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It's Monday, and you’re already dreading what's about to happen - it's time to open your (probably full) inbox. We've revolutionized many things in the workplace, but the core idea behind email remains unchanged. You must still read through them, type a reply, click send, and off it goes.
I don't like emails, but some tools have made them more manageable. For example, I love Superhuman and will convince anyone and everyone to use it. Why? Because, even if I hate emails, they're still essential for business. Example case: this newsletter reached you thanks to an email. That's why big and small companies alike are making tremendous efforts to improve it.
One case is Ryan Noon. During the 2016 US Presidential elections, he saw email hacks become a crucial narrative. Data from both personal and campaign accounts leaked and created chaos. If Google and Microsoft suffered hacks, the average person was also vulnerable. That's when he decided to start his own company, Material Security.
His startup focuses on making emails as safe and secure as possible. It does so by creating several steps to make hackers' life hell. It first started with personal accounts, then made a massive leap to corporate. The startup has already reached a $1.1 billion valuation and shows no slowing down.
Then, there's Apple. For years now, it has been making strides in privacy and security. In 2021, it implemented the Mail Privacy Protection, or MPP, which caused a stir. Like everything Apple, it divided the world. Privacy advocates loved it, while marketers hated it.
The thing is, Apple wasn't done. It's now ramping up security and blocks all sorts of tracking. In short, tracking how many emails you open is essential for marketers to understand what interests you. Apple's new security feature allows you to block this tracking. So, now, marketers (myself included) are pulling their hair, but the rest of the world loves it.
It's fascinating that something as old as email itself is still important. In fact, even Google and Microsoft are making great strides to keep emails as safe as possible. Let’s hope Google does it right this time. After all, email is here to stay. So, yeah, reading emails might be a drag, but it'll be much safer now.
Women in Africa want to break the mentality that they can't be founders, but it's not easy. Unfortunately, the street vendor cliché still remains strong, and it's even more complicated when it comes to raising capital.
Investors ask men about startups but ask women how motherhood might intrude on their future in business. In the end, it's easy to see who will get the funding. Female founders receive only 4% of what their male counterparts earn.
Still, women aren't backing down. One to highlight is Polo Leteka, the co-founder of Alithea IDF, Africa's largest gender-led fund. Her work spans decades, as she started her fund in 2007, but it’s only until recently that she has seen positive change. Last year, for the first time, funding for women in Africa surpassed that of Asia and Europe. While this is cause for celebration, to many female founders, it’s only the beginning.
As the CEO of a startup in Costa Rica, Irene Rosich faced many challenges. Not only was the country's market small, but raising capital had proven to be a challenge. So she knew that it was time to venture outside the country. Her startup, EntreVideo, managed to raise capital thanks to Slidebean's help. Along the way, the startup learned valuable lessons for the future
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Tumblr was the perfect example of digital democracy. It was a place without boundaries, where communities could flock and feel safe. Tumblr had it all, from tackling racial issues to sexual diversity to fan fiction. This platform was a hit, with millions of users and billions of global views per month, until sex got in the way. Or rather, out of the way.
If you add them together, you get 284 years of life experience, and five grandkids. So, these four seniors decided to launch their startup: Randaemon. The problem they're tackling could be critical in years to come.
Kuba Tatarkiewicz found retirement to be boring. Plus, he still had the knowledge to spare. After all, he has a background in nuclear research so he focused on random numbers. These, now more than ever, are essential for digital safety, but creating a truly random number isn't easy, as many factors come into play.
He came up with a solution for random numbers in unstable nuclear energy. After patenting his invention, he called up his retired buddies and formed the company. In no time, it generated buzz, raising $525,000 in seed funding.
Now, the company has big ambitions. They aim to sell their technology to some big names. One thing is for sure, if they make it big, they won't be spending big on cars or planes. Instead, they just might create another startup.
