Quick Bytes – Dec 1st: Musk’s Latest Eccentricity

A look at the most interesting startup and business-related news stories of the week.

1/3 of the workforce gone by 2030

Quick Byte

The naysayers around job automation say it equates to ‘job loss’, while the more optimistic see it as a chance for humanity to evolve what we do each day of our lives. Regardless, it’s a reality, according to the McKinsey Institute. Their study looked at global socioeconomic factors – things like future labor demands of caring for the elderly and how businesses will use automated labor for economic efficiency. The result? They believe that a third of the global workforce could be automated by 2030. For the tech sector, a decade away is really close, and we need to start thinking about how we incorporate these kinds of studies into the businesses and technology we’re creating. Source: Futurism

The Full Story

By 2030, a little over ten years from now, as much as 30 percent of work done globally could be automated. Read the Full Article Here

When founders go too far

Quick Byte

Making the rounds at the moment is this particular clickbait-y heading from Harvard Business Review – when founders go too far. There are some interesting insights, from how the VC culture evolved to set the rules, and is starting to evolve again to be a little more “founder friendly”, to how the boardroom is set up and its subsequent indifference, at times (think, Travis Kalanick). Worth a read this weekend. Source: HBR

The Full Story

When the directors of Uber ousted its CEO and cofounder, Travis Kalanick, in June 2017, the move was paradoxically both long overdue and somewhat unexpected. Read the Full Article Here

Unhealthy giants continue to ‘healthily’ expand

Quick Byte

Large food and beverage conglomerates taking over niche brands is nothing new. Just look at the craft beer industry. But, it’s an important trend to watch in its broad sense. Let’s look at the health industry. In June, Nestle announced it’s considering selling its American candy business; Kellogg announced it will buy popular protein bar company, RX Bars; and now Mars has announced that it will invest in Kind snack bars. When huge businesses centered around creating unhealthy food are iterating, it’s definitely worth taking note. Source: NY Times

The Full Story

Mars, the privately held company best known for its confectionary brands like M&M’s and Snickers, announced on Wednesday that it will buy a minority stake in Kind, the maker of wildly popular snack bars. Read the Full Article Here

Home to office tunnel: The billionaire’s dream

Quick Byte

We all know Elon Musk is one of the greatest inventors of our time. And, true to form, he continues to cement the obligatory, slightly eccentric demeanour that goes with this title. Having raised $300,000 for tunnel boring company, The Boring Company, simply by selling hats with the logo on the front, Musk has now released the proposed map for his commuter tunnel. A tunnel that appears to pass by Musk’s residence and terminates near Space X’s headquarters. The commuting dream really looks like it could be a reality for one man. Source: Fast Company

The Full Story

It’s been nearly a year since Elon Musk proclaimed on Twitter that “Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging . . .” Read the Full Article Here