James Proud, a former Thiel Fellow who sold his first company, is back with a new company and sleep-tracking product called Sense that’s “part-Nest thermostat, part-Fitbit,” as Forbes describes it. In its original story, Forbes makes the company sound bootstrapped, saying Proud “seeded the company with earnings from selling his first startup,” and that the company’s “unmanufactured product” […]
Startup
More Startups Seek Out “Step-Up” Candidates, Hike Pay
Venture capitalists poured $13 billion dollars into startups in the second quarter of this year, the most money they’ve parted with since the first quarter of 2001. That wave of cash — part of a years-long buildup — is having a major impact on jobs. To better understand what’s going on with the high-tech employment […]
Focusing on Privacy Issues, Before the Sale
Earlier this week, The Recorder observed that maintaining strong privacy standards is now a serious requirement for startups interested in M&A, not some “item on a deal-making checklist or a vague commitment to users.” Since the biggest asset of many startups is often data like subscriber lists, neglecting privacy standards can be a deal-killer, the outlet observed. Surprisingly […]
Michael Chasen’s New “Billion-Dollar Idea”
Michael Chasen speaks a mile a minute, and maybe there’s a reason why. He’s a serial entrepreneur who has discovered his next calling – providing location-based connections for young, mobile users. It’s a well-worn story at this point, but Chasen may just be the one to make money in this space. If Chasen’s name sounds […]
Rover: A Dog’s Tale
Want to get in on potentially massive new opportunity? Here’s the pitch in three words: Home dog boarding. It’s not a joke — not to venture capitalists who’ve recently been funding all things dog related, including online marketplaces that connect pet owners with carefully vetted sitters. One such business is 20-month-old DogVacay in L.A., which raised $6 million […]