Dec 20, 2019
Frank Gruber and co-host John Guidos talk about whether they could live without email and how society is changing with the elimination of the landline and a “home phone.” The discussion was loosely based on the latest newsletter which is shared below.
I saw a story recently about Away Luggage and how they recently ousted their co-founder and CEO Steph Korey over her use of the communication tool Slack to intimidate employees. Away Luggage employees don’t use email, limiting communications to Slack’s public channels. While Slack does offer direct message functionality, the company, like others, utilizes mostly public channels to offer a more transparent work environment – which unfortunately made public intimidation possible (or… fortunately exposed bad behavior that might otherwise have been hidden?). This is not the first company to eliminate email. For example, Automattic, the company behind web blogging platform WordPress, was one of the earliest to embrace Slack as a primary communication tool. Could you run a business, or your life, without email?
This question made me think about how communication has evolved over the years. The day of the central “home phone” is something of the past. But the home landline taught me how to answer a phone (not knowing who was on the other end), speak to people of all ages, and communicate on others’ behalf. So, I’m curious if those skills are no longer being acquired by younger people. This brings a whole new reason for having a landline to light. The Atlantic recently dug a little deeper into this topic of the home landline which also forms a spontaneous connection to a household.
Celebrating People in My Network
—Laurie Segall on the launch
of Dot Dot Dot Media.
—Lo Toney raised
$42M fund to invest in startups at Plexo
Capital.
—Michael Chasen, the CEO of PrecisionHawk, a Raleigh, N.C.-based
provider of drone technology for the enterprise, on raising
$32M in funding.
—Jason Fudin, co-founder and CEO of WhyHotel, which operates 100 to
250 room pop-up hotels with 24/7 on-site staff in newly built,
luxury apartment buildings, on raising
a $20M Series B of funding.
—Justyn Howard and the team of Chicago-based SproutSocial
on their recent IPO.
—Cody Bardo and the rest of the Trust & Will team for raising
a $6M Series A round of funding with the goal of bringing
estate planning To every family in America.
—Mike Levins on jumping off the entrepreneurial diving board after
a few decades in the corporate insurance world. I’m excited about
his startup journey!
Upcoming Events
I am going to CES 2020 in early January so let me know if you’ll be
in Las Vegas and would like to connect. Additionally, we’re in the
process of planning our annual SXSW 2020 events taking place in
early March in Austin, Texas. If you’re looking to do something at
SXSW and need assistance, or if you’d like to get involved in supporting our
efforts let me know.
Reading
The eight-hour workday was set over 100 years ago, does it still
stand up?
—The Eight-Hour Workday Is a
Counterproductive Lie
The force?
—A
‘no-brainer Nobel Prize’: Hungarian scientists may have found a
fifth force of nature
Could physics change forever?
—Researchers
at CERN break “The Speed of Light”
This could have saved Steve Jobs.
—Israeli
scientists find a way to treat pancreatic cancer in 14 days
Largest IPO ever for the company that supplies 10% of the
world’s oil
—Saudi
Aramco prices shares at top of the range in the world’s biggest
IPO
Not good.
—Oceans are
running out of Oxygen
If plants could talk… well it appears they can and we just don’t
understand their language.
—Recordings
reveal that plants make ultrasonic squeals when stressed
Blue Bottle going a bold green!
—Bring
your mug: Some Blue Bottles will no longer use plastic or paper
cups
This is extremely disturbing.
—I’m
a 37-Year-Old Mom & I Spent Seven Days Online as an 11-Year-Old
Girl. Here’s What I Learned.
What do you think? It seems to be missing a company or two,
especially one that rhymes with Gruber.
—The
12 Most Influential Startups of the Decade
For increasing use as a singular pronoun for those who
identify outside the gender binary…
—‘They’
is the 2019 Word of the Year
Listening
Aside from getting into the holiday spirit with my
favorite holiday playlist, I had a chance to listen
to Elnaz Sarraf talk about her startup ROYBI which was
just named one of TIME Magazine’s best inventions of 2019.
Watching
Last week, I got a chance to watch the annual lighting of the
Christmas Prelude tree in Kennebunkport, Maine. It was
snowing and chilly but nothing a little hot cocoa couldn’t help. If
you’re stuck inside and looking for a new holiday movie to watch
that fun for the whole family, you might want to give the new
Disney+ original Noelle a
try.
Gifting
‘Tis the season for holiday gifts – here are a handful of
gift ideas for all ages this holiday season. I hope
it helps you finish out your holiday shopping if you need
ideas. If you’re looking for more holiday gift ideas, you
might find our 2019 holiday
gift guide interesting.
1.) Star
Wars Instant Pot – It’s the classic instant pot pressure
cooker, now dressed up like a Star Wars character.
2.) Baby Yoda – If
you’ve been watching The Mandalorian on DisneyPlus then you know
what I’m talking about.
3.) Baby Shark –
Have a little one in your life? This might be a fun gift — if it
doesn’t drive you bonkers from that catchy song.
4.) Weighted
Blanket – They are all the rage this year. Sleep better
with a weighted blanket.
5.) Roku Streaming
Stick – Turn your TV into a smart TV even while
traveling.
6.) KeySmart Pro –
Organize those keys, add Tile so you don’t lose them and more.
7.) Kindle
Whitepaper – Everyone reads, and this makes it easy even
while in the pool as it’s waterproof.
8.) Travel Packing
Cubes – Stay organized while traveling.
9.) Smartwool
Socks – Who doesn’t like warm and dry feet?
10.) Yeti gear –
Mugs, tumblers, or ramblers could be great gifts – since just
about everyone drinks liquids.
I hope you have a happy holiday season!
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