CEOs feeling the Byrne
CEOs feeling the Byrne: Last week saw the CEOs of WeWork, eBay and Juul all unseated. A complaint filed in Utah on Friday accuses former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne of securities fraud, according to CoinTelegraph. A California judge ruled that a May tweet from Tesla’s Elon Musk interfered with legitimate union organizing, according to Reuters. Perhaps they could learn a thing or two from Richer Sounds CEO Julian Richer, profiled in The Economist for (gasp!) treating his employees well.
Some things are expanding: Like digital banking app Revolut, according to a Reuters exclusive. The company is set to hire more than 3,000 employees as it expands into 24 new markets thanks to a global deal with Visa. Currently available to more than 8 million customers in Europe and Australia, Revolut will open in the United States and Singapore by the end of this year. Meanwhile, other things are contracting…
Other things are contracting: Like market valuations. Twenty years after the dot-com bust, today’s investors value profitability over hype, according to a Financial Times editorial. The WeWork kerfuffle, and the lagging performance of Uber, Lyft and Peloton, show that the markets are doing their job, and “the IPO market is growing up.” Says the FT editorial team: “Greater scrutiny saw through the hype that had allowed WeWork and Peloton to brand themselves as technology pioneers with a valuation to match.” But who’s to blame? The boards and executives? The investment bankers that set valuations? Or a society that values brand and “Yogababble” over profitable business plans?
Other things causing 90s throwbacks: HGTV show “House Hunters” celebrates its 20th anniversary this week, writes the Washington Post. For many of the reality show’s Millennial viewers, the “House Hunters” experience is anything but reality — from the unrealistic and meme-inspiring home budgets to the stress-free and inclusive experience of home-buying portrayed on the show.
And some things are staying as the status quo: Our UK team hosted an event last week discussing the findings from the BVA BDRC SME Finance Monitor. Catch the summary on Vested’s blog.