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

Private Tech Database

The Information’s Private Tech Database

By Alfred Lee, Peter Schulz and Myk C. Klemme · Dec 14, 2015 7:00am PST · 9 comments

To understand why investors pump money into private tech firms at apparently ever-rising valuations, you need to know the terms of the investments. These are things like the payouts investors are guaranteed if the company goes public, is acquired or liquidated. Also important: how many votes an investor gets and the dividends they’re... To understand why investors pump money into private tech firms at apparently ever-rising...

Private Tech Database

A Glossary of Private Tech Terminology

By Alfred Lee · Dec 14, 2015 7:00am PST

The private tech financing world has become increasingly complicated, as has the jargon used to describe different terms. Here’s a list of definitions for commonly used terms. Each of the terms shows up in the accompanying chart. The private tech financing world has become increasingly complicated, as has the jargon used to...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 12, 2015 8:01am PST

Good Morning!From the spate of holiday parties underway, the year-end slowdown may be fast approaching. But The Information is still going strong, with some big spotlights on private tech coming before Christmas. Stay tuned! Good Morning!From the spate of holiday parties underway, the year-end slowdown may be fast...

The Information’s 411 — Greek Dramas

By Tom Dotan · Dec 11, 2015 1:50pm PST

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 — Greek Dramas

By Tom Dotan · Dec 11, 2015 1:50pm PST

The holiday season, and holiday parties, are in full swing; at The Information we just hosted ours Thursday night. But there’s little in the way of celebration coming out of Yahoo right now. The company announced that it was pulling back on its proposed spin-off of its Alibaba stake, and instead will look to spin out Yahoo’s core... The holiday season, and holiday parties, are in full swing; at The Information we just hosted...

Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Letter to Marissa Mayer

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 11, 2015 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Dear Marissa,You have had a tough week—make that a tough year. Yahoo is, in the words of Re/Code, in the hands of the accountants. My fellow reporters have published some anecdotes about your management style that make you look pretty bad. And did you really pay your editor-in-chief $5 million a year? But there are sides to you people... Dear Marissa,You have had a tough week—make that a tough year. Yahoo is, in the words of...

Lia Marie Johnson. Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore.

The Marketing Influencer’s Playbook

By Tom Dotan · Dec 10, 2015 7:01am PST · 1 comment

To reach young audience on social media, marketers seem to be going through an assortment of influencers with a wide variety of backgrounds.Some are aspiring musicians or comedians, others are stop-motion animators or fathers of three. The only thing these celebrities have in common is sizeable social media presence. To reach young audience on social media, marketers seem to be going through an assortment of...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, with Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Open Compute Project Targets India

By Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2015 1:40pm PST

Facebook is looking to make more strategic inroads in India, one of its most important markets. In the coming months, the company’s representatives there plan to recruit new members for Open Compute Project, a Facebook-led industry group that aims to make it easier for companies to build data centers, says one person who has been involved... Facebook is looking to make more strategic inroads in India, one of its most important markets....

Docker CEO Ben Golub. Photo by Bloomberg.

Four Questions for Docker

By Steve Nellis and Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2015 7:02am PST · 1 comment

Docker CEO Ben Golub. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Information Series

Four Questions for Docker

By Steve Nellis and Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2015 7:02am PST · 1 comment

Docker’s free open-source software for creating containers is insanely popular with developers. And that has venture capitalists hoping that there’s an alchemy for turning that popularity into profits.But Docker, valued at slightly above $1 billion at its most recent funding round, doesn’t make money off its software. Its plan... Docker’s free open-source software for creating containers is insanely popular with...

Source: SEC Filings

Tech IPO Slump Drowns Options

By Alfred Lee and Peter Schulz · Dec 8, 2015 7:00am PST · 1 comment

The lackluster performance of this year’s tech company IPOs hasn’t just hurt shareholders. A significant proportion of stock options, typically held by employees and directors, are underwater, data shows.For instance, 30% of outstanding stock options issued by Apigee, a software company that went public in April, were underwater,... The lackluster performance of this year’s tech company IPOs hasn’t just hurt...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Buzzfeed Faces Challenges in Video Push

By Tom Dotan · Dec 7, 2015 8:30am PST

At the 2014 Newfronts, Buzzfeed made a big splash with its plans to dive headlong into branded video. It was a well-timed announcement; video would soon be dominating Facebook’s news feeds as well as other fast growing apps like Snapchat.It was also an ambitious add-on to Buzzfeed’s offering to brands and a major piece of its... At the 2014 Newfronts, Buzzfeed made a big splash with its plans to dive headlong into branded...

Jonah Peretti. Photo by AP.

Q&A

Buzzfeed’s Next 10 Years

By Tom Dotan · Dec 7, 2015 8:29am PST · 5 comments

Buzzfeed became famous for its GIFs and lists, expanded into serious news and now is trying to turn itself into a video powerhouse. In the view of co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti, video is vital for Buzzfeed to draw increased spending from major advertisers. But competition for video advertising is much tougher than branded articles [see... Buzzfeed became famous for its GIFs and lists, expanded into serious news and now is trying to...

Art by Sam Lessin.

The Good Enough Stuff Revolution

By Sam Lessin · Dec 7, 2015 7:01am PST · 17 comments

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

The Good Enough Stuff Revolution

By Sam Lessin · Dec 7, 2015 7:01am PST · 17 comments

Are Harry’s or Dollar Shave Club razors better than Gillette? What about Honest Co. soap versus Dial soap? I have no idea, and I don’t have any interest in figuring it out. They are good enough and generally easier to buy, and so they win.There is, in my mind, a major revolution underway in most consumer hard and soft goods which I... Are Harry’s or Dollar Shave Club razors better than Gillette? What about Honest Co. soap...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 5, 2015 8:02am PST

Good morning!What with the latest rumors about Yahoo, Uber’s fundraising and Zuckerberg’s stock giveaway news, there was plenty of tech news to chew on this week. Here at The Information, where we celebrated our second anniversary on Friday, we’re looking forward to Thursday’s holiday party. It’s our last event of... Good morning!What with the latest rumors about Yahoo, Uber’s fundraising and...

From left to right: Jessica Lessin, Ben Medlock, Herman Narula and Julien Codorniou.

The Information Events

Stories from the U.K. Startup Scene

By The Information Staff · Dec 4, 2015 2:45pm PST · 2 comments

Earlier this week, we held a subscriber event in London, our ninth and second-to-last event of 2016. Big thanks to everyone who attended and to our co-hosts Atomico, Airbnb and Klarna. Edited excerpts below. Earlier this week, we held a subscriber event in London, our ninth and second-to-last event of...

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 — Bezos v. Kalanick

By Tom Dotan · Dec 4, 2015 2:10pm PST

With the year all but wound down, we decided to look ahead to 2016. Earlier this week we named Jeff Bezos our “Person of 2016,” based on Amazon’s expected rollouts of same day delivery, the Internet of Things, media and other strands of the Seattle company’s empire. Travis Kalanick was our second place pick.But... With the year all but wound down, we decided to look ahead to 2016. Earlier this week we named...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Encryption, Uber and What I Learned in London

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 4, 2015 8:01am PST

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Encryption, Uber and What I Learned in London

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 4, 2015 8:01am PST

I’ve never enjoyed writing about “tech scenes.” You may remember I have ranted about the tendency to judge a city’s techiness based on how it compares to San Francisco and the Bay Area before. I’ve never felt that approach revealed much of value. So, I went to London determined not to fall into the comparison trap.... I’ve never enjoyed writing about “tech scenes.” You may remember I have ranted...

Travis Kalanick. Photo by Flickr/Adam Tinworth.

Inside Uber’s Private Roadshows

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 3, 2015 12:52pm PST

Uber is raising billions more at a valuation north of $60 billion. The New York Times reported the round in October, and Bloomberg followed up Thursday. But the most interesting thing about this financing is not the astronomical valuation; it’s how Uber has been pitching it. In recent weeks, a number of folks who have been pitched by... Uber is raising billions more at a valuation north of $60 billion. The New York Times reported...

NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson. Photo by Bloomberg.

NetSuite Marketing Execs to Depart

By Steve Nellis · Dec 3, 2015 11:44am PST

Three marketing executives at subscription software firm NetSuite are leaving after a year or less on the job, according to people briefed on the matter.Chief Marketing Officer Fred Studer, Chief Creative Officer Morgan Norman and Vice President of Global Marketing Gladys Lau all joined the company in the past year, from Microsoft, Zuora and... Three marketing executives at subscription software firm NetSuite are leaving after a year or...

Art by Ady Kurniawan.

The Information’s Person of 2016: Jeff Bezos

By The Information Staff · Dec 3, 2015 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Jeff Bezos is our person of 2016.That might sound like a surprising choice. Mr. Bezos has been one of the most famous tech CEOs since the start of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s. But we believe that 2016 will be a bigger year for Mr. Bezos than years’ past—and a decisive year for Amazon.com. Those were two of our three criteria... Jeff Bezos is our person of 2016.That might sound like a surprising choice. Mr. Bezos has been...

Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Runner Up for Person of 2016: Travis Kalanick

By Amir Efrati · Dec 3, 2015 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Runner Up for Person of 2016: Travis Kalanick

By Amir Efrati · Dec 3, 2015 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Travis Kalanick came in a very close second as The Information’s Person of 2016. The scales tipped towards Jeff Bezos because he’s making moves across a variety of industries from commerce to media to software. But the case for Mr. Kalanick being the leader to watch in tech next year is very strong. It’s been apparent for... Travis Kalanick came in a very close second as The Information’s Person of 2016. The scales...