Pandora tumbled almost 9% on the stock market Wednesday. And then it bounced back over 6% after the day ended. The music streaming business, which has had a terrible past year on the stock market, surprised investors when it revealed a 63% rise in subscription revenue, totaling $97.7 million. Subscribers also jumped 25%, to 5.48 million. […]
February 21, 2018
ParkBee closes €5M funding to open up private car parks to public bookings
ParkBee, a Netherlands-founded startup that lets private car parks monetize underutilized spaces by making them bookable to the public, has picked up €5 million in new funding The round is led by German-based Statkraft Ventures, with participation from existing investors. Statkraft Ventures is backed by the Statkraft Group, which claims to be Europe’s largest generator […]
On Vacation? Stop Checking Email
Going on vacation? To get the most out of your time away, keep your phone out of sight and mind. Research shows the mere presence of a phone stresses us out, even if we aren’t using it. (Plus, moving your job from an office to a beach is no holiday at all.) Set clear boundaries […]
India’s Capillary Technologies raises $20M from Warburg Pincus and Sequoia
Capillary Technologies, an India-based startup that helps e-commerce businesses manage their marketing and customer engagement, has pulled in $20 million in fresh funding from existing investors Warburg Pincus and Sequoia. The company said it plans to use the capital to develop its products and R&D, including a new focus on the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space […]
Walmart launches a new home shopping site for furniture and home décor
Following a slowdown in e-commerce sales over the holidays, Walmart today is readying a new strategy to attract online shoppers with an increased focus on home goods. The retailer is now launching a redesigned Home shopping experience on the web which will better highlight home products, like furniture, accessories, and other decorative items. The new […]
How to Manage Your Entire Marketing Budget [Free Budget Tracker Templates]
“As the media and digital landscape evolves at breakneck speed, continually reassessing the tools, services, and programs you’re employing is a great way to determine real-time ROI of your overall spend. Today’s measurement tool may be worthless to you tomorrow.”With the 8 Free Budget Planner Templates to Manage Your Marketing Spend, you’ll be able to […]
Intel ships update for newest Spectre-affected chips
Intel has announced that the fix is out for its latest chips affected by Spectre, the memory-leakage flaw affecting practically all computing hardware. The patch is for the Skylake generation (late 2015) and newer, though most users will still have to wait for the code to be implemented by whoever manufactured their computer (specifically, their […]
Startup that sells your salary data to VCs gets bought by Solium
Investors don’t want their portfolio companies to pay you too much, or too little. So they pay Advanced-HR for its compensation data pulled from 2,500 startups. With a generic name, the service has flown somewhat under the radar since launching 20 years ago. As startups grow more professional while staying private longer, they’re getting serious […]
Peer-to-peer camera rental startup KitSplit raises $2.1M
KitSplit, which operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for creative equipment, is announcing that it’s raised $2.1 million in seed funding. The equipment available for rental can include cameras, lights and lenses, but also VR gear and drones. Renters get access to this equipment for a lower price (CEO Lisbeth Kaufman estimated said KitSplit usually costs 30 […]
Ford’s President of North America exits the company due to “inappropriate behavior”
Ford today announced the departure of the Raj Nair, Ford’s President of North America and former executive vice president, Product Development, and chief technical officer. According to a press release, he is leaving the company following a recent internal investigation that found certain behavior by Nair was “inconsistent with the company’s code of conduct.” Nair […]
Roku stock tanks 18% after sharing financials, outlook
Despite surpassing analyst expectations for the quarter, Roku disappointed Wall Street when it shared its fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday. The digital streaming business fell about 18% in after-hours trading, in the minutes following the news release. Roku posted$188.3 million revenue, when Yahoo! Finance estimates showed $182.5 million. Earnings per share was 6 […]
A system to tell good fake bokeh from bad
The pixel-peepers over at DxOMark have shared some of the interesting metrics and techniques they use to judge the quality of a smartphone’s artificial bokeh, or background blur in photos. Not only is it difficult to do in the first place, but they have to systematize it! Their guide should provide even seasoned shooters with […]
Signal expands into the Signal Foundation with $50M from WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton
Perhaps the most surprising thing I learned about Signal when I spoke with Moxie Marlinspike, the encrypted chat service’s creator, last year at Disrupt, was that it was essentially running on a shoestring budget. An indispensable tool used by millions and feared by governments worldwide, barely getting by! But $50 million from WhatsApp co-founder Brian […]
Blockchain is entering the valley of despair phase, and that’s a mistake
I’ve had a number of conversations with blockchain-focused people over the past few weeks. In some of those conversations — particularly with engineers — there is a palpable excitement and a belief that this technology is going to end up being their life’s work. As one blockchain hacker told me this past week, “It’s going […]
The Atlantic says it will hire up to 100 new staffers
It’s a gloomy time in media, with frequent announcements of layoffs and shutdowns (it even happened today). That’s why it seems remarkable for an established publication to announce ambitious plans for newsroom expansion. The publication in question is The Atlantic, the magazine that Lauren Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective bought a majority stake in last year. The magazine […]
UpWest Labs just raised $18 million more to bring Israeli founders to the U.S.
The micro venture firm UpWest Labs was founded nearly six years ago in Palo Alto with one mission in mind: to bring Israeli founders to the U.S. when their companies are still nascent and provide them with enough financial and other resources to get going. Why do this? UpWest’s founders, Shuly Galili and Gil Ben-Artzy, say […]
Onward helps businesses automate their customer service
How much can customer service be automated? Onward has some straightforward targets — 40 percent of tickets and 40 percent of messages should be automated, and average response times should be 40 seconds on average. Founders Rémi Cossart and Pramod Thammaiah describe this as Automate40 — basically, a set of goals for businesses looking to […]
Gabi gets $9.5M to help car and home owners find better insurance once it’s available
If you own a car or home, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is finding the right insurance plan that’ll cover everything you need and save you some money — but those plans are always changing, and consumers are getting stuck footing a bill they don’t necessarily need, according to Hanno Fichter. That’s why […]
Google tries to make Android more enterprise-friendly with new recommendation program
With so many Android devices out there to choose from, it’s not always easy to find one that’s enterprise-friendly. To help alleviate that problem, Google announced the Android Enterprise Recommended program today. As the name implies, it’s designed to point enterprise IT departments at devices that Google has deemed to be enterprise-ready. This involves a number […]
Raisin, the European savings deposit marketplace backed by PayPal, gets dedicated UK launch
Raisin, the Paypal-backed savings deposit marketplace that lets you shop for a better interest rate across Europe, has launched a dedicated U.K. site, meaning that savers can now access deposit accounts in Sterling. The first partner bank on the British version of the platform is BACB, which is offering a range of fixed term savings […]
Facebook opens registration for its annual F8 developer conference
Facebook has just opened up registration for its annual F8 developer conference. Last year, Zuck and company talked about augmented reality, brain-computer interfaces and a complete rewrite of its React framework. Facebook has had turbulent year in the news, and the company has made some significant moves to restructure how its users are interacting with […]
Apple could be buying cobalt from mining companies directly
Cobalt is the new oil. Car companies and battery manufacturers are all rushing to secure multiyear contracts with mining companies for their lithium-ion batteries. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is also participating in this game as the company wants to secure its long-term supplies. The company has never done this before with cobalt. Apple […]
The U.S. Economy Is Suffering from Low Demand. Higher Wages Would Help
vincent tsui for hbr A little over a century ago, Henry Ford doubled the minimum pay of his workers to $5 an hour. When other employers followed suit, it became clear that Ford had sparked a chain reaction. Higher pay throughout the industry helped lead to more sales, creating a virtuous cycle of growth and […]
Qualcomm shares details on its vision for the near-future of mobile VR
Qualcomm is ready to show off more about what its Snapdragon 845 system architecture can do for the future of VR. Even as headsets based on the Snapdragon 835 reference design — like Lenovo’s positionally tracked Daydream headset — are just gearing up for their stateside release, we’re already looking to what the future of […]
Black History Month: Driving Change at Uber
February is Black History Month which honors the collective richness, innumerable contributions and accomplishments of Black folks yesterday, today and going forward. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, otherwise known as the “Father of Black History,” first originated Black (Negro) History week in 1926 which was eventually decreed a national observance as Black History Month in 1976 by U.S. President […]
Google’s Cloud IoT Core is now generally available
Cloud IoT Core, Google’s fully managed service for connecting, managing and ingesting data from IoT devices, is now out of beta and generally available. Google envisions the service, which launched in public beta last September, as the first entry point for IoT data into its cloud. Once the data has been ingested, users can use Cloud […]
Nest rolls out a $5 cloud recording plan for its cameras
Just a quick bit of news for those with Nest cams around the house: a new, cheaper Nest Aware (read: the cloud recording service that also gives the camera a bit more smarts) plan is on the way. Nest has long offered two plans: a $10/month plan that lets you store the last 10 days […]
One of Nest’s cameras can now double as a Google Assistant
After Google announced earlier this month that it was going to wrap Nest back into Google’s hardware operation, everyone figured we’d see a bit more overlap between the two. Sure enough, just two weeks later: the Nest Cam IQ Indoor is getting support for Google Assistant. Nest says the app update that lets users toggle […]
SharpestMinds wants to help startups find AI talent before Google and Facebook snatch them
Google and other tech giants often have huge recruiting efforts that can target students — but startups might not have those kinds of resources to find or grab them before they head off to those huge companies. The biggest tech companies in the world can offer a lot of resources and bigger compensation packages, but […]
Snapchat responds to the Change.org petition complaining about the app’s redesign
Snapchat has posted an official response to users who signed a petition on Change.org asking the company to reverse its controversial update, which people say makes the app more difficult to use. In the response, Snapchat promises to make a few more changes to the Friends and Discover section in order to address user complaints. […]
Snapchat responds to the Change.org petition complaining about the app’s redesign
Snapchat has posted an official response to users who signed a petition on Change.org asking the company to reverse its controversial update, which people say makes the app more difficult to use. In the response, Snapchat promises to make a few more changes to the Friends and Discover section in order to address user complaints. […]
This is the tech that NFL players are excited about in 2018
With the NFL season now over, players finally have time to focus on their passions and side projects, which can be anything from an externship on Capital Hill to angel investing in startups. Some of these activities are facilitated through the NFL Player’s Association, which actually runs a tech accelerator designed to trade player licensing […]
This is the tech that NFL players are excited about in 2018
With the NFL season now over, players finally have time to focus on their passions and side projects, which can be anything from an externship on Capital Hill to angel investing in startups. Some of these activities are facilitated through the NFL Player’s Association, which actually runs a tech accelerator designed to trade player licensing […]
‘Alto’s Odyssey’ is now available on iOS and it’s wonderful
Alto’s Adventure could be my most-played game on iOS. I spent countless hours on flights getting lost in the serene landscape offered in the game. To me it’s a satisfying mix of adventure and mindless pleasure. The sequel is now available on iOS and it’s even better than the first. As Darrell explains here, the […]
‘Alto’s Odyssey’ is now available on iOS and it’s wonderful
Alto’s Adventure could be my most-played game on iOS. I spent countless hours on flights getting lost in the serene landscape offered in the game. To me it’s a satisfying mix of adventure and mindless pleasure. The sequel is now available on iOS and it’s even better than the first. As Darrell explains here, the […]
Outsourcing management startup 4me announces $1.65 million seed investment led by Storm Ventures
4me, a startup that helps companies organize and track their IT outsourcing projects, announced a $1.65 million seed investment led by Storm Ventures. The company, which launched in 2010, would seem to be a bit long in the tooth to warrant a seed investment round, but co-founder and CEO Cor Winkler Prins explained that the […]
Here’s how to make Alexa control a toilet — because why not?
[embedded content] Alexa-controlled toilets are a thing in 2018, but cost thousands. An enterprising person can make their own by following these instructions. It takes a bit of work, multiple components and about $750 (plus the cost of the toilet), but the end result is a voice-controlled toilet — and everyone needs that in their […]
Glassdoor Welcomes New Members to Executive Team
As the number of job seekers and recruiters leveraging Glassdoor to help them find jobs and recruit top candidates grows, so must our company. The Glassdoor team has grown significantly over the past few years, both in the U.S. and abroad. To help support that growth, we’re excited to announce three appointments to our executive […]
How to Effectively Stay Motivated When Unable to Find a Job
It’s never the best feeling in the world when you lose a job and have a hard time finding a new one. However, that doesn’t mean it’s time to give up. In fact, it means that now is the time to work harder than ever. Here’s how to effectively stay motivated when you’re unable to […]
Most Leaders Know Their Strengths — but Are Oblivious to Their Weaknesses
Roman Kharlamov/Getty Images “Oh, I pretty much know my strengths and my weaknesses.” If we had a dollar for every time we’d heard this from an executive we were coaching, we could have retired a long time ago. When probed, they often proclaim that while they might not recognize all their strengths, they are confident […]
How to Create the Perfect Instagram Images to Sell Your Brand
Photographs are emotional time machines: they transport us to places of which we’ve only dreamed, remind us of past experiences we long to recreate, and spark inspiration for future adventures. It is not the photographs themselves that stir up these emotions, but rather the memories and aspirations we associate with them. Instagram is a visual […]
11 Top Link-Building Tips from Local SEO Experts
As part of our recent Expert Local Business Link Building Survey, we asked experienced experts in the field of Local SEO about their views on link-building: Is link-building still relevant? What’s the most powerful element of a link? Which link-building outreach strategies work best for local businesses? Below we’ve gathered some of the golden insights […]