3 Things: BizDev for Tech Freelancers, Women's Jeans with Side Pockets, Bamboo Distributor
Happy Sunday and a very warm welcome to all the new subscribers! I’m thrilled and honored to have you as readers and truly appreciate your thoughts and feedback 🙏. Each edition of 3 Things will contain a dive into 3 rabbit holes I’ve found myself going down recently. Subscribe to get each week’s edition straight to your inbox and if you enjoy it, please share (I suck at self-promotions so can use your help)! This past week I’ve been thinking a lot about:
BizDev for Tech Freelancers
Womens Jeans with Side Pockets
Bamboo Distributor
1. BizDev for Tech Freelancers
Maybe it’s the pandemic. Maybe it’s the fact that so many people have made a lot of money at tech companies or in the stock market. Whatever the reason, the “great resignation” is real. More people than ever before are leaving their jobs and in particular, mid-career tech (and healthcare) professionals between 30-45. From April to June 2021 more than 11.5 million people quit their jobs and that trend hasn’t been slowing. Many of these people have amassed a particular skillset at big tech companies and are now opting to take those skills solo as a freelancer for hire. In a recent article by tech journalist Kevin Roose title “Welcome to the YOLO Economy” he describes this trend of tech professionals, flush with cash, opting to take more risk and leave stable and extremely well paying (but probably boring??) jobs to pursue something they’re passionate about or to take it easy and find ways to earn enough with the skills they have. The mindset of “you only live once” (YOLO) seems alive and well among coastal millennials who have used the pandemic as a time to reflect on their lives and re-evaluate their priorities.
With millions of new free agents, the number of designers, marketers, writers, engineers, etc for hire is unprecedented, as is the demand for these skills among early/growth stage startups which have been funded at an equally unprecedented rate over the last year and a half. Given how hard it is for startups to compete with the behemoths like Facebook and Google, and the lack of qualified people looking for full-time roles, many are actively seeking out these freelancers to fill gaps. The problem is, 99% of these freelancers hate (and are horrible at) doing business development to find the right clients for them. As a venture capitalist, I find that I am constantly trying to matchmake between companies looking for certain skills and solo practitioners who would be a good fit based on their previous experience (industry, stage, etc) and particular skills. There is an opportunity to act as the intermediary between these two groups and match relevant freelancers to startups looking to hire. Think of it as a modern recruiting firm but with a different business model and process as this would be a volume play for short-term stints. A company could focus on a specific skill like designers (Awesomic is a good example here) or content writers (such as The Writer Finder) and eventually roll up all of the in-demand disciples to become the go-to place for startups to find vetted, skilled freelancers.
2. Women’s Jeans with Side Pockets
My favorite part of the last 2 years has hands down been the fact that I haven’t put on a pair of jeans since March 2020 and pretty much wear a daily uniform of Lululemon spandex and Uniqlo Airism shirts. I really hope that doesn’t change 😂. Apparently I’m not alone as athleisure orders rose 84% during the pandemic and the industry reached a market size of $285B in 2020 with an expected 8.6% CAGR from 2021-2028. The last few years in general have seen the trend towards functional and comfortable when it comes to fashion for Millennial and GenZ women. Brands like Rothys and Allbirds replaced heels and Lululemon, Vuori, and Athleta replaced slacks and even jeans for some. We are now seeing the rise of athleisure start to permeate the workplace as work from home during the pandemic has solidified this preference for comfy.
While comfort plays a large role in what women choose to wear, function is becoming equally important. You’ve likely either complained or heard women complaining about how all they want in clothing are pockets. There are even plenty of memes about it. In particular, women’s jeans have essentially useless pockets. I’ve personally dropped more than one phone in the toilet while keeping it in the butt pockets since the front ones can’t hold more than 1/4 of a phone. Men can put their phone, keys, wallet, headphones, and protein bar in a single pocket and women are stuck with a stick of gum. For close to a decade, I’ve been the person who spends $100+ on athletic spandex (which now doubles as everyday work clothes) and wears only free t-shirts that I’ve received from various events or races. I’m willing to pony up the cash for Lululemon or Athleta because they offer stretchy pockets on the sides of the thighs that can hold my phone, headphones, keys, and more. I never need a purse and since the leggings and pockets are tight and angled, they are not unflattering from an aesthetic perspective. I’ve desperately wanted a company to create jeans that have similar sleek, versatile pockets on the sides to offer the same utility as my spandex. I even tried to prototype these a few years ago but unfortunately I don’t know how to sew. The denim jeans market is $110 billion annually so if anyone has the skills and interest to actually pursue this, let me know!
3. Bamboo Distributor
If you’ve ever felt a set of bamboo sheets or pair of bamboo underwear, you know there is no comparison to the soft, cool fabric. Bamboo is a member of the grass family Poaceae and is one of the fastest growing plants in the world with certain species able to grown up to 36 inches (3ft!) in a single day! It is used for a variety of things ranging from building materials due to its particularly high strength-to-weight ratio and fact that it has a higher tensile strength than steel, flooring, clothing, utensils, paper, furniture, and even beer! In addition to its versatility, bamboo is touted for its sustainability. Bamboo produces 35% more oxygen than equivalent tree coverage and a hectare of bamboo can sequester 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. It also regrows from its own shallow root system which reduces excess tilling and soil erosion
Today, the majority of bamboo is grown in Southeast Asia but it is also endemic to other parts of the world including Central America, Mexico, and even parts of the Southeastern US. From a distribution perspective, almost all commercial bamboo coming to the US or Europe is coming from China which means that some of the eco-friendly benefits are cancelled out by the carbon footprint of transport and it’s also challenging to control the quality. A company can work with growers in Mexico and the US to build a local distributor or raw product for all kinds of use cases. The transportation costs would be vastly diminished, the quality of product can be tightly controlled, and different types of raw bamboo can be sold as-is or turned into construction materials, fabrics, and the building blocks for other uses. Given the fact that now over 2/3 of Americans prefer to buy sustainable, eco-friendly brands, there will only be more demand for bamboo products. Layer on top the fact that nearly 80% of Americans would prefer to buy products made in the US and will pay more for them, and you have the tailwinds for a large business.
That’s all for today! If you have thoughts, comments, or want to get in touch, find me on Twitter at @ezelby and if you enjoyed this, please share with a friend or two!
~ Elaine