TimesofE Weekly Newsletter: Cincinnati’s Racial-Justice Gambit. Rocket Rick Mears. And A Women-Run SPAC.
A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride:
I was looking over the stories on Times of Entrepreneurship that performed the best over the past year, in terms of traffic. They highlight what is different about Times of E — we report on people building a more just and equitable world. It’s harder journalism, but it’s necessary.
Here they are:
How Climate Innovators Are Bypassing The Power Grid
20 Great Places To Start A Business
A Mask Making Business Born of Friendship Offers A Pandemic Ray Of Light
The Hub: JP Morgan To Invest $2.5 Trillion In Climate Change
A Far-Sighted Foundation And a Private Equity Magnate Pour $200M Into Portland
The stories also highlight how connected and fluid the world has become. Where people build is a matter of choice. But wherever you go, you can’t escape our global problems. I’m thinking about that a lot as the U.S. pushes hard to vaccinate people. We’re in a mad double race against misinformation and the virus’s ability to mutate beyond the reach of a vaccine.
But refocus the lens: We can vaccinate every American citizen, and the virus could still be mutating is way toward world dominion in Africa, or South America, or Europe. In a global world, perhaps we should be more focused on sharing. Based on my various experiences reporting on right-wing America, American anti-vaxxers would line up for their shots if they heard more vaccine doses were being shipped overseas.
My cynical mode tells me it’s time for a break. The Times of E newsletter is going on a two-week hiatus while I see my older daughter off to college at the University of South Carolina. My mind keeps coming back to one of my favorite Louisa May Alcott quotes, “Change will come as surely as the seasons and twice as quick. We make our peace with it as best we can.” The seasons seem less certain now in a world where the climate is changing. Children grow up just as quickly as they ever have.
Times of Entrepreneurship Stories of the Week
After Police Killed An Unarmed Black Teenager In Cincinnati, Anxious City Leaders Took An Economic Approach. 20 Years Later, Evidence Is In.
The event became a catalyst for a program to address racial tension and close the wealth gap — and it’s now catching the attention of other cities.
THE HUB: $3B Fund For European Women VCs; $220M For New AI Institutes; Queen’s Gambit Offers A Hint Of SPACs’ Future
Senior women VCs from 20 countries have banded together to form a fund to invest in woman-led venture capital firms. Plus: If you’re obsessed with all things AI, keep an eye on what’s happening at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Science Foundation’s 11 Artificial Intelligence Institutes. Meanwhile, a special purpose acquisition company led by women could create the first Middle Eastern unicorn to be listed on Nasdaq.
Reader remark: Last week, Times of E editor Elizabeth MacBride wrote about Simone Biles’s self-doubt here. Reader Komal Dadlani, CEO of Lab4U, disagreed with Elizabeth’s take. As she wrote:
I don’t think it’s “Simone Biles’ self-doubt.” Self-doubt is not what she portrayed. She showed us how emotionally intelligent she is in knowing herself, when to push herself and when not… that’s not “self-doubt.” That’s courage and strength.”
You may have missed: Are Hospitals Such A Great Idea After All? The pandemic pushed us back toward health care at home, and Baby Boomers are embracing the trend
You may have missed: A Bakery In Evanston Emerged From the Pandemic Stronger and More Bonded To Its Town This North Shore bread bakery persevered the Pandemic, but now it faces a new challenge: The national worker shortage
Living the Dream
Best Practices: Looking to make sure more of your team gets vaccinated? Perhaps the best incentive is paid time off, as The MIT Technology Review points out.
Buzzworthy: Valerie Rein’s book Patriarchy Stress Disorder came out in 2019 but with millions of women still coping with pandemic-related job losses, it’s more relevant than ever.
Rathskeller
The 4.5 hour workweek : A productivity hack
Hunkering down and plowing through your work may cause your efforts to take twice as long. Use the Pomodoro technique — incrementalism — to shave extra hours off your workday.
Made in the U.S.A.
In the market for a birthday gift? Big Plush sells giant stuffed animals (prices start at $117.11) Just make sure you choose another gift-giving option for any friends who live in tiny studio apartments.
Wanderlust : a restaurant or activity from our Top Ecosystems list
Traveling to Indianapolis this summer? Plan a well-deserved detour to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Celebrate INDYCAR superstar Rick Mears at the “Rocket Rick Mears presented by Racemaker Press” exhibit. Or if business is more your speed, learn about legendary marketer Andy Granatelli, who made STP a household name, in the exhibit Granatelli: Larger Than Life.
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