Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett’s company Steven.com, which houses his creator media assets and ventures, has closed an eight-figure funding round to build the “Disney of the creator economy.” The round, reportedly the largest of its kind for a creator holding company in Europe, was led by Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group and puts his company’s valuation at $425 million. Bartlett, best known as the host of The Diary of a CEO podcast and a former Dragons’ Den investor, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter). Building the Platform for the Next Creator Era Founded
CBS News has disbanded its race and culture unit as part of sweeping layoffs at parent company Paramount Global that began on Wednesday. A former CBS News producer has accused the company of “race-based layoffs.” Mass Layoffs and Restructuring Last week, Paramount began laying off about 1,000 US-based workers, with plans to eliminate another 1,000 roles in the coming months. The 2,000 layoffs represent roughly 10% of the company’s global workforce. In a memo to employees, CEO David Ellison described the cuts as necessary to eliminate redundancies and “phase out roles that are no longer
Founders + senior tech leaders, don’t miss these two exclusive events. Free entry, limited spaces. RSVP today! This October, as the tech and startup world descends on Houston, POCIT is hosting two exclusive events designed to deepen connections, foster leadership, and elevate voices across the tech ecosystem: the Breaking Bread Founder Dinner and the INNOV8 Tech Leadership Brunch. Whether you’re a founder building the future or a senior leader shaping it, these events are for you. Breaking Bread: Founder + VC Dinner On Monday, October 28, Breaking Bread will bring together 25 Series A and seed-stage
Interested in cybersecurity? Join us for BUILT DIFFERENT, happening in London on October 2. Spaces are free but limited — RSVP now to secure your spot. Get to know the Black British cybersecurity professionals making big moves in the UK and beyond. From CEOs and academics to community builders and content creators, they’re shaping the future of cybersecurity while opening doors for the next generation. 1. Dr. Claudia Natanson MBE – Chair, UK Cyber Security Council Recognized by the Financial Times as a leading technology influencer, Dr. Claudia Natanson chairs the UK Cyber Security
Her Fake LinkedIn Profile Exposed Hiring Bias, Now She’s Turning Her Viral Series Into A Documentary
Aliyah Jones went viral after going undercover on LinkedIn as a white woman named Emily to expose racial bias in corporate hiring. The digital storyteller documented the eight-month experiment in her Corporate Catfish docuseries, which resonated with hundreds of thousands online. Now, she’s expanding that work into a full-length documentary exploring what it truly means to be Black in corporate America. A One-Time Experiment That Sparked a Movement “I made that fake white LinkedIn profile out of frustration but also out of grief,” Jones wrote on Kickstarter. “Because no matter
Black and Latine professionals navigating corporate America are often told to “find a mentor.” While mentorship can be helpful, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. What we really need is a personal board of advisors: a career dream team tailored to our unique goals, experiences, and ambitions. Sometimes referred to as a “Personal Board of Directors” or a “Personal Board of Advisors”, the concept is the same: a diverse inner circle that supports, challenges, and advocates for you at every stage of your journey. In her TEDx talk, Lisa Skeete Tatum,
Dria Ventures has launched its first fund with $8 million to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups addressing America’s rising cost crisis. Led by Founder and Managing Partner Megan Maloney, the fund is targeting two sectors where “the math is broken”: healthcare and Main Street productivity. In healthcare, costs now make up nearly 20% of the country’s GDP, while small businesses are spending upwards of $120,000 annually on outdated software. Dria is backing founders who are building practical, cost-saving infrastructure to fix these broken systems. A thesis rooted in lived
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is facing a lawsuit from 404 Media after failing to release details of a $2 million contract with Israeli spyware company Paragon. The investigative outlet filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in September 2024 seeking records related to the deal but received no substantial response, despite federal law requiring action within 20 business days. The lawsuit claims the documents could shed light on how the spyware is being deployed, especially in the context of ICE’s ongoing mass deportation efforts. What Is Paragon’s Spyware?
R&B artist named Xania Monet has just inked a $3 million deal with Hallwood Media, the company led by former Interscope executive Neil Jacobson, Billboard reports. But Xania isn’t human. She’s the AI-powered creation of Telisha “Nikki” Jones, a 31-year-old poet and design studio owner from Olive Branch, Mississippi. Jones, who grew up singing in church, writes all her own lyrics and uses the AI music-generation platform Suno to bring Monet’s music to life. Her tracks have been gaining momentum fast. On September 20, Xania debuted at No. 25 on Billboard’s
President Trump’s latest move on immigration is shaking up the tech industry and the global talent pipeline it relies on. On Friday, the White House announced that employers must now pay $100,000 for each new H-1B visa application, nearly 60 times the previous $215 lottery registration fee. The H-1B visa allows US companies to hire skilled foreign professionals in high-demand fields such as engineering, IT, and medicine. The program issues up to 85,000 new visas annually through a lottery system, including 20,000 reserved for US-trained graduate students. Ripple Effects Across Silicon Valley
