The internet, if anything, has been able to do two things admirably: reduce friction and cut out middle men in many processes. After deflating the stock-buying process a decade ago, the Internet is going to change venture capital: and the notion of money itself.
My post, “Uber, Data Darwinism and the future of work” sparked a conversation. Here is a sampling of the reaction and reflection from the blog world.
Plympton, the serial fiction startup launched last year by former New York Times reporter Jennifer 8 Lee, is acquiring DailyLit, a site that delivers books in installments by email and RSS.
Can startups afford to be socially responsible?
it’s challenging enough for startups to manage the traditional bottom line of profits, let alone the “triple bottom line” of social and environmental impacts. But, increasingly, they’re supporting business models that benefit not just their shareholders, but customers, workforce, environment and greater community.
Can Etsy make the most of its ‘eBay moment’?
Thousands of Etsy members plan to protest the site over concerns that its definition of handmade is getting too diluted. Even though the protest is relatively small, it still highlights the tension between Etsy’s need to scale and its commitment to encouraging a human-centered community.
Two weeks from now several hundred execs will gather for our flagship conference paidContent 2012: At The Crossroads with one goal in mind: developing and honingsustainable business models that will support quality media, entertainment and information across platforms.
Simulmedia announced that it has raised a $6 million Series C round from its existing group of investors, which include Avalon Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Time Warner Investments. That money will be put toward sales and support as it grabs more TV ad dollars.
Dwolla has been grabbing attention for its next-generation payment system that bypasses credit card networks and connects directly into bank accounts. It’s been on a roll and now investors have lined up behind the start-up, to the tune of $5 million in a Series B round.
On Friday, Delicious founder Joshua Schachter’s Tasty Labs announced its first product to the public: Jig.com. Essentially, Jig allows people to post questions about anything they need — there are no categories yet, just one big stream — and allow anyone out there to answer them.
Skillshare, the peer-to-peer learning start-up I profiled recently, has raised $3.1 million from Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. I reported in my profile that the two VC firms were close to funding Skillshare’s Series A round and now it looks like it’s official.
Union Square Ventures is forming a new $165 million fund to help it participate in later rounds of funding for social media and network start-ups like portfolio companies Twitter, Foursquare and Tumbler as they grow beyond the early stages that the firm has traditionally focused on.
Etsy co-founder Rob Kalin will become CEO of the online craft-selling site, replacing Maria Thomas, who’d joined the company from NPR last year. In a corporate blog post, Kalin credited Thomas with helping the company reach profitability, but did not offer a reason for her departure.