So, Who Killed Silicon Valley Bank? Despite all the indicators of incompetence on the part of a senior leadership team consisting of over 60% men and 60% white people, the “Andy Kesslers” of the world flocked to The Wall Street Journal’s opinion section. The op-ed entertained the classic argument that focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion was distracting from the “real” business of running Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). How original and worthy of publication! Those who promote this idea seem oblivious to the fact that they are essentially admitting that homogeneous leadership teams are incapable of multitasking. If incorporating the perspectives of women, LGBTQ, and Black people is enough to cause a group of white men to fail in leading SVB, then they were not competent to manage a bank in the first place. So, let’s be clear — a focus and commitment to diversity is a strength and never a distraction. Research has shown that companies with diverse leadership teams are more likely...

Modern life insurance startup Ethos recently announced they’ve raised $35 million in a Series B round of funding. The company’s method of providing online and mobile sales channels provided by the Lincoln, Neb.-based life insurance company, Assurity Life, seems to be working as this amount has significantly increased since their Series A round of $11.5 million. The previous round came from Will Smith’s Smith Family Circle ; Robert Downey Jr.’s Downey Ventures ; Kevin Durant’s Durant Company ; Arrive, a subsidiary of Jay Z’s Roc Nation ; and leading Silicon Valley investment firm Sequoia Capital. The new investment from Google Ventures (GV) and returning investors, Sequoia Capital and Arrive, was led by Accel Partners. Accel’s Nate Niparko will join the Ethos board of directors and GV General Partner, Tyson Clark, will join as an advisor. The non-commission-based insurance company prides itself on being a more equitable provider by offering term life insurance that only requires...