Max Heald was an intern at Union Square Ventures this summer. He had an opportunity to review their stash of board decks from portfolio companies to glean insights. He did not disappoint. | learn more
“Because the CEO is the nexus of the company, it’s easy for them to become a bottleneck. By deciding, they push the organization forward. The converse is also true. When a CEO defers a decision, the entire organization waits.” | learn more
The OEMs are trying to crawl out of the low-margin manufacturing business by making investments into startups and collaborating more closely. This means better aligned incentives with those startups, who usually suffer from quality issues tied to low production volumes. | learn […]
The project (Loon) is a brainchild of Alphabet’s moonshot subsidiary X. The balloons navigated from Nevada to Puerto Rico by using machine learning to predict air currents. | learn more
“A rule change removed a requirement for curbside dropoffs. Bike advocates say the amendment endangers cyclists.” I’m always scanning the cars in front of me for people about to open their doors. My slow biking speed probably works in my […]
Cambridge University researchers have confirmed that sheep can recognize human faces (including Barack Obama’s and Emma Watson’s). No, I don’t know why this was funded. |learn more
Researchers at King’s College London have demonstrated positive results over two small studies (12 and 19 people, respectively) that show a reduction of depression symptoms and physical changes in the brain. The participants had depression that was not helped by […]
As a comparison, Black Friday netted US retailers $3B, and Cyber Monday $3.45B last year. Both were records. Alibaba’s rival JD reported sales of $19B. Don’t ignore China! | learn more
Ben Thompson’s Stratechery discusses the end of gatekeeper power in the media business, caused (obviously) by technology’s impact. | learn more
This jerkwad took $300k in ICOs that were allegedly backed by diamonds and real estate, except they weren’t. | learn more