Porch goes public: Eight years after it was founded, Seattle-based home services technology company Porch made its stock market debut on Thursday morning — bringing in more than $322 million through a merger with a publicly traded SPAC (special purpose acquisition corporation) and an additional private investment. Based on initial trading, Porch's market value topped $1 billion. The debut marks a new era and provides a much-needed cash infusion for Porch, whose regulatory filings reveal that it received a warning from its accountants last year about its ability to remain a going concern. We spoke with CEO Matt Ehrlichman about the journey from idea to public company, and what’s next.
Fed up with Facebook: TheWMarketplace is the latest company to have its Facebook ads inexplicably muted. The new Seattle-based platform promoting women and diverse entrepreneurs wanted to feature Askanya Chocolates and its Haitian founder. But Facebook’s algorithms rejected the ads based on a policy change related to the election. Read more.
Power of the Pivot: Nearly every business was forced to adapt to changing economics brought on by this year’s pandemic, whether a professional basketball team or a legendary restaurant. Canlis co-owner Brian Canlis and Seattle Storm CEO and General Manager Alisha Valavanis joined us for a GeekWire virtual event, Pivot: Stories of Resilience in an Unprecedented Year. Canlis explained how his 100-person restaurant company adapted and survived by launching 11 offbeat business ideas in 11 months — everything from a drive-up burger stand to a crab shack to bingo nights to yurt dining. Here’s how they did it.
Bowling meets tech: How did RealNetworks founder and CEO Rob Glaser land in the Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame, despite never having been a pro bowler? Glaser shared the backstory in this bonus GeekWire Podcast episode. We also talked about RealNetworks’ new MaskCheck app, which uses computer vision to detect whether people are wearing masks properly in compliance with public health guidelines.
Tracking Santa: Microsoft is helping folks keep tabs on Santa’s journey across the globe by powering the back-end of NORAD’s Santa Tracker. Google has its own tracker here, and Flightradar is also following #SANTA1 here. Don’t forget to leave cookies for Santa, who can safely enter your home tonight after being vaccinated by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Too much mask? Was Bill Gates improperly wearing his mask on top of his glasses in the picture accompanying his year-end blog post? They’re debating that question on Hacker News. The answer is unclear — an overly aggressive photo edit may be to blame — but there’s no shortage of opinions. Regardless, Melinda Gates knows how to mask up correctly.
Thanks for reading, have a great holiday break, and see all of our latest headlines below. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire editor Todd Bishop, editor@geekwire.com.
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