From FU.
[The Hustle]( Wed, Aug 2
âMind if we call your references?â Arduinoâs CEO may have âfudgedâ a few thingsâ¦
Arduino AG, the holding company for open source circuit board project Arduino, announced that its CEO, Federico Musto, has [stepped down](.
The move comes after Arduinoâs devout users, pointed out some discrepancies in Mustoâs educational claims. See, âDr.â Musto claims to hold both a PhD from MIT and an MBA from NYUâ¦
Unfortunately, neither university has any record of his attendance.
And the real nerds are pissed
For years, Arduino has been the golden child of open source hardware.
Like a modern day erector set, its [simple circuit board]( and built-in âmicrocontrollerâ (basic computer brain) made DIY electronic projects -- be it a simple thermostat, or [automatic spray gun]( to keep your cats off the counter -- accessible to the masses.
But, like many open source projects, Arduino lives and dies by its users: a diehard group of tech-focused DIYers called the â[maker community](
The wheels started coming off when Musto failed to answer some questions from high-profile makers Limor Fried and Phil Torrone regarding his MIT credentials. Heâs since removed the education section from his LinkedIn and personal pages⦠save for a [Montessori Kindergarten]( in Italy.
When CEO drama overshadows tech
Arduino has 5 founders: Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, Tom Igoe, David Mellis, and Gianluca Martino.
As if that wasnât already a recipe for disaster, back in â08, Martino registered Arduinoâs trademark under his own name in Italy -- unbeknownst to the other 4 in the group (led by Banzi), who had registered the name in the US.
[Infighting and court battles]( between the rival Arduinos ensued over rights to the international trademark. Then, in 2014, Martino struck up a partnership and sold his 20% stake in the company to an outsider -- Italian tech entrepreneur Federico Musto.
But, in fall of 2016, the Martino and Banzi called a truce and agreed to form a new holding company: Arduino AG, with the US Arduino-contingent as a subsidiary.
Which is not so âsubsidiaryâ anymore
Amidst Mustoâs resume scandal, Dr. Fabio Violante will replace him as CEO⦠And none other than Massimo Banzi will step in as Chairman and CTO.
Bazi heralds a ânew era for Arduino,â but the question remains whether or not they truly have a handle on whatâs going on in their own company. Because frankly, [as Fried put it]( a little bit insane that this guy has gotten this far without ever being questioned.â
[Fake it âtil you make it](
âWeâre not dead yet!â -- Theranos
Oh, youâre still here?
Embattled biotech company Theranos has reached a [confidential settlement]( with Walgreens for failing to fulfill the terms of their contract after their blood testing technology was exposed as fraudulent.
While Theranos has wriggled out of its legal liability, [WSJ reports]( (paywall) that the settlement cost more than $25m -- in June, they told investors that they had about $54m on hand, at a $10m/month burn rate.
Based on our number-crunching, that sticks them with less than $20m in the bank (if they pay the settlement out of pocket)⦠and a 2-month runway.
And the light at the end of the runwayâs looking preeetty dim
Theyâre hot off a settlement with hedge fund management firm Partner Fund Management, over whether the company â[tricked them]( into investingâ over false claims (re: lies) and factual âomissionsâ (re: lies).
Although Theranos says some of these settlement and legal costs will be covered by insurance policies and claim to be pivoting to new âinnovative technologies,â theyâll still need to go through the FDA approval process (which can take years) before they can sell a single thing.
In the meantime, they still face an investigation by the SEC and a criminal probe by the Justice Department.
So, technically the Walgreenâs stuff is good news⦠But âgood newsâ is relative these days.
[Can we get some lights on this runway?](
Netflix is on the hook for $20B
The streaming company is on a crazy growth bonanza: they now boast 104m subscribers worldwide -- up 25% from last year and 4x from 5 years ago.
And itâs largely thanks to its massive push into original programming: the company has [20 original shows]( and movies slated to come out in August alone, and they've spent $6B this year on new content.
But pumping out in-house stuff comes at an astonishingly high cost: the company is now [$20.54B in debt](.
Here are a few stats to put that number into perspectiveâ¦
Yet, investors donât seem to mind -- Netflix stock is up 50% since January. And as CEO Reed Hastings has said, you gotta put âa lot of capital up front, and then you get a payout over many years.â
[Good luck, Reed](
The White House gets trolled
According to a CNN report, an unnamed â[email prankster]( based in the UK has spent the past several months punking various White House officials by posing as their colleagues.
His victims -- including ousted communications director Anthony Scaramucci, Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert, and Eric Trump -- had some pretty assuming responses.
A âlittle soiréeâ
In one [instance]( the prankster, posing as senior advisor Jared Kushner, invited Bossert to dinner, promising food like he âate in Iraq.â
âThanks, Jared,â replied (the real) Bossert, âwith a promise like that, I can't refuse.â
Scaramucci was [catfished]( multiple times by a fake Reince Priebus. âAt no stage have you acted in a way that's even remotely classy,â wrote fake Priebus, to which Scaramucci retorted: âRead Shakespeare. Particularly Othello. You are right there.â
Eric Trump was a bit more skeptical. After receiving a message from the prankster (under his brother, Donald Trump Jr.âs email), he shot back: "I have sent this to law enforcement who will handle from here."
The man behind the email
The pranksterâs still anonymous -- the only thing we know for sure is he enjoys a sensible chuckle.
"I try and keep it on the humorous side of things," he [told CNN](. "I'm not trying to get the keys to the vault or anything like that."
[Classic goof](
from our toolbox
Stanley Coffee Mug, [$25](
If there are 2 things that people know about me, itâs that Iâve never seen The Sandlot, and I drink far below the recommended amount of water.
And Iâm talking FAR below -- like 2 to 3 glasses a week. Kamran even wrote a Hint water ad about it.
But in lieu of olâ fashioned H20, one thing I drink plenty of is coffee. Straight black. Ideally from one of those donut places that have the pots just sitting out for a while.
Youâre killinâ me, Smalls!
How am I alive? Itâs all thanks to my [Stanley Coffee Mug]( I got like 2 years ago while on the hunt for the best travel mug. Being a sucker for all things retro, I saw the âSince 1913â label and decided to give it a shot.
And let me tell you⦠best mug ever. The thingâs a tank, keeps coffee hot for hours, fits perfectly into my backpackâs drink holder, and gets more badass the more dings and scratches it gets.
If you have a hankering for warm liquids in the morning and arenât satisfied with your current container, check out the [Stanley](. Old school cool.
-- John, Writer at The Hustle
Disclaimer: This is a fully unpaid endorsement. We just wanted to do a feature highlighting the tools we, as a company, use and love on a daily basis. No joke, itâs not even an affiliate link. Check it.
This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by
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