5SR - August 15, 2023

Hitha on the electrical grid, Partition, and Queen Seema/Sarita

Author

Hitha Palepu
August 15, 2023

Today’s curator is the founder of #5SmartReads, Hitha Palepu. She’s a consummate multihyphenate - CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, author of WE’RE SPEAKING: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris and How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, and professional speaker. Hitha is an unabashed fan of Taco Bell, Philadelphia sports teams & F1, romance novels, and is a mediocre crafter. She lives in NYC with her husband and two sons.

Longtime #5SmartReaders now that the electrical grid, adequately funding the ATF, and adopting a public-private partnership for healthcare like Germany has are the political soapboxes I will die on. And if you’re new here, I’m glad you learned this very important thing about me.

Let’s talk about the grid, and specifically how laser sensors could be the key to bridging our current grid to meet our current needs while we build the one we actually need.

“Sensors can help utilities get real-time data on their power lines, which can allow them to send more renewable electricity through the wires. This tech is part of a suite of innovations that could help the U.S. increase its grid capacity faster and cheaper than building new transmission lines.

States and the federal government are eyeing new incentives and possible mandates for these technologies, says Allison Clements, a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, which regulates the interstate transmission of electricity. "This is a really great opportunity – you can squeeze more juice out of our existing transmission system at lower costs and way more quickly," she says.”

The downside? The biggest utility companies are not incentivized to do so, which will make adoption an uphill battle. FERC (the federal group that regulates interstate electricity transmission) could be the necessary catalyst in the adoption of these sensors through rulings that require the use of these technologies - something I hope we see.

It’s become fairly common for a founding CEO to eventually step aside and bring on a new CEO to scale the business or usher in a new chapter.

It’s not nearly as common for the founder-CEO to return to the brand, especially when it’s been acquired. But that’s exactly what happened with Vicky Tsai and Tatcha (the company was acquired by Unilever in 2019).

Like so many founders, Vicky lived the grind for years. Returning to the brand has also re-evaluated how she wanted to work and lead, focused on optimizing for energy instead of productivity. I really loved this message and the specific way she audited her time to adjust her schedule, and how this is a consistent practice for her.

It’s a reminder to get back to logging my time in my iCal to do the same, especially as we transition back to fall and a busy season for our whole family.

Co-working is the furthest thing from dead, and my own need for a third space (in my case, a second space since I work from home) is increasing.

But if I do resume my coworking days, WeWork may not be an option for much longer.

“WeWork has floundered as a public company (the stock has lost a staggering 99% of its value since its 2021 initial public offering), and struggled to dig itself out from under a mountain of obligations.

On the same day WeWork's announcement raised eyebrows, rival IWG (the second largest company in co-working) posted a 48% surge in half-year profits.”

Hindsight is 20/20 and the cracks in WeWork’s shiny facade have been well documented and retold. If only Neumann and the team ran things differently - they would’ve been ideally positioned to conquer the growing demand in co-working spaces.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

There are a lot of things I’m underwhelmed by in And Just Like That. Seema, however, is everything I had hoped for - and I want MORE.

Amy Key’s words will leave an impact no matter your relationship status, either giving you the representation with depth and respect that’s often lacking in how single people are portrayed in film, and for those of us in relationships in how we change when the “we” between friends transitions to a different “we” that feels exclusive at the expense of friends.

Can we also just give a minute to Sarita Choudhury? GIVE SEEMA HER OWN SHOW PLEASE.

disclosure - I am an investor in The Juggernaut.

Yesterday and today are key days in desi history - the Independence Days of Pakistan and India, respectively. And while the days are often marked with celebration, it’s also a painful reminder of the incalculable cost of Partition in terms of identity, culture, and the enduring stain of colonization.

This package from The Juggernaut is a powerful read, to understand the history of Partition and how we live with it today. If there’s one article you read, I recommend the Ms. Marvel one the most - that episode is one of the most powerful episodes of any show I’ve ever seen.

If studying modern politics has taught me anything, it’s that independence is not something to take for granted and assume it will always endure. We are living with the fragility of democracy globally right now, and it’s a reminder to affirm that every citizen within a country deserves to live as freely and safely as those in power - regardless of religion.

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