In 2017, before the investor lawsuits and the federal investigations, before the mass resignations, and before the connotation of the word “Uber” shifted from “world’s most valuable startup” to “world’s most dysfunctional,” Uber’s executives sat around a hotel conference room table in San Francisco, trying to convince their chief executive officer, Travis Kalanick, that the … Continue reading The Fall of Travis Kalanick Was a Lot Weirder and Darker Than You Thought
Entrepreneurship
How ‘Lean In’ Feminism Created Elizabeth Holmes and the Toxic Ladyboss
In recent years, the corporate world has given rise to a new figure: the Ladyboss. The Ladyboss is usually white. She is usually young. She is usually pretty. She pays lip service to promoting diversity and equality in the workplace, even though it’s hard not to notice that there are very few people of color … Continue reading How ‘Lean In’ Feminism Created Elizabeth Holmes and the Toxic Ladyboss
Stockwell, the AI-vending machine startup formerly known as Bodega, is shutting down July 1
Stockwell AI entered the world with a bang but it is leaving with a whimper. Founded in 2017 by ex-Googlers, the AI vending machine startup formerly known as Bodega first raised blood pressures — people hated how it referenced and poorly ‘disrupted’ mom-and-pop shops in one fell swoop — and then raised a lot of money. But ultimately, it … Continue reading Stockwell, the AI-vending machine startup formerly known as Bodega, is shutting down July 1
Cruise lays off 8% of workforce amid COVID-19, puts resources toward engineering
Cruise, the self-driving car subsidiary of GM that also has backing from SoftBank Vision Fund, automaker Honda and T. Rowe Price & Associates, is laying off nearly 8% of its more than 1,800-member workforce today as it tries to reduce costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The layoffs will affect employees in Cruise’s product, marketing and … Continue reading Cruise lays off 8% of workforce amid COVID-19, puts resources toward engineering
The intersection of small business, tech and our financial system is more important than ever
The nation is rooting for our 30 million small businesses. They employ more than half of the country and create most net new jobs, and 80% of them have less than 60 days cash on hand. The world has never experienced dislocation of labor and business activity at this scale and speed. We applaud Congress … Continue reading The intersection of small business, tech and our financial system is more important than ever
Tesla’s furlough calls begin with delivery and sales taking a hit
Tesla started Friday to furlough its sales and delivery workforce — with the least experienced employees bearing the brunt of the action — days after a companywide email announced salary cuts and reductions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several employees, who work in sales and delivery and spoke to TechCrunch on condition of anonymity, reported … Continue reading Tesla’s furlough calls begin with delivery and sales taking a hit
Yelp lays off 1,000 employees and furloughs 1,100 more
Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman announced in an internal email that the company is going through difficult times. Yelp has to cut expenses, which means a large round of layoffs and some additional measures — 1,000 employees have been laid off. According to an SEC filing, Yelp had 5,950 employees as of December 31, … Continue reading Yelp lays off 1,000 employees and furloughs 1,100 more
Before suing NSO Group, Facebook allegedly sought their software to better spy on users
Facebook’s WhatsApp is in the midst of a lawsuit against Israeli mobile surveillance outfit NSO Group. But before complaining about the company’s methods, Facebook seems to have wanted to use them for its own purposes, according to testimony from NSO founder Shalev Hulio. Last year brought news of an exploit that could be used to … Continue reading Before suing NSO Group, Facebook allegedly sought their software to better spy on users
GrubHub/Seamless’s pandemic initiatives are predatory and exploitative, and it’s time to stop using them
Times are exceptionally hard, especially for local restaurants, which were always in a precarious business even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But when times are hard, people pull together, right? Or at least they don’t take advantage of the suffering and desperate to exploit and profit from them. Right? We’d all like to think so, … Continue reading GrubHub/Seamless’s pandemic initiatives are predatory and exploitative, and it’s time to stop using them
Pex buys Dubset to build YouTube ContentID for TikTok & more
Social networks are in for a rude copyright awakening. A new European Union law called Article 17 essentially eradicates safe harbor and requires that they’ve made their “best effort” to get licenses from rights holders for all content on their platform. If a user uploads a video with a popular song in the background, tech … Continue reading Pex buys Dubset to build YouTube ContentID for TikTok & more
