Jordan Crook
TechCrunch
New York, NY, United States
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Recent articles by Jordan:
Fitz Frames, with $2.5M in seed funding, wants your kid to have custom glasses –
Fitz Frames is today launching out of beta to offer affordable, custom-made glasses for families, and in particular, for children. The company, which has raised $2.5 million in seed funding, was founded by Heidi Hertel is led CEO Gabriel Schlumberger. The company declined to disclose its investors, but shared that it was a mix of […] → Read More
Announcing the Disrupt SF 2019 agenda –
Disrupt SF 2019 is set to be the biggest and best Disrupt yet. We’ve got a little something for everyone, including space chats with Lockheed Martin’s Marillyn Hewson and Blue Origin’s Bob Smith, a word from Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, a fireside chat with two of 2019’s big VC winners, Ann Muira-Ko and Theresia Gouw, […] → Read More
Original Content podcast: ‘Another Life’ is no masterpiece, but we want a second season anyway –
Most critics haven’t found much to like in “Another Life,” a new space opera on Netflix, but look: We had a good time with it. The show stars Katee Sackhoff (best known as Starbuck on “Battlestar Galactica”), who plays Niko Breckinridge, the leader of an expedition across the galaxy to make contact with aliens who […] → Read More
Statespace picks up $2.5M to help gamers train –
Gaming continues to grow in popularity, with esports revenue growing 23 percent from last year to top $1 billion in 2019. But the metrics by which talent is evaluated in gaming, and the methods by which gamers can train to better hone their craft, are varied and at times non-existent. That’s where StateSpace, and specifically […] → Read More
At Disrupt SF, learn how to take a digital brand offline from Brooklinen, Framebridge and thredUP –
Over the past couple decades, retail has fundamentally changed. Amazon has swept in and devoured mom and pop stores, while incumbent brands face increased competition from a new crop of digital-first companies. But not everything changes. People still want to see and feel the goods they’ll purchase, and most brands still see huge benefits from […] → Read More
Doubling down on business travelers, Airbnb acquires Urbandoor –
Airbnb has today announced the acquisition of Urbandoor, a platform that offers extended stays to corporate clients. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Urbandoor was founded in 2015, according to Crunchbase. One of the big differentiators between Urbandoor and Airbnb was not only its focus on business travelers, relocation, etc., but also that […] → Read More
Original Content podcast: ‘Years and Years’ takes an unsettling look at the next decade –
“Years and Years” is an unusual show. It’s a co-production of HBO and the BBC, and in the course of six hourlong episodes, it covers a span of more than 10 years in our near future. During that time, we see the rise of a terrifying Trump-style politician in the United Kingdom named Vivian Rook […] → Read More
Following Ninja’s news, Mixer pops to top of the App Store’s free charts –
Yesterday, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins announced that he’s leaving Twitch, moving his streaming career over to Microsoft’s Mixer platform. This morning, Mixer has shot to the top of the App Store’s free app charts. Microsoft acquired Mixer in 2016, back when it was called Beam, and has been trying to grow the platform since. However, Mixer […] → Read More
Ninja is leaving Twitch for Microsoft’s Mixer –
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, the biggest streamer ever, has today announced his intention to leave the Twitch platform in favor of Microsoft’s Mixer. Twitch is far and away the biggest video game streaming platform on the internet, claiming 72 percent of all hours watched according to StreamElements. Mixer, by comparison, owns 3 percent, which is approximately […] → Read More
Cloud-based design tool Figma launches plug-ins –
Figma, the startup looking to put design tools in the cloud, has today announced new plugins for the platform that will help users clean up their workflows. Figma cofounder and CEO Dylan Field says that plug-ins have been the most requested feature from users since the company’s launch. So, for the last year, the team […] → Read More
Original Content podcast: Our love for ‘Queer Eye’ isn’t quite as strong –
It’s been barely more than a year since the “Queer Eye” revival premiered on Netflix, but the series is already back for its fourth season. This time around, the Fab Five finds new makeover subjects in Kansas City (with a detour to Quincy, Illinois, where hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness grew up), offering their custom mix […] → Read More
Using the same tactics as ‘Big Tobacco’, Juul may have intentionally targeted teens –
After a hearing this week, members of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform said that Juul, the ultra-popular e-cigarette brand, may have intentionally targeted teens in schools and online. Based on 55,000 non-public documents out of Juul Labs, the subcommittee said that Juul’s Youth Prevention Plan recruited schools into a program that put […] → Read More
Airbud raises $4 million to add a voice interface to your website –
Amazon’s Alexa ushered in a new dawn of user interfaces, bringing voice into the mix as a viable option. Dozens of companies have sprouted because of this, not least of which being Airbud.io. Airbud allows any company to add a voice interface to its website. The company just closed a $4 million round led by […] → Read More
Adam Nelson joins FirstMark Capital –
Adam Nelson, an early Dropbox employee and partner at Social Capital, has today announced that he’s joined New York-based FirstMark Capital as a partner. Nelson was actually born and raised here in New York City on the Upper East Side and moved out to the West Coast when he attended Stanford for his MBA. It […] → Read More
ClassPass introduces a corporate wellness program –
ClassPass has set up yet another revenue stream, signing on partners like Facebook, Glossier, Google, Morgan Stanley, Under Armour, Etsy, Southwest Airlines and Gatorade to a corporate wellness program. The program will give employees at these companies access to the ClassPass network of more than 22,000 studio partners across 2500 cities around the world, which […] → Read More
Quirk wants to make cognitive behavioral therapy more accessible –
Quirk, a YC-backed company, is looking to bring cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to more people suffering from anxiety or depression. CBT aims to lessen or stop harmful behavior by changing the way people think, stopping them from falling into established patterns of negatively distorting their reality to justify or account for unhelpful habits. “CBT has […] → Read More
Esports org 100 Thieves raises $35 million in Series B –
100 Thieves has today announced the close of a $35 million Series B funding round. Artist Capital Management led the round, with ACM’s Chief Investment Officer Josh Dienstag joining Mike Sepso, MLG cofounder, on the board of directors. Group Arnault, the investment arm of LVMH, also participated in the round. CEO and founder Matthew “Nadeshot” […] → Read More
Brave Care, backed by Y Combinator, is an urgent care clinic just for kids –
Brave Care is an urgent care facility for pediatric care that costs, on average, about 80% less than a pediatric ER visit. Darius Monsef and his co-founder came up with the idea shortly after a fateful week for the Monsef family, during which their four-year-old dove off a bike ramp and their one-year-old started having […] → Read More
Original Content podcast: Netflix thriller ‘Point Blank’ underwhelms –
“Point Blank,” a new Netflix original film, stars Frank Grillo and Anthony Mackie as a criminal and a nurse thrown together by circumstances — Abe (played by Grillo) is struck by a car while fleeing a murder scene, and he’s brought to the hospital where Paul (Mackie) works. Soon, Paul finds himself coerced into to […] → Read More
Anvyl, looking to help D2C brands manage their supply chain, raises $9.3M –
Growing D2C brands face an interesting challenge. While they’ve eliminated much of the hassle of a physical storefront, they must still deal with all the complications involved in managing inventory and manufacturing and shipping a physical product to suppliers. Anvyl, with a fresh $9.3 million in Series A funding, is looking to jump in and […] → Read More