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Future of Work Software That Focuses on EQ Not Just IQ
Why The Move to Remote Has Accelerated The Need for New Tools
The first generation of SaaS was about single player workflows and data. The second generation added collaboration (aka multiplayer). And the third generation added ML/AI to reorganize/optimize those workflows based upon the intelligence of the computer, not the habits of the user. Not every industry and not every profession has moved through these generations in sync. Early adopter verticals — such as software development and tech sales — is mostly in Gen 3. Some of the largest markets including construction, health care, finance and agriculture are moving into Gen 1 and 2, with specific toes dipped carefully into 3. And my framework here also applies mostly to the US, with other part of the world ahead and behind the pacing I’ve suggested above.
Homebrew has invested into all three generations of SaaS mentioned here, and continues to do so with the previous 12 months including undisclosed seed rounds into promising teams working on agriculture fintech, health care backoffice automation and salesperson performance. But I also wanted to suggest there’s a coming Gen 4 of SaaS leaning heavily into EQ instead of IQ because I truly believe the Future of Work involves understanding emotions not just data.
When friends ask me to reflect on the impact of 2020–21 on startups one of the observations I shared is how dramatically the urgency increased around conversations that were more about culture, behavior and values than just strategy, financing and product. Especially during the second half of last year the convergence of the COVID pandemic, US political race and societal outrage over George Floyd’s murder, resulted in CEOs confronting a host of situations that weren’t on their roadmap.
In some cases these leaders wanted to be proactive in the moment. Other times it was their teams, customers or reporters probing for their POV. And regardless they wanted to be thoughtful, deliberate and consistent in how they, and their companies, engaged. So my conversations with these CEOs wasn’t about pushing my particular opinion on these matters or rushing them into a conclusion, but rather helping them focus what they were hoping to accomplish with their internal and…
