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On the one hand, we could be mad that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, but the sun hasn’t risen for several days where Christine lives, so she’s pretty excited that wherever Phil lives, there are a few rays of sunshine. In other news: Haje has to move because of a flooded apartment, the weather is real, and maybe it’s time we start taking climate change seriously, y’all.
Meanwhile, for today’s Black History Month recommendation, we watch Angela Davis talk about how we cannot eradicate racism without eradicating racial capitalism. — Christine and Hey
Table of Contents
The businessupdates.org Top 3
- The list: Ron follows the layoffs announced at Salesforce last month, writing that while they were announced in January, some employees are only now learning they’re on the list. Ouch.
- Grocery store goes digital… currency then: Reliance Retail, India’s largest retail chain, is now accepting payments in digital rupees, known as Central Bank Digital Currency, Manic reports.
- The password is…: Dashlane, a password management company, has published its source code on GitHub, dat Paul writes is one of the first steps the company is taking to provide transparency on its platform.
Startups and VC
Lex, the hookup and social app that launched in 2019 with a nod to ’80s lesbian personal ads, is changing. Only how much exactly will change is still an open question, Harry writes. Sure, the venture-backed startup behind the queer app gave it a fresh coat of paint last week, but by refocusing on “friends and community,” some users fear Lex will also scrub away at its beloved raunchy essence. “Keep Lex dirty,” the users chant.
The growing ease with which anyone can create compelling audio in someone else’s voice has many people on edge, and with good reason, Devin writes. Resemble AI’s proposal to watermark generated speech may not solve it overnight, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Here’s another bucketful of stories for your reading pleasure:
Optimizing Freemium Products: Challenges and Opportunities
Image Credits: Richard Orry (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
Offering a free sample in the hopes that the recipient will become a paying customer is a core tactic at food courts, cosmetic counters, and software startups.
Freemium products are everywhere, but unless companies review and optimize their strategy, there is no effective way to optimize conversions.
“Enabling freemium, especially for established products, can present organizational and operational challenges, even if it adds value to the business,” writes Konstantin Valiotti, product director of growth at PandaDoc.
In this article he presents strategies for optimizing:
- Activation by user
- Conversion paths
- Product changes
- Where to place barriers and restrictions
Three more from the TC+ team:
businessupdates.org+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams lead the way. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
Samsung, Google and Qualcomm are ready to take us in and out of reality, Ivan writes. The trio is creating a mixed reality platform that Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon described as “a new era of highly immersive digital experiences that blur the lines between our physical and digital worlds. With our Snapdragon XR technology, Samsung’s great products and Google experiences, we have the foundation to realize this opportunity.”
As a follow up to his Apple HomePod review, Brian spoke with the company’s hardware VP, Matthew Costello, to discuss Apple’s approach of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
There are still six weeks of winter coming up, so how about six more floors?
