Battle in the clouds. Have you tried sleep? Don't cut that cord.
Friends don’t let friends give into hype
Hi there,
In tech, it’s easy to do what the cool kids are doing.
Best practices and all that jazz. I talked about it in a presentation on our 68 screwups as a SaaS company. It was screwup #20.
This type of pseudo-science, best practice chasing happens in product, engineering, marketing, sales, HR — in every function.
Marek Kirejczyk breaks down the anatomy of hype in software development. Check it out in The Blurb below.
The cloud is strong with this one
While Amazon Web Services (AWS) is still the dominant player, businesses now have more cloud provider options — and they’re taking advantage.
This is what’s known as multi-cloud strategy, and it could benefit AWS competitors like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
Our new report dives into the rise of cloud computing, what the three major cloud providers offer, and emerging trends across the space. Check it out here.
Who you sleepin’ on?
More than one third of adults in the US don’t get enough sleep. Startups are capitalizing on the sleep deprivation trend with new products and distribution models.
Boston University endocrinologist Dr. Michael Holick is vitamin D’s biggest hype guy. He can take a lot of credit for creating the billion-dollar vitamin D industry, according to Kaiser Health News.
But what all of those people biting their porous nails and freaking out about the “vitamin D deficiency pandemic” don’t know is that Dr. Holick’s pockets are being filled with sunshine, according to the investigative piece you’ll see in The Blurb.
Rumor has it
There have been a lot of Amazon rumors flying around this week, so we rounded up a few in today’s client note.
Clients can read the hot goss here, including whether Amazon’s buying a theater, killing TiVo, and more.
Cords are back
Google wants to revamp your appliances with touch-enabled cords. Its recently granted patent describes a mechanism that would allow users to control their devices with touch patterns on a cord instead of buttons.
Not only could this replace hardware, it could provide an alternative to voice control and shake up user authentication methods. We take a closer look here.
I’ll manage on my own
Bureaucracy tends to drag down productivity, resilience, and innovation — and according to Harvard Business Review, it’s also pretty expensive.
Excess management is costing the US $3T+, or roughly 17% of GDP. Upping the ratio of employees to managers could lower that cost by freeing up people for work that’s more creative and effective.
Are you challenging me?
Challenger banks are very “in” right now — six of them have raised financing this year, and Monzo is reportedly raising at a $1.5B valuation. (Clients can read more about this in today’s client note.)
Approximately one-third of all food is wasted every year, contributing to 8% of greenhouse gas emissions and costing the US grocery space $18B annually.
Extending the shelf life of produce could help reduce waste and cost. We take a look at startups developing oxygen-monitoring sensors, plant-based preservative formulas, and more. Clients can check them out here.
Get it done and make it succeed
We followed the launch of Fidelity Labs’ Student Debt Program to learn how they get pilot projects to market and make them succeed.
We’ll share what we learned and dig in deeper with Fidelity Labs founder Sean Belka at the CB Insights Councils meeting in NYC on September 5-6.
Councils are for executives SVP and up from companies with $1B or more in revenue. Want to join? Apply here.
The Industry Standard
CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.
Rumor has it
#shelflyfe
