Megan Rose Dickey
Senior Reporter
The Latest from Megan Rose Dickey
Tortoise co-founder Dmitry Shevelenko is bringing autonomous scooters to TC Sessions: Mobility
TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 is gearing up to be a lit event. The one-day event, taking place May 14 in San Jose, has just added Dmitry Shevelenko, co-founder and president of an automatic repositioning
Blue Apron is considering selling itself
Meal kit company Blue Apron has long been on the struggle bus — whether it’s been its lackluster debut on the public market, employee lawsuits or layoffs. So, it should come as no surpris
Black haircare startup Naza Beauty just raised $1 million from Alexis Ohanian’s Initialized Capital
As we all saw in Oscar-winning short film Hair Love, black hair is beautiful, but it’s also notoriously difficult to manage. One of the first hair memories Naza founder and CEO Natanya Montgomer
VC firms need to release portfolio diversity data
For several years, there has been a growing movement to increase diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. It kicked into high gear in October 2013, when Tracy Chou, then an engineer at Pinterest,
This co-op wants to put money back into patients’ hands
Too often, people are asked to give away their insights and time for free. Jen Horonjeff, founder and CEO of healthcare startup Savvy, knows this first hand and is trying to change that by applying a
Uber’s first-ever head of diversity has left the company
Bernard Coleman, Uber’s first-ever head of diversity, has left the company, TechCrunch has learned. His last day was Friday, January 17. “Bernard’s contributions over the years helpe
Swiftmile is bringing advertising to micromobility
Swiftmile, the startup that wants to become the gas station for micromobility vehicles, is getting into advertising. Swiftmile already supplies cities and private operators with docks equipped to park
Activist gig workers seek to form nonprofit to support fellow workers
Vanessa Bain (pictured above), a well-known gig worker-activist, has teamed up with fellow gig worker-activist Sarah Clarke (pseudonym) to form the Gig Workers Collective. It’s early days for th
More tech workers are starting to unionize
Within the last two months, two groups of gig workers have effectively organized and joined unions. The first was a group of 40 San Francisco-based workers for scooter startup Spin that joined Teamste
Co-op helps Uber, Lyft drivers use data to maximize earnings
As we have previously reported, an increasing number of startups are exploring cooperative business models where workers (and sometimes users) are owners in the company. Driver’s Seat, which partici
The case for cooperative tech startups
When Uber and Lyft went public, it wasn’t the drivers who got rich — it was the executives, investors and some early employees. In an era when it has become clear that tech executives and inve
CloudTrucks raises $6.1 million to help truckers run their businesses
After selling autonomous driving startup Scotty Labs to DoorDash just five months ago, entrepreneur Tobenna Arodiogbu is back with a new startup. This time, he’s focused solely on truck drivers
Bird deploys the Bird Two scooter in San Francisco
Bird is rolling out its Bird Two scooters, which the company first unveiled back in August, via Scoot in San Francisco. Scoot’s plan is to deploy up to 1,000 of these Bird Two scooters. San Fran
After sale to Ford, Spin charges ahead with plans to scale up
Electric scooter startup Spin was long considered to be a bit of an underdog in the micromobility space. Before selling to Ford, Spin had raised just $8 million, while competitors Lime and Bird had ra
Goldman Sachs’ new board member diversity rule misses the mark
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon recently said the investment bank won’t take companies public that don’t have at least one board member from an underrepresented group. The main focus will
Inside Skip’s plan to appeal San Francisco’s scooter permit decision
Electric scooter operator Skip is gearing up to appeal San Francisco’s decision to deny the company a permit to operate in the city. When the Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) announced th
How scooter charging startups want to make the industry more profitable
In an industry where unit economics are low, operators are seeking ways to improve margins while also maintaining fleet reliability and low prices for riders. Charging stations may be part of the solu
Pinterest’s diversity report is missing some key data
Pinterest today released its latest diversity report, showing slight gains in representation of underrepresented minorities while also hitting its three hiring goals. The company has long been recogni
Uber kicks off adaptive electric scooter pilot in SF
Uber’s JUMP has started its adaptive scooter pilot in partnership with San Francisco Bike Rentals. This is part of Uber’s permit with the city of San Francisco, which requires all electric
Is Instacart’s wider rollout of Pickup an attempt to rely less on gig workers?
Earlier today, Instacart more widely rolled out its Pickup product, which enables customers to retrieve groceries directly from stores. The announcement comes just a day after Instacart shoppers unvei