using Amazon for free vacations

Rey Mysterio doesn’t work here

Hi there,

We spend a lot of money with Amazon Web Services.

So we were pretty pleased with ourselves when we figured out how to get Amazon to pay for our team’s vacations. We walk through how it happens and share pics of where our team has been ranging from Mallorca to Medellin to Mexico. Here’s one.

Despite growing like a weed and raising some investor cash, I love that the CB Insights team still keeps it scrappy. If you’re a great teammate, amazing at what you do, and like free vacations, we’re hiring.

This is personal

Personal finance apps are popping up to capitalize on the record-setting personal wealth that millennials will inherit.

Our 10,000-word deep-dive looks into 7 of the fastest-growing personal finance apps and what makes them successful.

Why startups win

So true.

Via Alex Rampell of A16Z on Twitter.

Amazon HQ2 bracket challenge: elite 8

Thanks to everyone who helped seed our Amazon HQ2 survey. We’ve narrowed the shortlist down to 8 cities — now help us pick the final four. Vote here.

A credible next Silicon Valley

Cities, countries, and regions love calling themselves the next Silicon Valley.

It’s mostly all rubbish.

Except for China. The largest funding to startups of late has been to Chinese companies. If the Valley has a challenger, this is where it’s coming from.

Clients — you can see all 222 deals over $10M from the last 30 days here. See for yourself how many are in China — especially the largest rounds.

Get smart (money)

Smart money investors like Andreessen Horowitz and New Enterprise Associates are driving mega-rounds in industrial 3D printing and co-investing in companies in the space.

So the FBI calls about deleted emails …

A week after selling his company to Vista Equity Partners for a rumored $1.5B, Austin McChord, Founder & CEO of Datto, took the stage at A-ha! with Financial Times’ Hannah Kuchler.

He shared the origin story of his Connecticut-based company, his unusual way of incentivizing managers before he knew how options worked, and insight into the competitive space for cloud-based IT.

One story that stood out? A call from the FBI inquiring about some deleted emails backed up on his servers. Yes, some of the deleted Hillary Clinton emails — data he “desperately did not want.”

Hear that story here. Watch the whole session here. Read the CBI take on the session here.

The Industry Standard

CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.

CNBC. Andrew Zaleski (@ajzaleski) reports that Israel is expected to have strong GDP growth in 2018 – 2019 and cites CB Insights’ Cybersecurity Trends and Startups Report.

Entrepreneur. Jayson DeMers (@jaysondemers) writes about startup failure and references CB Insights research.

Business Insider. Richard Feloni (@richfeloni) reports on Steve Case and JD Vance’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and cites CB Insights’ venture capital research.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. We’re hiring a Healthcare Research Director. If you’ve got writing experience and you’re passionate about health tech, apply here.

P.P.S. On February 8, we’re diving into tech trends to watch in 2018. Register for the briefing here.