We’re about to jump into the future with news on some hard-hitting innovations, so let’s balance ourselves out with a new release that throws back. J.E. Sunde is a sweet indie rock man based in Minneapolis, and he’s just dropped an EP full of guitar strums and open harmonies that thoroughly channel Hall & Oates. It’s a carefree listen, and you can call that your gift for Monday.
Rise and grind, thank goodness it’s Monday, let’s talk about startups! This should surprise you zero percent, but from wherever folks are working in lieu of WeWork, the government’s Payroll Protection loans have been re-branded into “free money” that isn’t necessary to keep unprofitable startups alive but will help them increase their runway. Some major investors have been pushing their portfolio companies to apply for the loans, while others caution against it. The line here is murky, as some startups need and deserve the cash as much as anyone. But for many— like the guys who can survive for years off their current cash, who already have valuations in the billions— it’s not so much a need as a “nice-to-have.” (A haircut would also be nice to have, and yet.)
Meet a company that needs no aid: Sourd.io, birthed during the time of isolation, makes a jar attachment that monitors the gases being emitted from your sourdough starter so you don’t have to rely on the basic human instinct used by bakers for generations. The device can also measure the temperature and humidity surrounding your starter so it’s absolutely impossible to fuck up, and then— wait for it— texts you when your starter is ready to bake. If you prefer hobbies devoid of life, art, and mystery, this one’s for you.
So let’s just say you *are* a total kitchen failure, incapable of intuiting your way to anything that tastes remotely ok. The future folk have come to save your coffee routine as well. Jot, short for “just one tablespoon,” is a coffee concentrate that will be SO MUCH BETTER than whatever sludge you’ve made, so you probably shouldn’t even try. Take it from their founder, who recently told FastCompany, “You don’t know what you don’t know is good and not good about your coffee until you taste coffee that removes what has been dragging it down.” He’s right! You could never not even no-no-know, and then you would be missing out, wouldn’t you. Try Jot here.