When the Portland (Oregon) Seed Fund got its start four years ago, the concept of “going to City Hall for seed funding” was a bit of an eyebrow-raising idea. But it was one that started gaining traction in 2011 in Portland (and other U.S. cities),...
Last week San Francisco welcomed the latest unicorn to the herd – P2P lending site Prosper. Prosper announced that it brought in another $165 million in venture funding and sailed right past the “unicorn-making” $1 billion mark to a total valuation of ~$1.9 billion. Get...
When the history of the mobile revolution is written, the chapters on payments, media and small businesses will be among its richest reading. And while we anticipate that the complete history of the mobile wallet wars will be very interesting, for our part here at...
One of online gaming’s hottest rivalries is at an end. Yesterday, Optimal Payments – parent company of the Neteller digital wallet – announced its $1.2 billion dollar acquisition of Skrill – parent of the eponymously named mobile product. Get the Full Story Complete the form...
Prominent tech investor Bill Gurley captured headlines coming out of SXSW last week with his rather grim predictions of things to come for the startup economy – and unusual addition to what is generally a celebration of all the potential of what’s new and now...
When Sophia Amoruso’s first version of Nasty Gal launched in 2006, it was as her personal store on the eBay marketplace. That small, original venture developed a reputation for eclectic and edgy fashions combined with a young, visible and fashion-forward following. Fast forward nine years,...
“Uh-uh. No way. Cold cucumber mush for thirty-something bucks?” –Phoebe Buffay, “Friends,” The One With Five Steaks And An Eggplant Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required. yesSubscribe...
When Credit Karma came on the scene in 2007, it entered the startup marketplace with a fairly simply goal: help consumers better manage their financial lives by giving them truly free access to their credit reports. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock...
Slacktivism: The act of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort to fix a problem. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins...