Black Girls Code conducts review as suspended CEO denies employee allegations

TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch logo]( [The Daily Crunch logo]( Tuesday, December 28, 2021 • By [Greg Kumparak]( Hi all, and welcome back to Daily Crunch for December 28, 2021! I hope you’re all staying dry, warm and safe as we come to the end of another weird year. I haven’t heard from [Alex]( how his vacation is going, which I’m hoping means he’s having a great time and [playing way too much Crusader Kings III](. Alex should be back next week. In the meantime, I’ll try to be half as good at wrapping up the top stories from the past day or so. —[Greg]( [ image] Image Credits: Sean Mathis / Getty Images The TechCrunch Top 3 - [WTF is .xyz?:]( Have you noticed the sudden uptick in “.xyz” domains in the wild? Wondering why? Anita Ramaswamy has a great overview of .xyz’s history, its growing role in the web3 world and how Google/Alphabet might’ve sparked the trend. - [Black Girls Code CEO suspended:]( What’s going on at Black Girls Code? Why was the non-profit org’s CEO and co-founder, Kimberly Bryant, suddenly suspended? Natasha Mascarenhas talked to many of those involved to get some answers. - [‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ is a bad movie, but…:]( I still haven’t watched the new “Matrix” (I have a toddler running around, so watching any movie without songs and/or animated dogs is rare) so I can’t vouch for Devin’s headline, but I appreciate him finding a diamond (the movie’s take on our relationship with tech) in what he otherwise considers the rough (everything else.) Spoiler warnings, btw. Startups/VC - [Where New Zealand startups are poised to win:]( The startup scene in New Zealand is rocketing — [quite literally](. Besides rockets, where else might New Zealand find wins? Rebecca Bellan talked with investors in the region and came away with four verticals to watch. - [Religious apps draw investor attention:]( I’ll never stop being amazed by Connie Loizos’ ability to spot trends I never would’ve noticed. This time it’s a huge uptick in investment in faith-focused apps — from $6.1 million in 2016 to $175 million this year. Connie sat down with the founder of one of these apps (Hallow) for insights on the landscape. [How to be one of the "haves" of SaaS]( Software as a service has leveled the playing field for startups in the last decade, but in terms of venture capital, the winners still take all. According to Sean Fanning, a VP on OpenView’s investment team, companies that post stellar growth often take the bulk of VC investment, leaving the lower performers to fight for scraps. [In an in-depth post,]( Fanning shares three tactics used by SaaS companies with an attractive enterprise value-to-revenue (EV/R) multiple: Continued execution against large and growing market opportunities. Leveraging a business model that enables rapid growth (i.e., product-led growth). Strong unit economics that support high free cash flow margins over the long term. (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead.[You can sign up here](.) [Read More]( [How to be one of the "haves" of SaaS image] Image Credits: Andy Roberts / Getty Images Big Tech Inc. - [Even more companies drop from in-person CES:]( Large companies continue to drop out of the Consumer Electronics Show due to COVID concerns. Following announcements from Intel, T-Mobile, Google, Amazon, Twitter, and more last week, the latest are AMD, OnePlus, MSI, and Procter and Gamble. - [Dutch regulators demand App Store changes:]( Seems like South Korea started something global with its App Store legislation [back in August](. The Netherlands is the latest country to tell Apple to change its requirements around in-app purchases — though, curiously, in this case they seem specifically focused on dating apps? TechCrunch Experts TechCrunch wants you to recommend software consultants who have expertise in UI/UX, website development, mobile development and more! If you’re a software consultant, pass this [survey]( along to your clients; we’d like to hear about why they loved working with you. [TechCrunch Experts image] Image Credits: SEAN GLADWELL / Getty Images [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Senior Software Engineer - Java at Veeva (Dublin, OH, USA)]( - [Product Support Engineer at Veeva (Dublin, OH, USA)]( - [Associate Security Engineer at Veeva (Dublin, OH, USA)]( - [Software Engineer- Service Automation at National Communications Services Inc (Anywhere)]( - [Web Applications Developer at MiraCosta College (Oceanside, CA, USA)]( [See more jobs on CrunchBoard]( [Post your tech jobs]( and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Flipboard]( [View this email online in your browser]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Unsubscribe]( © 2022 Verizon Media. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103