Patreon buys Memberful but keeps it indie as patronage consolidates
Patreon is forming a patronage empire. Today it acquired white-labeled subscription membership platform Memberful, which lets creators sell exclusive access to content through their own site instead of a centralized platform like Patreon. Rather than being folded into a Patreon feature, Memberful will run as an independent brand, maintaining its tiered pricing structure, though new […]
Dont miss the interactive workshops at Disrupt SF 2018
TechCrunch’s super-sized Disrupt San Francisco 2018 — the only Disrupt event in North America this year — takes place September 5-7. We’re not kidding when we say brace yourself for three unprecedented, program-packed days. In addition to Startup Battlefield — with a special $100,000 prize — the Virtual Hackathon, Startup Alley and a battalion of headlining speakers, we’ve […]
Spark Neuro raises $13.5M to measure your emotional response to ads and movies
I’m not immune to compliments, and Spencer Gerrol, founder and CEO of Spark Neuro, offered a real winner as he demonstrated his technology. “I love your brain,” he told me. This was after the startup’s vice president of research Ryan McGarry had strapped sensors to my fingers and head, then showed me an intense movie […]
Dropbox hires a new VP of product and VP of product marketing
After a largely successful IPO, Dropbox is adding another couple of hires today as it looks to continue its consumer-slash-enterprise growth playbook: bringing on a new VP of product in former CEO and president of Wealthfront Adam Nash; and a new VP of product marketing and global campaigns in Naman Khan. Both have extensive experience […]
Inside Magic Leaps Quest to Remake Itself as an Ordinary Company (With a Real Product)
In retrospect, Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz realizes that all the hype was a big mistake. “I think we were arrogant,” he says. It’s nearly 11 pm on a Monday in late July, and we are in the back room of an Italian restaurant not far from the Fort Lauderdale beach. It’s a place he […]
Save Sarah Jeong! And Kevin Williamson, Quinn Norton, and Joy Reid Too
The work of polemicists like Sarah Jeong, recently hired to The New York Times editorial board, is to make arguments in public space. Polemicists can be insufferable. They get to be gadflies and think themselves Socratic. They’re belligerent. They have a reputation for laziness and Twitter addiction; they often shun shoe leather. Many beat reporters […]
Couch Potato will track your inactivity and reward you for it
Image: screenshot jake krol/mashable Ever been called a Couch Potato for lounging around? Well, now you can know exactly how much time you’ve been inactive — though I’m not entirely sure why you want this statistic. At any rate, the Couch Potato app aims to be the anti-step tracker that rewards you for lounging. Maybe […]
Mynewsdesk acquires web monitoring service Mention
Communications workflow company Mynewsdesk is acquiring French startup Mention for an undisclosed sum. Norwegian business media group NHST currently owns Mynewsdesk. Mention lets you monitor keywords around the web. It’s a good way to hear what customers are saying about your brand on their blog, on Twitter, on Facebook or anywhere public. You can also […]
The mass exodus at Social Capital continues
Something is going on at Social Capital. A series of departures continued this morning at former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya‘s venture capital firm, with Mike Ghaffary, a partner since August 2017, announcing he was moving on to focus on angel investing. Personal update: I’ve decided to leave Social Capital . Over the next few months, I’ll […]
Funding rises for software-driven tastemakers
Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor The alumni of these universities raised the most VC in the past year Global unicorn exits hit multi-year high in 2018 It has the feel of a science fiction plot. A young man heads online to look up deals on things he likes. Slowly, the tables turn. […]