Sep
20

I’m Not Buying An iPhone 8

For starters, let’s look at some Golden Retriever puppies instead.

I watched most of the Apple announcement last week (I was on vacation and hanging out waiting for Amy, so I just plopped down on the floor and watched Special Events on the Apple TV channel.) I fell asleep for a few minutes part way through it. I turned it off about halfway through the iPhone X announcement.

I’ve been an Apple user for many years now. Every few years, I switch to an Android phone for a month (whatever the newest model is) but always end up going back to my iPhone. Whenever each new iPhone model has come out (for at least the past five years) there’s been a mad rush among my partners to make sure all of us have a new phone the day they ship. I even sported a rose gold one during one upgrade cycle just because I could.

When Amy and I went to lunch after the iPhone 8 and X announcement, she asked me if I was going to get a new iPhone. I said no. I realized I was profoundly uninspired – both by the new phone and the way the Apple team presented it. I’d go so far as to say I was bored, which as a lifetime nerd, is unusual when Amy lets me hang out and do anything related to computers (including watching TV about computers.)

Amy then said, “I didn’t mean the 8, I meant the X.”

For some reason, I’m completely uninterested right now in the iPhone X. I don’t know why. It might be the presentation. It might be that’s it’s not available for another few months. It might be that I just spend too much money and time fixing my iPhone 7+ screen (twice) after dropping it. Why twice? Because the first time I stupidly sent it over to one of the non-Apple “we can fix your iPhone for you for less money” stores who replaced the glass but totally screwed up a bunch of other things (the home button, the touch dynamics, and the edge feel of things.) That resulted in me buying a new iPhone 7+. Dumb Brad – just to go the Apple store even if it’s five miles further away and you have to drive instead of walk.

On the other hand, iOS 11 just installed on my phone while I was writing this post. A cursory glance shows that it’s working fine but other than different fonts, new icon styling, shading on an iMessage reply, and a different control center, it looks the same so far. At least I can play with fun new apps like Occipital’s TapMeasure to see how ARKit works.

I’m perplexed by the current Apple release cycle dynamics. I know they’ll mint money with the new phones, but my feeling of disappointment lingers as a user. Suddenly, I’m more inspired by Amazon’s new hardware.

Also published on Medium.

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Original author: Brad Feld

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Sep
19

Engage in Boulder’s Upcoming Local Election

September 19, 2017

Boulder has local elections every odd year. That means we are having a local election this year, with mail-in balloting starting on 10/16/17 and ending on 11/7/17.

Because it’s on an odd-year cycle, turnout has historically been relatively low (under 50%). As a result, a very small number of votes can have a big impact on the election results. This is especially important for the city council election.

A number of Boulder residents, including me, have organized a new group called Engage Boulder to help get out the vote in this election cycle. Between now and 11/7/17, you’ll see a number of suggestions, events, and encouragement.

Yesterday, Engage Boulder put out a short overview on why you should vote in the local election. It also had easy links to register for the mail-in voting. The overview follows – and, if you are interested – there’s a Get Out the Vote Event 9/27 at Oskar Blues in Boulder. To learn more about the upcoming Boulder election and related events, sign up to join the Engage Boulder newsletter.

Participating in your local election is critical. It’s up to all of the citizens of Boulder to elect a slate of candidates committed to practical, analytical decision-making and a vision for the city that is open, progressive, and forward-looking. With your help, this can happen.

Why Vote in Local Elections

(And Why You Should Encourage  All Your Friends To Vote Too)

Because your vote matters: We know that a few voters can drastically shift the outcome of an election. In the 2015 city council election, Jan Burton was only elected by 125 votes. Your vote can literally sway the election.

Because what local government does affect you:  It decides:

The safety and upkeep of our public areas.

The quantity and type of local housing.

The quality of trails for riding, hiking, and running.

The level of support for the art, music, and entrepreneurial scene.

How easy it is to get from home to work to play … and back.

How easy it is to start and grow a business, or a family.

And much, much more.

Because it gives you the power to create change: We become the city we imagine, and how we govern ourselves has a lot to say about it. So vote on behalf of the next generation of Boulderites trying to live affordably, work hard for a worthwhile company, and enjoy a high quality of life.

Because it’s easy: A few years ago Boulder started voting entirely by mail. You get the ballot around October 16. Why not take 15 minutes to fill it out? If you aren’t registered here, spend less than five minutes on the Secretary of State’s website to change that.

Because you try hard to be practical and forward-looking: We want our local government to also be practical and forward-looking.

Because you don’t need to spend hours researching the issues and candidates (unless you want to!):  Open Boulder, Better Boulder, and Engage Boulder have specific recommendations of who and what to vote for in the upcoming election.  If you agree with their general philosophy you may wish to leverage their research to vote their recommendations.

Mail-in ballots will be sent out on October 16th, register or check your registration online here. In 2013 and 2015 voter turnout was about 46% in Boulder. In 2016 it was 92%. We know you have it in you! Please share this email with at least five friends! 

Hope to see you at our Get Out the Vote Event 9/27 at Oskar Blues in Boulder.

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Original author: Brad Feld

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Aug
31

Pium’s smart diffuser wants to design a new user experience for your nose

There’s a lot going on in closing the gap between online signals about the behavior of prospects to accelerate sales cycles. This conversation is a fascinating view into that world. Sramana Mitra:...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Sep
19

India’s OYO Rooms Gets Heavy on Funding - Sramana Mitra

According to a report by Transparency Market Research, the global market for hotels is projected to grow to $703 billion by 2021 from $534 billion in 2014 driven by the proliferation and surging...

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Original author: Sramana_Mitra

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Sep
19

From Australia to Silicon Valley: Anthony Smith’s Journey with Insightly (Part 2) - Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra: You said you did your own company, but you built software for a particular large mining company. You were doing contract software services at a contracting company? Anthony Smith: I...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Sep
19

Funnel raises $10M led by Balderton Capital to help companies analyse online marketing spend

 Funnel, a startup headquartered in Stockholm that sells a SaaS to help companies analyse the effectiveness of online marketing spend across multiple channels, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. London VC Balderton Capital led the round, with participation from existing investors including Industrifonden and Zobito. Read More

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Sep
19

BP Ventures, BP’s investment arm, leads $20M in private jet charter marketplace Victor

 Victor, which bills itself as the “largest ‘on-demand’ marketplace for private jet charter,” has raised $20 million in new funding, bringing total raised to date to $44.45 million since launching in 2011. BP Ventures, BP’s investment arm, led the round, putting in $10 million, whilst the London headquartered startup says it plans to use the additional capital… Read More

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Sep
19

GoCardless, a fintech that makes recurring payments easy for subscription businesses, raises $22.5M

 Well, GoCardless co-founder and CEO Hiroki Takeuchi knows how to work a non-denial denial. When I interviewed him a few weeks ago for an extensive profile piece we ran yesterday, he wouldn’t be drawn on if the hot London fintech was raising a new round. Today, the company is announcing $22.5 million in new funding. Read More

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Sep
19

Younited Credit raises $47.8 million for its crowdlending platform

 French startup Younited Credit is building the biggest crowdlending platform in continental Europe. The company just raised $47.8 million (€40 million) to launch in new countries, work on new product features and more.Younited Credit is currently live in France, Spain and Italy as a consumer-facing product. Consumers can borrow anything between $1,200 and $48,000 (€1,000 and €40,000)… Read More

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Sep
19

Music video AR app Blin.gy shuts down

 Blin.gy, the app that let users insert themselves into their favorite music videos, is shutting down. In a Medium post, co-founder and chief executive officer David Hyman wrote that the startup, which launched as Chosen three years ago and raised at least $10 million, decided to close up shop after a potential acquisition fell through. Read More

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Sep
19

Adan Medical is bringing technology to Epi-Pens

 Going into anaphylactic shock is terrifying. The last time I went into shock, called my mom first, injected myself with an Epi-Pen second, injected myself with a shot of epinephrine third, and 911 last. I had that a bit backwards. Had I been using Adan Medical‘s smart case for Epi-Pens, my mom and emergency response teams would’ve been notified the moment I opened the case. I… Read More

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Sep
19

Goodbye, photo studios. Hello, colormass virtual photoshoots

 Berlin-based colormass, one of the startups presenting today at TechCrunch Disrupt as part of the Battlefield, has developed a platform that lets you recreate an IKEA-style experience for your own merchandise: highly realistic, but digitally manipulated 3D facsimiles. Read More

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Sep
19

Index is a clean, colorful app for organizing your ideas and digital content

 The makers of Index are hoping they’ve created the only app you’ll need to access all your files, notes and links. “We’re giving people a full control panel for the digital world,” founder Brian Cox told me. Cox said he actually developed Index for his own personal use five years ago. Read More

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Sep
18

The Nuada smart glove gives your hand bionic powers

 In the future, said Andy Warhol, everyone will be bionic for fifteen minutes. I’m paraphrasing, but it looks like a Portuguese company called Nuada is about to give us that opportunity. Created by Filipe Quinaz and Vitor Crespo, the seed-funded company pitched on our Disrupt stage and showed us one of the coolest pieces of hardware I’ve seen in a long time.The Nuada is a smart glove. Read More

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Sep
18

Pi wants to extend the reach of wireless charging

 Wireless charging isn’t new. But wireless charging is still limited, particularly in terms of where your device can be while pulling a charge. For the most part, “wireless charger” means “a pad you sit your device directly on.” Lift your phone a few centimeters off the pad, and charging stops. Pi, a company that debuted in the TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield… Read More

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Sep
18

Ethereum will match Visa in scale in a ‘couple of years’ says founder

 The mind behind Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, is matter-of-fact about the crypto. In short, he believes what interviewer Naval Ravikant called “brain virus” is the true future of security and economics and, with the right incentives, Ethereum can replace things like credit card networks and even gaming servers. Buterin separates the world into two kinds of people. “There’s… Read More

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Sep
18

Yuri Milner’s conservative predictions for the consumer internet in 20 years

 Without even counting massive potential sea changes like artificial intelligence or “flying cars,” as DST founder Yuri Milner says, the consumer internet is still on track to grow in value by another 10 times in the next 20 years — just like it did in the past 10 years. Read More

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Sep
18

Steve Case’s Revolution backs Resolute Innovation to connect companies with R&D

 It can be hard for big companies to keep tabs on all the research and innovation in their industry. The search for the best patents can be both cumbersome and disorganized. That’s the idea behind Resolute Innovation, a startup that aims to connect companies with big ideas. New York-based Resolute is building what they’re calling “technology scouting software,” or a… Read More

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Sep
18

Roku looks to raise $204 million in IPO

 Roku, the digital streaming business, is looking to raise about $204 million when it goes public later this month. According to an SEC filing revealed Monday, the company plans to price its shares between $12 to $14. This is more than double the $100 million that was forecast in the IPO filing earlier this month. That’s because that number is a placeholder and often changes. Read More

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Sep
18

Matroid picks up $10M Series A to automate video stream monitoring

 As computer vision and object recognition technology continue to mature, we’re edging closer to automating away the exceedingly boring task of monitoring closed circuit TV cameras. Matroid is one of the startups leading the democratization of this variety of machine intelligence. The company is announcing a $10 million Series A this morning from NEA and Intel Capital that brings… Read More

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