Author : zebethcontrol

recruitment or retention? • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Equity podcast, FTX, maven, Startups, women's healthNo Comments

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This week, Alex and Natasha discussed the latest and greatest of this consuming news cycle. Our goal with the episode, as always, is to go beyond what you may see in a 140 character-take on [insert big story here]. And in today’s recording? That wasn’t hard at all. We started with our good news segment: 1) Maven, now valued at $1.35 billion, is answering a countrywide demand: More fertility benefits and 2) Alibaba eyes logistics growth in LatAm as China commerce slows. We love a chance to talk about growth, despite all odds and even trends! Then, right off the heels of our amazing debut crypto conference, we take a minute to talk about the FTX Fall out. Yep, we’re talking about how one African Web3 startup got screwed over and why SoftBank joined Sequoia in marking down its investment in the crypto exchange. We then turn to the latest in layoffs: Amazon’s 3% cut, cuts at Morning Brew and Protocol, and Musk’s latest attempt to recruit (or retain?) Twitter employees. We still don’t know what’s happening there, don’t ask us. Ok fine, you can. And we’ll end by throwing this gem here, with little to know context: I volunteer as tribute. And that’s wrap. As always you can follow the show @equitypod, leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts and, most importantly, be kind to your people. Talk soon! Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday and Wednesday, and at 6 a.m. PT on Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. ZebethMedia also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together, and more!

Jumia to cut products and overheads as new management chase profits • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in africa, Apps, Commerce, jumiaNo Comments

Last Monday, Jumia co-founders Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara resigned from their roles as co-CEOs, just ten days before the company’s third-quarter 2022 financial report. The end of their tenure, therefore, marked the first time a new face — Francis Dufay, the ex-chief at Jumia Ivory Coast and now acting CEO of Jumia — took charge of the investor briefing. On the call, Dufay was quick to emphasize why the e-commerce giant’s supervisory board decided to install new management, stressing that Jumia’s approach to turning a profit after half a decade of successive losses on the NYSE (as Africa’s first publicly traded company) required more deliberate execution and a return to basic e-commerce fundamentals. Jumia’s third-quarter report showed a glimpse into what this new approach could offer. For instance, the company’s operating loss and adjusted EBITDA loss fell double-digits year-over-year. Its operating loss declined 33% from $64 million to $43.2 million, while adjusted EBITDA losses were trimmed 13% from $52.5 million to $45.5 million; their lowest level in six quarters. This reduction in losses is driven by a material decline in marketing costs in the form of sales and advertising expenses, which decreased 31.5% from $24 million to $16.4 million year-over-year, and an improved monetization plan that saw gross profit increase of 29.2% within the same period. “We want to significantly improve our unit economics and create the right fundamentals for long-term growth. In the past, we’ve seen a lot of growth as a function of marketing, and promotional events, which then, as a consequence, lead to the alteration of our economics,” Dufay told ZebethMedia in an interview discussing Jumia’s new strategy. “This is not the way we want to see the future. And we believe that we have lots of success cases across our countries that show that we can grow and improve economics simultaneously.” Dufay said he wants Jumia to become a more attractive platform for its third-party vendors to sell on. One way Jumia plans to achieve this is to move away from monetization shortcuts it took in the past where it increased commissions for sellers’ services (for instance, it charges 20-25% for fashion items and 5-10% for electronic items). Instead, the company intends to generate new revenues through value-add such as advertising solutions and building a stronger local supply of goods. The latter, Dufay adds, is particularly important as Jumia battles local currency depreciation from its main markets: Nigeria, Egypt and Ivory Coast), which impacts its e-commerce business. According to the Q3 2022 report, the Nigerian Naira, Egyptian Pound and West African CFA depreciated by 5%, 14% and 13% respectively against the dollar during the nine-month period ending September 30, 2022, compared to the same period of 2021. Many companies around the world are dealing with the impacts of currency fluctuations. Jumia is a good example of the issue, with its revenues coming in at $50.5 million for Q3 2022, a figure that would have been $56.6 million if global currencies had held steady over the last year. “The volatility in foreign currencies has a big impact on us. Most importantly, it impacts the supply on the market and makes it harder for all retailers, including Jumia, to get the right supply at the right time to sell to customers,” said Dufay. “In several countries, for example, we have seen that governments have taken action to protect their currencies which often involves putting very big constraints on customs [which] inevitably impacts the kind of supply that we manage to bring to the website. But we believe that we are laying out the right plan to mitigate that, one of which is focusing a lot on capturing local supply from distributors and vendors, which is something very critical across all markets. Doing well on that part will help us mitigate the current macroeconomic situation.” As Jumia restructures its local supply chain, it’s scaling back some of its offerings that haven’t made a good return on investments across its eleven markets. Dufay added: “These are projects we don’t feel are adding the right value to our ecosystem, to our customers and vendors and the platform.” However, some of these product lines will continue to operate in a few markets. These include Jumia’s logistics-as-a-service platform, which launched some quarters back and at some point moved 3.5 million packages (still active in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Morocco), and First Party grocery e-commerce (active in Nigeria and Ivory Coast). Jumia Prime, on the other hand, has been paused indefinitely. Launched in 2019, Jumia Prime was pitched as a subscription-based delivery service providing customers with free shipping on its marketplace. The product, modeled after Amazon Prime, was one of Jumia’s main user acquisition strategies, and while there are more than 3.1 million quarterly active customers on the platform (Q3 2022), it turns out this traction, and the volume of business Prime brought in compared to the level of investment it received, fell short of the company’s targets. According to Jumia, it’s discontinuing Jumia Prime because “it was too early in the adoption curve to push such a product” and it’s relieving the team in a broader effort to reduce the company’s General & Administrative (G&A) expense. Jumia’s G&A expenses, excluding share-based compensation, reached $28.3 million in Q3 2022, up 12% year-over-year. While the company implemented hiring freezes earlier this year, it intends to cut more staff costs and downsize in several areas, said Dufay. The number one corporate priority is to enact changes in the Dubai office, where most of the former management team was based, including the former co-CEOs. A handful of contracts have been terminated already (Dufay didn’t disclose how many) while those who still have roles at the company are relocating to various African offices as Jumia attempts to distribute its leadership across the continent. Jumia is also preparing to make significant changes and reduce staff size on a case-by-case basis in each of its markets by the end of the year. “We’re trying to be very clear

VCs dish on why food tech investment was so light in Q3, while SAVRpak bags freshness deal with Jüsto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in foodtech, New Fare Partners, Stray Dog Capital, VentureNo Comments

Like many other venture-backed sectors in recent months, investment in food tech has largely been quiet over the past few months. Sure, there have been some bigger deals in the third quarter, for example Meati Foods grabbing $150 million for its mushroom root-based meat (still the best alternative protein food photo I have seen since I started covering this sector two years ago). Planted also took in $72 million for its whole cuts of vegan chicken, and Oatside, Singapore’s first oat milk product, raised $65 million. However, for the most part, investment has been down, with PitchBook reporting last week that for the third quarter, there was $2.7 billion injected into 269 deals. PitchBook considers “food tech” to include everything from plant-based products to grocery tech, so it’s a pretty broad definition. The data and research company noted that both investment values and count were down 63% and 28.5% quarter-over-quarter, respectively. And, “deal values declined for the fourth straight quarter, falling to a 10-quarter low, and to levels not seen since Q1 2020.” Ouch. The Good Food Institute pulled out alternative protein deals and found that $420 million went into those companies during the third quarter. That’s down from $833 million in the second quarter and $911 million in the first quarter, according to GFI’s analysis of PitchBook’s data. While that might scare away some VCs, others are sticking with it. Elly Truesdell, founder and managing partner at New Fare Partners, said via email that some tech investors in the last decade overlooked some crucial fundamentals like taste, brand and consumer trust when betting on food tech companies. “The next generation of businesses that prioritize this and utilize tech to enable great food, brand experiences and access to both, have a stronger chance of seeing better outcomes,” Truesdell added. Meanwhile, Lisa Feria, partner and CEO at Stray Dog Capital, said via email that “the same macroeconomic and geopolitical factors that are impacting the public markets and the global venture ecosystem are also driving the decline in foodtech venture funding.” She noted that contributing to the sector’s decline over the past few years were factors like crossover investors who entered the space and then fled “due to the turbulence in the markets, leading to an outflow of available capital.” In addition, the food tech industry, like so many others, initially saw double-digit growth that then cooled off in the past year. There were also reports about major industry players that “led some to question whether innovations in plant-based meat alternatives will be able to deliver on the early promise that they could take a significant market share from traditional meat.” Still, Feria has “a very positive outlook” about this sector, despite this investment setback. Part of that is due to what she said was an industry still very much in the “early innings in the development of innovative foods.” “The alternative protein space has a ton of room to grow and we continue to see new products delivering amazing improvements on taste, texture, health and price,” she added. “Ultimately, the sustainability story that drives the need for food innovation is only going to be more important in the world’s fight against climate change, as we cannot reach our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals without transitioning the food system away from animal agriculture, one of the highest polluting and most destructive industries in the world.” Weekly news SAVRpak said it is working with Mexico’s first online supermarket, Jüsto Partners, for it to be the first to market with SAVRpak’s plant-based thermodynamic pouch designed to remove 50% of condensation, which often leads to mold and early spoilage, and keep new condensation from forming, thus extending the shelf-life of produce, like strawberries, by up to three times, Scott Nelson, president of SAVRpak, said via email. The company already works with food distributors, like Sysco, but on the customer retail side. “Jüsto is one of the first retail customers we can discuss publicly, but we will be making more announcements soon as we have various pilots/trials ongoing across over 30 farms, as well as grocers in the U.S. and Canada,” Nelson added. “Consumers will start to see SAVRpak popping up in individual packaging of their favorite berries and greens at select supermarkets starting this spring, and in January, we’ll be announcing our consumer retail product with one of the largest big box retailers in the U.S.” Other big news this week came from Upside Foods, which announced, alongside the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that its conclusions on if its cultivated chicken product was safe to eat warranted “no further questions.” This represents a milestone for the cultivated meat industry and prompted Upside founder and CEO Uma Valeti to say, “Cultivated meat has never been closer to the U.S. market than it is today. This historic announcement from the FDA is the foundational step in the regulatory process.” From Paul Sawers: “Meatable, a VC-backed Dutch company that recently debuted its first product lineup in the form of synthetic sausages, today announced a partnership with Singaporean food startup Love Handle to create what it touts as ‘the world’s first hybrid meat innovation center.’” Israeli cultivated meat technology company Future Meat Technologies changed its name to Believer Meats, saying that its rebranding represents “a big step in the broader strategic transformation of Future Meat into a technology-rooted food company as Believer prepares for its product launch.” The company’s technology is pending U.S. regulatory approval and expects to break ground on a commercial-scale production facility in the United States by the end of the year. Plant-based meat brand Juicy Marbles, known for making beef products like steak, unveiled The Whole-Cut Loin, a two-pound piece of 100% plant-based meat in what it is calling “the world’s largest piece of plant muscle.” GOOD Worldwide acquired This Saves Lives, a humanitarian snack brand co-founded by actress Kristen Bell, Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell and Ravi Patel. Financial details were not disclosed. The FoodTech Challenge, organized by the UAE Ministry of Climate

Hive ransomware actors have extorted over $100M from victims, says FBI • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in hive, ransomware, Security, us governmentNo Comments

The U.S. government has warned of ongoing malicious activity by the notorious Hive ransomware gang, which has extorted more than $100 million from its growing list of victims. A joint advisory released by the FBI, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday revealed that the Hive ransomware gang has received upwards of $100 million in ransom payments from over 1,300 victims since the gang was first observed in June 2021. This list of victims includes organizations from a wide range of industries and critical infrastructure sectors such as government facilities, communications, and information technology, with a focus on specifically healthcare and public health entities. Hive, which operates a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model, claimed the Illinois-based Memorial Health System as its first healthcare victim in August 2021. This cyberattack forced the health system to divert care for emergency patients and cancel urgent care surgeries and radiology exams. The ransomware gang also released sensitive health information of about 216,000 patients. Then, in June 2022, the gang compromised Costa Rica’s public health service before targeting New York-based emergency response and ambulance service provider Empress EMS the following month. Over 320,000 individuals had information stolen, including names, dates of services, insurance information, and Social Security numbers. Just last month, Hive also added Lake Charles Memorial Health System, a hospital system in Southwest Louisiana, to its dark web leak site, where it posted hundreds of gigabytes of data, including patient and employee information. Hive also targeted Tata Power, a top power generation company in India, in October. The joint FBI-CISA-HHS advisory warns that Hive typically gains access to victim networks by using stolen single-factor credentials to access organization remote desktop systems, virtual private networks, and other internet-facing systems. But CISA also warns that the ransomware group also skirts some multi-factor authentication systems by exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities. “In some cases, Hive actors have bypassed multi-factor authentication and gained access to FortiOS servers by exploiting CVE-2020-12812,” the advisory says. “This vulnerability enables a malicious cyber-actor to log in without a prompt for the user’s second authentication factor (FortiToken) when the actor changes the case of the username.” The advisory also warns that Hive actors have been observed reinfecting victims that restored their environments without paying a ransom, either with Hive or another ransomware variant. Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) researchers warned earlier this year that Hive had upgraded its malware by migrating its code from Go to the Rust programming language, enabling it to use a more complex encryption method for its ransomware as a service payload. The U.S. government shared Hive indicators of compromise (IOCs) and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) discovered by the FBI to help defenders detect malicious activity associated with Hive affiliates and reduce or eliminate the impact of such incidents.

Fund of funds Sweetwood Ventures bets big on VC’s smallest funds

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in fund of funds, fundraising, Israel, Startups, Sweetwood Ventures, Venture, venture capitalNo Comments

Despite legacy venture capital firms continuing to raise bigger and bigger funds, LPs may have more luck focusing on the small stuff. Amit Kurz, a general partner at Israel-based fund of funds Sweetwood Ventures, thinks so. He told ZebethMedia that last year he started to notice more and more tiny funds he wasn’t familiar with getting on the cap tables of competitive deals. While these “nano” funds wouldn’t fit the thesis for Sweetwood’s $70 million flagship fund, he thought it was worth figuring out a way to back them. “I got really intrigued as to how can we gain exposure to that space,” Kurz relayed to ZebethMedia. “They really generate this access to the most oversubscribed rounds and they invest a small amount, which is a classic win-win situation. You aren’t competing with the main VCs, yet everyone wants you because you are bringing a ton of value.” So, Sweetwood decided to raise a fund dedicated to these investors. Now, the firm is announcing that it raised $20 million for a separate fund to cut checks of up to $2 million into funds that are $15 million in size or smaller, with a focus on funds based in Israel. Sweetwood has backed seven funds thus far. It’s also looking to essentially create nano funds by working with angel investors. For this side of the fund, Sweetwood will work with angels to match their investment into a company while also giving them carry on the money that the firm puts in. While this would mean a hit to the firm’s potential returns compared to just investing directly, they don’t take that type of stake to begin with. They’ve closed on two such deals so far. “It’s a no-brainer for these guys,” Kurz said about approaching angel investors. “[They are] doing these deals anyway and there is this external partner that doesn’t look to be a tech scout but pays them as tech scouts.” The firm started raising the nano-focused fund in the peak of 2021’s craziness and is now looking to deploy into very different market conditions where smaller and less established firms are really struggling to raise. Kurz said that while they were initially apprehensive when the market conditions started to sour, they quickly got over that fear because they realized that the funds they back will now be writing checks to companies at more reasonable valuations and will actually have time to spend on due diligence. Kurz said when evaluating these potential investments the big question they ask, since neither the angel investor nor nano funds are big enough to lead any of the rounds they are in, is, why do startups want to take their money? He said that the firm is looking for funds and individuals that fall under two categories of answers: expertise and access. For some, especially on the angel investor side, access is king. If you are a notable former tech entrepreneur that is well connected, the thinking is that you are just going to hear about more notable deals and be invited to participate over other angels just due to your background. Kurz said this can include angels that were successful or well-known former founders. On the other side, Sweetwood is looking for funds and individuals with expertise and specialization that are going to be sought out by companies to fill out rounds because they bring an outsized value add to the table compared to their check size. “Why are people giving you access? Why are people wanting you on the cap table?” he said. “It’s very much focused about the value add and ability to gain access to the deals more so than your ability to distinguish the deals or do selections on the deal.” While this nano fund is separate from the firm’s flagship series, Kurz anticipated that some of these funds will grow up to be good candidates for the flagship fund down the line. It will also help them get into companies earlier that might end up in the flagship’s fund portfolios as well. “The very small funds tend to outperform,” he said. “The smaller you are the more probable you are to generate outsized returns. I thought, this is really interesting, how do we build something for this?”

How much tax will you owe when you sell your company? • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Column, EC Column, EC How To, qualified small business stock, Startups, tax lawsNo Comments

Peyton Carr is a financial adviser to founders, entrepreneurs and their families, helping them with planning and investing. He is a managing director of Keystone Global Partners. More posts by this contributor With a Section 1045 rollover, founders can salvage QSBS before 5 years Advanced tax strategies for startup founders When a founder sells their company, its valuation gets a lot of attention. But too much emphasis on valuation often leads to too little consideration for what stockholders and stakeholders pay in taxes post-sale. After an exit, some founders may pay a 0% tax while others pay over 50% of their sale proceeds. Some founders can walk away with as much as two times the money as other founders at the same sale price — purely due to circumstances and tax planning. Personal tax planning can ultimately impact a founder’s take-home proceeds as much as exit-level valuation changes can. How does this happen? Taxes owed will ultimately depend on the type of equity owned, how long it’s been held, where the shareholder lives, potential tax rate changes in the future and tax-planning strategies. If you’re thinking about taxes now, chances are you’re ahead in the game. But determining how much you’ll owe isn’t simple. In this article, I’ll provide a simplified overview of how founders can think about taxes as well as an easy way to estimate what they will owe in tax upon selling their company. I’ll also touch on advanced tax planning and optimization strategies, state tax and future tax risks. Of course, remember that this is not tax advice. Prior to making any tax decisions, you should consult with your CPA or tax adviser. How shareholders are taxed When it comes to minimizing capital gains tax, QSBS (qualified small business stock) can be a game-changer for people that qualify. Let’s assume you’re a founder and own equity or options in a typical venture-backed C-corp. A number of factors will determine whether you will be taxed at short-term capital gains (ordinary income tax rates) or long-term capital gains, also referred to as qualified small business stock (QSBS) rates. It’s essential to understand the differences and where you can optimize. Below is a chart summarizing different types of taxation and when each applies. I further break this down to show the combined “all in” federal + state + city taxation, if applicable. Founders with exits on the horizon that will raise more than $10 million should explore some of the advanced tax strategies I covered in one of my previous articles, since there are opportunities to multiply or “stack” the $10 million QSBS exclusion and minimize taxation further. Image Credits: Keystone Global Partners As you can see above, some of the more common levers that influence how much tax a founder owes after an exit include QSBS, trust creation, which state you live in, how long you’ve held your shares and whether you exercise your options.

China’s EV upstart Nio switches on power swap station in Sweden • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in China, electric vehicles, Europe, EV, nio, Sweden, TransportationNo Comments

Electric vehicle startup Nio is accelerating its expansion in Europe. The premium EV maker just launched its first power-swapping station in Varberg, Sweden, the company said in a LinkedIn post. When it comes to charging, Nio differentiates itself from its rivals by offering swappable batteries, which are upgradable and charge a monthly subscription fee, on top of the traditional plug-and-charge model. In its home market China, Nio’s battery-swapping systems are popping up around trendy malls and office highrises, and it’s taken the novel concept to a noticeable scale. As of November 6, the company had installed 1,200 of these swapping stations across China. The idea is to enable EV charging as fast as refueling a petrol car. The company said on its November earnings call that it planned to install 20 power swapping stations across Europe by the end of 2022 and increase the tally to 100 by next year. Nio began expanding in Europe last year, starting out in Norway, which has been aggressive in pushing EV adaption. Xpeng, Nio’s Chinese rival, also picked Norway as the first stop in its European expansion. Nio is setting itself up for an uphill battle in a crowded auto market in Europe, but it seems determined in growing its presence on the continent. Headed by the charismatic, English-speaking serial entrepreneur William Li, Nio hosted a splashy launch event in Berlin, which marked its official market entry in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden. The company began by offering lease-only for its models in all European countries except Norway but shortly added the option for customers to purchase the vehicles after initial market feedback. It’s also ramping up its operational footprint in Europe, with an R&D center in Berlin to work on “localized development and deployment of digital cockpits and to continuously improve the intelligent digital experience of local users,” said Li on the earnings call. The carmaker now operates “Nio Houses“, which are essentially product showrooms and customer clubs, in ten major European cities. Possibly in a move to diversify supply chains from China, Nio recently began manufacturing products including its power swapping facilities out of Hungary and shipped its first Hungary-made swapping station to Germany in September.

Google clamps down on illegal loan apps in Kenya, Nigeria • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Fintech, kenya, Loan apps, NigeriaNo Comments

Google is requiring loan apps in Kenya to submit proof of license to operate in the country by its apex bank, failure to which they risk removal from Play Store, its digital distribution service. Those that have applied for licensing, and can produce evidence of the same, may also be spared. Google’s action has, however, been sluggish, coming two months after the Digital Credit Providers Regulations took effect to protect borrowers from rogue apps, many of which had predatory lending practices and used debt-shaming tactics to recover their money. New and old loan apps in Kenya are now expected to submit the requisite documents and information, or risk being locked out at the end of January next year. “Developers with personal loan apps targeting Kenyan users must complete [a] declaration form and submit the necessary documentation before publishing their personal loan app … Personal loan apps operating in Kenya without proper declaration and license attribution will be removed from the Play Store,” said Google in a policy update that also requires apps in Nigeria to get a “verifiable approval letter” from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). While less stringent than Kenya’s new law, the FCCPC rules, which came into effect in August this year to protect borrowers, expects lending apps to declare their fees and demonstrate how they receive feedback and solve complaints, among other requirements. Kenya and Nigeria are major tech hubs in Africa, and have witnessed the proliferation of loan apps, offering quick unsecured personal loans of up to $500. However, the lack of stringent regulations has attracted rogue operators necessitating authorities to take apt measures to protect citizens. In Kenya, Only 10 of the 288 loan apps that applied for licenses from the country’s Central Bank have been permitted. Some of the popular ones, like Zenka and silicon-valley backed Tala are yet to be licensed. The digital lenders in Kenya are expected to avoid the use of threats or debt-shaming actions, including posting of personal information on online forums, unauthorized calls and messages to customers, and access to their contacts lists for purposes of contacting them in case of default. Loan apps collect borrowers’ phone data, including contacts, and demand access to messages to check the history of mobile money transactions — for credit scoring and as conditions for disbursing loans. Rogue lenders have been sharing some of the contact information collected with third-party debt collectors. Already, 40 loan apps in Kenya are under investigation by the office of the data protection commissioner over data breach, following complaints from users. The new law requires loan apps to also reveal their pricing model, terms and conditions to consumers in advance, unlike in the past when they were unsupervised. The apps are also expected to notify the regulator before introducing new products or making changes to existing ones, in addition to disclosing and providing evidence of their sources of funds.

Daylight, the LGBTQ+ neobank, raises cash to launch subscription plan for family planning • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Anthemis Group, Apps, Bank, citi ventures, daylight, Fintech, funding, Gaingels, Kapor Capital, lgbtq, neobank, queer, startup, StartupsNo Comments

A day after a bill that would codify same-sex marriage in the U.S. cleared a key hurdle in the Senate, Daylight, a digital bank that pitches itself as LGBTQIA+-friendly, closed a $15 million Series A round led by Anthemis Group with participation from CMFG Ventures, Kapor Capital, Citi Ventures and Gaingels. Daylight Co-founder and CEO Rob Curtis says that the new capital will be used to, in his words, “build the financial products and services to help queer people live their best lives” — starting with a subscription plan called Daylight Grow designed to help prospective queer families with financial planning. “There are over 30 million LGBTQ+ Americans with a spending power of around $1 trillion and yet the community lacks access to the suite of products and services they need to live their best lives,” Curtis told ZebethMedia in an email interview. “Daylight was created with a single mission: to build the financial products and services to help queer people live their best lives.” Curtis co-launched Daylight with Billie Simmons, a trans woman, and Paul Barnes-Hoggett in early 2020. Prior to starting Daylight, Curtis worked for several organizations supporting the LGBTQ+ lifestyle and causes, including Gaydar, a dating site for gay and bisexual men. He also co-founded Squad Social and Helsa Helps, startups aiming to improve access to mental health for members in the LGBTQ+ community. Daylight is a part of wave of recent neobanks — bank-like fintech companies that operate online, without physical branch networks — organized around aspirational causes and missions. Rapper Killer Mike’s Greenwood aims to help Black and Latinx communities build generational wealth. Majority, which launched the same year as Greenwood (2020), seeks to build banking tools and resources for immigrants. Purpose Banking, Aspiration and One all promise to never let deposits fund fossil fuels. Image Credits: Daylight With the wealth of ethics-forward fintechs out there, why found a neobank for LGBTQ+ people? According to Curtis, most mainstream banking products simply weren’t designed with U.S.-based queer folks in mind. (Pride Bank, a neobank with similarly queer-forward branding, is based in Brazil.) For example, Daylight provides debit cards with customers’ chosen names, which aren’t always the same as what’s on their ID. It offers members 10% cash back every time they spend with a queer and allied business that Daylight has partnered with. And it offers guided goals for gender-affirming procedures like top surgery and facial feminization. Beyond cash management features like a checking account, free ATMs and the ability for members to get paid two days early, Daylight hosts communities where customers can ask questions around “queer financial literacy,” such as family planning, in what Curtis claims is a safe and supportive environment. “At Daylight, our mission has always been to break down the financial barriers that hold LGBTQ+ people back … In this post-Dobbs world, Daylight’s commitment to supporting queer families has never been more necessary,” Curtis said, referring to the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion bans in the U.S. and opened the door to legal challenges of marriage equality. Certainly, members of the LGBTQ+ community face fiscal challenges that many cisgender, straight adults never do. Some suffer the consequences of being kicked out of their homes by unaccepting parents. Others find themselves on the hook for HIV/AIDS treatment, hormone therapy and fertility procedures. Most queer people gravitate toward pricey metro areas because they’re more accepting and progressive, and many queer people lack a safety net — whether because they lack family support or don’t have children who can take care of them. For those reasons and others, LGBTQ+ people frequently earn less, live in poverty and have less in pension savings than their cisgender counterparts. The situation for transgender people is particularly dire, with the poverty rate for the transgender community in the U.S. averaging around 30% — close to double the rate of cisgender adults — according to a 2019 study from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute. Transgender people are also twice as likely to be unemployed and four times as likely to have a household income below $10,000; the 2021 U.S. federal poverty was $12,880. The aforementioned Daylight Grow isn’t a cure-all, but targets the major hurdles many queer couples encounter in starting a family. This is a significant portion of Daylight’s customers. A recent poll by the Family Equality Council found that nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ millennials — 63% — are considering becoming parents for the first time or expanding their family. Image Credits: Daylight When the product launches in early 2023, Simmons says that Daylight Grow will offer a personalized “family creation plan” covering financial, legal and logistical milestones tailored to individual states and needs, “family planning concierges” to provide financial advice and logistical support, a “family-building marketplace” with vetted family attorney networks and recommendations for IVF and surrogacy clinics, and in-person financial and fertility education events. “Family creation is a major life event for queer people and the challenges we face are increasingly more complex than those for non-LGBTQ people,” Simmons told ZebethMedia via email. “The launch of Daylight Grow will help queer people navigate through the complex legal and financial challenges involved with starting a family, making it faster and easier to start a family, and unlocking critical intergenerational wealth for our community.” Daylight Grow will also offer access to family-building loans, a potential game-changer for queer customers who’ve dealt with discrimination from traditional banks. According to a 2019 study, same-sex borrowers were 73% more likely to be denied a mortgage or be approved for a mortgage at a higher-than-average interest rate. Daylight plans to offer hundreds of free Grow subscriptions to low-income, marginalized families in states where LGBTQ+ rights are under significant legal attack, Curtis said. Which states — and Grow’s pricing — are still being decided. Daylight has raised $20 million in capital to date. Curtis wouldn’t answer questions about revenue and hiring plans, preferring, at least for now, to keep the focus on the company’s core mission.

New Twitter accounts will have to wait 90 days before buying a subscription • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 18, 2022Posted in Apps, elon buys twitter, Twitter, twitter blue, verificationNo Comments

Twitter has published a policy change saying that newly-created Twitter accounts will have to wait 90 days before being allowed to subscribe to the new Twitter Blue plan and get verified. This is likely to avoid impersonation and spam from verified accounts. “Newly created Twitter accounts will not be able to subscribe to Twitter Blue for 90 days. We may also impose waiting periods for new accounts in the future at our discretion without notice,” the company said on its FAQ page about Twitter Blue. Prior to this, the Elon Musk-led company just said that new accounts created after November 9 won’t be able to purchase the $8 Twitter subscription plan. Twitter Blue terms on Nov 10 noting accounts created after Nov 9 can’t sign up for Twitter Blue. Image Credits: Twitter The old terms were published during the rushed rollout of Twitter Blue, which caused havoc and a barrage of verified accounts started impersonating brands, celebrities, and athletes. Because of fake verified accounts tweeting misinformation, shares of companies like Eli Lilly and Lockheed Martin took a dip. To avoid impersonation, the company has prohibited verified users from changing their names. Earlier this week, Musk said that paid accounts will lose the verified checkmark until the social network confirms that the new name follows its rules. However, the company hasn’t made any formal policy around that. With new release, changing your verified name will cause loss of checkmark until name is confirmed by Twitter to meet Terms of Service — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2022 Twitter is in the soup with the new paid plan. On the one hand, Musk has promised that subscribers will get prominence on the notification tab, replies, and searches — the company briefly moved the verified notification tab’s position to place it before all notifications too. On the other hand, after assessing the initial results from the verification rollout, it clearly has to thwart spam and impersonation to prevent more advertisers from leaving the platform. As a result, Musk paused the rollout of Twitter Blue last week. He also promised to relaunch the relaunched Twitter Blue program on November 29, but in Elonverse things can change rather quickly.