NYC buildings cast orange glow for Amazon
If you noticed something different about the Empire State Building and One World Trade recently, it wasn’t your eyes playing tricks on you. The buildings and other city landmarks lit up in orange (Amazon’s signature color) to support the bid for the e-commerce giant’s new headquarters. [Curbed NY]
Venmo is now accepted at major online retailers
Initially meant for peer-to-peer transactions, Venmo is now branching out to online retailers. The app will be accepted basically wherever there’s an option for PayPal. This allows shoppers to skip paying with their credit card and instead use the app — and even share a fun status with their followers describing their purchase. [CNN tech]
Digital Asset raises $40M funding round to grow team
Blockchain startup Digital Asset raised $40 million in a funding round, bringing the total amount raised to $110 million. The round was led by former J.P. Morgan banker Blythe Masters, and will be used to grow the team either by making new hires or acquisitions. [Fortune]
HelloFresh welcomes new head chef and head of recipe development
Meal kit delivery service HelloFresh welcomed a new head chef and head of recipe development to their team. Claudia Sidoti, previously at the Food Network, will be responsible for adding more meal selections to the menu for home cooks looking for easy-to-follow recipes. [Press release]
Alpha adds two employees to leadership team
Product management platform Alpha just expanded its leadership team to include Dan Bratone as Chief Revenue Officer and Elizabeth Quispe as Director of Client Success. Bratone was most recently the head of business development at The Trade Desk, and Quispe was a director of customer success at Smartling. Both will be responsible for better supporting Alpha’s clients.[Press release]
Hive raises $4M to expand platform
Project management platform Hive raised $4 million in a funding round led by Vocap Investment Partners with participation from Rembrandt Venture Partners and previous investor Tribeca Venture Partners. The investment will be used to expand its platform to include email and calendaring. [Press release]
Emissary welcomes former Yodle CEO to board of directors
Sales intelligence startup Emissary welcomed Court Cunningham to its board of directors. Cunningham was previously the CEO at Yodle, a marketing and advertising solution. Cunningham brings with him 16 years of experience at SaaS companies. [Press release]
Raise makes three new executive hires
Raise welcomed three new executives this week. Kathleen Pierce-Gilmore left her VP role at PayPal to become Raise's president and COO. Tenia Davis, formerly of iManage, is the company's new chief people officer. Gaurav Misra is Raise's new chief marketing officer, a position he held at his previous company, Vroom.com. [Business Insider]
Reserve welcomes new COO to the team
Restaurant reservation management system Reserve appointed Michael Wesner as its Chief Operating Officer. Wesner, who was most recently at Amazon as the Head of Sales and Sales Operations for Amazon Restaurants, will be responsible for making new restaurant partnerships across the U.S. [Press release]
