From the Desk of Eric Ries -- June 2020

From the Desk of Eric Ries -- June 2020 Edition

June 17, 2020

  From the Desk of Eric Ries 

June 2020 Edition

"We're starting to see the ways that health disparities are playing out and how minority communities, and specifically African-American communities, are having worse outcomes with coronavirus. And that is just basically shining the flashlight on what has been there for way too many years. That we have unequal access to care, that people have chronic disease in disproportionate numbers in minority communities. And the kinds of health outcomes that we're seeing now reflect this larger landscape of inequality and racism that we're long overdue for rectifying. So my hope is that some of the good work and outcomes of this experience are that we start to make the changes that our society needs that are long overdue....It's taken this pandemic to make us listen in a different kind of way. And hopefully moving forward, we will do a better job in all of these areas."

Sydney Gressel is a nurse in the pediatric emergency department at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Her words above are just a small sample of the perspective and resilience she shared during our recent conversation. As a woman of color in a profession that is always essential and has only become more so in recent months, Sydney has experience and understanding that we should all be paying attention to.Below are some job listings for those of you looking for work, volunteer opportunities for people looking for ways to give back, some discussions of my work, and a few other things I've been reading in recent weeks.

 I hope you are all continuing to make your way forward as we move into the next phase of learning how to live with the coronavirus. We are also in a new era in our country's fight against systemic racism, a reconciliation with our history that is long overdue. There is work to be done, but some of the possibilities are starting to come into focus. [Hiring]

Getro.org, was created to support job seekers by connecting them directly to their community of 500+ companies that are currently hiring (sourced through partners including Union Square Ventures and Upfront Ventures).

LTSE is hiring for a number positions in different areas of the company:

CogX: Eric Ries in discussion with Roy Bahat, A Reflection on Tech's Response to COVID-19Tech startup guru lends his business expertise to ward off dangerous PPE shortagesYour Business Is In Need of a Survival Plan -- Start Today[Other Readings]Build institutions, not apps"Institution building is a political act and needs to be understood as such. Tech giants like Google have figured out how to lobby effectively for their own interests. However, that parochial view of protecting one’s domain is no longer enough. There instead needs to be a push, a demand, for a broader set of pro-innovation reforms."Encouraging a Culture of Written Communication"Good teams communicate well, whether it’s a professional basketball team, a crew on a nuclear submarine, or a product team in a startup. As much as possible, encourage people to post anything of interest to the public channels.""The Black New Deal!" Demanding A New Corporate Contract with Black America"It’s time for another New Deal, one focused on empowering Black professionals and entrepreneurs. However, this deal/contract needs to be agreement between Corporate and Black America. This new contract between America and our Black community must be one of equals, one that is open and appreciates the full perspective of Black culture, and that is focused on real action and not just lip-service."Corporate Activism Gets Its Day. Ben & Jerry's Has Been At It for Decades."This past week, after George Floyd was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis police, we witnessed a herd of companies committing to do something that is hard to chart on spreadsheets: address America's structural racism problems."Startup Offense and Defense in the Recession"Multiple economic indicators suggests the economy is getting worse. Like Wiley Coyote suspended in mid-air and not yet realizing he is about to plummet to the ground, the US economy is magically suspended by wishful thinking and unsustainable monetary policies."The Looming Bank Collapse"For the moment, the financial system seems relatively stable. Banks can still pay their debts and pass their regulatory capital tests. But recall that the previous crash took more than a year to unfold. The present is analogous not to the fall of 2008, when the U.S. was in full-blown crisis, but to the summer of 2007, when some securities were going underwater but no one yet knew what the upshot would be."There are not enough public companies"There is a mismatch right now, and a significant one, between the demand for common stocks and the market’s supply of them."