Source: Comedian Hasan Minhaj can now direct you through traffic on Waze
Summary
Waze is partnering with comedian Hasan Minhaj to offer his voice as a navigation option for users in English across the globe, along with a “suburban dad” minivan icon and a Hasan-inspired “Mood” icon.
Fact
Source: Ask Sophie: Which visas are best for U.S. startup accelerators?
Summary
Two co-founders of a startup have been accepted to an accelerator program in the US and are wondering what visa they can get to stay after the program and grow their startup. They can get a B-1 business visitor visa to participate in the accelerator program, which will enable them to stay initially for six months.
Fact
Source: 5 investors discuss what’s in store for venture debt following SVB’s collapse
Summary
Many startups and investors are worried about the impact of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and its implications on venture debt. However, according to TechCrunch+ survey of five investors, venture debt will not be affected much, and companies will still be financed, albeit at a higher cost and with stricter covenants.
Fact
💰 Venture debt was used as a cheaper alternative to raising equity and helped companies build in ways that equity isn’t suitable for.
💸 The rising cost of capital is affecting venture debt, and it might become harder to obtain and more expensive in the future.
💼 Lending standards are shifting focus from loan value to capital efficiency, ability to become profitable, etc.
Source: Pew: 60% of U.S. Twitter users have ‘taken a break’ from the platform in the past year
Summary
Even with Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, a majority of US adult Twitter users approached by Pew Research, 60%, stated that they have taken a break from using the service for “several weeks or more” over the past year. The study also reveals that those who are more likely to have taken a break from Twitter include women and Black users, potentially because these demographics have historically faced the most harassment on the platform. Pew’s separate study finds 40% of current and recent Twitter users are “extremely” or “very likely” to use the platform a year from now, with men more likely than women to say they will “likely” use the platform.
Facts