We do a deep dive on a popular but difficult to execute tech strategy that manages to connect the dots between many disparate customers into a massive (and valuable!) network, exemplified by new features from Slack and Stripe that were announced this week. Links: Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs face House grilling Bounce House Come for the tool, stay for the network Slack - Start a direct message with someone outside your company Stripe - 1-click payments using Link with Stripe

A deep dive on Stripe, now worth almost $100 billion, Facebook’s moves into emerging markets, TikTok’s monetization strategy, and Uber faces new regulatory changes in the UK. Plus a new Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of. Links: Stripe has raised a new round of funding to accelerate momentum in Europe and reinforce enterprise leadership Facebook targets emerging markets with the launch of Instagram Lite, an Android app that takes up just 2MB, in 170 countries TikTok will make...

Pandemics are the worst… unless you’re talking about tech. Reflections on a horrible year in physical reality that was great for software, the Roblox IPO (no pandemics inside virtual worlds is a plus!), Facebook moves deeper into the creator economy, Russia is pumping the brakes on Twitter, and Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of. Links: 12 Charts That Show How Tech Took Off During a Year of Shutdowns Roblox goes public: What to know as RBLX stock debuts on the NYSE Hangio Facebook...

JAY-Z and TIDAL join Square, new privacy laws and the death of third party cookies, Netflix launches a TikTok killer, Instagram tests out life without likes, and a random startup you’ve never heard of. Links: Jack Dorsey on Twitter: “Square is acquiring a majority ownership stake in TIDAL” Axios - Privacy laws push online ads beyond tracking Sponsor: Bounce House - Sell your service online Random startup you’ve never heard of: Kumospace The Verge - Netflix has created a TikTok clone...

Special guest Seyi Taylor helps explain what NFTs are and why it matters, Twitter wants you to pay for certain tweets, Spotify launches a new ad network, Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of, and more! Links: What you need to know about NFTs, the collectible digital tokens that are selling for millions online Seyi Taylor on Twitter Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets Mirza David Dobrik's retro photo app Dispo raises $20 million Facebook says it will pay...

Australia tries to bully big tech and Facebook fights back, Bumble goes public, robots take selfies on Mars, and Shopify challenges Amazon. Plus our new segment “Random startup you’ve never heard of” Links: Augment Nation: Moving Humanity to the Software Layer Facebook Newsroom - Changes to Sharing and Viewing News on Facebook in Australia CNBC - Bumble IPO: The female founder behind the dating app making market history App Store - Dispo - Live in the Moment Engadget - NASA's...

Our first expert guest! Shawn Cheng of Consensys Mesh explains the basics of Bitcoin so we can understand why Elon Musk is so obsessed with it. Clubhouse has Facebook hot on its heels. And soon you won’t even be able to tell who has a real face. So... just a typical week in tech. Links: AP - Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, will accept as payment soon Shawn Cheng on Twitter NY Times - Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse Digital Humans | MetaHuman Creator - Unreal...

This week we got hit with the news that Jeff Bezos is resigning as CEO of Amazon, Apple promoted an executive to work on a topic secret project, and we go through an overview of earnings reports from Amazon and Google. Links: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees Apple Newsroom - Dan Riccio begins a new chapter at Apple Amazon.com Announces Financial Results and CEO Transition Alphabet Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2020 Results

A busy week of tech, and it’s still only January. Subreddits > hedge funds. Newsletters > tweets. Audio > video. Apple > everyone. Links: NY Times - 4 Things to Know About the GameStop Insanity NY Times - The GameStop Reckoning Was a Long Time Coming Bloomberg - How ‘Flows Before Pros’ Is Disrupting Stock Markets Twitter Blog - Making Twitter a better home for writers Clubhouse Blog - Welcoming More Voices Apple Reports First Quarter Results Microsoft Earnings Release FY21...

This week we discuss two major funding events in the new class of car companies, how people are worried about WhatsApp's new terms, the latest on Parler, Nancy Pelosi's stolen laptop, and changes to the way you will shop at the airport (and in general). Links: TechCrunch - Rivian raises $2.5 billion as it pushes to bring its electric RT1 pickup, R1S SUV to market TechCrunch - Microsoft invests in Cruise in new $2 billion round BBC - WhatsApp and Facebook to share users' data outside...

This week we discuss the fallout across the Internet as a result of the siege on the Capitol including the removal of President Trump from many major platforms, its implications, and what it says about how ingrained technology is in our society. Other headlines include OpenAI's DALL-E, Apple's car initiative, and the failed acquisition of fintech startup Plaid by Visa. Links: Wizardest - The limit of process OpenAI Blog - DALL·E: Creating Images from Text Bloomberg - Apple Targets...

In this brief introduction, Professor Paul Canetti explains what Tech News for MBAs is all about and its origins from the classroom.