you, Jon? Just fine, Jon. Great, Jon. Let's get this party started. Sure, Jon.

We are often told that starting a startup on your own is madness. There are thousands of articles out there that tell you that and why why you need a co-founder. Probably solid advice, but data from CrunchBase shows a different side of the story. More than half of startups with an exit did so with just a single founder. The average is 1.72 founders. Read More

http://ift.tt/2bDAHRT Breaking a myth: Data shows you don’t actually need a co-founder http://ift.tt/2bDB0wa

Sequoia-based kids educational startup Duck Duck Moose is heading to Khan Academy, to add preschool learning to the non-profit’s digital education offerings. The startup’s 21 mobile apps aimed at children ages two and up are now available for free as a part of the move, which is not technically being considered an “acquisition,” due to the way the deal was… Read More

http://ift.tt/2bV9Puf Kids app maker Duck Duck Moose joins Khan Academy http://ift.tt/2bDiCU2

Kids app maker Duck Duck Moose joins Khan Academy

{rss:content:encoded} Kids app maker Duck Duck Moose joins Khan Academy http://ift.tt/2bDiCU2 http://ift.tt/2bV9Puf August 26, 2016 at 04:32PM khanddm_websitebanner

WhatsApp has started pushing out its new terms and conditions. If you want to opt out of sharing your data with Facebook for ad-targeting and product-related purposes, click through the slides to see how to do it… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2bnLMYi How to opt out of sharing your WhatsApp info with Facebook Natasha Lomas http://ift.tt/2bowRbt
via IFTTT

When I wrote “it’s game on” after Mondo became the last of the four British challenger banks to secure a banking license earlier this month, I didn’t think competitor Starling Bank would take my words quite so literally. Read More

http://ift.tt/2bShIBi How rival challenger bank Starling pranked Mondo on day new name Monzo was unveiled http://ift.tt/2bluWYm

Truecaller lands pre-install deal with Huawei as it crosses 90M monthly users

{rss:content:encoded} Truecaller lands pre-install deal with Huawei as it crosses 90M monthly users http://ift.tt/2bU1FCh http://ift.tt/2bkS7Fi August 26, 2016 at 09:44AM

Truecaller has landed a partnership with Huawei which will see its caller ID and smart phone book app pre-loaded on the fast-growing Chinese company’s overseas smartphones. Read More

Dropbox is resetting passwords for accounts that haven’t changed them since mid-2012

Dropbox is requiring users that have not changed their passwords since mid-2012 to reset their passwords this afternoon. The action appears to be related to continue fallout over the massive hack on LinkedIn in 2012 where credentials for 117 million accounts were posted online. In recent months, treasure troves of user credentials and passwords — in addition to a large MySpace hack… Read More

http://ift.tt/1D1cMTn Dropbox is resetting passwords for accounts that haven’t changed them since mid-2012 http://ift.tt/2bmSxVo

Dropbox is resetting passwords for accounts that haven’t changed them since mid-2012

{rss:content:encoded} Dropbox is resetting passwords for accounts that haven’t changed them since mid-2012 http://ift.tt/2bmSxVo http://ift.tt/1D1cMTn August 26, 2016 at 01:00AM dropbox-biz1