Counterflows #52: WFH vs Big Tech, The Creator-Owner Economy, How to Build Wealth
Your offbeat guide to distributed work and borderless living.
Welcome to the Counterflows newsletter by Lauren Razavi. These emails are where I share the best links about distributed work and borderless living each week. Want to support what I do? Forward the newsletter to a friend or buy me a virtual coffee. PS: My first book, Global Natives: The New Frontiers of Work, Travel and Innovation, is available for digital pre-order now.
Hi friends 👋
I published a new essay this week. It’s called Startup Cities: Remote Work and the Future of Nomad Hubs and covers:
🏝️ What digital nomads look for in a place
🏙️ The destinations leading the remote economy
🥰 Why human connection and serendipity matters
Read it here and support on Twitter here.
-Lauren
PS: I’ve joined the Ship 30 For 30 challenge, meaning I’ll write and publish a mini-essay on Twitter every day for the next 30. I plan to share reflections and insights about distributed work and borderless living from a decade on the road. If that sounds good to you, feel free to follow along.
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💻🏡 Is Big Tech Going Off Work From Home? (BBC News)
This story casts doubt on the idea that global tech companies are embracing remote work forever, pegged to Google's recent policy announcements and subsequent U-turns. As a senior leader at Facebook puts it, "None of us have this all figured out. We're making it up on the fly."
🇮🇹💻 These Italian Towns Will Pay Remote Workers to Move There (Independent)
From US talent grants to global relocation incentives: I’ve been predicting that cities and countries would launch international offers to attract new citizens for over a year. Now, two Italian towns have announced investments in high-speed WiFi and will pay 50% of your rent if you stay for 2-6 months.
🎨💰 The Creator-Owner Economy: Gumroad’s "IPO" (Sahil Lavingia)
Sahil Lavingia reflects on Gumroad’s latest investment round, which involved raising $5 million from 7,303 creators and angel investors via crowdfunding. After failing with VC money in the past, Lavingia calls this the company’s “IPO” and offers up some interesting thoughts on the future fundraising landscape.
💼✌️ What a Year of Crisis Taught Me About Company Culture (Backed VC)
Rachel Grahame, Backed VC's Director of People Operations, reflects on what she and her eight-person team learned when the pandemic forced their work culture to move online. As she puts it, "Culture is what you repeatedly do, not where you repeatedly go." I couldn't agree more.
📝💰 A Step-By-Step Roadmap to Building Wealth (Nathan Barry)
If you want a creative career in the 21st century, ditch the starving artist mentality and start acting like an entrepreneur instead. This in-depth post from ConvertKit founder Nathan Barry provides a framework for understanding how to think about making money and explores the various “ladders” of wealth creation.
✍️💼 On Startups, Writing and Career: 10 Lies You’re Told About the World (Julian Shapiro)
In this wisdom-filled Twitter thread, internet writer and angel investor Julian Shapiro debunks the common lies we're told about how to achieve success and what drives human behaviour, creativity and business. The first tweet alone has garnered 39k likes and 15k retweets, so it’s worth a look.
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