Author : zebethcontrol

Beyond Meat to cut 19% of its workforce amid sales slump • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 15, 2022Posted in Beyond Meat, Layoffs, meat substitutes, StartupsNo Comments

Beyond Meat plans to lay off about 200 employees, or 19% of its workforce, according to a regulatory filing disclosed Friday. The company cited declining sales and said the layoffs are “based on cost-reduction initiatives intended to reduce operating expenses…and target cash flow positive operations within the second half of 2023.” Beyond Meat expects the cuts to be completed by the end of the year. Company shares, which opened Friday on the Nasdaq already 87% down from its 52-week high, fell even further in mid-morning trading following the layoff news. The stock hit a 52-week low of $12.76 earlier in the week, last trading around $13.95, which puts the company’s market value below $900 million. As part of the job cuts, the company said the role of chief growth officer/North America president was eliminated. Deanna Jurgens, who held that role, will leave the company on October 17. In addition, chief financial officer Philip Hardin notified the company that he would be stepping down October 12 “to pursue another opportunity.” Lubi Kutua, who was previously Beyond Meat’s vice president of financial planning, analysis and investor relations, was appointed by the board to serve in that role, effective October 13. The company also cut its full-year revenue guidance, expecting third-quarter net revenue of about $82 million, down 23% to the same quarter in 2021. Full-year 2022 net revenue is expected to be about $400 million to $425 million, which will be a decrease of between 14% and 9%, respectively, compared to the prior year. The company had previously forecasted year-end revenue to be between $470 million to $520 million, the filing said. A request for comment on the changes from Beyond Meat was not immediately returned. The company had announced a 4% reduction in workforce in August, but the news also comes as its chief operating officer, Douglas Ramsey, left the company — his last day was Friday — following his recent arrest that charged him with assault after he allegedly bit a man’s nose. Jonathan Nelson was promoted to head up operations and supply chain. Current and former Beyond Meat employees can contact Christine Hall by e-mail at chall.techcrunch@gmail.com.

Carving out conviction around the future of AI with Sarah Guo • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 15, 2022Posted in artificial intelligence, EC venture capital, Sarah Guo, Startups, Venture, venture capitalNo Comments

There’s no better way to show you have high conviction in yourself as an investor than being the biggest LP in your $101 million fund, right? Especially if you name your firm Conviction, as Sarah Guo did after leaving Greylock following a decade of investing for the well-known venture group. Last week, she announced that she raised $101 million for her new fund to back companies that are building artificial intelligence and what she describes as software 3.0. Guo spoke to ZebethMedia’s Equity podcast, co-hosted by Natasha Mascarenhas and Alex Wilhelm, about her inaugural fund and the broader market that she is investing in today. The entire conversation is live now wherever you find podcasts, so take a listen if you haven’t yet. Below we extracted four key excerpts from the interview to discuss further. Guo’s comments were edited lightly for clarity. Think of venture in innings Part of the allure of startups is that when things don’t go wrong, which they often do, you might just find yourself as an early employee of a rocket ship. That counts in VC, too, of course, if you were the first person to back a company like Airtable or see the power of connected fitness. But what happens when you want to disrupt a category that has been around the block a few times? Guo shared her framework around venture innings, and how that plays a role in her new focus areas at Conviction:

last day to save on Disrupt passes • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 15, 2022Posted in Disrupt, Startups, TechCrunch Disrupt 2022No Comments

It’s time for procrastination to stop here. Well, it is if you’ve put off buying your pass to ZebethMedia Disrupt. Today is your final opportunity to avoid paying full freight. Nobody likes full freight, just sayin’. You can still save $700 if…and only if…you buy your pass before the deal expires precisely at 11:59 p.m. (PDT) on Friday October 14. Do whatever it takes to get the job done, because Disrupt is packed with opportunities to expand your network, grow your business and potentially change the trajectory of your life in the best ways possible. Take a look at the full event agenda, and read on for just some of the people, events and activities waiting for you. The Startup Battlefield 200: Thousands of early-stage startups applied, but only 200 made the cut. You’ll find them showcasing their tech and their talent in the Disrupt exhibition hall. Do your SB 200 homework now, and start mining for opportunities the minute your feet hit the expo floor. Roundtables: Choose from more than 50 expert-led, topic-specific discussions designed for small groups of up to 20 people. Time to go deeper, ask questions and get answers. Yes! Pro tip: You can filter the agenda to make finding roundtables quick and easy. Disrupt stage speakers: Hear from leading voices across tech, including Johanna Faries (Activision Blizzard), Amy Gan (OnlyFans), Marc Lore (Wonder Group), RJ Scaringe (Rivian), Serena Williams (Serena Ventures) and so many more. The Startup Battlefield pitch competition: Twenty startups will compete over three days to see which one stands supreme and takes home the title, lifelong bragging rights and $100,000 in equity-free prize money. Look for the three Battlefield preliminary sessions — and the final — in the agenda and go, because how often do you have a chance to watch the birth of tomorrow’s tech giants? ZebethMedia Disrupt takes place on October 18–20 in San Francisco. You have just a few hours left to save $700. Don’t pay full freight. Buy your pass right now — before 11:59 p.m. (PDT) on Friday October 14 — and we’ll see you in San Francisco! Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at ZebethMedia Disrupt 2022? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Layoffs and H1-B visas, SaaS growth levers, blockchain startup tips • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in blockchain, EC roundup, economic downturn, immigration law, SaaS, Startups, TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, VentureNo Comments

For cash-strapped SaaS startups trying to reach scale, the math doesn’t look great. A slump in the public markets has dragged the entire sector down, but customer acquisition isn’t getting any cheaper. In the meantime, runways are shrinking like a wool sweater in an electric dryer, and teams that hope to fundraise better have some good news to show potential investors. So, what’s the plan? “The key is to focus on scaling sustainably by tapping into more overlooked and underrated sources of revenue,” says Paddle CEO Christian Owens. Full ZebethMedia+ articles are only available to membersUse discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription In his TC+ guest post, Owens shares several tactics “SaaS leaders can use to supercharge their expansion revenue,” such as adding upsell tiers and charging customers for priority support. Just for a moment, forget about onboarding new customers. Seed-stage startups that demonstrate strong gains in expansion revenue, i.e., money “generated after the customer’s initial purchase,” will always get a second look from investors. And boosting expansion revenue during a downturn? Well, that’s even more impressive. I won’t be sending a TC+ newsletter on Tuesday, October 18, but will return a week from today with more resources for founders and early recaps from ZebethMedia Disrupt. Thanks very much for reading, Walter ThompsonEditorial Manager, ZebethMedia+@yourprotagonist Dear Sophie: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off? Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/ZebethMedia Dear Sophie, I am considering leaving my current, steady job for a job with a big name in tech. I’m excited, but nervous. I’ve been hearing that you can lose your H-1B status if you are laid off. Is there any way I can protect my immigration status while making a bold job move? — Leap of Faith Dear Sophie, My early stage startup hasn’t been able to hire as quickly as I would like due to fierce competition. Now that we’re seeing some movement in the job market, we think we can probably finally compete for some top engineering talent in our budget. How can I hire people who were recently laid off on H-1B? — Strategic Sponsor DIY: 5 ways disruptive component startups can win over OEMs Image Credits: Alan Rubio (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Hardware startup founders have a uniquely hard time. Only a small fraction of tech investors will even take meetings with them, and building product pipelines is often an irregular, chaotic process. Instead of relying on sales and marketing teams to build a customer base for his hardware components startup, Ori Mor’s company started building devices that used his company’s tech. “There’s no point rushing when building a hardware startup,” says Mor. “Instead, start by making just a single prototype that you can use to show OEMs.” ‘Me too’ investing is eating returns Image Credits: Catherine Falls Commercial (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Considering the number of investors who are all-in on e-commerce, fintech, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, crypto and B2B SaaS, a room full of VCs might look like a crowd of Spider-Man clones pointing at each other. “Marc Andreessen once said that ‘software is eating the world,’” writes Alan Feld, founder and managing partner of Vintage Investment Partners. “Unfortunately, ‘me-too’ investing is eating returns,” he says, suggesting that investors get out of their rut and explore “four relatively underfunded areas that could produce huge winners over the next 10 years.” How to go from popular to profitable during a downturn Image Credits: Patrik Giardino (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Product-led growth startups are like a car with a manual transmission that needs a push to get going: one driver just can’t do it all on their own. According to Nick Mills, whose sales experience includes stints at Stripe, Facebook and CircleCI, “all companies eventually face a similar challenge: To keep growing, sales teams must be hired and a pipeline must be built.” After explaining how to calculate your serviceable addressable market, AKA “the piece of that pie you can win right now,” Mills shows how to define product-qualified leads that will get sales engines firing on all cylinders. “Telling investors about your viral user growth is no longer enough,” says Mills. “They want to know how it translates to revenue, resilience and runway.” ZebethMedia Disrupt 2022: Taking the BS out of your TAM Every founder must understand the sector in which they intend to compete, but calculating Total Addressable Market (TAM) is a daunting process, especially for first-timers. In reality, TAM just is a planning tool that gives potential investors a better understanding of a company’s upside potential. Next Wednesday, at ZebethMedia Disrupt in San Francisco, I’m moderating a discussion with three investors to find out how they approach TAM and what they’re looking for during a pitch: Kara Nortman, managing partner, Upfront Ventures Aydin Senkut, founder and managing partner, Felicis Ventures Deena Shakir, partner, Lux Capital I’ll ask them to share tactics and strategies for finding TAM, how to calculate it for new products and services, and the red flags they see most often from novice entrepreneurs. Make sure to bring warm layers if you’re visiting SF for Disrupt — if you can’t make it, please join us online. 6 tips for launching a blockchain startup Image Credits: Kinga Krzeminska (opens in a new window) It will take much more than a downturn in the public markets, record inflation and global instability to get between blockchain founders and their dreams. Unfortunately, “having a solid roadmap, real-world use cases and a war chest are only a small part of a blockchain startup’s survival strategy,” advises Wolfgang Rückerl, co-founder and CEO of Istari Vision and Entity. Although it’s true that many of the skills required to launch an early stage startup also apply to web3 companies, “the road to achieving success in the blockchain industry is paved differently,” he writes.

The Shure MV7 is a nearly perfect USB microphone • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in Gadgets, Hardware, microphone, shure, usbNo Comments

Around late-September/early-October each year, I get a Slack message from Greg asking whether I’m interested in writing a gift guide (or two). “Sure,” I say, never anticipating just how much of a slog the next two months are going to be for hardware news/reviews. Putting together a roundup like that has the decided benefit of forgetting what a pain the whole thing can be. I used to write a “Best Gifts for Travelers” each year. And then this global pandemic thing happened, at which point I shifted to “Best Gifts for Working from Home.” Fittingly, this year I’ve committed myself to both, as myself and others semi-cautiously reenter the world. My process for putting these together is getting in whatever potential products I can get my hands on. It’s easier said than done sometimes, but an important part of recommending products is actually trying them yourself. I know it sounds straightforward, but you’d be surprised. The past few years have been a bit of a quiet revolution for teleconferencing. Some folks are perfectly content using their computers’ built-in camera and microphone, be it for the sake of simplicity or price. Honestly, that’s fine for like 99% of the people 99% of the time. I had my hand forced on both of these things for two reasons. First, I review gadgets for a living. Second, I’ve been hosting a podcast for just under 10 years and the pandemic required a shift from in-person to remote. For a variety of reasons, I haven’t gone back. I’ve written about my in-person mobile podcasting setup in these pages a number of times. It was the result of several years of refinement through trial and error. Putting together my at-home setup hasn’t been all that different, honestly. In particular, I’ve gone through a number of different USB mics. If I had more money and time, I’d probably have a more professional auto interface with a proper XLR microphone. My level of commitment has, instead, been seeking out my platonic ideal USB microphone. Up to now, I’ve been happily recommending the Audio Technica ATR2100-USB. It’s a great-sounding, directional stick mic, with both a USB-C and XLR input that’s not dissimilar from the sort I used for face-to-face interviews. I’m partial to directional microphones for a number of reasons, and have long thought they ought to be the industry standard, particularly for beginners. Here’s the dirty little secret in all of those: You can get pretty good sound from most USB mics over $100 (and several below), but the interface is almost intentionally difficult. Many of these microphones feature three, four or five directional settings. Beginners will almost invariably choose the wrong one, accidentally turn the gain up full force and wind up sounding worse than they would have with a pair of earbuds or a default system microphone. The ATR2100-USB fixed that with simple, out of the box setup. But the Shure MV7 takes things even further. The design looks like a more compact version of the legendary studio/podcasting SM78. I’m not going to say it sounds as good as a proper studio mic with a proper studio interface, but I will say I doubt most people would be able to pick out the difference. The MV7’s sound is rich, full and warm — everything you want out of a vocal mic. Like the ATR2100-USB, it sports both an XLR and USB-C output. Given how good it sounds, however, I don’t feel any need to switch to the former. Also like the Audio Technica system, it just works. Plug it in, make sure your software is accessing it and you should be good. Better still, there’s a touch panel with green lights that lets you adjust the volume on the fly. There’s also a headphone input if you want to monitor your voice in real time through the mic. A few downsides. First is price. At $250, you can get a good mic at half the price. This, however, is a great mic. If sound is important to you, splurge a little. Second has more to do with the directional design. If you absentmindedly shift a lot in your seat while speaking, this might not be the mic for you. I do that sometimes, and I’m just trying to force myself to be more mindful of those movements. Third, it’s fairly heavy. If it’s just going to live on your home desk, no biggie. It mounts on either a mic stand (I have a small one I use) or an arm. For an additional $20, the company will toss in a mini tripod. If you plan to take it on the road, it could be a bit more of an issue, but it’s far from a dealbreaker, especially given the small size (just remember to pack a stand). I’ve been recording episodes of my podcast exclusively on the MV7 and haven’t looked back since.

Andreessen Horowitz backs Synonym’s development of ‘fermentation farms’ • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in Daily Crunch, Startups, Venture, venture capitalNo Comments

To get a roundup of ZebethMedia’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. Hot damn, it’s happening: A bunch of the ZebethMedia team are on airplanes, aeroplanes and other spellings of flying vessels to come join us in San Francisco for Disrupt. To say that we are excited would be using altogether too few syllables. Lauren S made us a user’s guide to ZebethMedia Disrupt along with a guide to all the receptions, parties and other cool extracurriculars. See you soon! — Christine and Haje The ZebethMedia Top 3 What’s another word for Synonym?: Ever heard of a “fermentation farm”? Well you have now. Christine covered Synonym Biotechnologies’ pre-seed round, with big backer Andreessen Horowitz, in which the company plans to build giant fermentation farms so nonpharmaceutical companies can mass-produce bioproducts like dairy proteins. A rose by any other name: “Ad,” “Sponsored,” whatever you want to call it, Google is making it so when you perform a mobile search, you will definitely know if it is some sponsored content or an organic search result. Ivan has more. Legless for a while longer: We were promised legs, but now Ivan writes that it could be another year for any Meta leg-equipped avatars to appear in Horizon Worlds. Startups and VC Even the largest landfills in Indonesia are at (or nearing) capacity, and the government has set an ambitious target of 30% waste reduction by 2025, reports Catherine. Waste4Change is one of the companies that wants to help by increasing rates of recycling and enabling better waste management. The startup, which currently manages more than 8,000 tons of waste every year, announced today that it has raised $5 million in Series A funding, co-led by AC Ventures and PT Barito Mitra Investama. And we have five more for you: DIY: 5 ways disruptive component startups can win over OEMs Image Credits: Alan Rubio (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Ori Mor writes that hardware startup founders have a uniquely hard time. Only a small fraction of tech investors will even take meetings with them, and building product pipelines is often an irregular, even chaotic process. Instead of relying on sales and marketing teams to build a customer base for his hardware components startup, Mor’s company started building devices that used his company’s tech. “There’s no point rushing when building a hardware startup,” says Mor. “Instead, start by making just a single prototype that you can use to show OEMs.” Three more from the TC+ team: ZebethMedia+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Big Tech Inc. Rebecca got the scoop on Sono Motors’ new Sion solar electric vehicle and some face time with Whoopi Goldberg (pictures to prove it). Though the family-friendly vehicle comes in at $25,000, Rebecca points out that the interior is roomier than it looks from the outside, but also that no cup holders in the back might not go over with some American families. And we have five more for you: More layoffs: Jagmeet has more on Momentive Global’s layoff announcement of 11% of its workforce. If you’re thinking, “Who?” that would be SurveyMonkey’s parent company. Real estate valuation technology company Clear Capital is also reducing its staff by 27%, reports Andrew. Get the popcorn ready: Peacock is making the “Real Housewives” franchise its guinea pig as it tests out some new interactive features that will give viewers extended clips and interviews, Lauren reports. Don’t @me: Meanwhile, over at Twitter, the company is developing a way for users to control who can mention them, writes Aisha. It puts the lotion on its robotic skin: Brian reports that Touchlab, which won the TC Sessions: Robotics pitch-off event a few months ago, began piloting its robotic skin sensors in a hospital setting. Time, time, time, see what’s become of me: The owner of the Shein fashion e-commerce site was fined $1.9 million for not properly handling a 2018 data breach that compromised millions of users’ information, Rita writes.

SurveyMonkey parent Momentive Global lays off 11% of workforce • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in Enterprise, layoff, SurveyMonkeyNo Comments

Momentive Global, the parent of the web-survey portal SurveyMonkey, laid off 11% of its workforce this week. Multiple people across divisions — including those handling the business development, customer support, recruitment and sales at the San Mateo, California-headquartered company — have been impacted, ZebethMedia has learned and confirmed. “In an 8-K filed on October 13, we announced plans to reduce our headcount by 11%. We are undertaking this difficult change as part of a strategic shift as we streamline our focus and align our resources to our top priorities,” Hillary Wilson, senior communications manager at Momentive, said in a statement emailed to ZebethMedia. The company has also created an online spreadsheet that lists affected employees who have agreed to share their contact information for getting new jobs. In the 8-K filing, Momentive described its layoff as part of a restructuring plan to “improve operating margin and create efficiencies”. The company said that it would incur between $4 million and $5 million in charges, which includes employee severance, employee benefits and related facilitation costs. “We expect that the majority of these costs will be incurred and paid during the fourth quarter of 2022 and that execution of the restructuring plan, including cash payments, will be substantially complete by the end of fiscal 2022,” the company said in its filing. It also noted that the process, which is impacting its global workforce, might extend into the first quarter or 2023 or beyond in certain countries. The company said in the filing that it expects to have made between $119.5 million and $122.5 million in sales for the quarter that ended September 30, with a non-GAAP operating margin between 5-7%, both within previous guidance. In February, software company Zendesk terminated its proposed $4.1 billion transaction to acquire Momentive after Zendesk’s stockholders rejected the acquisition. The all-stock deal was announced in October last year. Shortly after its deal with Zendesk broke off, Momentive announced a $200 million share repurchase program to regain the confidence of its shareholders. At the time, it did not explicitly confirm whether it would continue to seek a buyer or plan to go solo. “The setbacks we’ve faced are transient. We compete in a massive market and we maintain a valuable portfolio of products that address specific challenges our customers face, in small and large companies alike. Our sales-assisted business is strong, and our team is committed and inspired to drive value for our customers and shareholders,” Zander Lurie, chief executive officer of Momentive, said at the time. Since then, the company’s share price has dropped more than 63%, from $15.72 to $5.66 on Friday. Momentive is not the only tech company to shed employees in this layoff season. Companies including Netflix, Noom, Spotify and Tencent have taken similar moves in recent weeks and months due to ongoing economic challenges and projected business instability. Similarly, Indian startups including Byju’s and Ola have laid off hundreds of employees. Tech giants including Meta have also paused hiring to reduce their operational costs, while others appear to be turning to contractors to offset that pause.

Tata Power, a top power producer in India, confirms cyberattack • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in cyber attack, india, SecurityNo Comments

Tata Power, a leading power generation company in India, has confirmed it was hit by a cyberattack. In a brief statement released on Friday, the Mumbai-based company said that the attack impacted some of its I.T. systems. “The company has taken steps to retrieve and restore the systems. All critical operational systems are functioning; however, as a measure of abundant precaution, restricted access and preventive checks have been put in place for employee and customer-facing portals and touchpoints,” it said in its filing (PDF) with local stock exchanges. Tata Power did not share any further specifics on the matter. When asked by ZebethMedia, a PR representative refused to answer questions related to the nature of the attack and its impact on the organization, and declined to say whether any data was stolen. “As stated in the Statement, the Company has taken steps to retrieve and restore the systems. All critical operational systems are functioning,” the representative said. The company generates, transmits and retails power in the South Asian nation and aims to double the share of clean energy in its portfolio to 60% in five years from about a third now, with a target to become net zero by 2045. It claims to have an installed and managed electricity generation capacity of 13,974MW, which is the highest in the country. In the recent past, Tata Power has also shown interest in growing its business through rooftop solar and microgrids, storage solutions, solar pumps, EV charging infrastructure and home automation. The company serves more than 12 million consumers via its distributor companies. The Indian government has highlighted the cybersecurity of the country’s nationwide electricity network as a challenge in its public statements. A report by U.S.-based cybersecurity company Recorded Future in April alleged that Chinese state-sponsored hackers had targeted the Indian power sector in a long-term project. Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi responded to that report and said the country had not raised this issue with China, according to a media report. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian reportedly refuted the allegation.

Coroner’s report into UK schoolgirl’s suicide urges social media regulation • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in Government & Policy, Instagram, molly russell coroner's report, Online Safety Bill, Pinterest, Social, social media regulationNo Comments

A ‘Prevention of Future Deaths’ report following a U.K. coroner’s inquest into the suicide of British schoolgirl, Molly Russell, who killed herself almost five years ago after viewing content on social media websites that promoted self harm, has recommended the government looks at requiring age verification on sign-up to social platforms to ensure the separation of age-appropriate content for adults and children. The inquest into Russell’s death heard she binge-consumed content about suicide and depression on sites including Instagram and Pinterest — some of which was algorithmically curated for her, based on the platforms tracking her viewing habits — before taking her own life, aged 14. Coroner, Andrew Walker, concluded last month that “negative effects of online content” were a factor in her death, adding that such content “shouldn’t have been available for a child to see”. His ‘Prevention of Future Deaths’ report — which was made public today after being sent to a number of social media firms and to the government — also recommends that lawmakers consider setting up of an independent regulatory body to monitor online platform content, paying special attention to children’s access to harmful content and to content-shaping elements like algorithmic curation and advertising. Additionally, the coroner’s report recommends that the government reviews provisions for parental controls on social media platforms accessed by kids and considers powers that would provide caregivers with access to content viewed by children. “I recommend that consideration is given to enacting such legislation as may be necessary to ensure the protection of children from the effects of harmful online content and the effective regulation of harmful online content,” he adds, before urging platforms not to wait for a change in the law. “Although regulation would be a matter for Government I can see no reason why the platforms themselves would not wish to give consideration to self-regulation taking into account the matters raised above.” Tech companies including Meta (Instagram’s owner), Pinterest, Snap and Twitter have been given 56 days to respond to the coroner’s report — with a deadline of December 8 for them to provide details of any actions taken or proposed (setting out a timetable for proposed actions), or else they must provide the coroner with an explanation why no action is being proposed by them. We reached out to the companies for a response to the coroner’s report. At the time of writing Meta had not responded. A Pinterest spokeswoman told us it has received the report and plans to respond by the due date. In a statement, the social sharing site added: Our thoughts are with the Russell family. We’ve listened very carefully to everything that the Coroner and the family have said during the inquest. Pinterest is committed to making ongoing improvements to help ensure that the platform is safe for everyone and the Coroner’s report will be considered with care. Over the past few years, we’ve continued to strengthen our policies around self-harm content, we’ve provided routes to compassionate support for those in need and we’ve invested heavily in building new technologies that automatically identify and take action on self-harm content. Molly’s story has reinforced our commitment to creating a safe and positive space for our Pinners. A Snap spokeswoman also confirmed it has received a copy of the Coroner’s report and said it’s reviewing it and will respond within the requested timeframe. A spokeswoman for Twitter also confirmed it has received the report too but said the company has nothing further to add. The U.K. government has already proposed legislation aimed at making the U.K. the safest place to go online in the world, as it touts its plan for the Online Safety Bill — a piece of legislation that’s been years in the making and has a stated focus on children’s safety. The bill also empowers a content-focused internet regulator, Ofcom, to enforce the rules. However the Online Safety Bill’s progress through parliament was put on pause by the recent Conservative Party leadership contest. Since then, the new prime minister, Liz Truss, and the new secretary of state she appointed to head up the department, Michelle Donelan, have extended that pause by freezing the bill to make changes — specifically to provisions tackling the area of ‘legal but harmful’ content in response to concerns about the impact on freedom of expression. There is no fresh timetable for restarting the bill. But with limited parliamentary time left before a general election must be called, and — more pressingly — widespread chaos across Truss’ government, it is looking increasingly likely the bill will fail to pass — leaving platforms to continue self regulating the bulk of their content moderation. (An age appropriate children’s design code is being enforced in the UK, though.) We contacted the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for a response to the coroner’s report. A spokesman at DCMS told us it would send a statement “shortly” — but six hours (and minus one chancellor) later we’re still waiting to receive it. Calls to the DCMS press office line were being routed to voicemail. (But SoS Donelan was spotted busily tweeting the latest Truss ‘hold-the-fractious-government-together’ line — which includes the unfortunate appeal that we “must come together and focus on delivering”) In a statement to the press following the coroner’s report, Molly Russell’s father Ian called for social media firms to get their house in order without waiting to be ordered to do so by unruly lawmakers. “We urge social media companies to heed the coroner’s words and not drag their feet waiting for legislation and regulation, but instead to take a proactive approach to self-regulation to make their platforms safer for their young users,” he said, adding: “They should think long and hard about whether their platforms are suitable for young people at all.”

The highs and lows of Q3 venture capital data for women startup founders • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in EC DEI, EC venture capital, startup, Startups, Venture, womenNo Comments

Perhaps unsurprisingly, <a href=” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>new PitchBook data found that U.S. companies with all female founders are raising less capital this year than the last amid current economic woes. Last year, women raised around 2.4% of all venture capital allocated, a figure that stands at 1.9% through Q3 of this year. That number becomes even lower and even worse if we factor race into account. When the overall number for all-female teams was 2.4% last year, Black and Latinx women hovered around 0.05% each, while Indigenous Americans raised approximately 0.004% of known capital in the United States, according to Crunchbase. It has long been a worry that, as the venture market slows, the most marginalized groups would be pushed aside as investors retreat to old networks and deals that feel most familiar to them from the founders they don’t hesitate to trust. The direct line between the venture haves and have-nots has always been stark, but there is some good news on the front. Year-to-date capital invested in all-female-founded companies in the United States is slightly higher than what was disbursed in all of 2020. (Last year was a record-breaking year, and given the current market conditions, it’s not shocking that present-day numbers are meager in comparison). All-female teams raised $3.6 billion (out of a total U.S. figure of $194.9 billion) across 742 deals so far this year. In all of 2020, all-female teams raised $3.3 billion (out of $168.7 billion) across 771 deals. It’s clear that 2021 was an outlier: all-female teams raised $8 billion across 1,132 deals. “There is no logical justification for why female founders should be impacted any more so than any other founder category, be it in a bear or bull market.” Pippa Lamb of Sweet Capital It’s jarring to note the difference between deal counts and the amount of money raised when the founding teams are mixed-gender rather than all-female. Compared to $3.6 billion worth of deals all-female teams closed this year, teams with at least one male co-founder raised $32.4 billion in 2,811 deals. So far, mixed-gender teams have also been able to secure the same percentage of capital they raised last year, around 17%.