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We hope you meet the week with open, crunchy arms, and that the week loves you right away. The unrequited love of abstract conceptual measures of time is so heartbreaking.
Let’s start by reminding you that there is only 5 days left to save $1,000 on Disrupt Passes! — Christina And It came
TechCrunch’s top 3
- Nobody likes a cheater: Definitely not Russian game developer Battlestate Games, which banned and doxed 6,700 cheaters from its Escape from Tarkov game. Lawrence see you.
- You get a loan and you get a loan!: Ingrid writes that UK-based open banking lending platform Abound has secured $601m in new funding to “boost” its consumer lending business which provides loans between £1,000 and £10,000 with generous repayment options of up to five years.
- Microsoft’s next step: Microsoft’s automation journey led the software giant to make a pit stop in Business App Suite City to drop off the AI-powered Copilot capabilities, Kyle reports.
Startups and VCs
Also today we are releasing the latest episode of our Inside Startup Battlefield podcast mini-series, which is about TechCrunch’s pitch competition. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the winner is announced!
And we have five more for you:
Create Remote Work Rituals That Stick
Picture credits: peep (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images (Image has been modified)
Remote teams have a lot of flexibility in when and how they work, but adding some structure can improve productivity and transparency without sacrificing freedom.
“At the end of the day, asynchronous work only serves you when you compartmentalize the phases of work with your team,” explains Stefanie Palomino, product manager and general manager of ROOM 3D.
This article offers several tips that can help managers deploy active listening techniques that promote engagement, improve communication, and ideally reduce the number of meetings that take place.
Palomino says, “The routines people create are negotiated over time, but it’s something we’ve come to take for granted.”
Three others from the TC+ team:
Tech Crunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get a head start. You can register here. Use code “DC” to get 15% off an annual subscription!
Big Tech inc.
Natasha L has the latest news on whatsapp. The messaging platform owned by Meta undertakes to clean up its user mailbox in the European Union so that its terms of use are more transparent.
European and American police organizations arrest suspected members of the DoppelPaymer ransomware gang. Carly writes that this particular gang has targeted at least 601 businesses worldwide, with one of its most severe attacks targeting Düsseldorf University Hospital resulting in the death of a patient.
More for your Monday: