Hey Snackers,
Important Akoin update: the cryptocurrency, which is the brainchild of singer Akon, could be launched as soon as July. Akoin is the future currency of Akon's "Akon City" in Senegal. If it's as catchy as 2006 hit classic "Smack That," it could spread far beyond.
Stocks inched up to start the week — Oil jumped on supply cuts and economic reopening, settling above $40 per barrel for the first time since March.
When the re-scheduled cruise gets canceled again... Better luck just leaving earth. Virgin Galactic stock popped 16% on a fun headline: the Richard Branson-owned space tourism startup wants to hotel-ify the International Space Station (in partnership with NASA, of course).
Expanding the galactic biz model... Virgin has historically been focused on suborbital spaceflight. It sells $250K tickets to send people to the edge of space (and back) on its spaceplane — but even that hasn't taken off commercially yet (only 5 people have gone for test flights). NASA will review the plan Virgin puts together to see if it's solid, before going ahead with this new venture.
NASA wants to commercialize space... and it needs private sector companies to do it. NASA's on a private hot streak: it recently completed a big launch with SpaceX, successfully sending astronauts into orbit with a private spacecraft for the first time ever. Now it wants Virgin's help getting tourists to the ISS.
Channeling Bob Ross vibes... Start with a blank Canva for your DIY masterpiece. The Sydney-based startup wants to make graphic design accessible to all. Think: aesthetically pleasing flyers and social posts for non-design pros. That drag-and-drop attitude just helped Canva nearly double its valuation (it's still private, so we're SUMO'ing):
Collaboration is (extra) key... in the corona-conomy. In addition to doubling its monthly user base, Canva saw a 50% jump in shared designs over the year. The WFH life increased our reliance on real-time collaboration tools. Canva is planning on using its fresh $$$ to expand its design collab features (and lure in more money-making business accounts).
Presentation is everything in the era of "tap-onomics"... We've gone from shopping in-store, to shopping on desktops, to shopping on Instagram. The number of "taps" your product/company gets is closely related to how nice a post looks. During the pandemic, small businesses have turned to social media to reach customers. Canva's promise to make professional-looking posts cheap and easy helped it notch its latest valuation.
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Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Alphabet, Spotify, and Apple
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