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

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

How Growth Will Burst the Tech Bubble

By Sam Lessin · Oct 26, 2015 7:01am PDT · 8 comments

These days people trying to predict when the tech bubble will burst tend to argue it will happen when 1) tech companies run out of all the money they’ve raised or 2) the global economy worsens. On the first, I think it is important to consider some differences from the last tech boom. By and large, today, companies raising huge amounts of... These days people trying to predict when the tech bubble will burst tend to argue it will happen...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Oct 24, 2015 8:01am PDT

Good morning! This week’s drama about Theranos is a good reminder of how private tech holds a fascination far beyond Silicon Valley. It’s also a good reminder that journalists love a good brawl over the subject of accuracy in the media. Good morning! This week’s drama about Theranos is a good reminder of how private tech...

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 - Blood Feuds

By Tom Dotan · Oct 23, 2015 2:39pm PDT

The controversy over blood testing biotech firm Theranos has extended into its second week, as founder Elizabeth Holmes continues to push back forcefully against the allegations made in a tough Wall Street Journal story. Jessica joins the podcast this week to give her take on the mystique surrounding Ms. Holmes and whether her techy rhetoric... The controversy over blood testing biotech firm Theranos has extended into its second week, as...

Elizabeth Holmes’s Miscalculation

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 23, 2015 7:02am PDT · 12 comments

Elizabeth Holmes’s Miscalculation

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 23, 2015 7:02am PDT · 12 comments

The line between vision and hubris in Silicon Valley has always been blurry. So often, CEOs are hailed as visionaries (Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg). Other times, they’re hailed as overly arrogant and cocky. I increasingly think the difference boils down to a simple thing: how fast their companies are growing. A fast-growing... The line between vision and hubris in Silicon Valley has always been blurry. So often, CEOs are...

SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Tech’s New Liquidity Men

By Alfred Lee · Oct 22, 2015 3:29pm PDT

Nasdaq’s acquisition of SecondMarket unveiled on Thursday will consolidate a big part of the secondary market for private tech shares in one brokerage firm. At the same time, though, it signals that brokers in the private tech market are specializing in different areas, which shows that the market is maturing. Nasdaq’s acquisition of SecondMarket unveiled on Thursday will consolidate a big part of...

Peter Hollens. Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore.

Music Rights Worry for Vessel

By Tom Dotan · Oct 22, 2015 10:02am PDT

About a year ago, Vessel approached a cappella cover artist Peter Hollens about joining the not-yet-launched video platform. The site, which offered an upfront payment, hoped to attract the singer and his one million YouTube subscribers.But Mr. Hollens chose not to sign. One reason was his concern about music publishing rights, which he needs to... About a year ago, Vessel approached a cappella cover artist Peter Hollens about joining the...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Patent Ruling Backfires on Tech

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 22, 2015 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

When the Supreme Court ruled against the validity of software patents held by a financial tech company called Alice Corp. last year, it looked like a victory for tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon that had joined the fight against Alice. The tech firms believed Alice’s financial software patents covered abstract ideas and not... When the Supreme Court ruled against the validity of software patents held by a financial tech...

Marissa Mayer. Photo by AP.

What’s Left at Yahoo

By Amir Efrati · Oct 21, 2015 10:59am PDT · 3 comments

Marissa Mayer. Photo by AP.

What’s Left at Yahoo

By Amir Efrati · Oct 21, 2015 10:59am PDT · 3 comments

What's the difference between the “troubled” Yahoo of yesteryear and the “troubled” Yahoo of today? Profits.The company in recent years pumped out as much as $800 million in annual income from its operations while net revenue generally stayed flat. That figure slumped sharply last year to $143 million and for the... What's the difference between the “troubled” Yahoo of yesteryear and the...

Box CEO Aaron Levie. Photo by Bloomberg.

New Employee Perk: Stock Buybacks At Preferred Prices

By Alfred Lee · Oct 21, 2015 7:02am PDT

In 2014, Pure Storage bought back $58 million in shares from employees for $15.73 a share, financing it by issuing preferred stock to outside investors at the same price. It was the second time in two years the company, which went public this month, had financed a buyback of common shares held by employees with preferred stock, regulatory... In 2014, Pure Storage bought back $58 million in shares from employees for $15.73 a share,...

Source: 7Park Data

Tech Scandals That Hurt So Good

By Peter Schulz and Reed Albergotti · Oct 20, 2015 10:01am PDT · 9 comments

Whenever a scandal hits a consumer business, the news media instantly question whether the onslaught of bad news will turn off customers. Rarely does anyone revisit these episodes to see whether there was an impact.But new data shows that there is really no such thing as bad publicity when it comes to the consumer Internet. Even when there is an... Whenever a scandal hits a consumer business, the news media instantly question whether the...

Salesforce president Keith Block. Photo by Bloomberg.

To Find Next $1 Billion, Salesforce Squeezes Partners

By Steve Nellis · Oct 20, 2015 7:01am PDT

On the hunt for its next billion dollars in sales revenue, Salesforce is turning its attention to the thousands of small companies that sell software on the company’s AppExchange and the thousands of consultants that help Salesforce users customize their systems.In recent months, Salesforce has started to raise the cut of software partner... On the hunt for its next billion dollars in sales revenue, Salesforce is turning its attention to...

Source: 7Park Data

Outside U.S., Uber Losing to Locals

By Amir Efrati and Peter Schulz · Oct 19, 2015 2:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Source: 7Park Data

Outside U.S., Uber Losing to Locals

By Amir Efrati and Peter Schulz · Oct 19, 2015 2:00pm PDT · 2 comments

It’s no secret that Uber trails ride-sharing rivals throughout Asia. New data shows that Uber is also behind local competitors in Latin America, China and eastern Europe as well.Uber may have an edge in English-speaking nations, however. The data shows it to be ahead in the United Kingdom and Australia. It’s no secret that Uber trails ride-sharing rivals throughout Asia. New data shows that...

Hayes Barnard. Photo by Jeremiah Rogers.

The Salesman Behind SolarCity

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 19, 2015 7:54am PDT

The word “solar” still gives venture capitalists heartburn. But a second generation of companies with new business models has risen from the ashes of the bankruptcies of a few years ago.At the front of the pack is SolarCity, the $4.7 billion market leader in the race to install solar panels on homeowners’ rooftops. And unlike... The word “solar” still gives venture capitalists heartburn. But a second generation...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed

By The Information Staff · Oct 17, 2015 8:06am PDT

Good Morning! What with Square’s IPO filing, Dell-EMC and the start of quarterly earnings season, there was plenty of tech news to chew on in recent days. Good Morning! What with Square’s IPO filing, Dell-EMC and the start of quarterly...

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 - Righting Ships

By The Information Staff · Oct 16, 2015 10:37am PDT

The Information’s intern Sam Lessin makes his first appearance on the Podcast, talking about his Monday column that looked at why troubled tech companies rarely pull out of a downward spiral. It isn’t that companies like Twitter and Yahoo aren’t staffed by talented people, but the very nature of tech... The Information’s intern Sam Lessin makes his first appearance on the Podcast, talking...

VC is Getting Disrupted, But Not Democratized

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 16, 2015 8:16am PDT · 1 comment

VC is Getting Disrupted, But Not Democratized

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 16, 2015 8:16am PDT · 1 comment

There’s an idea floating around that venture capital is getting more open and accessible. People point to the rise of crowdfunding platforms like AngelList and relatively recent legislation like the Jobs Act and predict that it is only a matter of time before the Internet will allow anyone to become the next John Doerr. There’s an idea floating around that venture capital is getting more open and accessible. ...

Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snapchat’s Twitter Problem

By Tom Dotan · Oct 15, 2015 10:06am PDT · 1 comment

Is Snapchat destined to become more like Facebook or Twitter? That is to say, can it become a service that will be used by 1.4 billion people, like Facebook, and have a market capitalization of $262 billion? Or will it be stuck at around 300 million deeply-engaged users and a market capitalization of $20 billion, not much above Snapchat’s... Is Snapchat destined to become more like Facebook or Twitter? That is to say, can it become a...

Pure Storage CEO Scott Dietzen. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Pure Storage Investors and Executives Are Coming Out Ahead

By Alfred Lee · Oct 15, 2015 7:06am PDT

Few people will remember Pure Storage’s public market debut as a happy occasion. The stock ended up below its initial public offering price, putting a value on the company below its last fundraising round, although it has rallied a bit since.But even at Pure Storage’s lowest point last week, most of the investors including some... Few people will remember Pure Storage’s public market debut as a happy occasion. The stock...

The Information subscribers at this year's Subscriber Summit in San Francisco.

A Unique Job Opportunity at The Information

By The Information Staff · Oct 14, 2015 5:10pm PDT

The Information has a big mission: to build the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal of the digital era, backed by quality reporting that puts readers, not advertisers, first.In the digital news universe, subscription businesses get a bad rap. But we believe they are the most powerful way to deliver quality journalism to engaged readers... The Information has a big mission: to build the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal of the...

Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg.

Jack Dorsey is Squarely in Control

By Martin Peers · Oct 14, 2015 3:20pm PDT

Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg.

Jack Dorsey is Squarely in Control

By Martin Peers · Oct 14, 2015 3:20pm PDT

With his second startup, Square, Jack Dorsey appears to have learned an important lesson from his Twitter experience: It's vital to retain effective voting control.Mr. Dorsey has 24.4% of Square’s voting shares, the company disclosed in its initial public offering securities filing on Wednesday. That doesn’t sound like a lot,... With his second startup, Square, Jack Dorsey appears to have learned an important lesson from his...