Titstare is a fictional mobile application centred on pictures of men staring at women and their breasts. It was introduced at a 2013 hackathon at TechCrunch 's TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, California by two Australian developers. Titstare became the subject of public controversy, with the skit being described as symptomatic of sexist attitudes in Silicon Valley 's startup culture. Conference organizers later apologized for the misogynistic presentation.
53-625: TechCrunch , a technology news website, was established in 2005 and acquired by internet giant AOL in September 2010. The acquisition was seen by AOL as a move towards solidifying its position as a provider of technical content and was announced at the 2010 edition of the annual conference sponsored by TechCrunch, known as Disrupt. Disrupt events, generally held early in the fall of each year, are conclaves which bring together representatives of startup companies, industry insiders, and interested others for presentations and networking, typically also including
106-720: A Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange . In May 2008, Apollo invested in Vantium, a company that buys residential mortgage assets as part of a strategy to profit from the United States housing market correction . In July 2008, the company closed a $ 758 million value-add fund. Also in 2008, Apollo opened an office in India , its first office in Asia. During
159-467: A $ 1.2 billion market value collateralized debt obligation vehicle . Ares I and II which were raised were structured as market value CLOs . Ares III-Ares X were structured as cash flow CLOs . In 2002, Ares completed a corporate spin-off from Apollo management. Although technically the founders of Ares had completed a spinout with the formation of the firm in 1997, they had maintained a close relationship with Apollo over its first five years and operated as
212-546: A $ 2 billion vehicle in Europe, AP Alternative Assets. It was a Guernsey -domiciled publicly traded, private-equity closed-end, limited partnership , managed by Apollo Alternative Assets, an affiliate of Apollo Management. Apollo initially attempted to raise $ 2.5 billion for the public vehicle, but fell short when it offered the shares in June 2006, raising only $ 1.5 billion. Apollo raised an additional $ 500 million via private placements in
265-488: A 31% interest. In December 2009, Apollo announced the acquisition of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company for $ 635 million and assumed debt valuing the company at $ 2.4 billion. In April 2010, the deal was terminated due to poor shareholder response. In January 2011, Apollo acquired 51% of Alcan Engineered Products from Rio Tinto Group . On March 29, 2011, Apollo became a public company via an IPO. In June 2011, Apollo acquired CKx. In March 2012, Apollo acquired
318-412: A US-domiciled publicly traded , private-equity, closed-end fund and Business Development Company . AIC provides mezzanine debt , senior secured loans , and equity investments to middle-market companies , including public companies, although it historically has not invested in companies controlled by Apollo's private-equity funds. Apollo, originally referred to as Apollo Advisors, was founded after
371-423: A consortium of other international investors provided the capital for Lion's investment activities. Lion Advisors was replaced by Ares Management . At the time of Apollo's founding, little financing was available for new leveraged buyouts and Apollo turned, instead, to a strategy of distressed-to-control takeovers. Apollo purchased distressed securities , which could be converted into a controlling interest in
424-442: A franchisor that owns Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and Sotheby's International Realty, for $ 8.5 billion. As the United States housing market correction accelerated in 2008, Realogy faced financial pressures due to its debt load. In November 2008, Realogy launched an exchange offer for a portion of its debt to provide additional flexibility, prompting a lawsuit from Carl Icahn . In 2013, Apollo sold out of this investment, making
477-512: A listed business development company , Apollo Investment Corporation. In September 2004, investment funds managed by Apollo and Sterling Partners acquired Connections Academy . It was sold in 2011 for $ 400 million. In 2005, Apollo formed Hexion Specialty Chemicals through the merger of Borden, Inc. , Resolution Performance Products LLC, and Resolution Specialty Materials, LLC, and the acquisition of Bakelite AG. Hexion announced in July 2007 that it
530-535: A new entity called Yahoo . Starting in New York City in 2010, TechCrunch hosts an annual tech conference, TechCrunch Disrupt, in several cities in the United States and Europe. TechCrunch Disrupt brings innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts worldwide. At Disrupt, attendees can witness groundbreaking startups pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, participate in networking events, and explore
583-599: A profit of $ 1.3 billion. In May 2007, Apollo acquired Countrywide plc , a provider of residential property-related services in the UK, formerly known as Hambro Countrywide (1988) and Countrywide Assured Group (1998) for $ 1.05 billion (not related to Countrywide Financial ). In November 2007, the company sold 9% of itself to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority . In January 2008, Apollo and TPG Capital acquired Harrah's Entertainment for $ 27.4 billion, including
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#1732852706684636-431: A prominent lieutenant of Michael Milken and a key player in the buyout boom of the 1980s . Lion Advisors (or Lion Capital) was founded in 1990 to provide investment services to Credit Lyonnais and foreign institutions, seeking to profit from depressed prices in the high-yield market. In 1992, Lion entered into a more formal arrangement to manage the $ 3 billion high-yield portfolio for Credit Lyonnais which together with
689-406: A series of mild breast-related jokes and puns – tying in with their humorously intended product. This generated a mixed response from the assembled crowd, running the gamut from indignation to uncomfortable laughter to genuine appreciation of the "twisted kind of standup" intended by the presenters. Titstare was accused of adding to the institutionalized sexism, known as brogrammer culture, in
742-474: A technology event hosted in several cities across the United States, Europe, and China. TechCrunch was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare . In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $ 25 million. As of 2013, TechCrunch was available in English, Chinese (managed by Chinese tech news company TechNode), and Japanese. TechCrunch France
795-498: Is getting a thorough screening from this hackathon onward. Any type of sexism or other discriminatory and/or derogatory speech will not be allowed.... We are sorry. The creators themselves took to Twitter with a speedy apology, stating "sorry if we offended some of you, very unintentional. Just a fun Aussie hack." Commenting on the affair in The Guardian , journalist Amy Gray faulted conference organizers, whom she presumed knew about
848-577: The financial crisis of 2007–2008 , several of Apollo's investments came under pressure. Apollo's 2005 investment in the struggling US retailer Linens 'n Things suffered from a significant debt burden and softening consumer demand. In May 2008, Linens filed for bankruptcy protection, costing Apollo all of its $ 365 million investment in the company. In 2009, the company was sued by a noteholder claiming mismanagement. Apollo exercised its " PIK toggle " option at Claire's to shut off cash interest payments to its bondholders and instead issue more debt, to provide
901-561: The $ 3.1 billion leveraged buyouts of costume jewelry retailer Claire's Stores. In 2008, Claire's experienced financial difficulty amid the slump in consumer spending. In April 2007, Apollo acquired Noranda Aluminum , the US aluminum business of Xstrata for $ 1.15 billion. Noranda Aluminum includes a primary smelter and three rolling mills in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas along with other operations. In April 2007, Apollo acquired Realogy ,
954-413: The 2015 acquisition of AOL and Yahoo! by Verizon , the site was owned by Verizon Media from 2015 through 2021. In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo!, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management . Apollo integrated them into a new entity called Yahoo! Inc. In addition to its news reporting, TechCrunch is also known for its annual Disrupt conference,
1007-450: The American tech industry. Response was immediate and primarily negative; journalist Abby Ohlheiser wrote that the app's intent, the agglomeration of photos of men staring at partially clothed female cleavage, effectively trivialized the right of women to consent . After he defended the app against allegations of misogyny on Twitter, Business Insider Chief technology officer Pax Dickinson
1060-495: The State of California over its purchase of Executive Life Insurance Company in 1991. The same year, Attorney General of California Bill Lockyer accused Leon and an investor group led by French bank Credit Lyonnais of violating California law by having a foreign government-owned bank acquire the assets and bond portfolio of Executive Life Insurance. In April 2004, Apollo raised $ 930 million through an initial public offering for
1113-459: The U.S. government's Resolution Trust Corporation . One of Apollo's earliest and most successful deals involved the acquisition of Executive Life Insurance Company's bond portfolio. Using this vehicle, Apollo purchased the Executive Life portfolio, profiting when the value of high-yield bonds recovered, but also resulting in a variety of state regulatory issues for Apollo and Credit Lyonnais over
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#17328527066841166-457: The West Coast affiliate of Apollo. Shortly thereafter, Ares completed fundraising for Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund, a special-situations investment fund with $ 750 million of capital under management. In 1998, during the dot-com bubble , Apollo raised Apollo Investment Fund IV with $ 3.6 billion of investor commitments. As of April 8, 2008, the fund had generated a 10% IRR net of fees. Among
1219-630: The acquisition of the Smart & Final chain of warehouse-style food and supply stores. In June 2007, Smart & Final completed the acquisition of the Henry's Marketplace chain of " farmers market " style food retailers from Wild Oats Markets as part of that company's acquisition by Whole Foods Market . In 2011, the Henry's chain was merged with Sprouts Farmers Market , which, like the Henry's markets, had been founded by Henry Boney. In March 2007, Apollo announced
1272-562: The annual Crunchies award ceremony to award startups, internet, and technology innovations. At the first award ceremony in 2007, Facebook won the award for best startup. TechCrunch announced in 2017 that it would end the Crunchies. The company was criticized for allowing developers to present the Titstare application created by participants in a hackathon at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013. The application allows users to "stare at tits". In 2011,
1325-698: The assumption of existing debt. In January 2008, Apollo invested $ 1 billion in Norwegian Cruise Line to support a recapitalization of the company's balance sheet. In December 2018, Apollo cashed out of this investment. In February 2008, Apollo acquired Regent Seven Seas Cruises from Carlson Companies for $ 1 billion. Following the purchase, Apollo ordered a new ship for Regent. In April 2008, Apollo, TPG Capital , and The Blackstone Group acquired $ 12.5 billion of bank loans from Citigroup . The portfolio comprised primarily senior secured loans that had been made to finance leveraged-buyout transactions at
1378-480: The business Verso Paper. Verso is the second-largest producer of the North American magazine publishing and catalog/commercial print markets. In May 2008, Verso became a public company via an IPO. In February 2007, Apollo acquired Oceania Cruises for $ 850 million and provided additional capital to fund the expansion of the company with the purchase of two new cruise ships.! In February 2007, Apollo announced
1431-569: The collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1990 by Leon Black , the former head of Drexel's mergers and acquisitions department, along with Josh Harris and Marc Rowan . Tony Ressler , another former senior Drexel executive, was also among the firm's original members. Within six months after the collapse of Drexel, Apollo launched Apollo Investment Fund L.P., the first of its private-equity investment funds, formed to make investments in distressed companies. Apollo raised around $ 400 million of investor commitments based on Leon Black's reputation as
1484-433: The company with additional financial flexibility. In December 2008, Apollo completed fundraising for its latest fund, Apollo Investment Fund VII, with roughly $ 14.7 billion of investor commitments. Apollo had been targeting $ 15 billion, but had been in fundraising for more than 16 months, with the bulk of the capital raised in 2007. In November 2009, Liberty Global acquired Unity Media GMBH; funds managed by Apollo owned
1537-488: The company. He announced that he would join the venture capital firm SOSV in December 2020 as a senior operating partner. His former role at TechCrunch was replaced by Matthew Panzarino, former editor-in-chief, and Joey Hinson, director of business operations. In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management , and Apollo integrated them into
1590-512: The content of presentations beforehand based upon mandatory pre-convention uploads of personal and project information. Gray felt the Titstare affair emblematic of a duality in the tech world, which was on the one hand perfectly meritocratic in theory, while in practice being an industry which "runs on privilege, with sexist and juvenile behaviour based on gender stereotypes being routinely displayed". Co-editor of TechCrunch Alexia Tsotsis said that
1643-447: The day, deeming the presentations "misogynistic" and declaring: Sexism is a major problem in the tech industry, and we’ve worked hard to counteract it in our coverage and in our own hiring. Today’s issues resulted from a failure to properly screen our hackathons for inappropriate content ahead of time and establish clear guidelines for these submissions. Trust us, that changed as soon as we saw what happened at our show. Every presentation
Titstare - Misplaced Pages Continue
1696-465: The equity of the company through a bankruptcy reorganization or other restructuring. Apollo used distressed debt as an entry point, enabling the firm to invest in such firms as Vail Resorts , Walter Industries , Culligan , and Samsonite . Apollo acquired interests in companies that Drexel had helped finance by purchasing high-yield bonds from failed savings and loans and insurance companies. Apollo acquired several large portfolios of assets from
1749-426: The firm to found Pegasus Capital Advisors. Since its inception, Pegasus has raised $ 1.8 billion in four private-equity funds focused on investments in middle-market companies in financial distress. In 1997, Ares Management was founded by Antony Ressler and John H. Kissick, both partners at Apollo, as well as Bennett Rosenthal, who joined the group from the global leveraged finance group at Merrill Lynch , to manage
1802-438: The founders of Ares had completed a corporate spin-off with the formation of the firm in 1997, they had initially maintained a close relationship with Apollo and operated as the West Coast affiliate of Apollo. . In 2002, when Ares raised its first corporate opportunities fund, the firm announced that it would separate from its former parent company. The timing of this separation also coincided with Apollo's legal difficulties with
1855-484: The fund had generated a 54% IRR net of fees. Among the investments made in Fund V (invested through 2006) were Affinion Group , AMC Entertainment , Berry Plastics , Cablecom , Compass Minerals , General Nutrition Centers (GNC), Goodman Global, Hexion Specialty Chemicals ( Borden ), Intelsat , Linens 'n Things , Metals USA, Nalco Investment Holdings , Sourcecorp, Spectrasite Communications , and Unity Media. Although
1908-472: The investments made in Fund III (invested through 1998) were: Alliance Imaging, Allied Waste Industries , Breuners Home Furnishings , Levitz Furniture , Communications Corporation of America , Dominick's , Ralphs (acquired Apollo's Food-4-Less ), Move.com , NRT Incorporated , Pillowtex Corporation , Telemundo , and WMC Mortgage Corporation . Also in 1995, Apollo's founding partner Craig Cogut left
1961-636: The investments made in Fund IV (invested through 2001) were: Allied Waste Industries , AMC Entertainment , Berlitz International , Clark Retail Enterprises, Corporate Express ( Buhrmann ), Encompass Services Corporation, National Financial Partners, Pacer International , Rent-A-Center , Resolution Performance Products , Resolution Specialty Materials , Sirius Satellite Radio , SkyTerra Communications, United Rentals , and Wyndham Worldwide . In April 2001, Apollo raised Apollo Investment Fund V with $ 3.7 billion of investor commitments. As of April 8, 2008,
2014-460: The latest trends in technology through keynote speeches and panel discussions. It's a hub for collaboration, investment opportunities, and showcasing disruptive technologies that have the potential to reshape industries. Startup Battlefield is a startup competition. Monetary awards are presented at the TechCrunch Disrupt conferences. Startup Battlefield has a reputation for launching some of
2067-464: The most successful companies in the tech industry. Notable startups that have been involved in the competition include Dropbox , Intuit Mint , Yammer , and CrateDB . From 2007 to 2015, TechCrunch operated Crunchbase , a website and online encyclopedia of information on startups, key people, funds, funding rounds, and events. In 2015, Crunchbase became a private entity and is no longer part of TechCrunch. From 2007 to 2017, TechCrunch sponsored
2120-462: The opportunity for collaborative hackathon sessions. It was at Disrupt 2013, held in San Francisco, that Australian programmers Jethro Batts and David Boulton debuted their new tongue-in-cheek mobile phone app , Titstare, described by the pair as "an app where you take photos of yourself staring at tits". On Sunday, September 8, the duo delivered their rehearsed one-minute-long presentation –
2173-401: The peak of the market. Citigroup had been unable to syndicate the loans before the onset of the credit crunch. The loans were reported to have been sold in the "mid-80 cents on the dollar" relative to face value. In late 2008, Apollo received margin calls associated with the financing of its purchase of certain loan portfolios as the values of the loans decreased. In April 2008, Apollo filed
Titstare - Misplaced Pages Continue
2226-416: The presenters did not include the name of their app in the presentation list. TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high-tech and startup companies . It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare . In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $ 25 million. Following
2279-432: The private equity market was booming. Among Apollo's most notable investments during this period were Harrah's Entertainment , Norwegian Cruise Line , Claire's Stores , and Realogy . In 2006, Apollo acquired Rexnord Corporation for $ 1.825 billion, Berry Plastics for $ 2.25 billion, Momentive Performance Materials for approximately $ 3.8 billion, and TNT N.V. for $ 1.9 billion. In August 2006, Apollo launched
2332-510: The purchase. In 1993, Apollo Real Estate Advisers was founded in collaboration with William Mack to seek opportunities in the U.S. property markets. In April 1993, Apollo Real Estate Investment Fund, L.P., the first in a family of real estate "opportunity funds", was closed with $ 500 million of investor commitments. In 2000, Apollo exited the partnership, which continued to operate as Apollo Real Estate Advisers until changing its name to AREA Property Partners effective January 15, 2009. That firm
2385-429: The site's editors and writers were criticized for possible ethics violations . These included claims that Arrington's investments in certain firms that the site had covered created a conflict of interest . The controversy that ensued eventually led to Arrington's departure, and other writers, including Paul Carr and Sarah Lacy , moved to another technology investment based media company. In 2014, TechCrunch Disrupt
2438-421: The unprofitable Great Wolf Resorts for $ 703 million. In November 2012, Apollo acquired McGraw-Hill Education for $ 2.5 billion. In 2013, Apollo acquired Pitney Bowes Management Services (PBMS) for $ 400 million. From PBMS, Apollo formed Novitex Enterprise Solutions. Novitex is a document-outsourcing provider that manages business-critical services for over 500 companies across 10 industries. In 2017, it
2491-499: The weeks following that sale. AAA was formed to invest alongside Apollo's main private-equity funds and hedge funds. AAA's investment portfolio was made up of a mix of private-equity and capital-markets investments. It was liquidated in 2020. In October 2006, Apollo announced a $ 990 million leveraged buyout of Jacuzzi Brands , a manufacturer of whirlpool baths. In 2006, Apollo acquired International Paper 's coated paper and supercalendered paper business for $ 1.4 billion, renaming
2544-407: Was acquiring Huntsman Corporation , a major specialty-chemicals company, in a $ 6.5 billion leveraged buyout. Hexion announced in June 2008 it would refuse to close the deal, prompting a series of legal actions. The transaction was terminated in December after a settlement between Hexion and Huntsman, wherein they were required to pay Huntsman $ 1 billion to drop fraud charges. Between 2005 and 2007,
2597-899: Was featured in an arc of the HBO series Silicon Valley . The characters' startup "Pied Piper" participates in a startup battle at TechCrunch Disrupt. Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets . As of 2022 , the company had $ 548 billion of assets under management, including $ 392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capital , hedge funds , non-performing loans , and collateralized loan obligations , $ 99 billion invested in private equity , and $ 46.2 billion invested in real assets, which includes real estate and infrastructure . The company invests money on behalf of pension funds , financial endowments , and sovereign wealth funds , as well as other institutional and individual investors. Apollo
2650-698: Was folded into the main TechCrunch.com site in October 2012. Boundless (formerly Verizon Media Japan), the Japanese subsidiary of the TechCrunch's parent company, closed TechCrunch Japan in May 2022 according to its "global strategy". Following the acquisition of AOL and Yahoo by Verizon , TechCrunch was owned by Verizon Media from 2015 through 2021. In August 2020, the COO of TechCrunch, Ned Desmond, stepped down after eight years in
2703-428: Was forced to resign. Dickinson later wrote an apology, which was published on VentureBeat . Much of the criticism appeared on Twitter , with one representative tweet stating, "There goes my attempt to teach my 9 [year old] girl how welcoming tech industry is to women." TechCrunch was immediate in issuing a public apology for the Titstare presentation, as well as one for an offensive masturbation app presented later in
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#17328527066842756-809: Was founded in 1990 by Leon Black , Josh Harris , and Marc Rowan , former investment bankers at the defunct Drexel Burnham Lambert . The company is headquartered in the Solow Building in New York City , with offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. Among the most notable companies in which funds managed by the company have invested are ADT Inc. , CareerBuilder , Cox Media Group , Intrado , Legendary Entertainment , Rackspace Technology , Redbox , Shutterfly , Sirius Satellite Radio , Qdoba , Smart & Final , The Restaurant Group , University of Phoenix , and Yahoo Inc. In addition to its private funds, Apollo operates Apollo Investment Corporation (AIC),
2809-510: Was then owned and controlled by its remaining principals, including William Mack, Lee Neibart, William Benjamin, John Jacobsson, Stuart Koenig, and Richard Mack. In 1995, Apollo raised its third private-equity fund, Apollo Investment Fund III, with $ 1.5 billion of investor commitments from investors that included CalPERS and the General Motors pension fund. Fund III was only an average performer for private-equity funds of its vintage. Among
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