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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A growing wave of tech layoffs have given rise to remorseful CEOs’ lamentations that they hired too quickly during the pandemic. At startup Material Security, Ryan Noon says he faces no such problems; if anything, he says, he’s hired “probably a little slower” than he needed to. “I think the last couple years of Silicon Valley will be remembered as an especially wasteful age,” says Noon, who is cofounder and CEO. “You don’t need a lot of people to do a lot if you have the right people.” Material Security employs less than 40 people, but has kicked above its weight class to sign on enterprise customers like Mars, Stripe and insurance giant Chubb for its security software that can protect emails even if they are hacked. “We’re significantly outnumbered by our customer count by at least a binary order of magnitude or two,” Noon says, adding that he hasn’t lost a single customer yet. Now, as others reckon with … [Read more...] about This Startup Reached A $1.1 Billion Valuation By Taking The Sting Out Of Email Hacks

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Photo: Getty Identity-based attack vectors represent the next biggest risk for consumers and businesses alike as we enter a new decade. One aspect of this risk is associated with an identity, or user, having a single account used for many different roles. In simple terms, if a person uses the same username and email account for everything that they access, the risks are higher for an incident. Based on an attack using a single account, a threat actor can reuse the same account name based on an email address against other resources and use a variety of techniques from brute force, spray attacks and credential stuffing to attempt to compromise an account. If the user has different email addresses for logging on to different types of resources, then a breach in one type of resource cannot necessarily be used against another. The threat actor has no email address or account username as a reference point to start … [Read more...] about Why Every Person Needs At Least Four Email Accounts

(CNN) Misinformation about how families can get through the infant formula shortage is fueling concern among pediatricians like Dr. Tanya Altmann. The California doctor has been getting phone calls, emails and social media messages -- not just from her patients but from families all over the United States -- along with photos of empty store shelves that once held infant formula. Parents say they've been to a dozen stores and looked on a hundred websites and can't find their baby's infant formula, and they want to know what to do and whether some of the so-called alternatives they're hearing about are legit. "It's scary for these moms and their babies, and it's becoming a real issue," Altmann said. Formula maker: 'This is a crisis. We can't flip a switch and make a lot more formula' Supply chain issues and product recalls have sparked the nationwide shortage of infant formulas. As of early April, seven states reported … [Read more...] about Homemade infant formula can be dangerous. Experts share how to feed your baby through the shortage

New York (CNN Business) Laura Modi is fielding dozens of emails, calls, and texts daily from anxious parents asking about how they can get baby formula. Modi is CEO and cofounder of Bobbie, a San Francisco-based direct-to-consumer seller and subscription service for organic milk-based baby formula that is produced in a Vermont facility and backed by $72 million in venture capital funding. She's acutely aware of the desperation in those outreaches, which have intensified in recent weeks amid an ongoing nationwide shortage of infant formula . A message at the top of the company's website says, "We're temporarily at capacity for new customers." Other manufacturers say they're producing at full capacity and making as much formula as they can. But demand is heavily outstripping supply. The baby formula supply problem is getting worse In February, the situation was exacerbated by a recall of three brands of powdered formula made by … [Read more...] about Formula maker: ‘This is a crisis. We can’t flip a switch and make a lot more formula’

(CNN) This summer, every state will be rolling out 988 as the new National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number to call for mental health crises -- similar to how people can call 911 for medical emergencies. But in some states, questions remain around funding the transition, staffing call centers and having response teams ready. The transition to 988 is "not optional," according to the US Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. No more than half of states have enacted or introduced legislation in preparation for 988's debut, scheduled for July 16, according to data from the National Academy for State Health Policy . "Beginning July 16 of this year, all 988 calls will be routed to the national suicide hotline, so there isn't a need for state legislation to make that critical step happen," Jodi Manz, project director of behavioral health, aging and disability at the health policy group, … [Read more...] about States prepare for summer launch of new 988 suicide prevention number

The $16.25 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, which was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 , signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020. Administration of the program falls to the Small Business Administration (SBA) . Effective Aug. 20, 2021, the SBA stopped accepting new SVOG applications. The SVOG portal , however, remains open for previous applicants and grantees. The SVOG was amended by the American Rescue Plan Act to offer grants equal to 45% of an eligible venue’s gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award set at $10 million. Eligible applicants with up to 50 full-time employees were able to draw from a reserve pot of $2 billion. After several delays, the SVOG program began accepting applications April 26, 2021. The SVOG program got off to a slow start and by June 3, 2021, had awarded just 50 grants … [Read more...] about What Is a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The pandemic has exposed inequality of those who lack broadband, connected devices and digital skills to work, learn, and receive healthcare online. Policy research has emerged to study why broadband infrastructure and adoption shortfalls remain in a multi-trillion market. The short answer is a lack of business models. More largely, broadband policy has been slow to evolve, and the largest and richest internet platforms have lobbied to insulate themselves from financial obligations for universal access. Admittedly the notions of universal access differ across time and country and can be addressed in different ways. Presently the costs of connectivity are borne by end users and broadband providers, and yet, a class of companies profit disproportionately from the internet but do not contribute to the cost recovery of middle and last mile networks. Notably tech companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and … [Read more...] about The Growing Global Movement For Fair Cost Recovery On Broadband Networks

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin LearnVest founder Alexa von Tobel and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and billionaire heiress Penny Pritzker have raised $200 million for their venture firm Inspired Capital, the company announced on Tuesday. It is one of the biggest debut funds out of New York and an especially significant raise for a female-founded firm. Only 29% of venture capital firms with $100 million to $250 million in assets have any female check-writers, according to Pitchbook and All Raise’s recent report . Von Tobel and Pritzker started their early-stage venture firm last January with the goal of raising $200 million, according to a SEC filing . Inspired Capital invests in seed and Series A stage technology-driven startups that appear to be on the path to profitability, according to a statement . Inspired Capital will write checks ranging from $500,000 to $10 million and the stake will vary based on investment size, von Tobel told … [Read more...] about Alexa von Tobel And Penny Pritzker Raised $200 Million For Their Venture Firm Inspired Capital

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Allison Robinson, the founder and chief executive officer of The Mom Project, had difficulty raising funding for her digital talent marketplace and community that connects mothers returning to the workforce with job opportunities that offer flexibility. After more than 100 meetings with venture capitalists, she noticed a trend. “If I had to pick an example of a stark difference between pitching men versus women, it would be that many male venture capitalists didn’t fundamentally understand the problem we were solving. I made it to a number of late-stage discussions to then be passed over on the grounds of the addressable market being too small,” Robinson says, “It’s mind-boggling. There are over 40 million moms in the U.S. and 86% will change employers for an opportunity that better fits her work-life considerations.” Robinson successfully pitched the female-led, early-stage venture capital firm BBG Ventures, which only invests in … [Read more...] about How To Close The Venture Capital Gender Gap Faster

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin One area of business where women dominate the statistics is a sector of the publishing industry. As a result, the number of female literary agents has steadily increased over time. According to Zippia, 58.5% of agents are women. The publishing landscape has changed with the advancement of technology, making self-publishing more accessible and streamlined. These changes impact the desire, the need and the chances of signing with a literary agent. Even though more authors are turning to print-on-demand options to publish their books, traditional publishing still has prestige. It’s been reported that the odds of working with a literary agent are 1 in 6,000, based on the number of inquiries one receives and the number of new authors the agent is looking to sign for the year. For over two decades, Jennifer Unter, founder of the Unter Agency, has helped new authors land deals with publishing houses. As a respected agent … [Read more...] about How This Literary Agent Built An Established Agency, Shares Best Practices For Signing A Contract