Street Fight Daily: Thumbtack Raises $100M, Uber Opens API
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology
Thumbtack, an Online Market for Services, Raises $100 Million (New York Times)
It was just a few months ago that Thumbtack, an online marketplace for hiring workers for particular tasks, raised $30 million of financing. On Wednesday, Thumbtack is expected to announce a new $100 million financing round, led by an investment arm of Google.
Uber Opens API in Bid to Be Everywhere (Recode)
Uber announced that it would open its API to all developers — from those tinkering in dorm rooms to United Airlines — in order to be exposed to millions of new users. United’s mobile app, Uber said, will show fare estimates and ETAs of the closest drivers, so you can get to the airport for less and on time.
These Local Tech Founders Sold Out — Here’s Where They Are Now (Street Fight)
Golden handcuffs hurt less than real ones, but most entrepreneurs flee an acquirer as soon as the oft-required two year stint runs out. Street Fight took a look at some of the local tech entrepreneurs who sold out in recent years to see where they are now.
GoDaddy Acquires MailChimp Competitor Mad Mimi To Beef Up Its Email Marketing Service (TechCrunch)
GoDaddy has closed on the acquisition of MailChimp competitor Mad Mimi, the companies are announcing this morning. The move is meant to further expand the web hosting provider’s product suite aimed at small businesses, while filling a hole in GoDaddy’s line-up where it was previously lacking a more solid email marketing service.
Happenings Media Makes Lifestyle Content Pay — In Audience and Revenue (Street Fight)
Sisters Tina Paparone and Angela Giovine are the founders of Happenings Media, which, in five years, has developed into an impressive network of digital lifestyle magazines. Street Fight recently caught up with Paparone to talk about how the duo bootstrapped their operation into a growing network of 23 magazines across the country.
McDonald’s Digital Plans Include Music, Mobile Ordering (CNBC)
McDonald’s appointment of its first U.S. vice president of digital is the latest step in a widespread revamp the burger chain sees as key to reaching its audience. This group is focused on customer engagement, e-commerce, service delivery and digital content, according to the company’s website.
Nimble Commerce to Power E-Commerce for Second Street (Street Fight)
NimbleCommerce and Second Street have announced a partnership agreement where Nimble will become the e-commerce platform and network for Second Street’s media customers.
Why E-tailers In Scandanavia Don’t Sell In Schenectady (Fortune)
In his latest book, Wharton marketing professor David Bell trots out a laundry list of convincing evidence that today, despite all the world-is-flat hype, where we live still dictates our buying patterns. It’s a welcome addition to a conversation that seems to ignore the fact that even in today’s hyper-connected age, only a projected 9% of retail transactions will happen online.
Google’s 2013 Mobile Search Revs Were Roughly $8 Billion (SearchEngineLand)
The value of the global mobile search market was roughly $9.4 billion at the end of 2013. If we assume that Google captures a “conservative” 85 percent of that spend, Google’s share of global mobile paid-search revenue would have been about $8 billion last year. In North America Google’s mobile paid search revenues would have been at least $3.7 billion.
Screw Snapchat. This App Wants You to Write Something That Lasts (Wired)
Silicon Valley is now obsessed with ephemeral messaging. But Caterina Fake thinks this obsession will fizzle like so many snapped chats. It will be replaced by content that’s created carefully rather than quickly and that engages people with their surroundings instead of distracting them.
La Quinta Not Buying Mobile Ad Gap Meme (MediaPost)
La Quinta’s Amy Bartle suggests the focus on the quantity of time spent in mobile is too simplistic, with no consideration of the quality of time spent. She cited figures that 68% of time with mobile takes place at home, which she said indicates that people are often doing something else while they’re using a mobile device.
OrderUp Raises $7M To Build Its Food Delivery Network For Non-Urbanites (TechCrunch)
A startup called OrderUp is announcing $7 million in funding, led by Steve Cases’s Revolution Ventures and Tim O’Shaughnessy, the co-founder of LivingSocial — entrepreneurs that have, in their time, understood the power of building businesses outside of urban areas.
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