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☆ Explainer: Why WeWork failed, and what is next
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A WeWork logo is seen outside its offices in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., November 7, 2023. WeWork was once the most valuable U.S. startup, worth $47 billion. The following explains WeWork's meteoric rise and fall that reshaped the office sector globally:What is WeWork? Just before WeWork filed for bankruptcy this week, Neumann said, "I believe that, with the right strategy and team, a reorganization will enable WeWork to emerge successfully." WeWork first tried to launch an IPO with Neumann as chief executive in 2019, with its parent, We Company, spending months preparing for the public offering.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, WeWork, Adam Neumann, Rebekah Neumann, Miguel McKelvey, freewheeling, Neumann, Steve Clayton, Hargreaves Lansdown, Masayoshi Son, Oscar, Jared Leto, Anne Hathaway, Rebekah, Clayton, WeWork's, Cadwalader, Taft, Sam Stovall, SoftBank, Kannaki Deka, Susan Mathew, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, Banks, JPMorgan Chase, Company, CFRA Research, Titanic, Thomson Locations: Queens, New York City, U.S, freewheeling Israel, Wickersham, Bengaluru

☆ BlackRock keeps pumping the brakes on a new fund amid state-level ESG criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Last fall, BlackRock filed to launch an ESG municipal bond exchange-traded fund. It is in essence an ESG version of its major $32 billion municipal bond fund. The delay for the world's largest ETF provider has puzzled some in the industry. This year Goldman Sachs launched its first municipal bond ETF, which takes into account social and environmental factors. BlackRock's ESG municipal bond ETF has another wrinkle.

Persons: Larry Fink, Wesley Gray, Matthew Tuttle, they've, Goldman Sachs, Fink, Salim Ramji, Tony Kelly Organizations: BlackRock, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, HIP Muni Bond ETF, Alpha, Republican, Tuttle Capital Management, Goldman, HIP Investor, HIP Locations: York, Arizona , Texas, South Carolina, BlackRock, Connecticut

☆ Smaller valuations and a lack of ego helped Spain's startup scene avoid some of Europe's shocking collapse in VC funding, investors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Spain's startup scene has evaded some of the collapse in VC funding that has rocked Europe in 2023. Smaller check sizes and a lack of "ego" has somewhat protected the ecosystem, investors say. Smaller valuations, check sizes, and a distinct lack of ego helped Spain's startup scene evade some of the shocking collapse in venture capital funding that has rocked Europe so far this year. Smaller rounds give Spain's startups an edge in the downturnWhat correction was felt was eased by the fact there is less "ego" in Spain's ecosystem, according to Max Bray, an investor at early-stage firm K Fund. As well as the birth of local growth funds, investors see corporations playing a role in closing the funding gap.

Persons: SoftBank, Catalyst, Pablo Pedrejón, Max Bray, Dalia Silberstein, Pedro Arribas Gridilla, Juliette Simonin, Margarita Albors, Tasmin Lockwood, Bray, Marc Sabas, Fund's Bray, Wallbox cofounders Enric Asunción, Eduard Castañeda, Glovo, Wallbox, Oscar Pierre, Ship2B's Sabas, Danae Vara, Danae Vara Ship2B, hasn't, Sabas, CVCs, There's, Félix Ortega, K Fund's Bray, Sérgio Massano Organizations: Accel, Pedrejón, Venture, Fund, Esade Center, Social, Foundation, Spanish, K Fund, Investors, Danae Vara Ship2B Ventures, Investment, Corporations, Barcelona Activa, Telefónica, BBVA, Proeduca Locations: Europe, Spain, Madrid, France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Seaya, Bray, Vara, Barcelona, Silicon, London

☆ Shareholder votes offer check on unjustified CEO pay at S&P 500 companies, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Compensation for S&P 500 (.SPX) chief executives has soared in recent years even as investors cast more of their advisory "Say on Pay" votes against management, leading to doubts about the ballots' usefulness. Discovery's total shareholder return for 2021 was minus 22%, versus a gain of 29% for the S&P 500. Warner Brothers Discovery, created last year when Discovery Inc bought AT&T's (T.N) media assets, has not set the frequency of its pay votes. To rank CEOs as "overpaid," As You Sow used criteria including shareholder returns, critical shareholder pay votes and the ratio of CEO to worker pay. It noted the average share of votes cast "against" executive pay at S&P 500 companies climbed to 12.6% last year, from 11.7% in 2021 and 10.4% in 2020.

☆ The founders of Web3 startup QuickNode managed to raise $60 million, valuing the company at $800 million — even after the fall of FTX. Here's how they did it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Web3 infrastructure company QuickNode has raised $60 million at an $800 million valuation. That's illustrated by the blockchain infrastructure company QuickNode, which just announced $60 million in Series B funding at an $800 million valuation. That's helped QuickNode quadruple its revenue over the past year, Alex Nabutovsky, QuickNode's CEO and cofounder, told Insider. QuickNode's founders decided it was best to put off raising a Series B and focus on their company's growth. Back then, QuickNode's founders received a term sheet in a matter of days, capped off with a meal at the trendy restaurant Carbone.

☆ Sequoia Capital took a $213 million bath on FTX after the crypto exchange imploded. That's not that bad, VCs say.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

FTX investor Sequoia Capital has marked down its position to $0 as the crypto exchange crumbles. Sequoia Capital now views its $213.5 million investment in FTX as worthless as the crypto exchange teeters on the brink of collapse after an eleventh-hour deal to salvage the business fell apart. "Somehow Sequoia capital turned a FTX write down to zero into a humblebrag. It invested $150 million into FTX through its third growth fund, which Sequoia said totaled less than 3% of that fund's capital commitments. In its letter to investors, Sequoia said it does "extensive research and thorough diligence" on every investment it makes.

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