Alex Jones admonished by judge as Sandy Hook defamation trial goes off the rails
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tangled Thursday in an explosive courtroom exchange with an attorney for families of Sandy Hook victims who have sued him in Connecticut, prompting an admonishment from the judge and warning that they could be held in contempt if they violate court rules moving forward. …read more
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/media/alex-jones-testimony/index.html
Aaron Judge, Yankees both benefit from staying together
Even among some rivals, the hope is he stays “for the good of the game.” …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/22/aaron-judge-yankees-both-benefit-from-long-term-contract/
KTLA anchor Mark Mester fired after emotional on-air defense of Lynette Romero
Mark Mester, a co-anchor on KTLA’s popular weekend morning show, went off script over the weekend to talk about Lynette Romero’s sudden departure.
‘Final’ answer: Dearie gives Trump last chance to dispute FBI inventory
Dearie wrote that the deadline will be Trump’s “final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory.” …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/22/dearie-gives-trump-last-chance-to-dispute-fbi-inventory/
Sweetie Pie’s closes shop in St. Louis as owner’s son convicted in murder-for-hire case
Sweetie Pie’s Upper Crust, founded by Robbie Montgomery, was the subject of a reality series on OWN. Montgomery’s son James “Tim” Norman was convicted on Friday.
Looking at 320 pitch decks, here’s what science tells us works best
Investors are spending 24% less time looking at pitch decks in 2022, compared to 2021. On average, you have just under three minutes to convince them to take a meeting with you. In fact, for decks that fail to raise funding, investors give up in just 2 minutes and 13 seconds. That’s not a lot of time to make a first impression, so you’ve got to make it count.
It’s pretty rare that I get to talk to someone who is as big of a pitch deck nerd as I am, but when I was finally able to nerd out with the research lead at DocSend, how could I not? We go deep into what the data tells us about what makes a pitch deck successful, and indicators for what works less well.
The biggest trend change in how investors are looking at pitch decks is that investors are spending a lot less time on slides overall, but where that time is spent is shifting.
“This year, we know that investors are spending less and less time on pitch decks. That’s not necessarily surprising: The number of links to pitch decks sent out has gone up, and the time spent on decks is staying very low,” explains Justin Izzo, research lead for DocSend. “What’s surprising to me is that we know that the product and business model sections of decks are really where investors liked to lean in, especially for companies at the early stages. But investors have almost halved their time spent on these sections at the pre-seed level. Investors are still giving scrutiny to these sections, but they’re doing it so much more quickly than ever before. So founders have to really think deeply about their business, but communicate briefly.”
One of the biggest shifts is that investors spend a lot more time on what DocSend describes as the purpose of a startup slide — the “why are you doing this” part of the story.
“Founders have to really think deeply about their business, but communicate briefly,” laughs Izzo, “I like to call it ‘compelling brevity.’ It isn’t easy to do, mind you, but it is what founders should be striving for.”
The timeline to fundraising varies. This year, 25% of startups raised in less than six weeks; 58% raised in less than 12 weeks; 70% raised in less than 18 weeks; 90% raised in less than 24 weeks. Last year, the pace was a little bit slower. Graph Credit: DocSend.
The third-longest-viewed section is the Company Purpose section (after the product and business model sections), but Izzo points out that this section is usually only a very small part of the slide deck, often just a line or two of text on slides one or two of the deck.
“Usually it’s one sentence, a pointed and well-balanced statement of what the company is. We usually see that at the very front of the deck, often on the intro slide. What was shocking to me when I …read more
Hitler ‘stache-sporting Nazi-sympathizer gets prison time in Jan. 6 case
A former New Jersey Army reservist and Nazi sympathizer known for dressing up like Hitler was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday for his role in the Jan. 6 riot. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/22/nazi-sympathizer-gets-prison-time-in-jan-6-case/
Middle-Income Households Feel Bigger Inflation Pinch
The Congressional Budget Office said price increases have outpaced income gains for midlevel households. …read more
Iceland arrests four suspected of terror plot in ‘unprecedented’ operation
Icelandic police say they have arrested four men for alleged “preparations for terrorist acts” — an unprecedented situation for the tiny country. …read more
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/europe/icelandic-terror-plot-arrests-intl/index.html
Exodus and alarm: Russians flee as fears over Putin’s mobilization plan grow
Countries bordering Russia are reporting a stark uptick in border crossings as Russians’ fears grow over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization plan. CNN’s Matthew Chance reports. …read more