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Dominate yo' playdate
Hi there,
According to an article in The New York Times by Nellie Bowles, some small minority of hapless parents are hiring coaches to get their kids off their mobile phones. Some of these “screen consultants” charge up to $250/hour. We looked in our database of market sizings and even with 14,000+ market sizings, we didn’t find a TAM for screen consultants (yet).
The NYT article is featured in The Blurb, but we’re sharing some of the knowledge dropped by screen consultants below (and we won’t even charge you for it).
But first, some research.
Bounce back
Venture capital funding in the US rose in Q2'19 after falling from the record set in Q4'18. At the end of H1'19, US VC funding was at $55B — well above the mid-point for 2018.
For more of the latest trends in VC funding, download PwC and CB Insights' Q2 2019 MoneyTree Report.
You're all one of a kind
Cybersecurity companies are seeing more deals than ever before — last year they saw a 40% increase in deals compared to 2015.
These cos are also reaching unicorn status at a faster rate than ever before, with 4 cybersecurity startups achieving a $1B+ valuation in the last year.
We take a closer look at each member of the growing cybersecurity unicorn club here.
Move over, baseball dads
The world of high tech parenting also revealed the story of Dave Herzog who was profiled in The Boston Globe by Dugan Arnett.
Herzog, unlike the parents in the NYT article, is trying to get his son in front of more screens.
Herzog has taken his son Jordan out of high school to focus on becoming a full-time gamer. Practicing 10 to 14 hours a day, Herzog says Jordan is going after “fame, prestige, earnings that, he believes, could one day reach into the millions.”
It’s perhaps just a matter of time until an IMG Academy-like institution crops up for student-athlete gamers.
My favorite part of the article — which is in The Blurb — is this part about getting a controller in Jordan’s hand at 3 and dominating playdates.
 The lay of the land
The insurance tech landscape in the US has expanded significantly over the last 5 years.
Insurance-focused startups now include tech and digital challengers across verticals including home, auto, title, cyber, and more.
We mapped out 140+ of these companies. Clients can see them all here.
Lead change
Deal activity in North America pulled firmly ahead of Asia in Q2'19. Asia's deal activity has fallen by 24% since Q3'18.
Want more of the VC funding trends? Download PwC and CB Insights' most recent MoneyTree Report here.
Free parenting help
And now for some advice from those $250/hr screen counselors to help wean your kids off their phones, along with some of my favorite passages from the article.
Sometimes, it’s just really simple. Actually, it is simple.
“I try to really meet the parents where they are, and now often it is very simple: ‘Do you have a plain old piece of material that can be used as a cape?’” said Ms. Moskowitz. “‘Great!’”
“‘Is there a ball somewhere? Throw the ball,’” she said. “‘Kick the ball.’”
“Is there enough running around that will help them see their autonomy? Is there a jungle gym or a jumping rope?”
But of course, some folks overcomplicate it.
“I say, ‘Just try to remember what you did as a kid,’” Ms. Pollard said. “And it’s so hard, and they’re very uncomfortable, but they just need to remember.”
“When we were growing up, we didn’t have these, so our parents couldn’t role model appropriate behaviors to us, and we have to learn what is appropriate so we can role model that for them.”
An example of when the word miracle has become meaningless:
They will come back with memories of painting or looking at the moon. “They report back like it’s a miracle,” Ms. Pollard said.
Finally, some truth.
“It’s not that challenging, be attentive to your phone use, notice the ways it interferes with being present,” said Erica Reischer, a psychologist and parent coach in San Francisco. “There’s this commercialization of everything that can be commercialized, including this now.”
Ok, this is getting weird:
“You won’t send your kid into the kitchen with a hot stove without giving them instructions or just hand them a knife,” Ms. Wasserstrom said. “You have to be a role model on safe ways to use a knife.”
“I tell a lot of parents to get a dog,” Mr. Halpern said. “Or I say, ‘Show a screen to your cat.’ They don’t care. They’re fully present. They’re living. That’s a great role model.”
“I’ll say, ‘What if you were looking at your dog and your dog was on a phone? That wouldn’t be as fun, would it?’”
The Industry Standard
CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.
CNN. Clare Duffy (@claresduffy) reports on the status of Facebook’s Libra project and its legal snags and quotes CB Insights senior intelligence analyst Nick Pappageorge (@npappag).
Bloomberg Quint. Mahima Kapoor (@mahimakapoor12) writes about overfunded startups and references CB Insights research.
Entrepreneur. Tarun Dua (@tarundua81) discusses the growth trajectory of AI and machine learning and cites PwC and CB Insights’ MoneyTree Report.
I love you.
Anand
@asanwal
P.S. We're hiring a content marketing manager. Check out the complete job description here. If this sounds like you, we'd love to chat.
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