What Does The Didi Deal Mean For Uber’s (eventual, but coming) IPO?
Didi’s move to acquire Uber’s Chinese operations and invest $1 billion in the latter company shook the tech world last night when the news first broke.
The question quickly became what the transaction means for Uber’s ever-expected future public offering. Without the burn from its push in China, can Uber go public? Mattermark takes a look at what we know.
From the Investors
Elizabeth Yin of 500 Startups writes about how to keep your investor hopes in check in “If your VC meeting feels like it went well, it really didn’t…”
Aslanoba Capital’s Cankut Durgun speaks bluntly about the theoretical advantage of the first mover in “The smart and hard working mover advantage.”
Semil Shah of Haystack lets us into his head while writing “My Five Quick Takeaways From The Uber-Didi Deal.”
Techstars’ Mark Solon argues that we are “in the greatest tech innovative cycle in history and capital will continue to be available to fuel it” in his post “This Is What The Apocalypse Looks Like?”
I don’t think that I wrote any of the headlines that Solon cites:
From the Operators
Sachin Rekhi argues in favor of the humanities in “Developing User Empathy,” an essay on product management. Don’t let that scare you off, it’s very much worth reading.
A taste to get you started: “For those skeptical of mindfulness I’d say this: the high EQ folks we all know do this so effortlessly. Mindfulness is simply a form of deliberate practice for the rest of us.”
Harvard Law prof Susan Crawford writes that the battle for net neutrality is only at its “beginning,” and that “stopping here would be a mistake” in her post “The Limits of Net Neutrality.”
Over on The Macro, Dominika Blackappl writes “Practical Design: User Observation,” a collection of tools and tips for the designer of today.
Finally, Sramana Mitra of One Million by One Million interviews Philippe D’Offay, the CEO of PMD, about “capital efficient entrepreneurship.” It’s the story of how a founder turned around $300,000 in capital into $6.5 million in recurring revenue. Not bad.
That’s my last Daily. It’s been a lot of fun. As a final note, if you are a VC that I haven’t met, do send me an email. I have lots of questions. — Alex