Of Note This Week - February 4th 2022 Edition

DiscussionOf Note This Week
Written By Felix Tin

Jiffyondemand - Solving Pain Points

So it’s been a cold winter, and my fireplace has not been functioning well for a while. I was dragging my feet because I wasn’t sure how to get it fixed. I didn’t want to go through the process of looking for a reputable technician to come by and fix it. Also wasn’t sure how much something like that might cost.

In the end I decided to go with Jiffyondemand. They did a great job tackling my pain points of pre-filtering technicians, scheduling an appointment, making it easy for me to connect with them via the webchat very quickly, and giving me an idea of the cost. I finally have a working fireplace!

Values First at Holstee

I’m a big fan of the Holstee manifesto. It’s an inspiring collection of words that I’ve been going back to many times over the years. Also inspiring that the founders of this company came together to define success before they built their company.

Another company that is inspiring is United by Blue. You’ve probably seen their beautifully designed camp cups in your local outdoor store, and that’s certainly what I’ve known them for. But when I stumbled onto their website they’ve expanded into all sorts of amazingly designed outdoor gear with a focus on sustainability. They are a certified B Corp and utilize ethical manufacturing and sustainable materials. Check them out!

NFT Marketplaces: OpenSea vs LooksRare

Following up on last week’s mention of NFTs, OpenSea is currently the king of NFT marketplaces where creators can easily mint new NFTs and owners can swap and buy them easily. But behold, LooksRare is nipping on its heels. And from what I’ve read, LookRare is embracing the values of DeFi with community and user rewards and decentralization vs OpenSea’s centralized ownership model. Looks like it’ll be an interesting battle!

Here’s a starter article: https://en.ethereumworldnews.com/looksrare-vs-opensea-the-battle-of-the-nft-marketplace/

Thinking Slow vs Impatient Capitalism

I started thinking about a theme that kept coming up as I was listening to Rich Roll’s interview with Jacqueline Novogratz: slow vs fast. A lot of our deep societal problems seem to stem from the value our businesses place on speed — for example this unchecked growth and focus on quick turnaround solutions and short term thinking has led to massive inequality and environmental challenges. So what if we try to slow it down?

Novogratz mentioned how her Acumen Fund engages in Patient Capital investing which recognizes the long time horizons it takes to solve some of the world’s hairiest problems and creates the space for those solutions to take root and have a chance of success.

You probably know of Eric Ries and his work in advancing The Lean Startup. Well almost 10 years ago Ries formed the Long Term Stock Exchange which is focused on a portfolio of companies that are interested in long term growth through generations of innovation.

This theme also reminded me that the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman has been on my reading list forever. Maybe it’s time to slow down and pick it up!

Felix Tin
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Inspiring People: Jacqueline Novogratz of Acumen Fund
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