TechCrunch Summary (2023-06-01 10AM)

Source: A quarter million people want Telly’s free smart TV, says founder

Summary
TV start-up Telly has registered 250,000 users within the first two weeks of launch, with over 100,000 recorded within the first day-and-a-half. Gen Z and Millennial users (two-thirds of the registrants) – both groups not associated with consuming ad-supported services – account for the majority of the sign-ups. New users require to give detailed information including age, gender, home address, ethnicity, and viewing habits and purchase behaviors to register. The company says it is also looking for other connected devices to partner with in future.

Fact

💰 Telly provides free smart TVs entirely supported by advertising

📈 Over 250,000 users registered in the first two weeks of launch, with 100,000 within the first day-and-a-half

📺 Telly’s second screen also acts as the control center for the TV and allows users to change channels, brightness and volume

📱 The TV platform is compatible with third-party apps such as Zoom, music, games, and news updates

👥Gen Z and Millennial users who together make up two-thirds of the sign-up, are usually resistant to ad-supported services and do not have cable TV

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Source: Many startups are built off research, so why don’t more scientists become founders?

Summary
Although scientists often spend decades researching solutions to problems, it is unusual for them to become entrepreneurs, with startup culture generally considering them to lack the necessary skills. However, many scientists can bring their solutions out of the lab and into the world, as they apply their research to real-world problems.

Fact

🔬 Scientists are less likely to become entrepreneurs than engineers or operators, despite the commonality of founders wanting to solve problems.

👨‍🔬 Other fields have companies that utilize research conducted by scientists.

💡 Bringing research out of labs is necessary to apply them to real-world problems.

🎓 Scientists are stigmatized as poor potential founders, possibly due to their academic background differing from that of startups.

👍 Many scientists, like Stacy Blain, founder of Concarlo Therapeutics, do possess the skills needed to be successful entrepreneurs.

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Source: Google Play Books adds new practice feature to help kids learn how to read

Summary
Google Play Books has launched a new feature called “Reading Practice” to enhance the vocabulary and comprehension skills of children between 0-8 years old. The new tools allow early readers to track their reading position, practice words they skipped or mispronounced and get a child-friendly definition of a word with the tap of a finger.

Fact

📖 Early readers can track their reading position and listen to an entire sentence that comes with a child-friendly definition of a word.

🎧 The feature enables children to tap any word and hear what it sounds like.

👶 The new Reading Practice tool is designed for children between the ages of 0 to 8 years old.

🔎 Google Play Books highlights ebooks that offer Reading Practice with a “Practice” badge on the book detail page and via a “Reading practice” filter.

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Source: Verizon’s +Play is the first to bundle Netflix and Paramount+ with Showtime

Summary
Verizon’s +Play bundle offers for the first time Netflix’s premium plan and Paramount’s streaming service with Showtime for $25.99 per month, a 19% discount on the two services’ regular price. The bundle marks the first time that Paramount+ and Netflix have been offered together.

Fact
💰 Verizon’s +Play bundle offers Netflix Premium and Paramount+ with Showtime at $25.99 per month, saving customers $70 annually.
🎬 This marks the first time Netflix Premium and Paramount+ with Showtime have been offered in a bundle together.
👥 +Play is exclusively available for Verizon mobile, 5G Home and LTE Home Internet customers in the U.S. and includes over 30 other services.

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