Here Are 4 Intriguing Mobile Startups That Got Cash Infusions This Week | Adweek

It’s no surprise that investment firms are bullish on mobile upstarts, but a series of recent funding moves reveals the smartphone-driven companies marketers should keep an eye on.

1. Popular teen messaging app Kik closed $50 million from WeChat-owned Tencent, and this week’s news follows the app’s $38.3 million Series C funding in November. Kik is now valued at $1 billion.

With 240 million registered users—70 percent of whom are 13 to 24 years old—Kik’s funding puts it squarely in position to compete head-to-head with Snapchat as both companies look to build out new chat features.

2. Kahuna grabbed $45 million from Sequoia Capital and other investors to go after a bigger piece of the automated marketing space, which includes heavyweights like Oracle and Salesforce.

Read More.

Employers Beware: Your Employee Handbook’s Arbitration Clause May Not be Enforceable | Michel and Associates, P.C.

downloadUpon hiring a new employee, it is a common practice for most employers to provide the new employee with an employee handbook stating the general policies and procedures of the employer.  Sometimes employers will have an arbitration clause within the employee handbook, and thereby attempt to impose binding arbitration on the parties for any disputes between the employer and employee.  Most employers are also advised to have their new employees sign an acknowledgment which indicates that the employee read the handbook, understands its contents, and agrees to its terms.

Most employers assume, or are told, that receipt of the signed acknowledgment form ensures that the employee is bound by the handbook’s provisions, including the requirement that the employee arbitrate any employment-related disputes.  But, according to a recent California Court of Appeal, most employers are wrong.  Employers should not rely upon an arbitration clause in a prolix employment handbook unless the handbook is carefully crafted to ensure the arbitration clause’s enforceability.

Read More.

Bitcoin could split in debate over currency’s future | BBC News

A row over changing the software that produces bitcoins could split the virtual currency, core developers say.

Bitcoin XT, a new version, is currently being recommended by the currency’s chief scientist, Gavin Andresen.

And its developer, Mike Hearn, says its adoption essential to ensure the currency can cope with growing demand.

But some, including a large number of bitcoin miners in China, are resisting XT because of how it might affect control over the currency.

Bitcoin’s blockchain – a digital ledger of all transactions made with the currency – is currently made up of 1MB blocks.

Bitcoin XT would enable these blocks to grow to 8MB.

Read More.

The Supreme Court could turn things around for Lending Club | Business Insider

download (2)It’s been a terrible summer for Lending Club and other startups that make loans to consumers and businesses online.

Shares of Lending Club are down about 30% since the beginning of June. That’s when the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a decision that could have the lenders lowering interest rates they charge a big chunk of customers.

Now, the US Supreme Court is its only hope. It could decide whether it’ll hear their case as early as October, according to a note this week from Morgan Stanley.

Read More.

Working at Amazon Is Hell. So What? | Inc.com

download (1)The New York Times just published an exposé of how difficult life is at Amazon. I suppose their goal was to make us feel bad for their poor employees. Now, to be clear, I’m happy to criticize Amazon when they deserve to be criticized–I completely disagree with their decision to not pay their employees during security checks–even though the Supreme Court agreed with them. I just don’t have a problem with a company that demands a lot from their employees.

Amazon corporate employees work long hours, don’t get fancy benefits and free lunches, and are expected to dedicate their souls to the company. It’s so awful that Amazon kidnaps people off the street and forces them to work for them. I mean, why haven’t police or the FBI broken down Amazon’s doors and freed these poor people?

Read More.

Thinking Small with Malcolm Gladwell | Page19

Malcolm-Gladwell-booksThinking big is oft touted as an asset, but what if the key to sustained success is actually focusing on the little things? Malcolm Gladwell thinks that, like house parties and good logos, smaller is actually mightier.

It’s in our Great Walls and Taj Mahals. It’s in our centuries of dynasties and towering mosque spires. It’s in our Land Rovers and our slogans (go big, or go home!). The quest for bigger and better in all forms is etched deep into man’s ambitions in ways that have been shaping progress since the dawn of time.

And, hey—going big has served us well as a species. It follows that there are hundreds of books that will school you on scaling up or on snagging an enormous customer base, or teach you how to broaden your skills to infinity and beyond. But let’s hit pause for just a second: what if going smaller were actually the next big thing?

Malcolm Gladwell, author of some of the last decade’s most influential nonfiction books, has found plenty of evidence that it’s the little things that count. We took a look at three of his bestsellers to show you how to use the might of the devil in the details.

Read More.

Does Sprint or Verizon owe you money? State settles ‘mobile cramming’ case with mobile carriers | Fox 59

INDIANAPOLIS (May 12, 2015) – The state resolved “cramming” cases against two major mobile phone carriers as part of a multi-state settlement with Sprint and Verizon.

The mobile carriers were accused of putting unauthorized charges on customers’ cell phone bills. The state announced a similar settlement last year with AT&T and T-Mobile. As a result of the latest settlement, an estimated 750,000 Hoosiers may be eligible for refunds.

Indiana is joined by the attorneys general of the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Read More.

Verizon Trades Two Year Contracts for Monthly Billing | Small Biz Trends

Being locked in for two years was basically the norm for mobile contracts, but the changing landscape of the industry is forcing companies to reassess this model.

While T-Mobile and its brash CEO might have made the most noise with its Uncarrier marketing, others are following suit. Count Verizon as being the latest to do so.

Starting August 13, Verizon stopped subsidizing phones, and its newest price plan will kick in by offering four pricing tiers for data allocation:

Small: $30/month for 1GB of shareable data

Medium: $45/month for 3GB of shareable data

Large: $60/month for 6GB of shareable data

X-Large: $80/month for 12GB of shareable data

Read More.