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Heeeeeey! Couple of fun things we have in the pipeline at the moment…
- Did you know we’re looking for you and your expertise for our TechCrunch founder summit?
- Join us for a free, one-hour webinar on Thursday, December 8 and learn about “Building a Compensation Plan for Better Retention,” where we’re talking with two of the top folks at BambooHR, who’ll be offering their expert guidance.
If you’re wondering what our Spotify Wrapped listening personalities are, you are in luck. See below. Happy end of November — onward to the last month of the year! — Christine and Haje
The TechCrunch Top 3
- #SpotifyWrapped: If you were like most of us TechCrunchers today, you were finding out what Spotify had to say about your year-long listening trends. Sarah writes that in addition to the list of your most listened-to songs, Spotify Wrapped 2022 attempted to guess your mood: Christine is “The Maverick” and Haje is “The Time Traveler,” in case you wanted to know.
- More layoffs: Food delivery companies continue to have a rough go of it. DoorDash is the latest to announce it will lay off 1,250 employees in efforts to reduce operating expenses, Aisha reports.
- It turns out you can have nice things: We enjoyed Mary Ann’s well-done story on ResortPass, a company that gives people a chance to lay out by the pool of a five-star resort without having to stay there. The company’s recent $26 million cash infusion includes celebrity backers, and most likely five-star pool loungers, Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Startups and VC
Today, crypto exchange Kraken announced it’s letting go of 1,100 staffers. The announcement came from a company blog post, Alex reports. News that Kraken is cutting staff — and therefore costs — is not a surprise, given a generally gloomy macroeconomic climate and even worse climes in crypto land. Speaking of crypto land, Sarah reports that Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin project TBD kills its plan to trademark “Web5.” Meanwhile, the creator of Magic: The Gathering spoke with Devin about why he put a paper game on the blockchain.
Apart from the world of crypto, it was a good day for new funds — Christine reports that New Fare Partners is the latest female-led VC to close first fund, and Catherine has a story today about Iterative launching its second fund targeting Southeast Asia–based startups.
“Native Americans are the most impoverished group in the US, a vestige of intergenerational, systematic disenfranchisement. They are also being hit the hardest by inflation right now, as a result,” says Danielle Forward, CEO and co-founder of Natives Rising in an interview with Mike. She is working to change that situation. “While the tech industry is slowing down on hiring, tech jobs remain one of the most economically empowering, in-demand job opportunities of the future, especially for those who desire remote work.”
Okay, fine, there’s a few more:
Dear Sophie: How should I prepare for my visa interview?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch
Dear Sophie,
Our startup was just accepted into the winter batch of a top accelerator!
My co-founder with an H-1B just got laid off from Big Tech, but he’s OK because his immigration lawyer is filing a change of status to B-1 within the 60-day grace period. I’m nervous though, because I’m outside the U.S. and I don’t yet have a B-1/B-2 visitor visa.
How can I ace the visa interview? What type of questions will I be asked? How should I prepare?
— Tenacious in Tobago
Three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
In Airbnb’s new life, it is playing the role of real estate agent. The vacation home rental giant is now helping renters find an apartment so they can Airbnb it, Ivan writes. Kind of interesting when you consider that Airbnb and its hosts have gotten into trouble in the past for listing properties without permission from landlords, and in some cases the city government.
Speaking of things you’re allowed to do in cities, Brian reports that “San Francisco police can now use robots to kill.” The city’s board of supervisors passed the proposal that will allow robots to be used only “in extreme circumstances to save or prevent further loss of innocent lives,” he writes.
And we have five more for you:
