Author: Megan Rose Dickey

Bird will launch electric scooters in 50+ European cities Bird is gearing up to launch in more than 50 additional cities throughout Europe this spring. Bird began its expansion into Europe less than one year ago. Today, Bird operates its scooters in Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Zurich and other European cities. This launch will increase its European fleet size more than ten-fold. “World class brands and companies have the perfect formula of economics and the ability to grow and scale,” Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden said in a statement. “As we expand…

Google loses its chief diversity officer Google’s chief diversity officer, Danielle Brown, has left the company. Brown, who became Google’s CDO in June 2017 after serving in a similar role at Intel, announced today that she’s joined payroll and benefits startup Gusto to lead its chief people operations. In Brown’s LinkedIn post announcing the job change, she noted that she will have the opportunity to “engage and support an internal team” as well as “influence how we build our product to drive positive change around critical issues like diversity, compliance,…

Uber is expected to seek billion in IPO Uber is reportedly making its S-1 publically available tomorrow, according to Reuters. According to the IPO paperwork, Uber will sell around $10 billion worth of stock, Reuters sources say. If true, Uber’s IPO would be one of the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) in the tech industry since Alibaba’s 2014 IPO. While previous reports have pegged Uber’s valuation at around $120 billion, Uber is reportedly seeking a valuation of between $90 billion and $100 billion. That decrease is reportedly influenced by Lyft’s…

Landed raises .5 million Series A to help teachers buy homes Teachers are notoriously underpaid and buying homes is notoriously expensive. This is where Landed, which just raised a $7.5 million Series A round led by Initialized Capital, comes in. Landed helps educators buy homes by providing them with down payment assistance. That’s because many teachers leave their jobs due to a lack of stable housing. In Berkeley, Calif., for example, more than half of the school district’s employees reported they considered leaving because of the high costs of housing….

The uncertain future of shared electric scooters Cities all over the world have seen an influx of two-wheeled, electric kick scooters on the road over the last couple of years. Scooters from the likes of Bird, Lime, Spin, Uber’s JUMP, Lyft and others are all trying to own the first and the last mile. The first mile is often understood as the distance between a transportation hub and someone’s starting point while the last mile is the distance between a transportation hub and someone’s final destination. These companies want both,…

Good Dog raises .7 million to help you find a pup I’m in the process of looking for a pup friend to bring home with me, but I quickly found that it’s not an easy process. There are tons of places offering up pups, including breeders, shelters and rescues. But it’s not always clear if these places are legitimate. This is where Good Dog, a startup that just raised $6.7 million from David Tisch’s BoxGroup, Felicis, Slow Ventures and others, can be helpful. Good Dog, launching today, is a marketplace…

The gender wage gap is shrinking among computer programmers, but it’s still quite large Glassdoor has released its latest gender pay gap data analysis. In the U.S., the unadjusted pay gap comes in at 21.4 percent, meaning women make just $0.79 for every $1 men earn. But, when controlling for variables like age, education, location, experience, occupation and industry, the pay gap is 4.9 percent. That’s a slight improvement from three years ago, when Glassdoor did its first analysis. That means, women make about $0.95 cents for every $1 men…

UPS partners with drone startup Matternet for medical sample deliveries Unmanned drone deliveries are making their way inside the UPS network. Thanks to a partnership with drone startup Matternet, UPS will start delivering medical samples via unmanned drones at WakeMed’s hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. With the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration and North Carolina’s department of transportation, UPS and Matternet will conduct routine daily flights that transport medical samples. Previously, WakeMed relied on courier cars, which were subject to road delays. The drone-led deliveries entail a medical professional…

This is how much money Pinterest execs made last year Silicon Valley is known for its massive wealth. When these companies file to go public, we all finally get to know how much money these executives take home each year, and the millions they’ll take home after the IPO, In Pinterest’s S-1, which it filed earlier today, we see that co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann earned a salary of $197,100. But that’s actually nothing compared to Pinterest CFO Todd Morgenfeld, who earned a base salary of $360,500 with stock awards…

Rent the Runway hits a billion valuation Rent the Runway just closed a $125 million led by Franklin Templeton Investments and Bain Capital Ventures. This round values the company at $1 billion. In total, Rent the Runway has raised $337 million in venture funding. “Shared, dynamic ownership is a movement that Rent the Runway has pioneered over the last decade and we’re excited to continue to lead the market and innovate our subscription service,” Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman said in a statement. Late last year, Rent the Runway…