🌌 Branded Fruit, Edge Computing and Elon Musk
Urspace, Q&A w/ Danielle Baskin, taking time off and some tech stuff we're watching.
Edition 6. Here’s this week’s breakdown—
COVID-19 has thrown us all for a loop in terms of recruiting for internships and jobs, creating things and showcasing ourselves.
Urspace is a portfolio builder for a new generation of makers and creators. The platform is a career hub providing young professionals with an automated, dynamic portfolio builder and recruiting tools to get connected to open jobs.
It automatically pulls information from LinkedIn and Github to generate a personal website, blog, and resume - instantly. No more <tags>, constantly editing the resume and scouring the internet for career advice about breaking into tech.
Click here to learn more about their team and some of their recent projects.
Balance w/ Danielle Baskin:
Danielle is a product designer, situation designer, visual artist, and the CEO of Dialup, a voice-based social network.
When did you take the leap to switch from side projects to startups?
I've always had side projects and businesses simultaneously. My first business was selling bulk feathers to archers in the game Runescape (like Uber for Magical Arrows) when I was 12. Since then I've started a few dozen businesses! I consider it an art form. Some ideas take time to evolve into actual companies or just occur unexpectedly. In 2014 I started a company where you could rent a tricycle as a mobile shop called Peddler Pop-Ups. This came to exist because I bought my neighbor's cargo tricycle to use as a cart to sell my hand-painted helmets (Inkwell Helmets) in the bike lane. I realized there was a demand for trike rental, but there was no place to rent one. I ended up investing in a fleet of three trikes that I rented to companies, from local juice shops to Viacom. This company evolved slowly, but other projects have become a company overnight. I once made Pokeball-shaped batteries and started selling thousands within the first day I put them online, but I thought I'd sell only 10. I had to organize a 30-person assembly line to fulfill the orders.
I tend to think of my projects as 1) solving a problem, 2) offering a whimsical moment of delight, or 3) being a joke or commentary on something happening in the world. My favorite projects are combining all three of those things. Sometimes the result is a company that will exist for 20 years. Sometimes it's a company that will exist for 10 days. Sometimes it's just an art project. The final form of the project depends on timing and how people react—but I don't know what that form is until I actually launch it.
How did you get started doing public events and stunts?
My background is in immersive theater and performance art. I used to work for the company Odyssey Works that designs plays for an audience of one and I experimented with theatrical stunts and pranks in art school. I love coming up with interesting what-if scenarios and putting them online or in public to see what happens. Often I'm just creating ideas that I think will entertain a few friends, but my projects consistently tend to attract journalists spread throughout the internet.
Of all of your side projects, businesses and hobbies, which gives you the most joy? How do you balance it all?
I love projects that feel like they contain infinite projects—so working on Dialup has been an absolute joy since there's thousands of ways to build a voice-based social network and infinite skills to learn. I could easily spend a decade of my life working on it. Ideas like Branded Fruit, while it's an amazing business and was fascinating to set up—including flying to Shenzhen and designing a printer—is ultimately not that exciting to me because it's a very straightforward product. It's a solid company with a lot of demand though, if anyone wants to acquire it :-)
I make sure I dedicate time each month to launching new ideas—whether it's a complex fabrication project or an internet joke or a new feature for Dialup. Launching projects is my lifeblood. I also think it's good to shut down projects that aren't really working or feel tired. Freeing up bandwidth will give life to something else. I've paused projects and returned to it years later.
The way to balance many projects is to strategically hire, delegate, and prioritize! However, it takes time and resources to be in a position where you're hiring people. And once you have collaborators and teammates—navigating being a good manager and collaborator is it's own skill to work on.
What have you been working on during COVID?
I work on Dialup, our voice-chat app, full-time with Max Hawkins. We went from 2,000 users to 20,000 users within the last few months and now we're working on building out the product and hiring teammates. I've also been using Dialup throughout the pandemic and have met people all over the world! Outside of Dialup, I've been doing tarot readings out my window, developing a line of masks that look like people's faces, and going on long walks to practice plein air painting in nature. My next project is launching a plein air painting group, but instead of going outside, we'll all stay home and paint the same Google Street View together.
*Thanks for taking the time! We’re excited to follow your projects @danielle - wishing you the best in future launches :)
Tech Trends & Startups we’re watching:
AgTech companies are using drones to monitor crop growth - TAM expected to reach $4.8B in 2024
Edge Computing - What it is, Why it’s important
Braid ($8M, Seed) ➰ - Pooled banking with shared debit card + group spending
Tackle.io ($13.55M, Series A) 💼 - software listing platform designed to help independent vendors list their software in cloud marketplaces
Remediant ($15M, Series A) 💾 - access management platform intended to protect organizations from data theft and lateral movement via stolen credentials
Gap year pros, cons and resources:
with Reggie Cai
With incoming first-years deferring enrollment and current students deciding to take gap years, some experts anticipate college enrollment falling up to 20% this fall. One thing is certain next semester (or even the entire year): the college experience won’t be the same as the one we’ve come to take for granted. Some students are now opting to wait out the tumultuous shocks hitting the traditional college system on the sidelines and looking to commit their time elsewhere.
Choosing to take a year off of school is a big decision, especially given that international travel or regular jobs seem to be out of the question with the COVID-19 pandemic still gripping the world. Between the risks of delaying academic progress (not to mention the highly anticipated salaries that follow) and the apparent dearth of enviable alternatives, it might just be the safest bet to bite the bullet and spend next semester (at the very least) attending Zoom University or accepting the inconvenient restraints of on-campus life.
For those that are able or interested in taking the leap of faith (in the form of a gap semester/year), carefully consider the options. With persistence and ingenuity, you might just find opportunities out there. A silver lining of self-quarantine at home is that there is more time for pursuing career development or personal passions. Take time to network with professionals and peers who do things that excite you, volunteer in support of a cause, pursue a passion project or startup idea (like Practicum!) — it’s a great time to bet on yourself, take a risk and discover new ways to make an impact.
We’ve laid out some resources and interesting programs for those considering a gap year below:
Resources + Programs:
Catherine Yeo details questions to ask yourself when considering a gap year in her Medium article
Gap Year Association is a non-profit providing tons of general student resources
Contrary is investing $100,000 in up to 5 companies built by students who decide to take a gap year rather than attend online university
Enlight helps you learn basic software development in two weeks through projects and real-world examples
Hiatus offers an online community for gap year students looking to connect
No matter what you end up doing next semester/year, remember that you’re not alone.
NoCode Tools of the Week:
Unstack - website builder with integrated A/B testing, forms & contacts, full-funnel metrics and one-click integrations
Testcraft - test automation platform for regression and continuous testing
Apiway - free software connector/integrator
Our Light Bulbs 💡:
-Invest in Republic Note, digital profit-sharing tokens for startups and private equities that raise funding or go public
-Singapore is turning to wearable tech to trace the spread of COVID-19
-Evan Walden of Getro on “Shifting Power in the Interview Process”
-Tomasz Tunguz’ take on Cloud Data Lakes and the Subsurface Conference
-Data management company Qumulo raised a $125M Series E round, solidifying a $1.2B valuation and joining Auth0 in the Seattle unicorn club
-Lessons learned from scaling Opendoor w/ Julia Dewahl
-Harry Stebbings’ new microfund, “20VC”
Thing(s) of the week:
Elon, Electric Vehicles, Tesla & Twitter.
Despite producing 5 million fewer vehicles than Ford, Tesla’s market cap is around $280B (+250% YTD) compared to Ford’s $30B. In the past two weeks, TSLA stock rocketed up 50%, showing no sign of slowing down. Wall Street analysts are constantly raising price targets - one bullish analyst estimates a $2,300 intrinsic valuation.
Tesla’s recent success doesn’t come without some competition. Newer players in the Electric Vehicle market, like Rivian, Fisker and others plan to absorb some of Tesla’s market share. Battery prices are among the greatest challenges to widespread electric-vehicle adoption - Tesla may have found a solution.
Musk’s leadership style is polarizing to say the least. His social media presence generates a lot of public attention - some past public statements put him on thin ice with both regulators and well-known investors. An eclectic mix of genius, erratic and downright confusing tweets are heavily anticipated and revered by his 37 million followers.
Honestly, good for him.
If you missed last week’s newsletter, find it here!
Hi! 👋 Thanks for reading The Void. We’re Zach and Jack, Partners @ Practicum and Students @ WashU + Georgetown. Leave some feedback, check us out on LinkedIn or contact us!