Friday Fives

1. WeWork IPO

Ever since the We Company filed its mandatory S-1 IPO paperwork last week our social feeds have been jam packed with commentary on the contents. With its roots in coworking with WeWork, the group now encompasses coliving with its WeLive brand, and has ventured into education with WeGrow - and has a mind blowing valuation of $47 billion. The paperwork provides the first in-depth look at the company’s finances; a corporate governance structure which “makes Chinese firms look American, pre–big tech”; insights into the influence and control of CEO Adam Neumann over the company (10 pages of disclosures are are dedicated to the relationships of relationships with Neumann); and what is being coined as “invented metrics”.

Here are a few of our favourite reads on the subject:

WeWTF

WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

WeWork IPO Shows It’s the Most Magical Unicorn

2. Hilton’s innovating customer experience

The hotel industry has faced rapid tech disruption over the past decade. This disruption has its challenges to the industry, but brings with it significant opportunities. Hilton is one of the big guys who have looked to disrupt their own customer experience. Two years ago they announced the launch of their innovation lab in northern Virginia - an incubator and showcase for cutting-edge technologies. Here’s a roundup of some of the innovations coming out of the lab into a Hilton near you.

We Visited Hilton’s Innovation Lab. Here Are 7 Things We Learned About Modern Hotels

3. Dominos innovation garage

Pizza chain Dominos is no stranger to innovation, appearing on Fast Company’s 2019 list of most innovative companies citing examples such as the 30-minute guarantee in 1973; Dom - the voice ordering assistant rolled out in 2014; and experimental self-driving robots in 2016. This week the self proclaimed “tech company that sells pizzas,'' announced the launch of an innovation garage in Michigan aimed at bringing new innovations to life. It’s not Domino’s first foray into innovation labs - in 2016 they launched DLAB in Queensland which developed what it claims was the world's first autonomous delivery vehicle, DRU.

4. Y Combinator’s Demo Day tech trends

The biannual Y Combinator Demo Day kicked off this week, with 174 startup pitches over two days. Here’s a great roundup of some of the tech trends that came out of the pitches - from personalised fashion; to the housing crisis; to startups for startups.

5. Ten things to think about in tech, entertainment, design, innovation, future of work and more

Here we’re managing to sneak in another ten great reads in one from our Head of Brand and Communications, Anya Merryfield.

Ten things to think about #3: Digital marketing, internet hate, ethics, empathy and 5G

Tracy MoyesAugust 22, 2019Comment