Ryan Wyatt describes himself on Twitter as YouTube’s head of Gaming by day, and a “web3 & crypto advisor/investor by night.” Now, he’ll be working in crypto during the day, too. Today, Wyatt announced that he will be leaving YouTube after almost eight years to join the team at Polygon, a blockchain scaling network built … Continue reading YouTube’s head of Gaming leaves to join blockchain group Polygon
Entrepreneurship
Maybe creator funds are bad
In the summer of 2020, TikTok set aside $200 million to pay U.S. creators in what it called a “creator fund.” This wasn’t a common practice at the time. The more seasoned platform YouTube paid creators by distributing funds through its partner program, established in 2007, which enables revenue sharing on the advertisements that play … Continue reading Maybe creator funds are bad
What Happened to Amazon’s Bookstore?
John C. Boland was poking around the Amazon bookstore when he saw the science thriller “Hominid” for sale at dizzying prices. It was $907 from Sandy Dunes Surplus, $930 from Rocky Mountain Books and $987 from Open Range Media. He didn’t need a copy. He wrote the novel and published it himself. List price is … Continue reading What Happened to Amazon’s Bookstore?
Waymo CEO John Krafcik steps down
Waymo ordered "up to" 82,000 vehicles in 2018. Today, it has "well over 600." John Krafcik, the former auto industry exec who took over Google's self-driving car project in 2015, is stepping down as CEO of Waymo. Waymo, which spun off as a separate Alphabet subsidiary in 2016, accomplished a lot during Krafcik's 5.5-year tenure. … Continue reading Waymo CEO John Krafcik steps down
MrBeast’s management company, Night Media, has a new venture fund that’s backed by creators
MrBeast’s management company is getting into the venture business. Night Media, the six-year-old, Dallas-based multimedia talent management company, is closing a debut fund with $20 million in capital commitments from the powerful family-friendly online influencers it manages, along with other social media stars. The idea, says Night Media CEO Reed Duchscher, is to write initial … Continue reading MrBeast’s management company, Night Media, has a new venture fund that’s backed by creators
If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
New research suggests personality has a larger effect on success than IQ. Science doesn’t have a definitive answer, although luck certainly plays a role. But another key factor is personality, according to a paper Heckman co-authored in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He found financial success was correlated with conscientiousness, a personality trait … Continue reading If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
Mark in the Middle
In 2020, Facebook would be roiled by a global pandemic, internal protests over racial injustice, a deeply polarizing election, and the ongoing threat of multiple state and federal investigations into antitrust and privacy. But on the morning of July 16th, Mark Zuckerberg found his workforce asking for something else: their missing office snacks. A major … Continue reading Mark in the Middle
The Fall of Travis Kalanick Was a Lot Weirder and Darker Than You Thought
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
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
Eric's playground 