It's an "add to cart" kind of day. Today, we dive deep into the future of retail, plus a feature on HubSpot’s Brian Halligan — on how he scaled the company to the #1 spot in marketing automation.  

Today's Top Subscription News

Top SanFran Startups

 Tech Tribune's list of the best 2020 tech startups in San Francisco is out. Zenefits, a cloud-based software for managing human resources, scored a # 10 spot. Stripe, the online payment processing software, was placed in eighth. 

Tech Tribune came to these results after researching revenue potential, leadership team, brand/product traction, and competitive landscape. 

What's Your Sleep Spirit Animal?

Apparently, everyone has a sleep spirit animal and it impacts how many ZZZZ's we need to function.

MindValley posted an intriguing Tweet about personal sleep animals and chronotypes. For example, you're a bear if you're most energetic during daytime hours and reach peak productivity by mid-morning.

MindValley is offering a free masterclass with Dr. Michael Breus so you can learn how to prime your mind for the best sleep possible. Happy dosing. 

Interior Deco Upgrade

Skillshare, an online learning community of creators, is offering a workshop that may bring out your inner Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Skillshare's Design Your Perfect Space four-week workshop starts Monday, August 26. The workshop will bring you through three milestones to learn how to design your own ideal space. 

Deep Dive

Subscribe to Your Retail Therapy

Subscription is the future of retail.

On August 12th we saw Nike launch its sneaker-as-a-service subscription shoe service, dubbed Nike Adventure Club, for kiddos with style. The following week, Banana Republic dropped into the space with Style Passport — a monthly service the company is counting on to appeal to younger female customers after seeing a tough first quarter with same-store sales falling three percent.

But will a rental subscription program lift Banana’s results? We’ve seen companies thrive exclusively off the model (think Trunk Club, Rent the Runway, and Athleta) with other classic brick and mortars like Macy’s and American Eagle following suit — which makes us wonder: are we in an era of “the end of ownership”? 

The results of an international survey conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of Zuora say it could be so. The study found that 57% of the people surveyed wished they could own less items, which means six out of every 10 people globally don’t want to own things anymore. The poll also found that 70% of people believe subscriptions free them from the burden of ownership. 

We called in ProfitWell Subscription Retention Specialist Lauren Romanish to weigh in. 

"These retailers have absolutely streamlined reducing friction like never before."

And as Zuora’s Founder Tien Tzuo preaches to his core — people want services over products — a statement you know we’re unapologetically on board with. And with this steady rise of subscription in retail, services they shall get.

And that’s a wrap for your August 26th subscription news. We’ll catch ya back here tomorrow, where we do it all again. To recruit your friends into the subscription know, send them to profitwell.com/recur/recurnow to sign up for episodes on the daily.