I missed the boat on Friday - sorry! In the spirit of better late than never, here we go.
New revenue this week: 0
2024 ARR: 0
2024 New customers: 0
Old revenue collected this week: 0
Outstanding invoices as of today: Quickbooks says it’s $68,908.11 and I’m pretty sure that it’s wrong.
First of all, congratulations to Chuck Lin! As François noted, the first baby in the company somehow feels like a milestone! After all, we do this for future generations, right? Also, welcome Jeremy Parker and Naina Shah! And thank you François Huet and Jason Block for smooth onboarding.
Dropping in on the tech team morning scrums, I had two thoughts: “Wow, look at all these people!” It’s great to have more hands on deck – we certainly have a lot of work pending! My 2nd thought, sadly, was “oh, it’s me and a bunch of dudes, as usual.” It’s not a criticism–it’s the state of the industry–but whenever I’m in a room like that, it does stick out to me (as it would to any woman).
Fundraising, which is still going on, though more quietly. I had follow-ups with the faculty advisor for Northeastern University’s NU Impact, and he says to expect signed docs in a couple of weeks–and when they sign, he will also make a small angel investment. He seems very excited about what we’re doing and is eager to help us in the Boston/MA entry. Also had follow-up with Kresge for our philanthropic debt and ironed out the remaining financial covenant questions – hope to close soon! Also waiting to hear from NY Ventures – they had me send a signed SAFE, which seems like a good sign. Finally, I’m still getting intros to seed investors!
Follow-ups from investor asks: There’s a “do me a favor” section in our quarterly investor news letter. I don’t always know what to put in there, but the one in December has yielded two follow-ups, one from Agya (last week) and one from a prospective seed investor – feels great!
I’m adding a new section because looking back and just picking out highlights feels disingenuous – as y’all know, I’m a risks-oriented person, and while I want to celebrate the wins (yay!) I’m also 80% focused on looking ahead to potential rocky shores.
Revenue: Willdan negotiation continues, and we have yet to close Related….
Refocusing on feature releases: Now that we’re back on a regular release schedule and have programmer hours, I’m feeling like we need to take a step back and be feature focused rather than task-list focused. Jason Block, François Huet and I have started discussing.
Staffing: the windup to getting designers onboard is taking time, and we’ve had a number of false starts and dashed hopes. When lost, I guess I write RFPs - joking aside, I think we need to do something more than what we have been doing (asking people if they know people). We also need customer-focused help for Marc Zuluaga, and FinOps help.
Monday is MLK Day!
Revenue follow-ups with Willdan and Related. Also, I think maybe Marc will pick up some checks from SWA(?)
Finalize LL97 321 Go! website: The new name of the NYSERDA-HPD LL97 program with KC3. I need some front-end responsiveness help.
Personally, in the absence of design-pro help, I’m going to work on more interface design. I thought the process Jason and I went through last week for the building details page worked out fairly efficiently, and I’m hoping to get Henry Baum going on implementation also.
Marc Zuluaga is demoing for GreenHomeNYC’s January Catwalk. Fun fact: I came up with that event 21 years ago! Break a leg, Marc!
And here’s what’s on my radar screen - what am I forgetting?
I believe that MLK Day is the closest we get in the US to a meaningful holiday about the struggle for a better future. I think about all the other holidays we have–Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day, Memorial Day, even Labor Day–and none of them really points to the need to come together as a country to do better. Even if you’re not a person of faith (I’m not), the project for the shared future that Dr. King lays out comes through clearly:
I will hear America through her historians, years and generations to come, saying, “We built gigantic buildings to kiss the skies. We built gargantuan bridges to span the seas. Through our space ships we were able to carve highways through the stratosphere. Through our submarines we were able to penetrate oceanic depths.” It seems that I can hear the God of the universe saying, “Even though you have done all of that, I was hungry and you fed me not. I was naked and you clothed me not. The children of my sons and daughters were in need of economic security and you didn’t provide it for them. And so you cannot enter the kingdom of greatness.” This may well be the indictment on America.
At the end of the day, the work we do is part of this project for our shared future. I wish you an enjoyable day with your loved ones, if you’re taking the day off, and look forward to continuing on in solidarity!
Feel free to leave comments below (edit on a layer to add your notes to the table below).
Did I miss a highlight?
Did I miss something that should be on my watchlist?
| Chuck Lin | |
|---|---|
| Erika Parkins | |
| François Huet | |
| Henry Baum | |
| Jason Block | |
| Jeremy Parker | |
| Maksym Khrystunov | |
| Marc Zuluaga | |
| Naina Shah | |
| Reuben Firmin | |
| Robin Neri |