Google vs Apple vs ?

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Are you cash-flow positive or contribution-margin positive? Or are you gross margin profitable? Surely, you will be profitable profitable soon?

Do you hear things like that often? We do. As the funding tap has dried up, on-demand startups have devised new and creative ways to call their ventures profitable. Ellen Huet takes a look.

Speaking of creative ways to do things. Last week we got our stalker game on in this heart felt love letter to a medium user who has the publication name we want. Let's just say, we do what it takes.

Breaking the Magician's Code

Tristan Harris is a magician. More importantly, he was Google's Design Ethicist for 3 years. His job was to make sure the design of Google's products wouldn't hijack the minds of billions of people who use Google. 

We all know (hopefully) that technology plays with our ego (think Facebook likes). But that's just one aspect of how technology can prey upon our psychological vulnerabilities. In this eye-opening read, Tristan lays it all bare in front of us.

On a completely unrelated note, Uber knows when your phone's battery is about to die and that might be a factor in determining surge pricing.

ज्ञान

The Blockchain technology has been making headlines for a while now. And why shouldn't it, 20% of the largest crowdfunded startups are Blockchain startups.

It is definitely a game-changing technology. Why? Check this out, DAO is a company whose CEO is literally a program and it just collected $131 Million in the biggest crowdsale of all time and it runs on, you guessed it, Blockchain technology. Such is the nature of Blockchain that Russia's largest bank has adopted it. But a surprisingly large number of people still don't understand what it is.

Here's a simplified explanation of how it works feat. Bill, Sally, and Alice and here's a detailed one. You're welcome.

Google VS Apple

Google vs Apple is a tussle that gets me more riled up than watching WWE Smackdown Title Championship as a kid. Alphabet even surpassed Apple's market share for a brief period in January this year. And they're far from done. 

While Chromebooks outsold Macs for the 1st time in the US, Google Assistant is kicking Siri's ass. Siri won't even tell you if it rained yesterday, Google Assistant, on the other hand, will tell you who designed the Statue of Liberty if you're just standing next to it.

This is just one part of Apple's problem. Player three has entered the game. 

Most of Siri's original creators have now moved away and created a voice-controlled AI platform called Viv. Viv is the flying dude in the gif above. Viv will tell you if it will be warmer than 70 degrees near the Golden gate bridge after 5 PM the day after tomorrow.

You just gotta ask.

What's been up

On May 13th, we hosted the launch of the paperback edition of Kashyap Deorah's book The Golden Tap at our Koramangala space. Were you there?

If you're a player under 40 and looking to go global, Tech Rocketship awards is one place you should be applying to. Read more

Anirudh Narayan is conducting a One Day Growth Hacking bootcamp at Investopad Koramangala and we're offering you a discount. Use the code "gh20" and feel cool. You've earned it.

Oh and while we're on the topic of discounts, use the code "PADFIT" to get a discount on your Fitpass membership and go work out a sweat!

Stop reading this, go back to work

For reals. No? Okay then.