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We'll be building a blog site with the Angular framework, Scully for static site generation(SSG) and then deploying the project on Netlify so that it can be accessible to the public. What this article covers Using Angular to build the blog architecture Installing Scully library to handle static site Generation Netlify deployment Demo of this project Repository for the demo Setup requirements We'll be using the following tools for this project Angular v13 Tailwind Scully Node v14.15 (or higher) is an application design framework and development platform for creating efficient and sophisticated single-page apps. It's an opensource frontend framework built by Google. Angular is a library used for generating static sites built with Angular and ushers you into the jamstack. SSGs generate static pages when you build your project so that what you publish/deploy is the already built pages which can be indexed by google(for some of that SEO good good) and served quickly to clients. Without scully, our angular project will go through client side rendering where each page of the application that is visited is rendered by the browser at runtime. Scully is a CSS utility library that is used to speed up the styling of applications by offering flexibility and conciseness. Tailwind Now that we have some background on the project, we can start building. Generating the Angular project Use the command below to generate a new angular project. You can name your project what you like. I have chosen angular-blog ng new angular-blog You'll see the following questions. We want routing and SCSS stylesheet format. ? Would you like to add Angular routing? Yes
? Which stylesheet format would you like to use? SCSS After the project has been generated, serve the application using the ng serve command ng serve You'll be greeted with the standard angular welcome template. Navigate to and delete the entire content (we don't want that welcome page showing up) and then place tags since this is where all our modules and components will be displayed based on the route configuration in app.component.html <router-outlet></router-outlet> app.routing-module.ts Installing Scully Run the command below to install scully and automatically make all the necessary configurations to the project ng add @scullyio/init During the installation, you'll get the question below. As at the time of this writing, is the most stable renderer so we'll choose that. pupeteer ? Which route renderer would you like to use?
  Scully platform server
> Puppeteer
  Playwright (beta) Here is what the terminal looks like after the installation process The schematic of the scully installation made a couple of changes which include; init installing the pupeteer plugin updating the by importing the app.module.ts ScullyLibModule updating the package.json file with scully commands for building and serving the generated pages "scully": "npx scully --",
  "scully:serve": "npx scully serve --" created a file which is the scully configuration file. scully.angular-blog.config.ts Adding Blog Support to Our Project Scully has a schematic for creating the blog section for our project ng generate @scullyio/init:blog This adds a lazy-loaded blog module's routes to the Angular application( ) and creates a folder for the blog's markdown files(where our blog posts will live). Below is the current route configuration in updated by scully. app.routing-module.ts ./blog app.routing-module.ts const routes: Routes = [{
  path: 'blog',
  loadChildren: () => import('./blog/blog.module').then(m => m.BlogModule)
}]; It also updates the with the blog routes to prerender. scully.angular-blog.config.ts A Few Other Configurations Now we have a module for our blog feature. The next things we need to do are; create a component for the list of blog posts using the command below ng generate component blog/blog-list create a component that will show the actual blog post content using the command below ng generate component blog/blog-post Fix up our route configuration in as below blog.routing.module.ts const routes: Routes = [
{
  path: '',
  component: BlogComponent,
  children: [
    {path: ':slug', component: BlogPostComponent},
    {path: '', component: BlogListComponent}
    ]
}
]; Lastly, we add the in the to handle routing in the module.This page will display the blog list and blog posts based on the route configuration in <router-outlet></router-outlet> blog.component.html blog-routing.module.ts Configuring the Route Entry Point for Scully After sorting out the module for our blog feature, we need to create an entry point for scully (typically the home page of our app). It is suitable to leverage the Angular lazy-loaded module feature for our app home page because this part of our app is separate from the blog part. Create a with the following command: home module ng generate module home --route=home --module=app-routing This updates the route configuration in with the path for the . Set its path to an empty string. app-routing.module.ts home module const routes: Routes = [
  {
    path: 'blog',
    loadChildren: () => import('./blog/blog.module').then((m) => m.BlogModule),
  },
  {
    path: '',
    loadChildren: () => import('./home/home.module').then((m) => m.HomeModule),
  },
  { path: '**', redirectTo: 'blog', pathMatch: 'full' },
]; You can always add a redirect below the route configuration for the blog module if you don't want the home page to be accessed yet. {path:'',redirectTo:'blog',pathMatch:'full'}, Building the Angular-Scully App After all those configurations, we need to build our project with Angular, build with Scully then serve the built project on the Scully server but first, let's restart the Angular server.Build the project by running ng build Then we build with scully using npx scully We can also modify the command in our so that it will run the two previous commands. build package.json "build": ng build && npm run scully -- --scanRoutes Now we can use to achieve the same thing. After those two commands, a folder is created in the root directory of our project. This folder contains the two built versions of our site, The folder named is the one built by Angular while the one named contains the static pages generated by scully. Now, we can start the scully server using the command: npm run build dist angular-blog static npx scully serve After the server starts successfully, navigate to to see the angular app running, then in a separate tab, open this link to see the static site. You browser should show a white page with the text .To check our actual blog post (created by the schematic) go to the markdown file in the folder and copy the value of the property in the frontmatter. http://localhost:4200/blog http://localhost:1668/blog blog-list works! init:blog blog slugs ---
title: 2022-04-29-blog
description: 'blog description'
published: false
slugs:
    - ___UNPUBLISHED___l2kp8pyl_z4RfUZ7hSOMdOfldi8yqeZcOKuebIId2
--- That is the current path(generated by scully) to the blog post when . It's a private route to your blog post when it's still in draft version so you can share with anyone to get an article review before publishing. When you are ready to publish the post, you can set and remove the property which will allow scully use the file name(without the extension) as its path when it generates the static pages. published: false published: true slugs Go to address bar of the tab serving the static site and paste the slug after then press enter. You should see the content of the blog post. Now, we have confirmed that our blog feature is fully functional so next up is to add more blog posts. http://localhost:1668/blog/ Creating Blog Posts We can create a blog post with the command below. The option takes the name of your post. name ng generate @scullyio/init:post --name="Post 1" This creates a markdown file in the folder. When we open the newly created markdown file, we see this blog ---
title: Post 1
description: blog description
published: false
---

# Post 1 As you now know, the content between the three dashes is the frontmatter and below the frontmatter is the blog content.The frontmatter is where we can add information about the post such as metadata, SEO e.t.c. Let's update this markdown file to look like this ---
title: Post 1
description: blog description
published: true
image: /assets/images/enigma.jpg
seo: {
metaDescription: First post for my angular scully blog,
metaTitle: First post
},
---

# Post 1 I have added an image in the corresponding directory which I'll render in post. When we're satisfied with our markdown file, we can build with the command. npx scully A Tip on Knowing Which to Build With is only needed when you modified something in your angular app. The scully config file, plugins, and eventual markdown files are not part of your Angular app. Although this may seem evident, if this is your first time using Scully it is easy to rebuild Angular even if it is not needed. When writing Scully plugins OR modifying your blog's markdown files, you DO NOT need to ng build the app each time you re-run Scully. Again, ng build Angular only if the Angular app changes ng build Showing All Blog Posts Let's head over to to work out the logic that handles data for the component. In this component, we will inject the as a dependency which will give us access to the blog posts routes. blog-list.component.ts ScullyRoutesService import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import {ScullyRoute, ScullyRoutesService} from "@scullyio/ng-lib";
import {Observable} from "rxjs";

@Component({
  selector: 'app-blog-list',
  templateUrl: './blog-list.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./blog-list.component.scss']
})
export class BlogListComponent implements OnInit {
  links$: Observable<ScullyRoute[]> = this.scully.available$;

  constructor(private scully: ScullyRoutesService) { }

  ngOnInit(): void {
    this.getPublishedPosts();
  }

  getPublishedPosts() {
    this.links$ = this.links$.pipe(tap(val) => console.log(val))
  }
} What we want to render are the published posts, that's why we get the published routes from the property on the .In the we can build the template that shows all blog posts. We'll work with the code below for now. available$ ScullyRoutesService blog-list.component.html <div>
  <ul>
    <li *ngFor="let post of links$ | async">
    <a [href]="post.route">{{post.title}}</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div> After you save, you should see an array of two routes in the console. We can't see any blog posts route yet because we haven't built with scully after changing the property to .Let's ensure that the property in our markdown files are set to then build with scully to update our published routes. Now when we reload, we should see an array of 4 routes in the console. However, since we only want blog posts routes, we'll need to transform our data with some rxjs. Let's update the function published true published true getPublishedPosts getPublishedPosts() {
    this.links$ = this.links$.pipe(map((links) => links.filter((link) =>
      link.route.startsWith('/blog/'))),tap((val) => console.log(val)));
  } To ensure the scully version of our site is updated, let's run the command: npm run build Now we should have our page like this. You can click on the links to see that they show the corresponding posts. Accessing the Data in the Blog Post Page We can get the route data of a particular page we navigate to with the help of the by subscribing to the observable returned by the method. Add the code below to the ScullyRoutesService getCurrent() blog-post.component.ts import {Component, OnDestroy, OnInit} from '@angular/core';
import {ScullyRoute, ScullyRoutesService} from "@scullyio/ng-lib";
import {Subject, takeUntil} from "rxjs";
import {tap} from "rxjs/operators";

@Component({
  selector: 'app-blog-post',
  templateUrl: './blog-post.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./blog-post.component.scss']
})
export class BlogPostComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
  currentRoute: ScullyRoute = {} as ScullyRoute;
  onDestroy$ = new Subject<void>();

  constructor(private scully: ScullyRoutesService) {
  }

  ngOnInit(): void {
    this.getCurrentPost()
  }

  getCurrentPost() {
    this.scully.getCurrent()
      .pipe(takeUntil(this.onDestroy$))
      .subscribe((routeData: ScullyRoute) => {
        this.currentRoute = routeData;
      });
  }

  ngOnDestroy() {
    this.onDestroy$.next();
    this.onDestroy$.complete();
  }
} Details of our current route is assigned to property and this allows us use the route data for that particular post the way we want. this.currentRoute Styling Our Blog Firstly, we need to create another component which will be our reusable component for the blog cards. Use the command: ng generate component blog/blog-list/blog-card Open the and place the code below inside it blog-card.component.html <li *ngFor="let post of links$ | async">
    <a [href]="post.route">{{post.title}}</a>
</li> Then we make use of this component in our via the selector in this way blog-list.component.html app-blog-card <div>
  <ul>
    <app-blog-card [post]="post" *ngFor="let post of links$ | async"></app-blog-card>
  </ul>
</div> We are also passing each route object in the array as through the component therefore, we will need to receive this data from the parent component( ) in our child component ( ) using the decorator. Let's do that by putting the code below in the post app-blog-card blog list blog card Input() blog-card.component.ts import {Component, Input, OnInit} from '@angular/core';
import {ScullyRoute} from "@scullyio/ng-lib";

@Component({
  selector: 'app-blog-card',
  templateUrl: './blog-card.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./blog-card.component.scss']
})
export class BlogCardComponent implements OnInit {
  @Input() post: Partial<ScullyRoute> = {};

  constructor() { }

  ngOnInit(): void {
  }
} Finally, Some Styling You can use any styling format you want. I'll be using tailwind. Let's use the straightforward to configure it in our project. After the configuration is done, we'll need to restart the angular server. Update the with the new template below tailwind documentation blog-card.component.html <li class="h-full">
  <a [href]="post.route" class="h-full w-full lg:max-w-full lg:flex hover:bg-gray-100">
    <div
      class="h-48 lg:h-auto lg:w-48 flex-none bg-cover rounded-t lg:rounded-t-none lg:rounded-l text-center overflow-hidden"
      [style.background-image]="'url(' + (post['image'] || 'https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1496494118863-9cf5d1e70cd6?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=870&q=80') + ')'"
      title="Mountain">
    </div>
    <div
      class="w-full border-r border-b border-l border-gray-400 lg:border-l-0 lg:border-t lg:border-gray-400  rounded-b lg:rounded-b-none lg:rounded-r p-4 flex flex-col justify-between leading-normal">
      <div class="mb-8">
        <div class="text-gray-900 font-bold text-xl mb-2">{{post.title}}</div>
        <p class="text-gray-700 text-base">{{post['seo']?.metaDescription || post['description']}}</p>
      </div>
    </div>
  </a>
</li> Also update the blog-list.component.html <div>
  <ul class="p-10 grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-1 xl:grid-cols-3 gap-5">
    <app-blog-card [post]="post" *ngFor="let post of links$ | async"></app-blog-card>
  </ul>
</div> The code below adds a header to our site. Add it in app.component.html <nav class="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between bg-gray-800 p-6 w-full">
  <div>
    <a class="text-white no-underline hover:text-white hover:no-underline" routerLink="/">
      <span class="text-2xl">Angular scully blog</span>
    </a>
  </div>
  <ul class="list-reset flex justify-end flex-1 items-center">
    <li class="mr-3">
      <a class="inline-block text-white no-underline hover:text-gray-200 hover:text-underline py-2 px-4"
         routerLinkActive="" routerLink="/blog">blog</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</nav>
<router-outlet></router-outlet> Now we have a nice user interface that shows all blog post Let's add the code below for the blog post user interface( ) blog-post.component.html <main class="mx-auto max-w-screen-sm max-w-screen-lg">
   <img [src]="currentRoute['image'] || 'https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4uiRZ5nNAgpHSifSjaKwcC-970-80.jpg.webp'"
      alt="nft"/>
   <h3>ScullyIo content</h3>
   <hr>
   
   <scully-content></scully-content>
   <hr>
   <h4>End of content</h4>
</main> Finally, use the command to build the project and checkout the scully static version in your browser. npm run build Pushing to Github Create a repository on and then copy the remote url ( ) so that we can add it for our project using the command below: Github https://github.com/<github-username>/<repository-name>.git git remote add origin https://github.com/<github-username>/<repository-name>.git Rename the branch to with the command below: main git branch -M main Push to github with the command below: git push origin main Here's a link to the . repository for this article demo Deploying to Netlify After pushing our Angular Scully blog to github, we are ready to deploy on Netlify. If you do not have an account yet, you can or go ahead and log in to your account if you have one.Choose import from git Select Github Connect the repository you want to deploy. You may need to configure netlify for your github account if it has not been setup. This is needed for netlify to have access to the repository Provide the path to the folder where the scully generated static pages are as well as the build command Click the button and watch as netlify builds your project. Congratulations on making it to the end and have fun personalising your site as you like. signup here Deploy site Here's a link to the deployed site Conclusion I do hope this article has been helpful in guiding you through creating your blog site with Angular and scully from scratch. You can leave questions or suggestions in the comments or reach out to me on twitter @BrunoElo if you like. Thanks for reading! Also published . here

Creating an Angular Blog With Scully and Deploying on Netlify

Top Software Development Companies 2022 That Are Growing Fast

The process of generating revenue from APIs is called API monetisation. API monetisation isn’t only about how a business generates revenue from APIs but also about how you expose the API to an audience while keeping it secure and controlling its consumption. API monetisation includes both direct and indirect payment models to drive revenue. Here are some standard business models for API monetisation. Free As the name suggests, there is no direct exchange of money. This is a popular way to provide access to an API as anyone can sign-up and start using the API. In this model, the consumers can test the API before they start paying for it. This model also helps drive API adoption and brand loyalty. While there is no exchange of money, it involves the cost of doing business such as advertising or supplying product information. Facebook log-in is an excellent example of a free API. Facebook provides this API to companies to help them identify end-users. Facebook does no earn any direct revenue from this API but benefits if a consumer signs up on Facebook to use this logon on other sites. It also helps Facebook understand usage patterns to generate extra value from the log-in data gathered. However, the free model works only in conjunction with other models, such as offering paid services to businesses with higher demands. Developer Pays In this model, the developer pays the enterprise to use the API to gain a competitive advantage. The developer, in turn, earns downstream revenue through the use of the API. The developer pays model has several sub-models: Freemium, Pay As You Go, Tiered, Points-Based, and Transactions Fee. – In this model, the basic features are free, and the premium features priced. Dropbox is a relevant example of this model. 1. Freemium – This is a straightforward model in which the developer only pays for the consumed services, without any minimum guarantee or tiers. The billing in this model is done periodically, such as monthly. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one such example. 2. Pay As You Go – Some API providers set multiple tiered resource access for the developers to choose from, such as bronze, silver, and platinum. The developers can select their desired level and access and pay for it. In most cases, the lowest tier is free so that the developers can test the waters. The developers are billed for the chosen tier during the said period whether they use the entire amount or not. 3. Tiered – Google Adwords is an example of a points-based monetisation model. Different APIs have different value and are assigned points. The developer has the option to either pre-buy points (tiers) or is billed by the number of points on a pay as you go basis. 4. Points-Based – PayPal uses a transaction fee model in which the API provider receives a fixed or percentage as a transaction fee on every transaction. 5. Transaction Fee Developer Gets Paid This is one of the most common API monetisation models based on revenue sharing. In this model, an e-commerce enterprise like Amazon or eBay makes its APIs available to the developers. When the end-user purchases on the e-commerce site, the developer receives a percentage of the revenue; Expedia earns over $2 million per year through their API leveraging this monetisation model. The developer gets paid model also has sub-models: Affiliate, Revenue Share, and Referal. – In the affiliate model, a partner leverages your content/advertisements to drive potential user traffic to you. This type of engagement has further sub-models: clicks, impressions, action/acquisition, and engagement. Examples of this model include Amozon.com and Google Adsense. 1. Affiliate – In this model, the developer acts as an agent to help API providers sell their products or assets. The API consumer receives a fixed percentage in commission. An example of this model is car comparison portal Cars.com. 2. Revenue Share – This model draws similarities with the affiliate model the only difference being that payment is involved only when the end-user makes a purchase. Payments may be recurring or one time. An example of this model is job placement site Monster.com. 3. Referal Indirect Monetisation Indirect monetisation takes an indirect approach to deliver value from APIs instead of generating revenue from direct methods such as API access or advertising. This model too has multiple sub-models: Content Syndication, Content Acquisition, Internal-Consumer, Internal Non-Consumer, B2B Partner, B2B Customer, and Business Expansion. – Distribution of your content by a  third-party through  APIs is called content syndication. Examples of this model include Twitter and NY Times. 1. Content Syndication – In this model, a third-party submits content through APIs to attract customers to you. Examples of this model include YouTube and Twitter. 2. Content Acquisition – Your employees use APIs to create a customer-facing capability for your business, such as developing mobile apps or e-commerce web portals. Examples of this model include Netflix and Citibank. 3. Internal-Consumer – In this model, the internal use of APIs enables improved productivity, meeting regulatory requirements, and managing portals. 4. Internal Non-Consumer – Your partners use APIs to integrate your enterprise. Examples of this model include government agencies sharing information. 5. B2B Partner – Your customers use APIs to integrate your enterprise. An example of this model is Walmart. 6. B2B Customer – This model is used to expand to new geographies, demographics; and offer new products or upsell new capabilities. A relevant example of this business model is Facebook. 7. Business Expansion Closing Thoughts We have covered almost all API monetisation business models in this blog. I hope It helps you understand the options available when deciding your API monetisation strategy.

4 Standard Business Models for API Monetization

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

In the era of Instagram as social king, how have millennials and Gen Zers changed their use of Snapchat? The past two years have been difficult for Snap. Once the dominant social app for both millennials and Gen Zers, Snapchat was plagued by a poorly received redesign and competition from Instagram (especially with the Stories product) that resulted in stalling user growth. The company has continued to launch products (games, shows, filters), and hit $1B in revenue in 2018. However, the lack of DAU growth begs the question of whether Snap is a few years away from becoming the next Facebook — just as many Gen Zers never made an FB account, the same could be true of the upcoming Gen Alpha and Snap. Facebook has remained a ~$500B enterprise value company thanks to its highly monetized base of older users, as well as properties like Instagram and WhatsApp. Snap, however, relies on growing and monetizing users on its core app, which never saw mainstream adoption by Gen Xers and Baby Boomers like Facebook did. All of my friends have moved to Instagram Stories instead and I have even contemplated deleting Snapchat all together. Although my Mom does still Snap me occasionally. -29 year-old survey respondent We were undergrads at Stanford when Snapchat first took off in 2012, and saw the app become ubiquitous among our peers (young millennials). In the last two years, many of our friends have seemingly abandoned Snapchat (or drastically reduced their usage) in favor of Instagram. We were curious to see if the same has happened for Gen Zers, who are now in high school and college but came of age on the Internet alongside the rise of Snap. We surveyed 200 Gen Z and 40 millennial users to answer four key questions about where Snap stands, as well as how usage differs between these two age groups. Key takeaways are summarized following each of the questions below — read the full article for more! More than 60% of our respondents report using Snapchat less over the past year, and 28% of millennials and 12% of Gen Zers have churned off the app entirely. The remaining users are opening Snapchat fewer times a day and communicating with smaller groups of friends. Has usage of Snapchat changed over the past year? Usage has pivoted away from Stories back to the platform’s original use case of 1–1 and group messaging, as the product remains the fastest way to record and send photo/video content. Snapchat is stickiest for younger users, who find value in features like disappearing messages and streaks. What are people using Snapchat for? Snap Originals and Snap Games both have ~60% awareness among Snapchat users, but fewer than 5% of our respondents are regular viewers or players. Spectacles are not a desirable product for this demo, and the first big hit on the developer platform (YOLO) is reaching only younger Gen Zers. Are Snap’s new features/products gaining traction? Unsurprisingly, the decline in Snapchat is mirrored by a rise in Instagram. However, Snapchat still ranks #2 among Gen Z social apps in DAU/MAU and frequency of use, so we feel they have a chance to maintain market share by doubling down on the core messaging product. How has usage on other social apps changed over the past year? A big thank you to all of our wonderful Accelerated readers who took our survey and provided their insights for this article. We couldn’t do it without them! Results We’ve organized the results based on our four key questions outlined above. We’ll give a quick answer (TL;DR) to each immediately below the question, followed by some more detail and data that supports our conclusions. We’ll also include quotes from survey respondents indented. 1. Has usage of Snapchat changed over the past year? TL;DR — Yes. Though most users still have the app downloaded, frequency of use and friend group activity have significantly declined. This change is least prominent for Snapchat’s youngest users. 87% of our Gen Z respondents still had the app downloaded at the time of the survey, as well as 68% of millennial respondents. This difference is even more dramatic for younger users, as 100% of 18-and-under respondents currently have the Snapchat app. Saturation of the app remains high. Just before the IPO, Snap’s team reported per day — now, less than 40% of our respondents report 5+ opens per day. 63% of both Gen Z and millennial respondents said they use Snapchat less than they did a year ago, with 43% saying they use Snapchat less. Respondents reported a significant decline in usage. 18 opens per user significantly 43% of Gen Zers and 19% of millennials still open the app 5+ times a day, and 75% of Gen Zers and 30% of millennials are daily active users. We’ll dive into how this compares to other social networks in Question 4 — but Snapchat ranks second to Instagram on these engagement metrics. However, on an absolute basis, Snapchat usage remains high. 47% of Gen Zers and 72% of millennials reported that fewer of their friends are active users of Snapchat now versus a year ago. The 18-and-under crowd again emerged as a bright spot, as 63% say friend usage of Snapchat has stayed the same or increased over the past year. Millennial respondents reported communicating on Snapchat with an average of six friends, compared to nine friends for Gen Zers (and 15 friends for the 18-and-under group). Usage among friend groups has also declined. My friends for the most part had a mass exodus from Snap which forced me to download Instagram to follow them. Now that I’m on Instagram, I do like the layout of the app more than Snap. -27 year-old survey respondent 2. What are people using Snapchat for? TL;DR — Snapchat is still the de facto 1–1 and group texting platform for many Gen Zers (particularly younger ones). Story creation and viewing remain popular, but much of this activity has migrated to Instagram. Across both Gen Zers and millennials, the most popular use case for Snapchat is 1–1 messaging, essentially a replacement for iMessage (both photos and text) — 87% of respondents reported using the app for this. 65% of respondents also reported participating in group messages via Snap. Ever since Instagram got Stories, I just like Instagram better for watching updates of people’s lives. Snapchat is what I use if I want to make a group chat or if I want to get someone’s contact casually instead of a phone number. -18 year-old survey respondent According to our respondents, the main benefits of Snapchat for this kind of messaging are the casual feel of the platform (everything disappears, so you can send informal or “ugly” content), the fact that you don’t need to ask for the other user’s phone number (enables conversations with more “casual” friends), and the ease in taking and sending photos and videos. Many users reported that they used Snapchat less overall, but stayed on the app for a few friends or groups that they communicate with exclusively via Snapchat — though some of these conversations are moving to Instagram DMs or iMessage. We were also surprised to find that Snap streaks play a huge role in stickiness for the 18-and-under group (the appeal fades in college). Young teenage users are DEVOTED to the app. I can see through my younger brother and all his friends an abnormal dedication to the app. These kids have a huge list of 900-day streaks, and they exclusively use Snapchat for group communication and individual communication. -21 year-old survey respondent 78% of respondents say they’ll regularly watch friend or influencer Stories, but only 56% reported still posting Stories. There was a general consensus that Instagram Stories has a better UI and allows for a more polished look. Snapchat Stories continue to win for the non-polished, funny, or informal content that users only want to share with their circle of close friends. Instagram stories are more “curated” (e.g. showing the best parts of a vacation) while spontaneous/drunk/fun times are posted to Snap. -21 year-old survey respondent The other popular features were using Snapchat’s filters to take photos/videos that can be exported elsewhere (24% reported regularly using this feature), using Snap Maps (22%), and browsing the Discover feed (22%). The Discover feed was perceived negatively, with many respondents viewing it as an inauthentic way to push ads on users — several mentioned that without the messaging functionality, they would delete Snapchat because of Discover. On the other side of Snap monetization, we asked respondents whether they had ever made a purchase via Snapchat — 84% had not. By far the most common purchase was a custom geofilter (14% of respondents), followed by Bitmoji merchandise (2.5%) and making a brand purchase from a Snap ad (2%). Millennial users were far more likely to have made a purchase, at 33% compared to 12% of Gen Zers. Responses add up to more than 100% because several respondents reported making more than one type of purchase on Snapchat. 3. Are any of Snap’s new features or products gaining traction? TL;DR — Not yet. Many of our respondents weren’t even aware of Snap’s new Originals and Games, and Spectacles still have a bad rep. We asked about four of the new products/features that Snap seems to have invested heavily in over the past two years — Spectacles, Originals, in-app games, and the new Snap Kit developer integration (we used YOLO, the platform’s first hit, as a proxy). 92% of respondents don’t own Spectacles, and only 13% of non-owners say they would want a pair. Of the 8% of respondents who own Spectacles, none are regular wearers. Very few Gen Z’ers own Spectacles, and Spectacles owners don’t use them frequently. Only 4% of our respondents reported watching Snap Originals “regularly” — another 26% had watched at some point but were not regular viewers. We suspect this is partially a marketing issue, as 44% hadn’t even heard of them. This didn’t surprise us — Originals are difficult to find in the Discover feed. Snap Originals are not popular among this demographic. Only 2% of respondents reported regularly playing in-app games — another 34% said they had played at some point but not regularly. Similar to Snap Originals, 37% of respondents said they didn’t know Snapchat had in-app games. In-app games are not popular among this demographic. Only 5% of our respondents said they had downloaded the YOLO app — we suspect it’s significantly more popular among younger demographics (middle & high school students). Despite reaching #1 in the App Store, most of our respondents had not downloaded YOLO. 4. How has usage on other social apps changed over the past year? : TL;DR Instagram and Twitter are up, Facebook is down. Snapchat still ranks highly in the social landscape in terms of user engagement. 57% of respondents report using Instagram more over the past year, while 18% report no change in usage. Instagram usage is (unsurprisingly) up. . 53% of respondents report using Facebook less, and 27% report no change — only 20% are using it more. Facebook usage is down 33% of respondents had never used Twitter. Of those who had, 53% report using Twitter more over the past year, 21% report no change in usage, and 26% report using it less. Twitter remains less popular among this demographic, but usage is up. 87% of our respondents had never used TikTok. It’s hard to draw any conclusions around changes in usage given the small sample size of users. TikTok has not penetrated this demographic. We can’t directly attribute changes in usage of other apps to the decline of Snapchat. However, it seems likely that some of the activity that used to occur on Snapchat (particularly around posting Stories) has now moved to Instagram — we heard this frequently from our respondents. Instagram Stories de-incentivized the creation and consumption of Snapchat Stories. As a result, few people Snap anymore. -20 year-old survey respondent I think less time and thought is spent on Snapchat now. This was most apparent when Instagram came out with Instagram Stories. The fonts and colors were more appealing. -20 year-old survey respondent It’s also important to note that while usage has declined, Snapchat still ranks highly compared to the broader universe of social products in terms of how frequently users open the app. Snapchat also ranks second to Instagram in DAU/MAU among our Gen Z and millennial respondents. Key Takeaways & Insights In reviewing the survey responses, we formulated a few key takeaways: 1.) Social can be a “winner take most” market. When it comes to “broadcast” content (versus messaging), Gen Zers will optimize for the platform that gives them the greatest distribution. Many of our respondents provided commentary about why they were using Snapchat less frequently than they used to, particularly to post Stories, and we weren’t surprised to hear that they had migrated to Instagram. Why can’t they use both platforms and post different types of content on each? It’s less convenient to switch between platforms, and more importantly, most users will choose the platform where the maximum number of other users will see their posts. Many Gen Zers track their “seen” counts carefully for Stories, and will quickly move platforms if they feel they can boost their distribution elsewhere (as long as the product features are relatively similar). Instagram Stories and Snapchat Stories are often competing for similar types of content — photos or short videos that aren’t “polished” enough to post to the main feed. We suspect that Snapchat Stories are still popular among teens because it feels like a more private place than Instagram to post photos or videos of activities you don’t want associated with a public profile that parents or others may be following (e.g. underage drinking). This use case may become less valuable in college, but doesn’t disappear — which is part of why Gen Zers are staying on the product, even if they are posting less frequently. 2.) Snapchat has retained the young demographic as a messaging platform — the company’s efforts to launch new features/products have not been successful. Our data clearly indicated that many Gen Zers and millennials are using Snapchat as primarily a messaging platform, with a secondary use case of watching others’ Stories. These users don’t know (and often don’t care) about the new features that Snap has been releasing on over the past two years, as comments from our respondents illustrated. Apparently all of those new things you mentioned have been added to Snapchat, I had no idea that they existed. I prefer to use Snapchat specifically for 1–1 communication, whether that’s through a quick picture or a message. -19 year-old survey respondent When our respondents noted Snapchat’s Discover feed, they almost always said it was “annoying” and didn’t have quality content, which is a difficult perception to change in the short-term. We understand why Snap is trying to push users towards this feed, as it drives monetization. However, we don’t think it’s likely to retain existing Gen Z users or attract new ones, and investing in original content that lives on this feed seems unlikely to pay off. Snap is a self-proclaimed camera company, and the ease of sending photos and videos to friends remains a core feature. While Snapchat is going through this “crisis period” with a stagnant or declining user base, we think the company may want to double down on this media messaging use case (the is one good example). This contrasts with the company’s recent focus on launching original content and gaming, or even getting into hardware, as Snap tried to do with Spectacles. recent viral genderswap filter 3.) Pre-college teens are currently Snap’s most compelling market, and the company has room for improvement in retaining users at the college transition point. Measured by continued use of the app, frequency of opens, friend group engagement, and change in usage over time, users in the 18-and-under age group is by far Snapchat’s most engaged and loyal demographic. Much of this is inherent to the middle and high school experience, meaning this group may “age out” of Snap over time. This demo is more closely controlled by parents (and thus derives more value from disappearing messages), is less likely to prefer the formal/curated feed provided by Instagram, and is arguably more susceptible to gamified features like Streaks, which “quantify” friendships. Several of our respondents mentioned a transition away from Snapchat and towards Instagram once they hit college, though they still watch Stories to stay in touch with younger friends. However — the core messaging product is obviously sticky for this Gen Z demographic, and the product remains best-in-class for this use case. If Snap is able to evolve or mature the product experience to keep up with this group, they have a chance of increasing retention through college and beyond. Demographics Between May 9 and May 14, 2019, we surveyed 240 people via a . 83% of the respondents were in the Gen Z group (aged 8 to 24), with a median age of 21. 55% of respondents were male, and 45% were female. 92% of respondents live in the U.S. — the plurality (38%) are in the West, followed by the Northeast (32%) and Midwest (16%). Google Form Thanks for reading! We’re curious to get your thoughts on Snap and the future of consumer social for Gen Z — email us at twins@crv.com or tweet us @venturetwins . And if you’re a founder working on a Gen Z social product, please reach out and tell us more! Like this post? to help more people see our story, and share it with your friends! Clap for it Interested in reading more content from us? You can subscribe to our weekly newsletter, , for more insights on millennial and Gen Z trends: Accelerated https://accelerated.carrd.co/

The reports of Snapchat’s death have been greatly exaggerated…

I spent the past four days at , a retail and e-commerce conference that welcomed nearly 8,500 attendees from around the world. As a venture investor who thinks a lot about the future of retail and how startups can make an impact, I was excited to hear from an amazing roster of industry experts, from CEOs of public companies to data scientists at global retailers. Shoptalk As a newcomer to Shoptalk, I thought it would be fun to share some of the things I learned, with a focus on the topics and questions that are top-of-mind for retailers of all sizes today. Here are five of the key initiatives that many retailers seem to be thinking about: Meeting the consumer where they are — outside of a mall! In the age of Amazon, many consumers are no longer willing to make the trek to their local mall. Art Peck, CEO of Gap (which recently plans to close 230 stores in the next two years), said that it’s incumbent on retailers to find locations that better “fit into customers’ lives.” announced What do these new locations look like? Retailers are testing a variety of options, from stand-alone stores in unconventional locations (Peck noted that Gap recently opened a location next to a Trader Joe’s in Encinitas) to pop-ups and even kiosks in other retailers’ stores. Build-A-Bear is a great example of a retailer testing new models. According to CEO Sharon Price, the company’s business model was built on 3,000 sq ft stores in malls. Over the past few years, they’ve had to adapt, closing mall stores and opening kiosks in a variety of locations, from cruise ships to Great Wolf Lodge and even Walmart. Build-A-Bear is still investing in full stores, but in more heavily-trafficked locations like Pier 39 in SF and 34th Street in NYC. Build a Bear’s new stores (pictured left in Walmart and right on 34th St) don’t look like the mall workshops you remember, but they’re a crucial part of the retailer’s strategy to meet consumers in more convenient locations. 2. Re-imagining physical locations to fulfill specific service needs. In addition to finding new locations, many retailers are starting to re-think brick-and-mortar. Think of a typical store for a major retailer — it’s several thousand square feet, with tons of inventory. Ten years ago, you might have spent hours wandering the aisles and trying on clothes, and this store would have served you well. But does this store fit the needs of today’s consumers, many of whom shop online and use stores mostly to return or exchange items? Erik Nordstrom cited Nordstrom’s three “ ” stores in Los Angeles as one example of their efforts to provide better service to customers. He noted that the most popular service at these stores is processing returns, followed by picking up e-commerce orders and then getting items tailored. The purpose of these stores is not to display merchandise, but to provide a more convenient experience, and Nordstrom has seen a “significant uplift” in spend and high engagement from customers who visit these locations. local Inside Nordstrom Local (credit to ) — these stores carry no inventory, instead serving as a hub for customers to pick up and return items, get alterations, and consult with personal stylists. Business Journal A number of other execs at top retailers mentioned plans to test new physical locations with smaller footprints. Paula Price, CFO of Macy’s, floated several ideas — stores focused on “special occasion” items that are harder to purchase online, “replenishment hubs” for consumables that customers may need on short notice, and even locations with the sole purpose of processing returns. 3. Merging brick-and-mortar and e-commerce data in customer profiles. Imagine you’re a frequent customer of a major shoe company with hundreds of retail locations and, of course, an e-commerce business — let’s call it Shoe Emporium. In a given year, say you visit two different Shoe Emporium locations and make purchases, and you also place an online order (all with the same credit card). Do you think Shoe Emporium knows who you are and how many total purchases you made that year? Shockingly, if Shoe Emporium is like many large retailers, the answer is no. One of the biggest themes of Shoptalk was the importance of having a “single view” of the customer — a customer data platform (CDP) that aggregates, cleans, and merges data from multiple sources. Without this, it’s hard to effectively segment and market to customers, understand how your physical stores are lifting e-commerce traffic (or vice versa), and even calculate your customer acquisition cost and lifetime value. Steve Miller, SVP of Marketing and Ecommerce at JOANN Stores, said that JOANN has invested in creating and maintaining a database of 60M customers, tracking all of their touchpoints with the retailer across email, website, SMS, direct mail, and physical stores. As 70% of customers use JOANN’s website to research an in-store purchase, it’s crucial for the company to unify data across all channels — otherwise, how would they know who actually made a purchase (and should no longer be retargeted with ads)? 4. Shift in marketing focus towards the value of a unique brand. As retailers think about how to compete against Amazon’s prices, convenience, and selection, many are banking on the value of their brand. However, making consumers feel an affinity for a brand often requires much more than just selling a quality product — you need to be present in their daily lives, and reflect their values in a way that doesn’t feel contrived. Richard Dickson, president and COO of Mattel (which owns Barbie, HotWheels, and American Girl), said his team is making a significant effort to make these brands more relevant to consumers. Barbie, for example, just released a line of “ ” honoring female role models worldwide, and launched a “Closing the Dream Gap” campaign to encourage girls to dream big. Mattel also recently a new slate of 22 TV shows centered around its brands as part of an effort to monetize IP beyond selling toys. sheroes announced Dollar Shave Club is taking a similar approach with , the company’s magazine and online publication that tackles tough topics like mental health, relationships, and the changing nature of masculinity. Michael Dubin, CEO of Dollar Shave Club, called MEL “an independent lifestyle brand that’s really important to the Dollar Shave Club mission,” noting that while it doesn’t directly drive revenue, it plays a key role in engaging DSC members. MEL A few examples of recent articles from Dollar Shave Club’s MEL Magazine. 5. Investing heavily in key influencers who truly align with a brand. There’s been a lot of talk recently that influencer marketing is overrated, but many retailers are seeing exceptionally strong results from well-executed influencer campaigns. If an influencer is aligned with your brand mission and truly loves your product, their posts can be more “authentic” and engaging than any ad campaign your brand can make. One of Nickelodeon’s star influencer is , a 15-year-old YouTuber known for her sunny personality and love of bows. According to Andrea Fasulo, who leads Consumer Products Marketing, Nick doubled down on JoJo by featuring her on their shows, giving her awards gigs, and producing a line of toys and apparel. The strategy paid off, as JoJo’s global franchise is now worth — she has the top selling doll at Walmart, has sold 50M bows, and gets millions of views on videos featuring her Target clothing. JoJo Siwa nearly $1B JoJo Siwa has become a major star for Nickelodeon. With nearly 8M Instagram followers and 9.2M YouTube subscribers, JoJo regularly sells out concert venues around the country in minutes. The influencer strategy has also paid off for brands who don’t recruit mega-stars. According to Cathey Curtis, VP of Global Marketing, Billabong’s Instagram posts that feature athletes and micro-influencers get 3x the engagement of those with traditional models. Billabong has successfully used influencers to promote new products, using their posts to stoke interest in a retro one-piece that was unavailable to the general public for months. The swimsuit generated so much buzz that Lady Gaga even wore it an Instagram post right before headlining Coachella, an incredible piece of free press! Lady Gaga wearing your swimsuit for free may be the ultimate advertisement, but Billabong has also found success with “smaller” influencers like , a professional surfer with 16k followers on Instagram who regularly posts photos competing and practicing in her Billabong gear. Haley Otto There’s no question that we’re living through a time of immense change in the retail landscape. The rise of e-commerce and social shopping platforms is forcing incumbent retailers to more clearly define the meaning of their brand, articulate it to consumers, and assert their value proposition in an increasingly crowded market. Meanwhile, the decline of traditional malls is encouraging brands to be creative about designing new types of physical locations that better serve consumers. I’m excited to see how startups find ways to add value in this new ecosystem, whether it’s by building DNVBs that speak to the needs of today’s consumer or creating technology that other retailers can leverage in the battle against Amazon. With so many facets of retail that can be improved, the opportunity is massive — check out on D2C infrastructure for more detail on a few spaces I’m particularly excited about. my piece If you were at Shoptalk and/or are building a company in the e-commerce, retail, or DNVB space, I’d love to hear your thoughts — feel free to email me at justine@crv.com or tweet me @venturetwins ! Like this post? to help more people see our story, and share it with your friends! Clap for it Interested in reading more content from us? You can subscribe to our weekly newsletter, , for more insights on millennial and Gen Z trends: Accelerated https://accelerated.carrd.co/

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