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Meet the New Club. Not the Same as the Old Club

Meet the New Club. Not the Same as the Old Club

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It isn’t often that a newco launches that fairly quickly captures unicorn-level attention the way that Clubhouse has. The audio-only social network, which has amassed 2M+ users and $100M in funding in just under a year after launch, seems to have raised the bar by lowering the barrier to participation, meaning, that in most rooms, anyone can raise their hand and, in most cases (depending on the moderator), participate in the discussion. It’s still in beta, so it’s currently iPhone only and invitation only: patience.

“If you could plug into a live conversation about a topic, you’re passionate about, on demand, anywhere in the world, and have an opportunity to not only listen to some of the smartest people on the subject, but also participate with them, would you?” asked Brian Solis in Forbes (The Latest Silicon Valley Unicorn, Clubhouse Raises $100 Million And Also Raises Attention To The Importance Of Audio-Based Social Networking). “…it represents an unquenchable thirst for meaningful community and engagement, especially in light of the chaos and devastation that played out in the forms of disinformation, political theater, and divisiveness across other social networks.” Read More...

Don’t Look Now, But Did a Bubble Just Burst?

Don’t Look Now, But Did a Bubble Just Burst?

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If you’re starting a tech company and are in search of outside investment, your chances of raising that funding will rise exponentially if you’re potentially a unicorn. But there is something that you need to understand: that tech is driven as much by hype and press as it is by investment dollars. It’s the tech industry that produces the rock stars of today – and some of that spotlight has reflected back onto the industry’s now high-profile investors. But careful there: if you’re wondering why Adam Neumann’s name is still in the headlines, albeit via Monday morning quarterbacking and as a cautionary tale, his outsized ego is a wakeup call to the media’s – and some investors’ – sometimes priorities: their exaltation of the cult of personality, their acquiescence to the notion that it’s acceptable for a single individual to have enormous control over a company or vertical, and the idea that investment dollars trump common sense, even when the math doesn’t quite add up. Cases in point: Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos), Adam Neumann and yes, even Mark Zuckerberg qua his foray into the financial world with Libra.

First, if you’re going to hang your hat on the Cult of Personality, good idea to take a bold stance at some point – and aim for a hot button. In the We Company’s case, we will remind you that not too long ago, We advocated reimbursing employees’ meals at events only if they were meatless, in the name of corporate responsibility, of course. ““New research indicates that avoiding meat is one of the biggest things an individual can do to reduce their personal environmental impact,” (We co-founder Miguel) McKelvey told employees. WeWork estimates the ban will save 445 million pounds of CO2 emissions, 16.7 billion gallons of water, and 15 million animals by 2023,” Bloomberg reported and never mind that Neumann’s contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions imperative was to travel on a company-owned Gulfstream – a fact that somehow never made it into that reporting. Read More...