The 11th Hour Dispatch — Monday, September 10, 2018
BIG BUSINESS
Really not an ideal month to be Snap. The company’s chief strategy officer Imran Khan has exited the company after three years. According to a filing with the SEC, Khan made his decision last week. No word on when he will officially hit the road, but according to TechCrunch, he plans to start his own investment fund once he does. The former Credit Suisse banker joined Snapchat’s parent company in 2015 to help with its IPO. The company is currently trading under $10, closing the day down 1.91% at $9.74 following news of Khan’s exit.
BINGE WATCH
Apple capped off the weekend with two film purchases and its first Emmy for a piece of original content. The acquisition of the The Elephant Queen, a nature documentary, was announced after its world premiere at the past weekend’s Toronto International Film Festival. The other, the animated film Wolfwalkers, was purchased prior to TIFF. The films join a stacked content lineup for Apple’s streaming service, which is believed to be making its debut in March 2019. As for that Emmy, believe it or not, but it went to none other than Carpool Karaoke for “Outstanding Short Form Variety Series.” The win for the spinoff of the popular Late Show with James Corden segment (which has received “almost universally negative reception from critics”) sets Apple out on the right foot as it continues to tease us with its service. We’re hoping to hear more about the yet-to-be-named product at Apple’s press event on Wednesday. This is not Apple’s first Emmy overall, as it has won for technical and engineering categories in the past, but it is the first time it has won for an original production. Other than that, Apple joined the party and banned Alex Jones from the App Store.
YOUNG MONEY
Robinhood, the millennial-aimed fee-free stock trading app that’s singlehandedly putting portfolio managers out of business, is reportedly looking to file for an IPO itself. CEO Baiju Bhatt announced the plans at his talk at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. He revealed that the app is currently searching for a CFO for the process, as well as undergoing audits from the SEC, FINTA, and its security team to make sure it’s ticked and tied to do the dang thing. The company currently boasts around 5 million users, double that of competitor E*Trade, of which Robinhood has been referred to as the cooler younger sibling. Robinhood has picked up $539 million in capital to date and counts several star-studded VC firms among its backers including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Google’s Capital G.
NOTHIN’ BUT ‘NET
Ziwe Fumudoh’s review of the Christian Siriano NYFW show is all I care to read today. Or ever.
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