The Leaderboard
Our ultra-fast Daily: Three takes on new products. Yesterday’s top ten launches. That’s it.
Is this Zapier for people?
Who doesn’t love the feeling of checking something off of their to-do list? Sadly, managing that list is just another thing to do.
Routine is one of the latest launches to tackle list burden by combining notes, tasks, and your calendar using a fast keyboard shortcut method. Maker Julien Quintard explained that since both tasks and notes are information-based, he saw no reason why they should be split up.
“In Routine, tasks can be enhanced with a media-rich description (i.e a note) but notes can also embed checkboxes which are full-fledged tasks that can be scheduled, delegated, and more.”
Routine’s integration with Google Calendars and Tasks provides big benefits. Of course, there’s strong competition among list and productivity tools. Commenters inquired about the differences between Dynalist, and Workflowy has similar benefits too.
Then there’s the recent launch of Macro. Macro’s checklists are beefed up with the ability to assign tasks, automate actions, and track progress.
We’re big on note-taking and productivity tools here. Like you, we’re always searching for the ones that give us feels and form permanent habits. Both products have piqued interest in the community. One commenter noted on Routine:
“I have the same feeling I got when I discovered Notion a few years ago: I see the deep potential of the product and the team velocity. 🚀" - Alexis Jamet
Now let’s see if this one sticks.
Routine is one of the latest launches to tackle list burden by combining notes, tasks, and your calendar using a fast keyboard shortcut method. Maker Julien Quintard explained that since both tasks and notes are information-based, he saw no reason why they should be split up.
“In Routine, tasks can be enhanced with a media-rich description (i.e a note) but notes can also embed checkboxes which are full-fledged tasks that can be scheduled, delegated, and more.”
Routine’s integration with Google Calendars and Tasks provides big benefits. Of course, there’s strong competition among list and productivity tools. Commenters inquired about the differences between Dynalist, and Workflowy has similar benefits too.
Then there’s the recent launch of Macro. Macro’s checklists are beefed up with the ability to assign tasks, automate actions, and track progress.
We’re big on note-taking and productivity tools here. Like you, we’re always searching for the ones that give us feels and form permanent habits. Both products have piqued interest in the community. One commenter noted on Routine: “I have the same feeling I got when I discovered Notion a few years ago: I see the deep potential of the product and the team velocity. 🚀" - Alexis Jamet
Now let’s see if this one sticks.
RIP Craigslist
Millennials to boomers have something to bond over — a Craigslist memory? While Craigslist's retro simplicity may appeal to diehard fans, secondhand sellers have been flocking to newer tech.
Yesterday a new reseller product launched called Backflip with a model driven by simplicity. Maker Adam Foosaner explained:
“My co-founder and I stumbled on the idea behind Backflip when moving between apartments… We should be able to sell [our electronics] in a matter of minutes by just taking a picture on our phones.”
Users go to the Blackflip website, select their device, and get a quote. The physical transaction is done for free with The UPS Store – no box or shipping label required. Drop it off or schedule a pickup and your payment is guaranteed by Backflip.
“I finally have a chance to clean out my electronics drawer. Love it!” - Hunter Hodnett noted.
Backflip’s approach might appeal to sellers who just want to get rid of some stuff quickly. Other players in this space have stretched across channels. Poshmark, which went public in January, created a whole fashionista social community around reselling. StockX and Alt are working to ride trends in alternative investments as part of their resale model.
StockX is a shining example of the growth in the reseller space. It had a record year of revenue and just closed a funding round resulting in a $3.8 billion valuation. Beyond bidding and selling, StockX delivers users a host of data like historical sales and authenticates the sneakers too. Ebay announced their own authentication program to play catch up in October.
Besides the pandemic and eCommerce growth, another reason for the resale boom is interest in sustainability. The demand is so strong that brands like Gucci are playing with their own resale models.
If you’re in the market for sustainable threads but are looking for something new, you can check out recently launched Good Garms instead. Otherwise, it might be time to…
Yesterday a new reseller product launched called Backflip with a model driven by simplicity. Maker Adam Foosaner explained:
“My co-founder and I stumbled on the idea behind Backflip when moving between apartments… We should be able to sell [our electronics] in a matter of minutes by just taking a picture on our phones.”
Users go to the Blackflip website, select their device, and get a quote. The physical transaction is done for free with The UPS Store – no box or shipping label required. Drop it off or schedule a pickup and your payment is guaranteed by Backflip.
“I finally have a chance to clean out my electronics drawer. Love it!” - Hunter Hodnett noted.
Backflip’s approach might appeal to sellers who just want to get rid of some stuff quickly. Other players in this space have stretched across channels. Poshmark, which went public in January, created a whole fashionista social community around reselling. StockX and Alt are working to ride trends in alternative investments as part of their resale model.
StockX is a shining example of the growth in the reseller space. It had a record year of revenue and just closed a funding round resulting in a $3.8 billion valuation. Beyond bidding and selling, StockX delivers users a host of data like historical sales and authenticates the sneakers too. Ebay announced their own authentication program to play catch up in October.
Besides the pandemic and eCommerce growth, another reason for the resale boom is interest in sustainability. The demand is so strong that brands like Gucci are playing with their own resale models.
If you’re in the market for sustainable threads but are looking for something new, you can check out recently launched Good Garms instead. Otherwise, it might be time to…
A Clubhouse competitor you haven’t heard of
Clubhouse is trying to make a getaway from a growing list of big competitors.
We recently talked about how Twitter, Slack, and LinkedIn are all working on audio features. Then yesterday, news broke that Twitter was reportedly in talks to acquire Clubhouse for $4B. Meanwhile, Facebook launched Hotline into beta testing — their audio experiment that looks like a cross between Instagram Live and Clubhouse with a more formal Q&A and recording features.
Perhaps in a well-timed move to gain loyalty from the creator community early, Clubhouse introduced direct payments this week à la a new partnership with Stripe.
Clubhouse may have its first monetization feature but there have been skeptics. One of the biggest flaws they see — really in social audio in general — is lack of curation.
Yesterday Angle Audio launched and a few early adopters chimed applauding the product’s quality conversations:
“It's one of the best ways to learn and discuss hot topics with experts - gotta love some quality curation AND chit chat...” - Mingle Padegimaite
“... it felt like much more intimate, curated, premium content and people were present... - Nick Ryde
Maker Matthias Strodtkoetter explained that Angle is a social audio app focused on intimate and intentional conversations. Unlike Clubhouse, Angle has no stage and includes text-chat, screen-sharing, and time-capped conversations.
One commenter mentioned she doesn’t see Clubhouse as a competitor and she makes a good point. On one hand, Clubhouse is good for contributors—ideal even for lurkers. Listeners can hear thought leaders dive into topics of interest. On the other hand, Angle is inclusive. You’re not on permanent mute when you enter a room because you’re welcome, perhaps expected, to contribute.
This is Angle’s second launch after rebranding and improving its core features since its beta launch. There’s more to come.
Social audio seems like anyone’s game at this point.
We recently talked about how Twitter, Slack, and LinkedIn are all working on audio features. Then yesterday, news broke that Twitter was reportedly in talks to acquire Clubhouse for $4B. Meanwhile, Facebook launched Hotline into beta testing — their audio experiment that looks like a cross between Instagram Live and Clubhouse with a more formal Q&A and recording features.
Perhaps in a well-timed move to gain loyalty from the creator community early, Clubhouse introduced direct payments this week à la a new partnership with Stripe.
Clubhouse may have its first monetization feature but there have been skeptics. One of the biggest flaws they see — really in social audio in general — is lack of curation.
Yesterday Angle Audio launched and a few early adopters chimed applauding the product’s quality conversations:
“It's one of the best ways to learn and discuss hot topics with experts - gotta love some quality curation AND chit chat...” - Mingle Padegimaite
“... it felt like much more intimate, curated, premium content and people were present... - Nick Ryde
Maker Matthias Strodtkoetter explained that Angle is a social audio app focused on intimate and intentional conversations. Unlike Clubhouse, Angle has no stage and includes text-chat, screen-sharing, and time-capped conversations.
One commenter mentioned she doesn’t see Clubhouse as a competitor and she makes a good point. On one hand, Clubhouse is good for contributors—ideal even for lurkers. Listeners can hear thought leaders dive into topics of interest. On the other hand, Angle is inclusive. You’re not on permanent mute when you enter a room because you’re welcome, perhaps expected, to contribute.
This is Angle’s second launch after rebranding and improving its core features since its beta launch. There’s more to come.
Social audio seems like anyone’s game at this point.
The VR company that’s back from bankruptcy
Sandbox VR has emerged from the rubble.
The VR experience company first launched onto Product Hunt three years ago, and then in 2020 with Sandbox VR 2.0 featuring a new Star Trek experience and location in San Francisco. Sandbox combines the latest VR hardware, AAA-quality content, and movie quality, real-time motion capture rigs to create full-body experiences.
Last week the co-founders announced that they’ve bounced back from bankruptcy and will be opening a new location in Las Vegas at the Grand Canal Shoppes in the Venetian Resort.
It’s the company’s first time in the Vegas market but they will be occupying a spot once taken by The Void, another VR experience company that had brought visitors popular Star Wars and Avengers experiences through its Disney partnership before falling victim to pandemic closures.
Two of Sandbox’s seven current locations, Austin and Chicago, have been reopened under strict COVD-19 safety protocols and the company has seen an increased demand of 30% since before the pandemic. It plans to expand to 15 locations by the end of the year.
VR experiences are also opening again worldwide from Germany to Australia.
While the rest of us wait, here are six more fun VR, AR, or spatial experiences.
Karaoke Night - Get your song ready – it’s VR karaoke night
Topia - World-building with spontaneous video meet-ups
Unai - A VR headset and virtual world designed in harmony
YUR - A fitness tracker to clock those VR movements
Supernatural - A Peloton experience minus the bike plus VR
Diaroma - On-the-go AR filmmaking with the Litho controller
The VR experience company first launched onto Product Hunt three years ago, and then in 2020 with Sandbox VR 2.0 featuring a new Star Trek experience and location in San Francisco. Sandbox combines the latest VR hardware, AAA-quality content, and movie quality, real-time motion capture rigs to create full-body experiences.
Last week the co-founders announced that they’ve bounced back from bankruptcy and will be opening a new location in Las Vegas at the Grand Canal Shoppes in the Venetian Resort.
It’s the company’s first time in the Vegas market but they will be occupying a spot once taken by The Void, another VR experience company that had brought visitors popular Star Wars and Avengers experiences through its Disney partnership before falling victim to pandemic closures.
Two of Sandbox’s seven current locations, Austin and Chicago, have been reopened under strict COVD-19 safety protocols and the company has seen an increased demand of 30% since before the pandemic. It plans to expand to 15 locations by the end of the year.
VR experiences are also opening again worldwide from Germany to Australia.
While the rest of us wait, here are six more fun VR, AR, or spatial experiences.
Karaoke Night - Get your song ready – it’s VR karaoke night
Topia - World-building with spontaneous video meet-ups
Unai - A VR headset and virtual world designed in harmony
YUR - A fitness tracker to clock those VR movements
Supernatural - A Peloton experience minus the bike plus VR
Diaroma - On-the-go AR filmmaking with the Litho controller
Bots coming in hot
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is having a moment.
RPA is a somewhat new term to describe using intelligent technology (i.e. bots) to emulate human interactions and automate business processes. RPA isn’t new, but it’s a fast-growing area of tech along with AI, particularly now with companies making leaps into digital transformation due to the pandemic.
While a few companies took an early lead in this space, we’ve seen intriguing RPA innovators launch during this boom.
Maker Sergey Yudovskiy launched ElectroNeek RPA a year ago. ElectroNeek, a W20 Y Combinator alum, is an RPA platform for hunting and automating workflows. One of ElectroNeek’s drivers has been to democratize RPA, i.e. make it accessible for small to medium companies. For a fixed price, developers can design and save workflows as RPA bots, then deploy them anywhere with unlimited licenses.
The model seems to be working. In January, ElectroNeek reported 5x annual revenue growth compared to 2019, driven partly by mid-market companies.
Another innovator in this sector is nate. For all of the talk around RPA, not much is said about what it can do for consumers. Maker Albert Saniger introduced Nate in its March launch:
“We’re excited for you all to check out nate - the world’s only universal consumer shopping app, powered by AI… We developed RPA technology that can navigate websites in the same way humans do.”
Hate filling in your details everytime you check out? Autofill and Apple Pay help in specific cases, but nate works to eliminate all of it. With the app, you can skip the checkout process from anywhere.
Worried about spending too much?
“One pro tip: nate actually also applies all publicly available discounts automatically to your purchases, so we can help you save some $$$ and you don't have to lift a finger!” - Thais Branco, Maker
There are concerns about the implications of RPA, namely bots taking human jobs. Right now the tech is mostly just improving tech silos and taking some of the pain out of shopping.
RPA is a somewhat new term to describe using intelligent technology (i.e. bots) to emulate human interactions and automate business processes. RPA isn’t new, but it’s a fast-growing area of tech along with AI, particularly now with companies making leaps into digital transformation due to the pandemic.
While a few companies took an early lead in this space, we’ve seen intriguing RPA innovators launch during this boom.
Maker Sergey Yudovskiy launched ElectroNeek RPA a year ago. ElectroNeek, a W20 Y Combinator alum, is an RPA platform for hunting and automating workflows. One of ElectroNeek’s drivers has been to democratize RPA, i.e. make it accessible for small to medium companies. For a fixed price, developers can design and save workflows as RPA bots, then deploy them anywhere with unlimited licenses.
The model seems to be working. In January, ElectroNeek reported 5x annual revenue growth compared to 2019, driven partly by mid-market companies.
Another innovator in this sector is nate. For all of the talk around RPA, not much is said about what it can do for consumers. Maker Albert Saniger introduced Nate in its March launch:
“We’re excited for you all to check out nate - the world’s only universal consumer shopping app, powered by AI… We developed RPA technology that can navigate websites in the same way humans do.”
Hate filling in your details everytime you check out? Autofill and Apple Pay help in specific cases, but nate works to eliminate all of it. With the app, you can skip the checkout process from anywhere.
Worried about spending too much?
“One pro tip: nate actually also applies all publicly available discounts automatically to your purchases, so we can help you save some $$$ and you don't have to lift a finger!” - Thais Branco, Maker
There are concerns about the implications of RPA, namely bots taking human jobs. Right now the tech is mostly just improving tech silos and taking some of the pain out of shopping.
Zapier on steroids?
Last week the makers of Paragon, a low-code visual builder for API workflows which launched last year, introduced Paragon Connect. The new Connect SDK allows developers to embed user-facing business integrations into their product in minutes. Many engineers in the community were glad to see it:
“This will save months for early-stage teams, great idea & product! 😎” - Trevor Sookraj
According to Paragon, the average company today uses over 100 different cloud apps. The goal of Paragon Connect is to save developers from the repetitive work of integrations. Commenters were quick to make comparisons to Zapier.
Zapier has become a go-to platform for both non-technical people and developers to speed through integrations. Paragon Connect may serve a more technical audience than some of Zapier’s customer base, but feedback shows an appetite for a tool that enables native integrations.
“Incredible product by the team! Much better (and needed) model compared to Zapier." - Shaun Liu
“Zapier on steroids. About time! Great work Paragon.” - Ken Wohl
Paragon co-founder, Brandon Foo explained how it works:
“Paragon… can help offload the (not fun) engineering work... adding configuration UI for each integration, access token management, stitching third-party APIs together, managing webhooks, etc... We simplify [development] by hosting a configuration modal for your integrations and providing a low-code workflow editor to deal with third-party logic instead 🙂 .“
Here are more API launches while you’re at with those integrations:
Thunder Client - Easy API testing with Scriptless GUI based testing.
ReadMe Recipes - Step-by-Step code walkthroughs for your APIs
Web ScraperAPI - Scrape data with getting blocked
Dev APIs - Single marketplace to get your suite of APIs
Public APIs - A collection of 1,000 free public and open REST APIs
Anvil PDF API - Twilio for PDFs
“This will save months for early-stage teams, great idea & product! 😎” - Trevor Sookraj
According to Paragon, the average company today uses over 100 different cloud apps. The goal of Paragon Connect is to save developers from the repetitive work of integrations. Commenters were quick to make comparisons to Zapier.
Zapier has become a go-to platform for both non-technical people and developers to speed through integrations. Paragon Connect may serve a more technical audience than some of Zapier’s customer base, but feedback shows an appetite for a tool that enables native integrations.
“Incredible product by the team! Much better (and needed) model compared to Zapier." - Shaun Liu
“Zapier on steroids. About time! Great work Paragon.” - Ken Wohl
Paragon co-founder, Brandon Foo explained how it works:
“Paragon… can help offload the (not fun) engineering work... adding configuration UI for each integration, access token management, stitching third-party APIs together, managing webhooks, etc... We simplify [development] by hosting a configuration modal for your integrations and providing a low-code workflow editor to deal with third-party logic instead 🙂 .“
Here are more API launches while you’re at with those integrations:
Thunder Client - Easy API testing with Scriptless GUI based testing.
ReadMe Recipes - Step-by-Step code walkthroughs for your APIs
Web ScraperAPI - Scrape data with getting blocked
Dev APIs - Single marketplace to get your suite of APIs
Public APIs - A collection of 1,000 free public and open REST APIs
Anvil PDF API - Twilio for PDFs
One of these chat apps is just the right fit
Dating and chat apps are always on-trend.
Recently we’ve noticed makers are expanding our virtual options to meet the needs of different personalities, interests, and goals.
Hyper Online hits the spot for gamers and anime fans — or anyone who enjoys a ComiCon dress-up. Choose your animoji and then record, join rooms, and meet people. You earn coins when you do, which you can spend to upgrade your emoji persona. Other features include a draw tool and games so you can have fun and relax.
Hyper Online is a recent Y Combinator alumn. Its makers noted: “Animojis allow people to feel "present" through facial expression as they meet online– while still maintaining an element of identity, fantasy, and privacy.”
Graze, on the other hand, feels virtually the opposite.
It’s a new video-based social networking app (it has dating and friends-mode) that’s designed to make sure there’s an instant connection. After matching with someone, you’ll have a 5-minute live video chat (no avatars here) as your first encounter. The app gives you quick, personalized talking topics right before you connect, so you’re not left completely hanging.
Maker Heather Hopkins on Graze: “I very much take the no BS approach to dating… it’s nearly impossible to determine relationship chemistry through messaging... Our solution? We take the video-first approach.”
To leave you feeling like Goldilocks, we’ve got a third option in the middle. Blindlee users have a 3-minute blurred video chat with a random user, matched based on your criteria. You’ll get ice-breakers for this one, too.
Maker Sacha Naason noted: “We grew tired of the sometimes fake and superficial aspect of the online dating world, so [we] decided to found Blindlee to make the process more transparent and safer but also fun 🎉.”
So which one is just right? We can’t choose for you but maybe start by browsing...
Recently we’ve noticed makers are expanding our virtual options to meet the needs of different personalities, interests, and goals.
Hyper Online hits the spot for gamers and anime fans — or anyone who enjoys a ComiCon dress-up. Choose your animoji and then record, join rooms, and meet people. You earn coins when you do, which you can spend to upgrade your emoji persona. Other features include a draw tool and games so you can have fun and relax.
Hyper Online is a recent Y Combinator alumn. Its makers noted: “Animojis allow people to feel "present" through facial expression as they meet online– while still maintaining an element of identity, fantasy, and privacy.”
Graze, on the other hand, feels virtually the opposite.
It’s a new video-based social networking app (it has dating and friends-mode) that’s designed to make sure there’s an instant connection. After matching with someone, you’ll have a 5-minute live video chat (no avatars here) as your first encounter. The app gives you quick, personalized talking topics right before you connect, so you’re not left completely hanging.
Maker Heather Hopkins on Graze: “I very much take the no BS approach to dating… it’s nearly impossible to determine relationship chemistry through messaging... Our solution? We take the video-first approach.”
To leave you feeling like Goldilocks, we’ve got a third option in the middle. Blindlee users have a 3-minute blurred video chat with a random user, matched based on your criteria. You’ll get ice-breakers for this one, too.
Maker Sacha Naason noted: “We grew tired of the sometimes fake and superficial aspect of the online dating world, so [we] decided to found Blindlee to make the process more transparent and safer but also fun 🎉.”
So which one is just right? We can’t choose for you but maybe start by browsing...
We didn't see this pivot coming.
Today’s Daily Digest was crafted by us and sponsored by our friends at JotForm.
JotForm has been in the form game for fifteen years now. What started as a WYSIWYG form builder, turned into a friendly UI with the power to build, customize, collaborate, and integrate forms with tools like Stripe and Salesforce. JotForm was even the first to give us a full-featured form builder on mobile four years ago.
That’s why we were surprised yet excited to hear about their latest pivot. 😉
Jotform has announced that they’ve taken a step back from online forms and data management tools to focus on a new, and noticeably tangible, product: JotForm Tables.
JotForm Tables are state-of-the-art workspaces. The company’s founder Aytekin told us that since JotForm is all about ways to boost productivity no matter where you work, tables are not really a big departure from the company’s mission. He believes the right work table can make all the difference.
JotForm Tables are the first in an upcoming line of cutting-edge products designed to supercharge your productivity.
What does JotForm bring to the Table?
📱 Bluetooth compatibility
💦 Waterproof finish to take on the unexpected
🧳 Mobile capabilities for maximum productivity anywhere
🦵Industry-leading 38.5 inches of leg clearance
🔥 Temperature-controlled top panel
🔩 Screws made of indestructible reinforced titanium
👨💻 A solid foundation for your workspace
🛏️ A place to lay your head when you get duped
JotForm is taking pre-orders and expects to sell out quickly.
JotForm has been in the form game for fifteen years now. What started as a WYSIWYG form builder, turned into a friendly UI with the power to build, customize, collaborate, and integrate forms with tools like Stripe and Salesforce. JotForm was even the first to give us a full-featured form builder on mobile four years ago.
That’s why we were surprised yet excited to hear about their latest pivot. 😉
Jotform has announced that they’ve taken a step back from online forms and data management tools to focus on a new, and noticeably tangible, product: JotForm Tables.
JotForm Tables are state-of-the-art workspaces. The company’s founder Aytekin told us that since JotForm is all about ways to boost productivity no matter where you work, tables are not really a big departure from the company’s mission. He believes the right work table can make all the difference.
JotForm Tables are the first in an upcoming line of cutting-edge products designed to supercharge your productivity.
What does JotForm bring to the Table?
📱 Bluetooth compatibility
💦 Waterproof finish to take on the unexpected
🧳 Mobile capabilities for maximum productivity anywhere
🦵Industry-leading 38.5 inches of leg clearance
🔥 Temperature-controlled top panel
🔩 Screws made of indestructible reinforced titanium
👨💻 A solid foundation for your workspace
🛏️ A place to lay your head when you get duped
JotForm is taking pre-orders and expects to sell out quickly.
7 consumer products backed by a16z’s TxO
Last June, Andreessen Horowitz introduced an accelerator program called the Talent x Opportunity Initiative (TxO) to serve consumer startups built on top of cultural tailwinds.
We caught up with Nait Jones, a partner at the VC firm, to talk about the recent launch of products from the first TxO cohort. He explained why consumer startups, particularly those outside of Silicon Valley, are worth investing in:
“Time and time again, we’ve seen culture applied to an existing category, recreating that category entirely. Culture is just that strong. Sadly, the inventors of culture-forward ideas who manifest these huge shifts too often lack strong resources and networks.”
Nait also noted the importance of TxO launching to our community.
“Most companies in the TxO cohort... need to acquire users and buyers. That’s why launching on Product Hunt is so cool, because Product Hunt itself is a cultural phenomenon and has become the world’s foremost community of early adopters.”
Take a look at all those Alpha TxO launches:
📺 FUTURESTREAM - A ticked live streaming platform
💃🏽 Autumn Adeigbo - Made-to-order, ethically-produced, small-batch fashion
🎤 Breakr - Platform for artists to break into new audiences
🪒 Oui the People - A bodycare brand (expanded from its Oui Shave launch)
👓 Coco and Breezy - Design-driven eyewear brand
🍩 The Elite Donut - Low-sugar, protein-packed donuts
💅 Pamper Nail Gallery - Made-to-order, reusable nail art
We hope to see initiatives like TxO help underrepresented groups find funding and support. One study from 2019 found that just 1% of VC-backed founders were black and 1.8% were Latino. There’s a lot to be done.
You can read Nait’s full blog here.👇
We caught up with Nait Jones, a partner at the VC firm, to talk about the recent launch of products from the first TxO cohort. He explained why consumer startups, particularly those outside of Silicon Valley, are worth investing in:
“Time and time again, we’ve seen culture applied to an existing category, recreating that category entirely. Culture is just that strong. Sadly, the inventors of culture-forward ideas who manifest these huge shifts too often lack strong resources and networks.”
Nait also noted the importance of TxO launching to our community.
“Most companies in the TxO cohort... need to acquire users and buyers. That’s why launching on Product Hunt is so cool, because Product Hunt itself is a cultural phenomenon and has become the world’s foremost community of early adopters.”
Take a look at all those Alpha TxO launches:
📺 FUTURESTREAM - A ticked live streaming platform
💃🏽 Autumn Adeigbo - Made-to-order, ethically-produced, small-batch fashion
🎤 Breakr - Platform for artists to break into new audiences
🪒 Oui the People - A bodycare brand (expanded from its Oui Shave launch)
👓 Coco and Breezy - Design-driven eyewear brand
🍩 The Elite Donut - Low-sugar, protein-packed donuts
💅 Pamper Nail Gallery - Made-to-order, reusable nail art
We hope to see initiatives like TxO help underrepresented groups find funding and support. One study from 2019 found that just 1% of VC-backed founders were black and 1.8% were Latino. There’s a lot to be done.
You can read Nait’s full blog here.👇
Splitsies?
This month we found out that Robinhood and eToro are on paths to IPO. Both trading platforms have been helping to lead the democratization of stock and cryptocurrency trading, thanks in part to fractions.
We’ve watched as fractional ownership has lowered the barrier to entry for investing in stocks, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and real estate, but we’ve learned we’re just at the beginning. Fintech startups continue expanding on ways to invest for the love of fractions.
Pacaso is taking fractional ownership to second homes, essentially innovating on the old timeshare model. The platform brings together homebuyers, enabling you to split ownership 8 ways, i.e. they’ve cut out the middleman and you’d have fewer people to share with.
Fractional investments have become a way to reward shoppers too. Just-launched Bits of Stock lets you earn fractional shares from your favorite brands, like Uber Eats and Netflix, as you spend.
Developers: You can check out the launch of Alpaca’s Fractional Trading API, a follow-up to their trading API launched two years ago. It’s designed for makers to build investing applications and algorithmic trading strategies, enabling fractional share trading for as little as $1. At least one developer was ready for it:
“I love this product! I've been waiting for the fractional trading API ever since I discovered Alpaca. A couple weeks ago I wrote about how to use this new API + Cloudflare Workers to create a really simple DCA trading bot” - Tyler van der Hoeven
Another term for investing in portions of assets is micro-investing. However you think of it, it feels like micro-investing or fractional innovation is on an upword trajectory for shaking up FinTech and beyond.
We’ve watched as fractional ownership has lowered the barrier to entry for investing in stocks, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and real estate, but we’ve learned we’re just at the beginning. Fintech startups continue expanding on ways to invest for the love of fractions.
Pacaso is taking fractional ownership to second homes, essentially innovating on the old timeshare model. The platform brings together homebuyers, enabling you to split ownership 8 ways, i.e. they’ve cut out the middleman and you’d have fewer people to share with.
Fractional investments have become a way to reward shoppers too. Just-launched Bits of Stock lets you earn fractional shares from your favorite brands, like Uber Eats and Netflix, as you spend.
Developers: You can check out the launch of Alpaca’s Fractional Trading API, a follow-up to their trading API launched two years ago. It’s designed for makers to build investing applications and algorithmic trading strategies, enabling fractional share trading for as little as $1. At least one developer was ready for it:
“I love this product! I've been waiting for the fractional trading API ever since I discovered Alpaca. A couple weeks ago I wrote about how to use this new API + Cloudflare Workers to create a really simple DCA trading bot” - Tyler van der Hoeven
Another term for investing in portions of assets is micro-investing. However you think of it, it feels like micro-investing or fractional innovation is on an upword trajectory for shaking up FinTech and beyond.
