“Never run a dual-track process.” You’ll probably hear this advice if you ask an investor about raising money and selling a business concurrently, and it’s good advice. The two processes are so different, so all-consuming and require such different priorities that it is nearly impossible to do both well. Running a sale process, though, is … Continue reading When building a startup, think like a buyer Continue Reading
Mobile banking startup Varo is becoming its own bank. The company announced on Friday it has been granted a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and secured regulatory approvals from the FDIC and Federal Reserve to open Varo Bank, N.A. The news follows Varo’s recent close on an additional $241 million … Continue reading Mobile banking startup Varo is becoming a real bank Continue Reading
Facebook launched two 12-week accelerator programs for startups on Monday as the social juggernaut looks for new ideas and solutions to expand its commerce and connectivity efforts. Facebook’s Commerce Accelerator will select 60 startups from the EMEA and LATAM regions for the program, the company said. The startups that make the cut will explore building shopping solutions to … Continue reading Facebook launches commerce and connectivity-focused accelerator programs Continue Reading
Surprise. The latest version of Google’s budget Pixel device will be one of the first two to get its next-gen technology. It’s an odd strategy, to be sure, but sometimes roadmaps work out like that, I guess. You can read basically everything you need to know about the Pixel 4a in my review here. It’s a pretty basic … Continue reading The 4a and 5 will be Google’s first 5G-enabled Pixels Continue Reading
Josh Jensen bought his first house in Peoria, Ill., when he was 23. He sold the house to pay for business school and over the course of his tech career — first as a mechanical engineer and then as an executive for startup companies — Jensen and his wife bought, renovated and flipped several homes. … Continue reading Founded by a lifelong house-flipper, Inspectify is a marketplace for home inspections and repairs Continue Reading
Back in January, Robert Playter became the CEO of Boston Dynamics. It was a momentous occasion, marking the company’s first new CEO since its founding in the early 1990s when the company was founded by Marc Raibert. The move came during what was already a transitional period for the company, which is why we are excited … Continue reading Boston Dynamics CEO Rob Playter is coming to Disrupt 2020 to talk robotics and automation Continue Reading
Snapchat is taking aim at TikTok. The company announced today it will begin testing a new feature that lets Snapchat users set their Snaps to music, similar to TikTok’s app. The feature may allow Snapchat to capitalize on the fracturing of the TikTok audience, who have been exploring alternative apps as the Trump administration weighs a ban on … Continue reading Snapchat to take on TikTok with a new music-powered feature rolling out this fall Continue Reading
Virgin Orbit’s first attempt at an orbital launch demo may not have gone entirely to plan (the LauncherOne rocket released as planned but its flight was cut short just after that), but it has booked a payload for its next try — 11 science satellites selected by NASA and primarily designed and built by U.S. universities. Virgin … Continue reading Virgin Orbit to fly 11 satellites for NASA on second orbital launch demo later this year Continue Reading
Lordstown Motors, the one-year-old Ohio electric automaker that revealed a pickup truck prototype in June, has reached a deal to merge with special-purpose acquisition company DiamondPeak Holdings Corp., with a market value of $1.6 billion. The agreement marks the latest company — and electric automaker — to become a publicly traded company through a merger agreement with a … Continue reading Lordstown Motors becomes latest EV automaker to use a SPAC to go public Continue Reading
Calling all Extra Crunch annual and two-year members! Did you know that as a part of your membership plan, you can get a 20% discount on a Disrupt 2020 pass? Disrupt is our largest and most ambitious event of the year. While it’s typically held in San Francisco, this year the event will be held … Continue reading Reminder: Annual Extra Crunch members can save 20% on Disrupt passes Continue Reading