FundersClub June Digital Magazine
TOP NEWS
DISH Becomes World’s Largest Company to Accept Bitcoin
By Rachel Abrams, NYT DealBook
US satellite service provider DISH Network has announced that it will start accepting bitcoin payments later this year. Coinbase will serve as the payment processor for the company, exchanging the bitcoin payments to USD at the moment of transaction.
Apple to Pay $3 Billion to Buy Beats
By Brian X. Chen, The New York Times
Apple is buying Beats Electronics, a rising music brand, for $3 billion, in a move that appears to help it play catch-up with rivals that offer subscription-based music services.
SV Angel Leads Pinterest Financing At A $5 Billion Valuation
By Alexia Tsotsis, TechCrunch
Pinterest has raised a $200 million Series F. This values the company at $5 billion. The round was led by SV Angel.
Optimizely Raises $57M for Website Testing
By Reuters
Optimizely, a testing service for websites, raised another $57 million through venture capital just a year after raising $28 million, underscoring investor appetite for companies that simplify challenging technological processes.
BLOGS
Why Investors Need to Practice Lean Startup Principles Too
By John Richards, FundersClub Blog (Contributed to VentureBeat)
John Richards says that while many entrepreneurs have adopted the lean startup principles and practices when creating new ventures, investors still need to learn to keep pace with these massive shifts.
Tech's Smart Money, Dumb Money and Worst of All: Malignant Money
By Dan Mindus, FundersClub Blog (Contributed to TheStreet)
Entrepreneurs raising funds from angels or venture capitalists often focus on the difference between "smart money" and "dumb money." But it’s more important for startup founders to seek out “benign money,” says Mindus.
FC PORTFOLIO NEWS
SpoonRocket Raises $11 Million to Deliver Healthy Meals in 10 Minutes
By Seth Fiegerman, Mashable
SpoonRocket announced that it raised an $11 million Series A round led by Foundation Capital, bringing the startup's total to more than $13 million. SpoonRocket is now expanding into all of the San Francisco area.
Soldsie, The Service That Lets You Shop Via Facebook And Instagram, Raises $4M
By Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
Soldsie, an e-commerce service enabling businesses to sell directly to their Facebook fans and Instagram followers through the comments section, raised $4 million in Series A funding from First Round Capital.
Google Glass Gets A Keyboard Thanks To Minuum’s Minimal Tap-And-Turn Typing
By Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch
Google Glass now has a keyboard, courtesy of Toronto-based startup Whirlscape and their Minuum software input app.
The Electric Skateboard of the Future Has Finally Arrived
By Michael Calore, WIRED
After several years of experimentation, Boosted Boards has launched a motorized skateboard unlike anything you have ever seen before.
Instacart Takes Page from Sharing Services
By Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
Recent coverage about the company and their green-shirt “personal shoppers,” who pick up grocery items from stores in cities around the U.S. and deliver them to you.
Coinbase acquires YC-backed Collaborative Bookmarking Startup Kippt
By Josh Ong, TheNextWeb
Bitcoin exchange Coinbase acquired the team behind social bookmarking service Kippt and Inc., its business messaging product. Coinbase and Kippt were both part of the same Y Combinator class in 2012.
WORTH SHARING
Steve Case on What the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs Needs to Be Successful
By Will Yakowicz, Inc.com
The AOL co-founder's commencement speech at Georgetown University touched on what causes companies to thrive and what it will take to make it in the next era of the Internet.Read More →
Venture Capitalist to Venture Capitalist: We Can Do Better
By Guy Turner, Hyde Park VC Blog
Guy Turner, Managing Partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners, explores why VCs need to improve and actively solicit feedback to stay in touch with their entrepreneur customers and the market.Read More →
A Data-Driven Exploration of Tech IPOs From 1997 to Present
By Danielle Morrill, Mattermark
A detailed and comprehensive analysis about all tech company IPOs that have taken place since 1997.Read More →
Coinbase: Angling to Be the MasterCard of BitCoin
By Andy Kessler, The Wall Street Journal
In-depth profile on Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong.Read More →TRENDING ON VENTURE NEWS
Batch 8 500 Startups Demo Day | Our Top Ten (TechZulu)
Posted By Justin Darcy
Recent trending member-submitted post on Venture News about 500 Startups’ recent batch.Read More →
Weebly Valued at $455 Million Amid Website-Building Boom
Posted By Steven Roussey
Recent trending member-submitted post on Venture News about Weebly’s valuation.Read More →EVENTS
WIRED Money Conference
July 1, 2014
Level39, London, UK
FundersClub will take the main stage at WIRED Money: Alex Mittal will share insights about the intersection of crowdfunding and venture capital in 2014.See Details →VIDEO
SXSW 2014 - Brave Broken World: The Death of VC as We Know It
Alex Mittal’s solo talk at SXSW this year exploring the past and the future of VC.Watch →
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