• About
  • Article PDF
  • White Papers
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Advertising & Sponsorships
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Times Of Entrepreneurship
Growth and Equity for a Changing World
Times Of Entrepreneurship
No Result
View All Result

Weekly Newsletter: Most Innovative States, The Key For Women Pitching, And A Magic Trio Of West African Spices

Good afternoon, Times of E readers.

by Elizabeth Macbride
March 24, 2022
in Newsletter
Reading Time: 7 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride:

Bad news for the journalism world this week as BuzzFeed announced layoffs at its Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. Overall, the media company was profitable – in fact, profits are up – but producing high-quality news is expensive. The market was demanding higher returns, so BuzzFeed’s management acted. But who is the market, exactly?

The Washington Post covered the decline of local news and journalism most poignantly in the story, “These mass shooting survivors were called journalism heroes. Then the buyouts came.” The story is partly about the trial of the mass shooter – a disgruntled reader — who killed five people in Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Md. But it’s also about a company called Alden Global Capital, an investment firm The Post’s Margaret Sullivan called “one of the most ruthless of the corporate strip-miners seemingly intent on destroying local journalism.” The company is now one of the largest newspaper operators in the country. Alden recognized, smartly from an investment perspective, that local newspapers are cash cows. The firm will likely keep milking subscription revenue and cutting costs until the newspapers are dead.

But Alden doesn’t really own those newspapers. Nor does Vanguard (BuzzFeed’s largest shareholder) own BuzzFeed, exactly. They are merely investment companies. They’re a little more than hired hands, but at the end of the day, they’re managers. Alden is a private equity company, which means we have no information on who the owners are – likely a mix of other private funds and wealthy families, and maybe some with no love for America.

We could figure out some of the owners of BuzzFeed, because it’s publicly held, but only some. There are also private equity funds in its ownership table. And when middle class people own stock, usually through their retirement funds, they don’t pay much attention to what the holdings are. In general, we know that the wealthiest 10% of American now own a record 89% of all U.S. stocks.

The question here is not about ruthless managers (which have and always will exist). The question here is how to create better incentives and regulations in the financial system. As long as the world’s wealthiest families set the demand for high returns and the rest of us follow, and as long as the responsibility for the damage done is hidden, the damage will continue.

Times of Entrepreneurship
Stories of the Week

Commentary: Authenticity Is Women’s Most Powerful Weapon in Raising Funds. Here’s How To Tap Into It.

Women are socialized to give away their power in meetings, which is counterproductive, because the men who dominate the financial world aren’t socialized to give it back. But there are strategies to move beyond those dynamics, says YPO member and investor Allison Long Pettine.

Read the Story »

The Rising Stakes of Cybersecurity

Amid the war in Ukraine and growing concerns about Russian attacks on U.S. infrastructure, the constant evolution in the sector is more critical than ever – and the question of which governments and companies have access to the latest technology is critical, too.

Read the Story »

Black woman against a backdrop of West African spices

A SCORE Mentor Told Her To Pack It In. This New Builder From Ghana Went Ahead, Anyway.
Flavors of this long-overlooked region are hitting American tastebuds. POKS Spices is taking advantage of the trend.

Read the Story »

 

woman in a colorful skirt and turban

What You May Have Missed

Inflation’s Whipsaw The damage inflation may do to the small business economy is bigger than you might have realized. Here are strategies and tips to help. Read the Story »

VC Spotlight: Lu Zhang’s Fusion Fund The groundbreaking Silicon Valley investor offers insights, including on personalized diagnostics. Read the Story »

From The Archives

Meet Susan Choe, The VC Behind Zipline Courage is the asset that counts for women investors. Read the Story »

A City of 66,000 Is At The Center Of An Audacious Attempt To Build A $200M Tech Hub. Read the Story »

Living the dream 💭

Best Practices:  WalletHub launched its list of the most and least innovative states. Washington, D.C. ranked at the top, followed by Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland and Colorado. At the bottom: North Dakota, Louisiana and Mississippi. That may not be much of a surprise as it first seems — Democratic administrations with their vision of expansive government tend to bring young people to the District. Read more here.

Buzzworthy: The war in Ukraine may result in increased interest in impact investing, says Alix Lebec, founder and CEO of Lebec Consulting. Foremost a human tragedy, the war is causing economic fallout and disruption that will create new opportunities for investment. “There’s a growing incentive to look at energy alternatives and invest in ways that proactively generate positive impact for people and planet—we have an opportunity to do better and move forward with more courage.”

Rathskeller 🍻

The 4.5 hour workweek: A productivity hack
Liat Hayun, an Israeli cybersecurity CEO, is featured above in one of the stories of the week. She had a mentor at Palo Alto Networks, Lee Klarich, who told her to take a non-compromising attitude toward her time. “If something is not interesting, not important, leave it,” she said she learned from him.


Wanderlust : a restaurant or activity from our Top Ecosystems list

Salt Lake City ranks second on our list. Drinking is against the Mormon faith, which means the bars aren’t as much as center of the entrepreneurship scene. But you can talk shop in restaurants in Provo such as the Black Sheep Cafe, which serves southwestern and Native American food, Station 22, an American restaurant, and Communal, a farm to table restaurant. People tended to gather before the pandemic at restaurants on Center Street, Tom Taylor, the owner of the Startup Building, a coworking space for entrepreneurs, said.

SEP Jordan
This company sells fine clothing hand embroidered, produced by refugees in Jordan. Our Mission is to bring thousands of refugees above the poverty line, empowered by their skills and talent. Women become change-makers and have a positive impact on their community and the world. In doing so, SEP change the perception of refugees worldwide.

Upcoming Opportunities ⭐

To list an opportunity in our newsletter, check out our rates here. We cover the emerging economy of diverse founders:

🔗Link: https://bit.ly/TimesofEOpportunities

1. A Course To Reach the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

In this free course developed by entrepreneurship professor John Lynn, professors and other entrepreneurship educators get a curriculum and supporting materials based on the influential book, The New Builders.

📅 Date: N/A
🏢 Location: N/A
🔗Link: https://docsend.com/view/s/4gah7gde5yrguz8j

2. Bursary Benefits Available for AI Week 2022

Amii has announced plans to award $100,000 in talent bursaries to empower AI technical professionals to attend AI Week 2022. Apply now to have your travel expenses covered – awards are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

📅 Date: May 24-27, 2022
🏢 Location: Edmonton, AB
🔗Link: https://www.ai-week.ca/talent-bursaries

3. Comcast Accepting Applications for Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator

Open to global startups in connectivity, media, and entertainment, Comcast is now accepting applications for the fifth class of the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator. Comcast writes that they are “looking to mentor and invest in startups developing world-class technologies and products in the program’s core focus areas: Connected Living; Immersive and Inclusive Experiences; and Smart, Sustainable Enterprise.”

📅 Application Deadline: May 11, 2022
🏢 Location: Philadelphia, PA
🔗 Link: https://lift.comcast.com/accelerator

4. Render Launches Second Iteration of Reconstruct Challenge worth $750,000

Render has announced a new partnership with Access Ventures to award a second national prize focusing on addressing barriers to employment in the United States. Five winning innovations will receive $100,000 each, with one innovation receiving an additional $250,000 to scale further. The challenge is open to anyone in the United States as long as the beta test of the innovation takes place in Jefferson County, KY, or Floyd and Clark County, IN. 

📅 Registration Deadline: April 29, 2022
📅 Application Deadline: May 27, 2022
🏢 Location: N/A
🔗 Link: https://www.reconstructchallenge.com/initiatives/employment

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADDING US TO YOUR EMAILS

For Gmail users (desktop instructions)
Move us to the Primary Tab:

Click into the Inbox Tab where our email shows (possibly “Promotions”)
Drag and drop our email into the “Primary” tab

OR add our email address to your Google Contacts

Hover over our sender name on the email
Click “Add to Contacts”

Mail for iPhone users – add us to VIP 
1.     Open the email
2.     Click our email address at the top of this email
3.     Click “Add to VIP”

For other email users, add us to your contact list.



This story and others on Times of E are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.

Elizabeth Macbride

Elizabeth Macbride

A business journalist for 20 years, am the founder of Times of Entrepreneurship and the co-author of The New Builders.

Related Posts

Weekly Newsletter: The Dark Web’s Criminal Minds See Internet of Things As Next Big Hacking Prize

by Time of Entrepreneurship
January 23, 2023
0

Times of Entrepreneurship Stories There are now 17 billion lightly protected IoT devices – but there are new solutions, including...

Weekly Newsletter: $350 Billion Chip Boom, 2023 Travel Tips, & Indy’s Black Art BUTTER Fair

by Time of Entrepreneurship
January 9, 2023
0

Times of Entrepreneurship Stories A Company Called Baru Has A New Way to Make Furniture, Locally Nina Roberts reports on...

Weekly Newsletter: Boom-times for journalists, a $300m acquisition in Syracuse, and a hot cyber VC

Weekly Newsletter: Watch for AI Disinformation, A Hot Real Estate Market & A Heartwarming Rise From Poverty

by Time of Entrepreneurship
December 19, 2022
0

Times of Entrepreneurship Stories Diversity Isn’t Just About Race. It’s Also About Class. It’s now easier to climb the economic...

Weekly Newsletter: Boom-times for journalists, a $300m acquisition in Syracuse, and a hot cyber VC

Weekly Newsletter: Next Trillion-Dollar Pandemic, Job Hunting Warriors, Shrub Drinks

by Time of Entrepreneurship
December 5, 2022
0

Times of Entrepreneurship Stories Vermont Farmer Creates A New Drink Category With Roots In The Past Shrubbly founder Matt Sayre...

Weekly Newsletter: Boom-times for journalists, a $300m acquisition in Syracuse, and a hot cyber VC

Weekly Newsletter: $500K For Black Founders; Twitter’s Dying Chirps? Reid Hoffman’s Tips for Panelists

by Time of Entrepreneurship
December 2, 2022
0

Times of Entrepreneurship Stories A New $500K Accelerator For Black Founders Opens In Brooklyn BK-XL will select 12 startups founded...

Weekly Newsletter: Boom-times for journalists, a $300m acquisition in Syracuse, and a hot cyber VC

Weekly Newsletter: Winning Pitches, Pittsburgh’s New Coke, Chinese Nuclear Hackers

by Time of Entrepreneurship
November 7, 2022
0

Times of Entrepreneurship Stories   Will Cells and Robots Be Pittsburgh's New Coke And Steel? There are signs that Pittsburgh...

Subscribe to Times of E’s Free Weekly Newsletter

Learn about the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders

Popular

  • Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

    Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 20 U.S. University Entrepreneurship Competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trailblazer: An Audacious Denver Entrepreneur Recruited An Xbox Creator To Develop Her Gaming Vision

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent

Homepage Header

Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Leaders: Miami, Pittsburgh, Virtual

January 27, 2023
Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

January 26, 2023
Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

January 25, 2023

Recommended

  • Health
  • Climate
  • Deep Tech
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Mentorship
A black man with glasses and a sliightly graying beard

As A $3 Billion Boom Hits Louisville, New Generations Of Black Leaders Are Rising To Power

2 years ago
woman hugging a llama

Weekly Newsletter: Michigan’s Meteoric Rise, AI For Sleeping Babies, Llama Farming, And Dark Chocolate

1 year ago
  • About
  • Partner
  • Bespoke Research
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

(703-966-7357)

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
No Result
View All Result
  • Research
  • Finance
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • New Builders
  • Ecosystem
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Editor’s Note

© 2022 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Support Times of E

Times of E covers the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders.

With your support of our journalism, you will receive our weekly newsletter and one of these resources for free: 

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?