Good morning! I wanted to send along some industry updates that have popped up over the past week, highlight some podcast listens and two events to keep on your radar.
🕺 Pro tip: there is an event happening today that I think could be well worth attending a session or two, be sure to scroll to the end. Onto the update.
Headlines
🚰 When it rains it pours: The HqO Series C
HqO is a local company here in Boston that builds software for commercial real estate, an “operating system powering tenant experiences”. Earlier this month they landed a MONSTER Series C to the tune of $60m 👏. A big win for Boston and an even bigger win for the workplace industry.
“The CRE industry is in the process of shifting the value equation away from the physical nature of the buildings to the tenants and employees who occupy them. We believe that a world-class tenant experience platform will help to satisfy this shift. - Travis Skelly at PruVen Capital (Investor)
Just as restaurants were sprinting to get on modern platforms like Doordash and Uber Eats, the CRE world is looking to upgrade the tech of their buildings in a hurry.
Improving the experience of the building is a way to protect those “should we renew our lease” conversations that are coming up. Anything you can do to fill the building or reimagine the use of the space, you have to do. HqO is hitting its stride here.
❓ Orgs still undecided on how hybrid will…work
61% of organizations in a Savills survey said they are undecided if the employee or the employer would decide what days people will be in the office.
While the return to the office is on the horizon for the US there are still many unanswered questions for how they will pull off a transition to hybrid work.
People are getting anxious about the looming return. It seems the lack of clarity only adds to the problem…
🗽 Upcoming cover of New York Magazine
“This issue resurrects a recent tradition of celebrating the magazine’s founding, in April 53 years ago, by dedicating a special issue to the city’s past,” says editor-in-chief David Haskell. - Source
🍪 An improvement to feedback analogies
Listens
🛂 Vaccine requirements at the office are gaining steam
Apple Podcasts: link
PocketCasts: link
👓 Dror Poleg on the Prof G show
Apple Podcasts: link
PocketCasts: link
🎙Zuckerberg talks social audio with Casey Newton
Events
👥 PropTech And Innovation In The Workplace
Friday, May 7 @ 2pm
CEO of Convene and Dror Poleg (this guy is everywhere!) discuss the next few months in the workplace.
🪃 WeWork Innovation Summit
Wednesday, April 28 (TODAY!)
WeWork has a pretty interesting roster of topics and speakers today. Two talks I signed up for:
Hello Hybrid: How forward-thinking companies are setting their teams up for success @ 9:45am EDT
Collaborating and creating connections within distributed teams @ 1:30pm EDT
Shout out to Dan Duett for the reminder on this one ☝️
Thank you for reading, I hope some of these links found their way into new tabs on your browser. That’s when I know something really catches my attention.
If you found this post interesting, funny, helpful, please share this post with a friend so the community can continue to grow 🙏
- Brendan