Flex Index 9/5/23: A Top VC's Perspective on Co-Location for Startups
What does Hunter Walk think about startups being in-person?
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Investing in Connection: A VC's Take on In-Person Collaboration | Hunter Walk
In this episode, we dive into the intersection of location, collaboration, and innovation in the startup ecosystem with Hunter Walk, Partner at Homebrew. Hunter is one of the best in the business, having backed companies like Chime, Gusto, and Plaid.
Hunter shares his unique insights on whether in-person collaboration is essential for early-stage startups. Key topics:
Early Stage Office Trends: What trends are we seeing in startup work location flexibility office usage.
The Importance of In-Person: Hunter’s perspective on the role of in-person interactions on startup success.
Strategic Experimentation: How startups should be intentional and experimental in how they approach in-person collaboration.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
ICYMI: Your Expertise Featured on Flex Index!
At Flex Index, we're on a clear mission: to provide a single source of truth on workplace flexibility for every company worldwide. While we've made great progress on defining 'what' office requirements companies are implementing, we recognize that’s only part of the story.
As a greater and greater percentage of companies adopt flexible work, a new critical question is emerging – ‘how’ to make flexible work, work. To that end, we’re going to start compiling and spotlighting the best practices and thinking out there, and we're turning to you for help.
We're actively inviting the best operators and experts to join us in creating content on the ‘how’ of flexible work. Your invaluable insights, spanning from implementation to success metrics, will have a profound impact on our audience and the future of work community. We’ll promote each piece of content to our audience of 5,000+ HR and Real Estate executives across our Flex Index newsletter, social channels, and blog.
Interested? Simply complete this three-question form, and we'll be in touch soon!
Coming Sept 12th: Fortune 500 Flex Report
Fortune 500 companies play an important role in setting tone in the business community. Small companies look to the Fortune 500 as leaders to aspire to be one day, and public companies look to see what the Fortune 500 is doing when evaluating their own business practices. The Fortune 500 has led on numerous topics, whether it be embracing climate stewardship or upskilling workers in the face of AI.
Understanding the future of work is no different. Looking at the Fortune 500 can serve as a crystal ball for organizations looking to get a sense of not only where trends are headed, but which are here to stay.
So, what exactly are Fortune 500 companies doing about flexible work? We look at the flexible work policies of these top global companies and compare their practices with other large private and public companies we track on Flex Index. From that analysis we can start to project what work location flexibility will look like in the future for large companies.
We’ll share a link to this new report in next week’s newsletter.
ICYMI: AI Anxiety | How to Address in Your Org
The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is here. The integration of AI into workplace processes will have a profound impact on the job landscape, with substantial implications for employment dynamics.
It’s no surprise that AI is leading to an increase in anxiety as employees wonder how AI may impact the nature of their work, or even whether their role will still exist in the future. Calm found that 29% of adults are feeling anxious about AI.
We spoke with Kevin Delaney, CEO of Charter, and Massella Dukuly, Head of Workplace Strategy and Innovation for Charter, about what HR executives need to do to address AI anxiety in the workplace, including their four key takeaways.
Newly Added Companies
In the Media
Inc: Firms with flexible work arrangements (either fully remote or some type of hybrid schedule) are adding headcount over twice as fast as those that require employees to be in the office full-time.
Financial Times: The fortunes of downtown areas in the US have diverged since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with one group of downtowns largely restored to vibrancy and another emptier and more forlorn.
Axios: Employers who, spooked by talk of "quiet quitting," push workers to return to office, risk creating a "doom loop" since those policies signal a lack of trust in workers.
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About Scoop
Scoop is the fastest way to plan your next great office day. With Scoop, employees get more out of going in, with easily scheduled in-office days and invites. For HR and workplace leaders, Scoop provides insights on work location trends, office usage, and additional workplace solutions to get the most out of hybrid work.