True Insights: Revelations

The team at Neighborland, a platform for neighbors to take action on local issues, published its annual report covering the impact it has had on communities in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco and more. Neighborland’s Dan Parham also published an article about community-centered urban design in which he explains some of the ways to create a more continuous feedback loop between civic organizations and residents.

Namely Senior Product Advisor Chris Bohannon shared a heartfelt story about his son’s special needs, including how he is honored to work for a company that supports him like family. It’s one of those stories that truly shows the character of our Founders and the close-knit companies they create.

Mylestone’s Dave Balter gave an account of his long-term relationship with True (sharing a throwback photo of Tony Conrad during his Sphere days) and also published a list of the 17 things he finds himself doing most as CEO, from generating culture to “fraternizing frenemies.”

Design & Decisions 

The folks at Chameleon wrote a guest post for InVision’s blog titled “Why We Chose Product Redesigns Over Growth.” “We believe (a steady focus on product) is the source of unlocking greater long-term sustainable growth,” said Chameleon’s Pulkit Agrawal, noting that guidance from True’s Puneet Agarwal and other investors have helped his team maintain that ideal.

While we try our best to reserve True Insights for thought leadership wins, Veniam’s new video is worth a share given how clearly it communicates the company’s mission to build a platform that turns any car, bus, etc. into a wireless network that moves massive amounts of data between vehicles and the cloud. It’s one of the best “this is what we do and how we do it” videos we’ve seen.

Cloverpop’s Erik Larson interviewed executive coach Delynn Copley of The Copley Group about how personality type affects decision making in a piece published on Forbes. If you’re a fan of the nine personalities of the Enneagram and how they play into professional lives, be sure to take a look.

Revelations in Entrepreneurship

Puppet’s Luke Kanies published an article about how the wrong successes can hurt companies in the long run. For example, attracting “the wrong customers” can be costly and drive your business in the wrong direction. Luke also wrote a piece about the binary future of software companies on Medium.

StockTwits’ Howard Lindzon was inspired to write about “the dawn of a new investing phenomenon” after reading a Wall Street Journal piece exploring how millennials are snapping up Snapchat shares. (Note the video in Howard’s post showing a millennial Uber driver buying Snapchat shares on the Robinhood app while driving.)

Madison Reed was featured in Inc. Magazine for its advanced photo recognition technology which analyzes selfies and helps customers pick their perfect hair color. Amy Errett was also selected as a semi-finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

True Book Recommendation

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight