Paul and Rich have a follow up discussion about Marc Andreessen’s newest article and ask the important question: How can we connect and empower people to create crucial tools for society when the industry has become so transactional? Are we able to create necessary social momentum when there’s no money involved? Paul puts out a plea for Postlight to create a software development kit for education at a platform level. It remains to be seen if venture capitalists are ready to shift their focus to do the same. (Perhaps that’s an idea for Marc Andreessen to think about!)   Links  

There’s a reason to expect criticism: Paul and Rich dig into the newest article from VC Marc Andreessen. In it, Andreessen exhorts Americans to innovate and blames our lack of preparation for the pandemic on a lack of desire to do so. We reflect on the current state of America and how apparent the holes in our social governance have become since COVID-19 (especially the education system). Is there a world where VC and startups can help us improve these old systems? Has social policy towards more privatization led us towards the wrong things being optimized? We look to other innovations that have come from crises and ask: How can you install that startup-style motivation outside of commercial profit? (Spoiler: Marc Andreessen doesn’t have the answer!)

Brand Safety: On this week’s episode of Track Changes, Paul and Rich are joined by Parse.ly founders Andrew Montalenti and Sachin Kamdar. Andrew and Sachin give us the rundown on their content optimization software and the content trends they are seeing. We discuss how publishers and media outlets are being impacted by COVID and how changes in advertising is impacting those who rely on it. They also share some of the ways they are trying to give clarity to their clients in this time of uncertainty.  Links: 

Scripted Interactions: On this week’s episode of Track Changes, Paul, Rich and Gina chat about ways to keep your team focused and on track when working remotely. How do you create urgency to make sure things get done? How can you keep people focused during remote calls? We discuss the need for clear communication and accountability and share some tools to help you structure your meetings and interactions in a digital-only work world.  Links: 

This isn’t remote, this is pandemic: On this week’s episode of Track Changes, Paul and Rich chat with friend and client Tim Meaney about when things could return to normal and if they should return to normal. We reflect on some of the positive changes that have come from this pandemic, like more time with family and getting rid of inefficiencies. We also talk about the importance of resilience and of course, the hit documentary series Tiger King. Links: 

Excelsior: In this episode of Track Changes, Paul and Rich discuss the new Apple-Google contact tracing app aimed at tracking the spread of COVID. We explain what contact tracing is and how the app works. We chat about the potential difficulties of onboarding these types of apps and whether the app will be able to help the most vulnerable. We also discuss how we can best combine technology with good old fashioned testing.  Links:   

Priorities as a leader: On this week’s episode of Track Changes, Paul and Rich sit down to discuss how the pandemic is impacting business and mental health. Priorities are changing and it’s important to put health and family first. That being said, we also discuss how work can be a welcome distraction from the news and rising COVID-19 numbers. Links: 

The Grind: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich chat with Postlight’s Head of Engineering Jeremy Mack about all things video games. Jeremy teaches us about current video game trends. We learn about loot boxes, battle passes, pay-to-win games and the controversy surrounding these types of monetization. We also get some great indie game recommendations and chat about the future of gaming. Warning for anyone playing the game Journey, this episode contains some spoilers.  Links: 

Specify like a caveman: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich are joined by Gina Trapani, a managing partner at Postlight, to talk about statements of work (SOWs). We chat about Postlight’s unique SOW process. We talk about why we base our approach on trust and relationships rather than just time and money. We also talk about managing risk, what to do when someone oversteps their original demands and Paul gives some tips on how to make the SOW writing process easier. Hint: write like a caveman.  Links: 

Craft and Quality: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich chat with Vice President of Partnerships and Community at InVision, Mike Davidson. We chat about everything from tomato seeds, to shower heads to how to lead a remote team and the ups and downs of remote work. Mike shows us that the one thing these all have in common is they can help simplify your life to help you dig deeper into the things you love.  Links: