Mar 26, 2020
This episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber talks with John Guidos about the current state of affairs with the recent Coronavirus pandemic. The guys also chat about how to stay positive during times of isolation and suggest to listeners that sometimes it is best to remember to breathe. The discussion was loosely based on the latest newsletter which is shared below.
March has come in like a lion. I don’t think anyone expected to see what’s happened in the last few weeks across the globe with the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s been a surreal, unprecedented experience (at least in my time on Earth). While the information is coming in hotter than a Las Vegas summer day, it’s hard not to keep your eyes off of it. That’s why it’s important to take a step back and remember to breathe (while keeping an adequate social distance, of course). That said, if you’re able to, I hope you can work from home for the next couple of weeks. Why? It’s the responsible thing to do. The quick of it is, there are not enough hospital beds to handle the worst-case scenario that this virus can bring. So the best thing to do is to slow the burn and in doing so allow our health professionals a chance to help those that get sick. There’s a great article by Vox that explains the importance of flattening the curve and we can learn a lot about how Tawain has handled the virus in their country. Ok, be safe out there, and please social distance. And as Fred Roger’s would have said in hard situations like this, “always look for the helpers.” Speaking of helpers, a bunch of entrepreneurs & techies worked 24×7 to turn volunteering app VOMO into something everyone & every org can use for free to help out during COVID-19 as it’s more important than ever to be a good neighbor.
ICYMI
This past week we hosted our first virtual pitch competition to
replace our SXSW event which was supposed to take place on March
14th. You can tune into the event
where 14 startups pitched 28 judges for a chance at Startup of the
Year glory, prizes, and a potential $10K investment. You can
view the
full virtual event here.
Celebrating (People In My Network)
—Sean Percival on his upcoming book (now taking pre-orders)
shipping in a month titled, The Accelerator Survival Guide: How to
lead, design and execute great programs.
—Brittany Heyd for her work in Hawaii which got her recently
recognized by Hawaii
Business.
—Rohit Bhargava has a new WSJ Bestseller book titled, Non-Obvious Mega Trends.
Free
Thanks to our
partnership with the .US domain, you can go and secure a
domain for free for your next business idea or startup (this is the
perfect time for those new projects!). Just go to this link to sign up for your free .US
domain and get started building something cool.
Reading
Lasers.
—Lasers
could cut the lifespan of nuclear waste from “a million years to 30
minutes,” says Nobel laureate
Open layouts in offices are now swinging the other way.
—A
Quiet Respite in a Bustling Open Workplace
It’s not just you, Apple has been slowing you down.
—Apple
fined for slowing down old iPhones
Here’s a fail-fast approach to hiring.
—The
Body Shop will start hiring the first person who applies for any
retail job
Recycling is broken.
—The
fraught future of recycling
Vitamin D is critical and often overlooked.
—Are
you getting enough Vitamin D?
Scary – autonomous vehicles can be hacked!
—Hackers
stuck a 2-inch strip of tape on a 35-mph speed sign and
successfully tricked 2 Teslas into accelerating to 85 mph
Lobster Blood?
—Lobster
blood could be used in new cancer drugs
This could be groundbreaking!
—This
edible blob filled with water means you don’t need a plastic
bottle
Maine is fast-tracking this new way of creating immunity to Lymes
Disease a tick-borne illness
—Researchers
move forward with a shot against Lyme
A new model for selling coffee and tea.
—Panera
debuts $9/month unlimited coffee and tea subscription
Finally, there appears to be a cure for HIV.
—Two
HIV patients cured
Watching
I had the pleasure of watching the film, Jane. It’s a documentary made from
the lost footage of Jane Goodall’s first missions to watch,
document, and learn about chimpanzees. She is an amazing
human. I loved it and hope you do too. It’s also a great break
from the current news.
Listening
On one of my latest podcast episodes, I catch up with Lakshmi
Shenoy, the CEO of Embarc
Collective, the unique innovation hub rooting itself in
Tampa Bay. I love Tampa, so I’m really excited about what’s
happening down there backed by Jeff Vinik, the Tampa Bay Lightning
hockey team owner. Listen to it on Apple
Podcasts or Google
Podcasts.
Testing
With remote work, a hot topic, and with our virtual event coming up
this week here’s the webcam that I’ve been testing to make
remote work better. Logitech
C922 Pro HD Stream Webcam which offers
1080p quality video a low-to-medium price point. Sure,
there are better Logitech cameras out there but this one should do
most of what you need unless you’re looking for 4K quality or
other specific bells and whistles.
Selling
If you or anyone you know might be interested in living in
downtown Las Vegas (DTLV), we have a great
loft downtown for sale. We love DTLV and this place is
right in the heart of it. We have many fond memories from both
work and life but now with a little one, we have outgrown it
and headed east for the foreseeable future.
Playing
I’ve been playing a game that John Guidos shared with me called the
Houseparty app. It’s a
way to social distance but connect with friends and family and play
games together. Give a try and let me know what you think about
it.
Finally, it’s a stressful time, so be good to be one another, and remember to breathe.
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