Virtual HQs race to win over a remote-work-fatigued market

Scheduled Zoom calls, utilitarian Slack threads, and endless email chains don’t capture the thrill of surprise or the joy of conversation that giddily revs up as people riff off each other’s ideas. But smart app developers are also realizing that spontaneity doesn’t mean constantly interrupting people’s life or workflow. They give people the power ... See more

It’s clear what they see as Zoom’s biggest shortcoming: serendipity. Both Branch and With use the word “serendipity” in their one-line homepage descriptions, while Huddle opts for “spontaneity” and Gather promises that you’ll “bump into your colleagues.”

Once the immediate adjustments are made, there will be winners and losers. Absent extensive bankruptcies (and missed rent payments), traditional commercial landlords may take the lightest hit as companies still need office space, but the WeWorks of the world are in for tough times as struggling startups and small businesses look for cheaper (or fre... See more