Week 21: Audio, Café Work, Closing and IRL meetings
A shorter week
I had a relatively short week, three days of work and 4 days of hybrid work and free time. How to blend this? It is an ongoing challenge for me to figure out things that drain energy and things that give me power. Both of these are in all my life dimensions, and obviously, it is not as easy to cluster in these dimensions only. But figuring out the systemic connections between dimensions and energy delivery and consumption is something that helps me to structure my life.
Microphones and audio quality
Those of you who know me better know that there are only very few things that trigger me. One is terrible audio quality. So the next few sentences might be a rant about awful sound in video calls that triggers only me, or they might be something that can make a difference in other situations (outside of video calls or recordings with me). After months of remote work, digitization, and democratization of media production, there are still calls and recordings where people use headsets or microphones with terrible audio quality. They are hard to understand because of bad recording quality or background noises.
I am absolutely fine with asking: “Sorry I did not get this” on video calls when I can say: “can you explain it a bit deeper to me” next. But when I have to say, “I could not understand what you just said,” I get annoyed quite fast.
I am convinced that audio clarity plays a role in bringing your points across. So I would always focus on the audio quality over the video quality when participating in video calls. I don’t mean everyone needs to buy pro audio recording equipment, but different environments require different setups. Here is what I use:
Office: We have an open office. We are all sitting close to each other. After trying many headsets, I am using a call center headset connected to my computer via cable and to my phone via Bluetooth. The headset is aesthetically challenging, but it delivers super clear audio quality for the people I talk to, no matter how many people are talking around me. And an additional plus is that it does not use Bluetooth to connect the actual headset to its base. Its technology gives me a more than 100m radius around the base to stay connected.
Home: I have a recording microphone, audio interface, monitor speakers, and several headphones I use. This is not necessary, but I like it. A good USB microphone is an excellent start to sound “real,” and to participate in podcast recordings and have good sound.
On the go: This is a more significant challenge. I use my Apple headphones in quiet environments (i.e., cars, forests, parks), but they are only good for me and not for the people on the other end. I mute myself when I am not speaking and when I need to talk, I sometimes skip the headphones, use the phone’s microphones, and switch off video. I have not figured out how to do calls on the bike. My friend and business partner Henric has his “pirate style” of making a phone call using a wired headset where the microphone is in (?) his mouth. I usually have to stop to participate in a call when I am on my bike.
Do you have figured this out in a particularly share-worthy way?
Working from a Cafe
Today, I did something I have not done in more than two years: I only had a few meetings and some alone work. I had all meetings in the café and worked from there. I nearly forgot how this feels, and I also notice that I am developing my concentration/ flow skills again. In the first weeks after the lockdown, it was easy to be ripped out of the flow by anyone walking past or moving in the office. I could not imagine working from a coffee shop because of the distractions. In other words: I can go into the tunnel again.
Founder get-together
Wednesday evening, we had our monthly founder get-together on the roof of our office. It was very nice to meet some people again and others for the first time in person. Over the past two years, we have invested and subsequently worked with each other without ever meeting in person in many cases. So I get to meet people I know well via video calls for the first time.
Everyone can bring a +1. So we all got to meet some new founders and other people I enjoyed chatting with. I enjoyed the evening full of good conversations and the moments where we all figured out what we could share and how we could learn from each other. We are working on improving and continuously developing our real-world and digital connection formats and tools, and I think there is a lot to be gained together:
Best practice and experience sharing formats.
intros to investors (I think they are even more potent when they come from portfolio founders)
a talent pool for all portfolio companies
connections to corporates for the companies who need this
and many more.
We have built apx.network as the digital platform, and we continuously expand the functions.
Taking the train
During the lockdowns, I did not take the train. Whenever I had to go somewhere, I took the car. Over the last few weeks, I took the train to Prague and Hannover, and both times, it went smoothly and on time, and I enjoyed the journey. I ordered a privacy screen for my laptop so that only I can see what I am working on. And with me finding the balance between traveling and not traveling, I think I will use the train more often. (Until it will probably annoy me massively with being overcrowded and the cart with my reserved seat missing in the future again.)
Closing
Last week I wrote about financing strategy. And as I only use an hour to write this newsletter sometimes, I miss something important with my done is better than perfect newsletter writing approach. I not only neglected to finalize the headlines of the newsletter, but I forgot one of my favorite topics in the negotiation: the closing. It is done when it is done. And it is done when everyone has signed. Some negotiations fall apart because the momentum is lost when everything is already agreed upon. In my experience, it makes a lot of sense to plan the closing and agree with everyone on how it can be done. The lower the threshold to close, the better.
If you need a notary: agree on the date as early as possible. Communicate it with the involved parties as early as possible and instead move it when needed.
At APX, we love to use digital signatures whenever possible. We have streamlined processes that we can sign extremely quickly once we agree on what is to be signed.
A few years ago, the closing was more difficult as you needed wet ink signatures on actual paper. I have several hysterically funny memories of situations where I was trying to find a printer in some remote locations on this planet while on vacation with my family. This is a lot easier today.
We sometimes create a “signature” sheet and manual in complex closing situations. We share the contracts with the shareholders, and all the envelopes/ boxes and sheets with the order of signatures and instructions on how to get the “package” to the next party are included. In another case, the founders worked with an international law firm to do the notarization, and they organized signing opportunities in all cities where the shareholders are located. This allowed them to keep some control over the timing of the closing.
At APX, we use virtual notarization services in Austria, where we went through quite an intense verification process. Still, the virtual notarizations are quicker than going to the notary in Berlin.
What I read and watched
I was fascinated by the blurred lines of parasocial relationships
This is an excellent way to think and work in a down market when you are running a startup and want to figure out what to think and do next: A Framework for Navigating Downmarkets
I did not watch a lot of TV or online clips as I was in so many meetings with people, and I spent quite some of my reading time reading contracts and concepts I cannot share here.
I have noticed that I read more newsletters than ever before. My RSS reading has gone down, and web reading is usually through newsletter discovery. I am readjusting my reading system right now as I am figuring out how to store the things I want to remember in my second brain.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you found something meaningful. Have a great next week!
Best
Joerg