Seattle-based Wyze, which many know about from their popular smart cameras and other smart devices, went into the pandemic like everyone else with challenges to survive, but in their case, there were some additional factors being a hardware device company from global supply chain to shipping.
The startup was in the midst of funding round when the world hit pause, including investors.
At one point, they had only a couple months of cash left.
Wyze co-founders Yun Zhang, Dongsheng Song and Dave Crosby adjusted to the circumstances, introduced a new CamPlus service and turned things around with interim funding rounds.
And, now they just announced a $100M Series B round.
Congrats to the Wyze team, we're excited to see your innovations continue and thanks for sharing your story for others to learn from.
- - - Podium is a venture fund across sports and entertainment, based in Silicon Valley.
Initially as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States and North America, almost every travel, sports, recreation and hospitality business was hit hard.
That included Outdoorsy, the RV rental marketplace based in Silicon Valley, but as Americans have adjusted to travel by road and concerns of keeping a safe environment instead of a hotel, the startup has seen a massive surge into the summer.
CEO Jeff Cavins, in a conversation with Emily Chang, says Outdoorsy went from a 90% decline in business to now revenue of $3M per day.
93% of customers are first-time users of an RV experience.
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Fenway Sports Group, which owns both the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool, is in the business of both baseball and global football (soccer).
Sam Kennedy, President and CEO of the Red Sox, shares the challenges around the two sports during the pandemic.
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Calm app Chief Medical Officer and Head of Sales Omar Dawood joins SBD’s Andrew Levin to discuss the company’s deal with LeBron James, its Big Ten initiative and other mental health dynamics amid the global pandemic.
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As one of the high-profile sportstech and home fitness success stories, Peloton founder John Foley was already gearing up for growth as a public company and then the pandemic hit, causing a surge for home fitness.
From supply chain to delivery to live studio, John explains in conversation with Guy Raz of NPR how Peloton has adapted and how they see the future of home fitness.
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With the pandemic and changing economic environments, how are tech companies adjusting, shifting and adapting their financial focus and to what extent?
How do the changing economic environments alter growth plans or profitability focus?
Is the impact greater for earlier stage companies or do they have more flexibility to adjust?
What should be the priorities for CFO's?
Watch a discussion on the shifting strategic mindset, hosted by First Republic with:
Scott Clark, Head of Finance, Instabase
Javier Cortes Angel, Chief of Staff, Flexport
Venky Ganesan, Partner, Menlo Ventures
Isaac Oates, Founder / CEO, Justworks (moderator)
- - - Podium is a venture fund, accelerator and community across sports and entertainment, based in Silicon Valley. Learn more at www.podium.vc 💌 newsletter | twitter | FB | linked-in | IG
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon started his career working in a warehouse for the company he would eventually lead.
In a conversation with David Rubenstein, they cover leadership in a crisis to the future of e-commerce, including how it differentiates itself from Amazon.
Interview starts at 4:15 of the video.
- - - Podium is a venture fund, accelerator and community across sports and entertainment, based in Silicon Valley. Learn more at www.podium.vc 💌 newsletter | twitter | FB | linked-in | IG
On July 10, Japan became among the first countries in the coronavirus pandemic era to restart large-scale sporting events with spectators. By the end of the night, it was clear that the balancing act of minimizing infection risks while maximizing excitement was near impossible.
After a relatively tight ten innings of play, infielder Dayan Viciedo walked to the plate and slugged a “sayonara” home run, leading the Chunichi Dragons to a dramatic 3-2 win over the Hiroshima Carp.
The home crowd of 4,958 erupted, jumping up and down, clapping and yelling -- precisely the full-throated show of enthusiasm that Japan’s baseball league officials had spent months devising ways to prevent.
“I don’t know if I can really relieve my stress today because I’m not allowed to release my voice,” said Dragons fan Kimie Kouketsu, as she entered the stadium. “But who knows, I might sneak in a quick yell,” she said with a laugh.
Opening the gates to fans -- albeit only 5,000, or about a 10th of Nagoya Dome’s total capacity -- came at a particularly tense time in Japan, which is facing a resurgence of coronavirus cases, centered mainly around Tokyo, after successfully containing the first wave.
Despite the recent flare-up in Tokyo, Japan has had far few cases than other major countries, with just around 21,000 versus more than 3.1 million in the U.S, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Scott Boras, a sports agent who represents more than 170 professional baseball players, cited Japan, Korea and Taiwan as models for Major League Baseball, which has so far struggled to start its 2020 season. Its first game, without fans, is currently scheduled for July 23, nearly four months behind schedule.
“It’s very helpful to see baseball being operated safely in other environments,” Boras said in an interview.
Major League Baseball teams are particularly paying close attention to procedures Japan and Korea are putting into place for the return of spectators. Ticket sales account for the bulk of revenues for the teams, which are racking up big losses on player salaries.
In Japan, fans attending Friday’s games were met with a slew of new rules that proved hard to adhere to: no loud yelling, no high-fives, no towel twirling and no shouting through hands cupped like a “megaphone.”
Beyond the risk of gathering thousands of people together in crowds, research shows that yelling and singing are particularly dangerous because of the tiny respiratory particles emitted. It’s why choirs and karaoke bars have been tied to outbreaks.
“Hello everyone!” the announcer said over the stadium loudspeakers before play began in the Nagoya Dome. Fans responded mostly with silence, following the rule against loud talking. “Thank you for saying hello back to me from inside your hearts,” the announcer replied.
League officials encouraged fans to use electronic whistles and devices to play pre-recorded cheers, instead. Masks were mandatory and entry into the stadium was barred for anyone showing cold symptoms or whose temperature was above 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Seating was socially-distanced, with alternating empty rows and spaces left between groups. Some spectators laid towels on vacant chairs to make it feel less empty. Others did their best to restrain themselves from chasing foul balls, although a few fans made half-hearted tries, despite instructions not to.
At some points during the early innings, it was quiet enough to hear the whirring of the stadium’s air conditioners. Some people took to whispering to avoid being overhead in a stadium that might normally hold 50,000.
But as the game wore on and the beer kept flowing, the crowd got rowdier. Some fans began calling players’ names and, as the atmosphere built, big plays started to elicit cheers. Stadium attendants didn’t intervene.
For the players, having fans in the stands provided a welcome boost after more than a dozen games played in empty stadiums. Three of Friday’s games were won on runs scored in the final inning, a sign of how fans can sometimes sway outcomes.
“The fans cheering gave me power,” Viciedo, one of four non-Japanese players on the Dragons, told the crowd after scoring his walk-off home-run. “Thank you for your terrific rooting. It is because you came here today that I was able to play well.” Source: Bloomberg
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Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky was heading into an IPO that would have been filed on March 31st until his company, travel and the world were hit with a global pandemic that disrupted everything.
As of late June 2020, travel was making some recovery for local trips, but travel might never be the same, especially for business travel and high-density cities.
Instead, outdoors, national parks, small communities and experiences may increase along with a population shift where people don't just work from anywhere, but may want to experience living from anywhere.
Over the long-term, online experiences may also become bigger than travel itself.
Every startup, no matter how small or big, has been faced with how to adjust and adapt to the pandemic and whatever the new normal that emerges.
One of the difficult decisions Airbnb had to make was to reduce its workforce with lower demand, maybe the hardest decision a CEO has to make since in this case, it had nothing to do with quality of work but an unexpected change in the business.
A big lesson learned for startups shared by Brian has been about how success can sometimes veer a company into doing too many things at once.
The crisis has forced Airbnb to be focused, lean and scrappy...back to its startup roots.
This also means that when Airbnb does go public, likely later this or next year, it may be better positioned for growth and success.
Sometimes, less is more and this crisis may turn out to be a challenge that helped shape an even better future for Airbnb as it shifts from a company of homes and a marketplace to a community of connections and experiences.
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Podium is a venture fund, accelerator and community across sports and entertainment, based in Silicon Valley. Learn more at www.podium.vc | twitter | FB | linked-in | IG
How the Pandemic Will Shape the Near Future Conversation with Bill Gates and Chris Anderson Recorded June 29, 2020
With the pandemic impacting our worlds of sports, entertainment, startups, venture capital and life, it's important to have an understanding of the near future as we all adapt and plan ahead. - - - Podium is a venture fund, accelerator and community across sports and entertainment, based in Silicon Valley. Learn more at www.podium.vc 💌 newsletter | twitter | FB | linked-in | IG
As the NBA prepares to go into the first ever basketball bubble in Orlando, Florida due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it presents many challenges but also a unique opportunity to experiment with connecting remote fans with an up close experience.
Can the NBA leverage being able to get closer to individuals without worrying about fans or cameras blocking each other or let people hear what usually can't be heard due to crowd noise?
Rachel Nichols, Chiney Ogwumike and Paul Piece review how far the NBA could go.
- - - Podium is a venture fund, accelerator and community across sports and entertainment, based in Silicon Valley. Learn more at www.podium.vc 💌 newsletter | twitter | FB | linked-in | IG
