Here’s a list of stuff that had my attention this past week. Maybe you’ll enjoy it as well. Check it out:
- Pete Buttigieg on Pod Save America: For those of you not following my Twitter, you may not know that Mayor Pete is someone I’m paying close attention to in the Democratic primary. I don’t agree with all of his policies, in fact I’m to the right of most of his platform items, but if you know me at all, you may know I don’t vote based on policy or party lines. I look for leadership capabilities, summarized in the three I’s: intuition, intelligence, integrity. At a glance, Mayor Pete has them in spades. Will be interesting to see how he rises in the national conversation. So far, strategically, he’s making the right moves: seeing him a lot more in the press and he’s been touring the battleground states of NH and IA, along with the more populated states like CA and NY. Take a look at the video above (a recording of a podcast interview) for a good look at how he thinks.
- Aligning Business Models to Market: What a great read about not just the hospitality/commerce industry, but a look at the dynamics of looking at your business model as an extension of the market you’re in, even down to resources that are available to you. One of the most interesting things is seeing the “farm system” analogy extended to hospitality, as it’s one that I’ve utilized in my technology career (and even written about before!).
- Maggie Rogers & Florence Welch on “Light On”: Are you kidding? These two women on stage together is incredible. Miranda and I had the pleasure of seeing Florence in the flesh at Barclay Center a while back, and I look forward to seeing Maggie as well. What a couple of phenomenal voices, and performers.
- Pearls of Elixir: For the nerds following this blog, I’m an Elixir-fanatic. This is a pretty interesting look at some snippets from the more popular packages in the space, where the author zeroes in on some educational patterns utilized. I learned a couple of nifty tricks; maybe you will as well.
- Bryce to Philly: I’m a Nats fan. And an Eagles fan. I think I’m OK with this, but not quite sure yet.
- Revolut’s Destructive Culture: People act like cultures like this are abnormal and anomalies (see: Uber, etc.), but the reality is that it’s almost standard in the industry. While I fortunately haven’t been in environments quite like those reported on, personal and family health is rarely at the top of anyone’s list in Silicon Valley. It’s nothing new, and really isn’t new even with the technology industry or American capitalism. As long as market advantages are to be had, there will be work cultures like this.
- Plastic Gets Costlier: This report from the WSJ is both sad and very intriguing. I recently had a conversation with a restauranteur who only accepted AmEx because of the fees that Visa and Mastercard were already charging. Will be very interesting to see how the economy (and small business owners in particular) react to this increase in fees. What an interesting time to be working on payments! Hint, hint.
- How NYC Became a Tech Town: When I first moved to NYC, I got a lot of questions about how the NYC tech scene compared to SF and the Valley. My response was always that technology was the first space in which NYC had really been an underdog, but that I saw the NYC tech space catching up in 5 years. Seems like it took half that time.