COVID-19 virtually overnight changed the tone, tenor, and texture of cities, bringing the global economy to a slow grind and forcing people to retreat into bubbles, silos, and pods, and remote work — connected mainly through social media and Zoom.
Now, as we slowly start to get a grip on the virus and think about reopening society, what will the long-term impact of the pandemic be on cities and on the evolution of Smart Cities?
My guest today has some of those answers. He’s Michael Proman, Managing Director at Scrum Ventures, an early-stage venture firm that has invested in more than 80 startups across a range of industries in the U.S. and Japan. Proman worked in global marketing and development at Coca-Cola and the National Basketball Association prior to starting (and ultimately exiting) his initial startup, OptionIt. He has helped lead multiple startups to acquisitions and continues to play an active role in mentoring and advising founders across multiple industries. Proman is a contributor to TechCrunch and his most recent piece is titled: Will COVID-19 spur a smart rebirth for cities?
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Chitra Ragavan:
COVID-19 virtually overnight changed the tone, tenor and texture of cities, bringing the global economy to a slow grind and forcing people to retreat into bubbles, silos, pods, and remote work connected mainly through social media and Zoom. Now, as we slowly start to get a grip on the virus and think about reopening society, what will the long-term impact of the pandemic be on cities and on the evolution of smart cities? Hello everyone, I'm Chitra Ragavan, and this is Techtopia. My guest today has some of those answers. He's Michael Proman, Managing Director at Scrum Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that has invested in more than 80 startups across a range of industries in the U.S. and Japan.
Chitra Ragavan:
Proman worked in global marketing and development at Coca-Cola and the National Basketball Association, prior to starting and ultimately exiting his initial startup, OptionIt. He has helped lead multiple startups to acquisitions and continues to play an active role in mentoring and advising founders across multiple industries. Proman also is a contributor to TechCrunch. His most recent piece is titled, Will COVID-19 spur a smart rebirth for cities? Mike, welcome to Techtopia.
Michael Proman:
Chitra, thanks for having me.
Chitra Ragavan:
When COVID-19 hit, we saw this incredible change across major metropolitan cities, such as New York, reeling from the impact. Real estate values going down, and commerce grinding to a halt, people scrambling indoors. As someone who specializes in the future of cities and so-called Smart Cities, I'm sure you were watching with both interest and some concern about what the future would bring. What were your thoughts as you saw all of this unfold?
Michael Proman:
Well, I think like everybody, I think the immediate thought is, oh my goodness, right? The world is coming to a grinding halt. I've been working in a remote environment for 12 plus years, so the idea of transitioning my work into this virtual bubble of Zoom and Microsoft teams and all these other virtual channels, that didn't really faze me personally. But of course, a lot of my colleagues who are based in the Bay Area, they're in the epicenter of some of the transformation taking place in some of these urban communities. Having lived in places like New York previously and having friends still there, I can understand and certainly empathize with both local businesses that were facing arguably some of the darkest days that they've ever had. I think there was this collective sense of, yeah, this is going to be rough, but let's figure this out. I think people just dug in, and it's pretty amazing the progress that has been made here in the last 12 or 14 months.
Chitra Ragavan:
Over the past year and a half,
Ep. 11 – How Covid-19 is reshaping cities and smart cities / Michael Proman, Managing Director, Scrum Ventures. | Techtopia with Chitra Ragavan podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
