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Category: Advice

Is Diversity the New Lean-In Movement?

Is Diversity the New Lean-In Movement?

 Diversity/inclusion is definitely the catchphrase of the day and having been in the industry since the Web 1.0 days, when we’d attend conferences and would never find a queue at the women’s loo ever, while at the men’s loo, the line would snake around corners. Not so much when Web 2.0 hit and cheers to that, despite the wait we then encountered: the industry was becoming more gender-inclusive at some levels and there’s a start, anyway, even though not all companies seemed to have gotten the memo, or the message, or didn’t quite understand that it’s not all about numbers alone: Black former employees sue Google for racial discrimination.

 

The pendulum does have a way of swinging from one extreme to the other before righting itself at the midway point, or so one would hope, and so it seems to be going  with diversity and inclusion, Hollywood/the movie industry being an extreme example (Are the Oscars Over?). Viewership of the Academy Awards has been way down in recent years, and despite the fact that many entertainers accepting their awards or presenting use the moment as a way to air their pollical views, the Academy has somehow decided that it’s all about diversity/inclusion, or the lack thereof. Read More...

The Founder Test: Do You Have What It Takes?

The Founder Test: Do You Have What It Takes?

 

We all know the statistics: most startups fail for various reasons, primarily because they run out of money, or didn’t raise enough – or any. There is another factor to consider: do you have what it takes to be a founder of a company? There’s a lot of advice out there on the slides you need in your deck and why startups fail, but what about some basic skills you need to be a founder? We do know that many founders of very successful companies are psychopaths – do try to avoid going that route – and that aside, here are some things you need to consider: Read More...

W-A-T-E-R

W-A-T-E-R

Image by congerdesign @Pixabay

It took ‘Miracle Worker’ and teacher Anne Sullivan a long time and a lot of effort to get through to a blind and deaf young Helen Keller. An exasperated Sullivan finally did succeed. The first word that made an impact and succeeded in helping the girl to understand the relationship between words and everything in her world was ‘water.’

With all due respect, it’s more or less the same with many first-time entrepreneurs when it comes to constructing their investor pitch decks and/or pitching. So, we’re going to spell it out for you.

We know you know the information that needs to be included, in no particular order: problem, solution, differentiators, market size – total addressable market (TAM), sample addressable market (SAM), sample obtainable market (SOM), go to market strategy, traction/partnerships, competitors, financials, team et al. 12-15 slides. Done. Read More...

What Hath Tech Wrought…This Time

What Hath Tech Wrought…This Time

Photo by TheDigitalArtist @Pixabay

The world was up in arms when Russia says it’s blocking Facebook in alarming new censorship push. Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg then tweeted in response to the move, saying “Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information…and silenced from speaking out,” The Verge reported. Yet, how long has the tech cabal been censoring people and posts that are not in lockstep with what they deem appropriate, or do not conform to their agendas?

 

Meanwhile, we’re witnessing The creeping authoritarianism of facial recognition that’s being adopted more and more. “The same technology that Russia uses to keep its people in line has come to America,” Spectator World reported. Of course, it’s all in the name of  lowering crime rates, but note to self, More States Than Ever Passing Laws For No Cash Bail and Pretrial Detention, including New York, where the NYPD provide(d) hard proof that no-bail law is causing a crime spike. Said the New York Post, “Since Jan. 1, 482 suspects busted for serious felonies were released without bail only to commit another 846 new crimes. Over a third were arrested for one of the seven most serious crimes: murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto.” Read More...

Tech and Lessons from the Ukraine Invasion

Tech and Lessons from the Ukraine Invasion

It’s been a stressful week in a stressful couple of years to the point where one barely knows where the road forward is anymore since the landscape is shifting so rapidly.

Given its global footprint, the tech sector is not immune from disruptive global events:

First, Mykhailo Fedorov, who is Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Urges Apple’s CEO to take action and stop selling products and services in the Russian Federation. Read More...

Is Mark Zuckerberg About to Say ‘Zuck It’?

Is Mark Zuckerberg About to Say ‘Zuck It’?

pic by giampieroruggieri @pixabay & we do recall when Zuck wore sandals with socks

Short and sweet due to President’s Day Weekend and speaking of the men in charge, think about this:

Jeff Bezos stepped back from the daily grind at Amazon (he’s still Executive Chairman and very much involved, trust us);

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin retreated from the spotlight at Alphabet/Google long ago. Read More...

The Metaverse and the Peloton Saga: A Cautionary Tale

The Metaverse and the Peloton Saga: A Cautionary Tale

Technologies change with time and circumstances. The lockdowns brought the rise of Zoom, Peloton and Hopin, to name a few. But times change, as do needs and fortunes.

While much attention given of late to Peloton, it’s also notable that Virtual events platform Hopin cut(s) 12% of staff, citing goal of ‘sustainable growth.’ As Techcrunch reported, “Following unprecedented growth and several acquisitions, we are reorganizing to align with our goals for greater efficiency and sustainable growth,” the company said in a statement…Hopin acquired five companies in just 2021, including a $250 million purchase of StreamYard.

David Bowie said that tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming, and as TechCrunch noted, Hopin “merely 11 months prior…closed a $400 million raise at a $5.65 billion valuation. Then (founder Johnny) Boufarhat told TechCrunch that “his company intends on being operationally IPO-ready next year.” Read More...

Is the Long Arm of Silicon Valley Being Cut Off at the Knees?

Is the Long Arm of Silicon Valley Being Cut Off at the Knees?

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

f you’ve been following what’s been going on lately in tech and focusing on the headlines, you might have missed the forest through the trees.

Silicon Valley Disruption Part 1:

Facebook just lost half a million users, the headlines screamed (out of nearly 2B, and no bigs, you’d think, but a) they’re not growing, b) those users are in the US: prime market, which meant they took a big hit on their profits and c) it’s the first time ever that FB lost users), and the stock was devalued 20%, wiping  $200BN off the value of parent-firm Meta. Of course, founder  Mark Zuckerberg was quick to come up with the excuses, par usual (ever notice that it’s never his bad?): Read More...

The Sili-CON Game

The Sili-CON Game

image by Leuchtturm81 at Pixabay

What captured the attention of the Twitterverse of late was the thread from Bolt founder Ryan Breslow (@theryanking) who called out the Silicon Valley Mob. We quote: “two forces have the most power in Silicon Valley. And like… tenfold more than anyone else. Their names: Stripe and YCombinator. The kicker → Their power is in how they work together. Stripe is the darling child of Silicon Valley. Early to YC (YCombinator), Stripe made payment processing APIs easy and signed up all their YC batchmates to use their product. The “official payment processor for YC”, Stripe became a HOT company. Sequoia, the most powerful VC firm in the world, went all-in. Their position today is upwards of $20-$30B in Stripe stock.

 

By the Numbers

“Three forces combined quickly: 1/ The most powerful VC firm in the world. 2/ The most powerful startup accelerator in the world. 3/ The most powerful startup in the world, with the help of #1 and #2.” Read More...

“Beware the Tech Industrial Complex”

“Beware the Tech Industrial Complex”

It was President Dwight D. Eisenhower who said that when leaving office, although most people quote his warning to beware the military industrial complex. He was right on both counts, but the former seems just a bit more prescient at this juncture.

The news that grabbed the headlines this week was Microsoft’s $70B bid for the troubled Activision (Microsoft’s Activision buy could shake up gaming), but the real news is that Microsoft is bigger than Google, Amazon and Facebook. But now lawmakers treat it like an ally in antitrust battles.

Odd, given that so much attention is focused these days on anti-trust and Big Tech and note to self, the acquisition would make Microsoft bigger in the gaming space than Nintendo. This, as we stand at the threshold of the metaverse and given Microsoft’s ownership of LinkedIn, this would consolidate its position in the metaverse in both work and play. Read More...