Cold as ice...

 Cube that is. The rapper and his 3-on-3 professional basketball league are suing investors for not holding up their end of the bargain. [The Hustle]( Mon, Apr 9 Brought to you by [SimpliSafe]( home security, done right. Ice Cube and his 3-man-basketball league are suing Qatari investors for $1.2B Get money, spend money, no money: The Washington Post reports that Big3 basketball league founders Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz are suing a group of their own investors for [$1.2B](. The [33-page suit]( alleges the investors, which include associates of Qatari royalty (like the half brother of Qatar’s emir), bragged of connections to the royal family and its riches but paid little more than half of the money they agreed to invest in the 3-on-3 pro basketball league. Iverson hath risen Aimed at extending the careers of players like NBA all-star Allen Iverson, and upping the fun with streetball antics, the 8-team league debuted last June, drawing nearly [400k]( viewers. The better-than-expected turnout was enough to lock in a second season, but the league needed funding. So, the league’s then-commissioner Roger Mason Jr. introduced them to the group — with whom he had a [close relationship]( — and brought them on as “passive investors.” But they became anything but passive As soon as they signed on, they attempted to buddy up with Big3 employees, offering tropical trips, yacht parties, and investments in personal business projects. Except, when it came time to front the money they couldn’t deliver. According to the Washington Post, Sport Trinity was to pay $11.5m upfront and would contribute $9m in sponsorship money over 3 years -- but they paid only $6.5m at the start, promising to pay the remainder ASAP. They didn’t. So Cube had to come in and regulate The lawsuit claims the volatile months-long game of cat and mouse cost the league millions, their first-year commissioner (whom they fired due to his relationship with the group), and other financial headaches -- bringing a whole new meaning to Ice Cube’s “The Curse of Money.” But the dispute hasn’t slowed the Big3’s momentum: The league, scheduled to open its second season in June, recently announced an apparel deal with Adidas, improved their television deals, and hired a new commish -- NBA legend Clyde “The Glide” Drexler. “We’re just trying to do basketball, man,” he told WaPo. “We’re not trying to be caught up in no international bullsh*t. Ice Cube With Attitude  In a world where major hacks are a regular occurrence, one industry will stop at nothing… Cyberinsurance. It’s not the newest Michael Bay film but, as [WIRED reports]( it is a burgeoning, multibillion-dollar industry. And, now more than ever, a must-have for companies who don’t want to get “breached” out of business. If it’s risky, insurers will come As of 2016, cyberinsurers made about $3.5B in premiums worldwide -- merely an appetizer compared to the $200B premium buffet US auto insurers bring in annually. The difference is that cyberinsurance premiums have [grown 30%]( annually in recent years, and the increasing frequency of large scale hacks means the stakes are only getting higher. The Equifax breach, for example, [is expected to cost the company about $439m]( $125m of which is predicted to be covered by cyberinsurance. Plus, regulators are cracking down on data protection The [EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation]( (GDPR) will go into effect May 25, and that means companies will be under the microscope to protect users’ privacy -- and face larger fines if they don’t. Oh, and this new law doesn’t just impact European companies, it applies to any company with European users. [Lookin’ at you Uber](... [Not another hacking story](  Offering $300m for a billboard company, Netflix proves the ’boards are back in town Reuters [reports]( that Netflix has offered a competitive $300m bid to purchase Regency Outdoor Advertising, a billboard company in LA. For Netflix, which [describes]( itself as “leading the way for digital content since 1997,” the purchase of an old-school billboard [company]( is not only ironic — it’d be the largest acquisition in company history. Why jump on the board-wagon? The same reason your cousin Stacy took 43 photos of her tiramisu yesterday: Netflix is doing it for the ’gram. Billboards blew up in the 1920s by appearing in the windows of passing drivers -- now, they’re doing it by appearing in millions of selfies. “We try to make campaigns people will want to share,” [explains]( Claire Knebl of Glossier, a direct-to-consumer makeup company that advertises on billboards. Acquiring paid customers using social channels is becoming more [expensive]( and less consistent, but amplifying a brand with eye-catching public visuals is becoming cheaper -- thanks to those same networks. Location, location, location-data In real life, billboards for Netflix -- or Glossier, Hims, Thinx, Spotify, Lyft -- aren’t in places like Ebbing, Missouri. They’re on the 405 in Santa Monica, the 101 in San Francisco, or the subway in Manhattan -- where the customers are. Using customer data -- some [collected]( from smart billboards themselves -- companies like Netflix infiltrate social feeds of Snap-happy customers. Last year, “Netflix is a joke” billboards popped up across NY and LA and [blew up]( on social media. Who was behind them? Netflix, promoting their own comedy shows. [Are you on board yet?](  Orion Span Inc. announces plan to open the first ever luxury hotel… in space Looking to book a trip? Say no more. The future is (almost) here, and when it arrives, you’ll be looking at a pretty out of this world vacation package. As first [reported]( by Bloomberg, Houston-based Orion Span Inc. announced plans to open the first-ever space hotel to give normal, everyday millionaires the chance to feel like real space rangers. But this ain’t no stay at the Ramada Inn The luxury space hotel will orbit [200 miles]( above Earth, offering 4 guests an incredibly high-speed 12-day space stay and costing an exorbitant number of Earth dollars. According to Orion Span’s CEO Frank Bunger, they aren’t selling an easy breezy experience, but instead “the experience of being an astronaut” -- a very, very rich astronaut. The stay at “Aurora Station” -- AKA the perfect name for a spaceship horror movie -- starts at $9.5m per person, or around $792k a night. The station, which can house as many as 4 guests and 2 crew, requires an [$80k]( deposit to secure your spot. And it’s not that far out Orion Span is mulling potential funding (at an undisclosed amount) to get the project off the ground and into space. It hopes to launch in late 2021 and have its first guest the following year. Some skeptics believe the startup’s lofty four-year time frame may be a ruse to assess the market -- and whether people are really that eager to get space-wasted. [Will there be daiquiris?](   monday morning review *Double take* “Wait, did we just send an email on Sunday?” Oh, right, we meant to do that. First things first, if you didn’t get a chance to read our first-ever Weekend Edition of The Hustle yesterday, stop what you’re doing and open that sh*t. It’s ok, we’ll wait… Alright, now that we’re all caught up, let’s unpack what just happened. On weekdays, we send an email with quick stories about the latest business and tech news you need to know to succeed at work, and sound smarter to your co-workers. But, there are just some stories that are too big to fit in 200 words. Stories about the people and forces driving some of the biggest trends in tech and business, that you’ve probably never heard of. That’s where the our Weekend Edition comes in Every Sunday morning, we’re sending you an in-depth, original story to sink your teeth into, from bed, at breakfast, or wherever you happen to be at the crack of dawn. We can’t tell you what our next story will be, but we promise it’s gonna be interesting. So get excited, tell your friends, and turn those mail notifications on, because we’re comin’ at you hotter than a Brooklynite to a cronut. See you in your inbox on Sunday. -- Lindsey, Regional Supervisor of Reading Over Huevos Rancheros PS. Have something to say about yesterday’s story? Tell us what you think [here in the comments](. This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by Flex on burglars (and your buddies) with SimpliSafe A security system that’s as secure as it is good looking? Must be [SimpliSafe]( -- say the 2 million already protecting their homes with it. To date, the system’s racked up more than 40,000 5-star reviews, and their latest release packs more features than a Cadillac. Introducing the best security system either side of the Mississippi How can home security do a damn fine job and look good doing it—at a price that won’t have you sacrificing your (future) children’s future? Start by scrapping the middlemen and markups. And instead focus on the [features that actually matter]( SimpliSafe’s latest generation is an intuitive home monitoring system that protects your home in any situation. Lose power? No problem, SimpliSafe has backup batteries. Lose wifi? Built-in cellular. Leave a window open? SimpliSafe hollers. Plus, [setup is easy](.  Plug in the base station and place your sensors. SimpliSafe protects your home in minutes without tools or wiring. For just [$15 a month]( you’ll get 24/7 monitoring with police dispatch. And there are no contracts either because, well, that’s just common sense.  0 [SHARE THE HUSTLE]( REFERRALS [ YOUR UNIQUE URL Zack Crockett NEWS WRITER Wes Schlagenhauf NEWS WRITER Conor Grant NEWS WRITER Kolby Hatch AD WRITER [Lindsey “Billboard Baggins” Quinn]( MANAGING EDITOR Hugo Origo Conflict Resolution Specialist [SUBSCRIBE]( [JOBS]( [ADVERTISE]( [EVENTS]( [SHOP]( [Join our Facebook community →]( You opted in by signing up, attending an event, or through divine intervention. [771 CLEMENTINA STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, UNITED STATES]( • [415.506.7210](tel:+1-415-506-7210) Never wanna hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](