Highlights of the Week (July 9, 2021)

It was a short week but an eventful one in world news. President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti was assassinated on Tuesday, rushing the country into further tumult as police killed 4 suspects and took two others into custody. The global confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 hit 4M, and the Olympic games in Japan, starting in 2 weeks, won't have spectators due to a spike in COVID numbers. Sha’Carri Richardson, the fastest American woman in track & field, was barred from competing in the Games because of a positive drug test for marijuana. 
 

Here’s a look at this week’s top stories from PrivCo:

• Tuesday we looked at the role of PIPEs in SPAC deals. PIPEs, or private investment in public equity, allow accredited investors, including institutional investors like hedge and mutual funds, to buy up a large portion of stock in a SPAC, generally at a discounted price. Can they change the notoriety of SPACs for good? Learn more here.

• Our investor highlight this week focused on Sequoia Capital, known for its early investments in Oracle, Atari, and Apple as well as today’s big bets on luxury e-commerce with SSENSE and on-demand skilled professionals with Thumbtack. Find out more about them.

• Do we have a right to laziness? The rapidly evolving consumer behavior of ordering everything from toilet paper to late-night snacks on-demand has brought a tide of investment into rapid delivery platforms. Find out more.