Podcast appearances and mentions of esther crawford

Kayvon Beykpour was the longest-serving head of product at Twitter and was GM of Twitter's consumer division until the platform was acquired by Elon Musk. He originally joined Twitter in 2015 through the acquisition of his company, Periscope, the largest live video streaming platform at the time. Periscope pioneered technology that inspired Instagram Live, TikTok Live, Facebook Live, and other social networks' expansion into video streaming. In our conversation, we discuss:• The story of being let go from Twitter after Elon's acquisition• How he turned Twitter's stagnant culture around• Kayvon's thoughts on the limitations of frameworks like Jobs to Be Done• Why Periscope failed• Advice for building consumer products• When to copy, when to innovate—Brought to you by:• Enterpret—Transform customer feedback into product growth• OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster• Heap—Cross-platform product analytics that convert, engage, and retain customers—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/twitters-former-head-of-product-kayvon-beykpour—Where to find Kayvon Beykpour:• X: https://twitter.com/kayvz• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayvz/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Kayvon's background(04:31) Getting Elon up to speed at Twitter(11:34) The story of being let go from Twitter after Elon's acquisition(21:09) Changing the product culture at Twitter(29:44) Building the “hide replies” feature(32:02) Sacred crows, taking bold bets, and reigniting growth(34:28) Aquihires and their impact(42:40) Tips for successful acquisitions and staffing(47:00) The limitations of frameworks like JTBD(53:20) Signs you've gone too far with a framework(57:44) Lessons from building Periscope(01:00:41) Reasons why Periscope failed(01:07:24) The challenges of implementing video at Twitter(01:12:05) Copying ideas in good taste(01:17:58) How to get better at building consumer products(01:19:51) What Kayvon is building(01:20:31) Lightning round—Referenced:• Lessons on building product sense, navigating AI, optimizing the first mile, and making it through the messy middle | Scott Belsky (Adobe, Behance): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-on-building-product-sense-navigating-ai-optimizing-the-first-mile-and-making-it-through-t/• What it's like to sell your startup for ~$120 million before it's even launched: Meet Twitter's new prized possession, Periscope: https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-periscope-and-why-twitter-bought-it-2015-3• Walter Isaacson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-isaacson-b8b81520/• Elon Musk on X: https://twitter.com/elonmusk• Parag Agrawal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parag-agrawal-5a14742a/• Jack Dorsey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-dorsey-a43b07242/• Blackboard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_Inc.• Keith Coleman on X: https://twitter.com/kcoleman• Esther Crawford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esthercrawford/• Twitter acquires Chroma Labs: https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/twitter-acquires-chroma-labs-story-aqvcRPAoYXqXJuAbefA6cN.html• John Barnett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarnettt/• Jobs to Be Done framework: https://jobs-to-be-done.com/jobs-to-be-done-a-framework-for-customer-needs-c883cbf61c90• Hot takes and techno-optimism from tech's top power couple: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/hot-takes-and-techno-optimism-from-techs-top-power-couple-sriram-and-aarthi/• Nike Is Unveiling the Kobe 11 Tomorrow Using Periscope: https://sneakernews.com/2015/12/13/nike-is-unveiling-the-kobe-11-tomorrow-using-periscope/• Chris Sacca's website: https://chrissacca.com/• Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/formedia/tools/facebook-live• Kevin Hart on X: https://twitter.com/KevinHart4real• Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/• Vine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vine_(service)• Paul Davison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davison/• Rohan Seth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohanseth/• Cryptonomicon: https://www.amazon.com/Cryptonomicon-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0380788624• Reamde: https://www.amazon.com/Reamde-Novel-Neal-Stephenson-ebook/dp/B004XVN0WW• The Name of the Wind: https://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle-Book-ebook/dp/B0010SKUYM• Star Trek official site: https://www.startrek.com/• Dune: part 2: https://www.dunemovie.com/• Oppenheimer on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-movies/oppenheimer• Tokyo Vice on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/tokyo-vice/e7d93204-7f98-4e62-ab52-6c1da053f942• Devs on Hulu: https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/devs• Nick Offerman on X: https://twitter.com/nick_offerman• 3 Body Problem on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81024821• Perplexity AI: https://www.perplexity.ai/• Particle: https://www.particle.news/• Crokinole board game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/521/crokinole—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Episode 31: Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) analyzes a viral tweet by a former director at Twitter where she talked about the moments leading up to Twitter's sale to Elon Musk and what it was like working with him. While there are numerous articles and think pieces of Elon's leadership, this gives an intimate look that is nuanced.  Timestamps: (00:31): Who was Esther Crawford? (01:50): “You can't just be a builder, you have to be a politician” (03:28): Waiting for Twitter to sell (04:32): What it was like working with Elon (06:55): The higher you climb, the lonelier it gets Send us an email and let us know what you think of the idea! foundersjournal@morningbrew.com Links: Full Esther Crawford tweet #FoundersJournal #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to Founder's Journal here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Watch Founder's Journal here: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersJournal/  Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Alex! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Learn more about Shopify here: https://shopify.com/crazyones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yuka Ohishi さんをゲストに迎えて、Twitter, X, Threads, Arc, Vision Pro, ハリウッドなどについて話しました。 Show Notes Twitter is now listed as ‘X' in the iOS App Store Brightly flashing 'X' sign removed from the San Francisco building that was Twitter's headquarters Elon Musk takes @x handle from its original user. He got zero dollars for it. XJAPAN (@XJAPAN) Meta, Microsoft, hundreds more own trademarks to new Twitter name To understand Musk's renewed obsession with X and focus on financial services... Esther Crawford on Twitter Read Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino's message to staff about 'X' rebrand Meta Just Proved People Hate Chronological Feeds Threads Usage Drops By Half From Initial Surge Arc from The Browser Company Why The Browser Company's Darin Fisher thinks it's time to reinvent the browser Mimestream Apple Vision Pro headset applications open for developers The Talk Show Live From WWDC 2023 Joan Is Awful: Black Mirror episode is every striking actor's worst nightmare H-1B visa holder work permit - Canada Rebuild Supporter Program

Já se perguntou o que acontece por trás das cenas de uma das maiores redes sociais do mundo? A verdade pode ser mais estranha e mais intensa do que você imagina. Neste episódio, exploramos a complexidade e os desafios de trabalhar em um gigante da tecnologia, através do relato de alguém que estava lá no dentro: Esther Crawford, ex-diretora de produtos do Twitter. Além disso, chamamos grandes nomes da nossa área para compartilhar suas visões e opinião sobre o que Esther compartilhou. Sigam eles no LinkedIn: Fábio Duarte Giseli Anversa ⁠Thays Bueno ⁠Sullivan Santiago Laura Oliveira Indicação de artigo: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3QnwNzQ⁠

Da ist er wieder, der Frosch-im-Topf-Podcast eures Vertrauens. Es geht um Bevormundung im Twitterverse, die große Lebensbeichte von Esther Crawford und darum, was mit den Community Notes passiert. Zusammenfassung: Es ist eh nur noch Irrsinn.

Meta-topman Mark Zuckerburg gelooft heilig in zijn tegenhanger voor Twitter (sinds begin deze week gerebrand naar X) onder de naam Threads. Dat haalde hij aan tijdens de gunstige kwartaalcijfers van zijn techbedrijf. Zuckerburg lichtte de kwartaalcijfers van het Facebook-moederbedrijf toe: 32 miljard dollar omzet, bijna 1 miljard meer dan verwacht door analisten, en 7,8 miljard dollar winst. Wel maakt de divisie die VR-brillen maakt nog steeds verlies, namelijk 3,7 miljard dollar. De topman zei ook, snerend: "Wat gek dat in deze techindustrie nog niet een app bestaat waarmee je tekstberichten verspreid en waar 1 miljard mensen op zitten." Twitter bereikte volgens de cijfers (in elk geval voordat Elon Musk het bedrijf van de beurs haalde) nooit meer dan 400 miljoen gebruikers. Threads behaalde wel 100 miljoen gebruikers na de eerste vijf dagen, maar sindsdien is het aantal daadwerkelijk actieve gebruikers weer gedaald. Volgens Zuckerberg zitten er nog steeds tientallen miljoenen mensen per dag op het nieuwe platform. Echt geld wordt er nog niet verdiend overigens, want op Threads komen pas advertenties als er honderden miljoenen mensen actief zijn, stelde de topman. Verder in deze Tech Update: De voormalig adjudant van Twitter/X-eigenaar Elon Musk, Esther Crawford, is uit de school geklapt over zijn leiderschap over het platform Het ziet er relatief goed uit bij Samsung, blijkt uit hun kwartaalcijfers én op de beurs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Richard Lawler discuss the phones and laptops announced at Mobile World Congress, Meta's AR and VR hardware roadmap for the next few years, Tesla's "Master Plan", and more of this week's tech news. Further reading: MWC 2023 was a preview of what future phones could (and should) look like HMD's latest Nokia phone is designed to be repaired in minutes  The Xiaomi 13 Pro is going global  Realme's ridiculous 240W fast-charging phone is getting an international release  Motorola's new Razr foldable is arriving this year Lenovo's rollable laptop and smartphone are a compelling, unfinished pitch for the future  This is Meta's AR / VR hardware roadmap for the next four years Elon Musk says Twitter employees will receive ‘very significant' stock awards on March 24th Twitter shut off its internal Slack, and now ‘everyone is barely working' Twitter Blue head Esther Crawford is out at Twitter  Elon Musk's 'lab leak' tweets could be an issue for Tesla's plans in China Tesla's new ‘Master Plan' is coming — let's grade the first two Elon Musk unveils a new Master Plan, a path to sustainable energy future, no new cars  Why won't TikTok confirm the Bold Glamour filter is AI?  OpenAI announces an API for ChatGPT and its Whisper speech-to-text tech  Microsoft now lets you change Bing's chatbot personality to be more entertaining Microsoft's Phone Link app now lets you use iMessage from your PC Sony announces 2023 TV lineup: better late than never Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call our Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Sunday, the director of product management at Twitter, Esther Crawford, tweeted a farewell after being laid off. She garnered attention through a photo of her sleeping in the office in November 2022 and the controversial hashtag of #SleepWhereYouWork which accompanied it. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Bij Twitter is wederom een groep medewerkers de laan uitgestuurd. Volgens Amerikaanse media gaat het om tussen de tientallen tot zelfs tweehonderd mensen, waarvan sommigen hierover op zaterdagavond een mail ontvingen. Onder de ontslagen medewerkers bevindt zich ook Esther Crawford, de topvrouw verantwoordelijk voor het betaalde abonnement Twitter Blue. Zij sprak zich eerder juist nadrukkelijk uit als aanhanger van eigenaar Elon Musk. Verder in deze Tech Update: Meta wint 'officieel' zaak rond VR-overname tegen Amerikaanse marktwaakhond Nokia heeft een nieuw logo en wil benadrukken dat het geen telefoons meer maakt See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Snap wants to go the route of the movie Her, with a personified chatbot inside of Snapchat. Interesting layoffs at Twitter. Yes. More. Inside Apple's Exploratory Design Group. The best AR glasses we've seen yet. And, right on schedule, here come the prompt engineers.Sponsors:This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/techmeme and get on your way to being your best self.Links:Snapchat is releasing its own AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT (The Verge)Twitter Blue head Esther Crawford is out at Twitter (The Verge)Google announces new features for Android and Wear OS (TechCrunch)Apple's Secret ‘XDG' Team Is Working on More Than Just a Glucose Monitor (Bloomberg)Exclusive: These are Xiaomi's new Wireless AR Smart Glasses, and they look like they're from the future (XDA Developers)Tech's hottest new job: AI whisperer. No coding required. (Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ein Experiment zeigt, dass die „neue“ Twitter Timeline offenbar noch unvollständiger ist, als sie sich anfühlt. Und tatsächlich zeigt es auch, dass es möglicherweise tiefersitzende Probleme in der technischen Infrastruktur bei Twitter gibt. Außerdem sprechen wir über Esther Crawford - und ihren Weg an die Seite von Elon Musk – und dass das britische Königshaus Twitter verklagt, haben wir auch noch parat.

The one about mobile phone filmmaking, Twitter new Ticketed Spaces and the film Yesterday – TG47  00:00:00 Introduction  Here are your hosts, Roger and Pascal.   00:01:39 In the News  A selection of announcements and news releases from the world of marketing and technology that caught our attention.  00:12:33 Content Spotlights  ROGER: How To Make EPIC iPhone Videos: Setup + Demonstration – video by Thomas Alex Norman: https://youtu.be/lP8-qMHbChA (https://youtu.be/lP8-qMHbChA)  PASCAL: Be the first to try Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows by By https://twitter.com/SmEllen_Fresh (Ellen Havlicek) and Esther Crawford from Twitter Media: https://media.twitter.com/en/articles/blogs/2021/be-the-first-to-try-ticketed-spaces-and-super-follows?s=03 (https://media.twitter.com/en/articles/blogs/2021/be-the-first-to-try-ticketed-spaces-and-super-follows?s=03)  00:29:34 Marketing Tech and Apps   ROGER: It's all about improving your mobile phone video:  Manfrotto mini-tripod: https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/pixi-mini-tripod-red-mtpixi-rd/ (https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/pixi-mini-tripod-red-mtpixi-rd/) and phone clamp: https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/pixi-clamp-for-smartphone-with-multiple-attachments-mcpixi/ (https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/pixi-clamp-for-smartphone-with-multiple-attachments-mcpixi/)  Mobile phone gimble: https://www.dji.com/uk/om-4 (https://www.dji.com/uk/om-4)  PASCAL: It's all about using movie clips and samples for your next audio/video content  https://yarn.co/ (https://yarn.co/) search for a word or a phrase from a famous movie or TV show and download clips  https://www.playphrase.me/ (https://www.playphrase.me/) a site for cinema archeologists with a database of nearly 2 millions phrases  00:42:38 This Week in History  Our selection of historical events and anniversaries from the world of science, technology and popular culture.  00:52:57 Creator Shout Outs  ROGER: Tom Bailey Flow & Grow Podcast (7 questions in 7 minutes) https://www.succeedthroughspeaking.com/blog (https://www.succeedthroughspeaking.com/blog)  PASCAL: Jeff Akin host of the Starfleet Leadership Academy, a ‘Leadership Development Podcast Told Through the Lens of Star Trek https://www.jeffakin.com/ (https://www.jeffakin.com/)  00:58:41 Film Marketing  Yesterday (2019)  Everyone in the world has forgotten the Beatles. Everyone except Jack...  Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Danny Boyle this is NOT a jukebox musical based on Beatles songs it's a science fiction movie which showcases Beatles music. You'll be singing along and punching the air and mesmerised by the performances of Himesh Patel, and Lily James in a career best.  The marketing focused on the music and not the sci-fi elements which might have led people to believe it was indeed a jukebox musical. The posters were striking and highlight the power of using pop-cultural references in marketing.  About Two Geeks and A Marketing Podcast    Hosted by the two geeks, Roger Edwards and Pascal Fintoni, to keep you up to date with the latest news, tech, content and wisdom from the world of marketing.  Roger is a man on a mission to keep marketing simple. He is the voice of the Marketing & Finance Podcast and the host of the RogVLOG series.   Pascal is also on a mission to demystify digital marketing. He's the host of the Content Marketing Studio video podcast and many other video series.  Every week we'll bring you the following segments.  In the News.  Content Spotlight  Marketing Tech and Apps  This Week in History  Creator Shout Outs  Film Marketing  Please subscribe and leave comments and suggestions

This week's guest, Esther Crawford, was the CEO and Co-founder of the Squad app when it was acquired by Twitter back in 2020. I admire her transparency as she talks with me about her journey to break the cycle of poverty that she grew up in and why her curiosity has driven her forward at such an impressive speed. We discuss what it's like to consider selling your company and what happens after your business gets acquired. She is aligned, grounded, and a deep thinker. “At every step along the way, I just followed what I was really deeply curious about." - Esther Crawford Learn more about this episode of She's Got Moxie at joychudacoff.com/147

Esther is the CEO and co-founder of Squad, a screen-sharing social platform that drives real connection and engagement. Esther found early success on YouTube and became a pioneer in influencer marketing and spearheaded award-winning digital campaigns for companies like Weight Watchers and Kmart. Squad raised $7M in venture capital from funds like First Round, BBG Ventures, Y Combinator, Halogen Ventures and January Ventures. Squad was acquired by Twitter in December 2020. After finding early success on YouTube, she became a pioneer in influencer marketing and spearheaded award-winning digital campaigns for Fortune 500 companies including Weight Watchers and Kmart. In this episode, we get into: Why Esther was obsessed with solving for loneliness Why starting a company is really a family journey How to move from operating from a place of fear to finding your power as a founder and operating from a place of confidence Breaking the prototypical founder mold How it really feels to go through a pivot and how Esther's daughter was the inspiration for the product vision that eventually became Squad Why it's important to plan for a co-founder to leave from day one How to sequence your fundraise to become a “hot deal”

Join Linda and Esther Crawford, CEO of Squad, which was recently acquired by Twitter, as they talk about the emotional toll of life's pivots and the enduring possibilities that emerge from vulnerability. Learn about 'Day Zero', the importance of connections, and the promise hidden in letting go of beliefs, ways of being, and those who no longer nourish you. Don't miss this conversation of hope and expansion! Listen NOW!

New app alert! In this episode, Adam Torres and Esther Crawford, CEO and Co-Founder of Squad, explore how Squad is bringing friends together for group video chats while they're in any app.Follow Adam on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/askadamtorres/ for up to date information on book releases and tour schedule.Apply to be interviewed by Adam on our podcast:https://missionmatters.lpages.co/podcastguest/Visit our website:https://missionmatters.com/

On this episode of Access and Opportunity, we welcome investor Jesse Draper, founding partner of Halogen Ventures. With Halogen Ventures, Jesse has committed to investing in early stage consumer technology startups that have a woman as a member of the founding team. We also hear from one of those founders, Esther Crawford, the co-founder and CEO of Squad, an online platform that helps connect people all over the world through screen-sharing. Jesse and Esther take us on a journey from their very first encounter, to their individual commitments going into the deal, and to their respective shifts in priorities during COVID-19. Come on and join us for the ride.https://www.morganstanley.com/what-we-do/inclusive-innovation-and-opportunityThe guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast. This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.© 2020 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

Be together with friends, on Squad Start a room and invite your friends to video chat, screen share or watch videos on your smartphone, tablet or computer. https://squadapp.io

Want the truth about equity ownership among underrepresented minorities at start-ups? Female founders and employees at start-ups own just 26 cents for every dollar owned by men. That’s the takeaway from Carta’s groundbreaking look at the equity gap in tech. To hear Carta’s key findings and explore their implications, listen to excerpts from our expert panelists, including Jennifer Neundorfer, Co-Founder & Partner/Jane VC; Emily Kramer, Head of Marketing/Carta; Esther Crawford, Co-Founder & CEO/Squad; and Julia Collins, Co-Founder & CEO/Planet Forward, Co-Founder/Zume Pizza, Inc. And for more on women in the VC ecosystem, check out our blog.  Note to All Readers: The information contained here reflects the views of AllianceBernstein L.P. or its affiliates and sources it believes are reliable as of the date of this podcast. AllianceBernstein L.P. makes no representations or warranties concerning the accuracy of any data. There is no guarantee that any projection, forecast or opinion in this material will be realized. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The views expressed here may change at any time after the date of this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. AllianceBernstein L.P. does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. It does not take an investor’s personal investment objectives or financial situation into account; investors should discuss their individual circumstances with appropriate professionals before making any decisions. This information should not be construed as sales or marketing material or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument, product or service sponsored by AllianceBernstein or its affiliates. The [A/B] logo is a registered service mark of AllianceBernstein, and AllianceBernstein® is a registered service mark, used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P. © 2020 AllianceBernstein L.P.

We're joined by the winner of the $100,000 Telus Pitch, Divy Ojha, who shares how his company, FoodFund, partners with local farmers to sell produce at a discount when it doesn't meet the cosmetic standards of major grocery chains. Plus, we have Esther Crawford from the app, Squad, which lets you hang out with friends in real time and share what is on your screen. Also, Mark Kaufman from Mashable chats about his latest article based on the UN report of the 7 lessons we need to learn to save the planet. In Socially Speaking, we recognize what is was old is new again. Are we truly being innovating or are we just regurgitating old ideas?

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we were helmed by Kate Clark and Alex Wilhelm, but those of you who love the show having guests on don't despair. As we explain at the top, there's a lot of folks coming on the show soon, many of whom you know by name. But that's to come, and we had a lot to chat through this week. Including, right from the jump, the latest gyrations in the stock market. Earlier this week tech stocks, and especially cloud and SaaS stocks, took a nosedive. Sentiment swung around later in the week when markets caught their breath and Lyft's earnings went well. But the movement in highly-valued SaaS companies caught our eye. Perhaps if the market finally does correct, we'll see growth stakes take the worst of it. But it wasn't all bad news on the show, a new app that raised $5 million caught Kate's attention. It's called Squad and it's now backed by First Round Capital, the seed fund behind the likes of Uber. You can read Kate's interview with the founder, Esther Crawford, here. Next, we turned to two startups that are focused on male reproductive health. While we've covered startups focused on fertility before on the show, this is the first time we've delved into male-focused services that are designed to help men take part in conception. The news here is Dadi has raised another $5 million in venture capital funding. Legacy, the other male fertility company we discussed, is taking part in Y Combinator's summer batch right now. On the IPO-ish beat, we talked about Postmates which has a new stadium partnership, and, more importantly, permission to use cute robots to deliver things in San Francisco. After hearing about how small, rolling robots will handle last-mile deliveries for years, we're excited for them to actually make it to market. In our view, technology of this sort won't eliminate the need for human workers at on-demand shops, though they may replace some routine runs. Bring on the burrito robots. We closed on Airbnb's purchase of Urbandoor, yet another acquisition from the popular home-sharing company that will eventually go public. It has to, right? Perhaps Urbandoor will help unlock new revenues in the corporate travel space before we see an S-1. After all, Airbnb wants to debut with plenty of growth under its belt to help it meet valuation expectations. Adding revenue to its core business could be a good way to ensure that there's new top-line to report. More to come, including something special next week!

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we were helmed by Kate Clark and Alex Wilhelm, but those of you who love the show having guests on don't despair. As we explain at the top, there's a lot of folks coming on the show soon, many of whom you know by name. But that's to come, and we had a lot to chat through this week. Including, right from the jump, the latest gyrations in the stock market. Earlier this week tech stocks, and especially cloud and SaaS stocks, took a nosedive. Sentiment swung around later in the week when markets caught their breath and Lyft's earnings went well. But the movement in highly-valued SaaS companies caught our eye. Perhaps if the market finally does correct, we'll see growth stakes take the worst of it. But it wasn't all bad news on the show, a new app that raised $5 million caught Kate's attention. It's called Squad and it's now backed by First Round Capital, the seed fund behind the likes of Uber. You can read Kate's interview with the founder, Esther Crawford, here. Next, we turned to two startups that are focused on male reproductive health. While we've covered startups focused on fertility before on the show, this is the first time we've delved into male-focused services that are designed to help men take part in conception. The news here is Dadi has raised another $5 million in venture capital funding. Legacy, the other male fertility company we discussed, is taking part in Y Combinator's summer batch right now. On the IPO-ish beat, we talked about Postmates which has a new stadium partnership, and, more importantly, permission to use cute robots to deliver things in San Francisco. After hearing about how small, rolling robots will handle last-mile deliveries for years, we're excited for them to actually make it to market. In our view, technology of this sort won't eliminate the need for human workers at on-demand shops, though they may replace some routine runs. Bring on the burrito robots. We closed on Airbnb's purchase of Urbandoor, yet another acquisition from the popular home-sharing company that will eventually go public. It has to, right? Perhaps Urbandoor will help unlock new revenues in the corporate travel space before we see an S-1. After all, Airbnb wants to debut with plenty of growth under its belt to help it meet valuation expectations. Adding revenue to its core business could be a good way to ensure that there's new top-line to report. More to come, including something special next week!

While building a social screen sharing app to fight loneliness, Esther Crawford finds herself in a lonely position of her own: female tech CEO. “I’m not the male engineer who’s 22 from Stanford. Instead, I’m a designer who’s in my mid-30s. I’m a mom. I’m a woman. I’m working on a consumer social product. There are virtually no females out there working on consumer social. I don’t fit the narrative, and I’m totally ok with that.” Get email updates about new episodes.

We have Esther Crawford, CEO and Co-Founder at Squad. You will discover how she pivoted the company to its current form, how she got initial users on Instagram and the type of ads that worked the best, and how hitting the top charts in smaller countries allowed her to have a network effect. This episode is tactical and inspiring -- just the way I like it. Esther Crawford is the Co-Founder and CEO at

Esther Crawford is the CEO / Cofounder of Squad, an app for sharing your screen with friends. Squad, a YC W18 company, is mostly used by teens for hanging out together. More info about Squad:Website App store listingSquad’s launch on Medium

“How can we use technology to build deeper, richer connections with people?” - Esther Crawford (click to tweet) Today, we return with part three for the continuation of our discussion in the world of AI. In this episode, we discuss how AI will evolve in regard to continuous conversation and topics, how AI can break down broad data to solve issues for you, and how surrogates can connect you more with others in general! Momin Mirza: Verizon corporate strategy group based in Palo Alto, focused on trending topics, particularly AI and commerce Esther Crawford: CEO and Co-Founder of Olabot. Their goal is to make it fun and simple for everyone to have a personal bot Raj Ramaswamy: CEO and Cofounder of ShopInSync, whose goal is to enable brands and retailers in the commerce space to build deep contextual bots that help get their conversions up and drive more revenue for them Mounir Shita: Founder and CEO of Kimera, with the first AI that comprehends what it’s learning and to automate any type of connected device and network “Teens are in an exploratory moment in life when they’re trying to figure out who they are, and are more open to new things than at an older age.” - Esther Crawford (click to tweet) Highlights Systems are what we use to break down broad tasks Machines will soon be able to do more of the “heavy lifting” Most Olabot users are between 13-24 (mostly teenagers). Chatbots are making a big impact on the younger generation! Scientists are trying to figure out a line between when AI should speak up, and which topics it should leave alone AI is becoming more relatable to humans The scary/exciting thing about AI is that it will change the world more than the internet did Resources http://www.shopinsync.com/ http://olabot.com/   www.kimera.ai

“We take a much more social centered approach. We think about how we can inject automation in conversation between two people that feels interesting and relevant.“ - Esther Crawford (click to tweet) Today we’re discussing the current developments with AI technology, and where this will lead us in the future. Joining us are 4 guests who are heavily invested, and extremely well rehearsed in the world of AI: Momin Mirza: Verizon corporate strategy group based in Palo Alto, focused on trending topics, particularly AI and commerce Esther Crawford: CEO and Co-Founder of Olabot. Their goal is to make it fun and simple for everyone to have a personal bot Raj Ramaswamy: CEO and Cofounder of ShopInSync, whose goal is to enable brands and retailers in the commerce space to build deep contextual bots that help get their conversions up and drive more revenue for them Mounir Shita: Founder and CEO of Kimera, where they plan to build the first AI that comprehends what it’s learning and to use that to automate any type of connected device and network “It’s an important area to examine: social behavior. They use a lot of time with their digital identity, how does it exude itself?” - Raj Ramaswamy (click to tweet) Highlights Esther: The way I see the next era of social identity is having more intelligence behind the identity attached to you Social properties are very static: I choose who I’m connected with, what I share, what others see, etc From a technological perspective, we can preserve someone's thoughts, memories and experiences via the internet The goal is to work toward more and more autonomy of devices, where we operate them less and less We may need a digital surrogate in the future, to represent you online and hold the same identities, ideals and morals as you Question: How do we replicate more and more of the experiences that feel near human, creating a user experience that feels less and less like interacting with a bot? To achieve a human-like experience, developers are starting to work on tailoring these personal bots to have those personality traits that mimic very human-like interactions “The ultimate vision for people who work in AI is general intelligence. As if they can become the “perfect” personal assistant for you.” (click to tweet) Resources http://www.shopinsync.com/ http://olabot.com/  

The O’Reilly Bots Podcast: The 2017 bot outlook with one of the field’s early adopters.In this episode of the O’Reilly Bots Podcast, Pete Skomoroch and I speak with Chris Messina, bot evangelist, creator of the hashtag, and, until recently, developer experience lead at Uber. We talk about the origins of MessinaBot, ruminate on the need for bots that truly exploit their medium rather than imitating older apps, and take a look at what’s ahead for bots in 2017.Discussion points: Traditional résumés provide the same comprehensive overview regardless of who’s reading; MessinaBot customizes the experience of learning about its creator, and draws together content that’s ordinarily spread across many channels. “Conversational commerce,” the messaging trend that Messina named in 2015 Messina’s work with Esther Crawford, who launched her résumé bot EstherBot in 2016 The state of bot skeuomorphism Product Hunt’s role in the popular emergence of bots For small businesses, setting up a bot interface could be easier than creating a traditional website. Until recently, Path’s Talk app even had a call center to route messages to businesses that didn’t have messaging capabilities.

The O’Reilly Bots Podcast: The 2017 bot outlook with one of the field’s early adopters.In this episode of the O’Reilly Bots Podcast, Pete Skomoroch and I speak with Chris Messina, bot evangelist, creator of the hashtag, and, until recently, developer experience lead at Uber. We talk about the origins of MessinaBot, ruminate on the need for bots that truly exploit their medium rather than imitating older apps, and take a look at what’s ahead for bots in 2017.Discussion points: Traditional résumés provide the same comprehensive overview regardless of who’s reading; MessinaBot customizes the experience of learning about its creator, and draws together content that’s ordinarily spread across many channels. “Conversational commerce,” the messaging trend that Messina named in 2015 Messina’s work with Esther Crawford, who launched her résumé bot EstherBot in 2016 The state of bot skeuomorphism Product Hunt’s role in the popular emergence of bots For small businesses, setting up a bot interface could be easier than creating a traditional website. Until recently, Path’s Talk app even had a call center to route messages to businesses that didn’t have messaging capabilities.

O’Reilly Bots Podcast: Why AI-driven chatbots are a big deal right now.We’re launching a new pop-up podcast about bots. In this first episode of the O’Reilly Bots Podcast, I’m joined by Peter Skomoroch to talk background: why everyone is suddenly interested in bots and what they promise to do, and what sorts of applications are beginning to emerge.Bots have generated enormous interest in the last few months; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has even called bots "the new apps." Bots (not the robot kind) are bits of software that use artificial intelligence to converse in human terms. As AI improves and the app ecosystem stagnates, they promise to create new, sophisticated, low-friction interfaces to all sorts of transactions. You can already call an Uber car by talking to Amazon's Echo, and you can send comments to Barack Obama through a Facebook Messenger bot. Any big organization that doesn't have a bot yet will probably have one soon. If you're interested in bots, be sure to check out O'Reilly Bot Day, a day-long program in San Francisco on October 19, 2016, that Pete and I are hosting. It's for anyone who's building bots, implementing bots, or thinking about bot strategy. Links Xiaoice, Microsoft's popular Chinese-language bot X.ai, a scheduling bot. Daniel Tunkelang wrote about a conversation between X.ai and Clara, another AI scheduling assistant. Estherbot, a bot that answers basic questions about Esther Crawford's resume. Howdy, automat.ai, api.ai, and wit.ai: good places to start for people interested in building their first bots

O’Reilly Bots Podcast: Why AI-driven chatbots are a big deal right now.We’re launching a new pop-up podcast about bots. In this first episode of the O’Reilly Bots Podcast, I’m joined by Peter Skomoroch to talk background: why everyone is suddenly interested in bots and what they promise to do, and what sorts of applications are beginning to emerge.Bots have generated enormous interest in the last few months; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has even called bots "the new apps." Bots (not the robot kind) are bits of software that use artificial intelligence to converse in human terms. As AI improves and the app ecosystem stagnates, they promise to create new, sophisticated, low-friction interfaces to all sorts of transactions. You can already call an Uber car by talking to Amazon's Echo, and you can send comments to Barack Obama through a Facebook Messenger bot. Any big organization that doesn't have a bot yet will probably have one soon. If you're interested in bots, be sure to check out O'Reilly Bot Day, a day-long program in San Francisco on October 19, 2016, that Pete and I are hosting. It's for anyone who's building bots, implementing bots, or thinking about bot strategy. Links Xiaoice, Microsoft's popular Chinese-language bot X.ai, a scheduling bot. Daniel Tunkelang wrote about a conversation between X.ai and Clara, another AI scheduling assistant. Estherbot, a bot that answers basic questions about Esther Crawford's resume. Howdy, automat.ai, api.ai, and wit.ai: good places to start for people interested in building their first bots

Esther Crawford is the CEO of Olabot, a platform that makes it fun, simple to build personal bots. You can learn more about Esther by chatting with her personal bot: m.me/estherbot With a background in Philosophy and an interest in Middle Eastern politics, Esther began to explore different online tools and communities like blogging and YouTube. Pairing this with her passion for storytelling and design, Esther began her career as a social media consultant to some large brands, before launching her own startup called Glmps. Glmps was unfortunately not as popular as it’s closest competitor Vine and Esther ended up continued on her startup journey by diving into mobile product marketing and growth at several other startups including Coach.me. In 2015, Esther began to explore the emerging bot trend and built her own resume bot. She open sourced the project which was quickly used by hundreds of people looking to build bots of their own. Continuing to experiment with personal bots, Esther launched a platform called Olabot. They’ve since launched several more bots including the “Messina Bot” and a bot for Redfoo. She’s now part of Betawork’s bot accelerator, Botcamp. Esther’s bots have been featured in Fast Company, Lifehacker, Venture Beat and more. Throughout her nine year career as a product marketer, she’s worn several different hats, helping to define and execute on go-to-market strategies, product launches, messaging, marketing campaigns and more! Esther joins us to share her story, how she got into tech and startups, what attracted her to the bots and messaging space, what it’s been like iterating on EstherBot and building the Olabot platform, and much more!

We live in interesting times. Technology is evolving constantly around us and unsurprisingly everyone’s attention is often focused on what will be the next disruptive game changer for the recruitment industry. What we don’t pay enough attention to though is the experiences and frustrations of candidate who have to try and stand out in a noisy world using the tools that are completely outmoded in other aspects of life but jealously held onto by the recruitment industry. A shiny new CRM or a brilliant assessment algorithm may make recruiters’ lives easier but they don’t really make the experience of recruitment very different for the candidate when everything still hangs round them having to use a word document CV or static LinkedIn profile to get the recruiter’s attention in the first place. The situation is untenable in the long term and it shouldn’t come as a shock that eventually the jobseekers were going to take things into their own hands. My guest on this week’s episode is Esther Crawford creator of a “Resumebot” which took her from frustrated jobseeker to funded entrepreneur. I want you to imagine a world where artificially intelligent chatbots match candidates and recruiters in a completely authentic and bespoke way. In the interview you will hear Esther’s story and find out how she might have taken us on the first step of the journey to a new way of recruiting This week’s podcast is kindly supported by Lever, where ATS meets CRM Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes