TikTok is paying a small army of creator coaches to help influencers make money from livestreams
TikTok is paying outside agencies to coach creators on how to succeed on TikTok Live. The company is giving these agents and networks a cut of its own earnings from livestream gifts. TikTok Live has become an important non-advertising revenue source for the company. TikTok is collaborating with a group of external creator agencies and…
Adtech firm GroundTruth hires bankers to pursue a possible sale
GroundTruth, which uses location data to target ads, has hired the investment bank JEGI Clarity. It’s looking to explore its strategic options, which could include a possible asset sale. GroundTruth previously attempted to sell its consumer app WeatherBug in 2019, but talks fell apart. According to three people familiar with the matter, GroundTruth, an adtech…
Google cuts more jobs in its recruiting division
Google is cutting more jobs. The company announced Wednesday a reduction in its recruitment division. It eliminated 12,000 positions in January. Google is cutting more jobs. According to people familiar with the situation, the company announced on Wednesday that it would cut hundreds of jobs in its recruitment division. A spokesperson confirmed the information. In…
Internal Microsoft documents and insiders reveal how the company decides employee pay. Some say it’s like ‘stack ranking.’
Microsoft’s review process includes a mandate for managers to distribute employees across a scale. Some employees feel the process is essentially “stack ranking,” a controversial review process. A Microsoft spokesperson said there are no quotas or requirements for employees to rank low. According to internal Microsoft documents and employees, during the employee review process, Microsoft…
Young startups are feeling the pinch as seed funding succumbs to the VC winter
Funding rounds for seed startups fell for the fourth straight quarter, according to Carta data. These fledgling companies had been insulated against the ripple effects of the stock market crash. Some megafunds and solo venture capitalists are slowing down, making it harder to get capital. For the past 16 months, seed-stage startup funding has been…
The SEC is asking questions about Boxabl, the tiny-home startup that boasts Elon Musk and Post Malone as fans
The SEC recently questioned former employees at Boxabl. The questioning follows complaints from Boxabl investors, customers, and former employees. Recent financial information shows the company’s business prospects are off to a rocky start. Boxabl has captured the public’s imagination in its six years of existence with its innovative tiny homes and celebrity endorsements from Elon…
A top Amazon exec reveals how she’s using ‘Thursday Night Football’ to bring in new brands for the tech giant’s $38 billion ads business
Amazon is growing its “Thursday Night Footbal” business through nontraditional sports advertisers. Amy McDevitt leads Amazon’s custom content team that touches many of the ads running on “TNF.” She laid out how she’s winning over new advertisers with custom and talent-led ads. Fans won’t see beer ads on Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football,” but they…
Streaming subscribers are ready for added services, new research shows, as companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery race to build bundles
Streaming customers are interested in adding other products to their subscriptions, a new EY study found. The findings suggest new ways streamers could hold on to customers with bundled services. The study also found rising streaming service prices haven’t caused widespread cancellations. People may be abandoning cable, but they want their TV package back. According…
3 cities with opportunities ‘hiding in plain sight’: A housing expert says it’s probably a good time to buy the dip in these markets as prices plummet while populations and wages surge
Home prices in Provo, Austin, and Phoenix are falling. But BiggerPockets’ Dave Meyer said that should turn around with fundamentals tailwinds. He pointed to growing wages and populations in each region. Home prices in the United States have begun to recover from their 2022 slump, and are now hovering just below their all-time highs. However,…
