PLUS: Smart buildings and the economics of the Kentucky Derby.
In space, no one can hear you… dream? Space company Orbital Assembly is planning to launch 2 space stations in 2025 and 2027, respectively, where you could potentially book a room. Your vacation amenities would include stunning views and varying levels of gravity.
In today's email:
Wearables: Why they're the future of health care.
Chart: The Kentucky Derby means business.
Smart buildings: Are they a smart move?
Around the web: The history of viral content, deep fake music vids, communities for side hustlers, and more cool internet finds.
🎧 On the go? Listen to today's quick podcast to hear Jacob and Rob talk shop about Dirt (not the ground schmutz), the economics of the Kentucky Derby, and how wearables can impact the future of health.
The big idea
Are wearables the future of health care?
When Fitbit hit the scene in 2008, it sparked a step-counting revolution.
As technology evolves, modern wearables are capturing more granular measurements and, per The Economist, could play a massive role in mainstream health care going forward.
So where do wearables fit in?
The Economist lays out 3 reasons why wearables could take modern health care to the next level:
Early diagnosis: Some examples include the Oura ring's ability to predict menstrual cycles, and Whoop's ability to detect covid early using respiratory rate data. In the future, this could include a wider spectrum of psychological and physical diagnosis.
Personalized treatment: One example is Levels, which pairs a continuous glucose monitor with a smartphone app to track how a user's diet impacts their blood sugar, prompting many users to make dietary changes. In the future, this could expand beyond food to help people determine which prescriptions will be most effective for treating their conditions.
Managing chronic disease: Counting steps has proven to be useful for patients with chronic heart disease, and continuous glucose monitors help monitor diabetes. In the future, wearables could also aid in treating dementia and Alzheimers.
But before wearables become part of everyday treatment, there are some kinks to iron out.
Data privacy…
… is a contentious issue in healthcare, and determining who should own what data and how it should be shared raises legitimate questions. Most wearables collect a ton of data — fueling worries that it could be abused.
The health care system isn't exactly known for moving fast, which means it could take a while for regulators to put rules in place.
But the promise of wearables is huge. At the very least, being able to connect data from wearables to individual health records would allow doctors to monitor key markers over time, and capture quicker feedback on how treatments are working.
BTW: If you're interested in building in the wearables space, the Trends team put together a report on some of the hottest opportunities in the sector.
SNIPPETS
Ugly Monday: As a wide sell-off continues across the market, the S&P 500 dropped to its lowest point in over a year.
One clean day: For the 1st time, California's power grid was powered 100% by renewables on April 30. The state's goal is to reach 100% clean energy by 2045.
Cutting back: Uber's CEO said the company would slow hiring amid a "seismic shift" in the market. The company will also cut marketing costs and focus on profitability.
Pay dirt: Dirt, a newsletter funded through community NFTs, raised a $1.2m seed round to expand its Web3 media ecosystem.
Breaking barriers: Women make up 40% of all business owners, but many still face inequities when starting their ventures. The Hustle surveyed 80+ female entrepreneurs about their experiences; here is some of their best advice for women taking the plunge into being their own bosses.
Voyage Foodsraised $36m for its ethical no-peanut peanut butter and cacao-free chocolate, which customers can expect to see in stores later this year. #ecommerce-retail
#ecommerce-retail
Sun island: Portugal will open a floating solar park in July, consisting of 12k panels that will supply 1.5k families with power. #clean-energy
#clean-energy
Final frontier: European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti posted the 1st TikTok from space. She's part of SpaceX's Crew-4 mission, which arrived at ISS last month. #emerging-tech
#emerging-tech
Lawsuit: Match Group, owner of Tinder and OkCupid, is suing Google, claiming its Play store violates antitrust laws by not letting apps use their own payment systems. #big-tech
Ah, the Derby — one of the few days each year when millions of people seemingly become experts on horses despite having never ridden one.
In all seriousness, this year's Derby was crazy, with Rich Strike miraculously winning against 80-1 odds. (You can watch the colorful recap here.)
The Derby spurs massive economic activity:
Regionally, 2022's race was expected to bring in$366.8m, per Louisville Tourism.
The winning horse bagged $1.86m, meaning Rich Strike — who was purchased for $30k last fall — literally struck riches.
What's next for the sport?
We wouldn't be surprised if horse racing saw a massive boom in the US, buoyed by a hit reality docuseries, similar to what Formula 1 is experiencing now.
As for Derby owner Churchill Downs, the company's focused on international growth. For instance, Japan, according to CEO Bill Carstanjen, has a horse racing industry that's ~3x as large as America's.
Office Upgrade
Are smart buildings a smart move?
While you were working from home, office buildings got smarter.
"Smart" buildings are like giant smartphones, featuring various systems (like apps) that communicate with each other under a single operating system.
Companies in this space raised ~$2.9B last year, per WSJ, as employers try to convince workers to come back to the office.
The buildings…
… are expensive to outfit but come with big perks, including:
Safety measures: Facial recognition cameras open doors and elevators, resulting in fewer high-touch surfaces; smart sensors track particles linked to viruses, pumping in fresh air when levels become too high.
Energy savings: Smart sensors help optimize HVAC systems, cutting energy costs and carbon emissions.
But running your building like a computer…
… comes with some familiar problems. Among the biggest are:
Privacy: The idea of facial-recognition cameras tracking your every move at work feels kinda creepy.
Security: Smart buildings are vulnerable to hacks that could let criminals gain access to the building or sensitive data.
Landlords can prevent risks by hiring cybersecurity experts to test and monitor the building, but cybersecurity consultants say not many do.
The bigger question is…
… will smart buildings actually get workers back to the office?
Maybe, but probably not as effectively as other incentives. Take CoStar, a commercial real estate company that raffled off free Teslas, vacations, and cash prizes to workers who returned to the office last year.
TRENDS
The $50B+ pop-up shop industry is back
The brick-and-mortar version of viral marketing is resurging.
Most big-shot ecommerce operations have expansion plans, and plenty of those heavy hitters have also found smashing success with "flash retail."
Our Trends analysts dissected related business opportunities to pounce on, including virtual pop-up stores designed for unique user experiences. See the full report, plus our archive of industry exposés.
If you're not already a member, try a week of Trends for deep market research and access to 17k business builders.
📼 On this day: In 1975, Sony released the Betamax in Japan. VHS would win the battle for home movies, but Sony made new Betamax cassettes until 2016.
💌 That's interesting: The history of viral content, from pre-internet chain letters to 2014.
🎵 Art: Kendrick Lamar's video for "The Heart Part 5" features deep fakes of Kanye West, Will Smith, and OJ Simpson by Deep Voodoo, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone's deep fake studio.
💻 Useful:Indie Hackers is a community for people building businesses and side hustles.
👂 Huh:This site turns Wikipedia edits into music. You can also explore recent changes.
