Today’s rumor round-up is kind of bummery, and we”d like to start by saying sorry about that, New York tech. It’ll get better:
Have a crappy Monday? At least you didn’t fall down the glass stairs at the Apple Store in Soho. “It was 3 p.m., and I was waiting for the Genius Bar appointment,” one entrepreneur, mortified, IMed Betabeat from the scene. “It was like a 40-something dude, well dressed, tye-dye jeans, like very stylish Euro. And it was a loud thud and people looked down, and a staff member helped him.” (These are some crazy stairs with beguiling effects on walkers. ‘I remember the first time I walked up those glass stairs, I felt as if I were floating into Mac-heaven,’ one MacRumors forum member wrote.) The fall started on the landing so it was about seven stairs, the source estimates–“Like kind of a lot.” And of course, the store was packed. We called the Apple Store to ask if such slips are common and a bewildered, off-guard employee assured us they are not. Also, they are still out of iPads.
Networking overload: You know how Adam Neary, CEO of Profitab.ly, wrote that blog post loving up on General Assembly and how it basically got them funding? Well, we heard his tech lead fucking hates it there.
Vindication: Betabeat reported last week that Know Your Meme would be bought by a media start-up. Now we know who: It’s the Cheez. Know Your Meme founder Andrew Baron blagged up a post once the news leaked to let everyone know that he got lots of money for the company–a “super seven figure deal” as opposed to the “low-seven figure deal” that was reported–had plenty of options, asked his staff and they were all totally into it, and that there’s a new start-up in Memetown.
Blind funds: Tip top secret rumor here! What London-based early and later-stage VC firm is opening up a shop in New York? Betabeat couldn’t confirm on the record, but someone from the firm told a developer at South By Southwest and that developer told someone who told Betabeat but nobody knows what we’re talking about! “London is such a weird beast from a tech standpoint,” one blogger told Betabeat. “There’s sort of one track of tech there that’s ‘let’s copy this successful U.S. startup for the EU market’ and then there are these really interesting leading-edge mobile thinkers, and then the money guys seem like a third, unrelated group.” Maybe that’s why nobody’s ever heard of them.
Founders, beware: What New York tech goliath is rumored to have nixed a ready-to-close deal with a vaguely-similar David some weeks ago? Sources and passive-aggressive tweets suggest a certain hipster CEO has the power to single-emailedly quash the decisions of one of its investors, who supposedly figured the companies were like not competitive or whatever and waited until the last minute to check with the rest of the portfolio. When he finally did–oops–the deal became no deal. Drama was refreshed last week when a VC from the firm blogged about its lofty morals in the area of noncompetitive investments and the sacredness of relationships. Virtual group hugs ensued among the portfolio.
