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>From Silicon Valley To Europe: Is The U.S. Series A Crunch Affecting European Startups?
Dec 22, 11:00AM
Q: Is Silicon Valley’s Series A crunch causing a chill in Europe? A: Yes and no. A lot has been written about the Series A crunch/palpable chill in Silicon Valley that’s making founders pull their cardigans a little closer. Most recently a report by a venture capital analysis firm CB Insights suggests there hasn’t actually been a reduction in the amount of money available, but rather too much seed funding causing too much demand for the same amount of cash at the Series A level. Whichever way you cut it, a lot of U.S. seed-funded startups looking to upgrade their backing to Series A level are going to be going away with an empty begging bowl in the future. But what about beyond the Valley? Does the funding situation in the U.S. have an impact on startup funding in Europe? As the old adage goes, if the U.S. sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. So if Silicon Valley has a Series A chill, does that make the funding situation a little less forgiving for Europe’s seed-funded startups too? I asked several European VCs and investors for their views on whether the Series A situation in the U.S. is making life more difficult for startups in Europe. I’m not making any claims that this is a scientific poll — it’s a very small sample — but, nonetheless, it’s an interesting snapshot of opinion in the European investor community as 2012 draws to a close. My takeaway from the poll is that while this group of European investors hold slightly differing views on how much influence the Valley has on the funding situation in Europe, they tend to fall into two camps on the Series A crunch: those that say there’s no change in Europe because it’s always been tough raising a Series A round here; and those that say Europe is having its own mini seed-funding boom — which means that getting a Series A is probably going to be even tougher in the future thanks to increased competition. Sucks to be a European startup then — but if you do manage to get Series A, rest assured you worked your ass off to get it (and probably deserve it). Angel investor Jeremie Berrebi, who co-founded KimaVentures, says the U.S. Series A situation makes no difference to startup life in Europe. “The answer is simple: It was always difficult to raise Series A money in Europe…and it’sIn Latin America, Women Are Breaking Barriers To Entrepreneurship
Dec 22, 10:00AM
Editor's note: Maria Rocio Paniagua currently works as a project manager at Innku, one of the top mobile and web workshops in Mexico. The lack of women in technology in Latin America and the Caribbean is an issue whose cause has deep roots. Still, despite the barriers, there are examples of women disrupting not only businesses, but entire societies all over the continent. Entrepreneurship has proven to be an area where the few that excel really go the distance, particularly where technology is concerned.Mark Zuckerberg Is The Voice Behind The "Poke" Notification Sound And Wrote Code For The App
Dec 22, 7:14AM
Mark Zuckerberg invented Poking, one of Facebook's earliest features, so it's fitting he was part of the small team that built the new Poke app over the last 12 days. Sources say Zuckerberg actually wrote code for Poke despite saying he rarely programs for Facebook anymore. And that voice that blurts out "Poke" when you get a push notification about a new Poke message? That's Zuck, too.Paying For Downloads Is Lame, And We Had No Idea We Were Doing It
Dec 22, 5:38AM
You know that annoying kid in junior high that used to give you his lunch money to hang out? That's what incentivized mobile app downloads are like. Or rather, it's that kid's mom or older brother paying you to hang out with them. So when we The Weekly Good: Google's "Director Of Giving" Discusses Global Concerns And Action
Dec 22, 1:42AM
At the beginning of the month, we told you about a new $23 million fund started by Google called the "Global Impact Awards," and it was the first that I had heard of the role of "Director of Giving" at the company. This was intriguing, and I had the chance to speak with Jacquelline Fuller, who has held this title at Google for five years. Google has always been a company that takes global challenges seriously, participating in a slew of crisis response projects and data analysis through its non-profit Google.org arm.Windows Azure Gets More Competitive With AWS, Launches New Mobile Features, Website Scaling, Data Sync And More
Dec 22, 12:35AM
Windows Azure has added eight new features, including new mobile Services, web site scaling and data sync.With Digital Media On The Rise, Disney Investment Arm Steamboat Ventures Raises $85 Million Fund
Dec 21, 11:46PM
Disney's investment arm, Steamboat Ventures, has raised a new $85 million fund, according to an SEC filing. The new money will allow Steamboat -- and by extension, Disney -- to continue making investments in digital media, as the market continues to heat up.Snapchat Co-Founder Evan Spiegel Responds To Poke: "Welcome, Facebook. Seriously."
Dec 21, 11:29PM
Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel responded to Facebook's new Poke app today with the brief statement, "Welcome, Facebook. Seriously." He declined to comment further.Facebook's Status Box Gets More Personal, Asks You "What's Going On?" By Name
Dec 21, 11:27PM
Here’s something quite interesting coming from Facebook on a day when it launched its SnapChat competitor, “Poke.” It seems like the company is testing out a design that is a bit more…personal. We’re familiar with the prompts within the status box when we log into Facebook and sit on our news feed. Today, I noticed something different. It asked me, by name, what was going on. We’ve reached out to Facebook for comment, but these are the types of design and user experience tests that we see in the wild all of the time. This might be an interesting technique to get people to share more. Seeing it was like getting a call from someone and them saying “Hi, Drew” rather than “May I speak to Mr. Olanoff?” That slight difference might increase the number of status messages that people share on a daily basis. At least, that’s what Facebook is hoping, I’m sure. Either way, it’s an interesting experiment, and one that makes Facebook look a little more human, which is something that it’s been lacking of late. Sure, it’s a social network, but when your friends’ content is surrounded by ads all of the time, you tend to lose that personal touch. Having said that, the more items that are shared, the more you’ll come back to the site and to more opportunities for Facebook ads. Have you seen this on Facebook? Update: A Facebook spokesperson told us: “This is something we’re testing … We’re testing different variations to see how people like them.” [Photo credit: Flickr]I'm So Ashamed Of TechCrunch Today
Dec 21, 10:49PM
TechCrunch reader Kuan Yong sent me an email today showing me something that I thought I’d never see. I thought it must be some photoshopped joke. But I’ve confirmed it for myself. TechCrunch, it seems, has joined the Tapjoy app download circle jerk parade. Paying for app installs is just embarrassing. To do it to manipulate app rankings is also a clear violation of Apple’s terms of service. I’m so ashamed. This would have never happened in the old days.Jawbone UP Users: How Is Your End Cap Holding Up?
Dec 21, 10:23PM
The Jawbone UP has been back for a little while now, after engineers took it back to the drawing board to correct mass failures in the original version. It came back better than ever, Jawbone said, and for the most part that seems to be true. Flaky syncing used to mar my original, but now flaky paint is the culprit.Facebook Poke Vs. Snapchat: What's The Difference?
Dec 21, 10:17PM
Today, Facebook launched a new mobile app called Poke. It's strikingly similar to a new photo-sharing app that's taken the blogosphere by storm, called Snapchat. Both Snapchat and Poke let you send pictures or videos which are then destroyed within a matter of seconds. But the social network has officially launched its competitor, and the differences are few but important.YouTube Launches Android API, Letting Developers Natively Embed Videos With Captions, Ads, And Fullscreen Playback
Dec 21, 10:00PM
YouTube today has announced the release of its Android API, providing more native functionality for developers who wish to build video into their apps for Android phones and tablets. The API, which was announced at Google I/O in June, could pave the way for more interesting video-related apps that leverage YouTube videos.Rent.com Is Beta Testing A Mobile-Friendly Redesign
Dec 21, 9:47PM
Rent.com is making a big step into the mobile world with the beta launch of its redesigned website, one that uses responsive web design to deliver an experience that's usable on desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Head of Product Amanda McConnell and Chief Technology Officer Alain Avakian gave me a preview of the redesign last week. It's very clean, with big images and text, and if you're looking at it on a smartphone, the page elements that won't fit on the narrower screen just slide down, forming a more column-style layout.Groupon Buys CommerceInterface To Improve How Vendors Sell On Groupon Goods
Dec 21, 9:32PM
Groupon wants to be the king of local commerce, but with Groupon Goods it has a platform for online sales that compete with the likes of Amazon to sell goods from everyone everywhere. Today, it put another link into the second of these strategies with the acquisition of CommerceInterface, a channel management technology used in e-commerce operations that aggregate goods from multiple vendors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.In Preparation For CES, TYLT Announces New Products
Dec 21, 8:30PM
The new line of TYLT device charging accessories will be officially released at CES in January. However, these makers of so many bright and colorful smartphone battery extending concepts still released some details about their upcoming vendibles a bit early...and they look pretty great. I will be interested to check these out in person in a couple of weeks at the massive tradeshow.Video Discovery Startup 9×9.tv Makes Watching Video On Android Devices Almost Like Watching TV
Dec 21, 8:12PM
The latest app in the video discovery segment -- 9x9.tv -- sorts online videos not based on overall popularity or trending or affinity on social networks. And, well, it provides some video discovery love for Android tablet owners, who have long been neglected by anyone doing much in this space.Facebook Launches Snapchat Competitor "Poke", An iOS App For Sending Expiring Text, Photos, And Videos
Dec 21, 8:11PM
Facebook has just announced its newest standalone app called "Poke" which lets people send photos, videos, pokes, or text Facebook messages to their friends that expire after a few seconds. The launch confirms AllThingsD's report from earlier this month. Built in just 12 days, Poke is a big move into the ephemeral messaging space for Facebook, and it could give it even more data on who your closest friends are.The NRA Blames Video Games For School Shootings. Sigh
Dec 21, 8:04PM
The NRA just wasted its chance at redemption and used its highly anticipated press conference to shift the blame to video games, and insinuate about a conspiracy to downplay the role of violent media. "There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people," cried NRA Vice President, Wayne LaPierre, in a fear-stoking extended rant against the media. The news media sees a lot of mea culpa press conferences, which are usually a healthy mix of humility, resolve, and a bit of ass-covering justification. The NRA's brazen deflection on to video games will surely become a case study in what not to do.Gillmor Gang Live 12.21.12. (TCTV)
Dec 21, 7:34PM
Gillmor Gang - Keith Teare, Kevin Marks, Robert Scoble, and Steve Gillmor. Recording recording has concluded for today.If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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