The Watercooler Episode 20
It really is good to be back here at the old Watercooler, especially as we celebrate the 20th episode in the series (we meaning me and you, awesome reader). What started as a neat idea has grown into a somewhat popular, occasionally consistent, but above all heartfelt expression of gratitude to the community I’ve known and loved for several years now.
Being with you again means I can offer the one thing that this community hasn’t had to give up besides its ingenuity and heart: stories. Stories are what turn boring old “networking” into social opportunity. Stories are what make ideas and dreams potentially turn into successful businesses.
Every now and then offer a punny joke to go with your pizza and it either pops or fizzes…but the sentiment’s the same:
The Boston College Technology and Entrepreneurship Council (BCTEC) Offers Upcoming Virtual Tech On Tap
Brought to my attention by Pardees Safizadeh, one of the Boston startup community’s brightest stars, the BCTEC’s Virtual Tech on Tap promises to provide an online networking even coupled with a top-level overview of what the labor market’s looking like these days.
Within the innovation economy, the impact of COVID-19 on the tech market has been felt in multiple different areas and professionals in the space are still trying to figure out what the future might look like. TBG (The Bowdoin Group)’s Managing Director Paul Manning will be joined by Rachel Kohn, TBG Principal.
All that’s required is your Zoom account.
Bear this wisdom in mind as well:
The Boston technology and startup community is an ecosystem…. a living breathing mass of talented people and fantastic companies.
…Times may be tough; but remember in Boston …..we are tougher. -Nick Morse, Chewy
BostInno Hosts Virtual State of Innovation, Discusses COVID-19, Impacts and Responses
One can count on BostInno for a lot of things: solid, hardnosed journalism being principal among the particulars. I’d also add that the style and consistency of content is something which proves inspiring to writers hoping to learn the craft and community builders wanting to deliver to the people.
That said, treating COVID-19 as a subject is not without its share of controversy these days. A balance must be struck between avoiding panic and encouraging false hope (i.e not blasting out casualty numbers, whether deaths or job losses but also not prancing about as though there’s nothing going on). Pivots In The Age Of COVID-19 is an excellent example of how to talk COVID-19 through effective communication and honest yet empathetic approaches.
Attracting an appreciable number of attendees across social tuning in through GoToWebinar (sorry Zoom), the online event ran the gamut in terms of observations and content discoveries during the panel discussion — from the way work looks like now in addition to the ecosystem as a whole, but also what our specific entrepreneurial collective is capable of in the midst of crisis:
These are but teases of the overall experience which was carefully documented on the Twitterverse by the BostInno team. Among the many takeaways, leaning into the uncomfortable truth of the following:
- Inequalities, inequities and disparities felt beyond the traditional state of affairs.
- The emergent mental health crisis felt across multiple perspectives.
- The need for our people to be agents of change and not simply idle spectators or self-pitying selfish brats.
That was powerful and, yes, bold. I applaud people like Jen Faigel, who even before this thing started was doing good, hard work without constantly needing to say it or make herself the front page of Commonwealth Kitchen. Her vision: To effectively balance the scales and solve the problems at the root-cause level haven’t changed one bit because of COVID-19…the only crisis mode she seems to be engaged in is, once again, on how to help as many people as possible.
Reginald Swift and his team foresaw what was about to happen and engaged with the Fed. Professor Bill (sorry, I know he doesn’t like being called Professor)? He’s right too. There’s no use looking back my friends…but there is a justification for doing the best we can while we look ahead.
BNT (Boston New Technology) has a Big Tent and One Hell of a Show in The Works
When I was younger, Chris Requena told me this:
Buddy, you don’t have to be worried about whether or not this community is going to like or accept you. If you do your best, if you make the right connections based on the right intentions, that builds character and trust. We’re a community bud, and we’ll always have your back.
Since then, one of the best community builders we have has been showing me and others exactly what that looks like in the wild. Once COVID-19 struck, Chris sprang into action along with the rest of BNT. Chris didn’t worry about brand, cash flow, ratings, or whether or not he’d be able to take that selfie with a fake background stating that he’s “crushing it”.
This summit, coming up on the 13th, says a lot in the semiotic (study of symbols) sense: You see all those logos? BNT isn’t the only one on there. That’s a coalition up there…those names aren’t just the names of side-businesses or vanity projects. Those are real companies, organizations and initiatives.
Diverse yet unified around a single goal: Help.
It’s what the vast majority of this community does on the daily. That’s why, in the final analysis, these hard times will make us stronger and once we’re able to take off the masks and gather around the real watercoolers again…we can remember these days with a real sense of perspective and respect.
Dreams Can Come True: Forbes Is Making the Right Call These Days
“I have always wanted to build a company that will bring a positive change in the lives of people, both our customers and our employees.” — Oana Manolache
I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea of being a leader when Oana Manolache, our community’s foremost Bridge Builder, started providing me with an example which I still draw strength from to this day. Before everyone, their mother, and their favourite pet and choice of beverage were going virtual, the plain and simple truth is that Oana saw something in the digital landscape that other folks may have quietly acknowledged yet evidently did not want to follow through on.
Oana followed through, and being recently featured in Forbes is a testament to the fact that individuals like her are real leaders who never require a standing ovation or constant validation. Were you to give her either of those things, she’d likely raise an eyebrow and slightly laugh saying: “Ok! That’s nice. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to start the stream…a lot of people are counting on us!”.
There are those who hype technology, and there are those who harness it. There are those who dismiss the power of connectivity, and those who create whole worlds out of bringing people together through whatever medium they choose. Trailblazers — not comets, but pathfinders who build possibilities for all.
That’s all the Watercooler left this time…until Monday!
