Court hears arguments on net neutrality
Executive coaching should be accessible to anyone who is interested, but oftentimes scaling the education is not practical. With her company Zella Life, co-founder Remy Meraz is democratizing professional development using AI. We sat down with her to discuss AI, independent contractors, and more.
After working in the financial sector for over 20 years, Mical Jeanlys-White founded her own company, WealthMore, a wealth tech with a focus on tackling a key financial barrier—wealth building and management. Her company leverages technology to connect everyday Americans with accessible wealth management services, aiming to provide wealth creation for all. We sat down with her to discuss her journey in raising capital, navigating tax policy, the evolving role of AI, and more.
Vance Reavie is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Using his knowledge from previous ventures, he created an AI platform that intelligently automates manual marketing and merchandising workflows and content generation processes for brands and retailers. We sat down with Vance to discuss the startup ecosystem in Arkansas, AI policy and regulation, grant opportunities, and more.
Founded in 2017, 60Hertz set out to tackle critical challenges in maintaining microgrids and renewable energy systems, particularly in remote regions like Alaska. Now active in eight countries, the company provides advanced maintenance technology through its SaaS platform. In this blog post, we dive into 60Hertz’s journey, from early capital-raising hurdles to success with government grants, and explore the future goals of this innovative company.
The Big Story: Tech news from the G-7 summit. French President Emmanuel Macron announced during the G-7 summit that France and the United States reached “a very good agreement” to end a standoff on France’s new digital services tax on online platforms. In a press conference with President Trump, Macron said tech companies that pay the tax could deduct the amount after an international deal on taxing Internet companies is finalized next year.
The Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to more than 13 million people. It’s also home to Lemonlight, an Inglewood-based video production company that focuses on creating well-designed, affordable videos for companies across the U.S. and, soon, across the world. We recently spoke with Hope Horner, Lemonlight’s co-founder and CEO, about the startup’s work, her experiences in California, and her goals for the company moving forward.
A recent Federal Circuit decision addressing the constitutionality of inter partes review (IPR)—a Patent Office review of a patent that has already been issued—is a positive development for promoting patent quality and leveling the playing field for startups involved in patent litigation. In Celgene Corp. v. Peter, the court held that IPR proceedings which result in the cancellation of issued patent claims are not an unconstitutional taking of private property. While it seems likely the Supreme Court will eventually weigh in on the question, for now IPRs remain available to startups who want to ask the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to take a second look at weak patents that arguably should have never issued.
The Big Story: 2019 Congressional Startup Day. This Wednesday, August 21st was Congressional Startup Day, a nationwide celebration of entrepreneurial communities across the United States. Lawmakers used the day to highlight the importance of the U.S. startup ecosystem, as well as learn more about the issues affecting startups in their districts and across their states. More than 50 members of Congress and their staffers agreed to meet with startups and entrepreneurs during the August recess as part of Congressional Startup Day festivities.
Most of us think of wearables as the smartwatch on our wrist or the monitor embedded in grandma’s bracelet, but GoRout has imagined a new method for integrating software and wearable tech. We spoke with GoRout CEO Mike Rolih to learn more about his company, the Minnesota startup ecosystem, and how GoRout is improving efficiency in the game of football and beyond.
What’s happening this week: Representatives from tech companies and industry trade groups slammed France’s new digital services tax yesterday during a hearing held by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, saying that the legislation unfairly targets U.S. tech companies. The hearing came after the French Senate last month approved a 3 percent tariff on tech companies with more than 25 million euros (approximately $27.7 million) in French revenue, or have a global revenue of more than 750 million euros (approximately $832 million) per year.
Charlotte, North Carolina has grown into a premier startup hub in recent years, helped in part by a ballooning number of startup-focused organizations and co-working spaces in the Queen City. To learn more about Charlotte’s burgeoning startup ecosystem, we spoke with Christine Nicodemus, COO and co-founder of SkoolAide, a startup that works to advance student learning and behavioral growth through goal-setting software.
This week, WayUp had the honor of hosting Congressman Jerry Nadler (NY-10th district) at our HQ in New York City. Not only is the congressman the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, but he also represents a large district in NYC where about a third of my employees live, and where hundreds of thousands of WayUp users reside. So, needless to say, it was an incredible opportunity.
What’s happening this week: The tech world is still digesting reports of a draft executive order from the White House that would empower the FTC and the FCC to crack down on social media platforms that moderate content that appears on their sites. The draft order, according to a summary obtained by CNN, would ask the FCC to develop regulations clarifying how and when digital platforms are protected when they remove online content. It also reportedly calls for the FTC to take the new regulations into account when it investigates or sues companies. The proposed order is not final and is subject to change, although it would represent a significant escalation of Trump administration’s allegations that social media sites are biased against conservatives.
The Big Story: Examining online extremism. The White House is holding a meeting on online extremism with tech and Internet platforms today in the wake of reports that the suspected perpetrator of last weekend’s deadly shooting in El Paso, Texas posted an anti-immigrant manifesto to online message board 8chan shortly before the shooting.
Delaware may be small, but the passion of the state’s entrepreneurs is hard to miss. One such innovative leader is Pedro Moore, who founded Funding Fuel as a means of helping everyday people build up wealth. Using an investment portfolio model, Pedro is focused on providing people, particularly those from underserved communities, with the means to invest in popular franchises to improve their financial situations.
Startups facing patent litigation should be aware of recent, positive developments in patent venue law. This area of law dictates where a patentee-plaintiff can file an infringement lawsuit, and requires that a startup (or any company) can only be sued in a location (judicial district) where it has sufficient presence. Importantly, recent legal developments restrict parties—including patent assertion entities (PAEs), sometimes referred to as “patent trolls”—from suing startups in far-flung, plaintiff-friendly judicial districts. This levels the playing field in abusive patent litigation and benefits startups, who should no longer be required to defend litigation far from “home.”
What’s happening this week: In the wake of two tragic mass shootings over the weekend, officials are once again turning their attention to the spread of problematic content on the Internet after hateful messages from the shooter in El Paso were discovered on the online message board 8chan. President Donald Trump yesterday called on social media platforms to work with the Justice Department to identify potential mass shooters, saying that “we must shine light on the dark recesses of the Internet and stop mass murders before they start.”
The Big Story: Fallout from Capital One breach. Capital One revealed that a massive data breach exposed personal information from over 106 million credit card holders and applicants. The announcement came after the FBI arrested a former Amazon Web Services employee accused of breaking through the bank’s firewall to access customer data stored on an Amazon cloud server. The FBI is already examining whether the woman accused of hacking into Capital One’s cloud server also successfully hacked into other organizations’ servers as well.
What the Copyright Office hearing means for startups. This afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an oversight hearing of the U.S. Copyright Office. Karyn Temple, the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, will testify about operations and policy activities at the Copyright Office.
The Big Story: Barr wants to end “warrant-proof” encryption. Attorney General William Barr said in a speech that tech companies should be required to provide law enforcement officials with backdoor access to “warrant-proof” encryption on devices and apps. Barr did not propose a solution or path forward during his speech, but said that encryption was “enabling dangerous criminals to cloak their communications and activities behind an essentially impenetrable digital shield.”
If asked about Rhode Island, any elementary school student would likely inform you that the Northeastern state is smallest in the Union by area. Rhode Island is also home to historic mansions, beautiful beaches, and large ocean bays. These days it is home to something else too--startup innovation and entrepreneurial energy. We spoke to Pat Sabatino, startup founder and executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition of Entrepreneurs to learn more about startups in The Ocean State.
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