The future is the trust economy

trust As we get into cars with complete strangers, sleep in the beds of people we’ve never met and lend money to others on the other side of the world, a powerful new currency is emerging — and it’s based on trust. What’s striking about the shared economy is not the technology that has made it possible, but the vast changes it has triggered in society. Read More

INNOVATE2016: Tech’s revolutionary promise hinges on strong government relationships

1776, Washington DC’s leading incubator of technology start-ups, describes itself as “where revolutions begin”… But that revolution will only begin in partnership with government, according to Brandon Pollack, the incubator’s director of global affairs. Read More

You never forget the pain, so try to avoid it

fingerscrossed They say once you’ve had frostbite, you never forget the cold. A founder who has suffered a bad board, or board member, never forgets that, either. I took my company public at age 33 with a board of four: me, someone I trusted and two people who taught me the meaning of the word acrimony. I have been obsessed ever since with helping my founders pick the right board members and avoid… Read More

Technology is finally eliminating geography as a barrier to real estate investing

earth-housing Real estate investing has long elicited a variety of emotions, running the gamut from excitement to anxiety. When dealing with significant sums of capital, feelings of apprehension tend to creep in, especially regarding neighborhood quality, tenant and property management issues and liquidity. But those feelings of apprehension should be balanced by the knowledge that real estate as an asset… Read More

The fall of the unicorns brings a new dawn for water bears

image: shutterstock/Sebastian Kaulitzki Last year was a big year for unicorns. According to Venture Beat, there are now 229 unicorn startups, with $175 billion in funding and $1.3 trillion in valuation. In 2015 alone there were 81 new entrants crowned as the legendary beast. However, the glory did not last. We are starting to see the first signs of a tech slowdown. Read More

What’s next for personal financial services?

piggy bank Already there has been a huge amount invested in fintech in 2016, with investors funding close to $9 billion in January and February alone. It is a sector of innovation that shows no signs of slowing down. If 2015 was the year of the great “Bank Unbundling,” it was also a year that saw the emergence of a new landscape of financial influencers taking a seat at the table. Read More

Gillmor Gang: Purple Tears

Gillmor Gang Artcard The Gillmor Gang — Dan Farber, Frank Radice, Keith Teare, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor. Recorded live Thursday, April 21, 2016. The sudden death of the Artist Forever Known as Prince reverberates across generations, decades, and the melting pot of pop, soul, funk, and rock and roll. As the presidential race settles into a social media-led micro-messaging revolution, we’re in for… Read More

OMGYES is a video platform that helps women achieve orgasm

Screen Shot 2016-04-23 at 10.29.42 AM I know that sounds like porn, but in reality OMGYES is actually an education platform. The startup is tackling a subject that’s still shockingly taboo with concrete research and user-friendly content to teach women (and their partners) how to get to climax. The startup got its start with more than 1000 in-depth interviews with women over Skype, learning about techniques, rhythms and… Read More

When will AI and NLP actually turn Siri into your best friend? 

robot-friend The discussion around robots has only increased in the past few years. But beyond the physical capabilities of robots, the bigger question is what robots’ minds will be capable of in the future. How will we communicate with a robot’s mind? Will it only act in the physical world or will it also be able to act in the Internet world? Read More

Match-fixing comes to the world of e-sports

14857571158_0014882b8b_o In the world of professional eSports these days, money doesn’t rain — it pours. The stakes are high and the competition can be cut-throat, especially given the payday waiting at the end of a match. But the flood of money has brought an unexpected innovation in the way players are cashing in (and cashing out) in the vast virtual world of online gaming — match-fixing.… Read More

The FBI is working hard to keep you unsafe

Unsafe-at-Any-Speed Did you know that the US government is sitting on its own Strategic Zero-Day Reserve? A “zero-day” is a software vulnerability that allows adversaries to bypass or reduce security restrictions; lets them hack systems which use that software, basically. These are not restricted to shady criminal hackers. They are strategic weapons in the hands of nation-states, including America.… Read More