Startups

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Verifly launches drone insurance by the flight, and on-demand in the US

phantom drone A startup called Verifly is making insurance on-demand, and per-flight, available to drone users today with a new mobile app and service that’s been in the works since late 2014. The service launches just in time to support a burgeoning consumer and commercial market for unmanned aerial vehicle use in the U.S. Read More

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How startups are trying to fix consumer debt

Pile of credit cards Consumer debt remains one of the biggest challenges with the American economy. The average household has $130,922 in debt, and debt interest payments represent 9 percent of the average household income. The silver lining is that with tough problems comes the opportunity for tech companies and investors to build solutions to address them. Here are some of the startups helping us get out of debt. Read More

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European charity auction platform CharityStars closes €2M Series A

CharityStars European online charity auction platform CharityStars, which counts eBay as its main competitor (in addition to CharityBuzz and IfOnly), has closed a modest €2 million in Series A funding. The round is led by 360 Capital Partners, with participation from A.S. Roma soccer player Stephan El Sharaawy, and LastMinute Group CEO Fabio Cannavale. Read More

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Walmart is buying Jet.com for $3 billion

jet.com Walmart Stores is buying Jet.com in a deal worth $3 billion dollars according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal, confirming reports that have been pouring in about the bid for Jet.com all week. According to our source the signatures for the deal were dry on Friday and will be announced as early as Monday morning — echoing what was reported in both Bloomberg and Recode.… Read More

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How to tell if your small company needs to expand through acquisitions

jigsaw shutterstock The market for mergers and acquisitions, particularly in software, is red-hot: Big private-equity firms, flush with cash, did 170 software deals worth $27.22 billion in the first half of 2016 alone. But the software M&A frenzy also highlights how smaller tech companies can turbocharge their growth by pursuing highly strategic, add-on acquisitions. Read More

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Skully officially admits it’s over

Skully It took more than a week for remaining Skully execs to admit to themselves it was time to shut down. But late last night the company finally sent customers an email, which was obtained by TechCrunch, telling them it has officially closed its doors. The startup’s troubles have been brewing for several months but came to a head two weeks ago when Skully’s board forced founders… Read More

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Neon Fever Dream is a gripping thriller set at Burning Man

Credit: Jim Urquhart, Reuters Below is an excerpt from Neon Fever Dream by Eliot Peper. Neon Fever Dream is about a dark secret hidden in the swirling dust and exultant revelry of Burning Man. It’s a fast-paced thriller with a diverse cast that weaves together everything from the ripple effects of the Sri Lankan civil war to the impacts of new technology on international organized crime. I chose this excerpt because… Read More

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Reminder: We’re meeting in Columbus on Wednesday

columbus I’ll be in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, August 10, to hold a night of pitches and open mic shenanigans so bring your guitar and pitch deck. The event will be at O’Toole’s 4796 W Broad St, right off I-270. We’ll start at 7 p.m. sharp with pitches, so get there after work. And at 8 p.m. we’ll have an open stage with live music – I’m going to play with… Read More

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Airbnb raising a reported $850M at a $30B valuation

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03:  The Airbnb logo is displayed on a computer screen on August 3, 2016 in London, England.  (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Tech unicorn and sharing economy darling Airbnb has informed the State of Delaware that it’s raising another heap of cash. TechCrunch independently verified that Airbnb indicated in a 28 page filing on July 28th that it has plans to bring in additional late-stage capital. Almost a year after its last raise of $1.6 billion, the company is said to be adding $850 million to its… Read More

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Playbuzz launches an analytics product to help publishers create viral content

Playbuzz Impact Playbuzz has been offering publishers tools to create interactive/social media-friendly content like galleries, lists and polls. Now it’s giving them new ways to track the effectiveness of those tools.
The company is announcing the launch of its analytics product, Impact — which was previously in beta testing with select partners, but is now available to all Playbuzz partners. Read More

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