The Roundup

Scooter startup Bird (over $400 million raised) has reportedly laid off between four to five percent of its workforce, or about 40 people among its 900-person team. 

Lyft — which is set to IPO in the coming weeks — also laid off up to 50 staffers in its bikes and scooters division this month. These were mainly folks who were acquired into the company when it purchased electric bike-sharing startup Motivate. 

Could the scooter fad be coming to an end? 🤔

Probably not (yet). See our earlier newsletter on how scooters won SXSW this year. But scooter companies are cutting costs and consolidating in an attempt to edge out competition in the space — because there is a lot of it. 

Lime ($765M raised) is raising another $400M at a $2B valuation. Bird is also reportedly raising another $300M at a $2B valuation. In January electric scooter company Grin merged with bike-share startup Yellow to expand electric transportation in Latin America. 

Last April, Uber bought Jump Bike to enter the electric bike sharing business, and is now getting into subscriptions to compete with bike-sharing incumbents like Citi Bike. In November, Ford bought dockless electric scooter company Spin for $100M, marking the first move by a major automaker into the scooter space. 🛴

Last week, Tesla unveiled its Model Y, a compact SUV that starts at $39K. It's the latest in Tesla's S3XY line of cars (model S, model 3, model X, model Y). 😉

The Model Y is similar to the Model 3, but about 10 percent bigger. And don't worry, there are no falcon-wing doors with this car. Tesla plans to start production for the Model Y in 2020, but you can order one starting now on the company's website (it requires a $2,500 payment upfront). 

Elon Musk unveiled the Model Y himself on stage in Los Angeles. He sprinkled in a walk down memory lane during the presentation, noting Tesla's beginnings and struggles with mass production. 

We decided to take our own walk down memory lane with some of the most silly fan-made Elon Musk-related products. 

Elon Musk with A Moustache is an air freshener with a moustache 👃

Ask Elon Musk Bot lest you chat 1:1 with “Elon Musk” 💬

Deep Elon Musk is AI trained to tweet like Elon Musk 🐦

Elon Musk Replacement extension replaces “Elon Musk” with “Grimes' Boyfriend” 😂

Elon Mask are life-sized masks of Elon Musk 🎭

Raise your hand if you're terrible at remembering passwords. ✋

Good news. Last week, the World Wide Web Consortium approved WebAuthn, a new authentication standard for password-free logins.

How it works: WebAuthn is an API that lets websites communicate with security devices, and allows users to log into their online accounts using biometrics and authentication hardware like FIDO security keys.

WebAuthn is already supported by browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari. Android and Windows 10 also support the new standard.

The next step for WebAuthn? Websites need to integrate the standard. Dropbox, Facebook, GitHub, Salesforce, Stripe and Twitter are already on board.

Why this is important: WebAuthn is more secure than the weak passwords that a lot of people use to safeguard their online accounts. Three out of four people use duplicate passwords online, and 21 percent of people use passwords that are over 10 years old. 😳

What does this mean for password managers like 1Password, PadLock, Dashlane, Google Titan and Blockvault? Time will tell. But not having a password at all is simpler than having to remember any password in the first place. 🔒

There's a new wild west in tech: foldable smartphones. 

Samsung officially unveiled its “Galaxy Fold” at Mobile World Congress after teasing the new technology back in November. The Galaxy Fold folds like a book, with a large screen on the inside protected by an outer cover — which also has a screen on it. And this new tech comes with a hefty price tag: $1,980 to be exact. 😐

Now, the Galaxy Fold is already facing some competition. Huawei launched its own foldable smartphone, dubbed the “Mate X” at Mobile World Congress as well. The Mate X folds depending on how you hold the phone, using one screen on the outside in three different ways. Compared to the Galaxy Fold, its screen is bigger, it folds flatter and it's thinner overall. But it'll run you $2,600. 😳

Foldable phone hype doesn't stop there! LG also launched its own version of a foldable device, but it's really just a phone that has a second screen. 

We know what you're thinking — is there going to be a foldable iPhone? Maybe. Apple hasn't joined the foldable phone race just yet, but it's been reported that Apple may be working on a foldable iPhone that could launch in 2020. 🔮

If you’re not a fan of this foldable trend and miss Snake, pickup this Nokia classic.

Last week, Webflow launched a new tool called 'Webflow Ecommerce' — an entirely visual platform for building and launching online stores. The tool is a direct competitor with Shopify, the current leader in an easy-to-use solutions for digital stores. 

But here's Webflow's edge: It's code-free.

Y Combinator graduate, Webflow, has been around since 2013 — it's a an all-in-one web design/CMS/hosting platform. And users love it.

“This is an *amazing* tool. I've done front-end web dev for a decade and I would rather build sites using this tool.” - Sameer, 2013 

“Webflow is such a powerful tool for Makers.” - Julie, last week 

And here's why Webflow Ecommerce could take market share away from Shopify: Makers want flexible, customizable, powerful, code-free tools. It's another example of the rise of rise of “no code.” 

This month alone, we've seen these code-free products launch:

🚀 Actiondesk is a Google Sheets/Zapier hybrid
🚀 Glide lets you create mobile apps from Google Sheets
🚀 Tinybot helps you create powerful Twitter bots without code 
🚀 Sheety turns Google Sheets into an API
🚀 Look Mom No Code gives you no-code templates for your next startup

Note: Shopify’s not doing so bad themselves:

So we're eager to watch how no-code unfolds in the land of ecommerce. 👀

Instagram is reportedly testing a web version of DMs. This means you can get the thrill of a notification in your Insta inbox even when you're not on your phone.

*gasps* 

Could Instagram turn into full-blown SMS? Maybe. But this possible new feature is really part of a larger shift we're seeing away from mindless scrolling and towards private, group-oriented messaging. 

We already know Facebook is leanin' into private messaging. Last week the company announced that it plans to unify the backend infrastructure for its messaging suite — WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger — and allow cross-app chat. Facebook also added new management tools and features for groups last week, which includes things like a mentorship feature, formatting for posts and bulleted lists. 

And it makes sense. More people reportedly use messaging platforms (4.1B in 2018 across the top 4 messaging apps) than social networks (roughly 3.4B social media MAUs worldwide). Marketers are also taking notice — Giphy CEO Alex Chung has publicly said he thinks brands should advertise in private messages. 

So as people shift away from broadcast (RIP The Feed) — where will online communities gather? 

We have some ideas (besides Instagram, Facebook, What'sApp, Snap and Twitter): 

Telegram is secure, simple instant messaging 💬

Signal is a mobile app for highly secure end-to-end messaging 🔒

Discord is a voice and text chat app designed specifically for gamers 🎮

October is a visual and pseudonymous social network 🙈

Duoshan (created by ByteDance) is an ephemeral video chat app 📹

Squad lets you screen share with friends from a group video chat 👥

Mighty Networks is a platform for people to gather around niche interests 🙌

Islands is Slack for college 🌴

NextDoor is a social app that lets you connect with your neighbors 🏠

Peach lets you share what you feel, think, see and hear with friends. Yes, it's still alive! 🍑

A particular “Newsletter Guide” launched on Product Hunt recently and caught our eye. Yes, this newsletter is about to get very meta. 

The Newsletter Guide is a collaboration between email gurus Yellow Brim, The Shorenstein Center and Lenfest Institute. It's not an intro-level newsletter course, but more of a “201”-level toolkit of resources, strategies and open-source templates for people who run newsletters to collaborate on. 

The idea behind the project is to reduce the technical strain behind making a newsletter, and allowing editors to focus more on editorial. Some things the Newsletter Guide covers:

• How to grow your email list
• How to monetize your newsletter
• How to evaluate success metrics
• How to track where subscribers found you
• How to avoid accidentally breaking laws

And soooo much more. 

The Newsletter Guide comes alongside an uptick in products that make it superrr easy for people to launch newsletters without much hassle. Here are a few: 

💌 Substack gives writers a CMS built for publishing paid newsletters 

💌 Revue helps you quickly spin up a personal newsletter

💌 Email Newsletter Checklist helps you send error-free emails 

💌 Good Bits lets you create newsletters from the best links on the web

💌 Send Check It helps you write better email subjects

💌 EmailDrips is like Dribbble for email drip campaigns

PSA: The milkman is making a comeback. 🥛

But instead of fresh milk, he'll be serving up deodorant, mouthwash, ice cream, shampoo, etc. in reusable containers — and then circling back to pick them up when you're done. 

Last week, a solid lineup of big-name consumer brands — Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and Danone — banded together to pilot a new reusable packaging subscription service called Loop. The mission? Phase out single-use plastics. 

How it works: Like with Amazon, you create an account online, add items to a virtual basket and checkout. But on top of payment for your items you'll pay a fully refundable deposit for each package too (which will range from $1 to $10). Then, your items will be delivered in a tote bag, which a delivery person will come back later to retrieve with your used packaging. The packaging is then sent to a cleaning facility and recycled for another customer. ♻️

Some reactions on Product Hunt: 

“Prediction time: Amazon will buy them or recreate if it's mildly popular.” - Antoine 

“I could easily see this having some kind of discount for reusing the same containers” - Alex 

“With all the deliveries we get from online shopping these days, packaging is getting ridiculously wasteful. This is a brilliant solution” - Tim 

The subscription system will start out in New York and Paris later this year, but if you don't live in one of those cities you can still join the #zerowaste movement. Here's few suggestions: 

Get JUST Water (backed by Will Smith!). It's a paper-based bottle made from sugarcane with a 74% smaller carbon footprint than standard plastic bottles. 💦

Eliminate your cup altogether with GO Cubes. It's chewable coffee. ☕️

Buy eco-friendly sunglasses like Joplins. They're made from bamboo fibers — which are 100% sustainable. 😎

Use Moo's recycled business cards made from cotton t-shirts. ♻️

Avoid plastic straws with ELO's reusable smart straw. 🥤

Last week, a new startup called One Health made headlines with a fresh $5 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Hippeau and Y Combinator. Contrary to what its name might suggest, One Health is not just another healthcare startup. Its mission is to help your dog fight cancer. 🐶

Brandless also had some pet-related news last week: the company is expanding beyond it's $3 price point to launch a line of dog (or cat!) Frisbees, collars and freeze-dried treats for $9. Pssst: They're competing with Amazon. 

Both announcements point to the fact that pet tech is booming. 

Need more evidence? BarkBox ($81.7M raised) reportedly delivers its pet-themed boxes to over 600,000 subscribers each month. And let's not forget that on-demand dog walking service Wag raised $300 million from SoftBank last year. Shortly after that, Wag's biggest competitor — Rover — raised a $155 million round ($310.9M total) . 

Basically, when it comes to our beloved furry friends, the potential to make $$$ is high.

What else will pet owners pay for? 

🐾 Custom socks with prints of your dog 

🛏 Casper dog beds 

🍗 A pet meal subscription service that delivers fresh food 

🐩 Dog collars and leashes that are easy to clean 

😁 Chew toys to help your dog brush its teeth 

🐕 Handmade stuffed copies of your pet

Not a pet owner? Maybe forward this email to your doggo-obsessed friend.