The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

Photo Erika Nardini. Composite by Clark Miller.

Erika Nardini Isn’t Here to Apologize

By Annie Goldsmith · Sep 16, 2022 10:30am PDT · 2 comments

The Barstool Sports offices are heard before they are seen. Raucous cheers and hollering permeate the elevator bank inside its Manhattan headquarters—the sound of an ever-rowdy 400-employee media company revving up for the day. Located on the second floor of a nondescript building a few blocks from Penn Station, the offices are not as glossy as... The Barstool Sports offices are heard before they are seen. Raucous cheers and hollering permeate...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Seven Cloud Security Startups Ripe for Acquisition

By Aaron Holmes · Sep 16, 2022 6:00am PDT

The rise of cloud computing prompted venture capitalists to pour billions of dollars into cybersecurity startups that sell specialized software to secure cloud-based apps and data. Now the same investors say they expect to see bigger companies snap up many of those startups. A tougher environment for raising private capital and growing interest... The rise of cloud computing prompted venture capitalists to pour billions of dollars into...

Here's Dylan Field, Figma CEO. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Real Rationale Behind Adobe’s Figma Acquisition

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 15, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Earlier this week, I asked our team for a copy of the slides for our annual Women in Tech, Media and Finance event and waited for a PowerPoint in my inbox. But instead of a slide deck, our team sent me a link to the slides using the design program Figma.I asked why we had switched up our methods (especially because Figma was designed for web... Earlier this week, I asked our team for a copy of the slides for our annual Women in Tech, Media...

WTF speakers Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, vice president, Amazon Web Services; Jessica Lessin, founder and CEO, The Information; Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of Alto Pharmacy; Jordan Taylor, CEO and co-founder, Medley; and Christine Moy, head of digital assets, Apollo. Photos Erin Beach

Better Work-Life Balance, Smarter Subscriptions, an Upgrade to Athleisure: What Women Wanted at WTF

By Arielle Pardes and Annie Goldsmith · Sep 15, 2022 3:00pm PDT

WTF speakers Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, vice president, Amazon Web Services; Jessica Lessin, founder and CEO, The Information; Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of Alto Pharmacy; Jordan Taylor, CEO and co-founder, Medley; and Christine Moy, head of digital assets, Apollo. Photos Erin Beach

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Better Work-Life Balance, Smarter Subscriptions, an Upgrade to Athleisure: What Women Wanted at WTF

By Arielle Pardes and Annie Goldsmith · Sep 15, 2022 3:00pm PDT

Stretchy waistbands were out, Bluetooth water bottleswere in at the Rosewood Sand Hill hotel this Wednesday, as more than 200 tech and business leaders gathered in Menlo Park, Calif., for The Information’s annual Women in Tech, Media and Finance summit. For some, it was the first in-person event in years—an opportunity to rub shoulders with... Stretchy waistbands were out, Bluetooth water bottleswere in at the Rosewood Sand Hill hotel this...

Kaya Yurieff, Melinda Chung, Stephanie Smith, Katelin Holloway. Photo: Erin Beach

Creator Economy

How to Thrive as Social Media Gets Less Social; Mosseri Sounds Alarm on Instagram’s Reach With Creators

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 15, 2022 2:58pm PDT

Social media isn’t as social as it used to be. Rather than using a Facebook feed to update friends every day or creating groups to host events, it’s becoming more common to use direct messaging for most personal interactions and instead place curated content on public profiles, such as an Instagram feed.That was one of the takeaways from The... Social media isn’t as social as it used to be. Rather than using a Facebook feed to update...

Adam Mosseri. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instagram Trails TikTok and YouTube On Creator Satisfaction, Mosseri Tells Staff

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kaya Yurieff · Sep 15, 2022 1:59pm PDT · 1 comment

For the past couple of years, as Instagram has sought to better compete with TikTok, becoming more appealing to creators has been a top priority. But in a memo to staff a couple of weeks ago, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri made it clear the app still badly trails both TikTok and YouTube in satisfying creators. In the memo, which The Information has... For the past couple of years, as Instagram has sought to better compete with TikTok, becoming...

From top left, clockwise: Index Ventures' Danny Rimer, Sequoia Capital's Andrew Reed, Kleiner Perkins' Mamoon Hamid, and Greylock Partners' John Lilly. Photos by Bloomberg, Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins

The Biggest VC Winners From Figma’s $20 Billion Sale

By Kate Clark · Sep 15, 2022 1:29pm PDT · 1 comment

Adobe’s planned $20 billion purchase of design tool developer Figma is the third-biggest acquisition of a subscription software firm in history, and the largest deal for a private tech company at the time of the announcement. It’s also a lucrative deal for a slew of well-known venture capital firms, including Index Ventures, Greylock... Adobe’s planned $20 billion purchase of design tool developer Figma is the third-biggest...

The People in Power at Snap After Its Shakeup

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 15, 2022 11:41am PDT

The People in Power at Snap After Its Shakeup

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 15, 2022 11:41am PDT

Snap last month laid off 1,200 people. Even before the job cuts, however, several Snap executives left, precipitating a shake-up in the top ranks. The latest update to our Snap org chart shows which executives now hold the most power. Notably, Jerry Hunter, Snap’s new chief operating officer, will now oversee ad sales, which Jeremi Gorman,... Snap last month laid off 1,200 people. Even before the job cuts, however, several Snap executives...

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. Photo by Bloomberg

Adobe’s $20 Billion Deal For Figma is More Than 50 Times the Startup’s Revenue

By Amir Efrati · Sep 15, 2022 9:25am PDT · 13 comments

The significance of Adobe’s $20 billion purchase of design software provider Figma unveiled Thursday can be summed up in three data points, which show how motivated Adobe was to seal the deal: The significance of Adobe’s $20 billion purchase of design software provider Figma unveiled...

Art by Mike Sullivan

We’ve Got Misinformation All Wrong

By Karan Lala and Josh Krivoshein · Sep 15, 2022 9:00am PDT · 10 comments

Both advocacy groups and political leaders tend to assume that misinformation persists on social media because the platforms are unwilling to get rid of it—a gross and unhelpful oversimplification. Some of the largest technology companies in the world spend tens of billions of dollars each year to maintain the integrity of discourse on... Both advocacy groups and political leaders tend to assume that misinformation persists on social...

Illustration by Shane Burke.

Google Goes From Hot to Not With Startup Headhunters

By Mark Matousek · Sep 15, 2022 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Google employees were prized recruits for tech founders for much of the past two decades. But that’s changing. It was two years ago when Chris Johnson, founder of executive recruiting firm Artisanal Talent, first realized founders’ tastes were starting to shift. Johnson thought a veteran Google executive might be a good fit for a... Google employees were prized recruits for tech founders for much of the past two decades. But...

From left, Edith Cooper and Jordan Taylor, co-founders of Medley, and Cara Allamano, chief people officer of Lattice. Photo by Erin Beach.

WTF: A Tough Time for Startups but a Boon for the Cloud

By Paris Martineau, Kaya Yurieff and Mahira Dayal · Sep 14, 2022 6:27pm PDT · 3 comments

From left, Edith Cooper and Jordan Taylor, co-founders of Medley, and Cara Allamano, chief people officer of Lattice. Photo by Erin Beach.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

WTF: A Tough Time for Startups but a Boon for the Cloud

By Paris Martineau, Kaya Yurieff and Mahira Dayal · Sep 14, 2022 6:27pm PDT · 3 comments

A looming recession has made fundraising tough for startups—“and it’s going to get tougher,” said Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of digital health startup Alto Pharmacy. The company raised $200 million in a late-stage funding round announced in January, led by SoftBank Vision Fund. “Previously there was this huge focus on... A looming recession has made fundraising tough for startups—“and it’s going to...

Christine Moy of Apollo Global Management said crypto valuations still have room to fall. Photo by Erin Beach.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Apollo’s Moy Says Crypto Startup Valuations Still Have Room to Fall

By Erin Woo · Sep 14, 2022 5:21pm PDT

Crypto startup valuations still have room to fall after getting “a little ridiculous,” said Christine Moy, head of digital assets for investment firm Apollo Global Management. “Valuations are more reasonable, but I think that the broader macroeconomic picture can still have a real downside impact on crypto,” Moy said in... Crypto startup valuations still have room to fall after getting “a little...

Photo by Bloomberg

Twilio Learns to Like ‘Profitable Growth’; Google’s Cuts

By Martin Peers · Sep 14, 2022 5:01pm PDT

This is the year of corporate mea culpas, there’s no doubt about it. Twilio, the enterprise software firm best known for its messaging product, became the latest to acknowledge the errors of its ways when it unveiled plans today to cut 11% of its workforce. Twilio, said CEO Jeff Lawson, grew “too fast” in the past couple of years. His words... This is the year of corporate mea culpas, there’s no doubt about it. Twilio, the enterprise...

Art by Mike Sullivan

For Crypto VCs, the Ethereum Merge Means Business As Usual

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 14, 2022 4:51pm PDT

In crypto land, everyone and their uncle is talking and tweeting about the Ethereum merge, the major software update slated to happen shortly after midnight tonight. (We fielded the most pressing technical questions about the merge in our August 24 newsletter.) Much of the chatter is nervous excitement—excitement because the protocol is expected... In crypto land, everyone and their uncle is talking and tweeting about the Ethereum merge, the...

Agnes Chu, President of Condé Nast Entertainment. Photo by Erin Beach.

Condé Nast Titles, the ‘OG Influencers,’ Are Evolving to Reach a TikTok Generation

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 14, 2022 3:31pm PDT

Agnes Chu, President of Condé Nast Entertainment. Photo by Erin Beach.

Creator Economy

Condé Nast Titles, the ‘OG Influencers,’ Are Evolving to Reach a TikTok Generation

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 14, 2022 3:31pm PDT

Condé Nast, the venerable media company behind Vogue, Wired and Vanity Fair, thinks a lot about reaching its Gen Z audience. That means connecting with them on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, where a future generation increasingly turns to influencers rather than traditional media brands. “These influencers are providing an authority and... Condé Nast, the venerable media company behind Vogue, Wired and Vanity Fair, thinks a lot about...

Goli Sheikholeslami, CEO of Politico, speaks at the 2022 WTF Conference. Photo by Erin Beach.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Politico CEO Sees Slowdown; Conde’s Chu on TikTok Winning Video

By Paris Martineau and Arielle Pardes · Sep 14, 2022 11:20am PDT

Politico is feeling the impact of the market downturn in its ad business, said CEO Goli Sheikholeslami, a sign of how the slower economy is having a wide-ranging impact on companies that make money selling advertising. “We’ve definitely seen sort of a slowdown,” said Sheikholeslami in an interview for The Information’s... Politico is feeling the impact of the market downturn in its ad business, said CEO Goli...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg

Zoom Readies Email and Calendar Products to Defend Itself Against Microsoft, Google

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 14, 2022 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Millions of people join online meetings using Zoom Video Communications’ app by clicking on appointment links from their digital calendars or email services run by Microsoft and Google. That represents a big vulnerability for Zoom as Microsoft and Google make it easier for customers to host virtual meetings through the two companies’... Millions of people join online meetings using Zoom Video Communications’ app by clicking on...

Photo by Getty Images.

Which Digital Ad Businesses Work—and Which Don’t

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 13, 2022 5:08pm PDT

Here’s a puzzle. The economy has tanked. The digital ad business is in chaos, with new regulations and technology that make tracking customers much harder. Ad budgets are getting slashed and everyone is…launching advertising businesses? Roblox, an online gaming platform, announced it’s doing so. Netflix is also prepping its high-profile... Here’s a puzzle. The economy has tanked. The digital ad business is in chaos, with new...

Brendan Gahan, partner and chief social officer at creative agency Mekanism. Photo: Courtesy of subject

Why Advertisers Should Treat Influencer Marketing Like Athlete Endorsements

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 13, 2022 1:57pm PDT

Brendan Gahan, partner and chief social officer at creative agency Mekanism. Photo: Courtesy of subject

Creator Economy

Why Advertisers Should Treat Influencer Marketing Like Athlete Endorsements

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 13, 2022 1:57pm PDT

In 2006, ad agency BuderEngel was about to turn down a client that wanted it to promote an MP3 player called Zvue because the client’s budget was too small for traditional advertising. Brendan Gahan, who was a recent college grad working for the agency, suggested they instead pay a popular YouTube channel called Smosh to promote the... In 2006, ad agency BuderEngel was about to turn down a client that wanted it to promote an MP3...