Today, we're unpacking why Wunderlist's founder is desperate to buy the app back. Last week we told you about a vague tweet by Product Habits' Hiten Shah. This week, we're bringing you answers. And, ProfitWell team members debate whether offering employees company equity is overrated or underrated. 

Today's Top Subscription News

Hiten Shah Reveals "FYI for Teams"

Last week Hiten Shah, co-founder of Product Habits and FYI, had us on the edge of our seats after dropping a vague tweet.To jog your memory, it said: 

"I'm working on a product that I really want to see exist. Something I need for my own businesses that we're building internally because what's out there just isn't quite right. It's taking a lot of self-control for me to "show not tell." Nothing to show yet. More coming soon." 

We finally know more. Shah recently followed up on Twitter with: 

"This is something we have been incubating at FYI as an internal tool that we desperately needed. Not a pivot or all-consuming initiative. We're hard at work on building 'FYI for Teams' which is what's next for the FYI core product." 

It's not too much information but we're excited to see how "FYI for Teams" comes into fruition.

Happy 60th, COBOL🥳

COBOL, aka Common Business-Oriented Language, is celebrating 60 years.

In computing's early years, the only languages were machine and assembler. It wasn't until Mary Hawes, a Burroughs Corporation programer, recognized the need for a computer language, thus leading to the birth of COBOL in 1959. This new language would include English-like vocabulary that could be used across different computers to perform basic business tasks.

COBOL is still widely used, so just because it's turning 60 doesn't mean it will retire anytime soon.

Coming Soon 

Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement by Teachable today. It hinted at the drop of big news on Twitter on Monday:

"We're so excited to make a BIG announcement tomorrow. Tell us: what do you think is our big news?"

Some people are wondering if perhaps Teachable got acquired. I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

Deep Dive

What's Next for Wunderlist 👀

It’s been four years since Christian Reber sold his company, 6Wunderkinder, to Microsoft. Now, he wants it back and it seems like he’ll do just about anything to get it. Reber said in a tweet,

“Still sad Microsoft wants to shut down Wunderlist, even though people still love and use it. I’m serious, please let me buy it back. Keep the team and focus on Microsoft To Do and no one will be angry for shutting down Wunderlist.”

Reber started 6Wunderkinder out of Berlin in 2010. At the time, he along with five co-founders developed one of the most popular productivity apps in the form of Wunderlist. Fast forward five years and Microsoft bought it for around for around $100-200 million. People were immediately skeptical of this deal, with many Wunderlist users worried that Microsoft would eventually kill the app. Those fears were apparently justified. 

According to Venture Beat, the near-term plans for Wunderlist are TBD and Microsoft has nothing officially to say on the matter right now. 

However, Microsoft unveiled the resigned To Do app that will seemingly replace Wunderlist. The redesigned To Do looks a lot more like the original Wunderlist, with customizable background options.

Although Microsoft remains tight lipped on Wunderlist’s future, it’s reminding people how easy it is to migrate over from Wunderlist to To Do.The company mentioned the new version is “our best-of-both worlds realized.” 

It seems like Wunderlist may become a thing of the past depending on if Reber is serious about buying it back. 

Overrated/Underrated

Overrated/Underrated is a game in which players deem debate-worthy items as they see fit. From freemium and free trials to the cannabis company boom, no topic is off the table. In today's segment, I'm joined by ProfitWell's Andrew Gierer, Ian Black, Neel Desai, and Gina Eygenson to argue the value of offering company equity to employees. 

And that’s a wrap for your September 10th subscription news. Recruit your friends into the subscription know by sending them to profitwell.com/recur/recurnow to sign up for episodes on the daily.