Founder Weekly (Issue 344 - July 4 2018)

Founder Weekly - Issue 344Â Â

July 04, 2018

Founder Weekly

Welcome to issue 344 of Founder Weekly. Let's get straight to the links this week.

General

Many crypto enthusiasts are looking at blockchains as a way to correct the sins of the past (government over-reach, lack of sound money, expensive middlemen, centralized businesses, etc.) The truly important question should be way bigger than this: How can crypto-powered businesses create new types of abundance? How will blockchains drive our standard of living forward exponentially? How will we see the creation of tens of trillions in new value like we did with the stock market in the last 150 years? The answer lies in how crypto can transform the tragedy of the commons into the wealth of the commons.

As investors and advisors in over 60 early-marketplace startups, we've paid close attention to what it takes to get marketplaces started. Which comes first, the supply or the demand? Chicken or egg? We’ve noticed at least 19 distinct, executable tactics Founders can use to solve the chicken-or-egg problem.

We believe that AI will be a force multiplier on technological progress in our increasingly digital, data-driven world. This is because everything around us today, ranging from culture to consumer products, is a product of intelligence. In this report, we set out to capture a snapshot of the exponential progress in AI with a focus on developments in the past 12 months. Consider this report as a compilation of the most interesting things we’ve seen that seeks to trigger informed conversation about the state of AI and its implication for the future. 

Books

The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of Theranos, the multibillion-dollar biotech startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end, despite pressure from its charismatic CEO and threats by her lawyers.

Marketing, Sales and PR

In just a couple of years, Brandless has created one of the most impressive, high-growth eCommerce brands in the world. Here's how they did it.

Facebook lead ads not converting? Read this article to learn how to create profitable Facebook lead ads that turn visitors into red-hot leads (inc. walkthrough).

In today's episode of "Content and Conversation" we're joined by two amazing publisher-focused SEOs in Matthew Brown and Marshall Simmonds, both of which used to work for the New York Times. Today, they consult for enterprise-sized publishers and have a wealth of information to share about a variety of subjects. We talk about CMS best practices, AMP, internal linking, training content teams, a whole lot more. 

Welcome to Instagram College, where students come from Madewell, Birchbox and Cynthia Rowley.

Money and Finance

One of the biggest shifts of the last 6 months is the degree to which pre-emptive funding rounds have become the new normal in Silicon Valley. While pre-emptive rounds used to be reserved for celebrity or serial entrepreneur founders, they have recently become almost the default for a subset of companies. I have seen multiple seed companies receive pre-emptive series A fundings in the last few months without any specific milestones hit. Similarly, late stage companies like Bird have seen their valuations skyrocket in the course of months or even weeks. Why all the fuss to pre-empt?

Or what you can learn from academics, lawyers, and your physics teacher in junior high school.

Startups of the Week

Get free stockwhen you spendwith the brands you love. Fractional shares, no fees.So you can start owningwhat you love with less.

Fuzzy is a simple membership that includes all the basic veterinary care your pet needs in the comfort of your home. 

Create The Fastest Mobile Experience For Your Website Images. We help your website load faster by optimizing your images in real time and deliver them to your visitors at maximum speed. Image optimization results in, better image quality, faster load times and more conversions.

api.video is a scalable webservice able to encode on the go to facilitate immediate playback, enhancing viewer experiences across multiple devices and platforms. Start within minutes with a well-documented API.

Tips, Tools and Services

Want your product teams functioning like F1 pitstop crews? It’s magical when get into flow and perform at elite levels. 8 key lessons from F1.

As a company scales the number of meetings initially grows faster then headcount. With more people comes more coordination. Most companies have bad meeting etiquette, which means an enormous amount of time is wasted. Here are steps to help increase meeting efficiency.

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