Periodically

The Takeaway

By Jessica Lessin

An inside perspective on tech, media and startups from a reporter and founder who tells the truth about Silicon Valley.

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Recent Editions

The Takeaway

On Valuations, Stop Looking at the Outliers

By Jessica Lessin · Oct 24, 2014 11:17am PDT
Like most of you, I’ve been searching for some numbers to make sense of the private tech market, the dollars flowing in and the upward pressure on pricing. And while I haven’t devised one perfect indicator, I have concluded that the method many people are using to evaluate whether the market is overpriced is deeply flawed. ... Like most of you, I’ve been searching for some numbers to make sense of the private tech...
The Takeaway

Silicon Valley’s Frontman Problem

By Jessica Lessin · Oct 17, 2014 12:22pm PDT · 2 comments
Media interest in Silicon Valley is intensifying, often around a few vocal individuals. Marc Andreessen’s tweets about all matter of topics are being picked up by media outlets right and left. Every word out of Elon Musk, crazy or otherwise, spawns some (highly clickable) headlines. Peter Thiel’s remarks about Twitter management and pot hit a... Media interest in Silicon Valley is intensifying, often around a few vocal individuals. Marc...
The Takeaway

Why the Conventional Wisdom Around Messaging is Wrong

By Jessica Lessin · Oct 10, 2014 11:40am PDT
Investors are tripping over themselves to invest in messaging startups again. Eric, Tom and I hear Sequoia Capital and other VCs have been considering putting another round into productivity service Slack. We also hear Slack, which launched last year, has been seeking a valuation of as much as $1 billion, citing as a comparable the $1.2 billion... Investors are tripping over themselves to invest in messaging startups again. Eric, Tom and I...
Please PayPal, Do Something Crazy
By Jessica Lessin · Oct 3, 2014 10:02am PDT · 1 comment
The Takeaway

Please PayPal, Do Something Crazy

By Jessica Lessin · Oct 3, 2014 10:02am PDT · 1 comment
Ebay and PayPal finally announced their breakup this week, and so the online payments juggernaut will have the chance to chart its own destiny. And when it does next year, I have some advice: Do something most people in Silicon Valley think is crazy. Become a bank. Getting an official bank charter (or procuring one by buying a small bank) would... Ebay and PayPal finally announced their breakup this week, and so the online payments juggernaut...
The Takeaway

The Question Entrepreneurs Should Ask Themselves

By Jessica Lessin · Sep 26, 2014 11:59am PDT · 2 comments
Every week, someone in Silicon Valley writes an essay (or rant) questioning the sanity of investors who are pouring money into tech companies at higher and higher valuations. I have a different question: What about the sanity of entrepreneurs who are raising more money at ever higher valuations? Sure, a juicy valuation is hard to turn down;... Every week, someone in Silicon Valley writes an essay (or rant) questioning the sanity of...
The Takeaway

Android, Not Alibaba, is Rage in China Tech

By Jessica Lessin · Sep 19, 2014 7:48am PDT · 1 comment
In case you’ve been living under a rock, Alibaba shares begin trading today, a moment hailed in the U.S. as “a major landmark event in the evolution of global online activity” and “a coming of age of the Internet in China.” But if you’re wondering what technology business leaders, entrepreneurs and early... In case you’ve been living under a rock, Alibaba shares begin trading today, a moment...
The Takeaway

Optimism and and Unease at Asia’s ‘Davos’

By Jessica Lessin · Sep 12, 2014 7:29am PDT
I spent the week among 1,600 business leaders, scientists and technologists in Tianjin, China, a sprawling city of 14 million people and endless concrete skyscrapers.  The occasion was the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos,” a smaller version of world leader confab focused on science and technology; my tasks... I spent the week among 1,600 business leaders, scientists and technologists in Tianjin, China, a...
The Problem with Apple’s Juice
By Jessica Lessin · Sep 5, 2014 7:19am PDT
The Takeaway

The Problem with Apple’s Juice

By Jessica Lessin · Sep 5, 2014 7:19am PDT
In the build-up to the new Apple Watch, it is easy to get seduced by the rumored features. Curved screen! Wireless charging! Jony Ive thinks it’s slick!  But—and I hate to burst everyone’s bubble here—the appeal of the world’s most highly anticipated wearable computer is going to come down to something a... In the build-up to the new Apple Watch, it is easy to get seduced by the rumored features. Curved...
The Takeaway

Twitch Through the Prism of Cable TV

By Jessica Lessin · Aug 29, 2014 10:27am PDT
Inevitably, when a little-known company comes out of nowhere to be acquired by a well-known one for nearly a billion dollars, people start looking for analogies. And so it was with Twitch, the site that broadcasts people playing video games that Amazon nabbed this week (as first reported by Eric and Amir.) The analogy of choice among... Inevitably, when a little-known company comes out of nowhere to be acquired by a well-known one...
The Takeaway

Can Both Consumers and VCs Win in the Long Run?

By Jessica Lessin · Aug 22, 2014 8:02am PDT · 3 comments
It’s a great time to be a consumer. You can order a ride, meal, laundry pickup or massage in minutes through your phone without breaking the bank. And we have venture capitalists to thank for it. As startups sacrifice profits for growth, the VCs are funding the losses. Here at The Information we often laugh that we’re beneficiaries... It’s a great time to be a consumer. You can order a ride, meal, laundry pickup or massage...
The Takeaway

Goodbye, “Everything Store.” Hello, “Everything City.”

By Jessica Lessin · Aug 15, 2014 10:12am PDT · 3 comments
There are many ways to think about technology companies these days, but lately all the literal descriptions tend to fall short. Calling Google a “search giant” or Facebook a “social network” doesn’t capture how these companies think and act today—or will in the future. For example, in predicting... There are many ways to think about technology companies these days, but lately all the...
‘Everforce’ and Other Tech M&A Predictions
By Jessica Lessin · Aug 8, 2014 11:45am PDT
The Takeaway

‘Everforce’ and Other Tech M&A Predictions

By Jessica Lessin · Aug 8, 2014 11:45am PDT
Dear Subscribers, If you believe that we’re a few innings into some dramatic new technological developments (which I do) and that big tech companies are going to be eager to defend their turf (which I do), you’d be wise to predict more tech M&A, big and small. With that in mind, I set out over the past few weeks to ask around... Dear Subscribers, If you believe that we’re a few innings into some dramatic new...
The Takeaway

Bankers’ Fate a Cautionary Tale for VCs

By Jessica Lessin · Aug 1, 2014 9:00am PDT · 10 comments
A well-known venture capitalist recently told me in passing that meeting with bankers wasn’t his thing. It’s a sentiment I hear often from investors who privately mutter that bankers aren’t good for much and certainly aren’t worth their many millions in fees. Bankers aren’t particularly popular anywhere.... A well-known venture capitalist recently told me in passing that meeting with bankers...
The Takeaway

Messaging, the Block Chain and Other Next Big Things

By Jessica Lessin · Jul 25, 2014 11:39am PDT · 12 comments
My friend Jason Hirschhorn, the CEO of media aggregator REDEF, asked me to talk about trends I am seeing in the technology industry during a recent dinner we hosted for media and finance leaders in New York. These ideas aren’t fully baked, but they’re a taste of the under-the-radar themes I am hearing about around Silicon Valley.... My friend Jason Hirschhorn, the CEO of media aggregator REDEF, asked me to talk about trends I am...
The Takeaway

Is Uber More Like Amazon.com or an Airline?

By Jessica Lessin · Jul 18, 2014 2:02pm PDT
In one of the most interesting rivalries to watch in tech right now, Uber, Lyft and even much smaller on-demand ride competitors continue to duke it out for market share by slashing prices. My wallet thanks them. But my brain has increasingly started to wonder: Where does it stop? And how good a business can these companies be over the long-term... In one of the most interesting rivalries to watch in tech right now, Uber, Lyft and even much...
Reckoning with the Backlash Against Tech
By Jessica Lessin · Jul 3, 2014 1:29pm PDT
The Takeaway

Reckoning with the Backlash Against Tech

By Jessica Lessin · Jul 3, 2014 1:29pm PDT
I have been thinking a lot lately about the undercurrent of distrust people outside the technology business have for Silicon Valley—and how that animosity is becoming one of the biggest risk factors for the tech industry. Headlines about San Francisco gentrification protests, coverage about techies being out of touch with... I have been thinking a lot lately about the undercurrent of distrust people outside the...
The Takeaway

The Real Price of Tech M&A Deals

By Jessica Lessin · Jun 27, 2014 10:49am PDT
A few months ago, I wrote about how private company valuations aren’t always what they appear to be. Of course, the same can be said of acquisition prices. When it comes to deal prices, technology executives and bankers often say something like this: “You basically just make up the number you want reported and separately... A few months ago, I wrote about how private company valuations aren’t always what...
The Takeaway

In China’s Internet Sector, a Local-Global Divide

By Jessica Lessin · Jun 13, 2014 9:48am PDT
San Francisco is starting to feel crowded with Chinese Internet companies. This week I learned that Cheetah Mobile, a Chinese maker of mobile security software, has an office just around the corner from The Information. Alibaba is entering our physical and virtual environs too: It’s opening a new office in San Francisco and this week... San Francisco is starting to feel crowded with Chinese Internet companies. This week I...
Apple's Craig Federighi introduces iOS 8. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Takeaway

How Apple Could Reinvent the Mobile App

By Jessica Lessin · Jun 6, 2014 8:59am PDT
I’ve swung back and forth all week on whether Apple’s forthcoming iOS 8 mobile software is a major breakthrough or an incremental release with some flashy new features for power users. I’ve heard both views from developers and industry execs, who appear fairly split. I left Monday’s keynote unveiling underwhelmed.... I’ve swung back and forth all week on whether Apple’s forthcoming iOS 8 mobile...
Megadeal Time Arrives for Media and Tech Companies
By Jessica Lessin · May 30, 2014 1:01pm PDT
The Takeaway

Megadeal Time Arrives for Media and Tech Companies

By Jessica Lessin · May 30, 2014 1:01pm PDT
In the media and tech industries, the companies that create movies and TV shows have had an on-again, off-again relationship with the companies that pipe that content into our homes. In some eras, like the early 1990s, they enjoyed living under the same roof. (Think Time Warner and Time Warner Cable, or John Malone’s cable and content... In the media and tech industries, the companies that create movies and TV shows have had an...