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- The next Unicorns should be queer 🦄
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Today I have a new finance column fresh out of the oven, some IG recommendations, and our usual hot links roundup of happenings from around the interwebs.
—Nick Wolny
Column: The next unicorns should be queer
Out Magazine May/June 2024 issue.
The next Unicorns should be LGBTQ-owned — and I’m not talking about the horses. 🦄
Queer founders produce 36% more jobs and 114% more patents than the industry average, and one report released by Morgan Stanley last year found that 45% of all U.S. investors want opportunities to invest specifically in LGBTQ diversity and inclusion.
But in venture capital, the investment buzz is nowhere near as potent: Less than 0.5 percent of overall funding goes to queer founders, and many founders admit going back into the closet when it comes time to raise funds in order to appear less risky. Ick.
In my newest finance column for Out magazine, I spoke to the founders of various LGBTQ VC organizations to better understand our gaps. Much of it involves networking. A unicorn is a long-standing moniker for a company that achieves a valuation of a billion dollars or more; often, those companies reach the stratosphere not only because of a good idea, but also because the founder was able to get into the right rooms with the right people at the right time.
I still pinch myself that I write a column for a magazine I’ve admired for years. Read the online version of this article below, or grab the digital magazine on a platform like Zinio.
Nvidia is practically printing money at this point 🤖
Found footage of Nvidia during yesterday’s earnings call. Source: Giphy
The hottest company in AI right now is Nvidia. On Wednesday, the company again toppled analysts’ sky-high estimates during their Q1 earnings call as the chip manufacturer’s yearslong focus on AI-compatible hardware continues to pay off.
Here’s Kif Leswing at CNBC:
“In the past year, Nvidia sales have skyrocketed as companies such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and OpenAI buy billions of dollars of Nvidia’s graphics processing units, which are advanced and pricey chips required for developing and deploying artificial intelligence applications.”
Why that matters
It’s good to keep an eye on Nvidia because AI is proving out to not be hype, and will probably lead to considerable industrial revolution. Many investors see Nvidia’s performance as a general barometer for the AI industry right now.
If the largest companies in the world are investing this hard in AI hardware, it’s reasonable to expect that AI will be increasingly integrated into our devices and lives within the next 1-3 years. Like data-hungry applications and your grandma’s favorite puzzles, things are just easier if you have more space to work with from the start, and Nvidia’s GPUs do that for companies that want to incorporate more AI-powered features. 🧩
CEO Jensen Huang said demand is so high that the company cannot keep up. The stock price kissed $1,000 on Wednesday, a 1,000% increase since 2020, and the company also announced a forthcoming 10-for-1 stock split.
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Reading is fundamental
John Ray Ebora via Pexels
Online business industry
A newsletter about our uneasy relationship to phones becomes The Guardian’s fastest-growing email ever. “Reclaim Your Brain,” a free 5-day email course, has passed 139,000 signups since its debut in January. (Nieman Journalism Lab)
Gusto is cash flow positive–and it got there by sticking to mom-approved values. I love Gusto and recommend it; I use it for payroll in my LLC. They also helped me source scalable health insurance back when I was self-employed as a one-employee company. (Yahoo! Finance, via Fortune)
Fiverr released its seventh annual Freelance Economy Impact Report. 43% of independent workers said they made more money in 2023 than the year prior, and 55% said they expect to earn even more in 2024. (Fiverr Press Room)
How to combat burnout working from home, hybrid or in-person. (The Washington Post, friend link)
Meet the new CEO of 'The Onion.' What a twist to have NBC disinformation reporter Ben Collins go in with three other investors to buy this revered satire publication from G/O Media. (Fast Company)
B2B influencer marketing: It's not rocket science. (AdWeek Voices)
Extreme business brainstorming questions that always work. (A Smart Bear)
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Finance
On Wednesday, the CFPB issued a rule declaring that Buy Now, Pay Later providers be treated like credit card providers. The BNPL providers have been dodging regulation for a while now, this would be good in the long run. (CNBC)
Consumers have given up on saving for the American Dream and are spending money instead. I think this hypothesis is the closest regarding the current inflation/high-spending/debt paradox. (Fortune)
Why it's both good and bad news for working mothers. (Business Insider)
Countries wooing corporate digital nomads hope to make them stay. Digital nomad recruiting is now an economic strategy point for nearly 60 countries. (Financial Times)
Target to slash prices on 5,000 items as stubborn inflation hangs on. Consumers are reaching price fatigue. (CNET)
The U.S. will oppose a proposed global wealth tax. The international levy has been proposed to cut down on tax evasion by the rich. (The Wall Street Journal)
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LGBTQ+
The “Pride House” on the Seine River barge was inaugurated by Paris Olympics organizers. This building will serve as a safe space for queer athletes for the duration of the Olympics. (AP News)
My gay divorce made me whole again. But first it was the loneliest experience in the world. This is how you do a guest post as part of your book launch strategy. (LGBTQ Nation)
How Sniffies saved cruising. (Slate)
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Bonus: LGBTQ+ Instagrams
The Williams Institute, a leading LGBTQ+ think tank.
The AIDS Memorial, an account mostly of beautiful eulogies. Warning: You will cry.
LGBT History, a nice account of visual histories.
GLAAD, a nonprofit organization forwarding queer acceptance.
OUT Leadership, an org focused on — you guessed it — LGBTQ+ corporate leadership.
LGBTQ&A, a longstanding interview-style podcast.
The Trans Justice Funding Project, a community-led funding initiative to support grassroots trans justice groups run by and for trans people.
Queer News Daily, an Instagram by journalist Nico Lang.
Chuck Tingle, LGBTQ fiction writer whose account is mostly memes and satire.
Digestif
Curate your information sources intentionally. Allocate attention to reading good information.
The content you consume influences your thoughts.
Your thoughts influence your actions.
Your actions influence your behaviors and habits.
Your habits influence your life.
Therefore, the information you consume influences your life.
Consume more fruits and veggies and a little less candy, whatever that might mean for you. (But still occasional candy.) 🥒🍬
Cheering you on,
—Nick
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