Where are you going?

Uber already knows. Also where you’ve been and who your celebrity crush is (just kidding). [The Hustle]( Thur, Feb 16 Is Uber getting in the ad game? When you get an Uber, just think about all the things they know about you the second you’re inside: - Where you just were and where you’re going - Your ride history (where you’ve been and where you’ve gone) - The exact time it’ll take to get to your destination - That you ordered General Tso’s chicken at 1:00am last night (assuming you used UberEats) Um, that’s a lot of information, and it’s a big reason why people think Uber will eventually get into the ad business. Whether that actually happens is still up for debate (they could use the incremental revenue, but ads may hurt the rider experience), yet [as analyst Michael Boland notes]( Uber’s starting to plant the seeds, nonetheless. Ugh, so I should expect ads the next time I hop in the backseat? Not yet. For now, it’s all about improving the in-ride experience through content on your phone. Then, once you're hooked, is when the ads start rolling in. And, thanks to Uber’s [latest redesign]( we’re able to see how this might work. Have you noticed how the app changes once your ride is underway? Right now, all that’s offered is a map, ETA, and other useful info. But it’s not hard to imagine a deal with, say, Netflix to provide a 25-minute video for your 25-minute ride. Or, a partnership with Spotify to offer exclusive songs for your commute. They could also quite easily start recommending local shops and restaurants to check out (they already released a [data-driven restaurant guide]( which would be of particular interest to tourists. There’s a bigger movement happening here. Uber’s just part of it. Think about self-driving cars for a second. Not the technology, not the design, but the actual experience of riding in one (an experience that will soon become the norm): you’re no longer driving! Boland claims this could give advertisers an additional [52 minutes]( (average US round-trip commute) to compete for our attention on top of our average media consumption -- now about 12 hours per day. That’s game changing stuff, and if Uber isn’t prepared to take full advantage, somebody else will, that’s for sure. [Screens everywhere we turn]( California wants to legalize crockpots A new bill has been introduced in California to [legalize homemade food]( from things like hot dog stands. The bill would add a new category of food-prep facilities called “homemade food operations” to CA’s Health and Safety code, and a bunch of businesses are chompin’ at the bit to get a piece of the “[food-sharing economy]( “Backup. You mean the street meat we’ve been eating is illegal?” They don’t call ‘em “danger dogs” for nothing. In most US states, home kitchens need to comply with the same health and safety codes as restaurants, which mandate things like steel countertops and 3-compartment sinks. This is a pretty big barrier to entry for most home chefs, and, as the bill claims, leads to many food “[micro-entrepreneurs]( cooking out of unlicensed facilities. But, these micro-entrepreneurs aren’t just kids with lemonade stands, they’re private chefs and home caterers as well. And companies like Josephine want to help them out They’ve created an online [marketplace for home-cooked meals]( that lets local chefs run small takeout businesses from their homes. Cooks who pass Josephine’s inspection (things like a California Food Handler Card, a refrigerator at the right temperature, and food kept 6 inches of the ground) can have their meals posted on the site for hungry locals to browse and order for pick up at their homes. On the chef’s side, it’s way to gain exposure in the community and pick up extra cash for their award-winning chili recipe (Josephine takes 10% of all sales). And, for the user, it’s a way to find award-winning chili in their area that might actually be better than their moms used to make. Unfortunately, regulators aren’t happy about it Last summer, CA health officials [served dozens of cease-and-desist letters]( to Josephine’s chefs, stopping the business in its tracks (they’re sponsoring this new bill in hopes of getting back on their feet). Supporters of the regulations cite the risk of food-borne illnesses that afflict 48m Americans every year. But here’s the thing -- these home-cooking operations exist whether regulators like it or not. And sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit. [Or the hot dog]( Hey LinkedIn, Facebook’s comin’ for ya Yesterday, Facebook [rolled out a bunch of new jobs-related features]( which will allow businesses (in the US and Canada for now) to start hiring through the platform. They can post job openings on their Page under the new “Jobs” tab, get them into your News Feed via a status update, or pay to turn them into highly-targeted ads. Businesses will also likely get some viral help as users re-share job opportunities and tag their friends who are looking for new gigs. As for you, the Facebook user… When you come across a job posting that you’re interested in, you can hit an “Apply Now” button to instantly send an application through Facebook Messenger. On the one hand, this will make applying to jobs quick and easy (and applying en masse doable), which as anyone who’s been unemployed knows, is huge. On the other hand, hiring managers won’t even have to do a Google search for you now, so you should probably delete that “We Love Beer!” photo album ASAP, amigo. Should LinkedIn be worried? Yes and no. [As TechCrunch points out]( LinkedIn has become the go-to destination for “purposeful job seekers looking for medium and highly-skilled roles.” And, at least for now, Facebook doesn’t really pose a threat there. However, for people seeking part-time work or hourly jobs, there’s nothing stopping Facebook from owning that space immediately. And so, while it may not seem like it now, yesterday’s update could have a significant impact on Facebook’s future, regarding how they make money and how people use the platform. Let’s just hope we don’t start seeing too many #fakejobs. [You’re hired!]( Top Hat takes a bite of the education apple Canadian education tech startup Top Hat [just raised $22.5m]( putting their valuation at a cool $185m. The platform allows teachers to create interactive digital lectures and assigned readings to engage students from their phones or laptops, in hopes of taking on the big 5 textbook publishers, including Pearson and McGraw-Hill. While the old dogs are going through their own digital evolutions, they’re not exactly crushing it when it comes to implementing new tech (remember those accompanying CDs that nobody ever used?), and they’re still heavily reliant on physical books. Which is an issue… Because companies don’t get tenure Both Pearson and McGraw-Hill have faced huge setbacks over the past 6 months, as they struggle to keep their hold on the higher education market. McGraw-Hill has now postponed its IPO indefinitely since filing in 2015, due to shaky back-to-school sales in Q3 2016. Not to be outdone, Pearson came in hot [this January with their largest stock drop]( in history (28%) after their profit forecasts came in 19% under analysts’ predictions for 2017. That said, the market cap for higher ed publishing is still huge, and even after taking a hit, Pearson is still valued at $5.83B -- probably because they can still crank out “new editions” of the same book for $400 year after year. Yeah, why are textbooks so dang expensive? Huffington Post [breaks it down nicely]( - For one, there’s very little competition. Those top 5 publishers control 80% of the market, making it pretty tough to disrupt. - Consumers don’t have a choice. Professors decide which textbooks students have to buy, and students have no option but to pay up. As a result, the big guys can keep jacking up book prices, with zero consequence. And, although rental and buy-back programs benefit students (unless you lost that stupid CD, then your book’s worth nothing), they don’t fix the broken market. Someone (whether it’s Amazon or [Chegg]( is always paying the full sticker price for the new editions. So, is there any hope for the little guys? Top Hat may have a fighting chance. Its total revenue is in the “10s of millions” according to their CEO Mike Silagadze, and is expected to double in 2017. That said, Silagadze says he has “no utopian misconceptions” about how tough the market is. According to him, if they want to make it, they just have to “go out there and grind it out.” [Rise and grind, nerds]( things you should... WATCH: Pizza & 40s with Scott Belsky, free A couple of weeks ago, we were lucky enough to sit down with Scott and pick his brain about the making it through the “messy middle” of starting a business. Aka, how to keep executing while google search continues to ignore your company’s existence. [LEARN FROM THE BEST →]( READ: The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu, $18.87 This is the first book that we’re reading as part of our internal Book Club, and it’s totally awesome. Starting from the original snake oil salesmen, Wu traces advertising’s path throughout history and dissects the battle for our attention. [HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND →]( BUY: Disrupt Cards, $25 One of our readers created a card game that is basically a Silicon Valley version of Cards Against Humanity. With cards like “A T-shirt of an early stage startup so everyone knows you took a pay cut” and “Competitive body-hacking,” it’s the perfect way to subtly poke fun at the tech world. [CARD GAMES FTW →]( LISTEN: NPR’s “How I Built This” podcast, also free Guy Raz hosts this 30ish-minute long show about innovators and entrepreneurs, and the incredible stories behind the movements they built. Every episode is amazing. Seriously. Personal favorites: Suroosh Alvi (co-founder of Vice), Joe Gebbia (co-founder of Airbnb), and Herb Kelleher (founder of Southwest Airlines). [PERFECT FOR THE COMMUTE HOME TONIGHT →]( USE: WeTransfer, free Next time you need to share some files, give WeTransfer a try. It’s free, doesn’t require you to sign up/log in, and is easier to use than a one-button walkie talkie. Those things are simple as heck to use. You basically just press a button and relay information -- just like you do with WeTransfer. [GO FORTH, MY CHILD →]( This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by Too many hats Growing a company forces you to be a “Jack of all trades” (or a “Jill of all skills”). Maybe you went to school for business management, but all of a sudden you’re learning html and asking Siri, “How do I use SQL?” Problem is, wearing all those hats can start to feel a little heavy. And, when you find yourself spending a ton of effort teaching yourself things that a professional could do in half the time (like creating a website or photoshopping a brochure), it might be time to bring on extra heads. But, what if you don’t have the budget for in-house hires? That’s where [Upwork]( comes in. Their platform connects over 2M businesses with freelance talent across over 3,500 different skills -- that’s a lot of hats. Plus, with detailed profiles and [individual reviews]( they’re basically the freelance equivalent of a “certified seller” on eBay, so you can be sure you got the best brochure ‘shopper in the biz. Give [Upwork]( a try and start getting sh*t done -- Hustle readers get[$100 off]( after you spend your first $500. [SUBSCRIBE]( [JOBS]( [ADVERTISE]( [AMBASSADORS]( [EVENTS]( [Kendall "it’s Ryan Gosling" Baker]( WRITER Lindsey Quinn DRIVING WITH THE WINDOWS DOWN John Havel BACKSEAT EDITOR Ivan Offalitch STAFF DERMATOLOGIST You opted in by [signing up]( entering a [giveaway]( or through [divine intervention](. [1381 9TH AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, UNITED STATES]( • [415.506.7210](tel:+1-415-506-7210) Never wanna hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](.