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Startup Roundup – Top 13 VC Deals of the Week

Despite stock markets around the world taking a plummet, it was a good week for startups, with plenty of funding acquired. From data storage and machine learning to vegan powder meals (sounds delicious) check out the top 13 VC deals of the week.

13. Foundry College

This online college course founded by former Harvard dean Stephen Kosslyn bagged $6 million in VC funding this week, putting in in 13th place on the funding list. Designed to bridge the skills gap and teach students the knowledge they’ll need to compete in today’s technology economy, the first classes will start in January 2019.

12. Goodlord

UK property tech startup Googlord raised $9.2 million in Series B funding headed up by Finch Capital. The software platform supposedly makes renting easier for both landlords and tenants, using technology to tackle current inefficiencies in the system.

11. Kitchen United

It seems that VCs still have an appetite for culinary startups with Kitchen United, the “new hub of culinary imagination and excellence,” scooping up a cool $10 million in Series A funding. The virtual kitchen company using technology to uncover the best locations to set up physical kitchen centers, allowing between 10-20 entrepreneurial caterers, mobile food vendors, and restaurants to set up stores.

10. Shipwell

Online business freight shipping portal Shipwell was also in luck this week, raising $10 million in Series A funding in a VC deal led by VC firm Fifth Wall. Working with carriers of all sizes to provide them with faster shipping and improved efficiency, this logistics startup has raised more than $12.1 million to date.

9. Kahoot

While tech selloffs were happening right and left, things looked brighter for the edtech space. Kahoot focuses on educating through gamification and, backed by Microsoft Ventures, picked up an additional $15 million in funding this week. So far, the game based learning platform has raised a whopping $60 million.

8. Perceptive Automata

Autonomous vehicle startup Perceptive Automata raised $16 million in funding this week from carmakers Toyota, Hyundai, and Jazz venture Partners. In what will hopefully be more successful than Uber’s self-driving car, Perceptive is focusing on teaching cars to learn “human-like intuition.” Nothing creepy about that at all.

7. RedShelf

Another win for the education sector, RedShelf achieved a massive $25 million in Series C funding. As with all other areas, the future of education is set to be digital as this edtech startup is dedicated to distributing necessary course materials for higher ed online.

6. Huel

Huel may not top the list in terms of financing earned, but it certainly does in terms of originality, making powdered meal replacements for vegans and people pressed for time who want a healthy choice on the go. Picking up $26 million from Highland Europe, the UK company aims to provide environmentally sustainable and healthy meals. Well, powdered versions of them anyway.

Huel / https://huel.com/

5. Divvy

Divvy scored $30 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. In a bid to help young people pay less rent but earn more at the same time, Divvy allows people to purchase portions of homes and pay the company the rest in rent and meaning that you own a part of your rental too.

4. Demisto

Cybersecurity and machine learning startup Demisto came in fourth place in VC startup deals this week getting $43 million in a Series C round, headed up by Greylock Partners. ClearSky Security and Accel Partners also pitched in funds, bringing Demisto’s total funds raised to date to a stunning $69 million.

3. Egnyte

The Egnyte team was smiling from ear to ear this week after picking up $75 million in funding from Goldman Sachs. This startup enterprise cloud provider already boasts an enviable client list including Nasdaq, Buzzfeed, and Red Bull, and competing with tech unicorn Dropbox. To date, Egnyte has pulled in a massive $132.5.

2. SmileDirectClub

The company behind America’s pearly white smile produces DIY teeth straightening kits delivered to customers’ doors. Their latest round of funding this week including Spark Capital and Kleiner Perkins saw an extra $380 million of funding raising the company’s value to $3.2 billion. Seems like people will pay anything they can for the perfect smile–especially if it means shaving thousands of dollars of dentists’ costs.

1. Snowflake

Topping up the VC startup funding this week is data warehousing company Snowflake, with a giant $450 million in funding, headed up by VC heavyweights Sequoia Capital. Among its exclusive client list are Office Depot and Netflix. Snowflake has now raised over $900 million and is valued at $3.5 billion.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

October 13, 2018
Most Multimillionaires Live in These 10 Countries

Wealth worldwide is unevenly distributed and it’s accumulating more and more in Asia. Compared to the previous year, the number of those who own $5 million dollars or more has increased significantly in the past year. This is shown by a report for the year 2017 by the London real estate company Knight Frank. About one in three of these multimillionaires lives in the USA.

There, the total number of multimillionaires is 853,000. In second place is China with 207,000 multimillionaires, followed by Japan with 200,000. Interestingly, the multimillionaire population grew about 26% in Brazil, Russia, and Taiwan.

In only five out of 49 countries in the dataset, has the number of multimillionaires has fallen. All are in veritable crises, such as in Turkey under Erdogan. In Nigeria, rebel attacks reduced oil production and the country went through a recession.

In Egypt, the value of the pound fell after the exchange rate had been liberalized under pressure from the IMF. As the only Western country, the United Kingdom lost multimillionaires under the looming shadow of Brexit uncertainty. What remains the same, however, is that most multimillionaires live these 10 countries. Check it out.

10. Italy

In Italy in 2017 around 53,670 multimillionaires lived. The richest among them (a billionaire in fact) with $20,8 billion dollars is Giovanni Ferrero, the son of Michele Ferrero, leader of Nutella, Tic-Tac, and Co.

9. South Korea

In South Korea, around 55,670 multimillionaires lived in 2017 – 23% more than in the previous year. The richest South Korean with $16.4 billion dollars is Lee Kun-hee, the former Samsung boss. Lee is considered seriously ill after a heart attack.

8. Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, 67,700 multimillionaires lived in 2017 – 19% more than in the previous year. The richest man with $31,4 billion dollars is the trading entrepreneur and investor Li Ka-shing.

7. Canada

Canada ranks seventh with 76,720 multimillionaires – 16% more than in the previous year. The richest Canadian with $27.5 billion is David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters.

6. Great Britain

There were approximately 97,530 multimillionaires in the United Kingdom last year – 2% fewer than in the previous year. The richest are the members of the Hinduja family. They control the Hinduja Group, an Indian conglomerate with more than 70,000 employees worldwide.

5. France

In France, 104,090 multimillionaires lived in 2017 – 18% more than in the previous year. The richest Frenchman Bernard Arnault, head of the luxury group LVMH is worth $70 billion dollars. He is also considered the richest man in Europe.

4. Germany

Germany was 4th in the ranking of the countries with the most multimillionaires. 136,990 of them live in this Federal Republic – 13% more than in the previous year. The richest Germans with about $25.3 billion dollars are heirs to the Aldi retail fortune Beate Heister and Karl Albrecht Jr.

3. Japan

Japan ranks third in the ranking with 199,980 multimillionaires. Richest Japanese is Masayoshi Son with 23,4 billion dollars, CEO of Softbank Capital.

2. China

China ranks second among the countries with the most multimillionaires: 207,350 – 13% more than in the previous year. The richest Chinese with 30,6 billion dollars is Ma Huateng also known as Pony Ma. He leads the internet company Tencent.

1. United States

The most multimillionaires lived in the United States in 2017: 852,700. The richest among them is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with more than $144 billion dollars.

Americans Are the Richest

According to Forbes, a fortune of $2 billion dollars is needed to be among the 400 richest Americans. That’s 18% more than the previous year (2016). US President Donald Trump is also a member of this elite. With an estimated 3.1 billion in assets, he is ranked 248.

There is no woman in the top ten. According to Forbes, the richest American woman is the Walmart heiress Alice Walton, with a fortune of $44.9 billion dollars.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

October 13, 2018
Billionaires Lost Over $100 Billion in Global Stock Market Decline

Every crash in the financial market brings tough days for billionaires, often wiping out fortunes. But since almost every billionaire’s wealth is linked to the stock market and economy it’s hard to avoid the ups and downs of each market cycle.

Similarly, the latest crash in the market has also taken away a fortune from billionaires which most people can only imagine. The rout in the global market triggered by rising Treasury yields, intensifying trade wars between the US and China, and the rise in crude oil prices is expected to only deepen.

On top of this, the US tech index is the worst affected. This houses tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet that has lost over 10% from the start of this month.

Source: tradingview.com

Wednesday marked the worst sell-off in US tech stocks since 2011, plunging almost 4.4%. It wiped off nearly $100 billion of wealth from the world’s 500 richest people, the second steepest in this year. And, in this, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com lost $9.1 billion, the most on the list of the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

Others affected in the US tech space were Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Alphabet co-founders, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin, whose wealth declined by $8.4 billion this week.

The carnage was not just limited in the US but was seen across the world with Europe’s top billionaire Bernard Arnault’s fortune tumbling 15% or $11.8 billion to $67.6 billion this month.

Carlos Slim of Mexico lost close to $2.5 billion. The only billionaire who retained his fortune despite this market situation in the list is the California-based largest private landowner, Donald Bren with total wealth of $17.2 billion.

All this data showcases how even billionaires are not insulated from the market volatility which can change the whole ranking of the billionaire index.

Such changes in the fortunes of billionaires are not unusual and happen regularly according to the market cycle. During 2008’s great financial crisis, Bill Gates lost $18 billion of his fortune and his net worth nose-dived to $40 billion. Keeping him company was Warren Buffet, whose fortune plummeted from $67 billion to $37 billion in just one year.

Featured image by Seattle City Council.

October 13, 2018
Unicorns Wear Sneakers – Allbirds Valued at $1.4 Billion

Another unicorn from Silicon Valley? Whatever next? Shoemaking startup Allbirds now joins the list, valued at $1.4 billion, after closing a $50 million series C funding round. The investors behind the deal are Tiger Global Management, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and T. Rowe Price Investment Management.

The valuation wasn’t publicly disclosed, but people familiar with the deal say that the investors collectively received about a 3.5% stake for their investment. With a growing customer base in New Zealand, Australia, the US, and Canada, Allbirds has raised $75 million in venture capital so far.

From Wood and Wool to Billions

Allbirds makes eco-friendly footwear for men, women, and kids. The shoes have conquered celebrities and capitalists because they’re made with sustainable materials only, which include a fabric made from eucalyptus fiber (called “SweetFoam”), merino wool, sugarcane-based, carbon-negative foam rubber for the shoe soles, and recycled plastic bottles for laces.

Last year, investors valued Allbirds at $370 million. According to co-founder Joey Zwillinger, the company was “profitable since day one,” and rumors confirm this statement. In fact, Allbirds has brought in over $200 million in revenues in the last two years.

The company says it will use the funds to research new sustainable materials and to accomplish its expansion strategy.

First UK Allbirds Store to Be Opened in London

The San Francisco-based company sells casual sneakers directly to its customers through its online store in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the US. The company has two brick-and-mortar stores, in San Francisco and New York.

Allbirds will open its first store in Europe in London’s Convent Garden at the end of this year. It’s a 1,600 square foot store, located at 121-123 Long Acre, where British people can try on and experience the design of the eco-friendly casual shoes and sneakers that venture capitalists and celebrities alike seem to love so much.

The company plans to open more locations in the US and even launch its fashionable shoes in Asia in 2019. Tiger Global’s partners across the region and locations in Singapore and Hong Kong should give them a headstart here.

Featured image from Allbirds.

October 13, 2018
Study Says If You’re Too Nice You Might Not Make It Rich

A new study by the American Psychological Association implies that if you’re a “nice” person, you’re less likely to become a millionaire.

The study, published on October 11, 2018, concluded that compared to their less agreeable peers:

“Nice people may be at greater risk of bankruptcy and other financial hardships.”

It’s not because nice people are more cooperative, but because if you’re nice, you might not value money as much as, well, not-so-nice people!

In personality research, “niceness” is measured in “agreeableness” and the research’s authors used a standard measure of this personality trait to judge niceness.

They then assessed a group of over 600 participants on their financial success including debt and savings, agreeableness, negotiation styles and how important money was to them. Using a regression analysis and further studies covering a 3-million-person strong data set they concluded:

“Agreeableness was associated with indicators of financial hardship, including lower savings, higher debt and higher default rates.”

This relationship between being nice, and a lack of financial success, said the authors, is driven by the finding that:

“Agreeable people simply care less about money.”

The findings were truer for lower-income individuals who were less financially able to handle their predisposition for not placing enough importance on their finances.

Then Why Are Some Millionaires Really Nice People?

Studies, at the end of the day, are studies. This one, though appearing to be representative, didn’t focus in on the “agreeableness” of millionaires. If we contrast the findings to how charitable some of the world’s richest people are, you’d have to agree some of them are pretty nice people.

Take Bill Gates, for example, he’s been America’s richest man for 24 years according to Forbes, only being knocked off the top spot by Jeff Bezos in 2018. Gates has so far given nearly $33 billion, a massive 41% of his current net worth, to charitable causes. Warren Buffet has given away nearly $26 billion, 39% of his current net worth.

Though, maybe in business and while making their fortunes, these billionaires were almost certainly extremely focused and very shrewd.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

October 13, 2018
Australian Millionaire Allegedly Threatens to Slice Off Wealthy Neighbor’s Nipple

In an amusing case of agro that can only be described as “rich people problems,” Australian millionaire Peter Higgins allegedly threatened to slice off the nipple of a wealthy neighbor. The nipple-slicing threat came amidst an intense ongoing feud between them in which one witness likened them to “a pair of school kids.”

Australian Millionaire Pair Court Battle

Everyone loves the Aussie ethos of telling it like it is. Australia is where “a bloke is a bloke and the sheep are scared.” Which roughly translates as there is no class system in Australia and the sheep always need to watch their backs.

But it seems that the only person in this story who needs to watch his back, or more precisely his front, is Peter Higgin’s nemesis, the wealthy investor John Marshall.

Mortgage Choice co-founder and multi-millionaire potential nipple slicer, Peter Higgins, allegedly threatened Marshall with ear and nipple torture after the uninvited Marshall drove onto his property to watch his son take part in a polo tourney.

There was a heated argument over whether or not Marshall was allowed to park there due to the tournament taking place on the same grounds. Higgins launched an ultra-aggressive verbal attack on Marshall who in turn felt threatened and allegedly head-butted him.

Mr. Marshall told the court this week that it was an act of self-defense that escalated from the incident at the Sydney Polo Club on March 29. Mr. Higgins suffered a nosebleed in the attack, said The Sydney Morning Herald. Marshall was quoted as saying:

“He yelled at me… I’m going to have your ear cut off – or your nipple. Which one would you prefer?”

Marshall Charged with Actual Bodily Harm

The 68-year-old Marshall was charged by the Parramatta Local Court on Thursday for actual bodily harm, although the judge had a few choice words for the millionaire quarreling twosome.

The judge who chaired the case, magistrate Jennifer Giles, found Marshall not-guilty of the main assault but said she was not satisfied that the prosecution had negated self-defense.

Ms. Giles summed up the case between the Australian millionaire Higgins and the wealthy investor Marshall by concluding that:

“This hearing is merely an examination of a tiny five-minute moment in an epic and chronic feud for which the taxpayers of New South Wales (NWS) seems to provide an ongoing forum.”

Featured image from habaricloudtoday.

October 12, 2018
Want More Money in Your Savings Account? Congress Will Help Out

As part of the Tax Reform 2.0, the House passed the Family Savings Act of 2018, a proposal meant to help people:

“save more and earlier throughout their lives by expanding access to new and existing savings vehicles.”

Great idea! But the sad reality is that this law is still woefully far from representing where most Americans are right now.

The House and the Senate need to find a way to accommodate the Family Savings Act with the RESA (Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act) by the end of this year.

Contributions up to $2,500 a Year

The Family Savings Act encourages savings, at a time when most Americans are struggling to preserve wealth. In fact, the numbers are alarming: 57% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. Moreover, 40% of all citizens have no savings at all.

As a component of the new bill, taxpayers have more disposable income. They can create a universal savings account and contribute up to $2,500 every year.

The good news is that once you have this account, you can withdraw the funds tax-free for any use. And you won’t pay any penalty, regardless of when you decide to take the money out of your account.

The Tax Reform 2.0 bill changes the section 529 Education Savings Plans as well. You can use tax-exempt distributions to pay for higher education expenses, which can include books, supplies, participation in an apprenticeship program, and even homeschooling expenses, (no, sadly, luxury travel and fine dining don’t count).

An Improvement to Retirement Plan Rules

The Family Savings Act in 2018 also looks to expand and preserve retirement savings accounts. If you have less than $50,000 in your eligible retirement plans, Title I of the bill releases you from the required minimum distribution rules.

The new bill also allows employees to transfer their 401(k) annuity (or similar plan) to an IRA without paying taxes. However, taxpayers should know that this change is permanent from this year on, so they can’t then go back and change the characteristics of their IRAs.

Another crucial change involves penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans to cover new child-related expenses. If you adopt or give birth to a child, you can use the money in the 403(b), 457(b) or IRA to pay your expenses, with the chance of reintegrating the funds in the future.

The short-hand? The Tax Reform 2.0 isn’t going to make any drastic changes to your life. But it might encourage you to save for a rainy day or get back into higher education. Just think of all those “educational” expenses you can write-off now.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

October 12, 2018
Disney Rewards Loyal Actors – The Avengers’ Sliding Pay Scale

Chris Hemsworth, like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, now gets paid in the tens of millions for his role as Thor in the “Avengers” movies.

When he started out in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Hemsworth’s first role as Thor in 2011 paid just $150,000 to the then new, but rising star.

Just one year later in 2012 Downey Jr. was getting $50 million for the “The Avengers.” Though Downey Jr.’s first role as the Iron Man in 2008 only paid $2.5 million.

Hemsworth is catching up in Disney’s pay scale, which seems to reward actors who stay in its movie franchises. His last role as Thor in “Avengers: Infinity War” paid him $15 million.

How Are Other Disney MCU Actors Paid?

Chris Evans – Captain America

Evans was paid just $1 million for “Captain America: The First Avenger” in 2011 but reached the popular $15 million pay check for “Avengers: Infinity War” in 2017.

Chadwick Boseman – Black Panther

Again, following Disney’s low first movie payment, Boseman was paid $2 million for “Black Panther” in 2017.

Brie Larson – Captain Marvel

Already an Oscar winner and the first female superhero to have her own movie in the Marvel franchise, Larsen has bucked the trend and managed to negotiate $5 million for her first role in “Captain Marvel” in 2019.

Highest Paid Actors in 2018

Including on onscreen, offscreen, and royalties earnings, Forbes reports that for 2018, Downey Jr. will be the third-highest paid actor earning a total of $81 million. Hemsworth hits fourth place earning a total of $64.5 million.

Despite not having a hit movie in a few years, George Clooney is topping this year’s list of highest paid actors earning $239 million between June 2017 and June 2018.

The world’s top 10 highest paid actors in 2018 earned $748 million between them. That top 10 list also includes Dwayne ‘The Rock” Johnson, Jackie Chan, and Will Smith.

Scarlett Johansson is 2018’s highest-paid female actress, earning $40 million, and highlighting a still present pay gap between male and female actors.

Maybe Larsen, as the first female to have her own movie in Disney’s MCU, will be closing that pay gap next year.

Featured image from Wikipedia.

October 12, 2018
Is This Snapchat’s Swan Song? Original Shows to Lure Back Users

Despite its critics, a dwindling user base, and freefalling stock price, Snapchat refuses to give up without a fight. Now the social media app is trying another desperate move to counter Instagram’s popularity and hold onto its slice of the market.

The photo-based social media app revealed its first batch of Snap Originals, a series of interactive shows meant to generate buzz among teenagers.

Snapchat has been losing users for a while now, with the company’s market value dropping by more than $1 billion this year. Its developers hope to lure back their lost audience and attract new users with experiences that people can step into and share.

The new shows are supposed to make Snapchat a competitor not only to Instagram but to Netflix and Hulu as well.

Will Snap Originals Save Snapchat?

Snap Originals are similar to TV shows and include a full series of content offers, from documentaries to teen drama–all shot vertically to be watched from smartphones. For this project, Snapchat is working with influencers and social media stars, like Summer McKeen and Dylan Jordan.

By jumping on the social influencers train, Snapchat aims to generate a new trend with social media users, especially teenagers and young adults. Rumor also has it that the company is ready to onboard more advertisers as well, with commercial spots inside the shows. Nick Bell, Snap’s VP of Content told CNN.

“If the programming really resonates with the demographic… people will go into school or the workplace, [and] they’ll tell their friends about it. We hope that will bring new people into the app.”

The shows have their own section inside the app, are shareable, and can be marathon watched, as well. The first programs revealed last week include a series on university life called “Co-Ed,” and a drama about teen drag queens, “Growing Up is a Drag.”

Fewer Users, More Money – For How Long?

With 188 million users (down from 191 million), Snapchat is way behind Instagram, which claims to have over 1 billion monthly users. Snap lost a lot of its popularity after a woeful redesign in February, that aimed to enhance the use of video instead of photos on the platform but went down like a led balloon with its users.

Scrambling to fix the faux pas, Snapchat’s developers had to pull the plug on their algorithm and go back to chronological listing instead.
Despite losing three million users in the second quarter of 2018, the company managed to grow its revenue.

It seems that brands and advertisers are still interested in Snapchat thanks to its young audience. But, since Snapchat’s stock has been in a tailspin, it’s going to have to work pretty hard to restore shareholder confidence.

October 12, 2018
Retail Apocalypse? Not for Billionaire Rick Caruso

The retail situation in the US looks nasty. Failing anchor stores like Sears and Toys R Us are symptoms of what could be the biggest contraction in US brick-and-mortar retail ever. However, one California developer seems to have figured out how to thrive in a retail economy that’s getting worse all the time. Rick Caruso developed The Grove in Los Angles, which is the second most profitable mall in the USA.

The Grove generates $2,200 USD/square foot, which is second only to Miami’s Bal Harbour Shops. To be sure, The Grove isn’t a normal mall. It has 25 concierges on staff for the sole purpose of making dinner reservations for guests, and according to a recent piece in Forbes, if a child drops their ice cream cone, it will be replaced by a security guard.

Rick Caruso Puts on an Incredible Show

It should come as no surprise that catering to the 1%’s shopping whims would be just about the only way to stay ahead in US retail. According to Rick Caruso via Forbes:

“If you provide something that is unique and relevant, in a setting that people find captivating, you will do well,” and further, “Retail has gotten sideways because it became the commodity. It is not about being high tech; it is about understanding what your customer wants.”

Rick Caruso’s attention to detail and choice of demographics helped him land the 179th position on the Forbes 400. The Grove isn’t his only successful venture, and over the last three decades he has built up a number of properties along the same lines.

A big part of what makes his properties unique, aside from the high-end shops and clientele, is his dedication to creating interesting spaces.

The Grove Caruso Concierge / thegrovela.com

Another one of his projects, the Commons at Calabasas, used a professional set designer from Hollywood in the design process. The Grove features a trolley that was designed by a Disney Imagineer, as well as numerous other aesthetic features that distinguish it from the kind of mall that is being shuttered somewhere in fly-over country.

His Malls are the Exception

Rick Caruso’s blinding success as a retail-focused real-estate developer comes at a time when the overall retail picture in the US is grim. Despite the frenzy of mall closings over the last few years, the US still has more retail space per capita than any other nation. At 23.5 square feet per person, the US has more than double the per capita retail space of Australia, and more than eight times that of China.

The massive overhang of retail space led Cowen and Company to speculate in a report that the US retail apocalypse is just getting started. Not only are consumers turning to online shopping for most of their needs, but the specific demographics who once supported mid-range malls have also fallen on hard times.

The report from Cowen and Company stated that their data:

“Suggests that the sector remains in the early innings of reduction in unproductive physical retail.”

But there could be a silver lining for developers like Rick Caruso.

The same report speculated that:

“Our take is mall performance bifurcation will accelerate as retailers continue to invest in top malls in the top metro areas at the expense of lower performing malls in secondary and tertiary markets.”

Top malls are exactly what Mr. Caruso has a pile of in his billion-dollar real-estate portfolio, which probably puts him in an enviable position going forward.

October 12, 2018