blogger better: 2017-02-12

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Co-founder conflict

Here’s how it felt in the weeks before I resigned from my last startup: I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. Resting pulse at 120. I had reached a point where I couldn’t agree with my co-founder over the future of the company. I had to step away. Every co-founder situation is different, but one common problem revolves around how founders engage in conflict: either not… Read More

http://ift.tt/2lW13o4 Co-founder conflict http://ift.tt/2kUglpq

The Paris Aquarium And Airbnb Organize A Contest To Offer Winners A Night Underwater With Sharks

Oh, how the tables can turn. After suing San Francisco, New York City and Anaheim, Airbnb has found itself on the other side of a lawsuit. Apartment Investment & Management Company (Aimco), which owns or manages about 50,000 properties, is suing Airbnb, saying that the company is deliberately incentivizing people to breach their leases, The Wall Street Journal reported. Aimco, which filed… Read More

http://ift.tt/2d3JgXc A big apartment management company is suing Airbnb http://ift.tt/2lwf9Mb

Ford has invested $1 billion in a joint venture with Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based company with ties to Carnegie Mellon. The goal is to completely outfit Ford vehicles with self-driving technology. Interestingly this isn’t a case of a large company simply hiring talent but the creation of an entirely separate company with an independent equity structure. Ford is the “majority… Read More

http://ift.tt/2cxdnVE Ford invests $1 billion in Pittsburgh-based Argo AI to build self-driving cars by 2021 http://ift.tt/2m8fdyo

The value of venture capital investors and the importance of physical infrastructure

Why is it important to invest via VCs, and do they add value further to the money they invest into a growth business? Furthermore, what role do physical transport links play in terms of business success and innovation in this, the digital age? Read More

http://ift.tt/2kHC42N The value of venture capital investors and the importance of physical infrastructure http://ift.tt/2lsQEQ8

In fall 2015, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against delivery service Postmates which challenged the legality of the company’s mandatory arbitration agreement between it and its contractors. In Postmates’ fleet agreement, which contractors must sign as a condition of hire, the company had required that workers settle disagreements through arbitration. In… Read More

http://ift.tt/1IDnnIe Postmates now allows drivers to opt out of mandatory arbitration http://ift.tt/2m4BLQz

In this Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel poses for photos, in Los Angeles. Spiegel dropped out of Stanford University in 2012, three classes shy of graduation, to move back to his father's house and work on Snapchat. Spiegel’s fast-growing mobile app lets users send photos, videos and messages that disappear a few seconds after they are received (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Snap is about to embark on its investor roadshow as it prepares to go public at the beginning of March. And a new video gives a glimpse at how they will be trying to persuade Wall Street to buy shares. The video starts off with CEO Evan Spiegel emphasizing their mission as a “camera company.” He compares Snap’s video experience to Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2eREUTo Snap takes aim at Facebook in roadshow video Katie Roof http://ift.tt/2lrCRJN
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Trump is causing a political app boom, data shows

{rss:content:encoded} Trump is causing a political app boom, data shows http://ift.tt/2lVNp0Y http://ift.tt/1RjulBa February 17, 2017 at 07:12PM Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Marìa Helena Carey

Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Marìa Helena Carey

Anyone surprised by this? The growth of politically-focused mobile apps has been booming since November, with the top five political apps receiving a combined 300,000 downloads across iOS and Android over the past three months, according to new data from App Annie. This list doesn’t include news media applications, but rather those apps aimed helping people find their representatives,… Read More

A green-screen effect, or chroma keying, is nothing new. But it’s not really consumer technology — mainly because of the need for an actual green screen, a static camera and studio-quality lighting. But being able to have a live video background behind you is cool. Meet Blin.gy, a new app that’s figured out how to achieve a “mobile green-screen effect.” Read More

http://ift.tt/2m3zB3B Blin.gy puts you inside your favorite music video http://ift.tt/2kRzLLz

Teslab is the companion app Tesla owners have been waiting for

{rss:content:encoded} Teslab is the companion app Tesla owners have been waiting for http://ift.tt/2lqHPWU http://ift.tt/2l1nBlS February 17, 2017 at 05:01PM screen-shot-2017-02-14-at-3-03-49-pm

Tesla actually makes a lot of data available to vehicle owners via APIs and other endpoints, but it’s not always easy to find and make use of that info. Enter Teslab, a new app that tracks data and links it to your profile, while also letting you share it out to a community of other Tesla owners in a way that, during the beta spotted by Teslerati, users have really enjoyed. The app… Read More

EasilyDo brings its powerful Email app to Android

{rss:content:encoded} EasilyDo brings its powerful Email app to Android http://ift.tt/2leLswV http://ift.tt/2kx62eQ February 17, 2017 at 04:50PM screen-shot-2017-02-17-at-10-30-29-am

EasilyDo’s simply named “Email” application is one of the most popular productivity apps on iOS, because it closely resembles the look-and-feel of Apple’s default Mail app, but comes with more powerful features. Essentially, it feels like you’ve given the Mail app an upgrade. Now EasilyDo’s Email has made its way over to Android, bringing the same core… Read More

WayUp is making its first acquisition — it’s buying the similarly-focused Looksharp. Both companies have created job listing sites for college students and recent graduates, but WayUp co-founder and CEO Liz Wessel (pictured above with Looksharp CEO Andrew Maguire) told me they’re complementary in a rather specific way. The key, she said, is search engine optimization… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2lVERaj Student job finder WayUp acquires competitor Looksharp Anthony Ha http://ift.tt/2kRrBmh
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Apple assembling devices in India won’t mean cheaper iPhones yet

{rss:content:encoded} Apple assembling devices in India won’t mean cheaper iPhones yet http://ift.tt/2lqTKnN http://ift.tt/2bTJgo3 February 17, 2017 at 04:41PM iPhone 7

Apple appears to be moving forward with plans to begin assembling its phones in India, but that doesn’t necessary mean that its prices will drop in the country. India’s Economic Times today reported that Apple will begin assembling the iPhone SE in the coming months in Karnataka, adding more detail to comments from the state’s minister of IT earlier this month which… Read More

WayUp is making its first acquisition — it’s buying the similarly-focused Looksharp. Both companies have created job listing sites for college students and recent graduates, but WayUp co-founder and CEO Liz Wessel (pictured above with Looksharp CEO Andrew Maguire) told me they’re complementary in a rather specific way. The key, she said, is search engine optimization… Read More

http://ift.tt/2lVERaj Student job finder WayUp acquires competitor Looksharp http://ift.tt/2kRrBmh

Before I make a product-driven case for Snap Inc. achieving a $100B market cap by 2020, I should note that I’ve been a Snapchat bear for much of the company’s existence. That guy at the water cooler scoffing at Evan Spiegel for turning down Facebook’s $3B acquisition offer and complaining that the Snapchat app violates every principle of user-centric design? Guilty. Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2lqYNnP The bull case for Snapchat Sibjeet Mahapatra http://ift.tt/2kFZhSY
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A Sun Basket meal: steaks with artichoke butter, green beans and bell peppers.

Meal kit delivery startups, at this point, are nothing new. They send pre-measured ingredients in an insulated package right to a subscriber’s door, and promise to alleviate the inconvenience of grocery trips. One company in this burgeoning channel of food retail, Sun Basket, has just raised $15 million in a Series C round of venture funding to put a health-conscious twist on the meal… Read More

http://ift.tt/2kFBcfe Sun Basket cooks up another $15 million for gluten-free and paleo meal kits http://ift.tt/2lV7B2U

Yesterday I caught up with Tom Blomfield, co-founder and CEO of digital-only or ‘challenger’ bank Monzo. In our call, we talked about why Blomfield and his 80-plus team are building a new bank, whether or not we are in a fintech bubble, and what he thinks the impact will be of upcoming EU regulation intended to force incumbent banks to open up. Read More

http://ift.tt/2kZpAqG Listen to Monzo founder on building a ‘smart’ bank, fintech bubble, and turning down acquisition offer http://ift.tt/2loMada

What Zuck’s letter didn’t say

He might not want to run for office any time soon, but Mark Zuckerberg has perfected the time-honored political art of talking a lot without saying anything. In a sprawling letter consisting mostly of feel-good mumbo jumbo, Facebook visionary Mark Zuckerberg laid out 5,700 words worth of nonspecific stuff that sounds nice. Like fellow Facebook feel-gooder Sheryl Sandberg, Zuck was sure to… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1Qfb3Oj What Zuck’s letter didn’t say Taylor Hatmaker http://ift.tt/2kYcHx4
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Twitter will no longer notify you about replies in conversations started by people you’ve either blocked or muted, Twitter said today. You will, however, still get notified if someone you follow directly mentions you in the thread. Twitter made this decision after hearing “consistent feedback from the safety community regarding notifications from conversations started by… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2kkk8Qs Twitter makes another anti-abuse update Megan Rose Dickey http://ift.tt/2kXMr5N
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Meetup, the site that helps people organize get-togethers like hiking trips and cooking classes, is taking a very solid political stance in the face of the new administration’s policies here in the U.S. — a move that has angered Trump supporters, who are deleting their accounts and calling for a boycott. While Meetup’s platform is open to anyone on both sides of the… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2lcuHSG Trump supporters boycott Meetup after company creates #Resist groups, makes its politics known Sarah Perez http://ift.tt/2lYAsm6
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Facebook wants to give you the power to define what is and isn’t objectionable, and influence the local defaults who don’t choose voluntarily. You’ll be able to select how much nudity, violence, graphic content, and profanity tyou’re comfortable seeing. Mark Zuckerberg revealed this massive shift in Facebook’s Community Standards policy today in his 5,000-word… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2kDDTOa Facebook plans customizable filters for nudity and violence Josh Constine http://ift.tt/2lpamvJ
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Facebook plans customizable filters for nudity and violence

{rss:content:encoded} Facebook plans customizable filters for nudity and violence http://ift.tt/2lpamvJ http://ift.tt/2kDDTOa February 17, 2017 at 12:29AM facebook-filters