Author: Christina Comben

10 Major Bollywood Stars That Invest in Startups

Gone are the times when actors were only interested in making movies, and Indian celebrities are no exception. Bollywood stars that invest in startups are common, with over 20 mega-stars investing in startups and backing million-dollar projects with their money and fame.

Here are 10 of the most successful Indian startups and the actors who helped to make them to market.

1. Ziddu and Amitabh Bachchan

In 2015, the Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and his son invested $250,000 in Meridian Tech Pte Ltd, a company based in Singapore. The startup owned Ziddu, which was described as a platform that provided free cloud storage, social commerce, and social gaming, among other services.

In less than three years and after two acquisitions, Bachchan’s investment has grown more than 70 times, thanks to Ziddu.com starting to use blockchain technology to improve its services and develop new products.

The platform’s worth continued to grow, together with investors’ increasing interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

However, the market wasn’t stable for too long, and the actor saw his $100 million-worth investment wiped out soon after the peak, although the stock in his portfolio is still worth almost $40 million.

2. Furlenco and Aamir Khan

By Bollywood Hungama

The online furniture rental platform Furlenco received $300,000 from Aamir Khan, in December 2017. The actor, who had previously had an endorsement agreement with the e-commerce store Snapdeal, got non-convertible debentures from this deal–which means he can’t convert the bonds into company equity or stock.

Furlenco, based in Bengaluru, is owned by Kieraya Furnishing Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The company has more than 4,000 monthly consumers that purchase furniture rental subscriptions.

In 2015, the startup raised $6 million from Lightbox Ventures in a Series A round. One year later, the company raised other $30 million.

Despite his consistent investment, Khan hasn’t signed a contract as brand ambassador for Furlenco.

3. Stylecracker and Alia Bhatt

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt became an investor at the end of 2017 when she bought stock in the fashion-tech startup StyleCracker. The amount invested hasn’t been disclosed, according to The Economic Times.

Dhiman Shah and Archana Walavalkar founded StyleCracker in 2013, as the first online personal styling platform. The concept behind the startup is bringing platform users closer to their favorite designers.

StyleCracker reunites over 100,000 users with more than 200 brands. It also provides access to fashion catalogs and tips on how to manage your wardrobe.

The fashion startup has raised $1 million in seed funding.

4. CureFit and Hrithik Roshan

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan invested $878,200 in CureFit, for which he is also a brand ambassador. The value of the endorsement contract is estimated at $14.6 million.

Founded in 2016 by Flipkart executives Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, CureFit is a startup that provides fitness and health products divided into four categories–gyms (called Cult.Fit), yoga and meditation centers (Mind.Fit), food (Eat.Fit), and primary care (Care.fit).

This summer, the company has raised $120 million in a series C round of funding. The leading investors were Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures, and Accel Partners.

5. Rakyan Beverages and Jacqueline Fernandez

By Bollywood Hungama

Jacqueline Fernandez is no stranger to startups, making a deal with the startup Rakyan Beverages. The company that makes juices under the Raw Pressery brand captured public attention when it raised close to $4.5 million in series B funding from investors like DSG Consumer Partners, Saama Capital Management, and Sequoia Capital.

Jacqueline invested the equivalent of $480,000 and became the first Indian celebrity to finance a part of a consumer products firm. Thanks to her increasing popularity (the actress has 22.6 million followers on Instagram), the company believes that the association will help drive sales for good.

6. Ketto and Kunal Kapoor

Kunal Kapoor is a co-founder at Ketto, a crowdfunding startup that supports social causes. The actor initiated the project in 2012, together with his business partners Varun Sheth and Zaheer Adenwala. According to the company’s website, Ketto has raised over $40 million from 2.5 million supporters for 80,000 fundraisers.

In 2015, Ketto Online Ventures Pvt Ltd, the company that owns the Ketto platform, raised $700,000 in an angel round from investors like Indus Age Ventures, Anthill Ventures, India Internet Fund, and Ah Ventures.

7. Holberton School and Priyanka Chopra

By Wikipedia

After being successful in Bollywood, Priyanka Chopra started her investor career with the tech startup Holberton School. It’s a coding education company that trains people to become software engineers with no upfront payment.

Chopra’s investment is part of an $8.2 million round of funding that closed in April 2018. Through her undisclosed investment, the actress wants to contribute to minimizing the tech industry’s gender disparity.

She’s also decided to build herself a substantial portfolio by investing in multiple companies. Last month, she announced her collaboration with Bumble, a tech startup that wants to launch a localized version of its dating and social media app in India.

8. Flickbay and Farhan Akhtar

Actor and movie director Farhan Akhtar backs the Indian startup Flickbay. It’s Bollywood’s official app, which allows its users to personalize content, from news and trailers to songs and box office collections. Other famous actors that support Flickbay are Anil Kapoor, Sayani Gupta, Anushka Sharma, Ritesh Sidhwani, and Sidharth Malhotra.

The app aims to gather data about the way its users consume content and deliver it to movie-makers, who can use the information to make educated decisions.

Flickbay was founded in 2015 by Trishant Sidhwani and Vishal Ramachandran. One year later, the startup raised $890,000 in seed funding.

9. What’s Up Life and Rannvijay Singh

Rannvijay Singh is a brand ambassador and investor for What’s Up Life (WUL), a local lifestyle app that can help users to find events, parties, and places for dining-out, among other things.

The app is currently available in Gurugram, New Delhi, Kolkata, Noida, and Hyderabad. With Rannvijay Singh’s help, founder Gaurav Luthra hopes to expand his business to other five cities, including Mumbai and Bengaluru.

WUL isn’t the first startup that captured Singh’s attention. The actor had invested in two other apps, one that allows car and bike pooling, called Liftiee, and the fashion app IStyleYou.

10. Innsaei Ventures and Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushant Singh Rajput is another Bollywood star that wants to expand his activities outside the movie industry. Thanks to his passion for technology, he founded Innsaei Ventures, a company that performs in fields like education and healthcare using emerging technologies.

Rajput is a co-founder of the startup, together with partner Varun Mathur. The actor invested more than $400 million in Innsaei, for projects that include augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing.

10 Bollywood Stars That Invest in Startups

The digital evolution has conquered Bollywood. Even if a few years ago actors were tempted to invest in real estate or e-commerce, the trend today is investing in tech startups.

Most Bollywood superstars that decide to become investors prefer technology-driven business to traditional companies. They also become brand ambassadors and promote these apps or platforms through social media to increase brand awareness and drive sales. In most cases, it’s worth more than all the millions they paid during the fundraising series.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

November 4, 2018
Trump – Lay Off HBO’s Game Of Thrones for Your Political Agenda

The word ‘sanctions’ is hardly something to joke about. Less so when imposed upon a struggling country like Iran. Everyday people will suffer greatly from the next wave of restrictions and clampdowns coming from the White House, the toughest ever against the regime. And yet Trump, the most powerful man on the planet right now, seems to think it’s funny using Game Of Thrones to create a meme saying “Sanctions Are Coming.”

HBO Less Than Impressed

Trump Instagram

HBO was less than impressed. Without diving deeply into the implications that the latest US sanctions (removed under the 2015 nuclear deal) against Iran will have, the US network behind hit series Game Of Thrones simply commented:

“We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes.”

It seems that the White House has lowered its standards once again in an attempt to win over populist opinion. Using the power of the Game Of Thrones series to win support for the clampdown on Iran that will see millions of people struggle to feed their families and fund their livings.

By creating a meme referencing the popular TV series, even those who are unaware of the political agenda behind it began to share, like and retweet… And also use it as an opportunity to express their discontent with the powers that be in the White House.

The result? A veritable Instagram and tweetstorm that only the likes of influential people in power can create. Some users took the chance to run with the joke, saying:

“How do you say trademark abuse in Dothraki?”

This was a reference to one of the fictional languages the series uses. Others made their own memes, one of which involved Robert Mueller, former FBI chief who was leading the 2016 inquiry over the controversial elections and the much-speculated relationship with Russia, saying:

“Mueller Is Coming”

#MuellerIsComing 😈🗳🌊 pic.twitter.com/JRlfns5asg

— Ariadne Boudica (@WiseWarrior69) November 2, 2018

And other memes in the same vein, suggesting that indictments were coming, attacking the president and his policies and outpouring their general frustration with the White House. One said:

“Winter is Here”

Winter is already here though. pic.twitter.com/NS9XFRWx3P

— سِمیکالن 🐾 (@S3micolon) November 2, 2018

Members of the Game Of Thrones cast were also opposed to the White House’s little joke, with one just saying “Ew,” while other actors implied that using a meme to promote a controversial policy that would affect millions of lives was not appropriate behavior.

Then, of course, there were the supporters in favor, with one Instagram user saying:

“That’s my President! We love u! Keep making America great!”

Featured image from HBO.

November 4, 2018
5 Expensive Things Totally Worth Spending Money on

Spending money doesn’t necessarily have to be about extravagant tastes. Sure, there are plenty of billionaires who splurge on a private jet, a hideaway island or dress exclusively in Chanel.

But there are plenty of others who realize that a watch is just a watch, or that a simple black shirt is still made in China even if it comes wrapped up in pink tissue paper and delivered in a box with a bow.

Most of the people I know who have money are positively stingy with it, which is probably how they amassed their fortunes in the first place.

But whether you’re wealthy or not, there are certain occasions where it’s worth digging a little deeper into your pockets and paying the extra cash.

Money can’t buy you happiness. But it can buy you decent health care, a more comfortable bed, convenience, and a better education. And all these things naturally lead to a happier life and, ultimately, a return on your investment.

So, whether you’re positively frugal or used to spending money like it’s going out of style, here are five expensive things in life that are totally worth the splurge.

1. Education

Spending money isn’t always about parting with your cash and not seeing the returns. This is particularly key when it comes to your education. Return on investment is especially apparent here, as a good education is something that will yield dividends throughout your life.

However, with the rising expense of tuition fees in many countries, students often graduate up to their necks in debt. In fact, according to a study, some 70% of students graduate with debt, leading to debates over whether it’s really worth the spend.

But then again, most college grads earn more over the course of their lives. And even if you can’t afford an Ivy league education, you can still choose to invest in yourself.

There are plenty of local college courses, online classes, and specialist programming certifications that are worth the money.

Since most millionaires will tell you continued learning is key, this is one case where you need to put down money to make money.

2. Travel

One of the ironies with travel is that usually, the more money you make, the less time you have to enjoy it. So, if you’re short on vacation time, that’s when you should particularly invest in travel.

Take those four-day trips, spend money on a decent hotel with space inside and a big jacuzzi. Studies repeatedly find that people are happier when they spend money on experiences rather than physical objects.

Travel opens the mind, allows you to recoup and get new ideas for your business or personal life. Spending money on travel is never a waste due to the number of good things you get back.

3. A Good Bed

I remember my grandmother always used to say, if there are two things in life worth spending money on, it’s a good pair of shoes and a good mattress, because if you’re not in one you’re in the other.

Think about it. Approximately one-third of your life is spent sleeping. Even if you’re a raging insomniac, chances are your mind’s spinning around as you lie on your mattress.

An uncomfortable one with springs that hang out and cause you to wake up feeling like you’ve done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson is detrimental to your health as you go through your life. So don’t scrimp on this important item.

4. Convenience

I had a choice the other day of adding some 35 euros to my low-cost flight to use the airport lounge. That was around 50% of the initial flight price.

In fact, the base price started at some 70 euros. Then I paid 15 extra to get a decent seat and be first on the plane.

I got to the airport, sat in the lounge, plowed through an extra pile of work, got free coffee, snacks, and champagne, and then sauntered passed the minions lining up fighting about getting their suitcases on board.

In short, I paid for convenience and it was worth every cent. Time is money, so paying for things that give you more of it are worth the investment.

The same goes for takeaway food when you need to get a project finished, and someone to outsource your menial tasks to like coordinating your appointments or cleaning your apartment. How much is the extra time worth to you? Pay for it.

5. Your Health

Ironically, even though our health is the most important thing in life, it’s often where we cut the most corners. It might suck spending extra on getting your teeth fixed, your eyes lasered, or simply buying vitamins, but if you look after your health you’ll have a happier and longer life.

Why dress from head to toe in Gucci if you’re miserable as sin because you can’t afford to spend money getting that molar pulled out?

If you’re not sure if something is worth spending money on, ask yourself if it’s going to add value to your life. If the answer is yes, go ahead and get your wallet out.

Images from Shutterstock.

November 3, 2018
Indian Billionaire Mukesh Ambani Says India Should be Full 4G by 2020

Mukesh Ambani

India is now the nation with the highest mobile data consumption, according to Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman and CEO of Reliance, the company that owns the Indian 4G phone service Jio.

The news came out Thursday, during the India Mobile Congress, when Ambani revealed interesting details about India’s lightning transition from 2G/3G to 4G.

Mukesh Ambani at the India Mobile Congress said:

“By 2020, I believe that India will be a fully-4G country and ready for 5G ahead of others.”The India Mobile Congress was held between the 25th and 27th October, at Aerocity Grounds, New Delhi, having the theme “New Digital Horizons. Connect. Create. Innovate.”

The event brought together tech companies, mobile and internet services providers, and international professionals in the digital industry.

Over 500 Million Smartphones by 2022

India has become one of the largest mobile markets, thanks to the fast-growing internet penetration rate in the country. At the end of 2017, 64.8% of people in urban India had access to the internet. The rate grew in rural areas, as well, reaching 20% at the end of last year.

Easy access to internet lead to an increase of smartphone usage across population from both urban and rural India. A study by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) estimated that the number of smartphone users would reach 526 million in 2022.

The change will generate high-income levels in the related industries. The internet services sector in India is expected to reach $76.4 billion by 2022.

High-Speed Internet Services for the Indian Digital Revolution

Mukesh Ambani has generated a revolution on the Indian mobile market. His company was one of the first to spread 4G technology across India while providing data services at lower costs than competitors.

At the India Mobile Congress this week, the Reliance CEO spoke about the need for high-speed internet connectivity in a world in which internet users need internet to get the most out of their smartphones’ features.

Ambani said:

“In the past eight months alone as many as 50 million villagers have got affordable smartphones. For most of them it is not only their first phone but also their first radio and music player, first TV, first camera, and first internet in their lives.”

Ambani’s Jio sells mobile and internet services to 250 million people who use the company’s SIM cards, smartphones, data services, and related products.

Featured image from Forbes.

November 2, 2018
Indian Millionaire Rupesh Thomas Inspires People on All Continents

In the era of self-made millionaires, here’s one story that travels around the world and inspires people to work hard to achieve business success. It’s the story of Rupesh Thomas, an entrepreneur that left his home in Kerala, Southern India, and made it in London.

His secret? Chai, a traditional Indian drink that Rupesh and his wife prepare using old family recipes.

$790 and a One-Way Ticket to London

Ever since he was a kid, Rupesh dreamt of seeing London and was fascinated by everything British from the cold weather to people’s habits. His dream came true after college when he left India to live in England.

Being born in a low-income family, he arrived in London with a little more than $790 (£600)–part borrowed from his father and part from selling his motorbike.

23-year old Rupesh got a job at McDonald’s, where he was making $5.1 per hour (£4). Before starting his own business. The Indian entrepreneur got several more jobs, from carer to salesman.

Rupesh’ s luck changed after he married Alexandra. The woman fell in love with traditional Indian Chai and, after two long years of trial and error, the couple created the right mix of tea and spices to sell on the London Market.

A Million Dollar Business Started in the Family Kitchen

Rupesh and Alexandra Thomas launched their Tuk Tuk Chai in 2017. They invested everything they had in the idea, £100,000 raised in more than 10 years of hard work.

The two entrepreneurs use the Indian mix of spices and techniques to give Tuk Tuk Chai the authentic flavor that reminds its drinkers of the Indian street tea. The business is now a supplier to the luxurious Harvey Nicholas and also sells its drink through Sansbury’s.

This year, Rupesh tried to obtain more cash to expand his business through BBC2’s program Dragon’s Den. In the end, the entrepreneur ditched investment from Peter Jones and turned to crowdfunding instead.

Rupesh’s company raised $191,000 (£150,000) in 24 hours–for 8.5% of its equity. The company is now valued at $2.3 million (£1.85 million). The entrepreneur and his wife have invested the money in a new filtration machine and marketing.

The Life of a Self-Made Millionaire

Rupesh and his wife live in a £1 million house in Wimbledon. He plans to expand his business outside the UK.

Rupesh Thomas for Business Advice:

“We will be running a fast-growing company with a presence in North America, Australia, Middle East, Far East, Europe, and the UK. We want to take chai from the streets of India to the hotspots of London, and into the high rises of Manhattan and Tokyo and further afield.”

Rupesh Thomas believes that his success has nothing to do with luck. In an interview for The Sun, he stated:

“I am proof that if you work hard, you can be successful. I really am a real-life Slumdog Millionaire.”

Featured image from Wimbledon Guardian.

November 2, 2018
Alphabet Exec Steps Down After Sexual Harassment Investigation

It seems that large corporations have learned nothing from Harvey Weinstein and the barrage of accusations and repercussions that rock through our daily lives a year on. Here we are again with Google’s parent company Alphabet facing unrest from staff and widespread discontent over the handling of a harassment case that saw an executive at Alphabet’s X research lab Richard DeVaul step down.

DeVaul was forced to leave his post after the disclosure of a past investigation into a sexual harassment claim against him from 2015.

Not a Good Time for Alphabet

The Alphabet X executive’s departure comes right at a time when Google, which accounts for more than 99% of Alphabet’s business, is already in the midst of a staff outbreak over the company’s handling of such cases (or rather, failure to handle such cases by sweeping them under the rug).

Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO wrote to staff this Tuesday for the second time in an effort to appease the rising anger. The first time he emailed Google employees was last week in the wake of a New York Times report that revealed the company had failed to disclose the fact that the departure of at least two senior executives was due to sexual harassment claims. One of them was even given a pay-off of $90 million which infuriated employees further.

Sweeping Sexual Harassment Under the Rug

DeVaul was originally investigated in 2015 after a woman who had been interviewed by him for a job at X made a formal complaint. The details were kept under wraps until yesterday however and DeVaul remained an Alphabet employee for a full three more years. Google’s CEO said in his email to employees:

“I understand the anger and disappointment that many of you feel. I feel it as well, and I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted for far too long in our society… and, yes, here at Google, too.”

His latest attempt to appease staff will not prevent the planned walkout this Thursday of Google staff in protest over management’s handling of these cases. However, Pichai assured staff that they would be given the support needed during the protest.

Tapping into staff sentiment and also the larger belief in society regarding major coverups of harassment cases, Google will now be taking a stronger position.

In fact, the tech giant has already laid off 48 employees in the past two years without payoffs, including DeVaul.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

November 1, 2018
The Battle for YouTube Supremacy – PewDiePie vs T-Series

There’s a new race going on online as we speak. The Indian music label T-Series is close to becoming YouTube’s new king, after five years of the most-subscribed/to channel being PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg from Sweden).

This year alone, the Indian music company has earned an absolute record of 40.3 million subscribers, reaching 67.9 million subscribers in total. This epic growth brought the account to just 200,000 followers less than YouTube’s most popular channel.

And the difference has been growing in the last few days, as Kjellberg’s fans started to get involved in the race. PewDiePie has 68.5 million followers.

T-Series Grows 4 Times Faster than PewDiePie

T-Series is India’s largest online entertainer. The company reached a significant milestone last year when it became the first to reach 14 billion views on YouTube, making it the most viewed channel of all times, registering over 51 billion views so far.

In this past year, the Indian music label grew four times faster than the Swedish influencer.

The Bollywood music label and film production company uses its YouTube channel to promote its music videos and film trailers. The content has brought an average of 90,000 subscribers a day (the amount that PewDiePie gets in a month).

The growing number of subscribers is good for business in more ways than one. Besides the popularity, T-Series has earned more than $100 million from YouTube.

The performance registered by the music label is mostly generated by India’s fast-growing online population. The country is now the world’s hottest mobile market, with over 500 million internet users.

PewDiePie’s Fans Not Ready to Quit the Fight

While the Swedish owner of PewDiePie doesn’t seem to care that much about T-Series’ expansion, the same can’t be said for his fans. According to the Independent, followers are using desperate methods to keep a significant difference between the two YouTube channels.

However, the Swedish influencer has stated that he doesn’t care about being knocked off the top spot. This would be, in his vision, the result of YouTube not supporting independent creators anymore.

Felix Kjellberg started his YouTube channel by posting videos in which he used to comment on video games. Lately, he switched to more general entertainment content.

Despite being accused of racism, he has owned the most-subscribed/to YouTube channel since 2013. Thanks to the recent efforts of his fans, PewDiePie has now a consistent lead of over 600,000 subscribers over T-Series.

In 2017, Kjellberg made $12 million thanks to his YouTube videos, according to Forbes.

Featured image from YouTube.

October 31, 2018
Facebook Shares Dip and Rally in After-Hours Trading
Facebook shares went on a rollercoaster ride in after-hours trading on Tuesday, following a mixed third-quarter earnings report. However, amidst a barrage of criticism, dwindling stock over the last couple of weeks, and fleeing users, Facebook yesterday announced strong earnings, but a less-than-expected revenue and lower daily active and monthly users. The tech company also advised investors of increased expenses for the year ahead.

Data scandals and election skewing accusations aside, some 2.6 billion people around the world still use the company’s apps each month. And they own quite a lot of things, so if you thought you were boycotting Facebook by taking a hiatus, you’re probably still using WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger (some 2 billion people use these every day).

Low on Revenue and Active Users

The Q3 report came up short on revenue and had lower daily and monthly active users than expected this quarter. The company’s earnings per share exceeded all analysts expectations, however, as they announced the results after the closing bell on Tuesday.

Here are the stats:
- Earnings per share (EPS): $1.76 vs $1.47 estimated (Refinitv)
- Revenue: $13.73 billion vs. $13.78 billion estimated (Refinitiv)
- Daily active users (DAUs): 1.49 billion vs. 1.51 billion estimated (FactSet and StreetAccount)
- Monthly active users (MAUs): 2.27 billion vs. 2.29 billion estimated (FactSet and StreetAccount)
- Average revenue per user: $6.09 vs. $6.09 estimated, per 2.29 billion (Street Account)
Mixed Reports Sent Facebook Shares on a Wild Ride After-Hours

After the report was announced, shares fell by as much as 6% before rebounding to up by 5% and finally settling by up almost 3% as investors took in the report and Facebook CEO’s comments on future growth.

Facebook Shares After Hours Tuesday

He said in a statement:

“Our community and business continue to grow quickly, and now more than 2 billion people use at least one of our services every day… We’re building the best services for private messaging and stories, and there are huge opportunities ahead in video and commerce as well.”

The company also stated that headcount had increased by a massive 45%, but that costs had also rocketed by 53% due to considerable investment in Facebook stories that has lower advertising rates than its original model. Moreover, compliance with the EU’s GDPR had also cost the company.

Still Better than Expected

After the highly publicized security breach leaving more than 30 million user accounts vulnerable, the Facebook report was expected to sink like a stone with investors. But it didn’t show as much of a slowdown as projected.

Zuckerberg recognized that protecting user data was a challenge but that the company expected to have it figured out by the end of next year. And also that major growth opportunities were to be had for the company in 2019 and beyond.

Featured image from Shutterstock.
October 31, 2018
The Truth About the Pittsburgh Shooting – Freedom of Speech Reminds Us What We Don’t Want to Hear

For the most part of my life, I’ve been blanketly in favor of freedom of speech. Growing up in my formative years in Saudi Arabia, a country in which women have no voice, and later witnessing the sweeping injustices between rich and poor while working in Latin America, I became somewhat of a champion for it.

But over the last couple of years, I’ve realized that I’m not as in favor of freedom of speech as I thought I was. Which means I’m only really in favor of selective freedom of speech–which means, like so many of us, I’m not really in favor of freedom of speech at all.

Selective Freedom of Speech

I want to hear from those who’ve been repressed or suffered atrocities, from women who’ve been molested, or ethnic minorities who’ve been sidelined. I want to listen to the eccentric opinions of journalists and conspiracy theorists and make up my own mind about whether Neil Armstrong stood on the moon or 9/11 was ordered by Bush.

What I don’t want to be reminded of is the glaring reality that giving people a voice also means having to accept that we don’t like what they have to say.

It’s very easy to sit in an educated position and insist that people should be given a voice–until they use it and unleash an unholy trail of chaos and destruction.

Let’s take 2016 for our first example. Would any proponent of free speech and civil liberties have imagined in their wildest dreams that the British public would lose control of all their senses and use their collective voice to vote out of the European Union? Or that the majority of Americans would say yes to having a misogynistic reality TV star in the White House?

2016 was a year that shook even the staunchest supporters of freedom of speech to the core. They started to realize that they didn’t want to hear what their neighbors and colleagues had to say after all. They began to understand exactly how powerful words really are.

We Might Not Like What People Have to Say

Then there are social media platforms like Gab offering freedom of speech for those who may have been banned from socially acceptable sites like Facebook or Twitter. In these breeding grounds of racial hate and intolerance, everyday people can have a space to say what they want.

They can share in their mutual support of Trump and his travel ban. They can philosophize on nationalistic tendencies and they can spit their fiery rhetoric of white supremacy without being censored. And everyone’s happy. Until those words turn into a mass shooting in a synagogue.

Like everything else in life, one might argue that freedom of speech is not black and white. But I have to disagree. It is absolutely black and white and you must come down on one side of the fence or the other. There’s no such thing as sitting in the middle. You are either for it or against, whether you like the implications of that or not.

If you decide to throw yourself under the banner of freedom of speech, then under the banner you must be. You can’t pick and choose when to withdraw your support if you don’t like what people say–when the realization hits you that most of the world is xenophobic, racist, ignorant, undereducated, and resentful.

Tech Companies’ Reactions to Gab

So after the news emerged that the killer of the Pittsburgh shooting was a user of Gab, tech companies like PayPal, GoDaddy, and Stripe responded “appropriately” by threatening to withdraw their services. But they’re missing the point entirely.

Freedom of speech has consequences. Freedom of speech is absolute. Not selective. And if we are to condone and even market it as a good thing, we must be prepared to accept that it may end up in the killing of 11 people in a synagogue.

Gab has been thrust into the spotlight for failing to do enough to prevent the crime from happening. For failing to censor its users or curtail their right to post what they want. In short, for keeping their promise of defending freedom of expression.

The Pittsburgh killer Rober Bowers was able to feature images of guns and white supremacist iconography, and even post anti-Semitic threats on the site just hours before the shooting. And while Gab said in a statement afterward:

“Gab unequivocally disavows and condemns all acts of terrorism and violence”

This only seems at odds with the whole purpose of freedom of speech in the first place and the truth that most of us simply don’t want to be reminded about. That we are not, in fact, the defenders of freedom of speech that we thought we were.

And in fact, we need some kind of monitoring by a central authority whether it be a Facebook bot or a federal agency because the sad truth is that human beings are capable of things that most of us simply don’t want to hear about.

Featured image from Manila Bulletin.

October 30, 2018
E-Scooter Craze Ramps Up a Gear as Unu Raises $12 Million in Funding

Forget about electric cars. Cumbersome vehicles that take forever to charge are no help when it comes to finding a parking space. E-scooters are speeding ahead as the next revolution in intra-city commuting. OK, so you might still need your car if you want to head out of state, but these nifty lightweight vehicles are the perfect method of getting around a heavily congested city.

E-scooter rental businesses are cropping up around the world in its greenest places. From San Francisco to Singapore and all environmentally conscious developed cities in between, this is the latest craze.

So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that German startup Unu just raised a cool $12 million in funding to further develop its e-scooter line and work on additional products and services. The funding was led by Ponooc. Existing Unu investors Iris Capital, Capnamic Ventures, NRW.BANK and Michael Baum also took part.

Over the past five years, Unu had sold around 10,000 scooters, making it one of the most successful European e-scooter manufacturers alongside BMW and Govecs.

Move over Tesla – E-Scooters Are so Much Cooler

Unlike electronic cars, e-scooters are not only cooler, but they come with a multitude of extra perks. Namely, price savings, charging time, weight, and no worries about where to park your vehicle in a cluttered city. Being lightweight, e-scooters charge up way faster than cars and all you have to do is take the battery out and charge it at home.

It’s not exactly a featherweight though, weighing around 20 pounds (9 kilos). But the battery has a long life and you can charge it from any power outlet and take advantage of someone else’s electricity.

Unu currently markets its scooters as helping their owners to dodge traffic jams, and save time as well as the environment. But the company is potentially looking to tap into the exploding market for e-scooter rentals and scooter sharing services at home and abroad with this latest funding round.

As younger generations look for ways to preserve the environment and their precious time, e-scooters are really taking off, particularly in metropolitan areas in Europe, with Paris, in particular, a major e-scooting hub.

If Unu strikes it big with an e-scooter rental company, those 10,000 scooter sales could easily multiply tenfold. Or maybe they’re looking to enter the e-scooting rental market themselves.

Featured image from Unu.

October 30, 2018