Compost +++++++ Level 20 ======== Progressive Insurance is a big ol company, and they target low and moderate income drivers. The automotive insurance industry faces risks: * self-driving cars * ride share services * new risk models no longer use actuarial systems Progressive is making tons of cash now, and is buying up related businesses. They're also funding new product development. The problem that I've seen (3x now) when really big companies start incubators is that they cannot keep their hands off. We worked on an application that let people set goals for saving money and categorize their spending. We had to get every post to Instagram approved by the legal department, and they would never just approve it. They would make arguable irrelevant changes. That place has burned through millions of dollars and hasn't launched anything successful. The skills that get you to the top in big organizations are not the same skills as starting new ideas. You need to be a savvy politician to survive in a big organization. You don't need to be successful at your work. Getting to the executive tier at American Greetings --------------------------------------------------- The bonus structure creates incentives to push employees toward burnout. Everyone has their price. If I offer you a 150% salary bonus, you stop caring about your people talking about how the work stress is affecting their families. Mandatory weekends during photo works for developers. I saw my friends work ridiculous hours and then the whole thing was a flop anyhow. I saw families stressed out. Realizing at Fannie Mae there was a cap on my career ==================================================== Sorry but only folks from a certain pedigree can occupy these offices. Unionization in 21st century ============================ IFPTE might be most likely organization for software engineers. Conversation with executives at Progressive Insurance ===================================================== They said they had 50% annual turnover in their call centers. It was tricky to make sure all the shifts were covered. I asked why they didn't target that turnover number. They didn't want to. Call center jobs often won't let you go to the bathroom without clocking out. EHR Tutor ========= My friend Mike's mom is a nurse. Among other jobs, she taught part time at the community college. She complained to Mike that there was no way for her to train her students on how to use electronic health record systems. So Mike wrote a web app that wasn't a real EHR system, but it was a simplified version. They sold logins to the system to colleges and high schools. About five years after starting on the project, a big textbook publisher bought the company on the condition that Mike worked with them for a year and helped merge his product into their online portal. Then he quit because of the frustration of watching them ruin his baby. Relevance to ILR ---------------- * Larger firms acquire and then destroy rivals rather than innovate Ethan Applesauce Holmes ======================= I met Ethan Holmes in Cleveland when he was 16 and he and I were in the same business pitch competition. He sold jars of applesauce at local farmer's markets. He was looking for investment money. He sold a jar for $5 and made a buck off each jar. It was all sourced from a couple of local orchards. Nobody at the local tech incubators wanted to talk to him. They funded projects like DecisionDesk or Complion. I did my best to mention him to every investor that talked to me. "Go talk to this kid."