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To get a roundup of \u2019s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT,<\/em> subscribe here<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n Is it Friday again? All week we long for this day, and when it\u2019s here, you remember all the stuff you didn\u2019t get done while you were busy daydreaming about Friday. Oh well, we hope this bag of goodies gets to you after you\u2019ve cleared out the to-do list and are ready for happy hour. If you\u2019re going to TTITD next week, safety third but try to stay alive. If you fail at that, make sure you die in a more interesting way than dehydration so your camp mates at leaast get a good story out of it. \u2014 Christine<\/a> and Haje<\/a><\/p>\n Asia\u2019s crypto games and web3 investment powerhouse Animoca Brands is making inroads into Japan as its local unit picks up $45 million in financing at a $500 million pre-money valuation. The investment comes at a time when the country is tightening regulations around the crypto industry, writes Rita<\/a>.<\/p>\n Staying in Asia, Anna<\/a> and Alex<\/a> take the pulse on China\u2019s venture capital scene. From near-zero growth in the second quarter and abandoned economic targets to continued COVID-19 lockdowns, a power crunch, a housing crisis, concerns about the strength of its domestic currency, water shortages, high youth unemployment, and more, it\u2019s a tough mix for the world\u2019s second-largest economy \u2014 even without mentioning a background loaded with geopolitical tensions. This is a + story, but if you don\u2019t have a subscription, use the Daily Crunch discount code \u201cDC\u201d for 15% off.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s do a few more, shall we?<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Sergei Chuyko (opens in a new window)<\/span> \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n All schadenfreude aside: learning from our own mistakes is useful, but learning from someone else\u2019s is optimal.<\/p>\n Squadhelp CEO and founder Darpan Munjal shut down his previous company, a fashion e-commerce venture, after four years of \u201csolid growth.\u201d In hindsight, he says early-stage funding created a false sense of security.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy to close the shutters on a business I really believed in. But I knew I could start again if I was willing to learn from my mistakes and apply those lessons smartly.\u201d<\/p>\n (+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead.<\/em> You can sign up here<\/em>.)<\/em><\/p>\n It seems like Google\u2019s Waze lost a bit of its way. The search engine giant said it was shuttering its Waze Carpool, a service that connected drivers with commuters, citing \u201cshifting commuting patterns as a result of the pandemic,\u201d Aisha<\/a> writes. Going forward, the app is going to focus on a post-COVID world of errands and travel.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, India\u2019s railway firm is reversing course on a plan to monetize customer data after an advocacy group, the Internet Freedom Foundation, took to Twitter<\/a> in opposition of the strategy, writing, \u201cA profit maximisation goal will result in greater incentives for data collection, violating principles of data minimisation & purpose limitation.\u201d Manish<\/a> has more.<\/p>\n In case you missed some stories from late yesterday, we have some good ones:<\/p>\nThe Top 3<\/h2>\n
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Startups and VC<\/h2>\n
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Learning from my failures: Lessons from a 2-time founder<\/h2>\n
Big Tech Inc.<\/h2>\n
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