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JoeBen Bevirt is an evangelist for the new industry and the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation Inc., which delivered its first eVTOL to the Air Force last month. What will you learn from how the Air Force uses it? There will certainly be valuable learnings and the operational experience, the feedback from the Air Force pilots to the FAA flight-test pilots. Q. Joby announced in September that you’re going to build a $500 million production facility in Dayton, Ohio, with up to $325 million in state and local incentives. You’ve got Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which is the home of the Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX (the Air Force’s technology-innovation program).

Persons: Bevirt, We’ve, Davis, that’s, we’ve, don’t, Joby, you’re, Wright, You’ve Organizations: Joby Aviation Inc, Air Force, Toyota, Associated Press, University of California, Joby Aviation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, NTSB, National Transportation Safety, Patterson Air Force Base, Air Force Research Laboratory, Boeing, Airbus Locations: Santa Cruz , California, California, Dayton , Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Joby

☆ 25-year-old tried 23 side hustles before launching a company that brings in $354,000 a month—his No. 1 piece of advice
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The platform, which Schwartz describes as "Etsy for software products," currently brings in roughly $354,000 per month, according to a CNBC Make It estimate. "You want to really orient yourself around a real problem that needs to be solved," Schwartz, 25, tells Make It. During high school, he and Zoub built sneaker bots, or pieces of software that nabbed limited-edition shoes faster than people who manually clicked "buy now." The company clearly solved a problem, but the co-founders didn't find the work creatively fulfilling. It solved a safety problem: Zoub patrolled online forums where people sold software, and found them rife with scammers and rip-off artists.

Persons: Steven Schwartz, Cameron Zoub, Schwartz, Jack Sharkey —, Mark Cuban, Cuban, Todd Wagner, Zoub, didn't, Whop, it's, Warren Buffett Organizations: Tesla, CNBC, Indiana University, Yahoo Locations: Whop

From Karat to Spill, venture capitalists are betting on creator-focused companies in 2023.Insider is highlighting 14 VC firms that are backing startups in the space right now. About three years ago, the "creator economy" was a fiery buzzword that emerged out of the bustling influencer-marketing and social-media industries. By 2021, the space had raised approximately $939 million in venture capital, according to Crunchbase data. Insider is highlighting over a dozen VC firms, as well as their partners who specialize in creator-focused startups, that are funding the next wave of creator-economy companies. Here are 14 VC firms funding the creator economy in 2023:Note: Firms are listed in alphabetical order.

Persons: Marlon Nichols, Nichols, Karat Organizations: MaC Venture

☆ These 2 friends started a sneaker side hustle at age 13—now their company brings in more than $354,000 a month
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

To Steven Schwartz, the side hustle was a necessity: He wanted rare Nike Kobe 7 Easter shoes, and his parents wouldn't pay for them. Now in their mid-20s, Schwartz and Zoub still work together, along with a third partner named Jack Sharkey. They're the co-founders of Whop, a tech marketplace that's like "Etsy for software products," Schwartz says. (Whop reviewed the estimate, but declined to offer specifics.) But Whop wasn't an overnight success.

Persons: Steven Schwartz, Cameron Zoub, Schwartz, Zoub, Jack Sharkey, They're, Whop, Peter Thiel, James Harden Organizations: Nike Kobe, Whop, CNBC

☆ Seeking nominations for the top angel investors funding creator economy startups in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider is compiling our 1st annual list of the top angel investors in the creator economy. From Hollywood celebrities to startup founders to influencers, the creator economy has been bootstrapped by many famous angel investors. Typically high-net-worth individuals, angel investors provide startups with funding using their own money, unlike venture capital firms. And Jack Conte, CEO and cofounder of Patreon, has also invested in several up-and-coming creator startups, like financial-management company Stir and online courses startup Creator Now. In order to be considered for this list, angel investors must have written checks to at least two startups between January 2022 and August 2023.

Persons: influencers, Jack Conte Organizations: Morning

From Karat to Spill, venture capitalists are betting on creator-focused companies in 2023.Insider is highlighting 14 VC firms that are backing startups in the space right now. By 2021, the space had raised approximately $939 million in venture capital, according to Crunchbase data. Many startups have raised money in 2023, from pre-seed stages to larger later-stage rounds. Insider is highlighting over a dozen VC firms, as well as their partners who specialize in creator-focused startups, that are funding the next wave of creator-economy companies. Here are 14 VC firms funding the creator economy in 2023:Note: Firms are listed in alphabetical order.

Persons: Marlon Nichols, Nichols, Karat Organizations: MaC Venture

☆ Read the Notion pitch document e-commerce startup Whop used to raise its $17 million Series A
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Here's an exclusive look at the Notion document used by the startup during its fundraising process. Although fundraising in the creator economy has slowed over the last several quarters, Schwartz sees Whop as a pivot in the space. "Historically, the creator economy, at least up until maybe a year and a half ago, has been pictures and text content," Schwartz said. Instead of creating a fancy pitch deck to send off to investors, Whop's team built a deck using productivity software Notion. Check out the Notion document Whop used to raise its $17 million Series A:Note: The document Whop shared with Insider includes several redactions.

Persons: Steven Schwartz, Cameron Zoub, Schwartz, Whop's, Jack Sharkey, Zoub, Sharkey, Whop, Peter Thiel, Justin Mateen, VCs Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson Organizations: Facebook, Twitter, Insight Partners

☆ ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Review: Here Come the Grease Monkeys
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” a goofy seventh installment that rattles along well enough until the wheels fall off, ballyhoos an evolution: a biomechanical gorilla who calls himself Optimus Primal. In fairness, these metaphysical questions were explored in the futuristic and bizarrely engaging ’90s cartoon “Beast Wars: Transformers” and its spinoff “Beast Machines: Transformers,” which felt like sipping on a spiked juice box in an ashram. When that Optimus Primal was asked if he was robot or animal, he mystically intoned, “Both … and neither. Only then can you truly say, ‘I am transformed.’”But also in fairness, those shows and this movie share zero DNA. “I don’t get ‘Beast Wars,’” Lorenzo di Bonaventura, one of this film’s producers, once said.

Persons: Optimus, mystically intoned, ’ ” Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Steven Caple Jr, Simpson, Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Colman Domingo, Peter Dinklage Organizations: Optimus, Machines

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