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There are four possible ways in which we can combine our reactions when we observe another person’s happiness or unhappiness: we can feel pleasure at another’s unhappiness (schadenfreude), displeasure at another’s unhappiness (compassion), displeasure at another’s happiness (envy), or pleasure at their happiness (mudita). Schadenfreude is a word borrowed from German, composed by (“damage/harm”) and (“joy”). Thus, schadenfreude means tingling or even waves of pleasure noticing another’s misfortunes. The critical difference between schadenfreude and sadism is that sadism gives pleasure by inflicting pain. In contrast, schadenfreude is observing somebody else suffering and considering that perhaps the other deserved the punishment. Schaden Freude In the misfortune of our best friends, we always ﬁnd something which is not displeasing to us. François Duc de la Rochefoucauld Sure, we put on our best sad face when our infuriatingly attractive friend gets dumped. But behind the commiserations, there’s just a little pulse of excitement, making our eyes gleam and the corners of our mouths twitch. Admitting that they too could occasionally feel a stab of pleasure on hearing of other people’s suffering, the Greeks called it epichairekakia (literally, rejoicing over evil), and the Romans, malevolentia, giving our own word malevolence. Tiffany Watt Smith – The Book of Human Emotions Perhaps schadenfreude wears masks of relief when we hear that somebody was made redundant: “Phew, it didn’t happen to me!” And there are shades of delight bordering envy or resentment when somebody with the aura of success experiences failure. When a thriving colleague finally bites the dust, we feel, perhaps incorrectly, that their loss will soon become our win. Or consider the scandals of celebrities or all the gossipy drama about superstars with wrinkles, cellulite, and grey hair. How the mighty have fallen! For once, we, the laypeople, feel superior watching the tribulations of the rich and famous. Few of us care to admit it, but we get a kick out of hearing about other people’s bad decisions and errant spouses and ungrateful children. It reminds us that it’s not only our own hopes that get dashed. Everybody else’s do too. Tiffany Watt Smith – The Book of Human Emotions But schadenfreude is also a highly charged moral feeling. We get a thrill of justice when we see something terrible happening to immoral people. It gives reassurance that everything will be right with the world. Because when anger eats your throat and pain stabs your eyes, somebody must pay. And that payment brings relief when villains get their fairy-tale-like punishment. When somebody else goes through misfortune, we can feel compassion instead of schadenfreude. And when I finally run into S [a hypothetical person that causes us trouble], and he tells me how scared he’s been of telling anyone he’s HIV positive, all the resentment vanishes, and his grief and terror become mine too. For as long as these fragile moments last, I inhabit a world where all living things are united by their yearning to survive and be unharmed. I recognize the anguish of others not as theirs but as ours. Stephen Batchelor – Buddhism without Beliefs From the Latin (with) and (to suffer), compassion endures the pains of others. We discover our relatedness with others between our pains, memories, flaws, and vulnerabilities. Despite our cultural, social, or personal differences, we learn that we speak the same language of suffering and care. com patior But sometimes, as much as we want to help and be compassionate towards others, we keep away, overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for another’s burden. What words should we choose? How should we express our desire to help? According to Mandy Reichwald, a former nurse who for most of her working life has helped care for terminally ill patients and their families, true compassion is about supporting and sustaining people so they can find their own strength. She cautions against the instinct to rush in, to throw your arms around a person to comfort them, as this takes away someone’s ability to gather themselves for the situation ahead. Listen. Be interested. Be still. Guard against your own eyes welling up. ‘It’s not about you, it’s about them.’ If you do feel overcome, be honest. She suggests that saying ‘I feel really shocked by what you’ve just said, I need to take a minute’ or ‘that’s so sad’ can have a surprising effect […] Even ringing someone up and admitting, ‘I just don’t know what to say, but I wanted to see how things are,’ is better than avoiding them altogether. It’s not selfish to take care of our own interest first; in fact, this is the measure of true and mature compassion. Because if you become overwhelmed by other people’s problems, you won’t – or won’t be able to – help. For Reichwald, it’s those emergency instructions on an aeroplane which ring in her ears like an alarm when she’s feeling a little frayed: ‘You must put on your own oxygen mask before helping other people with theirs.’ Tiffany Watt Smith – The Book of Human Emotions “What is wrong with doctors [feel free to replace with family, friends, neighbours, people, etc.]? Why don’t they understand the importance of sheer presence?” she asked me. “Why can’t they realize that the very moment they have nothing else to offer is the moment they are most needed?” Irvin D. Yalom – Momma and the Meaning of Life “What do you wish people would say?” I ask. Julie [a woman with terminal cancer] thinks about this. “They can say, ‘I’m so sorry.’ They can say, ‘How can I be helpful?’ Or ‘I feel so helpless, but I care about you.’” “One person blurted out, ‘I have no idea how to say the right thing here,’ and I was so relieved! I told her that before I got sick, I wouldn’t have known what to say either. Lori Gottlieb – Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Following the cycle of emotions, we reach envy. Etymologically, envy derives from Latin (envious), which in turn, comes from (upon) and (to see). What better way to describe envy than its original roots, where it is associated with looking? Perhaps, more than ever, we are caught in a trance of comparing ourselves to the seemingly little perfect lives of others, falling prey to layers upon layers of deception, wanting their possessions, their advantages, forgetting we live and believe in the smoke and mirrors magic tricks of social media. invidus in videre Envy? Oh yes. Wanton. Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little. Novelist and essayist Wilfrid Sheed Sometimes, it is not enough that we might have a good life or possessions of our own. Like the Irish epic tells us, a war was started because of envy. , Queen Medb and her husband Ailill decided to compare their wealth. Gold, gorgeous clothes, flock, Medb and Ailill matched their possessions and found them equal. Until a bull was brought over to Ailill, and what follows is perhaps, one of the most eloquent descriptions of envy: the Táin Bó Cúailnge According to the story Medb had no equal to this bull, and her spirit fell as if she hadn’t a penny as she realised that Ailill had the better of her. And then, we have jealousy. Whereas envy describes the feeling of something we want but do not have, jealousy describes the feeling of something we have but are afraid of losing. Again, we find the metaphor best suited for jealousy within the etymological strata. Derived from the French , which comes from Low Latin (full of zeal), which finally brings us to the root of the Greek word (zēlos), connoting, among other meanings, “to boil, ferment” or “yeast”. Jealousy is a fermenting threat of losing control when somebody dares to touch something that is ours and only ours. jalousie zelosus ζήλος If envy is mostly linear (me versus you), Tiffany Watt Smith remarks that jealousy is triangular: me (the victim), you (the traitor), and the other (the thief). A classic example where these notions of envy and jealousy are misinterpreted is the following clip from , where Rachel and Phoebe are so happy and perhaps 10% jealous (but envious, really) of Monica and Chandler’s engagement. Friends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir6vIaCdVJU Coming full circle, after discussing schadenfreude, compassion and envy, we arrive at mudita. A word from Sanskrit and Pali, mudita means the sympathetic joy of watching another’s well-being and achievements. According to Buddhist teachings, joy is not a scarce resource reserved only for a select group. Instead, feeling mudita is evidence that someone’s else good fortunes don’t decrease our reserves of joy but increase them. Mudita does not have any nuances of pride (for example, the pride of a parent observing their child’s successes and accomplishments), as when we experience mudita, we don’t have any benefits or other self-interest services from the achievements of others. A parent being happy for a friend of their child doing well, and perhaps that friend even defeated the parent’s child in the process, is mudita. Sharon [Salzberg, author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practices] happened to give a very timely talk on the subject of mudita, the Buddhist term for sympathetic joy. She admitted that sometimes her first instinct when trying to summon this feeling was, “Ew, I wish you didn’t have so much going for you.” The meditation hall erupted in laughter. Sharon said the biggest obstacle to mudita is a subconscious illusion, that whatever success the other person has achieved was actually somehow really meant for us. “It’s almost like, it was heading right for me,” she said, “and you just reached out and grabbed it.” More laughter, as everyone in the room enjoyed one of the most satisfying of all dharma delicacies: an accurate diagnosis of our inner lunacy. Dan Harris – 10% happier Children at play go through all the phases of schadenfreude, compassion, envy, or mudita in less than a few minutes: “Haha, you will fall! Oh no, you really did fall. Does it hurt? Why is your toy shinier than mine? Yey, you did it!” And it is the same with adults. We can show mudita to some but schadenfreude to others. As seasons float, we discover that our schadenfreude from the past becomes mudita. Or vice versa. Who am I to judge? Feelings come and go. Equilibrium and inner peace are quite challenging to attain regularly, even for those who practice different schools of thought (mindfulness, Stoicism, etc.). Accepting that we shouldn’t chase mudita or compassion and that envy or schadenfreude will come our way is yet another fact from the unfolding of our days. Also published . here

Four Possible Ways to React to Other People's Happiness or Misery

Cuatro formas posibles de reaccionar ante la felicidad o la miseria de otras personas

Quatre façons possibles de réagir au bonheur ou à la misère des autres

अन्य लोगों के सुख या दुख पर प्रतिक्रिया करने के चार संभावित तरीके

他人の幸せや不幸に反応する4つの方法

Quatro maneiras possíveis de reagir à felicidade ou miséria de outras pessoas

Bốn cách có thể để phản ứng với hạnh phúc hoặc đau khổ của người khác

对他人的幸福或痛苦做出反应的四种可能方式

Gone are the days of turning a blind eye. More than ever, company executives, officers, and leaders are being held accountable for their actions. Plus, a CEO in hot water means the company faces repercussions too. A leader’s reputation is often linked to the company’s values — or even the bottom line. Whether it’s entanglements of scandal and sexual harassment or employees speaking out against unfair treatment, actions (and words) speak volumes. Besides, consumers can see right through the so-called public image. Movements, such as #MeToo and Time’s Up, are helping to shift and combat power imbalances of company higher-ups. In 2019 alone, resigned or stepped down, with tech being one of the highest sectors. 1,640 CEOs Although a typical CEO remains in the role for about , legal issues pose major threats to these positions and, ultimately, company or shareholder value. seven years Below, we dive into major CEO or company lawsuit examples that any leader can learn a lesson from. 1. Sell truthfully. Juul, the popular e-cigarette company, has faced major heat since its inception. Not only was there a vaping crisis where Congress and the Federal Drug Administration stepped in, but Juul was under pressure for allegedly . marketing to young teens Former Juul executive, Siddharth Breja, claims he was fired in retaliation for raising concerns that Juul allegedly sold contaminated mint-flavored pods and refused to recall them. Amidst the “culture of intimidation” claims and rising scrutiny around the vaping industry, CEO Kevin Burns eventually stepped down from his role. 2. Be careful what you Tweet about. Elon Musk, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tesla, is known to take to Twitter to share eccentric updates, responses, or funny memes. Musk, however, faced a lawsuit from the Securities Exchange Commission after he tweeted that he was considering taking the company private. The Tweet surprised investors, analysts, and Tesla’s board of directors and because of it, Musk was sued for sharing false or misleading statements. Musk backtracked on the statement and settled with the Securities Exchange Commission by agreeing to pay a $20 million fine. Soon after, he as chairman of the company’s board. stepped down 3. Abide by company policies. Steve Easterbrook, the ex-CEO of McDonald’s, was sued by the company for violating its personal conduct policies. After investigations, the fast-food giant reported that Easterbrook allegedly had relationships with three employees (one of which he granted stock options to). The lawsuit also indicates that Easterbrook lied about the relationships and attempted to erase any evidence that they occurred. Today, leaders face repercussions for not just acting inappropriately, but also for failing to be transparent and honest. 4. Cultivate a positive, uplifting work environment. Away is a direct-to-consumer luggage brand known for its suitcases and bags “built for modern travel.” However, the female-founded company that hoped to cultivate a vision of inclusive travel was actually in internal turmoil. Steph Korey, the former co-CEO, after former employees spoke up and released Slack messages that The Verge then published in an article. The messages gave a glimpse into the toxic company culture and management style. Shortly after resigning and issuing an apology, Korey claimed that she made a mistake in leaving and returned to her role. stepped down Korey took to Instagram to publish stories criticizing how the media portrays female founders (saying females are targeted since stories about them get more “clicks”), which upset Away employees and “reflected poorly on the company.” Following this backlash, a spokesperson reported that Korey will forfeit all CEO responsibilities by the end of 2020, and Stuart Haselden will take over as the sole CEO. 5. Stay true to your company’s core values. The Wing is a female-focused co-working space with offices in major cities such as NYC, San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, and more. Co-Founder, Audrey Gelman, started The Wing with the goal of it being a “utopia” for women. However, despite this goal and with its women-only policy came backlash. In 2018, The Wing faced a alleging its “illegal discrimination against men.” This wasn’t the last of the issues for the co-working collaborative. Amidst employee reports that the company fails to “practice the intersectional feminism that it preaches,” specifically to women of color, Gelman resigned from her position. $12 million lawsuit Following the announcement, employees felt the resignation wasn’t enough. They issued a statement and petition outlining their demands and staged a in solidarity with their colleagues. digital walkout 6. Be transparent about decisions. Aramark Corporation, the food, facility, and uniform services provider, faced employee lawsuits when the company failed to pay out performance-based bonuses for many of its managers. The managers raised concerns that they weren’t aware of the change, some of which lost up to 20% of their expected annual compensation. There was alleged controversy around Eric Foss, the former CEO, and his abrupt departure from the company shortly after the lawsuit was filed. Aramark eventually agreed to settle the lawsuit for and the settlement is expected to benefit over 4,000 current and former employees. $21 million 7. Honor employee rights. The former SoulCycle CEO, Melanie Whelan, faced legal complaints accusing her of making offensive comments to a senior VP about paternity leave. A former executive with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing SoulCycle of . She claimed she was demoted after disclosing that she was pregnant and then fired 32 days after giving birth. issued a complaint pregnancy discrimination A spokesperson from the spin-focused studio chain responded that the company “strongly disagrees with the accusations.” Whelan eventually stepped down as CEO due to a reported decline in memberships. 8. Always do your due diligence. Care.com is an online resource that helps families find and manage caregiving services. An investigative piece by found instances where caregivers listed on Care.com had police records and were accused of committing crimes while caring for people. The Wall Street Journal While there was no official lawsuit, Care.com responded by removing tens of thousands of unverified providers, implementing new security policies, and releasing a clarifying statement that it did not verify the information for each center. Although Sheila Lirio Marcelo did not state these reports were the reason, the former CEO soon after stepped down and will shift to a new position as an executive chairwoman. 9. Follow through on payment policies. Instacart, the grocery delivery app, faced a class-action lawsuit over employee wages and tips. Drivers and shoppers spoke out against Instacart’s practices, alleging that the company “intentionally and maliciously misappropriated gratuities in order to pay plaintiff’s wages even though Instacart maintained that 100 percent of customer tips went directly to shoppers.” Instacart has faced an employment case in the past too, settling for in 2017. $4.6 million Instacart CEO, Apoorva Mehta, immediately released a blog post of the company’s actions in response to employee frustrations. The post guarantees higher base compensation for shoppers and that they will no longer include tips in the base pay. 10. Speak up for what’s right. Silicon Valley has long been known for the and the gender bias that comes with it. Pinterest is now a part of the list, facing a from the former COO Francoise Brougher, accusing the social giant of gender discrimination and retaliation. Brougher alleges that she refused to “ ,” and because of it was left out of important company decisions. Brougher, who worked as COO for two years, reports she was wrongfully terminated in April 2020 for objecting and speaking out against the treatment. tech gender gap lawsuit take a back seat to her male peers “Pinterest’s female executives, even at the highest levels, are marginalized, excluded, and silenced,” Brougher said in a . “According to Pinterest, I was fired not for the results I achieved, but for not being ‘collaborative.’ I believe that I was fired for speaking out about the rampant discrimination, hostile work environment, and misogyny that permeates Pinterest.” statement published on Medium 11. Be proactive in diversity and inclusion. increasing Among other major company lawsuits (such as Facebook) that were filed against directors or boards for diversity or race-related issues, Qualcomm also faced a . A shareholder filed against the company’s board alleging that the company’s directors violated their duties to the company and shareholders by falling short of stated objectives on diversity and inclusion. derivative lawsuit The complaint also alleges they have failed to include a single African American either on the board or among the company’s senior officers, despite the company’s efforts to increase diversity. In today’s world, it’s not just the duty of company leaders to improve their companies, but they are being held accountable to live up to promises. Whether you run a public company or are launching your new startup, secure to help protect your company leaders and business in the event of a crisis or scandal. D&O insurance

11 Reasons Why CEOs Got Fired And Companies Got Sued in 2020

The Future of Marketplaces: Reinventing the $10 Trillion Service Economy

The top-earning writer on the paid newsletter platform Substack earns more than $500,000 a year from reader subscriptions. The top content creator on Podia, a platform for video courses and digital memberships, makes more than $100,000 a month. And teachers across the US are bringing in thousands of dollars a month teaching live, virtual classes on Outschool and Juni Learning. These stories are indicative of a larger trend: call it the “creator stack” or the Whereas previously, the biggest online labor marketplaces flattened the individuality of workers, new platforms allow anyone to monetize unique skills. Gig work isn’t going anywhere—but there are now more ways to capitalize on creativity. “enterprization of consumer.” Users can now build audiences at scale and turn their passions into livelihoods, whether that’s playing video games or producing video content. This has huge implications for entrepreneurship and what we’ll think of as a “job” in the future. The Evolution of The Passion Economy In the past decade, on-demand marketplaces in the established turnkey ways for people to make money. Workers could easily monetize their time in specific, narrow services like food delivery, parking, or transportation. “Uber for X” era These marketplaces automated the matching of supply and demand, as well as pricing, to enhance liquidity. The platforms were convenient for both the user and the provider: since they took care of traditional business hurdles like customer acquisition and pricing, they allowed the worker to focus solely on the service rendered. But though these platforms provided a path to self-employment for millions of people, they also homogenized the variety between service workers, prioritizing consistency and efficiency. While the promise was “Be your own boss,” the work was often one-dimensional. Monetizing Individuality New digital platforms enable people to earn a livelihood in a way that highlights their individuality. These platforms give providers greater ability to build customer relationships, increased support in growing their businesses, and better tools for differentiating themselves from the competition. In the process, they’re fueling a new model of internet-powered entrepreneurship. It’s akin to the dynamic between Amazon—the standardized, mass-produced monolith—and the indie-focused Shopify, which allows users to form direct relationships with customers. That shift is already evident in marketplaces for physical products; it’s now extending into services. These new platforms share a few commonalities: They’re accessible to everyone, not only existing businesses and professionals They view individuality as a feature, not a bug They focus on digital products and virtual services They provide holistic tools to grow and operate a business They open doors to new forms of work 1. They’re accessible to everyone, not only existing businesses and professionals New consumer products are making it easy for anyone to become an entrepreneur. In the mid-2010s, the rise of the influencer industry allowed top-tier creators to monetize through advertising. These platforms expanded to support a broader range of money-making activities, from manufacturing physical products (e.g. Vybes, Hipdot, Genflow) to creating personalized videos (Cameo, VIPVR, Celeb VM). Now the ability to make a living off creative skills has trickled down to individuals at scale, helping everyday people to launch and grow businesses. Previously, only established businesses could access software engineering talent to build websites or apps; now, no-code website and app builders like Webflow and Glide have democratized that ability. Startups are also building mobile-first, lightweight versions of incumbent desktop software: Kapwing, for instance, is a web and mobile editor for videos, GIFs, and images that aims to displace legacy creative software. Companies have the opportunity to engage entrepreneurs in the early stages, then capture economic value as they grow. They might start with a and add product capabilities as their customers earn revenue and develop new needs. very basic offering 2. They view individuality as a feature, not a bug Whereas previous services marketplaces were rigidly built for standardized jobs, new platforms highlight variation among workers in categories that can benefit from more diversity in user choice. Take Outschool, an online marketplace for live video classes in which teachers are predominantly former school teachers and stay-at-home parents. On the platform, instructors can develop their own curricula or browse lists of courses requested by users. Beyond the subject matter, the marketplace’s UI emphasizes each teacher’s background, experience, and self-description. Parents and students can message instructors directly. For new platforms, this model can pose a sizeable risk: once consumers are able to work directly with a preferred provider on an ongoing basis, they may take that relationship offline. Marketplaces can combat disintermediation by offering workflow tools, like scheduling and invoicing, and by building in additional incentives that make it worthwhile for providers and users to remain on-platform. A teacher profile on the online marketplace Outschool. Marketplaces that cultivate these direct relationships can also succeed by focusing on areas—like education and tutoring—in which consumers might have repeated matching needs with a variety of different providers over time. Whereas past generations of entrepreneurship-enabling platforms typically focused on selling physical products (e.g. Amazon, Etsy, Ebay, Shopify) or in-person services (e.g. Taskrabbit, Care.com, Uber), new creator platforms are focused on digital products. 3. They focus on digital products and virtual services A platform built specifically for packaging and selling digital products looks different than a platform that is built for tangible goods. Podia, Teachable, and Thinkific (at left) are all SaaS platforms that allow creators to make and sell video courses and digital memberships. Previously, these types of “knowledge influencers” had to either conduct classes in-person (restricting them to local customers); jerry-rig platforms meant for physical products, like Shopify; or customize sites like Wix and Squarespace. New platforms capitalize on the idea that expertise has economic value beyond a local, in-person audience. On the interior design marketplace Havenly, designers work remotely and interact with clients entirely online. For designers, the benefit is a steady stream of clients without the heavy lifting—since Havenly takes care of marketing—and the flexibility to work whenever, wherever. For clients, the benefit is access to a service that would otherwise be expensive or inaccessible. 4. They provide holistic tools to grow and operate a business Unlike discovery-focused marketplaces, which monetize through advertising, membership fees, or cost-per-lead, new platforms in the creator stack are often monetized through SaaS fees that increase as customers grow. Others take a percentage of the creator’s earnings. This means that platforms are incentivized to help creators succeed and grow, rather than driving discrete, one-time transactions. Some platforms offer marketing tools like custom landing pages, coupons, and affiliate programs. Others provide behind-the-scenes support: Walden, for instance, connects new entrepreneurs with coaches for strategy and accountability. Sometimes, support may be bundled into platforms that help providers start a business. For instance, Prenda—a managed marketplace of K-8 microschools—provides teachers (called Guides) with curricula, computers, software, supplies, and assistance in navigating the necessary regulatory requirements and insurance. 5. They open doors to new forms of work entirely New digital platforms enable forms of work we’ve never seen before: For a more extensive model of how human capital can give rise to new industries, look to China. On the microblogging site , for instance, users sell content such as Q&As, exclusive chat groups, and invite-only live streams through memberships or a la carte purchases. Weibo This has spawned a wave of non-traditional influencers—financial advisors, bloggers, and professors—beyond typical beauty and fashion tastemakers. Factors to consider: Marketplaces vs. SaaS When building a company in this space, it’s important to consider the needs of the creators you’re targeting, as well as their desired audience. There are tradeoffs between marketplaces and SaaS platforms. What’s the difference? Marketplaces are entirely plug and play, meaning providers can sign up and start earning revenue with minimal set-up. The strength of a marketplace’s two-sided network effect is directly correlated to the value it provides as an intermediary between supply and demand. One example of this model is Medium, which charges readers a subscription fee to access stories across the entire platform. The amount of money a writer makes is proportionate to the amount of time readers spend engaging with their stories. By contrast, SaaS platforms require creators to work independently to acquire customers. Such platforms might help with distribution—providing tools for marketing, managing customer relationships, and attribution—but users are largely responsible for growing their own businesses. On Substack, for example, features include a writer homepage, mailing list, payments, analytics, and a variety of different subscription offerings. Substack collects a portion of the creator’s subscription revenue. In the marketplace model, writers count on Medium to drive reader traffic and subscriptions. On the SaaS platform (Substack), writers drive their own direct traffic and subscriptions; they can export their subscriber list at any time. Marketplaces bring value for creators looking to be discovered and attract customers over time. SaaS tools often make sense for more established creators who already have a customer base. In response to this dynamic, many startups are building SaaS platforms that aim to poach large creators from existing marketplaces. Looking Ahead New integrated platforms empower entrepreneurs to monetize individuality and creativity. In the coming years, the passion economy will to continue to grow. We envision a future in which the value of unique skills and knowledge can be unlocked, augmented, and surfaced to consumers. If you’re building a company in this space, I’d love to chat! Originally published as “ The Passion Economy and the Future of Work “

The Passion Economy’s Worklife Balance

I believe the next era of marketplaces is going to look very different than the marketplaces we’ve seen so far. It used to be the case that marketplaces could add a ton of value just by aggregating any and all supply and demand. The onus was on the users to filter using the available information in the marketplace to choose what they wanted or needed. This model has worked well for a ton of product and service categories and marketplace companies. But now, there’s an increasing need for more “managed” marketplaces — platforms that take on more work, not less (e.g., interviewing and vetting suppliers, automatically setting prices, etc.) — to intermediate the delivery of the product or service. The managed marketplace model is critical to unlocking categories involving high-stakes or high price transactions (such as therapy, home buying, fine art, travel experiences), as well as those impacting users’ lives and health in other ways. In childcare, for instance, people don’t want to just see a list of all possible caregivers — they want to know with certainty that the providers they’re hiring are trustworthy and qualified. Last week’s WSJ piece on Care.com illustrated the tragic shortcomings of an unmanaged marketplace model: https://www.wsj.com/articles/care-com-puts-onus-on-families-to-check-caregivers-backgroundswith-sometimes-tragic-outcomes-11552088138 This week, the company announced it is overhauling its supplier onboarding process, including verifying licenses and credentials and checking criminal databases — adding a layer of management onto a previously open marketplace: Care.com Overhauls Vetting of Sitters, Listings Managed marketplaces are an important evolution in marketplaces. The low-hanging opportunities in marketplaces have been picked, and the next wave of startups are innovating on the underlying marketplace model to tackle more complex goods/services that have remained offline. . Because –people feel like they’re interacting with a high-quality, concierge-level service. In the future, marketplaces may not even feel like marketplaces to the end user they connect all the dots behind the scenes–and provide such a high level of standardization and quality Examples range from daycare (e.g. Wonderschool) to skincare (e.g. Heyday). On the surface, Heyday looks like a chain of facial shops — a physical retail and services business. But underneath, it’s building a personalized skincare platform, matching different women to the exact right products for their skin, driven by the company’s growing corpus of data on what ingredients have worked well for various skin types, sourced from their physical business. What are other interesting innovations in marketplaces? Interested in hearing more examples! Originally published as “ The next generation of marketplaces may not even look like marketplaces "

What Will the Next Era of Marketplaces Look Like?

Startup Metrics: 16 Ways to Measure Network Effects

The day after I came home from the hospital, I quickly realized that all the housework I had been doing until the day before I delivered was suddenly impossible. I could barely walk let alone stay awake! Photo by on Julie Johnson Unsplash Getting help at home during parental leave My mom who lives close by, took a couple days off from work to help out around my home. My grandma who lives with me took care of all the cooking. This gave my husband and me time to rest and take care of our little one. My husband and I had decided to take 3 months off for parental leave. During that time, various family members came to visit and help out. We were fortunate to have family that wanted to help and were willing to do it on our terms. I know it’s hard to set boundaries with family members, and so much of it is cultural. But it is was important for my sanity. With my own parents, I pushed them to let me know at least 48 hours in advance instead of dropping in anytime they felt like it. I also asked them to watch my little one for 2–4 hour blocks of time, so I could take a nap or just get out of the house. With my in-laws I kept my terms straightforward: come anytime after the first month, enjoy the baby, help out with household chores, and watch the baby, so I could get some rest. I was really thankful to have as much help during those months, because our little one was quite colicky and it was hard to soothe him and take care of ourselves and our home. I’ve also heard from some of my friends who didn’t have family close by or could take time off, ended up hiring nannies or postpartum doulas. Before my delivery, I kept hearing the following from close friends and family: “I struggled with bouts of the baby blues months after my delivery.” “My wife suffered from postpartum depression.” “It took me more than 2 years to heal my body.” “I had to go back to work 6 weeks after my baby was born and I was still exhausted.” Instead of thinking that things would be different for me, I faced reality and decided that I wasn’t special. I needed help to heal I’ll admit it felt great to get back to working out 5 weeks postpartum. Having that time to getaway and decompress worked wonders. It also felt great to not have to worry about making dinner, taking out the trash, cleaning the house, and so on. For once in my life, I gave myself permission to sit on my butt. There were a few times I’d get worked up, and was fortunate to have a partner remind me to relax. As parental leave came to an end, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be returning to part-time or full-time work, but I knew I’d need help nonetheless. How I found a childcare provider that met my needs My husband I figured we’d start with a part-time nanny and then ramp up. We chose this over daycare because we preferred having someone come to our home. It would give us a chance to take breaks throughout our workday to see our little one. And we were fortunate to be able to afford this option. Photo by on Jordan Whitt Unsplash We did a lot of due diligence as we reviewed nannies I checked out a few different care providers including Care.com, Bambino, and SitterCity. SitterCity seemed to provide the most straightforward experience. For about $100, I could post the type of care provider I was looking for and I’d receive responses for people who met the criteria. I likened it to recruiting for my business. We immediately received a handful of people who were interested. We interviewed a few either in-person or on the phone. There were two that we liked in particular based on their experience, demeanor, availability, and of course price point. We did reference calls on both as well as a background check. One of them was farther away then we would have liked. We were concerned about rush hour traffic and being flexible enough to get to us at a moment’s notice if needed or stay later if we needed the help. With the remaining care provider, we decided to do a test run. We had them come and take care of our little one for half a day. Unfortunately, the day before our first test run, they called to tell us they had accepted an offer for a full time job elsewhere. We were disappointed but they were considerate enough to recommend someone else to help. So we went through the test run with the care provider they recommended, who turned out to fantastic! Photo by on Laura Lee Moreau Unsplash Parents talk a lot about turnover and absenteeism with childcare providers It’s hard to have guaranteed childcare. Daycares won’t take a sick kid, have long waitlists, and a lot of nannies burn out. While it’s hard to guard against sickness and emergencies, I wanted to make sure that our childcare provider was aligned with us. To that end, we setup an LLC to provide all the benefits a business would pay its employees. Hence, we pay our nanny the hourly rate requested, provide paid vacation time, and pay into other benefits such as health insurance and unemployment. Yes it’s an upfront expense, but I think of it as an investment. An investment in my little one, and my ability to continue to have the freedom to run my company. I eased back into work by working part-time, about 3 days a week. I spent the first two weeks at home training our care provider. Since our little one had colic we figured it would be challenging for anyone who was getting to know him. During those two weeks, I was able to suss out our care provider’s experience level and see how coachable they were. And again, we were pretty fortunate to have found the right fit. After the first month of work, even with all the help at home, I was exhausted. Though I was only working 3 days a week, I had a 2 day commute, and I was spending 4 days caring for my little one. I didn’t have a lot of down time for myself. I decided to add 2 half days to our childcare schedule, and it has helped tremendously. I work 4 days a week and have a little extra time during the week to either work, workout, run some errands, or just relax. Taking time for myself Because I love my baby I always want to be with him if I’m not working. It took me awhile to realize that this can be exhausting. So once a month, I get a whole day to myself. I like to call this mommy’s day off (hat tip to Ferris Bueller). On this day, my todo list is no longer than 3 items and those are usually activities like reading, yoga or getting a massage. I’m fortunate to have a partner who supports mommy’s day off! Gone are the days of my 60-day Bikram Yoga challenges, but I do my best to squeeze in 3–4 workouts a week. 2 days of strength training and 2 days of cardio or just a long hike or walk. Aside from working out, I’ve become a pretty voracious reader. . Reading helps me relax, stay current, and can be squeezed in-between or during other activities like commuting, pumping, and when my little one naps. You can check out my GoodReads account here All other hobbies got put on the back burner. So that’s my new life at home, and I gotta say I love it! I don’t feel like anything is really missing. I’m very fortunate to not feel overwhelmed because I have a lot of help at home thanks to my partner, my family, and our nanny. Seeing the struggles my parents went through, I always aspired to be a calm and patient mom. Running my own business has given me the freedom to be that so far. And I’m sure in a few years, my little one will be curious to get out and explore more of the world, and I’ll be happy to tag along with him! Got questions for me? Feel free to let me know in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to answer them! And if you’d like to receive additional posts like this one. subscribe to my weekly newsletter here Enjoyed this post and want more? Help others enjoy it too by hitting the 👏🏽 ! Check out these additional resources on managing parenthood and your career: Breastfeeding maybe best, but boy does it put new moms to the test! The Privileges Of Parental Leave How To Pause For Parenthood Without Killing Your Career How To Change Careers Later In Life And Transition Into A Technical Role Startups And Mom’s Can Mix Pregnancy and startups I’m CEO of an early stage SaaS startup and I’m about to have a baby. This is what I’m doing for maternity leave.

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