JWeatherlyNeal

[jweatherlyneal]

Agnes Gund Sells a Lichtenstein to Start Criminal Justice Fund

Ms. Gund has asked other collectors to help champion her social cause, which she has seeded with $100 million of the proceeds from the sale.

Agnes Gund is to be lauded for her efforts to encourage collectors to liquidate parts of their collection and contribute the proceeds toward social justice initiatives such her Criminal Justice Fund. It’s wonderful when art, philanthropy and the common good are in harmony. The only wish I have is that future such acts of philanthropy will include caveats that ensure such works will be available for viewing by the public rather than hanging on the wall of a private collector. Well done Ms. Gund!

[jweatherlyneal]

Gay guys night out. There’s a new bar in Brooklyn- The Rosemont. Cozy spot, good cocktails and an outdoor patio. Then- in a New York Moment that can only happen in New York- BJORK walks in and begins performing. In not time there was a crowd wrapped around the block. Here’s a peek.

[jweatherlyneal]

17 Brands Sporting Gay Pride Apparel For 2017, Vaguely Ranked By Integrity

What a time to be a queer person who wears clothing and goes shopping!

June is Gay Pride month in America. Twenty years ago many would have been shocked at how rapidly the LGBTQI community has gained acceptance in mainstream America. Not to say that we don’t have a ways to go- especially for the trans community. Clearly Madison Avenue and Fashion Avenue recognize the upside to bringing inclusiveness to bear in their promotional campaigns and merchandising strategy. As I’ve said for the past few years- being gay is practically passé. That’s worth being Proud of.

[jweatherlyneal]

Nick Kristof of the New York Times examines why Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are not talking about childhood poverty.

Childhood Poverty, US. It's in your community, your backyard. Donald Trump doesn't talk about it. Hillary Clinton doesn't either. Their silence is nothing short of stunning- and indicative of how marginalized the poor are in this wealthiest of all nations- at a time when twenty percent (20%) of children in the United States languish in poverty. That's one out of every five kids. Liberals look to the left, conservatives to the right. And the rest of America turns the channel. As an alternative Americans could be seeking out knowledge on childhood poverty, advocating for the poor and volunteering in their communities. Candidates for public office- fond of invoking their religion as a bona fide- might take note of the 407 references to the poor in the Bible versus none for tax incentives. Poor children are our children. So long as children are hungry in America then we are a nation starving on its own hubris.

Childhood poverty is the biggest moral, political and humanitarian failure in this nation. To paraphrase H.L. Mencken, those who turn their back on the weakest indulge in "the morality of those who are having a better time."

[jweatherlyneal]

New Yorkers for Children Presents: Voices From Within: The Truth About NYC Foster Care and Policies that Work (and don't)

New Yorkers for Children Presents: Voices From Within: The Truth About NYC Foster Care and Policies that Work (and don't) Join us for a dynamic panel discussion discerning myth from fact about what it’s like to grow up in the NYC foster care system; what programs work and which programs do not; and a look at trends and statistics that inform work in the child welfare field. We will examine the challenges youth in foster care face - especially those aging out - through their own eyes; see what the statistics tell us as well as hear the real stories that the numbers don’t show; learn about best practice approaches and models; and the role that resilience plays in each of these remarkable young people’s lives. Plenary Session: - Commissioner Gladys Carrion - NYC Administration for Children's Services Panelists: - Alondra C., NYFC Scholar - Hunter College Freshman - Dr. Jeremy Kohomban, President and Chief Executive - The Children's Village - Sherry Lackman, Founder - Foster America - Milcah S., NYFC Scholar - Baruch College Junior - King T., NYFC Scholar - Kingsborough Community College Sophmore - Andrew White, Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Policy, Planning, and Measurement - NYC Administration for Children's Services A reception offering wine and cheese will take place directly following the event. For questions, contact Vanessa Marquez, Director of Communications and Marketing, at [email protected].

New Yorkers for Children is a dynamic social services organization serving kids in the City’s foster care system. I’m looking forward to learning more at this panel on Tuesday November 16, 2016 at The Nicholas Scoppetta Children's Center, 492 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

It’s free and you can register on Eventbrite.

[jweatherlyneal]

I got this right in a Tweet several weeks ago. I bemoan the inevitable acquisition of Twitter by a Google, Facebook or Salesforce.

[jweatherlyneal]

A case in which a headline teases with reality. The New York Times touts income growth in its headline below, stating that " poverty declined, across all racial groups, with particularly large declines in the poverty rates among African-American and Hispanic households." However in a related article, the Times' correctly interpreted the Census Bureau report by stating that "at same time...there was no statistically significant change in the number of poor people or in income for the typical American household." Takeaway: if the data is not statistically significant, then one can not posit that a decline in the widely-cited poverty rate resulted in a decline in the number of poor people or in income for the typical American household.

The official poverty rate rarely tells the whole story...

[jweatherlyneal]

Abdul-Jabbar: Insulting Colin Kaepernick says more about our patriotism than his

The patriotism of athletes can take different forms.

The renowned athlete and humanitarian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pens an eloquent article in the @washingtonpost defending San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s decision to not stand for the national anthem until the oppression of black Americans by the state ceases. Kaepernick is to be commended for using the platform he enjoys to advance social justice. That’s as patriotic as it gets.

[jweatherlyneal]

With $2.5 billion in Brooklyn real estate, Hasidic investors are a formidable gentrification driver | 6sqft

A huge slice of the borough’s real estate pie is owned by Hasidic investors. The ultra-orthodox sect reportedly includes some of Brooklyn’s wealthiest property owners, to the tune of $2.5 billion.

I’ve been looking at rentals in Brooklyn- both residential and commercial. Residential rents have been crazy- welcome to Gotham- rising almost 70% over the past decade. Seems that the smartest investors have been the Buy & Hold crowd- e.g., members of the Hasidic community. As for the future, I’m told that tenants have greater leeway in negotiating amenities and extras- esp. those at the high-end of the market (say, $10k/month). There’s only one New York...

[jweatherlyneal]

The last thing the API economy needs is copyright friction

The Oracle versus Google verdict set a positive precedent for the future of the API economy, but will it last? What is at stake if the decision is reversed?..

Watch out for the largest and wealthiest tech players having the least revenue exposure to APIs to try and grind down competitors with greater exposure. The’ll seek protection under copyright laws to frustrate competition. In so doing they can set back development immeasurably. 

[jweatherlyneal]

Hackers on Tinder or Viber?

So I swiped right- and so did he. His name is Griffith. He had no verification by way of a Facebook account. He quickly suggested that we move our chat to Viber. I was suspicious and gave out little information. And his pictures simply didn't seem right. I used visual recognition technology and discovered that his images were that of another person.

My question: aside from being catfished, what elese might this person have been after? Are there specific threats unique to either Tinder or Viber?

[jweatherlyneal]

8 Habits of Happy, Healthy, and Successful People

Simple behaviors that are committed to over time can yield enormous results.

Great advice for those who find themselves lacking inspiration from time to time. Be as good as you can be by taking care of yourself.

[jweatherlyneal]

PayPal Takes a Stand

Background. Charlotte, NC passed a law on February 22nd that allowed for people to choose public bathrooms that corresponded to their gender identity. In response to that ordinance, the North Carolina General Assembly passed HB2- which prohibits people from using bathrooms other than as compatible with the gender specified in their birth certificate. GOP Governor Pat McCrory signed HB2 into law on March 24th. 

On April 4th PayPal announced that it was scrubbing plans to build a global operations center in North Carolina that would employ up to 400 people. Kudos to PayPal. The company was not content to just talk the talk. It took the sort of incisive move that will bring an end to the insidious law in North Carolina. And North Carolina needs more PayPals to step up. Google? Apple? BankofAmerica? Hello. Thank you PayPal. The State deserves to be punished. You stood firm to the principles that make you a great place to work.

About HB2. The crux of HB2 forces transgender people to use bathrooms which are the opposite of their gender identity. It’s an ass-backwards law but since the GOP took control of North Carolina six years ago these have been ass-backwards times.

The US has changed a great deal in terms of accepting LGBT people as deserving protected status even if federal and state laws do not. Many people are unaware that a transgender or gay person can legally be fired, denied housing or a job nationwide simply because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, ceteris paribus.

Large and small businesses are way ahead of politicians in terms of providing protections to their employees; that's of little consolation to a gay school teacher in Harnett County, NC or a transgender auto salesman in Asheboro, NC who live in fear of losing their jobs or being evicted from their homes. Members of the North Carolina General Assembly and Governor McCrory knew damn well the economic ramifications that would follow passage of HB2. 

Indiana came under severe pressures last year when it enacted a religious freedom bill. Within a week, the (Republican) CEO of Indianapolis-based Angie’s List canceled plans for the expansion of the company's HQ facility, and other organizations canceled conventions in the Hoosier State and banned travel. Those sorts of pressures forced politicians in Indiana to reverse course within the span of less than two weeks.

[jweatherlyneal]

How VCs filter Inquiries from Entrepreneurs

My understanding is that some VC firms are inundated with over 100 business plans daily. I wonder how they manage to sort through those opportunities in determining whether an entrepreneur’s vision is a fit with their investment thesis. Some- like Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Valar Ventures don’t even provide entrepreneurs an email address at which to contact them! Libertarians you know- market forces drive ideas to their islands I guess. Let’s call them Elitism Capitalists. That’s particularly odd given that save for Reid Hoffman at LinkedIn referring Sean Parker to Thiel after having decided that he might have a conflict of interest in being Facebook’s first outside investor, Peter Thiel would never have seen the opportunity to make a $500,000 investment for a 10% interest in Facebook that he ultimately cashed out for over $1B. And I bet you thought PayPal was his big hit? (In a sense yes: Reid Hoffman was the ultimate payoff pal to Peter Thiel.)  

Back to the more meritocratic VC firms. Regardless of how big they are, how do they makes assessments about inbound emails from entrepreneurs? I’ll explore this further by asking that question to a few industry leaders I know. I’m all the more curious after having received emails from two major firms which took a  pass on a business of which I am a director. I had loose affiliations with both parties. 

What I found curious is that neither VC so much as once logged on to the secure website where we have a user-friendly slide deck which one could scroll through in a minute. They didn’t fucking look at the slide deck, one going so far as to say “we don’t invest in business which have yet to post revenues.” 

The business did $20m in sales last year. That information was a keystroke away.

More to come.

[jweatherlyneal]

Narrow Focus May Aid F.B.I. in Apple Case

The government is portraying its request that Apple open an iPhone used by a terrorist as a one-time demand. Apple sees a much broader issue.

With a $1 trillion national security budget one would think the Government would not need to smear Apple and Tim Cook in its fishing expedition. If the Government invoked “national security” every time someone was gunned down in the street, every time sea levels rose, every time a transgender person was murdered or every time Donald Trump said “Muslim”- but it does not. We have precious little privacy. The federal government wants to have a window into everything we do- and “national security” and “terrorism” are just the means to an end. Entrepreneurs and innovators take side with Apple. They have your back. 

[jweatherlyneal]

The streaming music service is seeking more money to better compete with rivals like Apple and Pandora, according to a person briefed on the plans.

Does Spotify raising $500m in fresh powder signal little interest in an exit transaction? What about its employees: will the children of Unicorns be left empty handed in the event of a slide in Spotify’s lofty valuation? Do they have downside protection in their equity grants- as do the VCs funding the deal?

Employees have a right to know. Spotify would not be the first Unicorn to stumble and deplete the paper wealth of its most important stakeholders.

[jweatherlyneal]

The Periodic Table Of Tech In Germany

High-Tech Gruenderfonds, Point Nine Capital, and Rocket Internet were among the most active Germany-based VC investors.

CBInsights produces these helpful periodic tables to different marketplaces for startup businesses. Germany is hot- and don’t expect any let up. The country is affluent, Europe’s economic juggernaut and has 3x as many people as Texas yet 3x its GDP. That makes for a lot of sophisticated consumers packed into a small footprint.