Debrief
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Sources: DirecTV will acquire Hulu by month’s end, and why the deal makes sense
Several sources with knowledge of the ongoing Hulu acquisition talks tell PandoDaily that a deal is imminent and that DirecTV is the likely victor. The acquisition price will be written with a “B,” according to our sources, but just barely. It’s no secret that Hulu’s owners are seeking an acquirer for the premium streaming video on demand (SVOD) platform. Over... -
Debunking the myth that LA doesn’t build hardcore technology
The last few years have been good to the Los Angeles tech scene, with more money, more talent, and more recognition coming to the community. Many outside observers have sought to handicap the market and its place in the broader startup ecosystem. I’ve had dozens upon dozens of conversations along these lines, with most visiting investors and entrepreneurs alike asking... -
For MeUndies, advertising alongside porn is just smart business
There are some rules that seem to be etched in stone. For example, porn sites are off limits for VCs and brand advertisers – or so the prevailing wisdom goes. Despite the potential for substantial return on investment, few have been willing to cross that ethical and moral line. Recently, however, one startup chose to break this unwritten rule in... -
For the bitcoin economy to grow, anonymity needs to die
Yesterday was a seminal day in the maturation of the bitcoin ecosystem, as the world’s largest exchange, Mt. Gox, announced it would now require user verification – via approved photo identification – for all accounts seeking to deposit or withdraw fiat currencies (aka, government-backed currency). This is a direct response to two recent government actions against virtual currency operators accused of... -
Marc Andreessen on A16Z’s growing partnership: Great things come in clusters
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have been trying to expand their partnership since the day they opened the doors at Andreessen Horowitz, or as insiders call it, A16Z. (Andreessen and fellow A16Z partners Jeff Jordan and Chris Dixon are individual investors in PandoDaily.) The theme with each addition has been that all general partners (GPs) must have proven themselves successful... -
PayDragon proves that mobile grocery ordering is sticky, sees revenue grow 35% per week
As we approach universal smart phone ownership among American consumers, retailers and startup entrepreneurs are scrambling for ways to integrate mobile into the everyday shopping experience. In April of last year, PayDragon launched its mobile food ordering and pre-payment platform allowing hungry restaurant guests to skip the lines at their favorite eatery. The service is now live in... -
Skillz rides skill-based real money gaming to pass 1M downloads in its first two weeks
Betting is nearly as old as human civilization itself, as demonstrated by writings and artifacts found in ancient tombs and other archaeological sites. It’s not surprising then, that with the emergence of casual social and mobile gaming, players have gravitated toward putting money on the line wherever possible. Capitalizing on this trend, Skillz launched a real money gaming platform... -
JustFab acquires The Fab Shoes in search of European domination, approaches $250M revenue rate
One year into its onslaught on Western Europe online women’s fast fashion retailer JustFab has acquired The Fab Shoes (no relation) to accelerate its pace. The move will add 500,000 subscribers in France and Spain to its existing 1.5 million in Germany and UK, bringing its global total to more than 15 million members. More important will be... -
You are your data: The scary future of the quantified self movement
Few if any consumers who fell behind on their credit card payments in the early 2000s thought that half a decade later employers would use their credit report to determine their job worthiness. Few avid social media users must have realized that insurance companies, the IRS, law enforcement, and credit agencies would soon use their their data to investigate fraud,... -
Bitcoin is legal, but mainstream adoption will mandate playing by the rules
Earlier this week, the US government took its first action against the bitcoin ecosystem, freezing the US accounts of Mt. Gox, which is the largest bitcoin exchange in the world, processing 75 percent of all transactions in the last 30 days. Since that time, the questions on most people’s mind has been, what does this mean for the future of bitcoin... -
Like its other platforms, Amazon is taking the long view with its Coins virtual currency
Amazon is far from the first company to create a proprietary virtual currency, but, for a number of reasons, it is among the most interesting. The limited success of previous efforts from Facebook, Microsoft, Zynga, Flooz, and Beenz, among others, illustrate the challenges of creating a notional economy, but none of them mean we should ignore Amazon Coins. Amazon has... -
When massive growth can be hazardous to founders
As a startup founder, even seemingly positive things like massive growth can be a curse. Or at least it seems that was the case for the co-founders of activewear ecommerce startup Ellie. CEO Marcus Greinke and Chief Creative Office Lindsay Daniels were removed from the company by its board of directors in April. Greg Wimmer, who was originally... -
Driver dustup at Uber’s LA office illuminates the difficulty of moving offline industries online
Funny thing about this whole trend of using mobile to disrupt the real world: It means you have to have contact with the real world. And when you are disrupting an industry that hasn’t seen much change, technology, or innovation, not everyone understands the rules of engagement. We’re used to stories of Uber clashing with politicians, but apparently even... -
Can a category leader’s $60M exit be seen as anything but underwhelming?
SocialCam’s founder and lead investor take issue with PandoDaily’s assessment that the company’s exit was underwhelming
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An inside look at the first major acquisition of a premium YouTube channel
Yesterday, Dreamworks announced the acquisition of AwesomenessTV for $33 million, the first such major purchase of a YouTube-funded premium video channel. Following the news, I caught up with Awesomeness’ lead investor to inquire about the deal and what it might mean for the ecosystem as a whole. (Hint: This looks like the beginning of big things to come.) Mark... -
With Team Downey heritage, Epoxy gets $2M to build pro tools for YouTube content creators
YouTube evolved as a consumer generated video platform, and was not initially a place where content creators considered building a significant business. Now that this is changing, there’s a noticeable lack of sophisticated tools traditionally available in other online businesses categories like ecommerce, gaming, and publishing. Despite the amount of money being directed toward premium content creation on the platform,...
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Vine teases new features
Vine cofounder Dom Hoffman is teasing some new features on the eve of Instagram’s purported video launch. Details are slim, but it looks like the new Vine will have video effects like fish-eye lens and possibly text on screen and even messaging, not unlike Snapchat. [Source: AllThingsD]
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Memo to non-Valley, non-NYC ecosystems: No one you want cares about the cost of living
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FWD.us has a new ad
It’s called “Emma” and it’s based on the Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus,” (“Give me your tired, your poor…”) [Source: FWDus via Ad Age]
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Kickstarter won't remove abhorrent dating book
An unsettling, misogynistic dating book written by a popular Redditor (which among other things encourages lonely men to “grab her hand and put it right on your dick”) has raised over $16,000 on Kickstarter. But while Kickstarter calls the book “abhorrent” it’s refused to remove it from its site. [Source: Betabeat]
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Plug 'em in: Let's make electrical outlets smarter
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"Journalism's eyesight is based on movement"
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Kabam raising $50 million for employee liquidity amid IPO drought for game companies
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Megaupload servers reportedly wiped in “data massacre”
Data stored on Leaseweb’s servers, which housed “petabytes” of photos, music, files, and other documents for Megaupload, has been deleted in a “data massacre,” according to Kim Dotcom. Dotcom’s lawyers are said to have asked Leaseweb not to delete any Megaupload data while the company faced legal action in the US.
[Source: RT]
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News Flash: Rich people continue to like buying things
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Stratasys acquires MakerBot with $403M in stock
Stratasys, a 3-D-printing company, has acquired MakerBot, another 3-D-printing company, for $403 million in stock and $201 million in performance-based earn-outs, AllThingsD reports. The news comes after the unveiling of MakerBot’s new factory in Brooklyn.
[Source: AllThingsD]
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HDmessaging's search for the perfect mobile ad
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Aviary for Android releases 3.0
Photo editor on Android, Aviary, has released the latest version of its app. New features include a better “enhance” tool as well as added filters. [Source: CNET]
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Wired’s Michael Copeland joins Andreessen Horowitz
TechCrunch is reporting that Wired editor Michael Copeland will be leading Andreessen Horowitz’s ‘content strategy.’ Copeland has covered the VC world for a variety of outlets, including Wired, Fortune, and Business 2.0. [Source: TechCrunch]
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Analyst: iPad mini won’t have retina display
Despite reports claiming Apple’s upcoming iPad mini 2 housing a retina display, one analyst believes they won’t be ready for the upcoming shipment. According to an analyst from NPD DisplaySearch, the retina displays will ship sometime in 2014, whereas the latest upcoming batch will contain the iPad’s current display. [Source: BGR]
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Why you’re on a startup roller-coaster
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Facebook now has photo comments
Today Facebook unrolled a new feature for its commenting system. Now users are able to comment with more than just words, being able to attach photos as comments. [Source: CNET]
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Gnip announces new CEO
Gnip, a startup that resells social data from the likes of Twitter and other social giants, has announced a shuffling of the executive ranks. Now, it’s former COO and president will be CEO. [Source: AllThingsD]
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Facebook updates Page Insights
Facebook has redesigned its Page Insights, the tool that lets Pages user monitor their performance. This is the its first update to since October 2011. [Source: TechCrunch]
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Adobe says “Creative Cloud” is working
Despite some controversy with its transition to the Cloud, Adobe’s CEO says its Creative Cloud Suite is actually doing quite well. According to the company, it has 700,000 subscribers, up from 479,000 in the first quarter of 2013, which exceeded the company’s original expectations. [Source: GeekWire]
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Tech’s second boom: What’s different this time?
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Viacom latest media company to join Twitter Amplify
Viacom has joined Twitter’s Amplify program, a partnership for media companies to better implement second screen experiences. The first Viacom-Amplify will be the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25. [Source: VentureBeat]
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Dan Bricklin hired as Alpha Software’s CTO
Dan Bricklin, the co-creator of VisiCalc and “father of the electronic spreadsheet,” has been hired as the CTO for Alpha Software. In addition, the company announced the launch of Alpha Anywhere. [Source: AllThingsD]
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Videopixie launches connecting footage to editors
Videopixie launched today, providing a marketplace for people who have rough video footage and editors. The service works by users uploading their raw footage, and then vie bid for the job by making a quick teaser trailer with the footage. [Source: TechCrunch]
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Google introduces a new scorecard in AdSense
Google today launched a new AdSense scorecard aimed at telling site owners their performance. The scorecard is divided into three categories: revenue optimization, site health and Google+. [Source: TechCrunch]
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Grammy Award-winner's law of attraction in Tech
