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☆ SoftBank posts loss as Vision Fund in the red for fourth straight quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Kiyoshi Takenaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) on Tuesday booked a net loss for October-December, as its giant Vision Fund investment unit remained in the red for a fourth straight quarter while a global tech sell-off battered valuations of its portfolio companies. The Vision Fund, which upended the world of technology with its big bets on startups, reported an investment loss of 730.36 billion yen ($5.52 billion) in the latest quarter. At SoftBank itself, the net loss totalled 783.42 billion yen, compared with a 29.05 billion yen profit a year earlier. SoftBank said the Vision Fund unit had significantly curtailed new investments and was continuing to sell some older ones as part of "prudent defensive financial management" amid the challenging market environment. The bulk of the loss at the Vision Fund unit came from a steep decline in the valuation of investments in unlisted companies.

☆ Inside Ken Griffin's rise to one of Wall Street's most powerful people, and why politics could be next
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

JB and I are not on speaking terms these days," said Ken Griffin, the billionaire hedge-fund manager, referring to JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois. As Florida rolled back pandemic restrictions more quickly than Chicago, even more Citadel employees migrated south. Ken Griffin's hedge fund has had a run of eye-popping returns since 2020. Others worry that it gives Griffin's hedge fund an unfair advantage. Hundreds of Citadel employees, partners, and families gathered at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida.

☆ How Charlie Javice's Frank Sale to JP Morgan Wound up in Allegations of Fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Her financial aid startup, Frank, was featured in the New York Times, CNBC and Wall Street Journal. After leaving the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton business school, Javice traded on her reputation, bolstered by glowing profiles, as a successful entrepreneur. In a 2018 interview with Insider, Javice claimed Frank secured an average of $28,000 for its users, and was helping students get "thousands off their tuition." "Charlie's first company fizzled after 18 months, so after losing all her investors' money, she convinced every one of them to fund her next company, Frank." At Frank, Javice admitted she sometimes painted a more positive picture of the company's health than was supported by the facts.

☆ WeWork to cut about 300 global jobs as it pares back presence
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - WeWork Inc (WE.N) plans to eliminate about 300 roles across countries, the flexible workspace provider said on Thursday, as part of efforts to cut back on underperforming locations. The New York-based company had in November announced its exit from 40 U.S. locations. The company said on Thursday it expects to report fourth-quarter revenue above forecast and a narrower fall in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). It had forecast fourth-quarter revenue between $870 million and $890 million and adjusted EBITDA to be negative $65 million to negative $85 million. WeWork went public in 2021 after a two-year struggle and has a market cap of around $1.16 billion.

☆ I left Manhattan for LA. It's easier to make friends, my cost of living is lower, and I'm so much happier here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Daniel Zahler | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

I got the full New York City experienceI lived in Manhattan for 12 years. In 2015, I decided to sublet my West Village pad and spend the winter in Santa Monica. Santa Monica is one of the priciest areas of California, but it's still cheaper than Manhattan. Today I'm paying $3,000 a month for a spacious apartment in the heart of Santa Monica with amazing views of mountains and palm trees. New York City is unrivaled in its energy and diversity and is the major league of cities — truly world-class.

☆ Let the consolidation begin: With venture markets frozen and profitability tenuous, proptechs turn to one another
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The co-living operators Common and Habyt merged; Pagaya brought the property manager Darwin Homes. The proptech companies that sprang up by the dozens in the past few years are now looking to one another for help. A massive consolidation among companies that seek to make real-estate transactions and services more efficient and profitable is underway. Cushman & Wakefield reported 90% occupancy rates for co-living companies at the end of the third quarter of 2022, and traditional real-estate firms like Cushman and Greystar are now offering their own co-living brands. In property management, the consolidation phase is already well underway, said Paul Stanton, the other founding partner at Proptech Bankers.

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

Proptech customers, employees, and investors said they went from delighted to disillusioned. Proptech investors eager to capture these trends pumped $32 billion into the industry in 2021. As markets deteriorated, disillusionment set in among proptech customers, investors, and employees. Some customers say they were disappointed buying homes via proptech startupsReal-estate startups like Divvy Homes and Better launched under the auspices of helping customers afford quality homes. Investors in proptech firms are taking financial hitsYou don't need to ask proptech investors whether they're disappointed in the sector's performance — just look at share prices.

☆ 4 survival strategies for proptech housing startups as they enter the sector's hardest year yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Proptech, the application of technology and venture capital to real estate, is naturally grappling with the change. Amid the threat of a recession, proptech startups have resorted to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures. In the meantime, Wedlake said, proptech companies and venture capitalists have shelved the "growth at all costs" mindset. In a recent blog post, Wedlake outlined four tactics that proptech startups were using to survive the deep freeze. So if proptech startups need to fundraise in 2023, they're likely going to have to accept lower valuations to attract any capital, Wedlake said.

☆ Here's what's next for the tech sector in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I'm your host, Jordan Parker Erb, and I've got some news: Today is my last edition of 10 Things in Tech. Below, we're taking a look ahead at the new year, and discussing what's next for the tech sector. Wall Street analysts explain why they think tech is headed for a huge rebound in 2023. Tech companies saw a challenging 2022, but analysts at Wedbush say the industry will grow in the coming year, with nowhere to go but up. The past 12 months have been volatile for the ad industry — and it foreshadows even more change in 2023.

☆ One of Twitter's landlords has sued the company, saying it owes $136,000 in unpaid rent for an office in San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

One of Twitter's landlords has sued the company over unpaid rent for an office in San Francisco. The landlord is claiming $136,260 in unpaid rent, plus costs. The lawsuit relates to Twitter's office at the Hartford Building, near Chinatown. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, relates to Twitter's office at the Hartford Building, rather than its headquarters on San Francisco's Market Street. Twitter's office at the Hartford Building comprises the entire 30th floor of the 34-story tower and covers about 15,500 square feet, per court documents.

☆ 10 money managers who quietly control the vast fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, the Waltons, and other big-name billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Many über-rich people don't outsource their wealth — they hire their own chief investment officers. He left SAC in 2005 for Dune Capital Management, but stayed in touch with Steve during his five-year term at the investment firm. Andrew oversees CPV's portfolio, which primarily comprises direct private investments such as Collectors Universe, a collectibles-authentication company, and the New York Mets. In 2011, Wildcat Capital Management was launched with Potter as president and chief investment officer. Since November 2021, Carland has also served as the interim chief investment officer for Builders Vision's asset arm.

☆ The VC dream machine pumped out one dumb startup after another. 2023 should put an end to that.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

2023 should curtail the current flow of bad startup ideas. The way it roughly works is to bet millions across lots of startups in the hope one of them blows up and returns that cash. 'Fewer insane ideas'We are no longer in a low-interest-rate market, meaning startup investors who could once rely on generous backers will have to be more cautious about how they spend their money. They do have lots of money, with an estimated $290 billion of capital available to them in October, according to Pitchbook data. But Kniaz senses a shift in motion: "This next year will show which emperor has clothes on or not.

The article was one of a series of reports this year by the news agency on Binance's financial compliance and relationship with regulators across the world. Reuters also asked representatives of the local Binance units and affiliates about their relationship with the main Binance exchange. In Italy, Binance's public corporate filings detail just the unit's capital base and its ownership by a separate Binance company in Ireland. The Italian company, Binance Italy S.R.L., has its listed address in a block of shops and apartments in the southern city of Lecce. Just two of the Binance units analysed by Reuters offer more substantial details in their filings.

☆ Millennials bought an abandoned high school for $100,000 and turned it into a 31-unit apartment building—take a look inside
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

When an abandoned high school was listed for sale in Munhall, Pennsylvania, three real estate partners saw an opportunity to completely transform the space. When an abandoned high school in Munhall, Pennsylvania, was listed for sale in 2019, Jesse Wig saw an opportunity. Dan Spanovich (left), Jesse Wig (middle), and Adam Colucci (right) bought the abandoned high school in 2019. The former high school classrooms became new, modern apartments and the auditorium turned into a shared space. The plan is for the second high school to have 33 residential units, consisting primarily of one-bedrooms and some studios.

☆ An ex-Adidas designer who helped launch Yeezy's is trying to make it easy for anyone to start a sneaker brand
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Fctry Lab also will help smaller brands get products to market through consulting and possibly investments. Industry experts said Fctry Lab will give young sneaker companies easier access to the tools and expertise needed to get sneakers to market. "The alternative (to Fctry Lab) is get on a plane, go to China, and figure it out." Eventually, Fctry Lab could be turning out small batches of shoes and serving as a sort of music studio for sneaker-makers. The $6 million, which Fctry Lab considers a seed round, will be used to grow the business.

☆ VCs slashed proptech investments by nearly 40% this year after steep losses and job cuts showed them the sector wasn't all it was cracked up to be
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Proptech investment is down 38% from 2021, according to a new report. The proptech industry is being hit by slowdowns in both real estate and technology. High interest rates are major inhibitors of both real estate investment and tech investment, which both rely on debt. It reflects waning confidence that proptech companies can continue to give their investors big dollar exits. In 2021, private investors could imagine the path to the public markets.

☆ WeWork's market cap is now smaller than its much more straight-laced rival as the market adjusts to reality
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

WeWork cash flow is dwindling, and it plans to shutter more sites as it struggles to bounce back. Its market capitalization now stands lower than Regus, another flexible office space provider. This is a sign the market is rewarding careful management over rapid growth. WeWork's problems stand in sharp contrast to another company that offered flexible workspaces for decades before WeWork entered the market: Regus. But right now, its focus on fundamentals and not chasing growth at all costs means the market values it more than WeWork.

☆ WeWork’s Once Robust Cash Reserves Have Dwindled, Raising Chances of Default
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WeWork has been able to cover its losses partly with loans and equity investments from its biggest backer, SoftBank Group. WeWork Inc. is trying to turn a profit before its once formidable cash reserves run out. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to fight inflation have made that harder. Recession fears and tech-industry job cuts are weighing on demand for co-working desks. Meanwhile, money-losing companies such as WeWork are squeezed by higher interest rates, which have made debt harder to come by and the promise of future profit less appealing to investors.

☆ Harvard-educated deception expert: 4 red flags can show when people like Sam Bankman-Fried are lying
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The answer is the latter, says Pamela Meyer , a Harvard-educated deception expert who is a certified fraud examiner and the author of the 2010 book "Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception." Now, with Sam Bankman-Fried arrested on Monday by Bahamian authorities, the world is wondering if the FTX founder will follow in Holmes' footsteps as the next disgraced startup founder to end up behind bars . Such tactics should have been "a red flag, for sure, that he was deflecting a deep dive into the details" of FTX, Meyer says. You let them talk and talk and talk." This appears to be Bankman-Fried's current mode, Meyer says.

☆ Inside SoftBank Vision Fund's awful, terrible, really bad year. How the venture fund tumbled, according to former employees, investors and rival VCs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Ben Bergman | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund just experienced one of its most dismal years in its history. SoftBank's Vision Fund was once a power broker, having raised a jaw-dropping $100 billion in 2017, followed by plans to raise $108 billion for Vision Fund 2 in 2019 — two of the largest venture-investing vehicles ever established. But insiders are now questioning if it will ever regain influence, according to 11 ex-Vision Fund investors, former employees, VCs, and industry analysts who weighed in on the future of the Vision Fund. One ex-Vision Fund investor described Son, now taking the reins of Vision Fund 2, as someone who is "not a manager." Given its investing performance so far, the obvious question is what happens once Vision Fund 2 has reached full investment.

☆ Check out the 12-page pitch deck that raised $5 million for a live events startup backed by Mark Cuban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Recess, an experiential marketing platform, just raised $5 million in Series A funding. It matches marketers like DoorDash and Milk Bar with events and venues such as WeWork, SoulCycle, and concerts. Backed by Mark Cuban, Recess is trying to grow the market by automating what's traditionally been a manual process. Events and venues can list themselves on its platform for free, and marketers enter parameters like date, event type, and reach. Recess grew out of a media and events company, The Recess Music & Ideas Festival, started by Indiana University alums Jack Shannon and Deuce Thevenow.

☆ Arielle Charnas' company, Something Navy, is floundering amid dwindling sales, an employee exodus, and furious suppliers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Katie Warren | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +36 min

From the outside, it doesn't look as if Charnas' company is in trouble. Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for Beach MagazineSeveral former employees told Insider they cut ties with Something Navy because they saw signs the company was struggling. Several current and former Something Navy employees told Insider they'd been inundated with emails since the spring from suppliers, freelancers, and models asking where their money was. In one email viewed by Insider, Scanlan told a supplier that cash was tight but promised payment was on the way. The current Something Navy employee said that based on data she'd seen, the retail locations most likely don't turn a profit.

☆ The 5 best leadership books I read this year — and what they taught me about running a company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( David Siegel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For a roadmap for effective, kind leadership and smart decision-making, he shares 5 book recommendations. Publishing a leadership book gave me a newfound perspective on the genre. Here are the top five leadership books I read in 2022 and why I found each one particularly enriching. After reading The Promise of a Pencil, I learned how seemingly small acts can make a world of difference in communities. For anyone considering executive coaching or looking to find a coach, this book is a must-read.

☆ Laid-off tech workers could get $100,000 to start their own companies from this VC firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In just two weeks, tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs in Silicon Valley after Twitter, Meta, Stripe and other tech companies laid off double-digit percentages of their workforce. Bucher leveraged the skills and connections from her blossoming tech career to start Day One Ventures just four years later. The firm has raised about $100 million, investing that money in over 100 companies and spearheading their communication strategies. Day One Ventures' portfolio includes a diverse range of businesses, from email tool Superhuman to parenting website Winnie. "I hope we are doing something more than just giving tech workers hope," Bucher says.

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