Taylor Swift has impeccable timing. First, she launched “Crimson,” an album about heartbreak and damage, whereas I used to be within the thick of highschool. My now-retired Tumblr remains to be grateful. Extra not too long ago, Swift took on a venture to rerecord her earlier albums, reclaiming her music from her outdated report label — this time along with her personal possession as a key distinction. Her first rerecording, of “Fearless” — annotated with “(Taylor’s Model)” — got here out this yr.
After all, I feel there’s a reasonably apparent tech angle right here. Swift made a press release on artist empowerment and the significance of singer-owned music — report labels be damned — the identical yr that we noticed tech outlined by the Nice Resignation, rising entrepreneurs and distributed work. Like Swift, I feel the tech scene goes by way of an uncomfortable interval of adjusting their minds, questioning authority and getting nearer to self-advocacy consequently.
Wanting again, I unlearned so much about startups this yr, particularly relating to due diligence, formalization and what it means to be contrarian.
Due diligence is a differentiator
When Spark Capital determined to “sever all ties” with David Dobrik’s Dispo app weeks after main a deal within the firm, I instantly thought that it could set precedent throughout the enterprise capital trade. The transfer was triggered by a Enterprise Insider investigation that uncovered allegations from a lady who stated {that a} member of Dobrik’s Vlog Squad sexually assaulted her.
In some methods, I used to be proper: Unshackled Ventures and Seven Seven Six selected to step away from the corporate as nicely, donating any income from their respective investments to organizations targeted on survivors of sexual assault. In different methods, I used to be not. It’s clear that there continues to be a disconnect between what occurred with Dispo and the world of fast-moving due diligence.
