BardTech

The post Vernā Myers joins Netflix in new VP role focused on inclusion appeared first on BardTech . Netflix has hired Vernā Myers in the newly-created role of vice president, inclusion strategy. Myers has spent the past two decades at the head of The Vernā Myers Company , where she consulted on issues around diversity and inclusion. She’s also written and spoken broadly on those topics. In the announcement , Netflix notes that it’s already worked with Myers as a consultant, and that her new job will be to “devise and implement strategies that integrate cultural diversity, inclusion and equity into all aspects of Netflix’s operations worldwide.” “I have been a longtime fan of the inclusive and diverse programming and talent at Netflix, and then I got a chance to meet the people behind the screen,” Myers said in a statement. “I was so impressed by their mission, their excellence, and decision to take their inclusion and diversity efforts to a higher level. I am so excited and loo...

The post Plant-focused startup The Sill raises $5M appeared first on BardTech . The Sill , a startup that sells potted plants online and in physical stores, announced this weekend that it has raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Raine Ventures. The company was founded in 2012 and has now raised a total of $7.5 million. It was bootstrapped until last year, when it raised seed funding from Brand Foundry Ventures, Halogen Ventures, BBG Ventures, Tuesday Capital, Blueseed and The Chernin Group. (BBG Ventures is backed by TechCrunch’s parent company Oath.) That seems like a long time for a startup to go without outside funding, and indeed, CEO Eliza Blank acknowledged that she “probably waited too long to go out and raise.” Still, she said those first few years also gave her time to find the right business model (like focusing “exclusively on the direct-to-consumer business,” rather than selling to offices as well). And while it’s easy to group The Sill  among all the sta...