drugs to make you productive

Hi there,

As you read this:

• Are you wearing Allbirds?
• Are you on a keto diet?
• Do you wake up at 4:30 am?
• Do you have a mindfulness journal?

If you answered yes to any of the above, here’s what’s next.

Yup — LSD.

Folks are now microdosing this powerful psychoactive in the name of productivity. We live in wonderful times.

(Check out The Blurb for GQ’s full article by Hayden Vernon.)

If you’re reading this while on LSD, please drop me a line.

Q3’19 birthed 6 new fintech unicorns to reach a grand total of 58 fintech unicorns globally, worth a combined $213.5B.

Check out more insights in our latest global fintech report.

Making big bets

Google’s GV is regarded as one of the most active and successful corporate venture capital firms.

From life sciences to cybersecurity, see the 120+ startups that GV has placed bets on since 2018.

Any questions?

At The Collective (Dec. 10-11, NYC) we’ll have some of the most successful execs from the Fortune 500 on hand to answer some strikingly simple questions:

• Scott Belsky, chief product officer at Adobe, will answer, “How do you execute on new ideas?”
• Stephanie Cohen, chief strategy officer of Goldman Sachs, will answer, “How do you align M&A efforts with internal innovation?”
• John Geyer, chief innovation officer at MetLife, will answer, “How do you foster internal ideation that leads to real products?”

See all 30 speakers for the event here. There are only 3 weeks left to register. Use the code Q&A to get $650 off your ticket.

Banking-as-a-service

Silicon Valley’s challenger banks are encroaching on Wall Street’s most hallowed territory: financial services.

Take a look at which startups are unbundling the bank in our Q3’19 fintech report.

Like and go buy

Retailers are incorporating social media into the shopping experience through shoppable live videos, social media chatting, and more.

We mapped out 40+ social commerce startups. Clients can see them here.

Business Insider. Rebecca Ungarino (@ungarino) covers the state of funding for wealth management tech and uses data from CB Insights’ Q3’19 global fintech report.

Nikkei Asian Review. Wataru Suzuki (@watarsuzu) reports on Palantir’s latest joint venture with a Japanese insurer and cites CB Insights data.

Ad Age. Adrianne Pasquarelli (@SheLikesToShop) writes about the growing use of facial recognition tech in marketing and quotes CB Insights senior analyst Thomas Sineau (@TSineau).

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. Our CVC survey finds that when it comes to sourcing deals, it’s about who you know. Find out more in part 3 of our State of CVC series here.

P.P.S. We’re hiring a director of sales training. Learn more about the job here.

Can I expense this? Microdosing LSD is the latest productivity hack for some tech elites.

GQ

‘Til 5 pm do us part. Not getting along with your manager? Try hiring a couples’ therapist to resolve the tension.

The Wall Street Journal

It’s a rich man’s internet. The internet once promised informational equality. What happened?

The New York Times

The ultimate backup. GitHub is apocalypse-proofing its open source code by storing it in an abandoned coal mine.
Bloomberg