For the past few years, “Come for the tool, stay for the network” has been in vogue as a theory of consumer startup product development. Chris Dixon’s January 2015 post popularized the idea*, and it’s frequently cited in industry discussions and by investors. Why does this idea have so much appeal? There are several reasons: It’s much easier to build a good… Read More
There I was on a comfy gray couch, surrounded by pillows and being handed an eye mask in a reserved office space in downtown San Francisco when, next thing I knew, Michael Acton Smith, co-founder of Calm was tucking me in and spraying a relaxing mist over my body. “Sweet dreams,” said his comms person as the two shut the door. That’s when Tamara began to speak… Tamara,… Read More
If you’ve ever had to have a logo designed, you probably know that a lot of love, care, taste, years of training, tons of experience and buckets of knowledge goes into the process. Logojoy pulls the plug on all of that and goes barreling down a different alleyway, unlocking the power of AI and machine learning to help you throw together logo concepts. The result is astonishingly good. Read More
YayPay is focusing on an interesting yet underserved niche — collecting payments from your customers. The startup is launching the second version of its platform today and now focuses on big companies with accounts receivable teams. The company first launched on stage at Disrupt London exactly one year ago. At the time, the company wanted to help small and medium companies get paid on time. Read More
Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has ordered insurance startup Zenefits to stop distributing its software in the state. The Commissioner issued a release detailing the order on Thursday, and explaining that the block is a result of Zenefits violating the state’s inducement laws, which prevent any one provider from acts that significantly undermine the competitiveness… Read More
A Redwood City, Calif. startup called Neurotrack Technologies Inc. has created a brain health app that is helping scientists unravel the mysteries of memory, and work to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. Its simple browser-based app screens users for signs of cognitive decline based on their eye movement as they watch a few images presented on their screens. These tests used to take about… Read More
Just a reminder that after Disrupt in London I’ll be heading over to Wroclaw, Poland for a double dose of meet-up fun. The meetups coincided with a few events in Wroclaw and you’re welcome to come to one or both. The first meetup is part of ImpactCEE and will be held on Wednesday, December 7. You can RSVP here. It’s primarily Fintech-related but, again, you’re… Read More
