Y Combinator hires black partner Michael Seibel

Y Combinator has hired its first black partner to aid in the drive to recruit more minority entrepreneurs.  Prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneur Michael Seibel is joining as a  full-time partner to coach high-tech hopefuls, according to a report in USA Today. A key part of his mission will be reaching out to black and Hispanics who are underrepresented in Y Combinator and more broadly in Silicion Valley. Y Combinator is Silicon Valley’s most famous – and most influential – incubator, graduating companies such as Airbnb and Dropbox that have grown into household names. Entrepreneurs who go through the start-up boot camp gain access to money and advice from some of the industry’s most powerful players and get coverage from technology blogs, a major advantage in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

 

 

 

Jay Z addresses critics of Tidal music service

Jay Z fired back at critics of his Tidal music service on Sunday, claiming the site is “doing just fine” and that its subscriber base is growing. The rapper, who relaunched Tidal after purchasing its parent company Aspiro Group earlier this year for $56 million, urged critics to hold off on dismissing the service too soon. “The iTunes Store wasn’t built in a day,” he said. “It took Spotify nine years to be successful.” Jay Z added that 770,000 subscribers have already signed up for Tidal, which he relaunche to compete with platforms such as Pandora and Spotify.