Dec
24

The vector database is a new kind of database for the AI era

Amazon is launching 20 healthcare clinics in five US cities as part of a pilot program for warehouse workers and their families.The first is now open in Dallas-Fort Worth, and the rest will roll out in Phoenix, Louisville, Detroit, and California's San Bernardino-Moreno Valley area in the few months, according to the company.The clinics were in the works before the pandemic and will not offer testing or care related to COVID-19, a company spokesperson told Business Insider.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon is rolling out 20 healthcare clinics for the company's warehouse workers and their families in five US cities, according to a blog post published Tuesday.

As CNBC reports, the clinics' services will include preventive primary care, prescription medications, and vaccinations. They will be operated by Crossover Health, a startup that has run onsite clinics for the likes of Apple, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The company announced that the pilot program will launch its first clinic in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, where more than 20,000 Amazon employees reside. Of those, 11,000 are operation employees, according to the company. The rest of the pilot clinics will be established in Phoenix, Louisville, Detroit, and California's San Bernardino-Moreno Valley area in the next few months.

The program has been in the works since before the pandemic, a company spokesperson told Business Insider. The clinics will not offer testing or care related to the coronavirus disease.

If the clinics — which will be situated close to fulfillment centers and operations facilities — are successful, the company will look into a wider rollout in 2021.

The new program comes after the e-commerce giant last October launched a pilot program called Amazon Care, which included video and text visits with clinicians, as well as in-home care, for employees in Seattle. 

Employees have called Amazon's warehouses a "breeding ground" for the coronavirus disease as social distancing proves difficult in such environments, according to a Business Insider report in April. The employees also said that Amazon was not doing enough to help prevent COVID-19 from infecting them and the communities they serve.

In early June, CNBC reported the company was aiming to test the majority of its warehouse workers for the disease every other week. Amazon has said it expects to spend $1 billion in employee testing in 2020.

Original author: Katie Canales

Continue reading
  24 Hits
Dec
25

Don’t let Grinch bots put coal in your stocking

An Egyptian mechanical engineer created a robot that can test patients for COVID-19.The robot is remote-controlled by a health professional, reducing the risk of transmission.Robots have been used in fighting the coronavirus around the world.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A robot that looks straight out of the uncanny valley is performing coronavirus tests in Egypt.

Twenty-six-year-old mechanical engineer Mahmoud El Komy created  remote-controlled robot is being used in Cairo, Egypt to collect samples for testing.

Measures like this robot could reduce the risk of transmission for medical providers, who have to get very close to people who potentially have infectious diseases.

Robots have increasingly been put to use since COVID-19 spread around the world. A team of doctors and researchers in Korea recently developed a remote-controlled robot that can take nasal swabs for COVID-19 tests.

In Boston, Spot robots were used to screen patients remotely, using iPads so doctors could talk to and visually assess them. In India and other countries, robots have been tasked with screening patients using thermal temperature guns, picking out people with fevers as potential COVID-19 patients.

Original author: Mary Meisenzahl

Continue reading
  26 Hits
Nov
23

PepsiCo exec says for AI, 2023 will be year of ‘hope and focus’

Joe Silver, CFO at Lighter Capital, discusses his firm’s debt-financing model for startups.

___

Original author: Sramana Mitra

Continue reading
  38 Hits
Nov
15

Xbox Game Pass wraps up November with Warhammer

Sramana Mitra: What happens next? Stuart Robertson: I jumped into telecom for seven years. At that time, telecom was going to be deregulated. They were hiring all these marketers. My first job out of...

___

Original author: Sramana Mitra

Continue reading
  33 Hits
Sep
29

October 5 – 370th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs - Sramana Mitra

Seven years ago this week, I posted about a new book in our Startup Revolution series called Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, by my friend Matt Blumberg, then CEO of email marketing company Return Path in the Foundry portfolio. Today, with more around 40,000 copies sold all over the world and in multiple languages and formats, Matt and our publisher Wiley & Sons in partnership with Techstars have published a Second Edition of Startup CEO, which you can pre-order here. 

Matt and I originally conceived of Startup CEO when I was writing Venture Deals where Matt organically ended up writing a sidebar for many of the chapters which we called “The Entrepreneur’s Perspective.”  At the time, we talked about him writing a full “instructional manual” for first-time CEOs, and that’s what Startup CEO became, with over 50 short chapters with practical “how to” advice on everything from Fundraising, to People issues, to Board management, to Self-Management. 

In the Second Edition, Matt, who led the sale of Return Path last year, added six new chapters on Selling Your Company, which really rounded out the book.

I have given or recommended Startup CEO to hundreds of CEOs over the years. Matt has been very generous with his time in mentoring other entrepreneurs or bringing his book to life in online education and webinars.  Today, he posted one of the new chapters from the Second Edition of Startup CEO on Techstars’ blog, TheLine, on Preparing Yourself for An Exit:  How Do You Know It’s Time to Sell? which is a great example of the new material in the book.

Matt and others are working on a companion/sequel to Startup CEO which will come out in late 2020/early 2021. So, get Startup CEO now so you’ll be ready for that one when it comes out.

Original author: Brad Feld

Continue reading
  41 Hits
Nov
09

The best strategies for attracting developer talent 

Manufacturing, agriculture, retail, and tech. These are just a few of the many industries in Colorado led and supported by local businesses. But what are we doing to support them through the current health and economic crisis?

West Slope Startup Week (WSSW) launched last week (this year in a virtual format) — a full month of online programming open to businesses across the state. Programming includes sessions from people such as Energize Colorado (EC) CEO Wendy Lea and myself.

Equally innovative is the new element of digital mentorship. Led by Energize Colorado’s Mentorship team, we have brought together more than 45 mentors with expertise in finance, tech, sales, and more. This mentorship program is an opportunity for organizations, including EC and Techstars, to nurture Colorado’s rapidly growing talent on the Western Slope and throughout all of Colorado. 

Helping Colorado’s economy recover is about more than just a return to normal – it’s preparing for a fundamental transformation. Our future economy is one driven by a belief that equity and empathy are key strategies for inclusivity and long-term success.

Energize Colorado, a non-profit founded by many of Colorado’s business leaders, including myself, is here to lead this transformation. There are three key steps in Energize Colorado’s plan for economic recovery and growth:

Foundational Support: Access to mentorship, mental health resources, and research about reopening a business in the time of Covid.Financial Access: EC’s Gap Fund (launching at the end of July) is a $25m+ fund that mixes grants and low-interest loans to assist rural, women, and BIPOC-owned businesses.Fortitude: Providing the thought leadership Colorado needs to increase inclusivity, help small businesses remain competitive, and lead the nation in innovation.

During times like this, I am reminded why I, and many others, became entrepreneurs –  to satisfy a never-ending curiosity and drive to learn. This is, in part, why mentorship is so valuable to me and integral to EC and Techstars’ startup week programming.

Regardless of your age or expertise, there is always something to be learned and gained. Now more than ever, we have to come together across the state to support each other and lead this transformation. I am calling on all of you to recognize the value mentorship has had on your journey and participate.

Original author: Brad Feld

Continue reading
  43 Hits
Oct
18

eBay is having a pretty bad day

Stuart built Sharebuilder 401k. The company got acquired. Recently, he has bought the business back. Read on to understand the nuances. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your...

___

Original author: Sramana Mitra

Continue reading
  43 Hits
Oct
18

Dropit runs live auctions on stadium scoreboards that fans bid on from the stands

My new book with Ian Hathaway, The Startup Community Way, comes out on 7/28. We’ve begun the pre-order campaign. Since every author loves pre-orders, so if you want to do something that will make me smile today, pre-order your copy here.

To give you a sense of the book, following is the Table of Contents, in detail.

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
– The Next Generation
– Our Approach
– A Deeper Motivation
– The Boulder Thesis
– Startup Communities are Complex Adaptive Systems
– Where We Were in 2012
– Where We are Now in 2020
– Using Complexity Theory to Explain Startup Communities
– Evolving the Boulder Thesis to the Startup Community Way

PART I: INTRODUCTION TO STARTUP COMMUNITIES

CHAPTER TWO: Why Startup Communities Exist
– What Entrepreneurs Do
– The External Environment Networks over Hierarchies
– Networks of Trust
– Density and Agglomeration Quality of Place

CHAPTER THREE: The Actors
– Leaders, Feeders, and Instigators
– Actors

CHAPTER FOUR: The Factors
– The Seven Capitals
– Factors

CHAPTER FIVE: Startup Communities versus Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
– Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
– Alignment of Actors
– Different, but Mutually Reinforcing, Purpose
– Systems within Systems
– Entrepreneurial Success
– Community/Ecosystem Fit

PART II: STARTUP COMMUNITIES AS COMPLEX SYSTEMS

CHAPTER SIX: Putting the System Back into Ecosystem
– Introduction to Systems
– The Whole System
– Simple, Complicated, and Complex Activities
– Moving from Activities to Systems

CHAPTER SEVEN: Unpredictable Creativity
– Emergence
– Synergies and Nonlinearity
– Self-Organization
– Dynamism
– The Study of Interactions

CHAPTER EIGHT: The Myth of Quantity
– More of Everything
– Outliers, Not Averages
– Entrepreneurial Recycling
– Leaders as Supernodes

CHAPTER NINE: The Illusion of Control
– Not Controllable
– Not Fully Knowable
– Feedbacks and Contagion
– Getting Unstuck
– Letting Go

CHAPTER TEN: The Absence of a Blueprint
– Initial Conditions and Basins of Attraction
– The Narrative Fallacy
– Building on Strengths and Learning from Failures
– Cultivating Topophilia

CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Measurement Trap
– The Fundamental Measurement Problem
– Actor and Factor Models: A Categorical Approach
– Standardized Metrics Models: A Comparative Approach
– Network Models: A Relational Approach
– Dynamic Models: An Evolutionary Approach
– Cultural-Social Models: A Behavioral Approach
– Logic Models: A Causal Approach
– Agent-Based Models: A Simulation Approach
– Applying the Different Models

PART III: FROM THE BOULDER THESIS TO THE STARTUP COMMUNITY WAY

CHAPTER TWELVE: Simplifying Complexity
– The Boulder Thesis
– The Rainforest
– Applying Systems Thinking
– Looking Deeply
– Leverage Points

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Leadership is Key
– Be a Mentor
– Entrepreneurs as Role Models
– Key Leadership Characteristics

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Think in Generations
– Progress is Uneven and Often Feels Slow
– The Endless Long-Term Game

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Diversity is a Feature, Not a Bug
– Cultivate Diversity
– Embracing Diversity
– Think Broadly about Entrepreneurship

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Be Active, Not Passive
– Self-Similarity and Replication
– Don’t Wait or Ask Permission
– Play a Positive-Sum Game
– Continuously and Actively Engage

PART IV: CONCLUSION

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Conclusion
– Reflections
– Summary of the Book
– Final Thoughts

Remember – it’s pre-order time! And, the Startup Community community is now over 2,000 people and very vibrant so jump in.

Original author: Brad Feld

Continue reading
  39 Hits
Oct
18

Truffle now lets you share your food tips via iMessage

The COVID-19 crisis has led to a rapid shift to working from home and a surge in the use of digital collaboration tools in the enterprise. Enterprise communication platform Slack (NYSE: WORK) last...

___

Original author: Sramana_Mitra

Continue reading
  46 Hits
Nov
04

The director of 'Thor: Ragnarok' says the movie is so unconventional Mark Ruffalo joked they'd both get fired

Sramana Mitra: How did your numbers track of the money that you sent to artisans as you went along? Roberto Milk: It took us 10 years to get to $25 million. It took us another four years to get to...

___

Original author: Sramana Mitra

Continue reading
  41 Hits
Aug
11

The Game is promoting the initial coin offering of a company owned by a former Miss Iowa who is looking to usher in the weed revolution

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday.

Amazon sent an email to employees telling them to delete TikTok from their phones because of "security risks," then said the email was sent in error. TikTok's data-collection practices have come under scrutiny from US lawmakers. Facebook is reportedly considering a "blackout" on political ads in the days running up to the US presidential election. Facebook hasn't officially decided whether it will introduce the ban and it's not yet clear how long it might last, per Bloomberg.President Trump told the Washington Post he authorized a cyberattack on a notorious Russian troll farm to try to deter it from interfering with the 2018 mid-terms. This is the first time Trump or the White House has confirmed the operation took place.Three more executives are leaving French gaming company Ubisoft over allegations of sexual harassment, The Guardian reports. This brings the total of departed executives up to five after employees started detailing allegations of sexual misconduct on social media.Microsoft founder Bill Gates said COVID-19 drugs and vaccines should not go "to the highest bidder" at a virtual conference, Reuters reports. "One of the best lessons in the fight against HIV/AIDS is the importance of building this large, fair global distribution system to get the drugs out to everyone," Gates said at the conference, which was hosted by the International AIDS Society.Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says ride-hailing will make up only 50% of the company's business moving forward. The coronavirus pandemic has decimated Uber's core ride-hailing business, with trips plummeting as much as 94% earlier this year and the company losing $2.9 billion last quarter.The new CEO of Intercom, a $1.3 billion startup backed by Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, says she'll lead the company to profitability and an IPO in a 'few years.' In June, the former CIO of $1.3 billion customer messaging startup Intercom — Karen Peacock — took the role of CEO, replacing cofounder Eoghan McCabe. Tesla slashed the price of its Model Y by $3,000 on Saturday, Electrek reported. The cheapest version of the Model Y has now been reduced to $49,990.Tesla confirmed its annual meeting and highly anticipated "battery day" will be held in-person on September 22 at its Fremont factory. Both events have previously been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic that's also forced shutdowns of Tesla's factories in California and China.A document published by TikTok's parent company ByteDance says its sister app Douyin uses facial recognition to keep foreigners out, The Telegraph reports. The system described in the document scans users' faces and matches them with state ID cards, automatically booting out foreigners.

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.

You can also subscribe to this newsletter here — just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know.

Original author: Isobel Asher Hamilton

Continue reading
  32 Hits
Nov
04

Facebook should take a page from YouTube's playbook

This report from CB Insights analyzes the trends, themes, and challenges in 2020 as artificial intelligence moves from hype state to practical usage. For this week’s posts, click on the...

___

Original author: jyotsna popuri

Continue reading
  43 Hits
Sep
06

How GPS, drones, and apps are revolutionising rugby

In March, Google announced it would move its summer internship online in response to the pandemic. It's since confirmed it's doing the same for its fall program.That's meant a lot of logistical headaches for the company. Kyle Ewing, Google's head of talent, told Business Insider how Google adapted to the new virtual format.From algorithm-based coffee chats to open-source programs, here are some of the ways Google has tried to adapt its internship for 2020.Its fall internship will still go ahead remotely, but with a reduction in numbers.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In March, when Google responded to the pandemic by moving its workforce remote, it wasn't just employees who had concerns. Thousands of students from around the world had landed spots on Google's coveted summer internship program, and were planning to descend on its Mountain View headquarters – and other offices – in a matter of weeks.

There was suddenly a big question mark over whether Google's intern program, which had been running since 1999, would go ahead at all.

But in late March, Business Insider first reported that Google's summer internship, which runs from May until August, was moving to an entirely online format.

Then it had to figure out how it would actually work.

"Even though hindsight is 20-20, it was definitely the right call," said Kyle Ewing, Google's head of talent, who oversees Google's intern onboarding each year. 

These problems went beyond logistical headaches like shipping thousands of laptops across the world or ensuring mentors were matched with interns on the same time zone.

It also meant ensuring everyone got the same exposure to company culture, access to other employees, and the chance to put their stamp on Google products.

"Historically one of the more valuable aspects of being an intern is physically being located next to your mentor and your host and your colleagues," said Ewing. "We knew immediately it would be quite difficult, and we couldn't replicate that."

Replacing the "micro moments"

So Google tried to adapt. For example, it built a new platform for connecting interns with hosts for "coffee chats" so they could connect with Google employees.

"We used this algorithm that would help match interns with Googlers they would have otherwise not have interacted with throughout the summer," said Ewing. The program factors in "anything from your professional interests, your technical interests, or your hiking interest interests" to match interns to likeminded Googlers, said Ewing.

"You do miss the benefit of standing in the lunch line and talking with someone. You miss those micro moments."

It also made its mentor program – where interns are paired with Googlers who aren't their hosts or managers to gain insight into the company – mandatory. "It was historically more of an opt-in type program, which not everyone took advantage of, and this year everyone is matched with a mentor," said Ewing.

And in another first for Google, it shifted many of its technical internship roles to open-source projects. Several interns who spoke to Business Insider said they had been moved into these open-source programs, which meant Google didn't have to cancel those programs entirely – and reduced some of the associated risks of granting thousands of people access to the company's corporate programs.

"It was a really important part of the dialogue when pivoting to virtual that students will continue to work on the real things that have real impact, and that can help us assess if they're someone who's interested in being at Google," said Ewing.

And, naturally, interns still got the signature Google hat. Just this time, it came in the mail.

'We decided we would run a smaller fall internship'

But the process hasn't been entirely smooth. Some interns who had been accepted on Google's UX programs told Business Insider their offers were rescinded after the pandemic hit.

And in April, international interns who would have been traveling to Mountain View were told that their compensation was being cut by as much as 50% to bring it in line with their local currencies.

Ewing wouldn't say how many interns Google has brought aboard this summer, but said it was in the "thousands" with interns from across 43 countries. Last year, the company said it received more than 125,000 applications for the summer program.

She also confirmed that, although Google has moved its fall internship online too, it has reduced the number of interns. 

"We decided we would run a smaller fall internship" said Ewing, who added there would "probably a couple of hundred" fewer interns than usual.

"It will be a little smaller because we're just being a bit more cautious," she said.

Are you a Google insider with insight to share? You can contact this reporter securely using encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 628-228-1836) or encrypted email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Original author: Hugh Langley

Continue reading
  28 Hits
Feb
08

The Wonderfulness of Tim Ferriss and Naval Ravikant

Hello everyone! Welcome to this weekly roundup of Business Insider stories from executive editor Matt Turner. Please subscribe to Business Insider here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Sunday.

Index Ventures; Fast; Samantha Lee/Business Insider

Hello!

One-click checkout startup Fast raised $20 million from investors including Index Ventures and fintech Stripe in May. On Tuesday Fast's cofounder and CEO Domm Holland, and Jan Hammer, general partner at Index Ventures, will chat with Shannen Balogh about how to build a pitch deck, and what it takes to win over investors. Sign up for the digital event here:

SIGN UP NOW: On Tuesday we're talking to Fast CEO Domm Holland about how he crafted the perfect pitch to raise $20 million from top investors

Separately:

You can now get the top healthcare stories delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here. Starting this week, you can get the top stories in advertising and media delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here. 

Read on for more on Jeffrey Epstein's little black book, Gen Z day traders, an energy CEO who may face charges for pulling a gun, and the top stories you might have missed.

Jeffrey Epstein's little black book

Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images; Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images; Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images; Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images; Robin Marchant/WireImage; Bennett Raglin/WireImage; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images; Alexander Koerner/Getty Images; Samantha Lee/Business Insider

There are more than 1,500 people listed in Jeffrey Epstein's infamous little black book, Angela Wang reported this week. Now you can search them all. From her story:

Among them are royalty and nobility, celebrities and academics, art collectors and hedge funders, politicians and heads of state: a motley compendium of global high society.

Business Insider has transcribed and tabulated the black book in its entirety, making the entries in the late sex offender's notorious Rolodex fully searchable for the first time.

You can search Business Insider's database right here:

There are 1,510 people in Jeffrey Epstein's little black book. Now you can search them all for the first time.

Angela also compiled a dataset of every known flight made by Jeffrey Epstein's private jets. Per her story, the sex offender owned a Gulfstream IV, a Gulfstream GV-SP, and a Boeing 727 nicknamed the "Lolita Express." 

We compiled every known flight made by Jeffrey Epstein's fleet of private planes. Search them all for the first time.

Gen Z day traders

Robinhood

Joe Mecane, the head of execution services at Citadel Securities, said this week that retail investors have accounted for as much as 25% of the stock market's activity in recent months, Ben Winck reported.

Robinhood added more than 3 million new accounts in the first quarter alone, meanwhile, and as Ben reported, posts on investing forums have topped Reddit's "popular" page. From Ben's story:

As the stock market attempted to claw back from multiyear lows spurred by the coronavirus outbreak, retail investors flooded the market with speculative bets and improbable picks.

They bought struggling airline and cruise stocks in droves. They rushed into shares of tiny biotechs offering faint hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine. They even piled into shares of Hertz, a bankrupt company whose stock is viewed as worthless in the long run.

He talked to two Gen Z day traders to find out what makes them tick. You can read his story here:

Wall Street is being shaken to its core by a legion of Gen Z day traders. From a casual hobbyist to a 20-year-old running a 14,000-person platform, meet the new generation of retail investors.

Elsewhere in investing news:

Energy CEO may face charges

Alyssa Eres

From Dakin Campbell: 

A senior executive at a Colorado company backed by Apollo Global Management may face charges over pulling a gun on a Mexican American couple that took a wrong turn onto his property. 

Paul Favret, the CEO of Resource Energy, may be charged with two counts of menacing and two counts of false imprisonment, according to an arrest warrant issued for Favret that was seen by Business Insider. 

"After being made aware of this last week, Resource Energy Partners placed Mr. Favret on administrative leave and retained outside counsel to conduct a thorough review of the incident," a company spokesman said.

You can read the story in full here:

The CEO of an Apollo-backed energy company may face charges for pulling a gun on a Mexican American couple that took a wrong turn near his Colorado home

Below are headlines on some of the stories you might have missed from the past week.

— Matt

Billions of dollars are gushing through Election 2020. Here are 9 things you need to know, including who's winning in the Trump vs Biden main event.

'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda's best advice for juggling projects, meeting deadlines, and never throwing away your shot

A growing group of lenders are looking to unload hundreds of millions of dollars of souring hotel loans. Teams hired to sell the portfolios say it's just the beginning of a surge in activity.

These 11 people should grow from rich to richer if Palantir has a successful IPO

Inside the legal industry's reaction as it deals with the messy optics of white-shoe law firms taking PPP money

WeWork faces 3 new discrimination and harassment lawsuits, including a complaint that says a manager brought knives and a crossbow to work

16 top tech leaders who came to the US from around the world explain their forceful opposition to Trump's freeze on immigrant work visas: 'It's only going to make America less competitive'

I tried the McKinsey problem-solving game every candidate has to beat to land a 6-figure job at the firm. Here's what you need to know to prepare for the test and impress recruiters.

Original author: Matt Turner

Continue reading
  29 Hits
Feb
08

Homa Games raises $15 million to make hypercasual mobile games

Signalwire, which makes APIs and open source software for online communication, is releasing a new video conferencing platform that's meant to replicate an office environment in a virtual setting. Cantina runs in a browser and gives users the option to end-to-end encrypt meetings. It also has standing meeting rooms people can pop into to recreate the feeling of being in an office. Signalwire cofounders Anthony Minessale and Sean Heiney originally built it as an internal tool and released it publicly because of the coronavirus pandemic.Click here for more BI Prime stories. 

Anthony Minessale and Sean Heiney have been working together to create better video communication tools for the last decade. After meeting through Minessale's open-source communication project FreeSWITCH, they cofounded a video API startup, SignalWire, which is now launching a new video conferencing platform that they say works better than competitors like Zoom.

The app, called Cantina, is meant to replicate an office environment in a virtual setting and has the ability to host calls that are end-to-end encrypted, a technology feature that few video communications tools currently have. 

It started as a tool for internal use: Signalwire built it because, as a fully remote company, it wasn't satisfied with other options on the market. When team-members would use it for sales calls, they would always get questions from customers about where to get the tool. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Minessale and Heiney realized that the now-remote world needed a video communication system that could better mimic real-life, and decided to launch it publicly. 

"We basically just mandated that we would get a prototype done as fast as possible to demonstrate all the functionality that SignalWire has to offer," Minessale told Business Insider. 

With Cantina, users can host video calls and webinars for thousands of people, similar to Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, it has a unique overall philosophy for its users: More than solving the technical problems of communication tools, Cantina aims to solve some of the social problems that occur when everyone is working remotely, Heiney said. 

Companies can set up static virtual rooms that employees can drop in and out of to replicate the feeling of a shared office space, and it's all run out of a "command center" that all employees can see. The app runs in a web browser on desktop or mobile, no downloads needed.

"There's certain things that are lost in that office environment and we've done things to mitigate some of that, like the informal water cooler chatter is valuable sometimes," Heiney said. "We've worked through a lot of that over the last couple of years with some real features and functions around that, that make this a real remote work environment replacement." 

Signalwire's Cantina tool has a "command center" so employees can walk into preset meetings rooms at any time, as they would in an office. Signalwire

What led Minessale and Heiney to Cantina  

The process started in 2005 when Minessale created an open source project called FreeSWITCH which was a platform for online communications. Many well known companies, including Netflix, Amazon, and Vonage, used its open source code to build various communications systems like customer service or internal chat tools, Signalwire COO Heiney said. 

"It's literally been at the heart of the communications revolution of the digital era," he said. "Billions of dollars of value has been built upon it." 

Eventually, Minessale realized that he could build a formal business around the technology he had created. Companies that were using the code often came to him to ask for new features, or because they had run into issues when trying to scale it to meet the needs of a massive organization. That's when Minessale and Heiney created Signalwire, to sell application programming interfaces — APIs — for voice, video, and text communication, alongside FreeSWITCH's open source platform. 

Signalwire raised $11.5 million in Series A funding in 2019, and its backers include Storm Ventures, Samsung NEXT and Sequoia Capital and executives like Eric Yuan from Zoom and Jerry Yang from Yahoo. 

Signalwire's cofounders (L to R) Sean Heiney, Anthony Minessale, and Evan McGee SignalWire

How Signalwire will sell Cantina

Signalwire has 250 customers trying out the new video conferencing service, and will soon start selling it outright. It just hired a new VP of business development and global channels — former Barracude exec Ezra Hookano — to help with its sales strategy of selling through IT reseller partners.

The company is still deciding pricing for Cantina but Heiney said it will give customers a 30 day free trial, and then charge based on the total number of users, versus on a per user basis. 

Beyond replicating aspects of in-office interaction, Cantina has a security-first mindset and flexibility that will differentiate it from competitors, he said. 

"We were always designed with data privacy in mind from inception," Heiney said. "So we're not subject to the same kind of problems historically faced with some of the other vendors."

Signalwire runs its APIs and software in almost every available public cloud, and can adapt quickly to the specific needs of companies. For example, a customer in Bahrain requires all its data to stay within the country at all times, so for that customer Signalwire runs only in data centers in Bahrain. 

Cantina also gives users the open to end-to-end encrypt their calls. However, if they want a call recorded or transcribed then it can't be encrypted, Minessale said, because there's a third party involved. Calls between individuals can be end-to-end encrypted though.

This is similar to the model Zoom settled on for its encryption plans. Zoom was originally criticized for marketing itself as fully encrypted when it wasn't, and then faced an additional backlash for its initial plans to only give encryption to paid users.

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Signal at 925-364-4258. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Original author: Paayal Zaveri

Continue reading
  27 Hits
Feb
08

At Extra Crunch Live, Felicis’ Aydin Senkut and Guideline’s Kevin Busque will look back on the Series B deal that brought them together

Secondary passports are in high demand as the coronavirus pandemic causes travel restrictions around the world.In the Caribbean, some nations are offering steep discounts to bring in extra revenue amid a cash crunch. Passport buying has shifted from simple vacations to riding out the virus, experts say. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Caribbean island countries have long offered passports to wealthy foreigners in exchange for a — sometimes steep — monetary investment, but facing a cash crunch and a surge in interest, there are deals to be had.

Through December 1, the island nation Saint Kitts and Nevis is selling a four-person family package for $150,000 — down from $190,000, in exchange for a minimum real-estate purchase of $200,000 that must be held for at least seven years.

The Caribbean country's passport ranks roughly in line with Mexico's, according to the world Passport Index. And, perhaps more intriguing for Americans currently barred from Europe, the passport's good for visa-less travel to the European Union and the UK, among others.

"In these days of Covid, when tourism is not happening, we have to find ways to create revenue to sustain our economy," Les Khan, CEO of Saint Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Investment Unit, told Bloomberg News.

Other island nations in the region — including Saint Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, and Dominica — all offer similar programs, some at a new discount, as they hope to cash in on the increased interest ,too. According to Henley & Partners, a London-based passport broker and "identity management" firm, there's been a 42% uptick in citizenship applications. What's more, the US currently has a 1.5 million-passport backlog in its processing queue because of the pandemic. 

Anyone hoping for easier travel to the United States, however, can expect to pay a lot more. Malta, whose passport power ranks just under Italy, Canada, and Norway in terms of travel, will sell you citizenship that includes EU and US travel — though there are more strings attached. The Mediterranean island nation has long been a hotspot for the world's ultra wealthy.

Still, the more expensive option may be a better choice as people shift passport strategies from vacationing to riding out a global pandemic that some countries have been far more successful in mitigating than others.

"'Investment migration' has shifted from being about living the life you want in terms of holidays and business travel to a more holistic vision that includes healthcare and safety," Dr. Christian Kalin,an executive at Henley & Partners, told Robb Report.

This year's discounts might not last forever.

"In the past there has been a tendency toward lowering prices, but the current cuts seem to be temporary and Covid-19 related," Beatrice Gatti, a legal manager at CS Partners, which helps ultra-wealthy clients find second-citizenship, told Bloomberg.

LoadingSomething is loading.
Original author: Graham Rapier

Continue reading
  25 Hits
Feb
16

Book: The 80/80 Marriage

While many tech startups have reeled from the coronavirus crisis, some of them are still attractive to investors.A Silicon Valley company called EquityBee, which lets startup employees connect with investors who can help them exercise their stock options, said that 10 hot startups stand out based on data from its platform.EquityBee calls the financiers on its platform "hidden investors" who bet on startups they believe will do well when they are sold or when they go public. Investors and employees remain anonymous on the platform."We've seen a very strong increase for fintech companies, for cloud-based companies and for developer tools," EquityBee cofounder and CEO Oren Barzilai told Business Insider. Click here for more BI Prime stories.

While many tech startups have taken huge hits from the coronavirus crisis, some continue to attract interest from investors.

Startups such as cloud platforms Vercel and Better Cloud have managed to raise venture capital during the pandemic while data analytics company Palantir filed to go public (and cloud insurance firm Lemonade even made its market debut). 

Silicon Valley company EquityBee, which connects startup employees with investors who can help them exercise their stock options, has seen a boost in investor interest on its platform, too. EquityBee calls the financiers on its platform "hidden investors," that buy vested equity options from employees, essentially betting on startups that they believe will do well when they are sold or when they go public. Both investors and employees remain anonymous on the platform.

The company said it has roughly 3,000 investors who are able to make the minimum investment of $10,000 to participate in the platform. One of the largest investments by an individual was a few hundred thousand dollars into one startup, according to EquityBee.

The coronavirus crisis has sparked a flurry of activity on the platform. 

"We've seen a very strong increase for fintech companies, for cloud-based companies, and for developer tools," EquityBee cofounder and CEO Oren Barzilai told Business Insider. 

EquityBee has also seen "a very significant drop" in investor interest in travel-tech startups, such as TripActions.  There is one exception, though, Barzilai said: "Investors are still very interested in Airbnb."

Barzilai said EquityBee had seen a spike in interest early on — about three months ago — from employees who were worried about losing their jobs and who began exploring ways to exercise their options when the coronavirus crisis began to escalate.

But it has become clearer over the last few months which startups are valuable in the eyes of EquityBee investors.

Here are the top 10 startups that are hot to the "hidden investors" on the Equity Bee platform:

Original author: Benjamin Pimentel

Continue reading
  27 Hits
Feb
16

Krisp nearly triples fundraise with $9M expansion after blockbuster 2020

Two Mexican architects teamed up to create the Minimal Leisure Dwelling, a prefab shipping container home.The home starts at $50,000 and can be completed in 99 days.Sustainability plays into every aspect of the design for minimum environmental impact, the company claims.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two Mexican architects designed a modern, sustainable tiny home, and it barely shows its shipping container roots.

Rodrigo Alegre and Carlos Acosta, founder of the Mexico City studio StudioRoca, spent the last few years focusing more and more on environmental impact, and eventually developed the idea for Vivienda Minima de Descanso (VMD), or Minimal Leisure Dwelling.

VMD is a prefab one or two-bedroom home made out of repurposed shipping containers, with customization options throughout. The one-bedroom designs are about 322 square feet, and two-bedroom designs are about 645 square feet.

The basic VMD starts at $49,000 and is constructed in Mexico, then dropped by a crane into whatever location is chosen by the buyer. With the philosophy of minimizing environmental impact, VMD can be used totally off-grid, with solar panels and a rainwater tank. Specialized materials minimize energy needs throughout to keep the home as low impact as possible.

See inside here. 

Original author: Mary Meisenzahl

Continue reading
  28 Hits
Sep
24

Deliveroo raises $385M in new funding, now valued at ‘over $2 Billion’

I heard the phrase “Greenwood” a few days after George Floyd was murdered. I’d never heard of it, or of the Tulsa race massacre before.

It’s 2020, so I went looking around on the Internet. The more I read, the more upset I became. Amy and I then watched the first few episodes of The Watchman, and I suddenly had a desire to get a full picture of what happened.

I do this by reading a book. I’m not a history buff, so I don’t spend a lot of time going deep on a particular historical event. Most of the surface level history I know comes from high school in Dallas (where, of course, we began with Texas history), a lifetime of museums, occasional TV documentaries, Wikipedia, or conversations. And books.

When I’m interested in something, I read a book on it. Since I’m reading one book on racial injustice each weekend this summer (and, given the pile of books I’ve accumulated, I expect I’ll continue into the fall), I decided to make my Saturday book Tulsa 1921: Reporting a Massacre.

I chose it carefully after reading the backgrounds of a few other books. I was looking for a reporting of the event, which I expected would be challenging given both the time frame (99 years ago) along with what I expected to be a lot of historical bias. I chose this book because the author, Randy Krehbiel, has been a reporter for the Tulsa World (Tulsa’s daily newspaper since 1905) for over 40 years and a Tulsa native. I figured, if anyone, he’d be able to mine the history from a reporter’s perspective, while balancing the topophilia he had for Tulsa, against the backdrop of a horrific event in the city’s history. Finally, Karlos K Hill, the Department Chair, African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma, wrote the foreword and endorsed the book, giving it more credibility in my eyes.

I lost myself in Tulsa in 1921 yesterday afternoon and into the evening. The Tulsa race massacre was an injustice on multiple levels. It included the willful destruction of what at the time was one of the most successful Black communities in America. In addition to the 24-hour destruction of the Black community by a variety of White Tulsans in pogram-like fashion, the ensuing several years of efforts to relocate the community, rather than allow the Black property-owning residents to rebuild, was deeply disturbing. Alongside this was a continual denial of any sort of meaningful redress or compensation by the White leadership of Tulsa.

During this period, the KKK had a new resurgence, which reinforced many aspects of systemic racism, both related to this period in Tulsa, as well as across the entire United States. Black leaders, with a few White allies, fought for justice for the residents, victims, and families of Greenwood. They also fought against the corruption, blame-shifting, and systemic racism that existed at the time in Tulsa. The Black Tulsans of Greenwood eventually prevailed and rebuilt their community.

Krehbiel handled this story exceptionally well. There are many ambiguities and unknowns. Rather than rendering an opinion, he tried to acknowledge the biases, the potential perspectives, and citied whatever he could find in history. Rather than tell the reader what to think, he painted a full story, incorporating many voices from different frames of reference, and allowed the reader to form a view and decide when the record was ambiguous, what had happened.

While an emotionally challenging book to read, I ended my day Saturday with another layer of understanding of how systemic racism is and has worked, for many years, in the U.S.

Original author: Brad Feld

Continue reading
  38 Hits
Feb
16

Zolve raises $15 million for its cross-border neobank aimed at global citizens

Moving into a house together has become a rite of passage for online creators, from YouTube to Vine, to most recently, TikTok. 

Six YouTube gamers, formerly from the Luminosity Gaming esports group, created One Percent, a new organization. The new channel has nearly 800,000 subscribers, and between them they have millions. After bragging that they bought the house with their earnings from YouTube and "Fortnite," they took viewers on a tour of their new house, focusing on gaming areas and the pool. 

The mansion is full of contrasts, like a kitchen that would make a Nancy Meyers fan swoon while the gamers have mini fridges and snack drawers in their rooms, or a baby grand piano possibly played by Frank Sinatra and rooms adorned with Funko Pops. 

Take a look inside.

Original author: Mary Meisenzahl

Continue reading
  24 Hits