Highlights of the Week (February 11, 2022)

As a digital content strategist, I'm always looking for ways our remote team members can interact, share ideas, and solicit feedback. Because I work at PrivCo, I get to go beyond these companies' marketing sites and into their financials for an objective view of their businesses and, by extension, the likelihood a vendor-client relationship will be a success. Do we want to work with video collaboration tools from Loom or Vidyard? Reviews suggest they're relatively comparable, but what about their 2021 revenues? For the UX redesign of our pricing page, do we want to collaborate on designs using Miro or Figma, Adobe XD or Google's Jamboard? Functionality will always come first in our decision-making, but it's insightful to look behind the scenes and predict the potential market dominance or forthcoming cash implosions.

Meanwhile, here's a refresher on the week's stories from PrivCo:

• Monday, we examined the trends, policies, and issues shaping the rise in microentrepreneurs (also called micropreneurs), as evidenced by the highest new business applications on record. Find out who's hanging up his or her hat as an employee to become a CEO of one here.

• SPACs may have lost their luster after poor public markets performance, but that latest fact isn't stopping new nations from joining the trend. The UK, Singapore, Brazil, and China are riled up for a homegrown SPAC frenzy. Read more.

• One company has built an empire around ugly shoes. From surfer boots turned mainstream obsession to running enthusiasts' runaway hit, we're looking at Deckers Outdoor Corp's ugly shoe fetish. Check it out.

• We've been operating on a 40-hour workweek for nearly a century. But with all the technological and cultural changes since, why are we still on the same schedule? See what's happening at the forefront of the four-day workweek here.