Strictly Curious Newsletter №59

News

Innovation: Most innovation originates from customers, not companies. Link

Robotics: Europe’s 6-wheeled delivery robots begin invasion of US campuses. Estonia’s Starship plans to have 5000 delivery robots in service by 2021. But do the economics make sense? Link

Retail: Gen Z shopping habits can fuel a brick-and-mortar resurgence. 81% of Gen Z prefers to shop in stores, and 73% like to discover new products in stores. More than half said shopping in stores allows them to disconnect from social media and the digital world. Link

Drones: Alphabet is partnering with FedEx and Walgreens to bring drone delivery to the US. Link

Boards: When women are on boards, male CEOs are less overconfident. Link

Psychology: Age dampens narcissists’ self-love. Link

Creativity: Go ahead and tell your most embarrassing story. It will boost your creativity. Link

Media: How many music streams does it take to earn a dollar? Link

E-Commerce: China has an ecommerce giant you’ve never heard of. Pinduoduo draws shoppers outside China’s big cities with low-priced goods. It trails only Alibaba in number of users, and has a larger market cap than eBay. Link

Startups: Want more investors to your startup? Better make an impassioned pitch. Link

Venture Capital: London’s VCs are rubbish at diversity. London VC firms remain woefully behind on diversity and inclusion, according to Diversity VC’s latest report. That’s not good enough. Link

Media: The ‘Downton Abbey’ economy: How one costume drama reinvented British TV. The beloved series spawned a cottage tourism industry and a new feature film. But ‘Downton’ also changed the way we produce and watch international television (and also, possibly, the way we understand the U.K. itself). Link

Blog Posts

The daredevil unicorns: Why WeWork, Juul, and Uber play with fire. Lawless startups exploiting the seams of regulation are suddenly feeling the heat — and getting burned. Link

Your top rival can be your biggest ally. Friendly competition can expand the “win” pie and enhance your performance. Link

Interesting Numbers

The retail apocalypse isn’t what you think it is. For every retailer that’s closing stores, 5.2 are opening new locations. Link

The hard truths of climate change — by the numbers. A set of troubling charts shows how little progress nations have made toward limiting greenhouse-gas emissions. Link

Video: Why smartphones stopped being cool

Detours

The 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world. Link

Sleep under the glow of the Aurora Borealis in the North Pole igloos. Link

Retail Therapy

The top 100 free online courses. Link

Contemplation

“You must do the things you think you cannot do.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)