Batten down the hatches

There’s a storm brewin’ in the Valley. [The Hustle]( Mon, Jul 3 The Valley: shaken, not stirred Silicon Valley continues to be rocked by sexual harassment scandals, as more women entrepreneurs are empowered to come forward. The latest blow: 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure is [stepping down]( from his leadership position at the famous incubator amidst allegations of “inappropriate interactions with women in the tech industry.” In a Friday evening [blog post]( on the company’s website, co-founder Christine Tsai wrote that due to McClure’s “unacceptable” behavior, she would assume the title of CEO. Clearly, this is not an isolated incident The action resulted after a [New York Times]( article broke earlier that day with stories of 2 dozen women in the tech industry who had experienced sexual harassment -- along with names and corroborating messages from big name investors like Chris Sacca of Lowercase Capital and McClure. (Sacca [publicly apologized]( for contributing to the “hostile environment of the tech world” in a blog post last Thursday.) And, the NYT disclosures come just days after [The Information]( reported on at least 6 women who experienced inappropriate advances from Binary Capital Partner, Justin Caldbeck, leading to his resignation and the unraveling of the fund. It speaks to the gender imbalance across the entire industry What started as the account of one female engineer at Uber has cascaded into an exposé that reveals a much more systemic, ingrained cultural problem in the Valley rather than just a shortcoming of a single firm. Case in point: women entrepreneurs received $1.5B in funding last year compared to $58.2B for men. Many VCs hold the keys to the castle in terms of helping startups get off the ground and, unfortunately, it seems that several of them have abused that power. But now, this male-dominated culture is at an inflection point Tsai is one of the first members of the new guard taking the helm of one of tech’s more respected firms and, in the power vacuum left by other executive exits (re: Travis), more shakeups are sure to follow. Because, as Sarah Kunst, an entrepreneur who came forward about McClure [put it]( “you don’t want to let one creepy guy keep you out of the company you’re interested in.” [Or an entire industry]( The rise of the robocop Last week, the city of Dubai announced that it will roll out a fleet of [self-driving police cars]( by the end of the year. The pint-sized vehicles utilize facial recognition software and biometrics to identify potential criminals and “undesirables” as part of Dubai’s plan to make 25% of its police force robotic by 2030. Not just a 1987 cult classic The machines, dubbed “[O-R3]( each include a 360-degree camera, built-in surveillance system, and deployable drone -- all of which will be rolled out by the end of 2017 at major tourist destinations (so, the entire city of Dubai). Earlier this summer, the city also unleashed a life-sized, [humanoid patrolman]( with a touchscreen including options like "Report a Human Trafficking Crime” and “To Whom It May Concern." We know what you’re thinking: It’s the Vegas of the Middle East, brah...this is par for the course. But elsewhere, similar experiments are underway In the US, Knightscope has been developing robotic security guards that [TechCrunch]( describes as a “mix between R2D2 and a Dalek from Doctor Who.” The company leases them out for about $7 an hour and already has at least 26 clients in 6 states. Of course, there are still some malfunctions to work out: last summer, while on patrol at a Silicon Valley mall, a 5-foot-tall, 300-pound robocop [knocked a toddler to the floor]( and ran over his foot. Pretty sure that’s not in the “protect and serve” handbook. [“Your move, creep.”]( Buffett’s BofA buffet In the aftermath of America’s banking crisis, capitalist extraordinaire Warren Buffett decided to make a single investment in Bank of America. Now, he’s set to [make a quick $12B]( on it. How the trade worked: Back in 2011, Bank of America was struggling to stay afloat in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis. Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway, took advantage of this by striking a deal with them: a $5B investment in the bank’s preferred shares at a 6% annual dividend ($300m/year), plus the right to buy 700m common shares at a set price. Buffett says he’ll [exercise]( the stocks this week. And since BofA is trading at upwards of $24 per share (much higher than his $7.14 purchase price), he’s set to make a $12B profit as the bank’s largest shareholder. “Be greedy when others are fearful” This is one of Buffett’s [classic rules]( of investing -- and the BofA deal wasn’t the only time he put it to use during the financial crisis. While the markets were tanking in 2008, Buffett threw down [$5 billion]( in Goldman Sachs preferred shares, $3B in General Electric stock (both at a 10% interest rate), and put billions more in Swiss Re and Dow Chemical. Impressive feats no doubt -- and classic examples of the rich gettin’ richer during times of economic hardship. [Still yanking on our bootstraps]( Boring without a cause Elon Musk says his drilling operation, The Boring Company, has officially broken ground and [completed the first segment]( of its proposed tunnel underneath LA. The tunnel, intended to relieve LA’s notoriously congested freeways, will supposedly house an [electric elevator]( and [sled-like machine]( that would transport cars around the city at up to 124 mph. At this point you may be asking, “Wait, a private company can just burrow underneath public ground like that??” Nope. They can’t Hold your horses, NUMBYs. So far, the Boring Co. has only managed to tunnel under [SpaceX’s own parking lot](. In order to drill outside of their property, they’ll need permits. So far, Musk’s been going with the “ask for forgiveness, not permission” approach, hoping to head off regulators at the pass and get the necessary approvals from the city as he goes. So far, he seems to have had some [promising talks]( with the Mayor of LA -- but until ink meets paper, The Boring Company is still on a fast track to nowhere. [Not Under My Backyard]( monday morning review 24 / 7 / 365 / forever? We’re not a machine. We can’t just juice up at a 120V outlet, grease up the ol’ joints and carry on our merry way. No. We have families. And feelings. And primal urges to eat hot dogs, roll around in sun-kissed fields, and celebrate our country’s declaration of independence 141 years after the fact. Which is why we’re taking a break from writing your normal dosage of news tomorrow and Wednesday. Hold on -- 2 days instead of just 1? Yup, you read that right. We write this sucker the day before we send it out, and firing off an email and a roman candle at the same time seems like a safety hazard. Instead, we’ve got a couple surprises in the works In lieu of the standard emails, we have some things planned that I think you’ll enjoy, so don’t you dare tune us out. Have a safe July 4 holiday, light some fireworks, stand around a grill, listen to Bob Seger. Do whatever you gotta do to embrace the freedom of your humanity, and we’ll be back to our normal programming on Thursday. -- John, Chief Burger Flipper This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by Be the CEO of your closet Here’s advice every CEO will tell aspiring young leaders: let others do your work for you. It’s not because they’re lazy -- the key to efficiency is removing yourself from the minutia to focus on the big decisions. Only many of us fail to heed their advice. Instead, we spend hours searching, waiting, and trying on clothes, for a decision that ultimately takes a couple seconds to make. Skip to the end with [Stitch Fix]( They let personal stylists (ie fashionistas who are really good at this stuff) choose your clothes, and send you 5 items picked just for you. All you do is take a [5-minute quiz]( (it’s fun, trust), then netflix and chill until your clothes arrive. No endless online browsing, no anxiety over unexpected shipping costs… because Stitch Fix ships fo’ free. And the more you use [Stitch Fix]( the better it gets -- incorporating your feedback to nail down your style. So if want to look like a boss without the effort, take Stitch Fix’s [quiz]( and save $20 by [clicking here](. [SUBSCRIBE]( [JOBS]( [ADVERTISE]( [EVENTS]( Lindsey Quinn WRITER Kamran Rosen WRITER Nina Cahones SELF DEFENSE INSTRUCTOR John "T-shirt evangelist" Havel BACKSEAT EDITOR You opted in by signing up, attending an event, or through divine intervention. [771 CLEMENTINA STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, UNITED STATES]( • [415.506.7210](tel:+1-415-506-7210) Never wanna hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](