Jason Kilar now Warner CEO, VCs Urge to Sieze Opportunities, Unmasking Twitter, HQ Returns, SAAS Churn Expectations, Facebook Bets on AR, Pinterest Sees Increased Demand, Product Strategy Framework
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WarnerMedia names former Hulu chief Jason Kilar CEO
Jason Kilar, the founding chief executive of Hulu and a former Amazon senior vice president, has been tapped to take rein of WarnerMedia.
Some VCs Urge Startups to Jump on Opportunities Amid Downturn
Venture investors are taking stock of their portfolios and making projections about how the bear market and the coronavirus pandemic could play out.
While many VCs are urging caution, some investors believe some companies should look for opportunities to be more aggressive in the market rout by accelerating hiring, fundraising, acquisitions and marketing.
13 Massive Companies That Started During a Recession
Why now is as good a time as ever to launch your business
Having developed the concept of fast, efficient, reliable door-to-door cargo delivery as part of a school project while at Yale, FedEx Founder Fred Smith eventually launched the business right on the tail end of the Recession of 1969–1970.
The company would quickly grow to become a leading provider of games for the booming home computer and entertainment system market, evolving into a giant with 10,000 employees and over $5 billion in annual revenue.
The latest biological findings on SARS-Cov-2 viral entry into human tissue and sneeze/cough-droplet ballistics suggest that the major transmission mechanism is not via the fine aerosols but large droplets, and thus, warrant the wearing of surgical masks by everyone.
Description of harmful treatments or protection measures which are known to be ineffective, do not apply to COVID-19, or are being shared out of context to mislead people, even if made in jest, such as “drinking bleach and ingesting colloidal silver will cure COVID-19.”
Live trivia app HQ comes back to life
HQ, the live trivia app that shut down in February and laid off its entire staff, has been acquired by an "anonymous investor."
HQ Trivia, the live game-show app that shut down in February and laid off its entire staff, is unexpectedly returning tonight with a new show.
HQ had been in advanced talks earlier this year to be bought by media company Whistle for at least $20 million, but the deal collapsed for unknown reasons.
How bad will SaaS churn get in the downturn? – TechCrunch
It's easy to say that churn will go up; some customers will close, cancelling contracts (boosting gross churn) while other customers will slow software budget growth (limiting net retention). But how bad will things really get?
This morning we’re talking about churn — the bane of software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies big and small — in the new world we find ourselves in.
SaaS companies, from startups to huge public firms, have built their businesses under strong economic conditions.
Facebook Strikes Deal for AR Displays, Squeezing Out Apple
Facebook has struck a deal to buy all of the augmented reality displays made by British firm Plessey, as the social network looks to build AR glasses capable of overlaying virtual objects onto the real world. The deal could give Facebook an edge over Apple, which recently looked at buying ...
Pinterest upgrades merchant services as shopping searches jump
The platform updated its "conversion insights" to help retailers see more information about its effect on website visits, checkouts and sales.
Pinterest's updates can help mobile marketers in several ways as people adjust to the significant disruptions in their daily routines during the pandemic, though research indicates that consumer spending is mostly focused on necessities amid record job losses and major economic uncertainty.
ZOHO: The Most Successful SaaS Company You May Have Never Heard Of
#1-ranked industry analyst Patrick Moorhead discusses Zoho as one of the lesser-known enterprise-level SaaS companies and arguably the most successful business software as a service (SaaS) company you have never heard of. Patrick Moorhead looks at what Zoho is doing to make such a statement.
He runs MI&S but is a broad-based analyst covering a wide variety of topics including the software-defined datacenter and the Internet of Things (IoT), and Patrick is a deep expert in client computing and semiconductors.
Before Patrick started the firm, he spent over 20 years as a high-tech strategy, product, and marketing executive who has addressed the personal computer, mobile, graphics, and server ecosystems.
A framework for product strategy
An insight driven and well thought out product strategy, drives an industry into the adoption of a hidden customer need.
This is exactly the case with the auto industry where Toyota aims for the mainstream middle-class families that value functionality while BMW targets more affluent people, interested in a luxury experience.
Identify the key stakeholders who should be involved in the strategy forming process Collect input from a wide range of people with a variety of perspectives Pay attention to what others are doing , such as investors or competitors Communicate your project development broadly and frequently with the stakeholders, let them get involved and help set the direction Figure out how to tell a good story that excites people and inspires them to take action When details are outlined, shift focus from strategy to execution .
Airbnb Costs Under Microscope as Travel Shrinks
Airbnb shut down its marketing efforts last week, saving an estimated $800 million annually. But it likely will need to make more-substantial cost reductions across the board as the spread of coronavirus ravages its business.An analysis of Airbnb’s profit statements shows that the company spends ...
Coronavirus Means Everyone Wants Jigsaw Puzzles. Good Luck Buying One.
Demand has taken off, but the world’s largest maker finds itself with fewer ways to get puzzles to puzzlers. As if things weren’t bad enough, now there’s a shortage of jigsaw puzzles just when we need them most. The coronavirus pandemic has forced millions of Americans to hunker down in their homes and find ways to entertain themselves. A lot of them are thinking the same thought: jigsaw puzzle.
Workforce insight into hiring and layoffs
COVID-19 has taken a toll on the workforce, and you can now see a list of who’s hiring, freezing hires, laying people off, and rescinding job offers, according to crowdsourced data from Candor, a company that helps tech workers negotiate salaries