In the loop: revealing how Facebooks founder would fare in an election while Citymapper announces a new bus line

This week revealed the likely result of a presidential race between Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump, why entrepreneurs must lead by example and how Citymapper plans to transform commuting in London

In the loop: revealing how Facebooks founder would fare in an election while Citymapper announces a new bus line

Photo: catwalker/Shutterstock.com

Would the Zuck win against the Donald?

Facebook’s co-founder and CEO has consistently denied that he’s gearing up for a run at the White House. However, that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from running hot about a potential political push ever since Mark Zuckerberg pledged to visit all 50 states in 2017. And now we have the first indication of how he’d fare in a race against Donald Trump in 2020.

Having surveyed 836 registered voters, the polling company Public Policy Polling has revealed that the hypothetical race would be a tie, with both candidates receiving 40% of the vote. The main hurdle for the multi-billionaire to overcome if he were to run for office is that fact that 47% of people didn’t really have an opinion about him. Of the ones that did, 24% were favourable and 29% were unfavourable.

While people seemed undecided about the tech entrepreneur, voters were clearer about what they thought about the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Of the people polled 55% didn’t like the president and 41% were favourable towards him. Only 5% weren’t sure what to think of the Donald.

It seems as if the Zuck has some ways to go if he plans to run for president.

Leadership styles are contagious

From Travis Kalanick being held responsible for Uber’s toxic work environment to Steve Jobs fostering employees’ ambitions to innovate, it’s safe to say that business leaders have a vital role to play when it comes to establishing great company cultures. And now a new study really brings home the importance of leading by example.

ILM, the provider of leadership qualifications, has revealed that 74% of employees actively emulate their colleague, taking on characteristics vital for startups such as communication, problem solving and customer service. Critically, 50% also copied behaviours seen during difficult situations, while 32% did the same when something went wrong at work. A third of the people polled also mimicked their co-workers delegation and organisation skills, while two-fifths channelled their colleagues’ behaviour when it came to being creative.

Commenting on the finding, John Yates, group director at ILM, said: “When properly managed, emulation can be a highly valuable way for people to learn. However, organisations should not rely on contagion to upskill employees; with bad habits as likely to spread as good, it is vital that employees at every level of an organisation understand, develop and role model positive leadership skills.”

In other words, it’s important that entrepreneurs get their work culture right of the bat so that new employees can emulate positive behaviours as the startup grows.

Graphcore’s $30m series B round led by Atomico

London may be hailed as the tech capital of Europe but Bristol is also becoming an innovation hotbed in its own right. Not only was the city recently named Britain’s second most startup-friendly hub after Edinburgh, it has already birthed exciting startups like Open Bionics, the company 3D-printing artificial arms, and Graphcore, the machine intelligence startup that closed an impressive $30m Series B round this week.

The round came off the back of Graphcore’s oversubscribed series A round in October last year and was led by Atomico, the VC firm that closed a record-breaking $765bn fund to invest in European startups this February. Other investors included VC firms like Amadeus Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital and C4 Ventures as well as angel investors like DeepMind’s co-founder Demis Hassabis.

With rounds and startups like these, it certainly seems as Bristol is on the rise.

Citymapper rolls out first commercial bus line

The night tube was only the beginning. Now one startup is changing the transport of London even more by introducing smart buses to the city. On the back of the success of its two-day trial a few months ago, the smart transport startup Citymapper has been given permission to launch its first commercial bus line in London during nights at the weekend.

Licensed by Transport for London, the company’s buses will run between 9pm to 5am between Highbury and Aldgate. The route was selected after Citymapper’s analysis tool, codenamed Simcity, used data from the company’s app to identify a demand for a new route in this area.

Each vehicle will be a smart bus allowing passengers to pay their fare through contactless credit or debit cards and via Apple Pay or Android Pay. Nightly commuters will also be able to charge different devices through the USB outlets at each seat. Additionally, while not available on night one, the buses will also be able to count passengers in order for people to check the seat availability on the app.

It seems as if the future of transportation is here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric Johansson
Eric Johansson
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