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Automakers have slashed their ad spending, causing pain for media companies that could continue well into 2023
Lara O'Reilly and Lindsay Rittenhouse
Kia's Super Bowl spot featuring its electric vehicle.
Automakers are reining in their ad spend amid supply chain issues.
National TV spending from car brands dropped 27% in March versus last year.
The cuts are being felt across media and look set to continue through 2023.
Automakers are slamming the brakes on their ad spending this year amid the global supply chain crisis, a trend that experts say could hurt media companies well into 2023.
Still reeling from the pandemic and the global chip shortage, the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put fresh pressure on car manufacturers, through sanctions, disrupted trade routes, and the shutdown of factories near the conflict zone.
With fewer cars available to sell, and in an inflationary environment leading to higher costs, automakers have sought to rein in their advertising expenditures.
Auto is the sixth biggest ad category and car brands are among TV's most important clients. National TV ad spending from automakers fell 27.4% in March year over year, and 16.9% in April, according to TV-measurement firm iSpot. Experts said TV companies could feel the pain into 2023 as advertisers have already locked in some of their 2022 commitments and amid expectations that the industry's supply chain shortages are unlikely to abate any time soon.
Ford told investors in March it planned to make deep cuts in its Ford Blue division over the next few years to improve profitability, while Chrysler parent Stellantis said in April it believed it could cut sales and marketing expenses by 40%.
Cuts are being felt across the media sector
Companies including Paramount, Altice and Cumulus Media, the adtech firms Magnite and Viant, and the European publisher Schibsted all mentioned automotive supply chain issues as headwinds for their businesses in their most-recent earnings calls.
"On the local side, the overall story is good, but it's a mixed bag when you peel into the business where auto continues to be down. We're down 25% to 30% from a year ago. That's industrial, it's not just representative of Fox. And virtually all of that is supply chain, where there's just not enough cars on dealer lots for them to spend the money toward advertising," John Nallen, COO of Fox Corp., told investors in March.
When they are spending, automakers are favoring digital media, with its flexibility and targetability, and prioritizing specific models. With a shortage of cars to buy, the message is taking a more humanized tone and shifting to selling related products and services, experts said.
"These are unprecedented times," said Angelica Gianchandani, practitioner in residence at the Pompea College of Business at the University of New Haven and a former marketer for BMW and Cadillac.
Promoting a new car is just one aspect of a automaker CMO's marketing plans, she added.
"Now it's, how do we service you, we need to keep making sure that you have done maintenance on your vehicles. Adding different features – perhaps you're going camping and want different accessories, or own a country home and need to tow a boat – how do we accommodate with accessories, insurance, and connections and entertainment in your care," Gianchandani said.
There are some exceptions. Toyota, which has been promoting a new truck, increased TV airings 19% in the first quarter, according to data pulled by Samba.tv. A Toyota spokesperson said the company constantly adjust its marketing based on consumer and marketplace changes, including its current inventory constraints.
Promotional efforts are going to electric vehicles, digital media
Advertising dynamics also vary by class of vehicle. Luxury car manufacturers cut their TV ad spending by 30% in the first four months of 2022 versus the same period in 2019, compared to a 17% cut by non-luxury carmakers, according to measurement firm EDO.
However, luxury car makers have been 7% more effective in driving consumers to search for their brands online than they were pre-pandemic, according to EDO. Kevin Krim, EDO's CEO, puts this down to two key reasons: Wealthier consumers have been less impacted by the soaring inflation, and there's growing consumer interest in electric vehicles, where luxury car makers have largely led the way.
Across all vehicles, consumers are 30% more likely to search for a brand after seeing an ad for an electric vehicle than a non-electric car, according to EDO.
"Consumers are really interested in electric vehicles and luxury is at the forefront of that because of Tesla," said Krim. While Tesla famously doesn't spend money on advertising, brands like Audi and Mercedes have been pushing electric vehicles in their recent campaigns. In the Super Bowl, all but one of the auto ads – Toyota promoting its new truck – spotlighted electric vehicles.
To be sure, most TV companies now have ad-supported digital streaming services and other digital destinations that can offer automakers the flexibility to ramp up and down their spending on the fly. And while auto is cutting back, a surge in spending in sectors like sports betting, crypto, and Big Tech is helping to fill some of the gaps. But the timing is nonetheless inconvenient as TV companies enter the annual "upfront" negotiation period, where advertisers and TV networks look to lock in year-long ad rates and packages.
One ad buyer said automakers are being "cautious and conservative" heading into the upfront.
"Flexibility is key, as well as prioritizing needs across their portfolios and looking for opportunities to create a halo impact to make each dollar work harder," the buyer said.
Lucia Moses contributed to this story.
More: Toyota Stellantis Ford | 2022-05-06T16:46:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | Automakers Cutting Ad Spending and Hurting Media Companies: Outlook | https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-cutting-ad-spending-and-hurting-media-companies-outlook-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-cutting-ad-spending-and-hurting-media-companies-outlook-2022-5 |
Hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman slams cannabis company Green Thumb Industries over alleged insider selling in a testy exchange
Hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman.
Billionaire Leon Cooperman ripped into Green Thumb Industries executives over alleged insider selling.
"You have all the right buzz words, but I don't see the action," Cooperman said in an investor call.
Green Thumb Industries' stock is down 47% since January 1.
All is not well in the cannabis investor world.
During Green Thumb Industries' Wednesday evening investor call, hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman ripped into the Chicago-based cannabis giant's CEO Ben Kovler over what Cooperman said was rampant insider selling by the company's executives.
"Are you fully invested in the company?" Cooperman asked Kovler in a heated exchange. "You have all the right buzz words, but I don't see the action. I see insider selling. I don't see insider buying."
Kovler responded by denying that GTI executives were selling shares. He touted the company's longer-term prospects as more states legalize cannabis, and said that he's personally the largest shareholder in the company. He added that GTI's inability to list on major US exchanges like the Nasdaq or NYSE has caused "real damage" to the cannabis industry. Exchange rules don't permit companies like GTI that cultivate or sell cannabis to list since they are violating federal law.
"Well, my recommendation is go look at Bloomberg and see what you see," Cooperman said. "And what I see is nothing but inside selling for three pages. I don't see any inside buying whatsoever."
Kovler asked Cooperman to use his sway to ask the exchanges to allow GTI and other companies to list — which Cooperman declined.
Investors and analysts consider executives buying shares in their own firm, even when the stock is sinking, a vote of confidence in the company's long-term growth. When executives sell shares — that sends the opposite message.
According to SEC files reviewed by Insider, Kovler sold about 15,000 shares of GTI last month. He is still the largest shareholder of the company, and owns 18.9 million shares.
In response to a request for comment from Insider, Kovler said that there hasn't been any insider selling and that Cooperman was referring to equity compensation for employees. It's a process known as sell-to-cover, a convoluted way of compensating employees with shares in which management sells stock in order to allow employees to buy it back at a cheaper price
"We continue to invest in the team and believe in equity compensation and aligned incentives," Kovler said. "I currently remain the largest shareholder in Green Thumb, and management continues to believe in the $75-100 billion dollar opportunity ahead for both Green Thumb and the industry at large."
"The fundamental issue remains the need for change on Wall Street. Until there is major stock exchange access such as listing on the NYSE and NASDAQ, there will be lack of access for investors," he added.
A spokesperson for Cooperman didn't immediately reply.
Cannabis stocks have gotten hammered this year, but analysts are focused on long-term success
Like many of its peers in the cannabis industry, Green Thumb Industries' stock has gotten hammered this year. It's down over 47% since the beginning of 2022, and it's down over 67% from its high in February of last year. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF, or MSOS, an exchange-traded fund that includes a basket of US cannabis stocks like GTI, is down over 45% since January 1.
Investors have gotten skittish toward the cannabis sector as federal cannabis legalization hasn't materialized as soon as some had hoped, and profits remain elusive while tax burdens and other regulations remain cumbersome.
Cooperman first invested in Green Thumb Industries through his family office, Omega Advisors in August of 2018, as Insider has reported. He wasn't listed as a shareholder in securities filings Insider reviewed on Friday.
At the time, he said he was investing in the company because he's a "big fan of Ben's" and said that he has a decades-long relationship with Kovler's family. Kovler is the heir to the Jim Beam liquor empire — the bourbon brand was built up by his great-grandfather, Harry Blum.
Despite the mixed results in the quarter, analysts still are optimistic about Green Thumb Industries' long-term growth prospects.
"Focusing on who is best positioned for longer-term industry success, and when the true value is created, Green Thumb still ticks many of the boxes, more so than many others," analysts from the investment bank Stifel wrote in a Thursday note, continuing their buy rating on the stock.
More: Cannabis Marijuana Green Thumb Industries Leon Cooperman | 2022-05-06T16:46:43Z | www.businessinsider.com | Billionaire Leon Cooperman Slams Green Thumb Industries in Investor Call | https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-leon-cooperman-slams-green-thumb-industries-in-investor-call-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-leon-cooperman-slams-green-thumb-industries-in-investor-call-2022-5 |
I never realized how much my religion denounced building wealth until I tripled my income and was racked with guilt
Racheal Ede
Racheal Ede.
Courtesy of Racheal Ede
Being raised in the Catholic faith taught me that money was something shameful and unwelcome.
When I started earning more, I was racked with guilt and reluctance to build wealth.
Learning about money from experts and examining the messages I grew up with helped me move past my guilt.
Can someone be programmed to be poor?
Growing up in a middle-class family, raised by staunch Catholic parents, I didn't have many thoughts about money. I believed it to be a necessary evil; after all, we were taught that "money is the root of all evil."
From a young age, I saw money as an evil associated with unbelievers. Here are five ways my religion stood in the way of me gaining wealth.
1. I felt guilty about earning money
Over time, I knew that I had to earn more to improve my standard of living. I couldn't live with the constant guilt, and I was no longer comfortable with a sub-standard life. Something had to change, and I had to be that change. I was already sick and tired of letting my Catholic upbringing affect my life. I needed a complete reorientation.
So, out of necessity, I took up a career in freelance writing. I didn't expect the magnitude of guilt that overwhelmed me when I started to earn three times more than I had.
I already associated money and wealth with unbelievers, and making more money felt like committing a grievous sin. Even the Bible agrees. Matthew 19:24 — "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Does it mean that a rich man can't enter heaven because wealth is a sin?
Or Matthew 5:3 — "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." I believed that in order to be in his good books, God wanted us poor or, at best, average earners. Forgive me for choosing heaven over cash; it was the utmost priority as Christians and Catholics.
2. I was excessively charitable
Of course, charity is a good cause. Compassion is deeply rooted in human nature, which is why we are instinctively concerned with the welfare of others. I was always ready to give away more money than I could afford, and being raised by altruistic parents made it even easier.
My philanthropy was motivated by my religious beliefs and self-imposed guilt. I would be miserable if I didn't help a needy person, and of course, there would always be someone who needed the money more than I did. Even if it left me penniless, I didn't care.
3. I undervalued my worth
When I started my journey as an entrepreneur, I was making costly mistakes. It took me months to figure out what I was doing wrong and even more time to change my ways. I consistently put up with bad clients, low paying gigs, and late payments. With an upbringing like mine, I was uncomfortable talking about money.
I didn't know how to negotiate higher pay or go for jobs I deserved. Something always held me back from reaching my full potential. The result was expected: overworking, undercharging, and underearning only because I didn't have clear contracts or the right boundaries to keep me safe.
I took little steps every day to break down the origins of my thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, feelings, and biases towards money. The first course of action was a trip down memory lane, where I had some deep self-reflection that paved the way for unlearning the rigid rules and regulations that defined my lifestyle. I consciously watched for patterns and habits responsible for the mess I lived in.
4. I was uninterested in being financially literate
What's the best way to set yourself up for failure? In my case, it was zero knowledge of managing my money, budgeting, saving, investing, or protecting myself. I knew next to nothing about personal finance, and I didn't care to know.
It probably does not come as a surprise that low financial literacy leads to poor financial decisions. Guilty as charged. Everything was falling apart.
One minute I had enough money, the next minute, it was all gone because I was spending more than I could account for. As a result, living paycheck-to-paycheck became a thing.
I started seeking out people who would help rewire my brain for success. I binged and watched many YouTube videos on money, mindset, and goal-setting. I also read many self-help books like "Atomic Habits," "Think and Grow Rich," and "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy." I followed all my favorite coaches on personal finance and mindset on social media. I implemented every tip and strategy they recommended in my daily life.
5. I couldn't set strong financial goals
My mindset about money and status was pretty messed up. I didn't imagine that I deserved better or make any plans to take the necessary steps towards upgrading my finances. How does someone who is financially disempowered set clear and specific financial goals?
My relationship with money had been laced with many negative, good-for-nothing thoughts, making it practically impossible to set strong financial goals. I was left doing the same things every day: same job, same network, same environment, setting myself up for failure.
Getting past these challenges was a painful process for me, but I can say that I'm in a happier place than I was then. It feels great to take over the reins and be in charge of my life.
Racheal Ede is a freelance writer. She offers blogging, ghost writing, content marketing, and copywriting services. She's passionate about creating thoughtful content that's relevant and engaging for the audience.
PERSONAL FINANCE Saving $10,000 to leave my fundamentalist family and church made it clear that money is power — and I have it
PERSONAL FINANCE 4 glaring signs you're about to make a big mistake with your money, according to a financial advisor
PERSONAL FINANCE In college I became part of a religious Muslim group that nearly led me into poverty, but I live life on my own terms now
More: Catholicism Religion Psychology Of Money Guilt | 2022-05-06T16:47:01Z | www.businessinsider.com | 5 Ways My Catholic Religion Worked Against Me Building Wealth | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/catholic-religion-worked-against-me-building-wealth-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/catholic-religion-worked-against-me-building-wealth-2022-5 |
I'm the CEO of ReMax. I schedule personal time even on my busiest workdays — here's what my routine is like.
Nick Bailey, CEO of ReMax.
Courtesy ReMax
Nick Bailey, 47, is the president and CEO of major real estate company ReMax.
He frequently travels for work and says he likes to keep tech accessories to a minimum.
Here's how he organizes his morning work routine, as told to writer Robin Madell.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nick Bailey, 47, who became president and CEO of ReMax CLC in January. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My workday start time varies, and I decide the night before when to set my alarm based on the next day's schedule. If it's a full day, I'll get up at 5:30 a.m. to get my workout in before the day starts.
If I see an opportunity to adjust my schedule throughout the day, then I might not start work until 8 a.m. There are also days when it's much more flexible, and I'll take my son to school before starting work at 9 a.m.
When I'm in Denver, I work from home as well as at the office
But I also travel a lot. With thousands of ReMax offices across the US, I'm often on the road meeting with brokers and owners, so I work from wherever I can.
I'm intentionally simple with the number of tech products I travel with. I see people with extra keyboards and multiple iPads and notebooks, which for me isn't as efficient. I think having too many devices turns them into toys.
Though I consider myself to be tech driven, I'm not a tech-accessory junkie. I carry a MacBook Pro, my iPhone, Bose noise-canceling headphones, AirPods, and a portable camera light for on-the-road camera needs. I also have a small pocket full of adapters so I can connect anything just about anywhere.
I set up news alerts for industry topics based on current events and subscribe to real-estate industry-trade outlets like Inman, RealTrends, and HousingWire as well as The Denver Business Journal. I don't necessarily check them habitually each morning, but the alerts keep me up to date on the latest happenings in real time.
I use Trello for my to-do list, team priority list, and direct reports
It has a terrific desktop and mobile experience — it's like electronic sticky notes and it's very easy to archive. I also calendar block my personal time and don't waver from it. Being able to say no is really important.
I'm also a huge shortcut guy. I spend time learning all the secret shortcuts when software updates come out and it helps me work twice as fast.
From the moment I start work, I move fast
No two days are the same, but the one constant is efficiency. To me, being "busy" is an excuse. You'll never hear me say we should wait and think about it until next week. Let's try it now.
I start each day by prioritizing the most urgent tasks and messages
I'm constantly scanning all of my devices and ways people reach me (phone, text, Slack , email) and assessing what's a priority and what I should respond to first. It's not about starting with the oldest email in the inbox.
At some point during each workday, I spend time checking in with the rest of the ReMax leadership team, my direct reports, and ReMax brokers and owners across the country.
Another habit that's made me much more efficient with my time is that I don't accept recurring meetings. The vast majority of people follow routines, but I believe that following priorities works better.
More: Strategy CEOs RE/MAX Real Estate
work routine
Morning Routines | 2022-05-06T16:47:07Z | www.businessinsider.com | I'm the CEO of ReMax — Here's How I Plan My Workday Mornings | https://www.businessinsider.com/remax-ceo-morning-routine-work-advice-tech-accessories-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/remax-ceo-morning-routine-work-advice-tech-accessories-2022-5 |
3 steps Elon Musk can take to avoid tanking Twitter's reputation, according to PR pros
Macollvie J. Neel
"He kind of has the world's largest user research experiment going on with Twitter right now," one PR expert said.
Branding and public relations experts shared their advice for handling Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter.
His reputation as an innovator is an asset to a company where change is long overdue, they said.
But Musk needs to be clear about his vision for Twitter and should keep its identity separate from his.
Reaction to Elon Musk's announcement that he's buying Twitter has been mixed at best.
But public relations experts who've managed successful brand transformations told Insider that the acquisition could be good for the website.
"There's an enormous opportunity to crowdsource the future," Joe Crump, who heads up the experience strategy practice at brand transformation company Landor & Fitch, said. "He kind of has the world's largest user research experiment going on with Twitter right now."
Here's how Crump and two other PR experts would advise the company — as well as any other brand going through a similarly major change — to handle the shift.
Emphasize Musk's biggest strength: innovation
Change at Twitter is "long overdue," Crump said, and much of Musk's career has been focused on changing industries.
"If he leans into his track record for innovation, I think that will calm a lot of folks down," Crump said. "There's some spectrum from innovation to crazy. The more he lives in this spectrum," the more trust people will put in him.
In the tech world, this type of celebrity leadership has a precedent. Crump advised Musk to look to the Steve Jobs model: Though Jobs was fired from the company he founded, he returned a decade later and launched a series of product innovations that created the world's most valuable company.
Similarly, Netflix's Reed Hastings insisted on a better product, pivoting the company from DVDs-by-mail toward what's now a powerhouse of streaming content.
At Twitter, this innovation could address both technological and business issues. For one, it could solve the platform's longstanding technical problems concerning misinformation, said Aaron Kwittken, founder and chairman of PR and brand agency KWT Global. New features or algorithms could be developed to reduce the platform's bias in favor of certain users, such as those with larger followings whose posts are more likely to be retweeted.
"I was really happy about [Musk's] commitments to battling bots on Twitter," Kwittken said. "That needs to be done across all platforms, if he can figure that out. And probably he's the person to figure that out. I'd love to see him license that technology to others, so that we can all battle this together."
On the business operations side, Crump said that, when it comes to revenue, there's also room for refining the ad model and exploring subscriptions — two publisher strategies that could benefit from a fresh perspective.
Clarify the vision and key messages — and be transparent about it all
Whatever Musk's vision for Twitter is, it needs to be defined and communicated as soon as possible so that users — and employees — can decide if Twitter is the right place for them, experts said.
Erica Dumas, a crisis communications strategist, said messaging during any large-scale change must be clear in order to minimize confusion and get people on board.
Right now, Dumas said, many Twitter users worry that the self-described "free speech absolutist" will allow users banned for hate speech or inciting violence back onto the platform. Musk's own pronouncements have done little to clarify whether or not his intention to make the platform more welcoming of free speech will entail harmful harassment, trolling, and abuse.
"Free speech — yes, it's important. But where do we draw the line?" Dumas said. "That's the clarity the workforce is looking for and what the users are looking for."
Communicating more about how key decisions are made can go a long way in helping the public understand changes, Kwittken added. In Twitter's case, such transparency can help tamper the uncertainty surrounding the sale.
As rumors swirl about whether or not certain banned users — including former President Donald Trump and his allies, as well as right-wingers who have been suspended for hate speech — will be allowed back on the platform, Kwittken said that the company needs to spell out whether or not that's true, and, if it is, whether those people will face extra scrutiny, given their past statements. Those types of policies are what's necessary for other users to decide whether or not they want to remain on the platform, as is how those rules are made.
"The process is pretty damn opaque," Kwittken said. "At a minimum, that has to get better. As long as that is transparent, then people can make their choices about whether they do or don't engage."
Put a management team in place and step back
On Thursday, CNBC reported that Musk is likely to take the reins as temporary CEO once the deal goes through. But entangling his personal brand — which encompasses his other businesses — and the platform's could prove damaging if controversies were to emerge surrounding Musk (or Twitter), Crump, Dumas, and Kwittken all emphasized.
In the same way Jeff Bezos has stayed fairly hands-off since buying The Washington Post, Twitter's brand would stay strongest if Musk does the same, Crump said. Musk's "maverick character," as he called it, makes people nervous.
In the weeks since the announcement, Musk has continued to tweet bombastic and controversial things, discussing potential new Twitter features — like end-to-end encryption for DMs — alongside criticisms of other companies and attacks on journalists.
"Musk will learn quickly that what he says has an outsized impact," Crump said. "He personally is too volatile a character to become synonymous with Twitter."
Dumas said Musk should also be sure not to dismiss the institutional knowledge of current employees who have built the company and been involved in prior decisions. They should be part of any future leadership team.
Then, once Musk installs a "legitimate and experienced and bipartisan management team" to run the company, Kwittken said he should "step away."
More: contributor 2022 BI-freelancer Nora Biette-Timmons | 2022-05-06T17:30:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Elon Musk Can Avoid Tanking Twitter's Reputation, From PR Pros | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-ceo-twitter-brand-pr-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-ceo-twitter-brand-pr-2022-5 |
Meb Faber, CEO and CIO of Cambria Investment Management.
Cambria Investment Management
Cambria Investments founder and investment chief Meb Faber says stocks could fall much farther.
Stocks and bonds are both falling, and Faber says investors need much more diversification.
Two of Cambria's ETFs are outperforming this year, and he explained how they work.
Sometimes it can seem like the investment world is divided into two distinct camps: People who play it safe and look for steady, reliable income, and those who take risks and look for dramatic, market-beating outperformance.
Meb Faber's firm Cambria Investment Management, which manages $1.4 billion in assets, has created a formula for doing both, even as the prices of both riskier stocks and safer bonds go through a rare simultaneous drop.
In a recent interview with Insider, Faber said most investors think a traditional portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds has very little downside, even during a disastrous period for markets. He argues that's not true — and that while periods of sustained and major losses for stocks and fixed income are rare, they do happen. In fact, he thinks one such period could be coming soon.
"The US 10-year CAPE ratio is like 36, historically, in low inflation," he said. "With high inflation, that gets down into the low teens. So we're talking about a 50% haircut just on multiple alone if inflation stays elevated."
A prolific podcaster, Faber has been warning listeners that stocks are now very expensive but trending lower, and that means investors need to tread carefully.
In spite of this tough market backdrop, Cambria's Shareholder Yield ETF has returned about 1% to investors this year, according to Morningstar, and its Global Momentum ETF has delivered a 7% return. The S&P 500 has declined 13.5% since the start of 2022 and the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index has fallen 9%.
The Global Momentum Fund essentially buys other ETFs that are on the rise and trading above their moving averages. Faber told Insider that that fund in particular is adopting some tactics that investors have been reluctant to use, to their detriment.
Investors often "have way too much in their local market. In our case, US stocks and bonds," he said. Often, they also have "no exposure to real assets. So you're seeing that as a pretty big deal this year, meaning commodities, TIPS, real estate. Usually investors have nothing invested there, and I think that's a mistake."
The momentum fund has a lot of exposure to commodities and real assets and has almost no exposure to US stocks other than energy securities. Morningstar says its largest holdings include the Invesco DB Energy Fund and iShares Global Energy ETF, both of which hold US energy stocks.
Faber says those are the paths investors should follow if they want to succeed from here. Unsurprisingly, he'd prefer that they do so by buying Cambria's ETFs, but that's not the only way to invest. Faber points out that the income-focused Shareholder Yield ETF tilts toward value stocks, which are cheaper based on metrics like price to earnings ratios.
"Within the US, the value spread is massive relative to history," he said. "Value stocks are doing amazing, but the spread hasn't really condensed."
Buying high-dividend or low P/E stocks, or buying funds that target high-yield or value stocks, are simple strategies that any investor can apply. Notable examples include the iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF or the Vanguard Russell 1000 Value Index Fund ETF.
Following trends is a slightly more complex approach than parking money in an ETF, but Faber sees it as a good way to diversify. It's a strategy that investors can apply by looking at indexes that track various asset classes — like commodities, stocks, and bonds — and buying what's on the rise or trading above a moving average for a set period, like 100 or 200 days.
The key, according to Faber, is sticking with the strategy long-term, even though its returns during positive markets may be uninspiring.
"Trend following often has little, small losers, but it understands the big winners will more than make up for them," he said. "Actual compliance with trend following can be tough for investors, but the acknowledgement there is that it's hard for buy and hold, too."
Meb Faber
Trend Following | 2022-05-06T17:30:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | What to Buy As Stocks Fall, Safe Investing Tips From Meb Faber | https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-strategy-tips-income-stock-market-fall-selloff-meb-faber-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-strategy-tips-income-stock-market-fall-selloff-meb-faber-2022-5 |
Amazon and Shopify are fighting to answer e-commerce's most pressing question: When will my package arrive?
Shopify and Amazon have launched related products that market their shipping capabilities while customers are making purchases.
Shopify announced a new shipping product that mirrors Amazon's new Buy With Prime feature.
Both products use each company's fulfillment capabilities as marketing.
Amazon has long offered the kind of shipping services that Shopify is chasing.
Shopify and Amazon recently announced features that allow online sellers to highlight shipping expectations. Providing details like when a package could arrive is another way the two e-commerce companies could compete for customers and sellers.
Buy With Prime, announced by Amazon at the end of April, allows online sellers to offer Prime-associated services, like fast shipping, free delivery, and free returns, to shoppers making purchases on websites beyond Amazon.com.
Shopify announced a related product on Thursday during the company's earnings called Shop Promise, a new badge that will give shoppers expected delivery dates on merchants' stores and other channels like Google, Facebook, and Instagram where merchants sell their products. Shopify also offers package tracking through its Shop app.
The deployment of Shop Promise depends on the Shopify Fulfillment Network getting up to speed, as the new feature will only be available to US merchants using SFN. Shopify confirmed Thursday it plans to acquire the asset-light fulfillment startup, Deliverr, for $2.1 billion, in a deal that the company says will help accelerate its plans. Still, SFN won't reach scale until late 2023 at the earliest, Shopify's CFO, Amy Shapero, confirmed during the earnings call. Amazon has offered the shipping services Shopify is planning for more than a decade.
The announcements are an escalation in a longtime, but little acknowledged, battle between Shopify and Amazon.
"Amazon is definitely taking notice of Shopify, and this feature is the latest in a series of moves to improve its own competitive position," Dan Romanoff, a senior equity research analyst at Morningstar, told Insider regarding Buy With Prime.
'We are actually thrilled'
During the earnings call Thursday, Matthew Pfau, a William Blair analyst, asked Shopify's CEO, Tobi Lütke, if Buy With Prime would impact Shopify's business overall or its fulfillment plans more specifically. Lütke's response, which lasted three minutes, downplayed the rivalry and Buy With Prime's potential ramifications for Shopify.
"We are actually thrilled with Amazon making the decision to take the amazing infrastructure they have built — because, I mean, it's second-to-none infrastructure — and want to share this broadly with small merchants across the internet," Lütke said.
Shopify does not currently allow merchants to install alternative checkout options such as Buy with Prime in their online stores.
But during the call, Lütke said Shopify would be "happy" to integrate Buy With Prime into its services, much like it already has with Meta, Google, and TikTok.
A Shopify spokesperson did not return Insider's request for comment. The company told The Information that Lütke's statements during the call were his opinion and the company would still need to gather details.
Shopify's mission is to make it easier for merchants to sell things online. It does this by allowing third-party software providers to integrate into its platform. Software integrations "make it much more possible for small businesses to engage in very complex retail strategies that previously you would have needed a lot of head count for," Lütke said during the earnings call.
Still, the CEO's comments indicate a shift in tone. In the past, Lütke has described Shopify's mission as "arming the rebels" against the e-commerce empire that is Amazon.
"This does show in some sense remarkable maturity on Tobi's side and, without question, an evolution in how Shopify views Amazon," Rick Watson, the CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting, told Insider. "Shopify three years ago — the rebel alliance — would never transport its troops on Empire ships. That would be unthinkable."
Regardless of Lütke's positive response to the new product during the company's earnings call, Buy With Prime "increases the competitive environment for Shopify," Angelo Zino, a senior investment strategist at CFRA Research, told Insider.
And it's likely that Buy With Prime won't be the last of Amazon's products that could pose a threat to Shopify. Amazon has a secretive team, known internally as "Project Santos," that has been tasked with fending off Shopify's threat to Amazon's e-commerce dominance, Insider reported in early April.
The Information reported Thursday that the launch of Buy With Prime has led to heated debate within Shopify over the last two weeks, with product team members discussing whether they should develop tools that would allow its merchants to use Buy With Prime.
Shopify reported earnings that came in below investors' expectations, reflecting a slowdown in e-commerce activity on display in Amazon's, Etsy's, and eBay's reports. Shopify's revenue grew 22% year-over-year, to $1.2 billion, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. And gross merchandise volume, or the total value of goods bought through Shopify's platform, grew 16% to $43.2 billion, compared to the $46.5 billion that analysts had expected.
Its stock fell more than 14% following the earnings call. Shopify's stock has fallen about 70% since its pandemic highs in the fall of 2021.
More: Retail Shopify Amazon | 2022-05-06T18:15:11Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon, Shopify Compete Over Delivery-Promise Products | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-shopify-compete-over-delivery-promise-products-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-shopify-compete-over-delivery-promise-products-2022-5 |
5 mother-daughter business duos share advice for growing 6- and 7-figure companies together
Sonny and Natalie Rogers of Klassy Network.
courtesy of Rogers
Insider spoke with five mother-daughter duos about starting businesses together.
Many said their differences are what make their partnership work.
Here's their advice for balancing personal and professional relationships.
Natalie Rogers was on a mission to create a product that combined her active lifestyle with her love of fashion — passions she'd inherited from her mother, Sonny.
Rogers didn't know about design, merchandising, or production when she set out to launch the apparel brand Klassy Network, so she again looked to her mother.
"My passion is combining function and fashion, but in a cute way so I feel good wearing it," Rogers said. "I told my mom about my idea, and she was super supportive of the concept."
Rogers' creativity and skills in social-media marketing coupled with her mother's organization fueled Klassy Network's growth: Last year it booked seven figures in sales, which Insider verified with documentation.
While many mothers and daughters — including those interviewed for this story — can be very different, sometimes that difference is what makes the partnerships work.
"When you're running a business, it's your mom's livelihood too," said Marcy Vieau-Goetz, an owner of Chocolate Inspirations, an artisan chocolate shop. "That makes it a little bit more scary, but it also makes you more determined — it gives you that extra pull."
Insider spoke with five mother-daughter pairs who are scaling their six- and seven-figure businesses. They shared advice for sticking to family values and managing work responsibilities with someone you love.
Klassy Network
Sonny and Natalie Rogers.
Natalie Rogers, 27, CEO and cofounder
Sonny Rogers, 60, product manager
Klassy Network is a fashion brand based in Orlando, Florida, known for its brami tops, which went viral on TikTok in September 2020. Natalie and her husband, Jacob Soto, hired both of their mothers and Rogers' father to grow the brand in 2021.
"I'm so proud of my daughter," Sonny said. "It doesn't surprise me to see her blossom. It's incredible to watch."
Why they decided to go into business together
"She's so organized, knows exactly what I like, and I can trust her," Natalie said.
How they separate their work from their personal lives
"It's definitely not been easy, but every single person in this company knows how I am personally," Natalie said, adding that she strives to keep the company's energy positive and optimistic. "If there's anything that is sucking that out, we have a conversation and remind people why we started this and what we're all about."
Chocolate Inspirations
Pam Vieau and Marcy Vieau-Goetz.
courtesy of Vieau-Goetz
Marcy Vieau-Goetz, 53, owner and chief happy officer
Pam Vieau, 73, owner and chocolatier, 73
Pam launched Chocolate Inspirations, an artisanal chocolate and vegan-desserts brand, in 1994 after taking a chocolate class for fun while pursuing a career in court reporting. The company has steadily grown and counts three generations of the family as employees, including Pam's daughter Marcy, who joined the company full time in April 2018, and her 94-year-old mother, Charlotte.
While Pam is the chocolate visionary, Marcy is the business visionary — she's grown Chocolate Inspirations into a business that booked six figures in sales in 2021, which Insider verified with documentation.
What made them want to become business partners
"When she gave the English toffee to friends, I saw the change in people after they had it," Marcy said of her mom's first few batches. "It was like nothing I'd seen, so it was a train I wanted to jump onto."
She said they work well together because she's Pam's top supporter and believes in her creations — she was willing to spread the word and ensure Pam was charging the right prices.
Their advice for mothers and daughters in a business relationship
Their biggest tips are not to take that connection for granted, to celebrate even the little victories, and to be thankful that you're in it together.
"We are closer now," Marcy said. "I can't imagine not seeing her every day."
Park Slope Therapy
Ellen and Alexandra Jacowitz.
courtesy of Jacowitz
Alexandra Jacowitz, 37, cofounder and clinical director
Ellen Jacowitz, 70, cofounder and assistant clinical director
Park Slope Therapy is a mental-health private practice in Brooklyn, New York. The company was founded in 2019 after Alexandra, known as Ali, finished her clinical psychology doctoral program and obtained her license. Ellen, a licensed social worker, was ready to leave her role at another private practice.
Today the duo and their team of four provide support for couples, children, and millennials facing burnout. Last year they booked six figures in income, which Insider verified with documentation.
What inspired Ali to follow in her mom's footsteps and pursue a career in mental health
"Growing up with her, we had a very psychologically minded family," Ali said. "I don't think I realized how it was embedded in the structure of our household until I was older."
Ellen said that as a mental-health worker, she made vulnerable and honest communication a consistent part of Ali's upbringing.
"Ali was raised to question people's behavioral styles," Ellen said. "It was just the culture of our family to always be talking about it, and when you talk about things, you keep a lot of the anger and frustration out of your family."
Why they work so well together
While the two have different specialties, they said their complementary skills, interests, and personalities make them such good partners.
"That balance is the best thing that you can do," Ali said, adding that her mother's experience running a business combined with her personal passion for psychology was the collaboration needed to launch the company.
"If there was somebody else like me partnered with me, I think I would burn out, because there would be no yin and yang — there would be no white space for my dark space," Ali said.
Their best piece of advice for other mother-daughter duos
"The core of the relationship has to be a good one," Ellen said. "When you run into roadblocks, you have to know how to resolve conflicts and keep going."
Go Dash Dot
Melissa and Hannah Fastov.
courtesy of Fastov
Hannah Fastov, 31, founder and CEO
Melissa Fastov, 61, chief operating officer
Go Dash Dot was founded in October 2016. Hannah had failed to find a bag that could accommodate her busy days, which included exercise, work, and evening plans. Her solution was a tote with a padded computer compartment, a shoe pocket, and a shoulder strap. When she brought the idea to her mom, Melissa, she supported it right away.
Last year the company sold six figures' worth of goods, which Insider verified with documentation.
Roadblocks they've had to overcome together
"When the pandemic hit, that threw us for a loop," Hannah said. "But fortunately we were able to take a step back and say, 'Let's use this opportunity to continue connecting with our consumer.'"
Hannah said a customer's story of how her Go Dash Dot bag had helped her as a healthcare worker "resonated with me so much."
"After feeling so useless, I actually felt useful," she said. Hannah and her mother sent 1,000 cross-body bags to healthcare workers around the US.
Their best advice for other mother-daughter duos
"From a mom's perspective, be nonjudgmental," Melissa said. "Sometimes your first tendency is to say, 'That's wrong,' but it's actually not necessarily wrong, and you have to step back and listen."
Heavenly Beauty Supply
Heavenly and Alaura Kimes.
courtesy of Kimes
Alaura Kimes, 16, fashion designer and owner
Heavenly Kimes, 51, dentist and owner
Heavenly Kimes is a dentist who gained fame when she joined Bravo's second season of "Married to Medicine" in 2014. Since then she's continued to run her dentistry business, built a personal brand, written a book, and cofounded a beauty company, Heavenly Beauty Supply, with her daughter, Alaura.
When they launched the business in Atlanta in August 2021, they had a joint mission of sharing their love of beauty products while uplifting other Black beauty brands. Today they sell other Black-owned products in their store and welcome Black-owned businesses to sample products with Heavenly Beauty Supply shoppers.
"Before, when I went to a beauty supply store, it wasn't primarily Black-owned," Alaura said. "This is a fresh start to Black beauty."
Their business booked six figures in sales last year, which Insider verified with documentation.
How running the business has affected their relationship
"It's really strengthened our relationship, not only in an aspect of mother and daughter, but it's being able to talk to somebody about business and understanding that person," Alaura said.
It helps that they've always been close, Heavenly added. "We don't always agree, but I'm the mama and I make the final decision," she said, laughing.
More: Features Mothers Day 2022 Mother and daughter | 2022-05-06T18:15:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | Mother-Daughter Business Duos on Growing 6-Figure Companies | https://www.businessinsider.com/mother-daughter-businesses-duo-million-dollar-business-mothers-day-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/mother-daughter-businesses-duo-million-dollar-business-mothers-day-2022-4 |
As he prepared to sign the bill at a Sam's Club in Ocala, Florida, DeSantis blamed President Joe Biden for the state's need to provide financial relief amid record-high inflation. He has also warned in recent weeks that the country may be heading into a recession .
A total of $200 billion in COVID rescue dollars is going toward a one-month gas holiday that starts in October. Through the measure, drivers and motorcyclists will save 25 cents per gallon.
The idea of state gas taxes are popular, particularly as prices hit $6 a gallon in some places. Some members of Congress want to enact a federal gas tax holiday, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the idea saying that oil companies aren't required to pass on the savings to consumers.
But the tax breaks won't necessarily alleviate inflation. Some analysts, such as Howard Gleckman at the Tax Policy Center, have warned that tax breaks could actually worsen inflation because people will spend and consume more at a time when supplies are limited. Some of the tax breaks will go toward recreational gear for the summer, for instance. Other breaks will be on more essential supplies people would buy with or without a tax, such as diapers.
DeSantis predicted Florida's budget would have a $20 billion surplus by the start of the next fiscal year. Such revenue gives the state plenty of room to suspend or reduce its 6% sales tax.
More: Ron DeSantis Joe Biden American Rescue Plan Taxes | 2022-05-06T19:00:30Z | www.businessinsider.com | Lots of Tax Breaks Coming to Florida Thanks to DeSantis and Biden | https://www.businessinsider.com/lots-of-tax-breaks-coming-to-florida-thanks-to-desantis-and-biden-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/lots-of-tax-breaks-coming-to-florida-thanks-to-desantis-and-biden-2022-5 |
Music NFTs are the next big thing in Web3. Here's why I invested $300,000 into them and what you should know before jumping in.
Cooper Turley
Cooper Turley is a cryptocurrency investor and advisor.
Turley says we'll see an influx of new music debuting natively through Web3.
While there are still real issues with music NFTs, he remains bullish.
Music NFTs are Web3's next big trend. To date, more than $5 million in tokenized music has been sold across leading Web3 platforms like Catalog, Sound and Royal.
I've been fortunate to have a successful career in Web3: I turned a five-figure investment in 2017 into a lucrative portfolio of tokens and NFTs and became a millionaire through crypto. And I was lucky to be featured on Fortune's most influential people in NFTs.
Here's why I've invested over 100 ETH (or over $300,000) into music NFTs and what everyone needs to know about them.
Many artists have already minted music NFTs
Well-known artists like Snoop Dogg, Nas and Diplo as well as rising stars like Daniel Allan, LATASHÁ, and Haleek Maul are all minting music NFTs.
Music NFTs are tokenized singles, EPs or albums. In the same way we buy a physical vinyl, music NFTs are a digital version that represent a fixed quantity of a creative work, pressed on a blockchain like Ethereum or Solana.
With music NFTs, there are a limited quantity of copies available for purchase and a global marketplace determines their value.
A look at a Music NFT, "So You Fell in Love," by Felly on Catalog which I collected.
Cooper Turley.
Music NFTs are a new revenue stream for musicians
Music-related NFT sales have predominantly been driven by independent artists because they offer a new revenue stream for musicians with superfans. Independent artists have been the first to jump on board.
Given that most independent acts have the least amount of counterparties and collaborators to work with, it's easier for them to commit to a Web3-native release strategy.
Many artists are leaning in favor of music NFTs over using a label, largely due to a revenue stream which allows them to keep upwards of 100% of their master royalties.
—Coopahtroopa 🔴_🔴 (@Cooopahtroopa) February 26, 2022
But this doesn't mean that music NFTs are anti-label. In fact, labels may evolve to offer a robust suite of services around curation, royalty collection, partner relations and community management.
At its core, music NFTs are a collectible version of a song
Music is complicated because there are many rights holders, and many income streams. For any song, there are two sides to a record, the master royalties and the publishing.
Both of these sides have different owners, from a songwriter to a label.
With music NFTs, the collector can sell it to another buyer if they want to. This prefaces a conversation around rights ownership. Projects like 0xSplits are partnering with music NFT platforms like Sound.xyz to help, but this is the tip of a much deeper iceberg that still needs to be solved.
A breakdown of on-chain royalty splits for collaborators on the Sound.xyz drop with Soulection
You can find music NFTs on platforms like Catalog, Sound, and Royal
—Coopahtroopa 🔴_🔴 (@Cooopahtroopa) December 27, 2021
Today, most of the major music NFTs platforms are curated. This means artists must be accepted to join and register on platforms like Catalog, Sound, or Royal. While the acceptance criteria is not clearly defined, we typically see artists who are most active in Web3 accepted.
Once accepted, the artist has the ability to "mint" their song, or convert a digital file into a digital asset. The artist then sets a fixed quantity (1, 25, 200, 1000 for instance) and a price per token.
Sound: With Sound, songs are released as editions (usually 25 or 30 in total), typically at a starting point of 0.1 ETH or roughly $300. You would use Sound if you want to offer a larger number of editions to fans.
Royal: With Royal, songs are released in high quantities (usually 500 to 1000 in total), typically at a starting price of $50. Royal NFTs — called Limited Digital Assets — also come with a percentage of ownership. You would use Royal if you're an established act looking to offer master ownership to an already released record.
Catalog: With Catalog, all songs are minted as 1 of 1s, meaning there is only one copy of that music NFT ever in existence, and typically with a reserve price of 1 ETH, or roughly $3000. You would use Catalog to tokenize your existing records, or to offer an extremely limited version for one superfan.
Once a token is minted, any fan can come and place a bid or make a purchase.
At this time, the NFT is transferred to the winning collector's wallet. They are able to re-list that NFT at any point, with the original creator entitled to a percentage of sales.
Many music NFTs are songs that have already been released
It's important to note that anyone can freely stream the song, but only a select few can own it as an NFT. That's because music NFTs earn their value from a mix of fandom, access and curation. Think of it as a bet on the artist's future.
However, most collectors (like myself) are simply excited to collect a scarce version of a tokenized record.
The vast majority of music NFTs today are tokenized versions of songs that have already been released in the past. Commonly, the songs underpinning most music NFTs are distributed on traditional streaming platforms too.
One example is Felly's song, "So You Fell in Love," a record with 2.5 million plays on Spotify, selling for a cool 2 ETH (or ~$6000) on Catalog.
Another is Healy's "$150 / roll widdit," his first-ever release with 16.5 million plays on Spotify, netting 1.575 ETH (or ~$5000) on Catalog.
Some artists will host listening parties
On Sound, artists bring fans together through a Twitter Space room 30 minutes in advance of a "drop."
When the song releases (typically at 2:00 PST), everyone on the site listens to the track through a Listening Party. This is a window when the site plays the full song prior to anyone having the ability to purchase it as a music NFT.
Preview of a listening party on Sound.xyz
Once the song finishes, collectors can purchase a tokenized version of the track, good for a seat in the Audience.
Most Sound drops net an artist at a minimum 2.5 ETH, good for ~$7000 at today's prices or the equivalent of more than a million Spotify streams.
The Sound.xyz Audience tab for Daniel Allan “Too Close”
Once a track drops, a secondary market becomes available on OpenSea. Here, anyone who collected the track can relist their NFT at a price of their choosing, with 10% of any secondary sales going directly back to the recording artist.
A sold out Sound.xyz drop.
The rush of collecting music NFTs is exhilarating
There's a pressure to purchase before it sells out, and an added incentive to keep a close eye on the secondary market.
With Sound, every drop comes with a single "Golden Egg," or the rarest version of the drop. It's randomly assigned, and there's a game to be played waiting for someone to list the Golden Egg for a collector like myself to purchase it off the secondary market.
To date, I've acquired 12 Golden Eggs and counting!
Background information on Unicorn DAO’s Sound.xyz drop.
These tracks frequently then appear on streaming platforms later.
OpenSea collection for Oshi’s Sound.xyz drops.
Music NFTs are like SoundCloud in 2013
The Web3 music landscape is growing at a rapid pace.
A look at the Music NFT landscape as of May 2022
Right now, music NFTs are primarily for NFT collectors and independent artists looking for a fresh slate. But in the coming months, we will start to see all your favorite artists releasing music NFTs.
Plus, we'll see new projects debut natively through Web3:
Bored Brothers: a Bored Ape Yatch Club avatar project between Kygo and Ryan Tedder that debuted on Sound last month with their single "Drip"
RŌHKI: a pseudo-anonymous Web3 artist project that's set to mint its first music NFTs on May 16th.
Angelbaby: a Fluf World avatar incubated by Hume, who has been performing across the country at different Web3 events as the world's first "metastar"
There's a vibrant culture of music NFT artists starting to pop up, and we've only seen the tip of the iceberg.
But there are very real problems with music NFTs
Of course as we grow the next chapter of music, we need to be aware of the issues surrounding music NFTs, like accessibility (they're expensive and aren't accessible to the average fan), utility (in most cases, you're purely buying a collectible), and IP (there is currently no standard around how to monetize music NFTs), to name a few — we definitely have a long way to go.
—Coopahtroopa 🔴_🔴 (@Cooopahtroopa) March 29, 2022
However, I still believe music NFTs are going to be huge. And the quicker you get on board, the better position you will be in to hold valuable, rare, and sentimental NFTs.
Until then, I'll see you at the next Listening Party!
Cooper Turley is an investor, advisor, avid NFT collector, and was featured on Fortune's 2021 NFTy 50 list.
More: contributor 2022 Thought Leadership Jenna Gyimesi music nft | 2022-05-06T19:00:42Z | www.businessinsider.com | Why I'm Betting That Music NFTs Are the Next Big Thing in Web3 | https://www.businessinsider.com/music-nft-web3-next-big-thing-crypto-investor-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/music-nft-web3-next-big-thing-crypto-investor-2022-5 |
2 key takeaways from buying 2 homes in 2 years
Here's what: I've learned a few things from buying 2 homes in 2 years
The week before my house went on the market, I experienced a night of sheer panic. Cold sweats and all. The house is fine, good even, but I was overcome by a terrifying thought: What if nobody wants it?
My husband and I had just put in an offer on a house we loved in our dream neighborhood — an offer under the asking price by $10,000 — and with just a little negotiation on the price, we were under contract in roughly 24 hours. Smooth sailing.
What, then, would happen to my house, I wondered, with its total lack of closets, comically small bathroom, and so-loud-this-can't-be-real neighbors? If that other house — that beautiful house in a desirable area‚ could sit on the market for several weeks with no offers, would my house in a less-great area sit on the market ... forever?
My ever-calming realtor, Allison Fegel of Philly Home Girls, told me it probably wouldn't sit forever. But if it sat for a while, we'd figure it out — reduce the price, consider turning it into a rental, something. We had options. First, though, we had to nail the listing photos; the more people we could get in the door, the better chance we'd have of getting an offer.
I'll tell ya, it was a royal pain to "declutter" my home for those photos and then get my entire family out of the house for the photographer, but they ended up gorgeous. And guess what — we got four offers in the first three days, all over the asking price and even one all-cash.
The experience taught me two things.
1. Listing photos matter
I don't have scientific proof of this, of course, but I am convinced my listing photos sold my house (or were at least a large part of it). They were bright and beautifully composed, highlighting the good and minimizing the less desirable (like the boarded-up house three doors down). Within a day of hitting Redfin, our house was a "hot home."
Our new house, on the other hand, had atrocious listing photos. I'm talking mirror selfies in the bathroom and grainy, lopsided shots of the kitchen. Again, no scientific proof, but I think the poor photos probably kept potential buyers from paying a visit and making an offer (my realtor agreed). I would have scrolled right past the listing if my realtor hadn't sent me the link and said she'd spotted some nice details, like shiny hardwood floors and original railings.
Which brings me to lesson No. 2.
2. Hire people who get you
When we were buying our first house, my husband and I talked to a few realtors before meeting Allison. When we did, we knew she was the right person for us. She understood what we were looking for, and we never felt judged for our tastes or budget limitations. While we ended up selling our first home, it had nothing to do with our experience with Allison; in fact, we worked with her again on our second home. She'd helped us get an incredible deal on our first house and provided a steady hand through a complicated buying process.
Ditto our mortgage broker — we worked with her on both of our homes because a) she's unbelievably fast and responsive, and b) she knew when to push and when to pull back. She even locked in my mortgage rate for me right before the Fed raised rates in March. That's what I call service.
Ilea Hymes experienced homelessness in Arkansas with her three children. By saving her child tax credit payments and using a local home-buyer program, she was able to secure permanent, stable housing for her family that she can afford.
36-year-old Mallory Solomon left an exhausting job in corporate advertising three years ago. She says she wishes she saved more, but doesn't regret her decision to retire.
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Growing up, writer Sarah Sharkey's parents made her save money every time it was given. It was annoying as a kid, but the habit stuck.
More: Real Estate Pandemic Housing Market Buying A Home
PFI Newsletter | 2022-05-06T19:50:44Z | www.businessinsider.com | PFI Newsletter: 2 Things I've Learned About Real Estate | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/things-learned-about-real-estate-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/things-learned-about-real-estate-2022-5 |
A 32-year-old saving to quit their day job shares 3 ways they're tackling the hardest part: healthcare
Daniella Flores (left) and their wife.
When Daniella Flores achieves financial independence, their healthcare costs will skyrocket.
To prepare, they're funding an HSA to use soon and bulking up cash savings to pay high premiums.
They're also making sure to take advantage of more affordable insurance while they have it.
Daniella Flores, 32, had resolved to achieve FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and leave their corporate job by 2024. However, there was one big obstacle to their plan: healthcare.
"Right now, I have great healthcare," said Flores. "The majority of the premiums are covered through my employer and we pay $300 a month."
Flores' wife also gets her healthcare through Flores' employer. When Flores leaves their job to focus on freelance work, they'll have to switch to their spouse's employer insurance. When they switch to that insurance, their shared premium will skyrocket from about $300 a month to over $1,500 a month.
Flores told Insider that this premium will be higher than their monthly mortgage payment for their home in Washington state. That said, they're still moving forward with their plan to be financially independent, and are doing three things to prepare for the high cost of healthcare ahead.
1. Get all your annual checkups done before quitting
Because Flores knows they're quitting ahead of time, they're getting all their annual appointments in now, so they're taken care of before the cost of their healthcare goes up.
So far, this includes getting a physical done with a primary care physician, getting their teeth cleaned at the dentist, going to the eye doctor, and scheduling an appointment with a gynecologist. Their wife is also taking advantage of this period of time to do all her checkups, too. "We need to get all this stuff out of the way," said Flores.
2. Fund a Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flores also has a Health Savings Account, which they said will come in handy after they quit their job and have high healthcare costs for a while.
An HSA is an investment account available to people with high-deductible plans to contribute pre-tax dollars and use to pay for qualified healthcare costs, tax-free.
In addition to putting their own money into the HSA, Flores said they are also taking advantage of the fact that their employer offers up to $850 every year for "doing little challenges online, or sending them proof of your physical visit."
Flores said that while some people invest in HSAs to use when they're older and retired, they plan to use the fund as early as next year to meet their new needs.
3. Funnel extra money into savings
Flores said their wife's insurance isn't necessarily bad, but that it comes with exorbitantly high premiums. To plan for this, they're slowing down their investing and focusing more on their savings account to have cash available..
They have an emergency fund, which they are "beefing up." They are also putting more away into a savings account bucket they call "F U money," which they created last year to give them the ability to say "F U" to professional burdens they don't want to tolerate any longer.
"I'm just going to use it for stuff we might need," said Flores. "Knowing that after I quit, my income won't be so steady anymore."
More: quitting your job healthcare costs Health Insurance Self Employment | 2022-05-06T19:50:50Z | www.businessinsider.com | 3 Ways to Prepare for Healthcare Needs When You Quit Your Job | https://www.businessinsider.com/prepare-healthcare-insurance-quit-job-financial-independence-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/prepare-healthcare-insurance-quit-job-financial-independence-2022-5 |
1. Prepaid debit cards
2. Money orders
4. Online payment services
5. Digital wallets
Tips for sending money without a bank account
Additional resources for unbanked populations
5 ways to send money to someone who doesn't have a bank account
Experts say you should not send cash through mail because it isn't a secure transaction.
MStudioImages/Getty Images
Prepaid debit cards or gift cards are easy ways to send money to someone without a bank account.
You can also easily send money online through a virtual wallet or payment app.
If you're sending money to someone who is unbanked, pay attention to security and potential limits.
If you need to send money to someone without a bank account, there are easy transaction tools and resources available regardless of a person's banking situation.
Here are five easy tools you can use for sending money. We also included additional resources for unbanked individuals you can share.
According to a 2019 FDIC study, 27.7% of unbanked households commonly use prepaid debit cards. Prepaid debit cards serve as common tool for sending money since they are easily activated and work similarly to regular debit cards.
You can find prepaid debit cards at financial institutions or grocery stores. Be mindful of sign-up fees, monthly fees, and reload fees.
Marguerita Cheng, CFP® professional, RICP, and chief executive officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, says you should not send cash through the mail ever. If you are looking for a more traditional way of sending money, Cheng notes you can get a money order instead.
Money orders can be purchased from a financial institution or store. There's usually a purchase limit of $1,000 and a small fee under $5.
Stores and some financial institutions have gift cards available. You can send money to an unbanked individual in the form of a gift card, but keep in mind that its usage is restricted to a specific purpose.
Online payment services offer an easy way to send through your smartphone or computer.
PayPal, Venmo, Western Union, and Cash App are some of the most popular payment services that do not require you to own a bank account to receive money.
If you use a payment app like PayPal, Venmo, or Cash App, your recipient may sign up for the app and link a prepaid debit card.
Meanwhile, Western Union is a money transfer service with more than 42,000 centers across the US and 500,000 locations worldwide. You may send a payment online or through the service app, and your recipient can pick up the money at a location.
Transaction limits for online payment services
You may use this chart to help you if you want to send money through an online payment service:
Payment app
Single transaction limit
International fee
5% ($0.99 to $4.99)
$299.99 to $4,999.99
None (Only send to the UK)
Varies*
*Western Union fees depend on your payment method (bank account, a western union location, or credit card) and the recipient's location.
Payment apps usually allow higher single transaction limits if you verify your account. For example, Venmo has a $299.99 single transaction limit for people when they first sign up for their accounts. Once the person verifies their account, the transaction limit increases to $4,999.99.
Digital wallets serve as another online payment tool you can use. Digital wallets are similar to payment apps. You may add payment information to your smartphone or smartwatch through an app. However, digital wallets store methods of payments through a unique process called tokenization, which essentially makes your information more secure.
Some digital wallets are only compatible with specific smartphones. For instance, you'll need to have an Apple device to use Apple Pay .
Transaction limits for digital wallets
Digital wallets have a weekly rolling limit. For instance, if you use transfer $1,000 a Monday on Apple Pay, your limit will decrease to $9,000. The transaction will also count toward your limit until the following Monday.
Maximum transaction limit
When sending money to someone without a bank account, Cheng suggests comparing different options to find the best for your situation.
"You have to think about, do you want the fastest, do you want the cheapest, or do you want the safest?" explains Cheng. "Sometimes, if it's speedy, it's gonna cost more. But you also don't want to compromise on security."
If you are sending money abroad, Cheng says you'll want to make sure that you protect yourself and treat security as a top priority.
"The first thing that I did is I made sure that there was security, meaning that if, for whatever reason, this person can't get their money, that the money could be returned to me," adds Cheng.
You'll also want to confirm that your recipient will be the person picking up and cashing in the payment. They may not be able to receive the payment if another person's name is on it or a nickname is used.
The 2019 FDIC study cited earlier found that some of the most cited reasons for not owning a bank account are because unbanked households do not trust banks or don't believe they can meet the minimum balance requirements to own a bank account.
If you'd also like to help an unbanked person find a bank account, here are a few resources you may share:
Bank On certified accounts: A Bank On certified account has a minimum opening deposit under of $25, low monthly services, and no overdraft fees.
Second chance bank accounts: Second chance bank accounts do not review a person's past banking history. These accounts have easy opening requirements and minimal bank fees.
Minority depository institutions: These banks and credit unions often notably serve low-income and underserved groups.
Community development financial institutions: Community development financial institutions are credit unions, banks, or non-profit organizations that also serve low-income and underserved communities.
Juntos Avanzamos designated institutions: These institutions allow you to open a bank account without a US ID. You may use a foreign passport or Matricula Consular instead.
PERSONAL FINANCE What to know about second chance banking — and how it opens up access for formerly incarcerated and underserved groups
PERSONAL FINANCE What is a digital wallet? It's a tool for safely storing and using your cards to make payments
More: Unbanked Savings PFI Reference Personal Finance Insider | 2022-05-06T20:35:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Send Money to Someone Without a Bank Account | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-send-money-to-someone-without-a-bank-account | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-send-money-to-someone-without-a-bank-account |
There's something for everyone in this under-$100 graduation gift guide, from the latest tech gadgets to long-lasting cookware.
Framebridge and Amazon
As soon-to-be-grads experience the complicated feelings of finishing a chapter of their lives, their friends and family are right there beside them to celebrate it all.
Your new grad could be continuing on with more school, starting work, taking a break, or still figuring out what they want to do. Regardless of their plans, congratulations on their achievements are surely in order, and there's no better way to say it than with practical, thoughtful, and even indulgent gifts. There's something for everyone in the Class of 2022 in this under-$100 gift guide.
28 gift ideas for your grad that won't cost more than $100:
Milkbarstore
Gift sweets, available at Milk Bar, from $29
Milk Bar cakes are one of our go-to gifts to send to friends and family — especially if we can't celebrate an occasion like graduation with them in person.
We love their classic flavors as well as the limited-edition stuff, too. You can find a review of the Milk Bar cakes here. It's also one of the Insider Reviews All-Time Best products.
Gift an UrbanStems Bouquet, $55 monthly subscription or from $45 without
Send flowers if you can't be there in person, or if you're supplementing a digital gift such as a gift card. We're fans of UrbanStems; the company's bouquets are one of the best items we've ever tested.
A book that helps them make the most of their 20s
Gift "The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter — And How to Make the Most of Them Now," available at Amazon, from $11.99
The decisions you make in your 20s can greatly impact the rest of your life. The best defense is a good offense — your grad should know now, before any life-altering events crop up, how to get the most out of their "defining decade." Find more books for recent grads here.
A framed photo of the graduate's friends
Gift a Framebridge Photo, from $45
Most of us appreciate some nostalgia; frame a photo of the graduate's friends or some of their favorite memories so they can take them anywhere they call home.
Gift an Amazon Echo, from $69.99
From music to hands-free info — like how many grams are in a number of ounces — the Amazon Echo will make your graduate's life more convenient.
A pass to get into a bunch of boutique fitness classes
ClassPass/Instagram/@beachyogasocal
Gift a ClassPass fitness gift card, from $50
ClassPass makes trying various boutique classes easier and more affordable. Members can book a seemingly never-ending catalog of good workouts with small class sizes. Whether their next chapter includes a new town or not, this will help them explore something new.
A planner that helps them map out how to reach their goals
Gift a BestSelf journal, available at Amazon, from $31.99
Over-ear headphones that block out the noise
Gift Noise-Canceling MonoPrice Headphones, available at Amazon, from $79.99
We love these headphones — and they have premium features even for an under-$100 price tag. Their sound is nicely balanced, they travel well, and they're wireless. They're perfect for commutes or shutting out the rest of the world while they work or relax.
You can find more options for different budgets in our best over-ear headphones guide.
A gift card for nice sheets
Few things sound so nice as comfortable, beautiful sheets that you don't need to buy for yourself. Brooklinen is one of our favorite startups to shop at, and we especially love the company's sateen cotton sheets (from $129).
Gear to flaunt their school pride
Gift Fanatics NCAA gear, from $15
Get them excited for the next four years — or gift them school gear as a thoughtful reminder of the years behind them. Fanatics is full of clothing, hats, bags, balls, games, and drinkware for NCAA schools. Your grad will be able to spot a fellow alum from miles away.
Gift a Disney Plus subscription, $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year ($6.66/month)
Graduating from college usually marks the beginning of "adulting," but they'll eventually need a break from being a grownup. With everything from classic Disney movies and shows from their childhood to "Star Wars" and Marvel movies, a Disney Plus subscription is an almost sure way to stay entertained.
A green plant that's easy to keep alive
Gift the ZZ Plant, available at The Sill, from $68
Is a millennial/Gen Zer's apartment set-up really complete if it doesn't have at least one leafy plant in the corner or on a sill? The ZZ Plant, which comes with a planter, only requires low-to-medium indirect light and watering about every two weeks.
Gift "I Will Teach You to be Rich," available at Amazon, from $10.35
Good news for your grad: they can buy as many lattes as they want. What's more important for accruing savings is choosing the right accounts and investments so their money automatically grows.
Libby Kane, the Executive Editor for Insider's Personal Finance section, says she regularly buys a new copy of this book just to give it away. It's an excellent introduction to making the most of one's personal finances — especially if your graduate is new to managing money.
A weighted blanket to keep them cozy and relaxed
Gift the YnM Weighted Blanket, available at Amazon, from $69.90
Weighted blankets can help reduce insomnia and ease anxiety (though only limited research supports these claims). They're also just extremely cozy.
We love them here at Insider Reviews, and the YnM version — with its affordability and performance — is also on our All-Time Best products list.
A map that reminds them of a special place
Gift a custom map poster, available at Grafomap, from $72.80
Remembering their roots, where they went to school, or a favorite spring break trip looks nicer than ever with Grafomap's custom maps. Zoom in to a hyperspecific location and choose from nine different design themes to find one that will represent their place well. You can also write your own title, subtitle, and tagline.
A Chemex for great coffee
Gift a Chemex, available at Williams Sonoma, from $39.95
Gift a glass Chemex from Williams Sonoma that delivers flavorful, sediment-free coffee routinely. The glass is heat-resistant, and the wood and leather collar serves as an insulated handle.
A portable Bluetooth speaker
JBL/Instagram
Gift the JBL Flip 4 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker, available at Amazon, from $89.95
This speaker weighs just over a pound, has up to 12 hours of continuous playtime, and can even be submerged underwater. It lets you bring the party anywhere, so you're never stuck at an event without the best music.
Awaytravel
Gift Away Travel Packing Cubes, from $65
A convenient Instant Pot that makes fast, tasty recipes
Gift the Instant Pot Duo 60 7-in-1, available at Amazon, from $69
These electric multicookers are some of the most versatile, helpful kitchen appliances you can gift a busy person — and they're extra useful for newcomers to cooking. We think the Instant Pot Duo 60 7-in-1 is the best instant pot you can buy; it's a great balance of price, features, and performance.
A monthly book subscription
Book of the Month/Instagram
Gift a Book of the Month membership, $49.99 for 3 months, $99.99 for 6 months, or $179.99 for 12 months
Students are hard-pressed to find time to read for fun while in school. They'll likely have a little more time after graduation, and you can help them get back into the joy of reading with a Book of the Month membership. BOTM lets them choose one book from a curated selection of five titles across a range of genres and sends it right to their door.
A skillet they can use for years
Gift the Stainless Clad Frying Pan, available at Made In, from $75
Say goodbye to the days of cheap hand-me-downs and give the gift of nice cookware that will last. Made In's five-ply stainless steel and aluminum skillet is sturdy and cooks like a pan that should cost a lot more. Grads who are looking to spend more time in the kitchen now have an excuse to with this piece of cookware.
A yearlong subscription to budgeting software
Blend Images-JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images
Gift a "You Need A Budget" subscription, from $98.99
Learning how to budget your money efficiently is a lesson that's better learned early. You Need A Budget helps teach you how to manage your money and plan for the future — without feeling restricted or overwhelmed.
A NutriBullet for fast, healthy food
Gift a NutriBullet, available at Amazon, from $89.87
A NutriBullet is convenient, doesn't require a ton of space, and makes fruit smoothies quickly. Whether they're particularly health-conscious or just appreciate fast, healthy food on demand, it'll be one of their home's most valued appliances.
A slim wireless keyboard to help them squeeze in some work while traveling
Gift the Logitech Keys-To-Go iOS version, available at Amazon, from $56.62
This wireless Bluetooth keyboard should be on every business traveler or busy student's carry-on because of its comfortable feel, light and thin build, and reliable connection. The rechargeable accessory is a near-perfect companion to their phone or tablet if they need to type anything up.
A Hydro Flask
Gift the Hydro Flask 40 oz. Water Bottle, available at Walmart, from $37.59
This is the sturdy, powerfully insulated water bottle that they'll carry with them everywhere. I've had friends lament the loss of their Hydro Flasks with much more emotion than you'd expect for a water bottle.
A smart electric toothbrush
Goby/Instagram
Gift the All-Black Electric Toothbrush, available at Goby, from $65 with subscription or $80 without
Dental hygiene doesn't get less important as you grow up. Goby's brush has a smart design, is surprisingly effective for its price, and takes up minimal countertop space. Your grad can subscribe to receive a fresh brush head every 1-3 months, so they don't even have to think about it changing themselves.
Reusable silicone packets for food
Gift Stasher Silicone Reusable Storage Bag Pack, available at Amazon, from $54.99
Whether they're meal-prepping, organizing a fridge, or packing a lunch for their next stage in life, these reusable silicone pockets are extremely useful.
The gift of endless options
Gift an Amazon Gift Card, from $25
Sometimes it's hard to know what your graduate is in need of as they progress to the next stage of their life. Many times, they're not even sure what they need themselves.
For situations like this, it's best to give them the power to choose at some point down the road. An Amazon gift card gives them access to one of the largest marketplaces on the internet.
SEE ALSO: Check out our Class of 2020 gift guide hub
More: High School College Graduation Gift Ideas | 2022-05-06T21:19:40Z | www.businessinsider.com | 28 Graduation Gifts Under $100 That the Class of 2022 Will Love | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/gifts/affordable-graduation-gifts-under-100 | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/gifts/affordable-graduation-gifts-under-100 |
Apple's Ceramic Shield glass is amazingly scratch resistant, but my wife's iPhone 13 Mini still got a scratch.
My iPhone 13 Pro Max only has a tiny scratch after seven months of daily use.
However, you still can't go wrong with a screen protector and case for the best protection.
$1,099.00 from Apple
Starting with the iPhone 12 series in 2020, Apple introduced a new type of display glass called "Ceramic Shield" that the company claims is "tougher than any smartphone glass."
I don't have a spare iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 I can intentionally break for official drop tests. However, I can attest that Apple's Ceramic Shield glass is strong and particularly resistant to scratches, based on my personal experience over the past seven months since its release.
In those months, I've been using the iPhone 13 Pro Max with Apple's Clear Case with MagSafe, without a screen protector, and there's only the smallest, slightest scratch around the front speaker. Otherwise, it looks as good as it did when I first unboxed it.
I'm surprised the iPhone 13 Pro Max's screen hasn't scratched more, considering what it's been through.
I'm fairly careful with the phones. I don't put them in the same pocket as keys, for example. Nor do I stuff them in a bag with objects that could scratch the screen, like a charging cable with metal connectors.
Still, over the last seven months, the iPhone has experienced several waist-high (about three-feet) drops onto concrete, gravel, wood, and tile. It has also fallen out of my pocket in my car and slid down the sides of the driver's seat on numerous occasions, knocking and scraping against the seat, metal seat frame, plastic air vents, and plastic interior trim.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max also endures my one-year-old who loves to gnaw on the phone when she's teething. She's dropped the phone herself a few times from the sofa and bed, where it often lands among a pile of plastic baby toys.
No doubt, the case I'm using has surely saved the screen from certain scratching events, thanks to the lip around the edges that helps protect the display. But still, that's impressive durability with no screen protector.
However, the iPhone's Ceramic Shield glass isn't invincible.
If there's one person who treats their electronics worse than I do, or my one-year-old, it's my wife. And yes, her iPhone 13 Mini's screen has a deeper, more noticeable scratch. And that's despite the fact that she's using an Apple Silicone case.
Indeed, I've observed that she doesn't try as hard to be careful with her phones as I do. And despite Apple's strong Ceramic Shield iPhone displays, I'll be gifting her a screen protector soon.
Apple's Ceramic Shield certainly seems stronger than previous iPhones, but it still hasn't eliminated the need for a screen protector if you're particularly concerned about scratching your screen.
Android phones also have strong glass, but Android phone makers aren't comfortable making Apple's bold claim.
The latest phones from Samsung, Google, and OnePlus all sport Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus.
Samsung only claims that Gorilla Glass Victus on the Galaxy S22 series "can better survive drops and offer tough scratch resistance."
Google says its Gorilla Glass Victus displays have "up to 2x better scratch resistance than previous Pixel phones" for the Pixel 6 series.
And OnePlus says the OnePlus 10 Pro has the "strongest cover glass ever on a OnePlus device, thanks to Corning Gorilla Glass Victus that provides greater protection against scratches and drops." With that said, OnePlus ships the OnePlus 10 Pro with a screen protector already, so you should be covered.
But none of these companies are comfortable enough to claim that it's the "toughest glass on any smartphone," like Apple does.
Even Corning itself, which worked with Apple to make Ceramic Shield glass for iPhones, can only claim that "Gorilla Glass Victus is the tough device glass you've been asking for," which isn't as specific as Apple's statement.
Apple's Ceramic Shield has proven in my experience to be particularly effective at fending off scratches during everyday use — that is, if you're careful. If you're a particularly careful phone user who doesn't want to use a screen protector, this is another reason to consider an iPhone.
In the event that you're not careful, or just need complete peace of mind, you should still buy a screen protector for the extra layer of protection.
The Spigen EZ FIT Screen Protector is included in our best screen protectors buying guide, and there's a new version for the iPhone 13 series.
Spigen Tempered Glass Screen Protector iPhone 13
More: Apple iPhone IP Tech Tech Accessories | 2022-05-06T21:19:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | Apple iPhone Ceramic Shield Review: Glass Is Strong, but Not Invincible | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-iphone-ceramic-shield-glass-review | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-iphone-ceramic-shield-glass-review |
Canelo Alvarez will face Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight championship on May 7.
Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) is fighting at light heavyweight for the second time.
The fight will stream live from Las Vegas, Nevada, via DAZN ($80) starting at 8 p.m. ET.
DAZN Subscription
$19.99 from DAZN
Canelo Alvarez will return to the light heavyweight division to challenge WBA champion Dmitry Bivol during a pay-per-view boxing event on May 7. DAZN will stream Canelo vs. Bivol live from Las Vegas starting at 8 p.m. ET. You can order the fight from your TV provider for $80, or get it directly from DAZN for the same price.
Canelo will fight in the 175-pound weight class for the second time after unifying the four super middleweight belts with wins over Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Avni Yildirim, and Callum Smith. Bivol enters the match with an undefeated record through 19 fights, including 11 knockouts.
How to watch Canelo vs. Bivol
You can watch Canelo vs. Bivol live through the DAZN streaming service or through cable providers via pay-per-view (PPV) starting at 8 p.m. ET on May 7.
The PPV costs $80 if you purchase through a TV provider like Xfinity, AT&T, or Spectrum. Meanwhile, the fight costs $60 to order through DAZN in addition to the service's $20 monthly subscription fee. So, ordering the PPV comes out to a total of $80 no matter which option you go with.
DAZN also offers an annual plan for $150 per year. In addition to PPV events, DAZN features a selection of classic matches and other streaming content. The DAZN app is available on most streaming devices, including Roku, Fire TV, Apple devices, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, and most SmartTVs. You can check here for a full list of supported devices.
If you want to watch through your TV provider, you'll have to check your local cable listings for Canelo vs. Saunders, or order it through your set-top box or your TV provider's website.
Here's the full fight card for Canelo vs. Bivol
Marc Castro versus Pedro Vicente [Lightweight]
Shakhram Giyasov versus Christian Gomez [Welterweight]
Montana Love versus Gabriel Valenzuela [Junior welterweight]
Zhilei Zhang versus Scott Alexander [Heavyweight]
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez versus Dmitry Bivol [WBA light heavyweight title fight]
More: Boxing Canelo Alvarez Insider Reviews 2022 PPV | 2022-05-06T22:07:07Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Watch Canelo Vs. Bivol: Price, Start Time, Fight Card | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/how-to-watch-canelo-vs-bivol-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/how-to-watch-canelo-vs-bivol-2022-5 |
Trump was suspended after the Jan. 6 riots "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
A judge dismissed a lawsuit Friday in which former president Donald Trump attempted to reclaim his access to Twitter after being barred from the platform the day after the January 6 insurrection.
Twitter said in a statement it "permanently suspended" Trump's account on January 7, 2021, "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
Trump and the other plaintiffs have until May 26 to amend their complaint though "further opportunities to amend are not likely to be granted."
More: Breaking News Donald Trump Twitter | 2022-05-06T22:52:13Z | www.businessinsider.com | Trump's Lawsuit Against Twitter Has Been Dismissed | https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-lawsuit-against-twitter-has-been-dismissed-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-lawsuit-against-twitter-has-been-dismissed-2022-5 |
Cameo insiders pull back the curtain on its brutal layoffs, revealing slowing growth, internal dissent, and concerns about overspending
Dan Whateley, Ben Bergman, Kali Hays, and Tanya Chen
Cameo.
Michael Kovac.
Cameo terminated 87 employees on Wednesday, which was about a quarter of its staff.
After adding users rapidly during the pandemic, the company's growth slowed, insiders said.
Laid-off staffers expressed stress and anger as they start to search for new jobs.
On Wednesday, after Cameo laid off roughly a quarter of its workforce, the startup's CEO Steven Galanis sent a company-wide message to his remaining employees.
"I'm around and available all night if anyone wants to chat 1X1," he wrote, sharing his cell phone number with staffers in a Slack post, a copy of which was viewed by Insider.
Galanis also turned to Twitter and LinkedIn to reflect on the "brutal day," tweeting that he had made "the painful decision to let go of 87 beloved members of the Cameo Fameo," and pitching them as top hires to future employers.
The breezy posts did not sit well with several of the employees who had lost their jobs earlier that day.
"I'm stressed. I'm annoyed. I'm pretty angry," a former staff member who was part of the layoffs told Insider. "He's getting all this positive traction on LinkedIn announcing that he's let 87 people go, trying to manage bad press. It's a mixed bag of emotions."
This former employee, along with five others Insider spoke with, asked that their name not be used to avoid damaging professional relationships. Their identities are known to Insider.
Galanis declined to comment, referring Insider to LinkedIn posts from himself and Cameo's Chief People Officer Melanie Steinbach.
A second laid-off staffer said their ability to reach out to coworkers on Slack and email was cut off abruptly after they were told they were being let go — a move they felt stood in contrast to the "Cameo Fameo" messaging Galanis was sharing publicly.
"It's kind of just like you're on the street now," this person said. "You're not a part of the family anymore."
A third former employee said there was concern among some staffers about the company spending in seemingly extravagant ways. The company has a "Cameo Villa" it's leasing in Beverly Hills, and company president Arthur Leopold mentioned on Twitter a new office in New York City. Both are seemingly costs related to Cameo's new efforts in events and Web3.
A fourth employee who was part of the most recent layoffs said while he always thought the "Cameo Fameo" expression was "weird," Galanis' message did not bother him.
"It's just startup lingo," this person said. "I didn't take personal offense."
Cameo's round of layoffs came during a brutal week for tech employees, in which On Deck, Mural, Mainstreet, Vise, and Thrasio all announced they were reducing their workforces. Last month, Robinhood reduced its staff by 9%, while Fast, a once high-flying financial tech startup, shut down entirely. Venture investors have predicted many more layoffs as startups try to preserve cash amidst a suddenly volatile fundraising environment.
"These are not the first startup layoffs we've witnessed, and I do not believe they will be the last," said Mathias Schilling, the cofounder of Headline, which led Cameo's $100 million funding round in March 2021. "While we cannot neglect the human costs of layoffs, we have to recognize that the alternatives to capital efficiency are companies absolving."
At Cameo, some employees saw worrying signs
Cameo's round of layoffs, first reported by The Information's Kaya Yurieff, arrived at a moment when the buzzy startup appeared to be thriving.
Its funding round last year valued the company at just over a billion dollars and included marquee investors like Softbank and Kleiner Perkins as well as the venture arms of Amazon, Alphabet, and PayPal.
"Headline led Cameo's Series C investment because our firm recognized how the company was building a unique, market defining product and witnessing impressive growth," Schilling said. "We still wholeheartedly believe in Cameo's vision and recognize the need for companies to balance costs with cash reserves."
Cameo gained a slew of new users and fans across the entertainment industry as in-person events shut down and performers moved online during the pandemic. Earlier this week, the startup even announced a new partnership with Snapchat to connect Snap's advertisers with Cameo's talent pool.
But internally, there were warning signs that the company was struggling, four former employees said.
The fourth former employee compared Cameo to Instacart, which surged in popularity during lockdowns but was unable to sustain demand when life returned to normal.
"The reality is that the pandemic was 4.5x growth for the business," this person said, adding that growth slowed last year. "The hiring rate exceeded the growth rate."
Executives had always prided themselves on being transparent but within the last six weeks stopped sharing performance metrics in weekly company all-hands, three former staffers said.
"I knew that the company was struggling financially, and to be honest, I thought if it continues this way probably by the end of the year that something like this may happen," the second former employee said.
Over the past six months, people who left were increasingly not replaced and the company became much more strict about which roles it filled, according to two former employees.
The third former employee said there was also considerable internal discussion about and frustration with Cameo's decision to include "Tinder Swindler" Simon Leviev on its "new and noteworthy" roster of talent, which drew outrage on social media.
Cameo both internally and externally defended its decision to feature Leviev, saying "customers were in control" of the platform, but the third former employee said the ordeal left them with the impression that "this place is kind of a mess."
It's not the first time Cameo has had mass layoffs
Cameo's recent layoffs targeted many of its most senior executives, international employees, as well as members of its talent marketing and music team, four former staffers said.
Matthew Bailey, the company's UK and Ireland head, asked his LinkedIn network if they had tips for "a new opportunity to get my teeth into." Another former exec, Sydney Hubbard, highlighted that her team, the music division, had been hit hard in a LinkedIn post. Other layoffs included the company's CTO, SVP of marketing, chief product officer, and chief people officer, Protocol's Janko Roettgers first reported.
A Cameo rep told Insider the company had given eight weeks of severance, but two staffers who were laid off said they had only gotten one week of pay.
"I've been on the job hunt since yesterday afternoon," the first former employee said on Thursday, the day after they were laid off.
"A lot of us have rent and mortgages to pay, kids, and everything like that," the second former staffer said.
Wednesday's round of layoffs wasn't the first time this had happened at Cameo.
Cameo laid off 22 staffers in 2019, which the company said was under 15% of its total workforce at the time. The fifth former staffer referred to that event as "The Red Wedding," a nod to the infamous Game of Thrones episode where many characters were slaughtered unexpectedly.
"There seems to be a pattern here where they just keep over-hiring and then just get rid of them," the second former employee said.
More: cameo Startups Creator economy | 2022-05-06T23:40:22Z | www.businessinsider.com | Cameo Insiders Reveal Problems That Led to Brutal Layoffs at Startup | https://www.businessinsider.com/cameo-insiders-reveal-problems-amid-brutal-layoffs-startup-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/cameo-insiders-reveal-problems-amid-brutal-layoffs-startup-2022-5 |
Ryan Hogg and Charissa Cheong
Russia's Instagram ban is hurting influencers and small businesses that marketed on the platform.
Big Western brands like Adidas and Reebok pulled out of Russia after the Ukraine war began.
The boycott is hurting influencers and small businesses in Russia that rely on Western brand deals.
Two Russian business owners and an influencer told Insider how they're being affected.
The mass boycott of Russia by big Western companies has sent ripples through the country's economy, touching influencers and entrepreneurs as much as larger businesses.
It's left Polina Che, the founder of sustainable jewelry company Recycled Objects, fighting for her livelihood.
"We're losing money every month that goes by," Che told Insider. "We're hoping that the companies will work with us again when things calm down, but right now, it feels very unfair."
Over the past decade, many Russian influencers and small businesses have relied at least in part on income from collaborations with Western brands, through things like sponsored social-media posts and event-hosting.
Now these same brands have cut ties with Russia after Vladimir Putin launched his assault on Ukraine.
Che said she used to make up to $2,000 a month through partnerships with Reebok, and earned money from brands like Logitech and Uniqlo (Insider was not able to independently verify these claims). Che modeled in a Reebok photoshoot alongside influencers and said she made recycled souvenirs for the brand's events.
A post shared by Polina Che (@polina_cherp)
With Reebok having cut ties with Russia, Che said she had slashed her workforce from 10 to three to cope with the resulting loss of income (Insider wasn't able to independently verify the size of Che's company).
Russia's Instagram ban wipes out a vital marketing channel
Che used to rely entirely on Instagram to advertise her business. But on March 14, Russia banned Instagram, citing "calls for violence against Russians" on the platform.
Some people in Russia continue to use Instagram via virtual private networks, or VPNs, which allow access to sites that have been blocked.
Che told Insider she moved from Russia to Georgia in part to regain access to her company's Instagram account. But she said she can't purchase Instagram ads for her company, even from Georgia, because Meta, which owns Instagram, has paused advertising in Russia.
Incomes slump
Two small Russian business owners told Insider their income had collapsed since the Ukraine war began.
Buliash Todaeva is the founder of Zerowaste Lab, a company that makes art from recycled products.
She previously collaborated with Adidas, another brand which has pulled out of Russia, producing keychains and necklaces for their sustainability workshops in Moscow.
A post shared by ZW Lab (@zerowaste.lab)
Todaeva and Che said that after Western brands left Russia, their businesses lost between 90% and 95% of their monthly income.
"I feel so bad for my friends and my team who have supported me so much with this business — and now we have nothing," Tadoeva said.
Diana Akhmadishina, a sports coach who was a brand ambassador for Adidas Russia, told Insider that her photoshoots and other projects with the brand had been put on hold.
A post shared by Diana Akhmadishina (@dishasaharok)
Akhmadishina said the representatives of some companies she works with had privately shown support for her and the "idea that it's not Russian people who are responsible for this sad situation."
Adidas said it condemns violence and has suspended operations in stores and on its ecommerce site in Russia until further notice. Reebok did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
Russia's influencer economy disrupted
The Russian influencer economy is worth $250 million, according to data supplied to Insider by the Influencer Marketing Hub. It's likely to face significant disruption as a result of the invasion.
Some brands don't want to work with influencers and business owners who can't access Instagram, said Sergey Gandiv, CEO of Proekta, a Russia-based marketing agency that says it has more than 1,200 influencers on its books.
Gandiv told Insider that, before the invasion, 70% of his company's work came from Western brands, with clients including Prada and Lego. He said all had pulled out of Russia since the war began, and Proekta had lost 75% of its revenue as a result.
Djanan Kasumovic, head of growth at Influencer Marketing Hub, said that even if the invasion were to end, companies may not flood back to Russia. The double-hit of losing brand deals and being shut off from Instagram was devastating for influencers in the country, Kasumovic said.
"I cannot recall an industry in Russia that will take a bigger hit than the influencer industry, because you are basically cutting off distribution," he said. "And if you cut off distribution, you don't have a job as an influencer."
More: Digital Culture Retail Adidas Reebok | 2022-05-07T06:50:48Z | www.businessinsider.com | Russian Influencers, Small Businesses Talk Losing Western Brand Deals | https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-small-businesses-influencers-brand-deals-adidas-reebok-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-small-businesses-influencers-brand-deals-adidas-reebok-2022-5 |
How you could invest in Twitter after Elon Musk takes it off the stock market: An expert explains why you should add private equity to your portfolio and how to do it without having millions of dollars
Twitter is set to be taken private by Elon Musk, but retail investors could potentially still get exposure.
Private equity investment trusts are public listed companies that invest in private equity firms on behalf of shareholders.
Richard Hickman, managing director at Harbourvest Global Private Equity, laid out the benefits of investing in them.
You will not be able to buy shares in Twitter on the stock market by the end of the year if Elon Musk's $44 billion deal to take it private gets over the finish line, as looks likely.
That does not mean it will be impossible to invest in the company though, at least indirectly. It is likely some private equity funds will join Musk as partial owners of the tech company. Clients of these firms would get exposure to Twitter's post-takeover upside, should it materialize.
There is a never-ending cycle of privately owned companies being floated on the market then being taken back into private ownership some years later. While few are as high profile as Twitter, it is not unusual.
While there are usually high minimum capital requirements running into hundreds of thousand or millions of dollars to be a private equity fund client directly, there is a route in for other investors that do not have that sort of capital.
Private equity investment trusts are listed companies that invest money with private equity firms. Investors can freely buy shares in these trusts on the stock market in the same ways as any other public company.
One of the biggest and longest-established private equity investment trusts is Harbourvest Global Private Equity, which has a market cap of $2.4 billion.
Managing director Richard Hickman told Insider why private equity should be in all investors' thoughts. There are benefits to be had both in terms of size of returns and diversification.
"Private equity is still equity and whatever trends we see in public markets there is a correlation, but the key benefit of allocating to private equity historically is that it has outperformed public markets. Harbourvest itself has beaten its global equities benchmark by 5 percentage points a year over the last 10 years, net of all costs," he said.
Hickman noted the higher returns come in large part from being able to get a piece of companies earlier on in their growth stories. Harbourvest has been able to realise big profits from early investments in the likes of Facebook, Uber and Coinbase before their IPOs.
Private equity brings opportunities that you wouldn't necessarily get in in the public markets, particular in terms of small innovative companies that often will not be at the stage where they can list, but might have exciting technology to bring to customers.
Next to the potential for rapid capital growth, there are diversification benefits for investors. By definition, the investment profile for private equity is different to public market companies as ownership stakes can not be traded on the open market, and so tend to attract longer-term investment.
The other big diversifying factor is that unlisted companies tend to be smaller, and earlier in their corporate journey than listed ones.
The exception to this is large listed companies that are returning to being privately held, like Twitter. In such a scenario, private equity firms involved will take a company into their ownership with an expectation they can improve it, make it more profitable and sell it on for a higher amount some years later.
By investing in something like Harbourvest, retail investors could potentially find themselves profiting from a future Twitter float or sale. It is still early days in the Twitter takeover saga so that is far from guaranteed of course.
In one sense, investors with shares in a private equity investment trust actually have an advantage over direct private equity firm clients; instant liquidity . When an institution or high net worth client deposits money with a firm it is usually subject to a minimum lock-up period stretching into years.
This is because the investments being made cannot be redeemed quickly, as the shares are illiquid and it takes time to find a a suitable exit. Owners of shares in a private equity investment trust simply sell them though their stockbroker whenever they want.
Hickman also noted that there has been an trend towards newly formed companies executing an IPO much further down their corporate lifespan than was the case in earlier decades, which makes it harder to get into a company while it's growing fast if you only buy publicly listed shares.
"We are seeing many companies at relatively mature stage still not having IPOs, so public market investors are not getting the opportunities they might have done 15, 20 years ago. A good example is Amazon, which listed only three years after it was founded, in 1997," he said.
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Investment Companies | 2022-05-07T08:07:43Z | www.businessinsider.com | Investing in Twitter: How to Add Exposure to Private Companies | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-twitter-after-takeover-elon-musk-private-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-twitter-after-takeover-elon-musk-private-2022-5 |
'It's only going to get worse from here': A 30-year market vet warns that an 'extremely hawkish' Fed will wreak havoc on stocks over the next 5 months — and says the market could fall as much as 50%
The S&P 500 is down more than 13% so far in 2022.
Investors are bearish as the Fed hikes rates aggressively and inflation sits at a 41-year-high.
Michael Pento, founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies, believes the market has much further to fall.
As far as Michael Pento is concerned, the selling has only just begun.
Even with the S&P 500 already down more than 13% to start the year, the president and founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies, who's been working in markets for over three decades, warned in recent weeks that a bulk of the pain is still ahead for stock market investors.
And it will come sooner rather than later, he said.
"I think the bear market is just beginning, and I think it gets much worse through the second and third quarters of this year," Pento told Wealthion, a YouTube channel that produces financial content, in an interview published on April 14. "I believe it could be the most substantial bear market the United States has ever suffered."
He added: "It will end up being one of the worst trading environments that anyone alive has ever seen."
Pento made the comments more than two weeks ago, and the S&P 500 has fallen around another 6% since then.
The reasoning behind Pento's bearishness is multifold. One factor is that he believes earnings estimates for this year are too high at the moment, considering that the robust pandemic-era fiscal stimulus that supported earnings in 2021 has evaporated this year. He called the cutoff of stimulus the biggest fiscal cliff since World War II.
Even in earnings growth is positive this year nominally, real earnings growth will be less impressive when considering inflation, he said.
Poorer earnings growth will result sluggish GDP growth, he said. Consumer spending makes up two-thirds of GDP.
Since the interview, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Q1 GDP growth was -1.4%.
And then there's inflation, which has been fueled by resurgent demand amid the global economic reopening, COVID-19 lockdown measures in China, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Consumer Price Index, a main measure of inflation, hit 8.5% in March, the highest in 41 years.
As a result, the Fed has become significantly more hawkish in recent months as it attempts to cool off rising prices. The Federal Open Market Committee hiked interest rates by 50 basis points this week, the most in about two decades. The central bank also said they would begin reducing their balance sheet, or essentially start pulling money out of the economy.
Pento said the aggressive tightening regime the Fed is adopting will sink the economy this year, as well as stocks. He added that he believes the economy is already weak.
"It only took one 25-basis-point rate hike hike to invert the yield curve," Pento said, referring to yields on 2-year Treasury notes rising higher than those on 10-year notes. Inversions of the two yields have preceded every recession since the 1950s.
"It normally takes 300 basis points," he said.
Pento suggested the S&P 500 could drop 30-50%. From January 3 highs, a 50% drop would put the index at around 2,400.
While Pento's views are a relative outlier to most outlooks on Wall Street, some strategists at major banks count themselves in the same camp.
Morgan Stanley's Chief US Equity Strategist Mike Wilson also said on Monday that the bear market in stocks is "far from completed," citing the impact of inflation on corporate earnings and slowing growth ahead thanks to hawkish policy from the Fed.
"We think the S&P 500 has minimum downside to 3800 in the near term and possible as low as 3460, the 200 week moving average if forward 12 month EPS start to fall on margin and/or recession concerns," Wilson said in a note to clients. His bear-case call represents as much as 17% further downside from when Wilson published the note.
Wilson cited the correlation between the inflation-adjusted earnings yield for the S&P 500 and the index's year-over-year performance.
Wilson also pointed to the declining amount of money investors are borrowing to invest in stocks as a reason for further pain ahead.
Guggenheim Partners' Global Chief Investment Strategist Scott Minerd also warned on Monday that the Fed would tighten too much and send the economy into recession toward the end of next year.
Deutsche Bank economists made a similar call in April.
"We no longer see the Fed achieving a soft landing," Luzzetti said in an April 5 note to clients.
Binky Chadha and Parag Thatte, equity strategists at the bank, said that a 20% bear market would precede the recession.
Jonathan Golub, the chief US equity strategist at Credit Suisse, also told Insider in April that early 2024 is his best guess for when a recession would begin.
But with a target of 5,200 for the S&P 500, Golub is one of the most bullish strategists on Wall Street for 2022 still, and there are many alongside him who see further upside this year despite acknowledging rising risks.
Bank of America's Head of US Equity and Quantitative Strategy Savita Subramanian sees the index climbing to 4,600 this year, though she said the risk of a recession is now about 33%.
BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Strategist Wei Li also told Insider she believes in staying invested for the time being and the Fed will orchestrate a soft landing, but that recession risks have become more pertinent since the start of 2022.
The median target for the S&P 500 in 2022 among major Wall Street strategists is around 4,900.
Can the Fed achieve a soft landing?
A key part of Pento's argument is that the US economy is "weak." That's up for debate, with job gains impressive in recent months, demand still strong, wages growing, and the unemployment rate at a historically low 3.6%.
But no matter how strong the economy is, it's still uncertain how much tightening it can withstand before breaking. Mortgage rates and interest rates on credit cards and bank loans are rising substantially in short order.
Eventually, rates will reach a height that squashes demand and sends the economy into a downturn. The Fed is attempting to thread that needle of raising rates enough to bring down inflation without crushing the economic expansion — a so-called soft landing.
The neutral rate of interest for the fed funds rate — the spot between dovish and hawkish policy — is around 2.6%, according to BlackRock's Li. She said the bank overshooting this rate would have dire consequences for the economy.
Guggenheim's Minerd said he is a "great skeptic" that the central bank will be able to find the neutral rate, and said that demand destruction is likely already occurring in certain sectors of the market.
This week, Ken Rogoff, a Harvard professor and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, told Bloomberg he believes the Fed will have to hike rates to 5% to slow inflation.
If Li's 2.6% neutral rate projection — which is the same level Deutsche Bank believes the Fed will raise rates to — is correct, a scenario like Rogoff's unfolding could be disastrous, and exactly what Pento is warning of.
More: Investing Stock Market Crash stock market bearish view
stock market and inflation | 2022-05-07T09:39:13Z | www.businessinsider.com | Stock Market Crash: Expert Warns of 50% Drop Due to Hawkish Fed | https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-hawkish-fed-inflation-rate-hikes-forecast-pento-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-hawkish-fed-inflation-rate-hikes-forecast-pento-2022-5 |
Tinie Tempah breaks down why he launched a virtual restaurant brand selling wraps and fried chicken
Tinie Tempah said he already understood the basics of ghost kitchens but had never visited one before.
Lateef Photography
Tinie Tempah has launched a virtual restaurant brand, RAPS, selling wraps and fried chicken.
The food is made in ghost kitchens, which cook food for delivery and often house multiple brands.
Musicians including BTS, Travis Scott, and Justin Bieber have all teamed up with restaurant brands.
Rapper Tinie Tempah has launched a virtual restaurant brand selling wraps and fried chicken that are prepared out of a series of ghost kitchens.
The brand, RAPS, features some Nigerian-inspired dishes and launched on Deliveroo in March. It's also operating a four-month popup at a rooftop bar on London's Oxford Street.
During the pandemic, the music industry reached a standstill and tours were postponed. Tempah said that he'd had a lot of spare time and wanted to stay busy.
So when Jonny Boud, co-founder of London-based ghost-kitchen company Kitchen Ventures, suggested making a brand together, Tempah jumped at the opportunity.
Virtual brands, which don't have dining rooms and instead make food for delivery and collection only, have boomed in popularity during the pandemic as more people order takeout. They're prepared in ghost kitchens, which have much lower rent and overheads than full-service restaurants. Kitchen Ventures operates its own kitchens, and many are home to multiple brands being prepared by the same staff.
Tempah said a lot of his friends were restauranteurs. He already understood the basics of ghost kitchens and had noticed that a lot of takeaways he ate were made at them, but had never visited one before.
Tempah said he was "very hands-on" in RAPS' development, spending around a year visiting restaurants and kitchens, choosing ingredients, and working with chef Big Has.
Tinie Tempah said he was "very hands-on" in the brand's development.
"For me, it was very important to see what everyone else thought as well. Similarly to how I would make a track and play it to everyone and get their feedback," he said.
He initially designed the brand with music studio staff in mind. Tempah described himself as a "studio hobbit" and said he ordered a lot of food online while he was working there.
"I just thought it'd be good to get something that was fun, had a nod to kind of Black culture, our hip-hop culture, even a little bit of a nod to African culture as well, by the way of some of the flavors in the food, but that was also relatively healthy as well," he said.
Tempah said that being Nigerian, "food is a big part of our culture … We're huge foodies." He said that Peckham, the area of London where he grew up, had "Nigerian restaurants on every other corner."
Growing up, the main instances of success he saw among Nigerian immigrants were people setting up "a little business of their own," Tempah said. These were often restaurants, he added.
Tinie Tempah initially designed the brand with music studio staff in mind.
Restaurants are increasingly partnering with celebrities – either to develop their own brand, like Kitchen Ventures is with Tempah, or to release promotional deals and menu items, like McDonald's with BTS and Travis Scott and Tim Hortons with Justin Bieber.
By collaborating with celebrities, Kitchen Ventures gets a "readymade audience overnight" with press coverage and social-media posts, Boud said. Tempah thinks that the majority of RAPS' customers are driven by his endorsement, though he acknowledged that he doesn't have a set schedule for posting about the brand on his social media.
Boud said that he and Tempah shared both profits and ownership of RAPS' intellectual property.
"I've always had an entrepreneurial mindset," Tempah said, adding that he was inspired by other musicians including Jay-Z and Kanye West, who have both created business legacies.
He said he wanted to scale RAPS up in the future. "If you create a strong brand, it can be applied to anything and everything."
NOW WATCH: You can get your face printed on a bao burger at this London restaurant
More: Ghost Kitchens Dark kitchens Tinie Tempah Food | 2022-05-07T09:39:19Z | www.businessinsider.com | Tinie Tempah on Why He Launched a Virtual Restaurant Brand | https://www.businessinsider.com/tinie-tempah-ghost-kitchen-virtual-restaurant-brand-wraps-raps-food-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tinie-tempah-ghost-kitchen-virtual-restaurant-brand-wraps-raps-food-2022-4 |
Ryan Hogg and Stephen Jones
The metaphor of "The Force" in Star Wars and its applications in mindfulness , an Eastern practice that has pierced the capitalist zeitgeist, are so obvious it seems remarkable that it has taken this long to turn into a commodified feature of the Headspace app.
Early studies suggest there is some benefit to be gained from daily mindfulness meditation , even if it's used on a smartphone. Others warn that it can have a dark side as well, causing people to suppress feelings of guilt, and impact their personal relationships.
Nevertheless, I approached the latest Star Wars feature with a healthy amount of skepticism. Putting in my earbuds, I thought: I have a bad feeling about this.
There are three Star Wars themed sleepcasts, including an X-wing voyage and a Tatooine sunset. My Irish roots though, forced me to go with a trip round the Islands of Anch-To. These sleepcasts felt like the area in which Headspace invested the most time.
The Porgs make an entrance soon after, as do the island's caretakers, while I receive a lesson in Star Wars history and geography which I personally found too informative to allow me to switch off. By the time Yoda made a cameo, I was lost in a sea of fan fiction from which I could not return. Inevitably, I struggled to relax through the 45 minute session – even after completing the included breathing exercise – and can't imagine Star Wars fans would break any mindfulness barrier either.
However it's often a distraction from, rather than a cure for, the external stressors that can lead to fatigue and exhaustion, she explained.
The Star Wars theme did little to quell those worries, even if I found small moments of clarity within the hours of content. But it hasn't put me off mindfulness, or Headspace, for good.
More: Weekend BI UK Star Wars Careers Mindfulness | 2022-05-07T09:51:57Z | www.businessinsider.com | "Star Wars"-Themed Mindfulness App Left Me With Existential Dread | https://www.businessinsider.com/star-wars-themed-mindfulness-app-left-me-with-existential-dread-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/star-wars-themed-mindfulness-app-left-me-with-existential-dread-2022-5 |
Millions of Americans could see big hikes in next year's insurance premiums right before the November midterms.
That's if Democrats fail to extend subsidies in a new economic spending bill.
Manchin seems noncommittal on extending the aid, even though he backed it in the past.
Democrats may be stumbling into a chaotic situation before the November midterms that few are talking about. Millions of Americans are set to see their healthcare bills surge in 2023 with more pandemic aid fading away.
That's due to the growing possibility Democrats never manage to resurrect parts of their social spending and climate package, which stalled out in the evenly-divided Senate because of resistance from Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
The Biden stimulus law beefed up subsidies to cut monthly premium costs and make private individual health insurance plans more affordable under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Democrats intended to extend the program in their defunct Build Back Better bill, setting aside generous new funding to help those without employer-based insurance get coverage in the health insurance marketplace.
Federal unemployment aid expired last year and enhanced ACA subsidies may experience the same fate on December 31. The next open Obamacare enrollment window kicks off November 1, meaning voters would learn about soaring insurance bills only a week before the midterms as they start browsing available plans for 2023 or get notified by insurers.
"It would just be a huge premium shock," Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, told Insider, adding people buying individual insurance on the exchanges would pay an average of $800 more per year for coverage.
"Democrats face a potential political headache if they don't extend the extra premium subsidies," Levitt said. "People will be finding out about premium increases right before the midterm elections. It will certainly reflect poorly on Democrats. The ACA is their premier domestic achievement of the last decade."
Three million people will lose health coverage without the bulked-up federal aid, according to an analysis released last month from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Others will be forced onto cheaper plans carrying deductibles that are sometimes 30x higher — a jump from $200 to $7,000 in those cases. That's the amount enrollees owe before the insurer starts paying for medical care.
The scale of premium increases will vary due to factors like age, income, and state. But the voters facing eye-popping bills next year tend to be older — the very group that turns out in larger numbers during midterm elections.
"It's those people who are relatively middle-income, and who are also elderly that are going to face the biggest hit if the subsidies expire," Emily Gee, the vice president and healthcare policy coordinator at the liberal-leaning Center of American Progress, told Insider.
In Manchin's home state of West Virginia, some could experience a calamitous increase in their healthcare bills. A 60-year old married West Virginian couple earning $75,000 will see their monthly premium skyrocket by $2,700 if Obamacare subsidies end, according to estimates from healthcare policy expert Charles Gaba.
A similar couple in Arizona would experience a $942 monthly premium hike, per Gaba's projections. An identical Georgia couple would see their monthly premiums soar by $1,200. Those states are up for grabs in November with very competitive Senate races underway.
Gee added lawmakers must act by midsummer to ensure states and insurers have enough time to set up their enrollment periods, a complex process stretching months. "It's not like there's a switch that you can flick in late August or late in the fall to turn on the subsidies," she said.
A swerving Manchin
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks to Sen. Ron Wyden at the Capitol last month.
Manchin told NBC News in early February that he's "always been supportive" of ensuring people have access to affordable insurance by keeping the subsidies. But he seems to be backtracking, throwing a wrench in any effort to lock in a key component of Democrats' health agenda designed to fix the law's affordability problems.
Insider approached Manchin twice this week. Both times he struck a noncommittal tone on whether the Obamacare subsidies should form part of a slimmer Democrat-only package. "My main thing is fighting inflation," he said on Monday, along with securing "tax reforms."
On Thursday, he said: "There's just too much going on. We're talking about everything."
Spokespeople for Manchin declined to comment further. Without his vote, Senate Democrats are blocked from reviving a skinnier version of the legislation in the face of unified GOP opposition in the 50-50 Senate.
He has sketched out a package evenly split between new spending and deficit-reduction, along with green energy and short-term fossil fuel measures in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Manchin has also said a chief priority of his is reining in prescription drug costs. It's not clear what other initiatives fit his narrow demands, but other Democrats say they're working behind the scenes to get him onboard.
"Holding down premiums will be and has been a major priority for me," Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, told Insider.
A Senate Democratic aide drew a comparison to the 2014 midterm elections when rising premiums became a last-minute issue in some races. In Louisiana and Iowa, premium hikes handed Republican Senate candidates another hammer to use against Democrats at the time.
"You're looking at somewhat a repeat of that," the aide told Insider, granted anonymity to speak candidly. "It certainly wouldn't be helpful."
The GOP Senate candidates won in both states that year: Sen. Joni Ernst clinched the seat in Iowa. So did Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana.
Democrats lost control of the Senate in 2014, only to recapture it last year. They face significant headwinds going into the fall, and spiking premiums could be another popping up in the final stretch. With the Senate and House majorities in play, Republicans will probably not be inclined to cut a deal.
"I don't see any prospect of Republicans helping Democrats get out of this box," Levitt said.
More: Republicans Democrats Obamacare ACA' | 2022-05-07T11:57:56Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Dems May Accidentally Hit Americans With Big Health Insurance Bills Before Midterms | https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-obamacare-manchin-midterm-elections-health-insurance-bills-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-obamacare-manchin-midterm-elections-health-insurance-bills-2022-5 |
Nicole Einbinder and Caroline Haskins
Pro-choice supporters rally outside a Planned Parenthood center in St. Louis, Missouri in May 2019. One year earlier, Missouri passed an abortion ban that takes effect once the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Pro-choice activists at the state capitol in Austin, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a state "trigger law" in June 2021.
Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk said he would not enforce the state's abortion ban.
The call center at Planned Parenthood's Regional Logistics Center in Fairview Heights, Ill., March 2022. Here, four full-time case managers ensure patients from Missouri, Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and beyond are able to access abortion care.
Photo by Neeta Satam for The Washington Post via Getty Images
More: Roe v Wade Abortion Trigger Laws Supreme Court | 2022-05-07T13:29:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | 13 'Trigger Law' States Failed to Plan for the End of Roe V. Wade | https://www.businessinsider.com/trigger-law-states-failed-to-plan-for-end-of-roe-v-wade-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/trigger-law-states-failed-to-plan-for-end-of-roe-v-wade-2022-5 |
Pro-choice signs hang on a police barricade at the Supreme Court Building.
PR firm Zeno advised clients to stay quiet on abortion rights, Popular Information reported.
A leaked email shows Zeno told clients the topic was a "textbook 50/50" issue.
Zeno told Insider the "50/50" comment was poorly worded and the email didn't accurately reflect its advice.
Public relations firm Zeno quietly advised clients to remain quiet on the draft Supreme Court document that seeks to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Popular Information newsletter reported.
Zeno, whose roster of clients includes Netflix , Starbucks, and Coca-Cola, according to the newsletter, circulated a template email internally to share with its clients. The email reportedly told clients to "steer clear" of news outlets, asking them to "not take a stance" and "avoid media fishing," Popular Information reported.
The email comes after a draft Supreme Court opinion that could seek to overturn Roe v. Wade – a landmark ruling that protects women's right to abortions – was leaked on May 3. If the legislation is overturned it could mean abortion becoming illegal in 23 states.
Zeno, part of the PR giant Edelman, seemingly told clients to "not engage" with the media on its company's position on the issue and said the first company to speak out and make their view known "becomes the lead," per Popular Information.
"This topic is a textbook "50/50" issue. Subjects that divide the country can sometimes be no-win situations for companies because regardless of what they do they will alienate at least 15 to 30 percent of their stakeholders," the email sent by a Zeno executive reportedly said.
"Do not assume that all of your employees, customers or investors share your view," the email reportedly added.
Many companies have already been vocal on the issue as a growing list, including Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Yelp, and Citi, said it would reimburse employees for travel costs if they were seeking abortions.
A Zeno spokesperson told Insider: "Albeit a poor choice of words, the company referring to 'a "50/50" case' was a phrase meant to describe the divisiveness and partisanship tied to controversial issues, and not meant to represent an actual percentage of US sentiment on this issue."
The company said the leaked email did not "accurately reflect" the advice it's giving clients and that the company it believes it's a "woman's right" to make their own healthcare decisions.
An Insider investigation found that agencies in 13 states that have abortion "trigger" laws are not prepared for how to implement a ban. They are also not planning for what could happen if the ruling is reversed, per the investigation.
More: Roe v Wade Abortion Politics Supreme Court | 2022-05-07T15:00:31Z | www.businessinsider.com | PR Firm Told Clients to Stay Quiet Abortion Rights: Report | https://www.businessinsider.com/zeno-pr-company-abortion-rights-roe-v-wade-overturn-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/zeno-pr-company-abortion-rights-roe-v-wade-overturn-2022-5 |
New Hampshire state Rep. Susan DeLemus, right, leaves the Federal Courthouse after attending a hearing for her husband Gerald DeLemus Thursday March, 3, 2016 in Concord, N.H.
AP Photo/Jim Cole
A New Hampshire state lawmaker called herself a "murderer" in front of abortion-rights protesters.
"I'm a murderer! I murdered my own baby," Rep. Susan DeLemus shouted on the New Hampshire State House steps.
DeLemus in 2012 said she had had an abortion in the 1980s that she's regretted ever since.
A New Hampshire state representative shouted at abortion rights protesters, referring to both them and herself as murderers.
Video posted to Twitter shows New Hampshire state Rep. Susan DeLemus standing outside the state house on Thursday while confronting a group of protesters.
"Shame on you! Shame on you, shame on all of you, shame on you for killing babies!" she yelled.
"You're a murderer," she said multiple times while pointing at various protesters. Then she called herself a murderer.
"I'm a murderer! I murdered my own baby," she shouted.
DeLemus in 2012 told a Senate committee that she had had an abortion in the 1980s. She's regretted the decision ever since, she's said for a decade.
"I have had an abortion, and I have murdered my baby," DeLemus said tearfully before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which at the time was holding hearings on bills that sought to impose abortion restrictions for adults for the first time in the state of New Hampshire.
—Colin Booth (@ColinGBooth) May 5, 2022
The protest outside the New Hampshire State House came after news broke of a leaked draft opinion in which Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito called the 1973 landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortions nationwide "egregiously wrong from the start."
If Roe were to be overturned, it would be illegal for Americans in 23 states to obtain an abortion. And in several others, there might be added restrictions.
More: New Hampshire susan delemus Abortion abortion rights | 2022-05-07T15:44:09Z | www.businessinsider.com | Republican State Rep Called Herself a Murderer in Front of Pro-Choice Protesters | https://www.businessinsider.com/republican-state-rep-called-herself-murderer-pro-choice-protesters-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/republican-state-rep-called-herself-murderer-pro-choice-protesters-2022-5 |
Twitter's board unanimously accepted Musk's buyout at $54.20 per share on April 25. The deal is is expected to close in 2022, "subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions," Twitter said in a statement.
More: Twitter Elon Musk twitter buyout Tesla | 2022-05-07T16:05:35Z | www.businessinsider.com | Elon Musk Wants to Launch a New Twitter Product 'X': NYT | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-new-twitter-product-x-launch-plan-pitch-deck-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-new-twitter-product-x-launch-plan-pitch-deck-2022-5 |
'We're on the precipice': The tech industry is bracing for a historic slump amid VC pullback, looming layoffs, and plummeting share prices
Rob Price, Samantha Stokes, and Diamond Naga Siu
The tech industry is bracing for a wave of cost cutting and job losses.
It's about to get ugly for the tech industry.
Startups and public companies are readying for a wave of cost-cutting and layoffs amid rough market conditions.
Inflation is soaring, public market valuations are dropping, and venture funding is drying up.
A lot can change in a few months.
In January, buzzy B2B financial-services startup MainStreet flew its entire staff to Maui for a weeklong working vacation at a glitzy Hawaiian resort. It had raised $60 million in a Series A funding round in 2021, and was gearing up for a similarly hefty Series B in the coming months, company executives told employees.
But a month later, Russia rolled its tanks into Ukraine, exacerbating economic upheaval across the globe and feeding a growing pessimism about the economic stability of the tech sector. When MainStreet's Series B materialized it was significantly smaller than envisioned, and earlier this week the company laid off around 50 employees — roughly a third of its total staff, as Insider previously reported.
The American technology industry enjoyed an extraordinary boom during the pandemic, extending a multi-decade bull run. Giants like Amazon and Apple soared to record-breaking market caps, while private companies received vast cash injections from venture investment firms flush with capital and hedge funds hoping to get in early on the next Airbnb.
But now, amid rising interest rates, supply chain snares and rampant inflation, there's a growing sense among tech industry figures that the good times are rapidly coming to a close, and a once-in-a-generation down-cycle is here.
Ugly layoffs may be brewing across the board, some investors and industry watchers warn — from public tech giants to scrappy startups.
"This will be in the top three corrections of the last 20 years — joining the 2008/2009 Great Recession and the 2000 dot-com crash," said David Sacks, cofounder and partner at Craft Ventures.
The public market is hurting
Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images
Some of the major players are already dialing back costs and hiring.
On Tuesday, Facebook informed employees of an extensive hiring freeze of engineers at the company, as Insider previously reported, with its CFO Dave Wehner warning that reduced hiring targets "will affect almost every team in the company." And at the end of April, Amazon's CFO Brian Olsavsky told reporters that "we quickly transitioned from being understaffed to being overstaffed" — an unusual shift from a company that for years has focused on hiring relentlessly to meet demand.
Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos has also issued warnings about the shifting market. "Most people dramatically underestimate the remarkableness of this bull run.," he tweeted on April 30. "Such things are unstoppable … until they aren't. Markets teach. The lessons can be painful."
It's an abrupt about-face for the industry. High-flying tech companies like Zoom , Okta, Block and Twilio more than doubled their workforces from 2019 to 2021, and their stock prices similarly increased twofold from the beginning of 2020 to November 2021. But since then, their stock prices have each lost about half their value.
Netflix also doubled its stock price from 2019 to 2021 but experienced a 70% drop since November, and the streaming provider has started cutting whole teams, including its newly created publication Tudum. Online trading app and fintech darling Robinhood, which went public in July 2021, has been even more aggressive, laying off 9% of its workforce — around 300 employees — in late April.
Some market-watchers view the ongoing sell-off as a return to more rational valuations after a pandemic-induced frenzy. "It's a course correction because that hype and the peak usage was unsustainable," said Nitish Mittal, a partner in the technology practice at research firm Everest Group. "A lot of this is dependent on the central premise that people are at home and using these services a lot of the time — that is just unsustainable as we recover from the pandemic."
Even before the pandemic, high valuations and cash-rich companies created an environment of high-demand for engineers and technical talent — prompting significant wage inflation in the sector. Keith Hwang, managing director of tech investment fund Selcouth Capital Management, questioned whether these some of high-paid engineers may now be at risk of job cuts.
"We are now reaching a point where I think we've become overstaffed on the programming side," he said. "In the '80s, it was more about everyone wanting to go into banking because banking, you can make $100K out of undergrad. And you saw what happened to that — banking essentially collapsed. And now you're seeing the same situation in software. Everyone and their mother wants to be a programmer now."
It's a bad time to be a high-burn startup in need of VC funding
In private markets, MainStreet isn't the only high-flying startup to feel the heat.
This week, celebrity video app Cameo laid off 87 employees — roughly a quarter of its staff. Thrasio, a startup that aggregates hot brands on Amazon and has raised more than $3 billion, let go off roughly a fifth of its workforce recently. And startup-support firm On Deck has laid off 25% of its staff, around 72 people.
The reason for much of this, industry insiders say, is a retrenchment of capital available for private funding rounds. Investment hasn't tried up entirely — multiple venture capitalists, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were actively working on closing deals — but there's a level of caution that wasn't there at the start of the year.
Venture money into startups totaled $47 billion in April 2022—the lowest amount invested in private companies in the past 12 months, according to a recent report from Crunchbase.
Startups can no longer rely on blockbuster funding rounds to keep the lights on, and need to reconsider their spend and find ways to make their existing cash piles last longer. For some, that will mean sweeping layoffs. For others, that means shutting down.
In April, one-click checkout startup Fast, which raised $120 million in venture capital, revealed to investors that it planned to lay off more than half of its staff, and look for an buyer. A few days later, the $11 billion startup shut down entirely. Although CEO Dom Holland admitted to hiring too fast, insiders said the startup overspent on marketing and lavish executive retreats.
Gossip about further planned layoffs among private startups are already percolating. "The next 6-8 weeks is going to be a bloodbath," tweeted JD Ross, cofounder of music investment platform Royal. "I'm hearing rumors about a ton of companies preparing to lay off 20-40% of their team." Delian Asparouhov, a principal at Founders Fund, wrote: "sign of the times i now hear about layoffs more often than new rounds."
"The closer investors are to the public market, the more dispirited they are because the public market correction in growth stocks has been severe," said Sacks, PayPal's founding chief operating officer who also co-founded startup Yammer and sold it to Microsoft in 2012.
CEO and Founder of Yammer David Sacks
Earl Mcgehee/Getty Images for SXSW
"The people who are most depressed are the crossover investors, like hedge funds and so forth, because they're actually in the public markets and they're getting marked down every day," Sacks added. "If you talk to venture investors, the growth investors are most nervous and the earlier stage investors are more insulated. Seed investing is probably the most insulated. The public market correction has been trickling down into the private markets since the beginning of the year."
His predictions are already being realized in the funding environment for startups. Seed startups raised $3 billion in April 2022, according to Crunchbase, a 14% increase year over year. However, the amount of money invested in late stage startups was down by 19% year over year.
A number of veteran investors and entrepreneurs like Sacks have taken to Twitter in recent days to dispense wisdom. "An entire generation of entrepreneurs & tech investors built their entire perspectives on valuation during the second half of a 13-year amazing bull market run," wrote Benchmark investor Bill Gurley. "The 'unlearning' process could be painful, surprising, & unsettling to many. I anticipate denial."
'We're on the precipice'
Some investors are already drawing parallels to previous crashes in 2000 and 2007, issuing warnings reminiscent of Sequoia Capital's infamous 2008 doomsday warning, "RIP Good Times." In the midst of the financial crisis of 2008, investment titan Sequoia Capital cautioned founders to cut costs, and "spend every dollar as if it was your last." The firm delivered a similar message to startups as the dot.com bubble burst in 2000.
"This is exactly what happened at the dot-com bust, where all these startups basically just couldn't get funding because there was no funding. Everything dried up," Hwang said.
"We saw a big implosion. It started with layoffs, and then it cascaded down into the economy … and that's what it feels like right now, that we're on the precipice of that."
Others are cautioning against excessive alarmism.
"Big Tech taking a bit of a breather after a massive ramp up in terms of personnel over the past couple of years is a healthy step," said Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company. "I would be concerned if the large Silicon Valley tech companies started announcing massive layoffs like in 2001-2002. But, we are not anywhere close to that."
Some expect this downturn to spark new innovations down the road. Mark Peter Davis, managing partner at VC firm Interplay, said that as employees at mature companies see their stock options go underwater as valuations drop — or they're outright fired — he expects a "major uptick" in people setting out on their own.
"You're likely to have a lot of great companies started in the next 12 months," he said, adding that while layoffs are really difficult for individuals, "shaking lots of great talent out of the tree" will create opportunities for skilled workers to become entrepreneurs themselves.
"This will be one of those potential silver linings within all of this contraction," he added. "There's a real medium- to long-term optimism that comes out of this situation."
More: Tech Tech Jobs Job Cuts | 2022-05-07T17:15:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | Tech Industry Braces for Cost Cutting, Layoffs. Who's Most at Risk. | https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-industry-cost-cutting-job-losses-whos-most-at-risk-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-industry-cost-cutting-job-losses-whos-most-at-risk-2022-5 |
The US-Mexico border wall near Sasabe, Arizona.
Immigration experts say that the Biden administration has failed to move the needle from Trump.
Experts told Insider that policies such as Title 42 should be rescinded.
"What they fail to do also says a lot about what their priorities are," one expert told Insider.
On the campaign trail in 2020, President Joe Biden made a promise: He told voters he would end the Remain in Mexico program on day one of his presidency.
But more than a year into the Biden-Harris administration, thousands of migrants a day are turned away from the US under the Trump-era program, which requires asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for the duration of their immigration court cases.
Despite a brief suspension in the first half of 2021, protracted legal battles led to the program not only being reinstated in December 2021, but expanded as well. The ongoing battle over the policy has made it to the Supreme Court, where justices heard oral arguments this week over the administration's efforts to end the program once and for all.
Immigration experts say the measure, also known as Migrant Policy Protocols (MPP), creates dangerous and sometimes deadly conditions for asylum-seekers.
Similarly, immigration advocates spent the first 14 months of Biden's presidency urging the administration to end Title 42 — another Trump-era policy used to rapidly turn away asylum-seekers under the guise of a public health emergency measure.
On April 1, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that the administration finally had an end date in sight. It would mean that families and single adult asylum-seekers who had been turned away time and again at the southern border since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 would have the opportunity to make a claim beginning May 23.
But the proposal has been met with resistance and confusion thus far – from all sides of the political spectrum.
A bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill earlier this month that would block the administration from scrapping Title 42 without a specific plan in place to deal with massive numbers of migrants expected at the border. Then, a Trump-appointed judge this week temporarily blocked the administration from lifting the order, announcing an intent to grant several states' request for a temporary restraining order.
Meanwhile, recent reports suggest the administration itself is considering delaying the repeal to avoid an influx at the border ahead of November midterms.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security told Insider that even a temporary restraining order on the repeal would restrict the agency's efforts to adequately prepare for Title 42's eventual expiration.
Once the policy is lifted, the spokesperson said DHS intends to "significantly expand" the removal of people who "seek to cross the border without a lawful basis to do so" and impose "long-term law enforcement consequences" on such migrants. As such, the spokesperson said it makes "no sense" that the states suing to stop the repeal would halt DHS preparations for "aggressive application of immigration law" come May 23.
But even if the policy is ultimately rescinded come May, for many immigration experts, the move will be too little, too late.
The administration's decision to exempt Ukrainian refugees from Title 42 amid the Russian invasion has only further frustrated immigration advocates fighting on behalf of the scores of Central and South Americans who have been waiting for years to seek asylum in the US.
Biden once pledged he would "reassert America's commitment to asylum seekers and refugees." But immigration experts say that promise has yet to materialize.
"The president promised a more humane asylum system and that has not happened," Lee Gelernt, deputy director of ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project told Insider in January. "We largely have the same border restrictions that we had under the prior administration for asylum seekers."
Last summer, Insider spoke to seven immigration experts, asking them to give the administration a report-card-style grade on its handling of the issue so far. The assessments of the Biden administration's approach to immigration at the time were varied. Three sources handed out failing grades, but others offered a "B" or even a "B+" for the fledgling president.
Insider spoke again to those experts and others, and found that their initial grade diversity had disappeared entirely; almost all eight sources brandished Biden with the same marking — and an abysmal one at that.
Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee's US/Mexico Border Program:
Last year, Rios gave the administration a D, primarily citing the continuation of Title 42 as reason for his low grade. In the months since, his assessment dropped, with Rios now characterizing the administration's immigration approach as "terrible."
Rios told Insider his failing grade this time around is essentially based on the president's "lack of commitment to asylum procedures." He cited instances of migrants being returned to Mexico under MPP who have been attacked and died in their attempts to return to the US and enact their legal right to seek asylum.
"It makes Biden and his administration complicit in putting forward policies that we knew from the get-go were racist," Rios said. "And they are now responsible for the deaths of people who might, in another era, be given an opportunity to seek shelter and safety."
A DHS spokesperson told Insider that Secretary Mayorkas agrees that MPP has "endemic flaws," which imposed "unjustifiable human costs" and pulled resources and personnel away from other priorities while failing to address the root causes of irregular migration. Still, the agency is implementing the protocol in "good faith" as required by previous court order.
"DHS is hopeful that the Supreme Court will overturn the lower courts' rulings and allow Secretary Mayorkas to exercise his discretion to implement his policy decision to end MPP," the spokesperson said.
What the administration should do better:
"I would like to see the US commit to their obligations under federal law and under international agreements to uphold asylum procedures," Rios said.
He also noted a need for more extensive resources directed toward welcoming migrants in supportive ways and urged the administration to end harmful policies that don't allow migrants who are fleeing harm to present themselves in the US in a safe manner.
In an April follow-up, Rios said the disparate treatment is evident in how Ukrainian asylum seekers have been handled compared to migrants from other countries that are also facing war. It underscores that the Biden administration "could be doing more," Rios said.
Migrants cross the Rio Bravo in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to surrender to US authorities in El Paso, Texas, to seek political asylum in the US, May 13, 2021.
David Peinado/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Lee Gelernt, deputy director of ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project
Gelernt declined to give the administration a grade when he spoke to Insider in January. But whereas last summer he said the Biden administration had, for the most part, done "very well" handling immigration, this time around, the lawyer characterized the administration's approach as "mixed."
Gelernt, too, cited the continuation of Title 42 as a major weak spot in the administration's first year, saying the decision to keep the border closed to asylum-seeking families for so long resulted in "horrific abuse."
"Given that there is virtually no support among the public health community for the Title 42 policy, and the administration knows that, I think the conclusion is inescapable that politics is playing an outsized role here," Gelernt said.
The policy, which was first implemented by Trump at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been framed as a public health measure meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus at the border. But throughout its nearly two year existence, public health officials and scientists have slammed the policy time and time again, arguing that it does little to mitigate risk and instead, is being used as a pretense to keep migrants out.
"Unfortunately the administration's first year on immigration can be summed by how it has allowed politics to dictate critical decisions about family separation and asylum," he said.
The conclusion is inescapable that politics is playing an outsized role here.
Gelernt also pointed to the administration's handling of family separation as a place for improvement, telling Insider that the ACLU was "extremely disappointed" and "shocked" when the administration in December broke off negotiations regarding compensating families who were separated under the Trump administration. The administration's decision to do so pushed the case back into court, where the Biden administration was forced to publicly defend a policy that the president once called "criminal."
Gelernt said the ACLU continues to engage in constructive negotiations with the Biden administration on all aspects of family separation except compensation, though he said it was too early to tell what the outcome of those talks may be.
"We hope the administration will do everything possible to make sure those families are never separated again or deported back to danger," he said.
Gelernt also urged the administration to end Title 42 immediately and restore asylum privileges in the US.
"After World War II, we made a solid commitment never to send people back to danger, and it's not been two years since we've had a working asylum system or since we've accepted asylum seekers," he said.
Vicki Gaubeca, director of Southern Border Communities Coalition:
Last summer, Gaubeca deemed the administration's immigration efforts worthy of a B-, praising Biden's "intent to create a humanitarian, efficient process," while acknowledging the challenges of successfully implementing such changes.
But in the months since, Gaubeca's optimism has given way to unbridled frustration regarding several policy decisions, including the continuation and expansion of Title 42 and MPP, as well as ongoing border wall construction, and what she sees as cowardice on Biden's part in combating far-right rhetoric surrounding the border.
"Both sides…are basically caving in to the fear mongering of the extreme right," she said. "We're failing to garner our humanity. We're just failing miserably at it, I think."
Gaubeca was also critical of the extensive role the Department of Homeland Security plays in the US immigration system, calling the agency "a monster," whose "power just grows with every single administration." She said the agency has too much of a law enforcement mentality to be effective in handling necessary immigration services for arriving migrants.
"They have forgotten human rights and asylum law responsibilities," she told Insider earlier this year. "They're just focused on stopping people from going to the US and getting as many people as possible out of the US, which in the long term, is going to be a disservice to the US."
Gaubeca said the administration is missing a key tenet in its approach to handling immigration: courage.
She suggested the president could take inspiration from the bravery displayed by asylum-seekers at the border who have "gone through hell" to flee violence or reunite with their families.
Gaubeca speculated that if the president fails to start fulfilling his immigration-related campaign promises soon, he'll lose voter support.
"If he continues acting the way he is, I don't think he's going to be around," she said. "[The administration] is basically dying by their own hand."
And while she believes Biden is an improvement from his "autocratic" predecessor, Gaubeca said that is no longer enough.
"The reality is, while we're sitting here arguing politics and rhetoric back and forth, people are suffering," she said. "And we aren't creating solutions for people who would ultimately contribute greatly to this country."
A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback uses the reins to try and stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas on September 19, 2021.
Hollie Webb, supervising attorney with Al Otro Lado's Border Rights Project
Webb, who spoke with Insider for the first time in January, joined other experts in slamming the administration's nonexistent asylum measures and the danger so many migrants face as a result.
"Just because Trump has left doesn't mean things have changed — the situation at the border has worsened in a lot of ways," Webb said. Data from the organization Human Rights First suggests there have been thousands of kidnappings, rapes, and assaults since Title 42's installment.
She criticized Biden for what she sees as the administration weighing its political calculus over the importance of immigrant rights, especially ahead of the impending 2022 midterm elections.
"Regardless of what the Biden administration does, the conservatives are going to say that Biden is pushing for open borders," Webb said. "But there is nothing further from the truth right now."
And while the president's unfulfilled promises are disappointing, Webb said approaching the issue from that perspective minimizes the true tragedy.
"The failure to keep a campaign promise is one thing if we're talking about morality," she said. "But to me, it's the fact that thousands of people are being forced into incredibly dangerous circumstances with no regard whatsoever if they live or die."
"That, to me, is the huge human rights crisis at the border," Webb added. "And it's being tossed around as a political issue."
For Webb, the solutions are simple. She urged the administration to reopen the border, rescind Title 42 and MPP, and funnel resources into receiving migrants in a humanitarian way.
Thousands of people are being forced into incredibly dangerous circumstances with no regard whatsoever if they live or die.
"We put asylum seekers through this maze of obstacles," Webb said. "I don't think people understand the danger people face as asylum-seekers at the border."
She also stressed the need for broader fixes to the entire immigration system, which she said has become a jumbled, complicated mess after years of rotating presidential administrations making minor adjustments to address their own specific priorities.
Bob Carey, former director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the Obama administration
Bob Carey, the former director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the Obama administration, told Insider that he didn't feel comfortable giving the administration a grade. Last summer, he was cautiously optimistic and gave the administration a B/B+.
"I think it's not the way many advocates would've hoped it had gone," Carey told Insider, referring to the Biden administration's approach towards immigration policies and promises. "I think it's positive that there was an Afghan resettlement program, aside from the fact that arguably, there should have been more advanced planning for that ability and contingency, because it would not be unexpected given the circumstances that there might be a need for refugee protection in that context."
Carey said that following the Autumn evacuation, it was shortsighted for the White House to encourage thousands of Afghan refugees to apply for humanitarian parole with no communicated plan after that, instead of bolstering the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) or the US Refugee Admissions Program.
"I think what's still unaddressed is what happens to Afghans who've fled the country or are in the country, whose lives are still at risk, or who lack some kind of permanent solution or semi-permanent solution," Carey added.
The Afghan Adjustment Act, a proposed bill, would allow Afghan refugees admitted under humanitarian parole to apply for permanent status after one year.
Carey said that he had "hoped for more," and that "there could have been other solutions that would not have continued the Trump Administration policies that we found so problematic."
Carey said that on the immediate front, the Biden administration can improve on messaging so that their policies and statements on immigration are in sync with each other.
He added that the administration should immediately end the Title 42 policy, and commit to restructuring the US asylum system so that in the following fiscal year, the refugee resettlement cap can actually be met.
Central American asylum seekers arrive to a bus station after being released by U.S. Border Patrol agents on February 26, 2021 in Brownsville, Texas.
Roberto Lopez, TX Civil Rights Project
"At the one year mark, the Biden administration's response to the immigration crisis that the Trump administration caused has been horrendous," Roberto Lopez, an organizer with the TX Civil Rights Project, told Insider.
In December, the Biden administration was ordered to revest 6.6 acres of land to the Cavazos family, whose land was seized by the federal government for Trump's border wall in 2018 — months after the Biden administration announced it would cancel border wall construction contracts in Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley.
Lopez told Insider that the Cavazos case is a unique one so far, with the administration still defending other similar lawsuits.
Lopez and his organization were critical of the Biden administration's decision to defend the Title 42 policy as well as the Remain in Mexico resettlement policy.
"They're shooting themselves in the foot because then the apprehension numbers might double. Someone who crossed once goes in and then gets put into Mexico. And then because they're in harsher or severe conditions, they decide to try again," Lopez said. "And so, as the numbers go up, then the opposition gets to say, 'Look, we're in this horrendous crisis.'"
In the last year, Lopez said, there has been more investment into border patrol and police along the border and the presence of anti-immigrant militias and protesters has increased, in part leading the National Butterfly Center in the Rio Grande Valley to close indefinitely.
"I think, everyone needs to get on board with beefing up our ports of entry, our bridges, building migrant resource centers all across the country in some of the major hubs where people will be going to, and doing the same thing at the bridges as well, so that way people can get brought in [quickly], safely, humanely, and then sent to their destination," Lopez said, claiming that the current configuration of policy and enforcement is forcing people to dangerously cross the Rio Grande river.
He added that the Biden administration should not boost CBP's budget at the border, whether it be for staffing or border wall repairs.
Lopez, too, said that ending Title 42 is where the Biden administration must start.
"The visa lottery right now is capped at 55,000 individuals, and 14 million people from across the world applied to come to the U.S," Lopez told Insider. "So, there's no real meaningful legal pathway to come in."
Curtis Morrison, Immigration lawyer with Morrison Urena law firm
Curtis Morrison, an immigration lawyer, whose lawsuits mainly target the State Department's diversity visa policies, said that the Biden administration has failed in fulfilling international immigration promises.
"I would base that on the fact that they have not removed the bureaucrats at the Bureau of Consular Affairs, that implemented the Muslim ban and the labor ban, and that completely stifled legal immigration," Morrison said, pointing to Edward Ramotowski, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services at the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Ramotowski, in 2019, defended the ban and its waiver program in front of Congress.
Morrison's law firm has sued the Biden administration on its handling of diversity visas on multiple occasions.
In June 2021, Morrison's firm sued the Biden administration along with 24,000 visa lottery winners and plaintiffs in the Goodluck vs. Biden case, accusing the administration of stalling on processing visas, and allowing an annual stockpile to expire.
In October 2021, a DC judge ordered the Biden administration to save 7,395 diversity visas that were set to expire and award them to a group of plaintiffs and applicants.
Morrison's firm has also sued the State Department in various lawsuits, alleging that the department is not allowing immigrants in unstable countries, or countries with closed US consulates like Iraq, Afghanistan, Belarus, and Sudan, to move their visa interview locations – trapping them in limbo.
He said that following their Hamad vs. Blinken lawsuit, the State Department has taken steps to facilitate interviews for the Iraqi plaintiffs, but so far none have been granted visas.
"Immigration is a diplomatic tool. And right now it's actually being used against us because we are starting to look like a scam," Morrison said.
First and foremost, he said that Biden and the State Department must "surrender that authority that they found under Trump."
"He gave them a new tool and they were all excited about it, and they don't want to give it up," Morrison said, adding that changes should start at the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Otherwise, Morrison agreed that alongside ending Title 42, the Biden administration needed to honor international asylum commitments as well as their own stated resettlement goals.
An Afghan family with new toys from the supply tent walk through an Afghan refugee camp on November 4, 2021 in Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
Oliver Merino, coordinator for Immigration Legal Resource Center
Last summer, Oliver Merino said that the Biden administration was actively failing. At the same time, a potential immigration component was being considered in the Biden administration's Build Back Better funding package.
But when immigration measures were struck from the Biden administration's package, "a lot of air was sucked out of the atmosphere." Merino said that aspirations on the legislative front have been stifled by a unified GOP and a handful of Democrats.
After a year, Merino said there is "more of a considerate effort to put a magnifying glass of what the administration is doing and not doing."
"There was the promise of closing immigration detention centers," Merino said. In December 2021, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the administration would close two ICE detention facilities in Texas and Louisiana, leaving dozens still in operation, according to the ACLU.
"And more people are now in detention than when he came to office," Merino said. According to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which analyzed ICE detention data, by the end of 2021, the Biden administration had detained 50% more immigrants than the prior administration.
"What they fail to do also says a lot about what their priorities are," Merino told Insider, saying that for many advocates, hope has faded.
Merino added that the ongoing deportation flights for Haitians, Venezuelans, and other immigrants – enforced through Title 42 – needed to stop.
Like others, Merino said that the administration should rescind Title 42 and the Remain in Mexico policies immediately.
He added that beyond family reunification efforts, the Biden administration should honor its commitment to close all immigration detention centers and allow those who have been detained to have fair immigration hearings.
More: Immigration Biden administration | 2022-05-07T20:43:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | 8 Experts Say Biden Administration Is Failing on Immigration | https://www.businessinsider.com/8-experts-say-biden-administration-is-failing-on-immigration-2022-2 | https://www.businessinsider.com/8-experts-say-biden-administration-is-failing-on-immigration-2022-2 |
I traveled to Canada to try the McDonald's snack wrap.
It was even better than I expected, and I wish they sold them in the US.
McDonald's US stores stopped selling snack wraps because they took too long to make.
On a recent trip to Canada from my home in Western New York, I stopped by McDonald's to try some dishes that aren't on US menus.
Snack wraps were on US menus from 2006 until 2016, when franchisees could choose to sell them. In 2020 they left menus completely.
I ordered two different wraps to see if they lived up to the hype of hundreds of tweets begging McDonald's to bring them back.
My ranch snack wrap came wrapped in yellow paper.
It looked like a typical tortilla, neatly wrapped with no filling spilling out.
The wrap can come with crispy or grilled chicken, so I opted for crispy.
It was delicious, and I kept thinking about how convenient a wrap is for a quick meal like fast food typically is.
For a McDonald's entree, it was also pleasantly light compared to a burger or McNuggets while still being filling.
On a trip when I ate almost all fast food, I really appreciated something that felt almost healthy, packed with lettuce alongside the delicious but heavy fried foods.
I also ordered the chicken and bacon McWrap.
This wrap was larger than the other and packed more full, with chicken spilling out of the tortilla.
The McWrap had all the things I liked about the snack wrap, and I again wished I could buy it closer to home.
McDonald's cut snack wraps as part of a menu simplification after franchisees complained that they took too long to make and slowed down kitchen operations.
I would personally have no problem waiting a few minutes longer for a snack wrap, but McDonald's has to consider operations and efficiency on a larger scale, and the speed of every order is impacted, not just snack wraps.
While the McWrap felt a bit pricey compared to the rest of the menu at nearly $6, I would happily pay the under $3 price for a snack wrap any time.
Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images
There are hundreds of tweets and Facebook comments from fans begging McDonald's to bring back the snack wrap.
After trying it for the first time in years, I completely understand where they're coming from.
They're delicious, easy and convenient to eat, and are a less heavy meal than most other items on McDonald's menu. Unfortunately, McDonald's says there are no plans to bring them back to the US. | 2022-05-08T12:02:44Z | www.businessinsider.com | McDonald's Snack Wrap Review in Photos | https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-snack-wrap-review-in-photos-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-snack-wrap-review-in-photos-2022-5 |
In Texas, Idaho, Tennessee, Ohio and Oklahoma, bounty-style laws banning abortion offer no exceptions for rape or incest and, in some cases, may offer rapists and their families more rights than pregnant women.
Civilians may file suit, said Republican Tennessee state Rep. Rebecca Alexander, who sponsored her state's bill, "regardless of any standing they have in the case," Today reported.
Rep. Alexander acknowledged this fact, Today reported, when asked if the family, friends, spouse or neighbors of a rapist could sue under the Tennessee law.
In Idaho, the parents, siblings, grandparents, and aunts or uncles of the pregnant person or the fetus may sue — even if they are only related through sexual assault or incest. These family members may sue for $20,000 following an abortion — though the state's Supreme Court temporarily blocked implementation of the law in April.
However, should Roe v. Wade be overturned, as the Supreme Court indicated it may be in a leaked draft opinion, Idaho's bounty law, as well as a law making performing an abortion a felony, will take effect.
"If I am raped and choose to have an abortion and my rapist has 10 siblings, is there anything to preclude all of them and their spouses from bringing a lawsuit for $20,000 each?" Democratic Idaho state Rep. Lauren Necochea asked on the House floor when the state's bill was passed, The Independent reported.
"My wife is the president of the sexual assault center here in Nashville," Democratic Tennessee state Rep. Bob Freeman, who opposed the bill passed in his state, told Today. "And the stories that she has shared with me — young 13-year-olds that have become impregnated by a person of power or a family member — I mean rape, incest ... And we're essentially saying, 'Tough luck, honey. We know what's best for you.'"
More: Abortion Roe v Wade lawsuit Rape | 2022-05-09T01:23:22Z | www.businessinsider.com | Anti-Abortion Laws May Give Rapists More Rights Than Pregnant Women | https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-abortion-laws-give-rapists-more-rights-than-pregnant-women-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-abortion-laws-give-rapists-more-rights-than-pregnant-women-2022-5 |
CHART: This data shows which tech companies are most at risk of cost cutting and layoffs in coming months
"Markets teach. The lessons can be painful," Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote recently.
The chart shows hiring by tech companies in 2020 and 2021, along with stock moves since mid-November.
A plunging stock does not guarantee job cuts, but execs at public companies often respond to dramatic market moves.
"Markets teach. The lessons can be painful," Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote on Twitter recently.
The tech industry enjoyed an unprecedented boom during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions of people were stuck inside and forced to go online for work, entertainment, and social connection. That is rapidly unraveling in many parts of the sector now, and the knock-on effects of this may be painful.
High-flying tech companies like Zoom , Okta, Block and Twilio more than doubled their workforces in 2020 and 2021, and their stock prices soared. But since mid-November, shares of these companies and others have slumped, leaving the industry bracing for a wave of cost cutting and layoffs.
"It's a course correction because that hype and the peak usage was unsustainable," said Nitish Mittal, a partner in the technology practice at research firm Everest Group. "A lot of this is dependent on the central premise that people are at home and using these services a lot of the time — that is just unsustainable as we recover from the pandemic."
Amazon went on a hiring frenzy during the pandemic to meet surging demand from online shoppers stuck at home. Headcount more than doubled from the end of 2019 through 2021. This year, consumers are out and about more and are are spending money on other things again, such as travel and restaurants. In the first quarter of 2022, Amazon's sales growth slowed and it lost billions of dollars.
"We quickly transitioned from being understaffed to being overstaffed," Amazon's CFO Brian Olsavsky told reporters at the end of April.
Some tech companies are already cutting jobs. Netflix stock doubled from 2019 to 2021 and it increased headcount by more than 30%. But the shares have plunged 70% since mid-November, and the streaming provider has started cutting staff, including from its publication Tudum.
The chart below shows hiring activity by major US tech companies during 2020 and 2021, along with the performance of their shares since mid-November. While a plunging stock price does not guarantee cost cutting or the elimination of jobs, executives at public companies often respond to such dramatic market moves.
Are you a tech employee who has heard of layoffs coming? Contact Diamond Naga Siu at dsiu@insider.com or through the secure messaging app Signal at 310-986-1383. Please reach out using a nonwork device. Twitter DM at @diamondnagasiu. Check out Insider's source guide for other suggestions on how to share information securely.
More: Tech Amazon Google | 2022-05-09T09:51:14Z | www.businessinsider.com | CHART: Data Shows Which Tech Companies Are Most at Risk of Layoffs | https://www.businessinsider.com/data-shows-which-tech-companies-most-at-risk-of-layoffs-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/data-shows-which-tech-companies-most-at-risk-of-layoffs-2022-5 |
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Uber's CEO has told employees the company will cut spending on hiring, incentives, and marketing.
In an email to staff obtained by CNBC, Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber investors needed to see returns.
He said of Uber investors: "We need to show them the money."
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has told staff the company will rein in spending across the board to focus on investor returns.
The ride-hailing and delivery group will treat hiring as a "privilege" and pull back on the "least efficient" incentive and marketing spend, Khosrowshahi said Sunday in an email to employees, obtained by CNBC.
"In times of uncertainty, investors look for safety," he wrote. "Channeling Jerry Maguire, we need to show them the money."
Khosrowshahi didn't provide further detail on Uber's plans for hiring and incentives, or clarify whether he was talking about staff incentives, such as bonuses and stock awards, or driver incentives. Uber didn't immediately respond when contacted by Insider for comment.
Uber isn't the only tech company talking about a hiring squeeze. Meta announced to staff on Wednesday it would scale back hiring as a way to tackle slow revenue growth, according to an internal memo seen by Insider. Meanwhile, stock-trading app Robinhood announced in late April it was laying off 9% of its workforce.
Uber's Q1 earnings, published Wednesday, showed the company posted a net loss for the period of $5.9 billion.
Khosrowshahi said in his Sunday email he'd spoken to investors after the earnings and it was "clear that the market is experiencing a seismic shift and we need to react accordingly."
"The average employee at Uber is barely over 30, which means you've spent your career in a long and unprecedented bull run," he said. "This next period will be different, and it will require a different approach."
Khosrowshahi said Uber had made "a ton of progress in terms of profitability" but "the goalposts have changed. Now it's about free cash flow."
He said: "The least efficient marketing and incentive spend will be pulled back. We will treat hiring as a privilege and be deliberate about when and where we add headcount."
He added: "In some places we'll have to pull back to sprint ahead. We will absolutely have to do more with less."
Tech stocks have taken a dive in 2022 amid fears of slowing economic growth.
More: Uber Dara Khosrowshahi Hiring Rideshare | 2022-05-09T09:51:26Z | www.businessinsider.com | Uber to Treat Hiring As 'Privilege,' Cut Incentive Spend: CEO | https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ceo-dara-khosrowshahi-cutting-costs-hiring-privilege-incentive-spend-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ceo-dara-khosrowshahi-cutting-costs-hiring-privilege-incentive-spend-2022-5 |
Sir Keir Starmer is 'Mr Rules', said Lisa Nandy.
Keir Starmer has been accused of "hypocrisy" as he faces a police investigation into a potentially lockdown-breaching curry.
The Labour leader called for Boris Johnson to resign when he was being investigated over so-called partygate claims.
Labour figures insist no rules were broken during 'beergate', arguing that Starmer is "Mr Rules".
Keir Starmer has been accused of "hypocrisy" by a government minister after police opened an investigation into claims he broke lockdown rules in an event dubbed 'beergate'.
On Friday, Durham Police announced it had launched a probe after receiving "significant new information" about claims the Labour leader joined his team for a curry and drank beer in an office in May 2021 during the campaign for the Hartlepool by-election.
Starmer says no rules were broken and there was a pause in work to eat.
A leaked memo for the day published by the Mail on Sunday suggests the meal was pre-planned. The memo suggested no further work was planned after the meal.
The memo also shows Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, was at the meal. Labour previously denied her presence in what they now claim was an "honest mistake".
But Conservatives have accused him of hypocrisy, after he called on Boris Johnson to resign at the outset of a police probe into 'partygate' – a series of parties and gatherings in Downing Street during lockdown.
Johnson, and his most senior minister Chancellor Rishi Sunak, have both received fines for attending a party to mark Johnson's 56th birthday. The Metropolitan Police is yet to conclude its partygate investigation, meaning Johnson could yet receive further penalties.
Michelle Donelan, the universities minister, told Sky News that the situation "smacks of sheer hypocrisy", but did not call for Starmer to resign.
Lisa Nandy, a senior shadow minister, told Sky News on Sunday that Starmer, who received a knighthood in 2014 for his work as director of public prosecutions, is "Mr Rules."
She said: "He does not break the rules, he was the director of public prosecutions, not somebody who goes around tearing up rules when it suits him, in stark contrast to the Prime Minister."
Conservative MPs elected in 2019 have said an apology from Starmer would be sufficient, according to messages between the MPs leaked to The Times.
More: UK Politics News UK Sir Keir Starmer Keir Starmer | 2022-05-09T10:34:46Z | www.businessinsider.com | Beergate: Starmer Accused of 'Hypocrisy' Over Lockdown Curry | https://www.businessinsider.com/beergate-starmer-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-lockdown-curry-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/beergate-starmer-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-lockdown-curry-2022-5 |
Welcome back. A smattering of risks have put the global economy on its heels — and the world's two biggest economies are facing some of the most prominent headwinds.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sits down during a visit to Renmin University of China in Beijing, capital of China, April 25, 2022.
Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images
1. Slower growth in China can be felt all over the world. The globe's largest exporter of goods may miss its growth targets for 2022 — which would bring repercussions to economies everywhere.
"There's just enormous risk in China right now," top economist Stephen Roach told CNBC Friday. "China's facing formidable pressures, not just from rolling COVID lockdowns, but its steadfast insistence on deleveraging," he added, referring to the government's push to cut the debt burden.
Roach noted that after the 2008 crisis, China's 8% growth rate was able to soften the financial blow. Now, he warned, that cushion is gone.
Meanwhile, an engine of the US economy may also be at risk. That's according to legendary investor Jeremy Grantham, who issued a warning on another threat to US economic growth: the impact of rising mortgage rates on the housing market.
Pandemic stimulus sent mortgage rates plummeting and home prices soaring. Now, as rates rise — but supply continues to fail to meet demand — an affordability crisis is brewing that could pop the bubble.
"2000 showed you can just about skate through a stock market event," he told Bloomberg. "But Japan and 2008 showed you can't skate through a housing crisis."
2. US futures are down early Monday, as investors brace for faster rate hikes following Friday's strong jobs data. Plus, shares of Rivian slid premarket following a report that Ford is selling 8 million of its shares in the company. Here are the latest moves.
3. Earnings on deck: Alico Inc, Exelon Corp, and Maxim Power, all reporting.
4. The founder of a $140 million investment firm laid out which stocks to buy after inflation peaks in mid-2022. He also broke down why investors should focus on sectors that have priced in a recession , and on undervalued but quality firms. These are his 11 picks — and why he still thinks Netflix is an attractive bargain.
5. The world's largest oil exporter has cut prices for buyers in Asia and Europe. Saudi Aramco's move comes amid strict COVID-19 restrictions in China. In other oil news: Sanctions against Russia have knocked 1 million barrels of crude oil off its production each day. Three experts break down the implications of an EU oil ban for Moscow, and what could happen next.
6. US regulators are reportedly in China for talks about corporate audits as more than 100 companies face stock delisting. According to Reuters, a larger team of auditing regulators could go to Beijing later this year to settle a long-running accounting dispute. Here's what you want to know.
7. Bank of America said the S&P 500 could fall another 28% before the historic sell-off is over and markets bounce back. Stocks have more downside ahead as investors grapple with monetary policy tightening. Here's why BofA sees the bear market lasting potentially until October.
8. Meb Faber's momentum and income strategies have beaten the market for years. Now he's predicting US stocks to drop 50% — but he also shared what investors should do to stay safe amid the sell-off.
9. Wedbush's Dan Ives said it's time to buy the dip. Even as tech stocks have been crushed in 2022, Ives is still bullish as the sector begins its "bottoming process" following the Fed's double rate hike. See the six companies on his radar right now.
10. The US added 428,000 jobs in April. The Friday jobs report beat out expectations, and showed job growth held strong last month as inflation stayed at a four-decade high and interest rates surged. Dig into the data here. | 2022-05-09T11:05:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | 10 Things Before the Opening Bell: May 9 | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-before-the-opening-bell-may-9-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-before-the-opening-bell-may-9-2022-5 |
Russian servicemen march on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2022.
Ben Wallace, the UK's defence secretary, in Warsaw last month
Russian servicemen, who took part in Russia's military action in Ukraine, ride BTR-MDM Rakushka airborne armored personnel carriers during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square | 2022-05-09T11:05:35Z | www.businessinsider.com | UK Defence Secretary Mocks Russia's 'Manicured' Generals | https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-defence-secretary-mocks-russias-manicured-generals-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-defence-secretary-mocks-russias-manicured-generals-2022-5 |
An order for high-strength steel sparks speculation about China building a bigger, faster naval frigate
Minnie Chan,
Chinese navy Type 053H3 frigate Mianyang approaches Sydney Harbor on September 20, 2010.
Torsten Blackwood/AFP via Getty Images)
An order for super high-strength structural steel has raised speculation that China is about to build a bigger, faster frigate.
On social media, military commentators say the new warship might be like a mini-destroyer, better suited for combat on the high sea.
Speculation is mounting among China's military observers that construction is about to start on a bigger and faster frigate, designed to keep up with the PLA Navy's third aircraft carrier which is nearing completion.
Specifications for the new frigate have not been released but one post on microblogging site Weibo said the Type 054B "is actually a mini Type 055 destroyer."
A Chinese Type 054A frigate.
Navy Office of Legislative Affairs
Other features include anti-ship missiles and some of the new technologies used on the Type 055, the country's largest destroyer, according to the commentators.
While the Type 054A plays a key anti-submarine and air defence role in strike group operations, its limitations make it unsuitable as an escort for China's newest carrier, according to Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie.
"The Type 054A needs to move full-steam ahead when it is accompanying the Liaoning and Shandong strike groups, but it will lag behind the Type 003 carrier, as well as other warships like the Type 055 destroyer."
US sailors board Chinese Navy frigate Yi Yang prior to a counter-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden, September 17, 2012.
US Navy/MCS2 Aaron Chase
"The PLA Navy is facing more new challenges amid a volatile global landscape since the outbreak of the Ukraine war," he said.
"CSSC has accumulated technologies and experience building and developing dozens of Type 054As in past decades. The new round of replacement would also help the shipbuilder expand its overseas warship market," he said.
"Once the Type 054B is put into service in a few years, CSSC can export the inferior Type 054A to potential overseas clients in developing countries, just as the Americans have done."
China delivered its first export version of the Type 054A in November last year to Pakistan's navy. Islamabad ordered four Type 054AP ships from the Hudong shipyard, another CSSC subsidiary in Shanghai, in 2018 and 2019.
Type 054A | 2022-05-09T12:36:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | Steel Sparks Speculation About China Building a New Frigate | https://www.businessinsider.com/steel-sparks-speculation-about-china-building-a-new-frigate-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/steel-sparks-speculation-about-china-building-a-new-frigate-2022-5 |
Handspring Health wants to increase access to mental health care for kids. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to raise $6.2 million.
Handspring Health's team, including cofounder and CEO Sahil Choudhry (back row, second from right)
Handspring Health combines virtual care and in-person clinics to provide mental health care to kids.
The startup just raised $6.2 million in a seed round led by Newark and NextView.
Insider got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Handspring used to win over investors.
In an age where telehealth is disrupting traditional doctor visits, one New Jersey-based startup believes that in-person mental health care is still crucial for kids — and it just convinced a group of investors to back its brick-and-mortar idea.
Handspring Health, a behavioral healthcare startup focused on children and families, just closed a $6.2 million seed round led by Newark Venture Partners and NextView Ventures. 25madison Ventures, Arkitekt Ventures, and Quantum Angels also participated in the round.
Cofounder and CEO Sahil Choudhry told Insider in an interview that the startup world is all-in on telehealth, but that's not always the best way to treat children.
"A lot of therapy for children is having them play and observing. You can't just do it on an iPad," he said. "Virtual has a place, but a lot still has to happen in person. The experience and outcomes are better when you integrate both."
That's why Handspring is taking a hybrid approach: After an initial assessment, providers recommend a care plan of either virtual or in-person therapy for children. Patients are then paired up with Handspring's on-staff therapists, who are paid an annual salary instead of per session.
To increase access, Handspring works directly with insurance carriers — that way, children can receive care regardless of where their parents work and the benefits those employers provide.
Joanne Lin, the principal at Newark who led Handspring's funding round, told Insider that many mental health tech startups partnered with employers to offer services, which overlooked a large percentage of the patient population that doesn't have employer-based healthcare.
Handspring's model is moving the needle on accessibility, she said, by "focusing on in-network first, touching a lot of commercial plans and Medicaid."
"They're also thinking about hybrid access — not every patient and not every family is fully accessible to virtual care," she said.
Currently, the startup is operating virtually in New Jersey for kids who are 10 and older. Handspring is planning to open its first in-person location this fall so it can start providing care for younger children and will follow a similar two-phase rollout as it expands, Choudhry explained.
Here's the 15-page pitch deck Handspring used to impress investors and raise $6.2 million for its seed round.
More: Startups Tech Health Tech | 2022-05-09T12:53:20Z | www.businessinsider.com | The Pitch Deck Handspring Health Used for Its $6.2 Million Seed Round | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-handspring-health-used-for-seed-round-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-handspring-health-used-for-seed-round-2022-5 |
Warren Buffett counts See's Candies among his most iconic companies. CEO Pat Egan breaks down why the chocolate maker is thriving despite pandemic pressures and surging inflation.
See's Candies CEO Pat Egan.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has owned See's Candies for 50 years.
See's CEO Pat Egan spoke to Insider about Berkshire, the pandemic, inflation, and his growth plans.
He touted the value of See's brand, its supplier ties, and its control of manufacturing and retail.
There are few companies more closely associated with Warren Buffett than See's Candies.
The famed investor's Berkshire Hathaway acquired the maker of boxed chocolates for $25 million in 1972, and has collected well over $2 billion of pretax income from the company since then. Buffett has described See's as his "dream business" due to its beloved brand, modest capital needs, and stellar cash generation.
See's CEO Pat Egan underlined the benefits of Buffett's backing, explained how he's navigating the pandemic, and trumpeted his growth plans in an interview with Insider during Berkshire's annual-meeting weekend.
Berkshire and the brand
Buffett is famously hands-off with Berkshire's subsidiaries, trusting their bosses to run them successfully and with integrity. "We have great latitude to do exactly what we need to do," Egan said.
The See's chief is focused on stewarding a century-old brand and attracting new customers without alienating its passionate fanbase. He told Insider that strangers have spotted his See's-branded backpack, and promptly regaled him with stories about enjoying the company's peanut brittle or lollipops with friends and family. Some even end up "crying about how much they're connected to See's," he said.
Devoted customers are a key reason why many See's employees stay with the company for 20, 30, or even 40 years, Egan said. They get "hooked on making people happy," he noted.
The COVID-19 virus forced stores to close, discouraged people from working in customer-facing jobs, and disrupted global supply chains in early 2020. While the pandemic eroded See's business that year, the retailer had its best year ever in 2021 with sales up 26% from their 2019 level, Egan said.
See's makes all of its products in California and mostly sells through its own stores, giving it greater control of its manufacturing, distribution, and retail operations than many of its rivals. It was "spared a lot of the pressures" that other manufacturers faced during the pandemic, Egan said. He was likely referring to retailers slashing inventories, slowing shipments, or delaying payments to suppliers as they battled to stay afloat.
The company has limited cost increases and supply disruptions by leveraging its 75-years-plus relationships with its butter, cocoa, and box suppliers, Egan said. However, it has still seen some inflation in raw-material costs and other expenses.
"Anyone who runs a truck is paying for fuel just like everybody else now," Egan said.
Thanks to Berkshire's backing, See's is debt-free and can access plenty of cash to invest in its business.
The retailer has been improving its in-store experience to attract and retain customers, and boosting its social-media efforts to create a new generation of fans, Egan said.
See's has also modernized its two production facilities, which first opened more than 60 years ago, and purchased new IT systems to help it handle greater online demand, he added.
Moreover, See's has been expanding both virtually and in the real world. Its shipments of online orders surged from 1 million in 2019 to nearly 2 million last year, it's opening roughly a dozen new locations annually, and transactions have jumped in its existing stores, Egan said.
The See's chief partly credited the company's success to the stickiness of its brand. "Once you're a See's customer, you're kind of a See's customer for life," Egan said.
Pat Egan | 2022-05-09T12:53:32Z | www.businessinsider.com | See's Candies CEO on Buffett, Berkshire, Pandemic, Inflation, Growth | https://www.businessinsider.com/sees-candies-warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-pandemic-inflation-brands-growth-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/sees-candies-warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-pandemic-inflation-brands-growth-2022-5 |
Employees at firms like Amazon and Salesforce say company efforts to retain them amid the 'Great Resignation' don't go far enough to tackle uneven compensation and low morale
The "Great Resignation" has highlighted the growing salary gap between new hires and current employees at many tech firms.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; NurPhoto/Getty Images; Stephan Lam/Getty Images
As employees quit at record rates, even the biggest tech companies are struggling to retain talent.
Tech companies like Amazon, Shopify, and Doordash have changed how they pay employees.
However, tech workers say companies are still dismissive about pay increases and flexibility.
Employees are quitting at record rates, and tech companies are scrambling to manage the turnover.
This problem is even hitting tech's biggest firms, which had long been magnets for talent. Employees at companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft told Insider they feel undervalued and underpaid in comparison to new hires, who are scoring outsized compensation offers amid the red hot job market.
This market dynamic, which is sparking tensions on teams and a ripple effect of departures, is forcing companies to rethink how they hire and pay. E-commerce firm Shopify recently addressed attrition woes in its town hall, while Amazon more than doubled its salary cap on base positions to $350,000. Google sped up its hiring process, and Doordash drastically changed how it compensates employees through equity in an attempt to stay competitive in the tough talent market.
But employees at various tech companies say these efforts don't go far enough, claiming that pay remains unfair and management has been dismissive of complaints around low compensation. At the same time, managers who are trying to move the needle are being met with pushback from higher ups and are struggling to maintain morale on their teams.
"My team saw that our software kept growing, but our salary wasn't growing to match," one former Salesforce manager, who recently left the company and asked to remain anonymous because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press, told Insider. "When new hires make more it's a slap in the face and it kills morale."
Some say pay increases are being applied unevenly, causing massive disparities between employees in similar roles
While companies like Amazon have overhauled their pay structures, some employees and hiring managers still say pay increases are not applied evenly within tech firms.
One engineer who works at Amazon previously told Insider that despite Amazon's attempts to stay competitive, their pay is still only at $127,000 and that they've had three managers in the past year. And since the company's pay cap announcement in February, more Amazon employees have come forward about uneven pay increases — some employees saw raises of 60 or even 90%, while others saw single-digit pay bumps they say are barely keeping pace with inflation.
When approached with issues surrounding low pay at Amazon's recent all-hands, CEO Andy Jassy dodged employee concerns.
An Amazon spokesperson previously told Insider total compensation — which consists of base pay and equity-based pay such as restricted stock options — is based on an employee's role and level and informed by location, performance, and a number of other factors. The spokesperson added that employees and candidates had choices as to where they work and that the company regularly reviewed its compensation and benefits to ensure pay stayed competitive.
But the issue isn't specific to Amazon. Tech workers across the industry say their complaints of low pay are continually dismissed by upper management. One manager at a large UK tech firm said a key member of his team quit after the company was unable to raise her $120,000 salary to meet a competing offer. Yet, when the manager back filled the role after she left, the company offered the new candidate $200,000 despite them having less experience.
Similarly, the former manager at Salesforce, who worked at the company between 2019 and 2021, told Insider that across his 25-person team, he received multiple complaints that tenured employees were being paid considerably lower than new hires.
Specifically, new hires in 2021 were paid on average $4,500 more than tenured employees who've worked at the company more than a year, he said. For example, one employee hired in 2021 was offered a $72,000 salary while another employees who had been in the same role for over a year made only $63,000.
When he went to human resources to negotiate higher raises across his team, he said he was consistently shot down because of "budget reasons," with management prioritizing competitive hiring rather than increasing wages for current employees. And as employees started openly discussing pay in light of the red-hot job market, the disparity pushed three team members to leave for other companies, according to the Salesforce manager.
"I was told by management that employees specifically have to come out and ask for a raise, and they have to give you a number. You cannot just offer them a raise. Yet requests were tied up in so much red-tape," the former manager told Insider.
Some companies have started offering tech workers more equity
While some companies are increasing base pay, other tech firms are offering employees more equity, according to a survey conducted by Global Equity Organization. This includes Doordash and Amazon, for example.
But current stock market performance has led to employees concerns about this strategy, as increasing the equity portion of compensation becomes costly for employees when the stock underperforms. Buzzy and hot companies like Shopify, who were once able to offer employees lucrative packages because of their competitive stock prices, are now having to address employee apprehension around low pay caused by plummeting shares.
Similarly, one employee at a well-known payments company, who also requested to remain anonymous, pointed out that stock plays a significant part in the pay disparity between new hires and tenured employees.
The employee joined the firm in April 2021 with what they thought was a competitive compensation package. But the value of their RSUs, or Restricted Stock Units, has since dropped nearly 40% in comparison to newer colleagues that joined in February 2022, the employee said.
Because of this, the employee is looking to switch jobs again after only staying at the company for less than a year.
Companies are drastically rethinking how they pay and hire, but some employees say they aren't getting to the root of the problem
While some tech executives are taking drastic steps to stop attrition, employees say companies aren't getting to the root causes of the issue: higher pay, better transparency, and more flexibility.
While Google has sped up its hiring process to stay competitive in talent, current employees are leaving due to its return-to-work policy, which involves cutting pay if workers relocate.
Especially as companies like Airbnb offer to let employees work from anywhere for the same pay, one Google employee, who requested to remain anonymous because they aren't authorized to speak to the press, told Insider that Google's policy around work from home isn't "forward-thinking."
A Google representative told Insider that the company has "always provided top of market compensation" and that its "approach hasn't changed as we've shifted to a hybrid work model." Google believes "the future of work will be flexible," the spokesperson said, pointing to the Work Location tool the company created last year which helps employees approximately calculate how their salary would change if they move to another region or state.
Over 85% of requests to work remotely or transfer locations have been approved, according to the Google spokesperson. However, Insider previously reported that work-from-home approval has been unevenly applied.
Flexibility is proving to be a sticking point for many tech employees, but pay equity and transparency is still a driving issue. According to a survey of 3,252 women from professional network Elpha, 87% of tech employees would value a company-wide transparency policy. Yet many tech companies still discourage employees from openly discussing pay.
In one approach, compliance-training startup Ethena recently changed its pay structure entirely by adopting a formula of standardized expectations like level, performance reviews, and tenure to output consistent salary increases. In addition, Ethena announced that if the company brings on a new employee at a higher rate than it's currently paying employees, it will raise the pay of current employees in the same role to match.
Matt Dean, the company's VP of engineering, told Insider that implementing the formula has been more "difficult than it seems at first," especially since the startup went from offering all employees the same, below market salary to one where employees are paid at different rates. But he hopes transparency can lead to better retention.
"The last few years have given people a sense of clarity about what matters most to them," Dean said. "I think a lot of companies are losing in this new world — companies with toxic cultures and ones that don't treat their team members with respect." | 2022-05-09T12:53:38Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Tech Companies Are Responding to the 'Great Resignation' | https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-employee-pay-salaries-salesforce-google-amazon-great-resignation-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-employee-pay-salaries-salesforce-google-amazon-great-resignation-2022-5 |
UK airline EasyJet is removing a row of seats from some planes so they can fly with less crew.
This would mean three staff instead of four would be needed as crew members.
The move comes as airlines struggle to recruit new staff to cope with the renewed demand for travel.
UK budget airline, EasyJet, will remove a row of seats from its planes so it can operate flights with fewer cabin crew it announced Monday.
The airline said it will remove the last row of seats on some of its Airbus A319 aircraft, limiting the number of passengers on board to 150.
By removing the seats, it means the aircraft will be able to operate with three cabin crew members instead of four. According to UK regulations, airlines must provide one cabin crew member for every 50 passengers on board an aircraft.
The announcement comes as the airline sector battles a staff shortage. After slashing employee numbers when travel plummeted during the pandemic, carriers are now struggling to recruit the staff needed to keep up with a rebound in demand for flights.
"This summer we will be operating our UK A319 fleet with a maximum of 150 passengers onboard and three crew in line with CAA regulations," an airline spokesperson told Insider. They added: "This is an effective way of operating our fleet while building additional resilience and flexibility into our operation this summer."
EasyJet, which canceled hundreds of flights in April citing COVID-related staff shortages, said it expected to be "back to near 2019 levels of flying." It flies around 300,000 passengers a day at the height of the summer season.
Other airlines have been forced to trim their flight schedules over the summer season as staff levels leave them struggling to meet demand. JetBlue sliced the number of its flights operating in May by between 8 % and 10%, while Alaska Airlines said it would cut its schedule by 2% until the end of June due to a pilot shortage, per CNBC.
Meanwhile, British Airways said it would reduce its flight schedule by 10% between March and October as a result of the labor squeeze, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
More: Planes Airlines Travel Transportation | 2022-05-09T13:36:47Z | www.businessinsider.com | EasyJet Removing Seats From Planes so They Can Fly With Fewer Crew | https://www.businessinsider.com/budget-airline-easyjet-planes-labor-shortage-cabin-crew-remove-seats-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/budget-airline-easyjet-planes-labor-shortage-cabin-crew-remove-seats-2022-5 |
DraftKings CEO explains how marketing spending levels are 'rationalizing' across sports betting, and how social and NFTs fit into his strategy for 2022
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins.
Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins spoke with Insider on the heels of the company's Q1 earnings report.
He explained how marketing spending levels are shifting across the industry after exploding in 2021.
He also shared how social gaming, NFTs, and M&A fit into the company's strategy.
Marketing spending in the US sports-betting industry is getting a reality check.
DraftKings, one of the top sports-betting platforms in the US by market share, reported $321.5 million in sales and marketing costs during Q1, up 40% year over year as the company expanded into new states. But it was less than analysts expected during a quarter that contained marquee betting events including the Super Bowl and March Madness.
The company told investors that changes to its marketing strategy helped DraftKings get more bang for its buck during the quarter, including shifting from local to national ad buys as its footprint grew.
It comes as competitors including Bally's, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts have pulled back on or revisited their marketing plans as spending levels became untenable across the industry.
"We are really seeing a big change," said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, speaking with Insider on the heels of the company's Q1 earnings report. "There has been a realization amongst some competition that some of the tactics being used and the spend levels were not actually going to create long-term value. They were in fact doing the opposite ... What I would describe as a less rational market, perhaps last NFL season, has quickly rationalized."
DraftKings on Friday raised its full-year forecast for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA, a measure of profitability, following better than expected Q1 results.
But the market overall has soured in recent months on DraftKings and other online sports-betting stocks, after propelling them to sky-high valuations in 2021. Shares of DraftKings are trading at around $13, down roughly 80% from their 2021 highs.
Wall Street largely shifted focus from user growth to a path to profitability, as increasing competition in sports betting fueled concerns that platforms were spending their way to the top of the US market and could see the bottom fall out beneath them.
Investors also grew concerned that inflationary pressures could curb consumer demand for sports betting — something Robins told investors on Friday he'd seen no signs of. The company ended Q1 with 2 million monthly customers, up 29% from a year ago.
"That coupled with a market backdrop where there's a natural risk-off mentality I think is really the cocktail that's affecting us in particular right now," Robins told Insider.
He added: "We have just begun to lay out what we're focusing on in terms of cost efficiency. So that is something that investors are starting to get a little bit more insight into even though those are efforts that have been underway for a little bit of time at DraftKings."
Social is one of DraftKings' top priorities this year
DraftKings is also investing in areas like social and NFTs to help keep its customer base engaged, which it thinks could reduce churn and make its customers more valuable in the long run.
Social, in particular, is big focus area for DraftKings in 2022.
It launched in April a feature that allows customers to form "betting groups," where members can share their bets. Fantasy sports players on the platform can also create betting groups with the members of their existing leagues, in an effort to cross-sell sports betting to fantasy players and allow them to wager with friends.
DraftKings said during its investor day in March that it'll be releasing more social features through the year, including integrating user-generated video.
A screenshot of an investor presentation showing some of the social features coming to DraftKings.
A team run by DraftKings' senior vice president of product Jordan Mendell is building social features that can be integrated across the company's products, including fantasy sports, sports betting, and online gaming. That's different than how other parts of the company are structured. Each group within the organization typically owns their own product and feature sets. But social is foundational, Robins said.
"This is something that does cross over everything," Robins said. "We've had good success having a small team that's been dedicated here and they've made tremendous progress and have a really exciting roadmap for the rest of the year."
DraftKings, which has been bullish on NFTs and launched a marketplace last year, is also doubling down on "utility-based NFTs" (those that offer access to perks), even as industry-wide sales of NFTs decline. It has a deal with the NFL Players Association to create NFT-based fantasy games, for example.
"Most of the people who are purchasing NFTs on our platform are people that came from other products and are using other products on our platform," Robins said. "It's a natural place to create utility. We know they're using those products, so we know if we create value for them there, it will make it more attractive."
DraftKings was also active on the M&A front in 2021, snapping up sports-wagering news network VSIN, Tel Aviv-based software firm Blue Ribbon, and Golden Nugget Online Gaming to help it expand in online casino gaming.
This year, it's focusing more on organic growth. But it's still open to dealmaking, Robins said.
"I think that there's certain types of things that could be interesting, including potentially more consolidation plays," Robins said.
More: DraftKings Sports Betting Marketing | 2022-05-09T13:36:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | DraftKings CEO Talks Marketing, Social Gaming, and NFT Strategies | https://www.businessinsider.com/draftkings-ceo-talks-marketing-social-gaming-and-nft-strategies-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/draftkings-ceo-talks-marketing-social-gaming-and-nft-strategies-2022-5 |
Ayelet Sheffey, Waiyee Yip, Grace Dean, Alina Borovitskaya, Solveig Gode, Karuna Sharma, and Hayley Hudson
Andrew Crook runs a fish-and-chips shop in northwest England. He told Insider that his monthly expenses for cooking oil alone have risen by more than £500 ($617) since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is disrupting strained global supply chains.
One commodity that has been hit is cooking oil. Together, Ukraine and Russia supply lots of it.
Below are local impacts in the US, UK, Indonesia, Germany, the Netherlands, India.
Jump to a specific country:
US | UK | Indonesia | Germany | Netherlands | India
The global cooking-oil supply is taking a hit from the war in Ukraine, and it's being felt all over the world, from Indonesian markets to fish-and-chips shops in the UK.
Russia and Ukraine collectively export close to two-thirds of the world's sunflower oil, a main ingredient in many packaged and prepared foods, which has made finding sunflower and other vegetable oils more difficult, putting more pressure on a market already strained by extreme weather and droughts.
International consumers are struggling to stock up or find replacements: Shelves in Spain are empty, consumers in India are buying in bulk, and grocery stores in the UK have limited the number of bottles people can buy.
The cooking-oil market was further rocked when Indonesia, which normally exports more palm oil than any country in the world, decided to ban sending palm oil abroad in response to shortages of edible oils at home. The ramifications aren't only global — palm oil is Indonesia's top export.
If you can find cooking oil, the price has gone up. The UN's FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the prices of five commodity groups, hit an all-time high in March, with cooking oil prices rising faster than cereals, dairy, meat, or sugar. In April, the index was down slightly from the prior month's record.
One fish-and-chips shop owner in northwest England told Insider that his monthly expenses for cooking oil alone have risen by more than £500 (or $617) since Russia invaded Ukraine.
With the world's supply under duress, the things people buy, cook, and eat in restaurants are affected. The sting is sharper for food-industry workers or lower-income groups struggling to make ends meet.
Insider reporters from around the world detailed what a shortage of cooking oil looks like on the ground in the US, UK, Indonesia, Germany, the Netherlands, and India.
Canola, also known as rapeseed, is a bright-yellow flowering crop grown primarily for its seeds, which can be processed into oil for cooking.
Ken Cedeno/Corbis/Getty Images
The US isn't heavily reliant on palm oil — it uses other types of cooking oils such as soybean oil (found in margarine, shortenings, and many other products like salad dressings) and canola, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an online platform used to predict and explain future economic growth. In fact, the US imported 4.76 MMT (million metric ton) barrels of oil per day, with canola oil dominating the imports in 2021.
Consumers are likely to see prices fluctuate overall because of climate events in other countries that could impact oil imports. For example, drought in South America has caused soybean prices to rise, leading oil prices at grocery stores to increase.
After Indonesia said it was banning palm-oil exports, prices initially jumped 7% but later eased after it was reported Indonesia was only banning bulk and packaged RBD palm olein — a more processed type of oil, typically used for industrial frying. Soybean and canola oils are more commonly used for frying in the US.
After the ban, JPMorgan researchers Tracey Allen and Ruhani Aggarwal wrote in an April note that "we see a sustained environment of elevated food prices for at least over the next 12 to 18 months, possibly longer given the duration of conflict in Ukraine."
"Extreme uncertainty and elevated prices" will continue to impact oil production and imports, they added.
The uncertainty in the palm-oil market, coupled with climate disasters such as drought in Argentina and Canada, has sent soybean prices in the US soaring — prices are predicted to increase between 8.5 and 11.5% in 2022, per the US Department of Agriculture. Argentina, Brazil, and the US are the biggest producers of soybean oil.
Canada, the world's biggest canola-oil exporter, will likely use less acreage for oilseed cultivation this year despite increased demand for the commodity, a Bloomberg survey of eight analysts found, as drought fears and high fertilizer prices have farmers shifting to wheat and soybeans.
JPMorgan's Allen and Aggarwal said the Indonesia palm-oil ban "is yet another reminder of the vulnerability across the agricultural supply chain in an environment of already tight inventories."
Sunflower-oil shelves are seen partially empty in a Tesco supermarket on May 3, 2022 in Salisbury, United Kingdom. Supermarkets are running short of cooking oil as the Ukraine war leads to shortages and surging prices.
British fish-and-chips shops are raising prices and bulk ordering supplies. Costs were already steadily increasing before Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent prices soaring. Then cooking oil, a main ingredient for chips shops, took a hit.
Andrew Crook, owner of Skippers fish-and-chips shops in Lancashire in northwest England, told Insider that the cost of sunflower oil had gone up around 50% in roughly three weeks.
Crook – who also serves as president of the National Federation of Fish Friers – said that shops, including his own, were stocking up in anticipation of continued price hikes and limited supplies.
Crook said he paid £30 per 20-litre drum of oil before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now he pays £44. In a typical week he said he uses around 10 drums, putting his overall costs at roughly £140 higher per week, or £560 per month.
With high demand pushing up the prices of other oils, some shops are instead turning to tech for solutions. Crook has a machine that helps assess if oil can be reused, and he is also looking into tablets and catalytic converters that clean oil as it fries.
"If it's gonna run out, we need to preserve the stocks we've got," Crook said.
It's not just oil that's getting more expensive. Crook said prices were going up "across the board," with the cost of fish doubling and potatoes set to soar because of rising fertilizer and fuel costs.
Jeff Cansdale, who owns Finn's Traditional Fish and Chips in Reading, which is 20 minutes by train from central London, told Insider his store had had to raise prices by 30% after rising costs squeezed its margins.
"This has a huge impact on a small business like mine," Cansdale said. "I imagine we have a very tight six to 12 months."
Crook has also put prices up and said he'd have to do this again soon. He said that the price of sunflower oil wouldn't dip significantly anytime soon because of the extent of the damage to Ukraine's infrastructure.
"I really do worry that this knock-on effect will likely last for a few years," Cansdale said.
People line up to buy packaged cooking oil at a market in Indonesia on March 9, 2022, following the shortage of cooking oil around the country.
Adriana Adie/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Prior to Indonesia's ban on palm-oil exports, the panic in surrounding cooking-oil shortages in the country had become so intense that two locals reportedly died while waiting to buy some.
In mid-March, a 41-year-old housewife named Sandra fainted while waiting under the hot sun for more than an hour for a minimart to open, according to the South China Morning Post. She suffered from asthma and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, the outlet said, citing the police.
In the same week, 49-year-old Rita Riyani fell unconscious after lining up at three different supermarkets to buy cooking oil due to a sales cap. She died after being in intensive care for two days, police told local media.
Since the start of the year, pictures of long lines and empty supermarket shelves across Indonesia have regularly made headlines as shoppers tried to hoard cooking oil amid a shortage.
Even though Indonesia is the world's largest producer of crude palm oil, the material for the cooking oil most favored by locals, the shortages there illustrate the delicate nature of global supply chains.
In March, Indonesia's former president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, questioned why home cooks could not avoid using oil in their cooking as the country faced shortages.
"Do ladies just fry their food every day? To the point that they're fighting about cooking oil?" she said during a webinar, per Al Jazeera. "Is there no way to boil or steam or make (Indonesian fruit salad) rujak?"
The demand for cooking oil remained high leading up to the holy month of Ramadan in April, when Muslims break their daily fast with feasts. The month is then followed by the religious holiday Eid al-Fitr in May, when there is an increased demand for cooking oil to make fried treats.
German currywurst, a frankfurter with curry sauce, is often served with french fries, which rely on cooking oil to produce.
Jörg Carstensen/picture alliance/Getty Images
German restaurants also are struggling with higher cooking-oil prices. In April, the famous pub Gaffel am Dom in Cologne said it would take french fries off its menu due to a sunflower-oil shortage.
A supplier stepped in with an alternative: beef tallow, or rendered beef fat, which gives Belgian fries their famous flavor. (Lard is rendered pork fat.) The dish stayed, but the new Belgian-style fries were no longer vegetarian.
A spokeswoman for McDonald's Germany said the company will reduce the amount of sunflower oil in the oil blend it uses for frying. The company told Insider in March that McDonald's customers can still get fries "in the usual quality."
Meanwhile, bottles of sunflower oil have been out of stock for weeks in German supermarkets.
Rapeseed oil, which can stand in for sunflower oil, is also hard to find locally, a spokesperson for the Association of Oilseed Processing Industries (Ovid) said.
Germany has 1 million hectares for growing rapeseed, but the problem persists. Contributing factors include individual hoarding of cooking oil and fewer Ukrainian truck drivers staffing the logistics companies that get the bottles to store shelves, according to Ovid.
An oliebollen (Dutch beignet) stall in Amsterdam.
Remko De Waal/Getty Images
The Netherlands is the largest importer of Ukrainian sunflower oil in the European Union, importing about 600 million euros worth last year.
The sunflower-oil shortage has hit many Dutch snack bars and cafés that sell fries and popular fried snacks, such as croquettes, which are typically fried in an oil blend that's mostly sunflower oil.
Mark Kok, a product manager at snack producer Oma Bobs, says that mix has changed — in makeup and in price.
"Because sunflower oil comes from Ukraine it is difficult to get and if you can get your hands on it, it is very expensive. Rapeseed oil is a decent alternative," Kok said.
Mustafa Elnali, owner of snackbar the Twins in Amsterdam, says that he now pays 26 euro per 10 liters of frying oil, up from about 15 euro per 10 liters before Russia invaded Ukraine. The price increase costs him more than 100 euros extra each week. He also saw his gas bill almost double since the start of the war.
As a result, he needs to raise prices. He is eyeing a 30-cent raise, to 2.60 euros, at a time when the cost of a croquette is already 13% more expensive than a year ago.
"There is a shortage of everything and everything is more expensive. Fats for the croquette rose 100% in price, meat is 40% more expensive, and packaging costs 60% more. That is why we have to raise prices," Kok said.
Potatoes cook in oil in Rajasthan, India.
Anders Blomqvist/Getty Images
In India, high edible-oil prices are impacting all citizens, and low-income households bear the brunt of it. They are spending a big chunk of their incomes on essential items, especially on edible oils, whose prices have increased by 50 to 70% above pre-COVID levels.
A survey conducted by a community social-media platform, LocalsCircle, found that 24% of Indian households have cut their oil consumption, while 67% are paying more for it by reducing spending and savings.
A Mumbai-based woman told Reuters that when her WhatsApp group alerted her to potential shortages, she bought double her usual monthly supply of cooking oil.
The rise in prices of edible oil is forcing some poor and middle-class families to opt for cheaper and low-quality oils, which could lead to health risks.
Some Indian street-food purveyors are steaming their food instead of frying to cut back on palm oil, according to a Bloomberg report.
More: UK Ukraine Business Insider Germany Business Insider Nederland
food prices rising | 2022-05-09T14:07:38Z | www.businessinsider.com | How 6 Countries Are Handling the Cooking-Oil Shortage | https://www.businessinsider.com/cooking-oil-shortage-ukraine-war-us-uk-indonesia-germany-netherlands-india-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/cooking-oil-shortage-ukraine-war-us-uk-indonesia-germany-netherlands-india-2022-5 |
Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark (right), a Democrat from Massachusetts, violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012. She and her husband have since stopped trading individual stocks, according to congressional disclosures.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty
Rep. Katherine Clark is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the US House.
Clark last year violated the STOCK Act by improperly disclosing her husband's stock trades.
Since then, the couple has quit trading stocks as Congress debates whether to ban lawmakers from stock trading altogether.
Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark has quietly stopped trading stocks in the months since she violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a federal financial conflicts-of-interest and transparency law.
Federal records indicate that Clark — a Massachusetts Democrat and potential successor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader — last disclosed stock trades in September 2021.
Those trades involved Clark's husband, Rodney Dowell, dumping more than two-dozen stocks, including shares in Microsoft, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Visa and Google parent Alphabet. The sales came three weeks after Insider reported Clark failed to properly disclose earlier stocks trades by Dowell worth as much as $285,000.
Since then, Clark and Dowell, who had previously traded stocks regularly, have strictly invested their money in US Treasury notes, purchasing between $450,000 to $1 million worth of the conservative, fixed-income securities, according to congressional filings.
The most recent personal financial transaction for Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark and her husband: the purchase of US Treasury notes worth up to $250,000. Once frequent stock traders, they've reported making no stock trades since September 2021.
The change in the couple's investment habits also coincide with an pitched debate on Capitol Hill over whether to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks at all. The Committee on House Administration conducted a public hearing on the matter in April, and lawmakers are actively working to consolidate several bills into one legislative proposal fit for a vote.
Insider's "Conflicted Congress" project, first published in December, has revealed at least 60 members of Congress and 182 high-ranking congressional staffers who have violated the STOCK Act, and dozens of members personally invest in stocks that conflict with their duties as elected officials.
Clark's office declined to answer specific questions from Insider about the 5-term congresswoman's stock investments and whether she supports a congressional stock trade ban for lawmakers and their spouses.
"Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark continues to make every effort to fully and transparently comply with all financial disclosure requirements of members of Congress," Clark spokesperson Elana Ross wrote in a statement to Insider.
Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey outside the Capitol on October 21, 2021.
Changing stock-trading behavior
Clark isn't the only member of Congress to voluntarily change his or her investment behavior since December.
Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, said he and his wife would stop trading individual stocks after a long history of doing so.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey and one of Congress' more active stock traders, announced that he would place his stock assets in a "qualified blind trust" — a formal arrangement, requiring congressional approval, in which a lawmaker officially transfers management of their financial assets to an independent trustee.
Congressional guidance suggests the trusts provide the "most comprehensive approach" to avoiding "potential conflicts of interest or the appearance of such conflicts, although they can be costly and time-consuming to establish. As of Monday, Gottheimer's blind trust had not been formally established, according to congressional records.
Just over half of members of Congress (55%) did not report owning or trading individual stocks in their 2020 annual disclosures, according to an Insider analysis of federal disclosures.
Some opted for broad-based investments such as mutual funds, or conservative holdings like government bonds. A few even said they kept their cash in old-fashioned savings accounts.
But many other lawmakers are active individual stock traders, with some members of Congress or their spouses making dozens, even hundreds of stock trades each year, congressional records indicate.
More: Congress katherine clark Stock Act Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act
elana ross
Rodney Dowell | 2022-05-09T14:07:50Z | www.businessinsider.com | Top House Democrat Katherine Clark Has Quietly Stopped Trading Stocks | https://www.businessinsider.com/katherine-clark-house-stock-trading-democrat-massachusetts-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/katherine-clark-house-stock-trading-democrat-massachusetts-2022-5 |
Keir Starmer may vow to resign if fined as he looks to fight back over 'beergate' criticism
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has cancelled several events amid brewing "beergate" pressure
Keir Starmer may vow to resign if he is fined for breaching COVID rules over 'beergate'.
The Labour leader has pulled out of several events he was due to attend today, ahead of an expected statement.
Starmer has come under intense pressure after Durham Police opened an investigation into the event.
Keir Starmer may vow to resign if he is fined for breaching lockdown rules, as the Labour leader looks to regain his footing amid a brewing row over so-called "beergate."
Starmer has pulled out of a series of events he was scheduled to attend on Monday, including an address ahead of the Queen's Speech later this week and a memorial service for the late minister James Brokenshire.
Labour sources confirmed that Starmer was planning to make a statement on his future at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, as first reported in The Times.
The Labour team has been war-gaming the best next steps, which includes pledging to resign if he is fined.
While a gamble, such an approach would put him at odds with Boris Johnson, who has refused to resign repeatedly, even after he received a fine, despite a backlash from his own party.
Durham Police announced Friday that it had opened an investigation into an event at which Starmer attended in 2021.
The Labour leader joined his team for a curry and drank beer in an office in May 2021 during the campaign for the Hartlepool by-election.
Labour has said Starmer was working, and have insisted that no rules were broken, with shadow minister Lisa Nandy calling her boss "Mr Rules".
But Conservatives have accused him of hypocrisy after Starmer said Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, should resign for their involvement in partygate.
More: News UK Keir Starmer Partygate Boris Johnson | 2022-05-09T14:24:34Z | www.businessinsider.com | Keir Starmer May Vow to Resign If Fined for 'Beergate' | https://www.businessinsider.com/keir-starmer-may-vow-to-resign-if-fined-for-beergate-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/keir-starmer-may-vow-to-resign-if-fined-for-beergate-2022-5 |
Vladimir Putin laid flowers on memorials for veterans in two Ukrainian cities as his forces bombed those cities.
Air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv and Odesa was struck by missiles at the time of the Victory Day Parade in Moscow.
Ukrainians were unhappy with the showing, with one lawyer calling the display "rotten."
Russian President Vladimir Putin laid flowers on memorials commemorating Ukrainian veterans in two cities as Russian forces bombed those cities, the BBC reported.
As a part of the Victory Day parade in Moscow Monday, Putin placed flowers on memorials for Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv and Odesa.
Meanwhile, Russian forces were bombing the cities at the same time. The BBC reported Odesa was struck by at least four missiles that were fired from Crimea.
Russian forces continued to shell towns in the northern Donbas region as well, the BBC reported, and there was an air alarm in Kyiv at the time Putin was laying the flowers, Larysa Denysenko, a Ukrainian lawyer wrote on Facebook.
Denysenko described the move as "rotten" in her Facebook post with other critics echoing her sentiments.
One woman said "firstly he bombs these cities with missiles, then puts flowers."
Another said the red flowers were an "appropriate color for the amount of blood he's spilled."
"He bombs Kyiv and Odesa and then goes to put flowers on those cities," Ukrainian tennis player Alex Dolgopolov said on Twitter.
One woman said Putin had a "high level of cynicism" for laying flowers at the memorial of cities he is currently bombing. | 2022-05-09T15:08:14Z | www.businessinsider.com | Putin Laid Flowers Commemorating Ukrainian Vets As Forces Bombed Them | https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-laid-flowers-commemorating-ukrainian-vets-as-forces-bombed-them-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-laid-flowers-commemorating-ukrainian-vets-as-forces-bombed-them-2022-5 |
A.T Bianco
Chemical dipping from 3S Chemicals is a paint and rust removal option for cars.
Dryce Nation specializes in dry-ice cleaning and restoration using cold compressed air.
Dustless blasting and microfiber buffing preserve the quality of material on a car.
Narrator: Cleaning and restoring a car often includes much more than just scrubbing it with soap and water. Chemical dipping is an efficient way of cleaning old paint and rust off of a vehicle to begin the restoration process. Trevor Malloy from 3S Chemicals specializes in alkaline paint stripping for people who are looking to restore their classic ride.
Each customer starts off by completely disassembling the vehicle before bringing it to the shop. The frame of the car is then dipped into a large chemical bath, where it sits for a day. It is removed every other day and pressure washed. This process is repeated until all the paint is removed.
Because most vehicles have multiple coats of primer and old paint, it's important to thoroughly pressure wash the frame until it is down to the original metal. Once all the paint is stripped, the frame is put in an acid bath to focus on the years of rust that have accumulated. The car is pulled out of the acid bath every other day. To neutralize the acid, vehicles are dipped into an alkaline bath, so there is no further rusting from the acid.
The frame is pressure-washed a second time to rinse excess rust and dirt. Then it's bathed in a water-based rust inhibitor, which stops further rusting until the car is ready to be painted. 3S says that each chemical used is environmentally friendly, and the process takes four to five weeks depending on the amount of rust and paint.
A unique way of cleaning a vehicle with little to no cleanup is dry-ice cleaning. Dryce Nation specializes in dry-ice cleaning and restoration to clean places water normally can't reach. Technicians use a compressed-air system that is connected to a hose which sprays out dry ice.
Before starting, they check the pressure, pounds per minute, and the size of dry ice particles. The ability to adjust the particle size allows them to restore both delicate parts and bigger parts. First, they load the machine with dry ice, then remove the wheels from the vehicle, as they try to clean the dirtiest area first. They clean the inside of the wheel pocket along with the wheel, removing tar and adhesion with the dry ice.
Because of the extreme cold of the dry ice and the high pressure, the spray gun is always moving to keep from damaging the structure of a car part. Spraying in a circular motion prevents hard lines and provides the most control. They finish the job with a good amount of hand work and fine-detail dry-ice cleaning.
Dustless blasting is a satisfying and efficient way to prepare a vehicle for restoration.
Water and an abrasive such as recycled glass, silicas, or coal slag are used to clean a vehicle. The water keeps the metal cool, which prevents warping, and washes abrasives and paint to the ground.
This is what makes it an efficient way of cleaning, because dust and dirt all land in one place. It can cut through vinyl, primer, and paint all at once.
Restoring paint is often achieved by buffing out imperfections. In preparation for the new coat, a microfiber cutting pad with a compound poured on its surface swiftly removes any excess dirt or paint from the car's previous wash. This is called microfiber buffing.
Think of the car's surface as skin, and the dirt on its surface as blackheads - the microfiber pad acts as an exfoliant to remove the dirt embedded in the surface. A light coat of antimicrobial coating is also applied to add a protective primer to the coat of paint.
This type of buffing is also used for its fast vibration mechanism, which actually shakes excess dirt from car crevices. It's even used to restore the UV protection on headlights. If you've looked at your headlights and have seen the plastic covering faded from sunlight, the same microfiber pad and compound can be applied to the foggy headlight to remove all the decayed material. With a new coat of sealant, microfiber buffing can revive your headlights, too. | 2022-05-09T15:38:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | 4 Satisfying Ways to Restore and Repair a Car Body | https://www.businessinsider.com/4-satisfying-ways-to-restore-and-repair-car-body-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/4-satisfying-ways-to-restore-and-repair-car-body-2022-5 |
From 'virtual idol managers' to 'NFT curators,' get ready for these 8 Web3 marketing jobs of the future, according to the CEO of one of the world's largest crypto exchanges
Johnny Lyu, CEO at KuCoin, predicts the advent of Web3 will spawn new marketing job titles and roles.
Web3 offers marketers new ways to engage with consumers, from NFTs to DAOs.
Johnny Lyu, CEO of crypto exchange KuCoin, said Web3 will spawn new marketing job titles and roles.
Among them, he cited NFT curators and ad blocking specialists.
From NFTs to crypto, to DAOs and mixed reality headsets, the race to build the metaverse, an all-encompassing virtual world, is drawing interest from companies and talent of all kinds.
Web3 purists might balk at the idea of brands and ads playing an important role in the metaverse. But the reality is that the presence of established brands' can help validate the space and attract more users, as Spencer Gordon, vice president of digital and draftLine at Anheuser-Busch InBev, told Insider in a webinar in February.
Research firm Gartner predicts that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least an hour per day in the metaverse, for work, shopping, education, and entertainment.
People with marketing backgrounds are likely to play an important role in shaping people's virtual experiences – even if they might not be working for large corporations, but rather for decentralized autonomous organizations or non-fungible token projects.
Insider spoke with Johnny Lyu, CEO at KuCoin, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, who shared the marketing job titles and responsibilities he foresees being created in the coming years with the advent of Web3.
Marketers will have to learn to tell 3D stories
Many well-known brands have launched NFTs in the past year, and Lyu said he foresees a dedicated role growing out of brands' need to maintain a successful NFT strategy. NFT curators will be responsible for helping brands translate their products into NFTs and support their sales and advertising," he said.
While some metaverse users might be content with a JPEG as a profile picture, others will want fully built avatars in the virtual world. That's why Lyu envisions avatar creators emerging as a new job title. These will be designers tasked with creating unique and bespoke avatars to suit the virtual personalities of their clientele, he said.
"Later, this component will be partially or completely automated, however, we might still rely on avatar creators for a more elite kind of service," he added.
As email lists and newsletters start to be replaced by their visual and audible counterparts, advertising will become more creatively targeted, said Lyu.
"Instead of writing a wordy email to your target market, you could use holograms to show customers how to do something in the metaverse," he said, adding that this could be performed by 3D advertising managers – those engaged in creating content, drawing on skills required by both designers and marketers.
Influencer marketing will adapt as well, said Lyu. While he acknowledged that the current technology has its limitations, he believes that in the future the psychological and physical characteristics of virtual idols will be more realistic. Virtual idol managers will help with image-making and community outreach, he said.
Wendy's metaverse.
But in order to make the overarching vision of an immersive metaverse a reality, experts believe brands will have to draw users in through stories. This is where metaverse storytellers could come in, according to Lyu "They will create scenarios that enable user interaction within the virtual world, and will also create new products and modes of entertainment — for example, quests or events able to fulfill even the wildest of childhood fantasies," he said.
Brands will have to integrate into communities
Web2 companies on platforms like Facebook and Twitter aggregated users around a company-owned social media account. Lyu said that Web3's focus on communities means social media managers could morph into community builders, who will help companies transfer their audience of Web2 followers to Web3 communities.
Public relations executives might find themselves managing the outward-facing image of these online communities, which often take the shape of DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations. Lyu said he sees reputation managers as individuals who will help maintain a DAO's trustworthiness, while facilitating collaboration and setting up reward systems for its members.
Some advertising professionals might find themselves fending off unwanted advertisements created by rival brands' 3D advertising managers and metaverse storytellers. "We might encounter a situation reminiscent of a scene from Blade Runner 2049, where a character in the movie walks in and is overwhelmed by dozens of avatars and holograms offering ads. Therefore, an ad blocking specialist or an ad moderator will also be in demand," said Lyu.
The traditional career path might be reimagined completely
Lyu acknowledged that as part of the transition to a more virtual world, the very concept of a profession might be disrupted. He said the emergence of young, anonymous creatives might one day replace career-minded creative professionals who seek to build a reputation for themselves at established companies.
"Perhaps a teenager responsible for a world-class NFT collection will become more popular than Gucci or Prada fashion designers. Because of this, success won't be the product of a long and linear trajectory anymore," he said.
Dolce & Gabbana's 'Dress From a Dream: Gold' NFT sold for 225.5 ETH, or just under $1 million at time of auction in 2021.
UNXD
But not all crypto executives think new job titles will emerge from the transition to Web3.
Igneus Terrenus, head of communications for crypto exchange Bybit, told Insider via email that the disruption for marketers will likely manifest itself in a job's responsibilities instead.
He said a community manager may be arranging mixed-reality treasure hunts, while a branding lead may be giving fashion advice for metaverse wearables. A social media specialist may instead serve as a bouncer for exclusive virtual events where access is given through NFTs, while a project manager at a DAO-led art collective may be managing dynamites and detonators for an NFT project where a Lamborghini gets blown into pieces.
"Job titles themselves won't necessarily be remarkably different. But the tasks Web3 professionals are called upon to perform will be project-based, dynamic, and manifold," said Terrenus.
More: Marketing Web3 crypto
Virtual influencers | 2022-05-09T15:55:55Z | www.businessinsider.com | Crypto CEO Shares the 8 Web3 Marketing Jobs of the Future | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-ceo-8-web3-marketing-jobs-nft-curators-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-ceo-8-web3-marketing-jobs-nft-curators-2022-5 |
Inside Shopify's pay crisis: How a falling stock price, employee uproar, and the Great Resignation forced the company to overhaul its compensation
Tobi Lütke, Shopify's CEO.
Lucas Jackson/Reuters; Shopify; IStock Photo; Vicky Leta/Insider
Shopify has found itself in a challenging position when it comes to employee compensation.
It has relied on restricted stock units to compensate workers, but its stock has fallen drastically.
Shopify is one of many tech companies fighting to retain workers in a hot market.
Shopify seems to have found itself on the losing end of the talent wars.
Stock-heavy compensation and an emphasis on the priceless experience of working with revered tech talent like the company's founder and CEO, Tobi Lütke, were typically part of Shopify's compensation package. But those benefits may no longer be cutting it as employees assess the talent market and the company's decreasing stock price.
Inside the company, executives are attempting to calm nervous employees sounding off about what some believe is a talent exodus.
Now Shopify is overhauling its compensation structure as tech companies fight to retain employees.
Shopify representatives did not return Insider's request for comment for this article.
'We are in the midst of a massive correction'
Under Shopify's new compensation plan, employees across departments will get a raise along with the ability to determine how much of their total compensation comes in cash and how much is stock.
The internal announcement came after blowback from employees. Some said they had grown uneasy about their compensation packages as Shopify's stock price fell — it's down by more than 65% from its high of $1,762 last fall. Shopify employees are granted restricted stock units, or RSUs, when they join the company, in addition to their base salaries, so the stock's decline directly affects their all-in compensation.
Shopify had set an ambitious goal to hire for 2,021 technical roles in 2021. It's unclear whether it hit that goal.
Shopify isn't the only tech company to face challenges due to a struggling stock price. DoorDash recently laid out a plan to offer more equity to some employees on a quicker vesting schedule. At Netflix , which offers its employees stock options instead of RSUs, employees have pushed for additional grants as the streaming company's stock price has plummeted.
Len Sherman, a professor at Columbia Business School, said it's a sign of the times.
"We've just come through an era where company valuations are heavily driven by growth at all costs," Sherman told Insider. "That drove valuations to unprecedented levels towards the end of 2021."
As companies fight to retain talent amid the Great Resignation, finding a solution has become more important.
"I'm not sure there's ever a perfect solution, but we are in the midst of a massive correction, and it's painful for everybody — it's painful for investors and employees," Sherman said.
'It's the hottest talent market we've ever experienced'
Shopify's business greatly benefited from pandemic lockdowns as e-commerce sales exploded and many businesses used its software to sell online for the first time. Shopify's stock soared accordingly.
But that growth has normalized. In April, Shopify proposed a 10-for-1 stock split, but the effort to win over investors hasn't quite paid off.
The plummeting stock price has caused some frustration among employees, particularly those who joined Shopify in 2021, when the stock's strike price was much higher.
"Shopify has always been known to pay less, especially in base salary, but it'd somewhat be compensated with the RSUs," one current employee told Insider in March. "But it's not the case anymore."
Lütke downplayed Shopify's retention issues during the company's earnings call last week and said the Great Resignation had been "largely misreported."
"There has been a big shuffle in the industry as people are making different life choices or just maybe look to find something new. But we are not really seeing this," he said. "The company is bringing in incredibly high-talented people."
Lütke added that he thinks Shopify does a good job of providing challenges and a strong mission for employees to follow.
"Most people tend to understand that the stock price is a sort of snapshot in time," he added.
Insiders said tweets from Lütke that appeared to minimize the importance of Shopify's stock price also upset some employees.
—tobi lutke (@tobi) March 23, 2022
A recent report from The Information proved especially contentious among employees. In the report, which said low base salaries were causing some employees to leave, Shopify's vice president of revenue, Mark Bergen, was quoted as saying the company did not intend to be a top-paying employer. A post sharing the report in Shopify's internal Slack prompted 300 responses before it was closed down to further replies, according to screenshots that Insider viewed.
"It's the hottest talent market we've ever experienced, so that means all companies, including us have to be on our toes," Farhan Thawar, a vice president of engineering at Shopify, wrote in an internal message responding to employee discussion about stock and compensation in March. "Stock price is volatile, not just ours. This causes day-to-day concern for folks. Esp folks who joined last year with high-strike price."
Shopify employees are eagerly awaiting more details on the changes, which the company had said would arrive in the coming weeks. The new compensation framework is set to go into effect in July.
Shopify has also hired a new chief talent officer, Tia Silas, who began on April 18. The position had been vacant since Brittany Forsyth, who joined Shopify as its 22nd employee in 2010, left in May 2021.
'In Canada, that success story is less common'
Sean Huynh, the CEO of the Canadian technical-recruiting firm DevTalent, described Shopify, whose headquarters are in Ottawa, as still an incredibly appealing company for Canadian tech workers to join, on par with American companies like Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google.
He said that in his experience, Canadian tech workers tend to have different expectations around compensation than their American counterparts.
"We see Silicon Valley engineers sometimes willing to take all stock, no cash," Huynh said. "We rarely will hear that in Canada."
Huynh said the difference in perspective could come down to the fact that companies like Google, Meta, and Apple were born in and found success in Silicon Valley.
"You hear the success stories of people becoming multimillionaires," he said, adding that "if you lived that already," you might be more willing to take on the risk of more stock-heavy compensation. He said that "in Canada, that success story is less common," which could explain why Shopify's Canadian tech workers would be leerier of such compensation.
Shopify is the biggest tech success story in Canada, at least since Research In Motion, later known as BlackBerry, went public in 1997.
But the Canadian tech scene is heating up. Companies like Wealthsimple, 1Password, and Clearco are following in Shopify's footsteps as they raise hundreds of millions in funding at high valuations. Wealthsimple, which can offer higher salaries than Shopify, has attracted several former Shopify employees. At least 40 employees have left Shopify for Wealthsimple, according to interviews with former employees and a talent recruiter, as well as an Insider review of LinkedIn profiles.
'I can't imagine a better time' to 'poach the best employees'
Tech companies with struggling stock prices must also contend with the Great Resignation. More than 47 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021, and many are seeking higher pay and better working conditions.
Thawar alluded to this dynamic in the internal Slack messages Insider viewed.
"It's very hard to focus if you or your team is being targeted by recruiters, we get that," he said. "But let's try."
Other companies are also taking drastic measures to ensure they remain competitive. Instacart, for example, recently cut its valuation to be able to issue future stock grants at a lower price and make its overall equity packages more appealing to job candidates. Instacart is private but has discussed an initial public offering.
A recent global survey of 181 companies by Global Equity Organization found that 25% of North American companies said they planned to issue more shares as incentives to employees in the future.
This kind of move is "obviously directed at trying to, if not win the war for talent, just keep your head above water and avoid stampedes for the exits," Sherman, the Columbia Business School professor, said. "The problem is that the best people in any organization always tend to have the best employment options."
He continued: "I can't imagine a better time, if you are trying to poach the best employees, to go after companies whose stock has plummeted."
More: Retail Shopify Compensation | 2022-05-09T15:56:13Z | www.businessinsider.com | Shopify Fights to Retain Tech Talent With Pay Overhaul | https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-fights-to-retain-tech-talent-with-pay-overhaul-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-fights-to-retain-tech-talent-with-pay-overhaul-2022-5 |
I'm the 25-year-old cofounder of a toy company that made $30 million in revenue last year. Here's how I got my start.
Austin Long.
Courtesy of Austin Long
Austin Long cofounded Youtooz, a toy company that builds products around internet culture, in 2019.
He never went to college and now runs a team of more than 50.
Here's how he works with brands like Paramount and NBCUniversal, as told to writer Robin Madell.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Austin Long, the 25-year-old cofounder of internet-culture toy company, Youtooz, which is based in Miami. Insider has verified his business' sales revenue with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I cofounded Youtooz in 2019, and it made more than $30 million in sales revenue in 2021. The company has also grown its online following in two years to nearly 3 million on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit and collaborated with large entertainment companies like Paramount Global and NBCUniversal.
Before Youtooz, collectibles were either novelty mass-market toys or high-end designer figures, and neither had been applied well to internet personalities or moments. I saw an opportunity to blend the two into a premium designer collectible and focused on distributing it directly to consumers instead of through traditional retail channels. This allowed Youtooz to not only create real, physical internet products but also give creators a revenue stream for their accredited ideas.
We've found that creators know their audiences the best, and as we learn about their communities and favorite moments, the design process becomes a very fun, collaborative experience. Most recently we've worked with influencers like MrBeast, Hot Ones' Sean Evans, and Beeple.
I started my first 'business' when I was around 13 years old
I was originally making my own YouTube videos, but that eventually evolved into managing channels for my online friends. After seeing the demand for this kind of service, I started a talent-managing business called SquareOne. I worked with top YouTube gaming personalities and content creators, providing technical support, branding and marketing services, and guidance to optimize revenue and channel growth.
During this time, I was pretty fortunate that my school had a career technical center, a vocational program that taught trades to students, and I opted to go through its business program. This was a really crucial piece of my journey, as it allowed me to focus on my first business and still receive my diploma.
During my senior year of high school, SquareOne was acquired by Omnia Media. Once my company was acquired, I was able to use the experience I gained to take on a leadership role at Omnia Media. At age 17, I moved from New Hampshire to Los Angeles.
I never went to college. After my time at Omnia Media, I decided to begin my next venture, creating Youtooz.
I'd always been interested in internet culture, talent, and its intersection with products, so this company became a natural extension of working with great talent, but also solved a need in the market.
We started with a small seed round from a few angel investors and VCs, including Ludlow Ventures. Since then, we've self-funded our growth.
When we started in 2019, our team was only a few people. Our brand director, Kyle, handled all of the design and 3D modeling before we started to scale up a more proper art team. Today, our team consists of more than 50 people across design, manufacturing, marketing, engineering, and support.
We soft launched with our first Youtooz figure, Dead Meme, in April 2019
In those first few months, we released about 50 figures and stayed super-focused on operations, product, and hiring the best talent. We focused on building out our customer-service process and creating a playbook to scale our design team.
We made 10 hires within 90 days of launching, including our head of support operations, Dave, who formerly worked on player and community support at Supercell. We also developed our design academy, which is a two-week onboarding course that all new artists joining Youtooz go through to learn our style and how it will apply to their roles. It was important to us to really build out the Youtooz playbook before we started to expand, and we attribute a lot of our success to that strategy.
By 2020, we'd launched 200 different figures, and by 2021, that number grew to just under 400.
When we identify a meme or character we want to collaborate on, we approach the creator
We come to them with ideas and artwork that capture what people love about them — an emotion, a moment in time, a scene.
A lot of the time this can end up being an image that's gone viral across social media and taken on a meaning of its own. Some examples of this are the SpongeBob heading out and angry Arthur figures, both modeled after a scene made famous by an all-time-classic internet meme.
When we see a cultural or trending moment that we know our community would love or is asking for, we begin the process by reaching out to the license IP. In the case of SpongeBob SquarePants, that was ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global).
We first met with Viacom's VP of global toy and collectible licensing in early 2020
It took us a few months to negotiate terms and get buy-in toward our vision.
Once we have a few conversations with the license IP and get them onboard, we'll begin to work with their team — usually members of their internal consumer products team — to bring the concept to life. In its final steps, the design is turned into a 3D model that's reviewed and approved, along with the packaging. But the process begins with us designing artwork for approval, which can sometimes take a full year to nail down between all parties (including the original creator).
We have more than 20 professionally trained artists in North America, ranging from concept artists to packaging illustrators to 3D modelers. All of our art team is full time, and mostly based in Vancouver, Canada. We mostly find our team through referrals and online job postings.
We make it a point to actively listen to what our community wants
We've done everything from creating figures of members of the community (such as this figure for the No. 1 Youtooz collector, Brxcks) to hosting art competitions where the winning designs were brought to life as official Youtooz.
We've also changed figures after announcing them based on feedback, such as on the BadBoyHalo Youtooz. Our community told us they wanted the facial expression changed, so the creator hosted a poll — the most-voted-on option became the mass-produced version of the figure.
I think if you ask any kid what their dream job is, designing toys would be at the top of the list. It's amazing living my dream, working with an incredible team, and getting to create products people truly love.
More: toy Retail NBCUniversal Paramount
job diary | 2022-05-09T16:40:48Z | www.businessinsider.com | How I Started a Toy Company That Made $30 Million by the Time I Was 25 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-started-toy-company-youtooz-made-30-million-revenue-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-started-toy-company-youtooz-made-30-million-revenue-2022-5 |
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Robin Marty, the communications director for the West Alabama Women's Center and author of the 2019 book "Handbook for a Post-Roe America." It has been edited for length and clarity.
After news broke that the Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that enshrined the right to abortion, people across the country began to consider the true reality of a post-Roe America.
With the pandemic, many states decided that abortion wasn't a "mandatory and necessary medical procedure" and closed clinics in the spring of 2020. This simulated a post-Roe world, and advocates jumped into action and helped spread the word about Aid Access, an initiative started by Dutch physician Rebecca Gomperts that delivers abortion pills through the mail.
It's a worry that a person could order abortion pills while their data isn't protected, and authorities be able to access that information. I also want people to know that while abortion pills are safe, accessing them can be illegal in some states. Some states have criminal penalties like fines and prison time. (Abortion pills also expire, so check the packaging.)
With that in mind, I urge people to protect their data ahead of time. If you're using a period-tracking app, you should delete it and use Euki, which doesn't upload your data and is completely private. You can even guard access to the app with a password pin.
Abortion support groups have been infiltrated by anti-abortion activists, and there's the worry the information could be used against the people looking for support.
If a person ever has a pregnancy complication like miscarriage or self-performed abortion and police or medical professionals are asking questions, there's help out there. One organization, If When How, has a reproductive health legal help that you can contact for advice or a lawyer.
More: Roe v Wade Roe v Wade leak Abortion Abortion Ban | 2022-05-09T16:40:54Z | www.businessinsider.com | I Wrote a Book for Navigating Post-Roe America. Here's How. | https://www.businessinsider.com/i-wrote-a-book-navigating-post-roe-america-heres-how-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/i-wrote-a-book-navigating-post-roe-america-heres-how-2022-5 |
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at her weekly press conference on April 29, 2022.
Pelosi warned colleagues that Republicans will 'criminalize abortion nationwide' if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
A leaked draft opinion revealed that the court is poised to revoke abortion rights next month.
Mitch McConnell has said a federal abortion ban is 'possible' if Republicans regain the Senate majority.
In a letter addressed to colleagues on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned that Republicans could outlaw abortion nationwide and revoke other rights if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court next month.
Her remarks come on the heels of the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overrule Roe and revoke the constitutional right to abortion. Politico reported that a majority of the justices — all conservatives — voted in favor of the opinion, though no final ruling is expected until June.
"If handed down, this decision by GOP-appointed Justices would mean that, for the first time in our history, America's daughters will have less freedom than their mothers," wrote Pelosi.
The five justices who voted for the opinion include three appointed by President Donald Trump: Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch.
"Republicans have made clear that their goal will be to seek to criminalize abortion nationwide," she wrote, adding that Republicans at the state level are advancing "extreme" measures like "seeking to arrest doctors for offering reproductive care, ban abortion entirely with no exceptions, and even charge women with murder who exercise their right to choose."
Over the weekend, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said a national abortion ban would be "possible" under a Republican majority in the Senate.
"If the leaked opinion became the final opinion, legislative bodies — not only at the state level but at the federal level — certainly could legislate in that area," said the Kentucky Republican. "And if this were the final decision, that was the point that it should be resolved one way or another in the legislative process. So yeah, it's possible."
Republican senators and anti-abortion activists are planning to push federal legislation that would ban abortion after six weeks, The Washington Post reported last week. The president of Susan B. Anthony List, a leading anti-abortion group, told The Post that the group has received assurances from several potential 2024 GOP presidential candidates that they would campaign on a national abortion ban.
Republicans have also already enacted a range of anti-abortion measures in states across the country, and abortion would quickly be criminalized in several states if the 1973 precedent is overturned by the court next month.
In response to the leaked draft opinion, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer scheduled a vote for Wednesday on the Women's Health Protection Act, which would write abortion protections into federal law in order to head off any decision by the high court. But while the House passed that same bill in September, the vote is expected to fail in the Senate due to opposition from Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Pelosi also argued that Republicans will "take aim at additional basic human rights" if the court overturns abortion protections, given the ruling's implications for privacy rights.
Some legal experts warn that the legal language contained in the draft opinion could imperil other rights like same-sex marriage and the right to use contraceptives, though others disagree.
Insider asked nearly a dozen Republican senators last week if they believe same-sex marriage could be overturned by the conservative-dominated court. Some said they believe the matter is "settled law," while others declined to "wade into" the debate at all.
More: Congress Nancy Pelosi House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Abortion | 2022-05-09T16:41:06Z | www.businessinsider.com | Pelosi: Republicans Will 'Criminalize Abortion Nationwide' Without Roe | https://www.businessinsider.com/nancy-pelosi-republicans-criminalize-abortion-nationwide-roe-v-wade-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/nancy-pelosi-republicans-criminalize-abortion-nationwide-roe-v-wade-2022-5 |
Cryptos are getting killed right now, but the investment chief at a digital asset firm still believes in these 5 altcoins — and shares the ideal percentage of your portfolio that should be in virtual tokens
Cryptocurrencies have had a rough year so far, but Ben McMillan of IDX Digital Assets thinks a rally in the back half of the year is possible.
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Cryptos and growth stocks have gotten wiped out in 2022 as growth slows and interest rates rise.
But Ben McMillan of IDX Digital Assets believes a turnaround is possible as the year progresses.
Here are five altcoins that McMillan likes — and what percentage of a portfolio should be in crypto.
Cryptocurrencies tend to perform like growth stocks, and the correlation between the two has never been tighter, according to Ben McMillan, the chief investment officer at IDX Digital Assets.
When high-risk stocks rise, like they did for much of last year, cryptocurrencies explode in value. In 2021, bitcoin and ethereum rose about 60% and 400%, respectively, which outpaced the tech-oriented Nasdaq Composite's 21% return.
But when risk assets sell off in droves, as has been the case in 2022, cryptos get crushed. The Nasdaq has fallen 25% this year as economic growth slows, inflation spikes, and interest rates rise, though bitcoin (down 31.5% year-to-date) and ethereum (down 36.2% year-to-date) have been hit even harder. Worse yet, there are few signs that what's been a catastrophic year for cryptos will reverse anytime soon.
Less-experienced crypto investors may be second-guessing their decision to dive into digital assets, but McMillan doesn't think they should jump ship now — assuming they can stomach the wild twists and turns that the market is destined to bring this year.
"The bull case is still very strong going forward," McMillan told Insider in a recent interview. "But in the context of that volatility , we say the exact same thing: You've got to be very mindful about the risk you're underwriting."
McMillan doesn't have formal price targets for bitcoin and ethereum, but said he wouldn't be surprised if the two largest cryptos by market capitalization hit new all-time highs this year. However, it's quite possible that the two tokens fall further past their late-January lows, he noted.
Whether the bull or bear case plays out for cryptos depends on factors like when inflation peaks, how aggressively the Federal Reserve raises rates, and whether the US economy can avoid a recession , the CIO said. Markets need clarity on those fronts — even if it's bad news — before cryptos can recover, McMillan said, though a rebound could come once there's more certainty.
"That could start to lay the foundation for capital coming back into risk assets," McMillan said. "And I think that's where digital assets could disproportionately participate in the upside."
How much crypto is too much?
Though McMillan said that cryptos are no longer the best way to diversify a portfolio, given their remarkably strong tie to growth stocks, he believes that it's still smart to have some exposure to the nascent asset class and the blockchain technology that powers it.
The optimal percentage of an investor's portfolio that should be in crypto varies by each person's time horizon and risk tolerance, McMillan said. Those who are in retirement or nearing that stage may want to keep their crypto allocation small, or avoid the asset class entirely, the CIO said, though he added that younger people should consider taking more of a chance.
"The long-term bull story for blockchain technology is so robust," McMillan said. "We're still in the very early innings. I would definitely — if it were me — I would definitely want 5%, potentially even more, in digital assets."
McMillan continued: "You really want to start with the risk in mind first with bitcoin as opposed to the return. It's easy to get dollar signs in your eyes and look at historical-looking equity curves and try and size this thing up to 15%. But you really want to be mindful of the downside risk."
How to invest in crypto: 4 altcoins to consider
McMillan's firm, IDX Digital Assets, offers a pair of custom indices for bitcoin and ethereum that aim to provide investors with exposure to those assets with less volatility and downside risk by balancing positions in crypto and cash.
"There's so much uncompensated risk in this asset class that it's very difficult to justify just a long-only position 100% of the time," McMillan said. "Because if you were to do that — exactly as you said — if you were to look at the long-only volatility of an unmanaged bitcoin position or digital assets and back out the required return to underwrite that volatility, it's extremely high."
As of Friday — before a brutal crypto selloff over the weekend that extended into Monday — the firm's bitcoin index had performed in line with bitcoin, and its ethereum focused-product had outperformed its corresponding crypto by 10 percentage points.
But bitcoin and ethereum are far from the only cryptos in town. McMillan said that investors can diversify away from the two largest tokens by buying the dip in five altcoins that he has his eye on: solana (SOL), avalanche (AVAX), chainlink (LINK), terra luna (LUNA), and cardano (ADA).
"We don't see them as ethereum killers," McMillan said, adding that these altcoins are "rather complements to build out a broader kind of layer-1 base."
Instead of trying to find the next breakout token, McMillan said that IDX Digital Assets looks for "quality" cryptos that have strong use cases and fast transaction speeds.
"What we're really looking for is what's going to be the backbone of Web3 going forward," McMillan said. "And so we want products that are durable, that have momentum behind them. Not just dollars, but real developer momentum. We like to see well-funded projects."
bitcoin price 2022
btc 2022
Ben McMillan
IDX Digital Assets
Ben McMillan IDX Digital Assets | 2022-05-09T17:25:43Z | www.businessinsider.com | 5 Altcoins to Watch As Bitcoin, Ether Slide: CIO of IDX Digital Assets | https://www.businessinsider.com/altcoins-bitcoin-ethereum-stock-market-crash-federal-reserve-interest-rates-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/altcoins-bitcoin-ethereum-stock-market-crash-federal-reserve-interest-rates-2022-5 |
How Atlanta, one of the fastest-growing tech hubs, is leveraging technology to improve city services and close equity gaps
Atlanta, Georgia, is hoping to close equity gaps as it becomes a major tech hub.
Atlanta Information Management is spearheading tech innovation in the city.
Initiatives include free WiFi across the city and using security cameras to improve public safety.
Jason Sankey.
But the city still has "vast equity gaps," said Jason Sankey, the chief information officer at Atlanta Information Management (AIM). His department hopes to close those gaps by using technology to provide better, more equitable citywide services.
Sankey joined AIM, an arm of the Atlanta government that was originally established as the Department of Information Technology in 2004, last summer and is currently spearheading a reset of its smart-city initiatives.
Guided by an operational strategy known as Operation Excellence, which outlines five pillars for creating and delivering technology-centric services — strengthening core IT services, increasing service alignment across city departments, enhancing the user experience, modernizing systems, and investing in workforce development — AIM is collaborating with other departments, local businesses, schools like Georgia Tech, and organizations like the Metro Atlanta Chamber to build a public-private ecosystem to bring innovative technologies to the city.
Operation Excellence.
Atlanta's new mayor, Andre Dickens, is a Georgia Tech graduate and was previously the chief development officer at nonprofit TechBridge and cofounded the organization's Technology Career Program, which trains underserved residents for tech jobs. Sankey said Dickens understands the role technology can play in helping Atlanta advance its innovation initiatives.
Here's a look at what Sankey's team is doing to improve access to technology for all, as well as leverage technology to make the city and its services safer and more efficient.
Installing kiosks and free WiFi
One project AIM is working on is installing dozens of interactive kiosks across the city in partnership with IKE Smart City. The kiosks offer wayfinding information, details about city services, and free WiFi, and Sankey said at least 25% of the kiosks will be installed in underserved communities. While the program is still new, the city plans to use data from the kiosks to inform future projects.
AIM also works with the city's parks and recreation department to provide more than 250 computers and WiFi for citizens at 17 centers across Atlanta.
Using security cameras to improve public safety
Public safety is another priority for Atlanta, and AIM is working with the Atlanta Police Department and Atlanta Police Foundation to establish a real-time crime center, Sankey said. This allows law enforcement to view live footage from any nearby security camera when they're responding to calls. Residents and businesses can voluntarily connect their security cameras to the police network.
The new system will bring Atlanta's existing video integration up to date with new technology so businesses' security cameras are more compatible with the police system. "We were reactive with our video integration center; this real-time crime center will give us the ability to be proactive when addressing crime," Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant told Fox 5 News.
As of January, 4,500 cameras were integrated into the new system, and police expected to add 25,000 more over the next year.
Helping residents better access city services
AIM's operational strategy centers on creating innovative, reliable information technology services across the city's departments that are designed with users in mind.
"We really want to engage the community to understand how they interact with technology and how they want technology delivered," Sankey said.
In line with this goal, AIM plans to pilot an upgrade to Atlanta's non-emergency 311 system later this year that uses artificial intelligence and intuitive chatbots to answer residents' questions about things like trash collection and sidewalk repair. Sankey said the system will provide "real answers, not just FAQs," and came about after resident feedback revealed their frustrations with trying to use the existing system, which didn't always provide the information they need.
AIM also has a team of seven business-relationship managers that partner with other city departments to identify their technology needs, create solutions, and provide seamless services to residents.
Involving citizens in decisions around tech innovation
With Atlanta's tech sector growing, attracting and retaining talent and investing in existing city employees is another priority. Sankey said the city partners with local colleges and universities on internship and apprenticeship programs at the city to provide underserved groups with access to tech job training.
AIM also plans to launch an office of digital transformation this year to further ensure that the city's technology solutions work for those using them. Those in this department will be involved in seeking public engagement on initiatives and forming public-private partnerships.
"We want to invite community leaders as well as citizens to innovation labs so they can interact with proof-of-concept designs prior to implementation so they can tell us what the problems or the problem areas are that they're dealing with," Sankey said.
Earnestness drives all of AIM's projects. "Time is the biggest challenge when it comes to technology. If we lead with a sense of urgency, that balances out this ongoing challenge," he added.
More: Advancing Cities Sustainability tech innovation Tech
Equity gap
#AC-Interview | 2022-05-09T18:13:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Atlanta Is Using Tech Innovation to Close Equity Gaps | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-atlanta-use-tech-innovation-close-equity-gaps-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-atlanta-use-tech-innovation-close-equity-gaps-2022-5 |
The best credit card bonuses and deals this week include elevated airline, hotel, and bank point offers you can use to jumpstart your summer travels
Summer is just around the corner, and if you're planning a vacation, it's an excellent time to boost your points, miles, and cash back balances by opening a new credit card. There are dozens of lucrative offers currently available — including increased bonuses and even brand-new cards from major card issuers. Many are record-high welcome bonuses of 100,000 points or more — but some are only available for a limited time..
If you have the Aeroplan® Credit Card, you can now take advantage of a 10% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to Aeroplan. This limited-time promotion is good until December 31, 2023 — much longer than usual Chase transfer offers.
0% Intro APR for 12 months on purchases eligible for Pay Over Time
IHG Premier Business Card | 2022-05-09T18:13:26Z | www.businessinsider.com | Best Credit Card Deals and Bonuses This Week: May 9, 2022 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-credit-card-deals-bonuses-this-week-may-9-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-credit-card-deals-bonuses-this-week-may-9-2022-5 |
Yelena Dzhanova and Jason Lalljee
Participants hold signs during the Women's March at the US Supreme Court.
Roe v. Wade getting overturned will force Americans to travel across state lines to access abortions, experts say.
Checkered access to abortions will increase the cost of travel, among other expenses.
The potential legal costs for people seeking abortions, as well as wage loss, will also add to the burden.
Getting an abortion will likely get a lot more expensive for many Americans.
The procedure itself is already costly, experts say. But after Politico last week published a draft Supreme Court opinion signaling a reversal of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, experts told Insider that expenses for those seeking the procedure are likely to rise exponentially if the landmark case is overturned.
For instance, in states where abortion will become mostly — or entirely — illegal if Roe v. Wade is struck down, travel costs will be prohibitively expensive for many seeking the procedure in other states where the procedure is allowed.
That itemized list can include airfare, gas, car rentals, childcare, petcare, food, and hotels. And that's not to mention the money one loses by taking time off work, which is the reality for many low-income people who live paycheck to paycheck.
"You might be salaried and I might be salaried, and you can take time off," said Anna Rupani, executive director of Fund Texas Choice (FTC), a nonprofit organization that pays for low-income Texans' associated abortion costs. "A lot of our clients are living paycheck to paycheck, they're not in salaried positions… they're experiencing wage loss."
Doctors who specialize in reproductive healthcare don't normally track the cost of an abortion that takes place outside the medical system, said Dr. Jamila Perritt, president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health.
But doctors are increasingly familiar with the personal costs patients pay in pursuit of the procedure — especially if the act of getting one is criminalized or carries a punishment.
If getting an abortion is criminalized, someone who goes through with the procedure can lose their job, Perritt said. They can also lose access to their existing family members.
"For folks who are arrested, prosecuted, jailed for managing their own abortion, they're more likely to lose custody of their children or to have their families dissolved," Perritt said. "We know that the cost is great for individuals and family, if they are accused of managing their abortion and thrust into the criminal legal system."
'The costs can add up very quickly, and there's no alternative'
Historically, abortion restrictions forced patients to find alternative means of getting one.
When the Texas state legislature, for example, introduced SB 8, which effectively prohibits anyone from obtaining an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy — a point at which most people do not even know that they're pregnant — clinics told Insider they were receiving an influx of patients seeking abortion from Texas. And undocumented immigrants in Texas had to weigh the cost of getting an abortion against potential deportation.
On average, a first-trimester abortion that's done using the aspiration method, which is the most common type, costs about $508, according to Veronica Jones of the National Abortion Federation. Medication abortions can cost about $535 on average, Jones said.
And the price can increase depending on the length of the pregnancy. Median costs were $560 for a medication abortion, $575 for a first-trimester procedural abortion, and $895 for a second-trimester abortion in 2020, according to a recent study led by Ushma D. Upadhyay at UCSF.
And insurance is rarely any help, Katrina Kimport, a medical sociologist at the University of California, San Francisco, told Insider.
"There's a lot of fine print around what is covered," Kimport said. "Many insurers, such as Medicaid in many states, will just prohibit coverage."
Kimport also said that the cost of an abortion is often more expensive than what most Americans have in savings.
For patients seeking services out of state that don't already have working relationships with insurers, the costs can get even heftier, Kimport said. In that case, patients would have to file for reimbursement, which typically doesn't go through, Kimport said.
If a state restricts access to abortion, patients who need one have to think about how to get to a state that is offering abortion, in addition to the actual cost of the abortion itself.
That can mean they might have to take the amount of a plane ticket under consideration.
"I've spoken with people who have spent maybe $10,000 in terms of their travel," Kimport said, counting flights, hotels, childcare, and car rentals among the common expenses. "The costs can add up very quickly, and there's no alternative. You can't wait to be strategic about a low price on a flight if you need an abortion."
When Texas passed SB 8, abortion seekers went out of state to obtain reproductive healthcare. For several reasons, most people, Jones told Insider, opted to drive out of state.
If they're taking kids along with them because of an inability to secure childcare, for example, it might be easier to drive rather than fly, Jones said. And Texas has networks of sprawling highways that allow for convenient access to other states by car.
But that doesn't mean most people in other states would opt to drive if Roe were repealed, Jones said, noting that funding a trip to a friendly state that may be hundreds of miles away can also increase costs.
Expenses are already skyrocketing in states where abortion is mostly illegal
Fund Texas Choice doesn't pay for the actual procedure, but it covers the cost of transportation, hotel stays, and food to and from abortion appointments.
Rupani told Insider that in the last year the organization's costs have tripled and its client base has doubled. That's because SB 8 made in-state abortions illegal for a vast majority of people, signaling some of the financial woes organizations may well face as more states ban the procedure.
Before SB 8 went into effect last September, FTC served 330 clients — and they help more than 650 now, Rupani said, indicating that people need additional financial help as abortion access restrictions expand.
Rupani said some clients may request $400 for gas, while others need food or simply the cost of a taxi.
Flights and hotels, she said, can run up the bill to roughly $4,000.
"And 62% of our clients are parenting," she said. "So childcare is added in."
And a lot of FTC's clients are living paycheck to paycheck, Rupani said, meaning if they're taking time off to get an abortion, they're not getting paid. And crossing state lines poses even more of a challenge for undocumented individuals, who face the risk of deportation or arrest.
"People don't realize how much those factors play into the expenses," she said.
More: Economy Policy Abortion Abortion Ban | 2022-05-09T18:42:13Z | www.businessinsider.com | Gas, Food, and Lost Pay: Abortion Access Curbed by Costs, Experts Say | https://www.businessinsider.com/abortion-costs-roe-v-wade-out-of-state-supreme-court-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/abortion-costs-roe-v-wade-out-of-state-supreme-court-2022-5 |
I took Dr. Emily Morse's MasterClass on sex and communication — these 3 key takeaways can help you improve your sex life right now
Dr. Emily Morse, of "Sex With Emily" podcast fame, teaches a MasterClass focused on sex-positive advice for sex and relationships.
What I learned from Dr. Emily Morse's Sex and Communication MasterClass:
Cons of the MasterClass
MasterClass FAQs:
Dr. Emily Morse is the host of the popular podcast "Sex with Emily."
Her MasterClass delivers sex-positive sex tips, like a script for tough conversations.
I took the course and was impressed by its effectiveness and couple-bonding activities.
For $180, MasterClass gives you unlimited access to culinary arts courses from some of the top chefs in the world, including Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters.
$180.00 from Masterclass
Quality, sex-positive sex education isn't something many US schools offer. According to the 2014 CDC School Health Profiles, fewer than half of high schools and one-fifth of middle schools teach all the topics recommended by the CDC as essential parts of sex education. It's not surprising that so many of us approach our sex lives with uncertainty or unrealistic expectations.
Dr. Emily Morse, the host of the popular podcast "Sex with Emily" (the number one sexuality podcast, according to Chartable) has spent 15 years trying to make sex-positive information mainstream. She earned her Doctor of Human Sexuality from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco and holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan.
Her MasterClass on "Sex and Communication" is one place you can find quality, no-shame information about sex. It's kind of like a comprehensive version of the topics she discusses on the podcast, combined with the characteristically high visual production value of MasterClass courses.
In order to take it, you will need an annual MasterClass membership ($180). You'll find a MasterClass FAQ at the end of this article.
3 fascinating things I learned about sex from Dr. Emily Morse's Sex and Communication MasterClass:
A fulfilling sex life relies upon self-knowledge — it's on you to figure out what you like.
Morse discusses mindfulness during masturbation in order to connect with your body and discover what you actually enjoy.
This one sounds obvious, but it's essentially the building block upon which the rest of Dr. Morse's advice rests. In "Take Control of your Orgasm," she underlines that the only person responsible for your orgasm is, in fact, you; "It's not about your partner 'giving' you an orgasm." That expectation isn't really rooted in reality.
Knowing what you like takes practice. So, you need to do the "work." Dr. Morse recommends finding time (20 minutes a week) to do some mindful masturbation. Essentially, the goal of this is exploration and curiosity, not orgasm. Set the mood, and be present. If you're having trouble connecting to your body, Morse suggests focusing on your breathing.
Conversations about sex are awkward at any age and experience level, but there are ways to make them more open and easy.
Rather than tips and tricks, Dr. Morse says the majority of her work is helping people to deal with their communication fears. The fact is that most of us probably already know what we want ("I want you to kiss me more"), but out of fear of judgment, shame, or discomfort, we opt for unfulfilling sex over authentically talking to our partners.
Dr. Morse acknowledges that conversations about sex are awkward, even for her. To help, she shares the "three Ts of communication": Turf, tone, and timing.
For instance, she suggests leaving your bedroom for sleep and sex — not conversations about sex. If you're feeling nervous or uncomfortable, talk about it on a walk or road trip; you can be upfront without needing to keep eye contact. Most importantly: always approach the conversation with a curious, open-minded perspective.
Make lists of things you like and swap with your partner.
Morse gives concrete examples of the activities she suggests, like this “yes, no, maybe” list. You’ll find more like this in the class guidebook.
Too many of us think a healthy sex life is asking our partner what they like and then implementing it. But Morse recommends first identifying what you like — and your partner doing the same — before you try to blend them together.
For instance, use a "yes, maybe, no" list or a sexual bucket list, with prompts to respond to (for example, "sex outdoors"). The prompts don't need to be particularly wild — the purpose is to expand your ability to discuss pleasure. By making a list, answering it individually, and then swapping, you're each able to honor your individual preferences before finding the places you overlap.
In the downloadable class guide, you'll find a print-out version of this if you don't know where to start to make your own.
"Sex and Communication" is full of useful information and has the high production value and pacing that makes me finish MasterClass courses at a higher rate than other online classes.
But it's also not as in-depth as academic courses you'd take in school. If you're looking for a great "edu-tainment" sex-ed overview that packages lots of great information and cool graphics, this is a good option. For more information, I recommend downloading this course's class guide, which expands on the covered topics significantly. In it, Morse includes everything from romance and erotica book suggestions to a flow chart for picking sex toys to how to watch porn ethically.
And while it's great that this course exists, paying $180 for a sexuality MasterClass isn't accessible to everyone. There are other places to look if you're cash-strapped: Planned Parenthood (specifically for teachers) and Coursera (which includes classes specifically covering LGBTQ sexual health and gender identity). Both offer free courses.
I appreciated Morse's combination of lending perspective and concrete examples. Specific tips on approaching awkward conversations or discovering a partner's sexual preferences are more helpful than vague platitudes alone.
Equally interesting as the advice are the insights around anatomy and pleasure. Morse discusses the orgasm gap, the impact of lube on orgasm rates, and how vulva owners with a clitoris that's more than an inch away from their vaginal opening may actually be unable to orgasm from solely penetrative sex.
You'll also get a few tips and tricks about improving your techniques (sensitive areas on the body and genitalia, motions to try, and more).
How much does MasterClass cost?
MasterClass costs $180 for its annual subscription ($15 a month), which gives you unlimited access to all its classes until you cancel.
Is MasterClass worth it?
If you will use MasterClass more than a few times, yes, the yearly pass may be worth it if you enjoy this type of learning. If you won't, or you need something more intensive or traditionally academic, consider other online learning sites like Coursera or edX.
How does MasterClass work?
MasterClass classes are about 2-5 hours on average, with individual lessons ranging from 2-5 minutes. Classes include pre-recorded video lessons by your instructor, a class workbook, interactive assignments, and sometimes community activities. MasterClass may have opportunities for students to submit work to instructors for feedback, but that's not the norm.
More: Insider Reviews 2022 Insider Picks IP Reviews Education & Personal Development | 2022-05-09T18:42:19Z | www.businessinsider.com | Review: Dr. Emily Morse Teaches Sex and Communication on MasterClass | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/sex-with-emily-morse-masterclass-review | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/sex-with-emily-morse-masterclass-review |
Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton appeared on "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon" on January 24, 2021, to promote NFTs.
NBC/Comcast
Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed on Monday that NFT support is coming to the service.
It will be rolled out in a limited fashion this week, Mosseri said.
After a spike in interest in 2021, the NFT market has cooled significantly in 2022.
Instagram is rolling out support for NFTs this week, Instagram leader Adam Mosseri announced on Monday morning.
"What we're starting with this week is the ability for creators and people to share NFTs that they've made or that they've bought, either in feed or in stories or in messaging," Mosseri said. "It's a limited number of people to start."
Rather than facilitating the sale or trade of user NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, Instagram's NFT support is limited to sharing either still or moving images of a digital object — albeit with a "digital collectible" tag that, when tapped, enables the NFT owner to share more information about the object.
Still, the idea to add NFT support came from Instagram wanting to help creators "make a living doing what they love," Mosseri said.
Whether it will fulfill that goal remains to be seen, and the once-booming NFT market appears to be cooling down.
NFT sales have "leveled off," according to a new report from blockchain data firm Chainalysis. "NFTs saw explosive growth in 2021, but this growth hasn't been consistent and has leveled off so far in 2022," the firm said.
Resales of some of the most well-known NFTs, including Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet, have floundered. The NFT of that tweet originally cost nearly $3 million in March 2021, but it has been unable to reach $25,000 at auction just 13 months later.
Mosseri said the new NFT functionality on Instagram is rolling out on a limited basis, and the company has a lot more work to do to make NFT support more robust. Check out the intro video right here:
More: Instagram NFT NFTs Web3 | 2022-05-09T18:42:25Z | www.businessinsider.com | Instagram Is Adding NFT Support 'for Creators and People' | https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-is-adding-nft-support-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-is-adding-nft-support-2022-5 |
A startup is betting you'll buy engagement for LinkedIn posts, as business influencers build substantial audiences on the platform
InfluencerActive CEO Anthony James
InfluencerActive is an online marketplace where LinkedIn users can buy reactions and other forms of engagement.
The startup was founded in 2020 amid a content boom on LinkedIn.
InfluencerActive creators are charging up to $2,500 for a LinkedIn Live or podcast appearance.
Services that sell social-media followers or "likes" are hardly new.
But the startup InfluencerActive puts a new spin on the genre by focusing on LinkedIn, offering an online marketplace where users can buy reactions, comments, and other forms of engagement directly from business influencers.
"It's a way for these hyper-networked businesspeople to activate their networks," InfluencerActive CEO Anthony James said.
Since LinkedIn rolled out its influencer program in 2012, designating thought leaders and business professionals with large followings as platform "influencers," the social network has evolved into a content hub filled with status updates, pithy comments, and lengthy blog posts.
This evolution has led to a robust market for ghostwriters, who can make up to $700 an hour helping people burnish their LinkedIn content brands.
InfluencerActive takes the opposite approach from a ghostwriter, instead paying business influencers to engage with their clients, which mainly consist of startups and small-to-medium-sized businesses.
The services these influencers offer can vary, but they generally focus on amplifying users' content.
Here are a few on offering:
Jerin Hossain, a Bangladesh-based startup CEO and founder with over 1 million LinkedIn followers, for instance, will post 15 of your posts on their LinkedIn feed for $1,199 per post.
Alina Tkachenko, a real estate property consultant in Dubai with more than 178,000 LinkedIn followers, will like and comment on 10 of your posts for $200 a post.
Meanwhile, Mariah Edgington, an author and registered nurse with more than 44,700 LinkedIn followers, will host you on one of her LinkedIn Live sessions for $250.
InfluencerActive
James said he was motivated to help start InfluencerActive by the celeb shout-out app Cameo. Though Cameo recently laid off 25% of its employees, it remains notable for pioneering the selling of personalized videos from celebrities and has sought to expand into marketing and events.
"Typically, when you say the word influencer, you think about the celebrities of the world: the Kim Kardashians," James said. "But when you look at the $300,000 or $500,000 fee for one Instagram post, that doesn't work for 80% of the businesses out there. And if you're a high-end enterprise solution client selling a financial services platform, yes, you might be able to afford that Instagram post, but is it really to the right audience … or is it more a younger audience looking at handbags, diet pills, sunglasses, and cosmetics?"
James, a LinkedIn influencer himself with nearly 4 million followers, is betting LinkedIn's broad reach as a social network and content platform, as well as InfluencerActive's ability to directly book business influencers, will translate to high demand for business influencers' services offered on the marketplace.
More: Social Media LinkedIn Creator economy | 2022-05-09T18:55:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | Startup InfluencerActive Lets You Buy LinkedIn Reactions and Comments | https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-influenceractive-lets-you-buy-linkedin-reactions-and-comments-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-influenceractive-lets-you-buy-linkedin-reactions-and-comments-2022-5 |
3 habits of people who are skilled at making big decisions and handling change
Life coach and author Susie Moore.
Susie Moore is a life coach and the host of the self-improvement podcast, "Let It Be Easy."
She says people who are skilled at making big decisions have three habits in common.
They have a clear vision, make a choice and stick to it, and align daily habits to long-term goals.
As a life coach who's worked with high performers for nearly a decade, I understand the magic of habit when it comes to making life-changing decisions and seeing them through.
Motivation might get you started, but habits keep you going. When you observe someone who shifts gears and gets into great physical shape, switches industries and thrives in a new job, or begins to prioritize consistent time for self-care, their habits are the foundation for this success.
Here are three habits of people who are successful at tackling big changes.
1. They form a clear vision of their future
I love to do a "future you" exercise with my clients where they visualize the future version of themselves at the end of the year.
In this exercise, I ask clients: "If you look back on a successful 2022 — one that you're truly proud of — what will have happened this year?"
Whom will you have met?
Whom would you be spending time with?
How much money will you have made (and saved)?
What will have changed in your career?
Will you have traveled, and to where?
How's your overall health and wellbeing?
Then I encourage my clients to revisit this specific version of themselves for five minutes every morning as a reminder of what they want to achieve. Connecting your daily actions to your larger vision will help you stay focused and keep everyday challenges from derailing your goals.
For example, if you set a goal to meet more successful people in your industry, revisiting that goal will encourage you to reach out and network more regularly or attend more industry conferences and events.
2. They stick to a decision and avoid backpedaling
There's an old phrase, "The road is paved with flat squirrels who couldn't make a decision." It teaches us that once you begin to make a decision, you should commit to it fully — you can't just cross the road halfway.
In most cases, our commitment to a decision is equally important, if not more important, than the decision itself.
When making a life-changing decision, such as starting a business, moving cities, or changing industries, just deciding is what matters. Constant hesitation will lead to decision fatigue — the deteriorating quality of decisions made after too much back and forth. Playing ping-pong with different choices can make us feel tired, defeated, and sometimes even irrational.
Real success is based on your commitment and follow through, rather than having a flawless idea or making a flawless move. If someone decides, for example, to go all-in on a side hustle and leave their job, being committed to their new venture and having self-confidence matters more than having the perfect original entrepreneurial idea.
"All-in" energy is powerful. Once you make up your mind and stop overthinking, your attention and focus is channeled in one direction.
3. They stick to a clean mental diet
It's no coincidence that millionaires are militant about their time and what noise they allow in versus what they tune out. And they're always learning — because education is a lifetime pursuit.
The global average amount of time people spend on social media each day is about 147 minutes — almost 2.5 hours. If you want to spend your time more wisely, see how you can cut down your time online or make it more productive.
Just like "you are what you eat," you are what your brain consumes, too. If you upgrade what you give your attention to, you'll upgrade your life.
Try swapping a reality TV episode with an interesting podcast or TED Talk, giving yourself a daily social media time limit, or picking up a new book to inspire more reading.
Making life-changing decisions may always be challenging for some. If you want to be successful at it, know that you'll have to see the decision through, maintain a clear vision of what you want to see happen, and align your daily habits with that goal.
Susie Moore is a life coach, author, and host of the top-rated self-improvement podcast, "Let It Be Easy."
More: Strategy work advice decisions Life Coach
Job change | 2022-05-09T19:46:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | 3 Habits of People Who Are Great at Making Big Decisions | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-big-decisions-work-habits-life-coach-advice-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-big-decisions-work-habits-life-coach-advice-2022-5 |
Infowars host Owen Shroyer was labeled as a "protester" on "ABC World News Tonight" on May 8, 2022.
ABC News/"
ABC News ran a package on Sunday about abortion protests in the US.
One interview was a clip from ABC affiliate KVUE featuring Infowars host Owen Shroyer.
Shroyer is charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot but was labeled in the piece as a "protester."
ABC News during the Sunday broadcast of "World News Tonight" aired a brief interview clip about abortion that featured Infowars host and far-right conspiracy theorist Owen Shroyer, identifying him only as a "protestor."
A spokesperson for ABC News did not return Insider's request for comment on Monday.
In the clip, Shroyer, holding an image of a fetus, said "I do believe in the right to life, and I believe that this right to life is being denied."
Shroyer hosts the "The War Room with Owen Shroyer" on the far-right website InfoWars. He was arrested and charged last year with four misdemeanors relating to his participation in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
Protests about the right to abortion have popped up across the US after Politico published a leaked draft last week of a Supreme Court opinion that indicated the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that protects access to abortion in the US.
During the ABC News report, Shroyer was labeled on-screen as a "protestor," but there was no mention of his affiliation with InfoWars, his previous espousing of far-right ideology, or his charges relating to the Capitol riot.
According to the nonprofit media watchdog Media Matters for America, which first posted the ABC News clip on Monday, Shroyer has promoted numerous conspiracy theories, including that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax, that Adolf Hitler is alive, and that the police killing of George Floyd was faked.
Shroyer has also shared conspiracies related to abortion, according to the Media Matters report, including that Planned Parenthood locations participated in "human sacrifice."
Authorities investigating the January 6 riot charged Shroyer with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and obstructing or impeding passage through or within Capitol grounds.
He has pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
As Insider previously reported, Shroyer never entered the Capitol during the riot, but prosecutors argue he was barred from being in a restricted area outside the building after he in 2019 interrupted ongoing impeachment proceedings in the House for former President Donald Trump.
A judge in January rejected Shroyer's effort to have the charges against him dismissed after his lawyer argued the charges were a result of his political views and claimed that the Justice Department had withheld evidence that showed Shroyer wasn't aware he was on restricted grounds and that he tried to deescalate the crowd, Insider previously reported.
Infowars on Saturday uploaded a video recorded by Shroyer at the rally outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Saturday, showing him clashing with pro-abortion demonstrators. The video titled "Owen Shroyer crashes a pro-abortion rally in Austin, TX and presents protesters with fetus images and they, of course, go crazy!" is more than an hour long and at times features Shroyer wearing a crying baby mask over his face.
The ABC News clip, which aired nationally Sunday evening, was taken from ABC affiliate station KVUE in Austin, Texas. According to Media Matters, Shroyer during a local news broadcast was identified only as a person attending the protest who "hopes Roe v. Wade is overturned."
Shroyer was also featured in an interview with KXAN, the Austin, Texas, NBC affiliate, where he was similarly labeled a "pro-life protestor."
More: Infowars Abortion ABC News Media | 2022-05-09T21:16:59Z | www.businessinsider.com | ABC News Interviews Infowars Host in Abortion Package | https://www.businessinsider.com/abc-news-interviews-infowars-host-in-abortion-package-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/abc-news-interviews-infowars-host-in-abortion-package-2022-5 |
Apple is planning to shake up its massive Services business to push further into streaming and advertising
Claire Atkinson and Lara O'Reilly
Apple vet Eddy Cue is reorganizing the management structure of its Services business, sources say.
The company is pushing harder into areas including streaming and advertising.
Cue is giving more responsibility to services VP Peter Stern and ads boss Todd Teresi.
Apple's Eddy Cue is discussing restructuring its $76 billion services business to make a bigger push into lucrative areas like streaming and advertising, and has already elevated executives to that end, sources said.
Apple Services houses ventures including the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, AppleCare, Apple Pay , Apple News, advertising, and Apple TV+.
Apple Services grew 17% to $19.8 billion in its last quarter and reported 825 million paying subscribers globally. It would be the 113th largest company on the Fortune 500 list by revenue if a standalone company.
One person who has spoken directly to Cue said the senior vice president of services is considering how to unleash growth by reorganizing its management structure and pushing harder into areas like streaming and advertising. The company picked up a best picture Oscar for its $25 million movie, "CODA," and just started streaming ad-supported Major League Baseball coverage on Friday nights.
Cue has already changed responsibilities for one executive who spearheads Apple's sports portfolio. Peter Stern, who is vice president of services and has looked after units including video, news, books, iCloud, advertising, Fitness+, and Apple One, according to his LinkedIn profile, has shed responsibility for advertising, say three people familiar with the matter. Stern's heavy portfolio needs his full attention.
Eddy Cue at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in 2018.
The iPhone maker is expected to make a play for a raft of sports broadcasting rights, including the NFL's Sunday Ticket and the NBA, when they come up for renewal. Stern, who joined Apple in 2016, previously led Time Warner Cable's internet, phone, video, and "intelligent home" businesses and was involved in acquiring the rights to the LA Dodgers.
"The unique situation with Apple is that it has a relatively small base for Apple TV+. The addition of Sunday Ticket would allow them to increase their base subscription level, a metric in the business known as lift," said Ed Desser, president of sports TV consultancy Desser Sports Media. Apple could monetize sports rights in three key ways: New subscribers, additional subscriber revenue for an add-on sports package, and advertising revenue, Desser added.
Stern is said to have given his advertising responsibilities to one of his direct reports, Todd Teresi, a vice president responsible for Apple's advertising business for more than a decade. He was quietly promoted at the beginning of the year and now reports directly to Cue, people familiar with the matter said.
"The Services portfolio is too big now, with too many other growing segments. The ad business is big enough to live on its own," one of the people said.
Teresi's promotion reflects the recent explosive growth in Apple's ad business. Apple's biggest advertising source — search ads — grew 238% to $3.7 billion in 2021 versus 2020, according to research firm Omdia's principal analyst Matthew Bailey. Omdia has forecast that Apple's search ad revenue would hit $5.5 billion in 2022. Its recent privacy update, forcing developers to ask for permission to track them, also prompted some advertisers to shift their spending to its search ads product. Apple, which offers ads in its App Store, plus its news and stocks apps, has also recently begun selling TV-like ad slots in its MLB telecasts.
A source said they had been told by two Apple insiders that Teresi is "back in the chair." Teresi previously led Apple's iAd mobile advertising network, which launched in 2010 but shut six years later having failed to capture more than a single-digit share of the mobile ad market.
Other planned executive changes in the Services division couldn't immediately be learned.
More: Apple Streaming Sports Tech | 2022-05-09T21:17:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | Apple's Eddy Cue Is Shaking up Its Services Business | https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-shaking-up-services-business-in-streaming-advertising-push-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-shaking-up-services-business-in-streaming-advertising-push-2022-5 |
Billions lost, pissed investors, and uncharacteristic tweets: a look at a horrible month for growth hedge funds
Tiger Global has lost billions this year.
Business Insider/ Mike Nudelman
Hedge fund managers focused on growth stocks had a disastrous April.
Tiger Global lost billions, while Melvin Capital frustrated investors with a potential reorg.
D1 founder Dan Sundheim tweeted at Jeff Bezos to get Amazon to start executing better.
Billionaire Dan Sundheim is a self-described fan of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, even naming his hedge fund D1 Capital after Bezos' day one philosophy that harps on constantly innovating to avoid complacency.
But at the end of a tough April, Sundheim took to Twitter to air out his frustrations over Amazon — one of his biggest investments — as his hedge fund was hit with losses in April.
The founder of $25 billion fund, despite having more than 8,000 followers, had only tweeted a handful over the past few years until last month when he sent a long thread in response to Bezos himself.
"This is a time for focus on operations and capital allocation," he said in response to Bezos' remark on Twitter that the bull market that propelled growth investors like D1 to massive returns seems to be ending. To Sundheim, this meant the market was also telling Amazon to tighten up.
"Investors have learned their lesson with valuation. Now it is time for management teams to learn a lesson from the market. Market is telling them to stop wasting money and focus on execution," Sundheim wrote on May 1.
He isn't the only growth investor hoping once-high-flying tech companies start focusing on fundamentals, as interest rates rise and IPO prospects look shaky.
Last month, big losses at managers like billionaire Chase Coleman's Tiger Global, which fell more than 15% in April and is down close to 44% for the year in its flagship hedge fund, reverberated throughout the $4 trillion industry. Other Tiger Cub peers — Viking Global and Coatue Management — are down 9% and 15%, respectively, for the year, according to Bloomberg.
At Sundheim's manager, investors in the share class with 50% of their capital in private investments had a 3.2% decline in April and a 19% loss for the year, sources say. To further the pain, sources tell Insider that new launch Kinetic Capital — a Miami-based manager that Sundheim backed — also lost money in April, though it's unclear how much. Kinetic however did make money March, a source close to the young manager told Insider.
Gabe Plotkin's Melvin Capital dipped another 3.3% in April, according to media reports, which didn't help the already-rocky relationship the fund has with its LPs. The SAC spin-off — which is down more than 23% for the year — pissed off several investors when it pitched a plan in the middle of last month to reincorporate as a new fund and allow existing investors the chance to reinvest — and begin paying performance fees again.
The plan was quickly axed though after investors rebelled against the idea; Plotkin wrote to LPs that the set-up was "a mistake."
"I am sorry. I got this one wrong," he wrote to investors, according to the New York Post.
May has so far been volatile, and stocks continue sell off, especially tech names favored by growth investors. Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, and Facebook parent Meta are all down to start the month. Carvana, the e-commerce platform that sells used cars, is a favorite of funds like Tiger Global, D1, and Whale Rock and has lost close to a third of its value so far this month.
More: Hedge Funds Dan Sundheim D1 Capital | 2022-05-09T21:17:20Z | www.businessinsider.com | Inside a Disastrous Month for Growth Funds Like Tiger Global, Melvin | https://www.businessinsider.com/growth-hedge-funds-horrible-april-performance-d1-tiger-global-melvin-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/growth-hedge-funds-horrible-april-performance-d1-tiger-global-melvin-2022-5 |
How Klarna works
Pros and cons of Klarna
Who is Klarna best for?
How Klarna compares
How trustworthy is Klarna?
Klarna review: Multiple repayment options — but you'll pay a late fee if you fall behind on your payments
Klarna offers multiple types of repayment plan options.
Klarna; Insider
Editor's rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
The bottom line: Klarna offers multiple repayment options — including ones that don't charge any interest. Borrowers who can effectively fit items they're buying into their budget might like Klarna to spread out payments over a longer period without forking over the same interest they would with a credit card or personal loan.
Klarna is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) lender that allows you to defer the full cost of an item until a later time. You'll make the first of four payments when you purchase the item, then will pay off the rest over six weeks. Your payments will be due every two weeks.
Choose between two payment options when you check out, Pay in 4 or Pay in 30 days. With the first option, you split the cost of your item into four interest-free payments paid every two weeks, with the first payment due when you get the item. With the second option, you'll receive an invoice for the item due in 30 days, and you'll have to pay off the item by then.
For some large purchases, you may also see the option to get financing over a longer period, usually between six months to two years. Some items come with no interest charges, but it depends on the item and the individual store you're buying from.
Pay with Klarna through its app, on a partner store online, or in person at a mall or store. There are thousands of retailers that allow you to use Klarna to finance your purchases. Some popular companies include Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, and Shein. Klarna also has a Google Chrome extension which allows you to Pay in 4 anywhere from your desktop.
There's no cost to use Klarna — as long as you pay on time.
If you fail to make a payment for 10 days after its due date, you will pay a late fee of up to $7. This fee won't exceed 25% of the installment payment amount. Additionally, if you are late on a payment with the Pay in 30 purchase option, you will be in default and unable to use the service in the future. Avoid this at all costs. Klarna may employ a debt collection agency to get the unpaid money and report default information to credit bureaus.
If your payment is returned — for example, you have insufficient funds in your bank account — Klarna will charge you up to $27, though the amount won't exceed the installment payment amount.
Klarna will run a soft credit check when you use the application to buy something. A soft credit check allows a lender to see your credit history without impacting your credit score. If you choose a long-term financing option, Klarna may perform a hard credit inquiry, which does impact your credit score .
To use Klarna, you need to be a resident of a US state or territory. You also need to be at least 18 years old, have a valid bank account, and have a positive credit history.
Multiple types of repayment plans offered. You can choose between Pay in 4, Pay in 30, or a longer-term financing plan. This type of flexibility allows you to tailor your repayment to your budget.
No interest charged. You won't pay interest on the Pay in 4 or Pay in 30 payment options. If you choose a long-term finance option, you may pay interest.
Convenient shopping on mobile app. Klarna's mobile app is extremely well reviewed. It has 4.7 stars on the Google Play store and 4.8 stars on the Apple store.
Soft credit check. When making an approval decision for a Pay in 4 or Pay in 30 plan, Klarna will run a soft credit check. A soft credit check will give the lender a look at your credit history without hurting your credit score.
Can use with thousands of retailers. With its expansive network, you may be able to use Klarna at some of your favorite stores.
Late fee. If don't make a payment up to 10 days after its due date, you will pay a late fee of up to $7. This fee won't be higher than 25% of the installment payment amount.
Late and missed payments may be reported to credit bureaus. If you fall behind on payments, Klarna might report them to credit bureaus, which could hurt your credit score.
Klarna is best for borrowers who want to take advantage of spreading out the cost of an item over several installments – and who can fit those payments into their budgets. You also won't pay interest on Pay in 4 or Pay in 30 payments, so the overall cost of your purchase will be less than putting it on a credit card or taking out a personal loan. However, you might pay interest with long-term financing.
How Klarna compares to other buy Now, pay Later apps
Split over four interest-free payments, six months with interest, or 12 months with interest
Shop with Klarna Shop with Affirm
Klarna and Afterpay charge late fees, while Affirm doesn't. The late fees are relatively small, but if you are worried you might fall behind on your payments, this may be a factor that's important to you.
You're able to use the "pay in four" option with all three companies, meaning you pay for your item over four installments. Additionally, each company has thousands of retailers they have partnered with, making buy now, pay later a great choice for many items.
Klarna is a Better Business Bureau-accredited company and has an A+ rating from the BBB, a nonprofit organization focused on consumer protection and trust. The BBB evaluates companies based on responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and openness about business practices.
Keep in mind that a top-notch BBB rating doesn't mean you'll have a great relationship with Klarna. Ask friends and family who have used Klarna about their experiences with the app.
Klarna hasn't been involved in any recent controversies. Between its clean history and excellent BBB rating, you might feel comfortable using the service.
What's the downside of Klarna?
On its face, Klarna might seem a little too good to be true, as you can get an item with four-interest free payments, spreading out your cost over multiple paychecks. While it can be a good option for borrowers who budget properly, be careful.
Klarna may lead you to spend outside your means — higher cost items may seem more affordable when you break down their cost into four segments. You also might be tempted to buy things you don't need, just because they appear cheaper than what you'd normally expect to pay.
Does Klarna report to credit agencies?
Klarna may report to credit agencies — but that will likely only happen in the case you miss a payment or default on your financing. In that way, it's a lose-lose proposition for you, as you won't see a boost to your credit score with on-time payments, but you will get dinged if you fall behind.
Can you return items on Klarna?
Yes, you are able to return items on Klarna. To do so, follow the return instructions from the store where you purchased the item. Then, let Klarna know you've returned the items, making note of the tracking number. Finally, check your Klarna app for refund updates.
Merchants usually pay BNPL companies a percentage of the purchase amount or a flat fee, depending on the company. Some BNPL companies, like Klarna, also make money off of late fees. Additionally, with Klarna's long-term financing, the company can make money off of interest payments.
More: Klarna afterpay Affirm BNPL | 2022-05-09T21:17:32Z | www.businessinsider.com | Klarna Review 2022: Details, Payment Plans, and Pricing | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/klarna-review | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/klarna-review |
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, left, receives fuel from USNS Supply, center, as USS Mitscher pulls alongside, in the Mediterranean Sea, February 17, 2022.
Norwegian Armed Forces/PO Marius Vaagenes Villanger
The US Navy's 2nd Fleet surged ships to the North Atlantic this spring to support forces in Europe.
The deployment comes amid heightened tensions with Russia, which has grown more active in the Atlantic.
The deployment was meant to reassure allies and give US crews new experience, the fleet commander said.
The US Navy's 2nd Fleet surged forces to the North Atlantic between January and April, responding to a request from the top US commander in the region amid heightened tensions with Russia.
The short-notice deployment was the first time 2nd Fleet has had command-and-control of forces in Europe outside of an exercise and it demonstrated the fleet's flexibility and responsiveness, fleet commander Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer told reporters on April 29.
Second Fleet was reestablished in 2018 in response to increasing Russian naval activity in the North Atlantic, but Dwyer avoided linking the deployment to Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Asked whether the surge was connected to Russian military activity, Dwyer would only say that it demonstrated the US's ability to "surge certified, ready naval forces" — as in, deploying ships whose crews are fully trained ahead of an anticipated departure date — and its commitment to the defense of European allies and partners.
A US Navy sailor assigned to USS The Sullivans stands watch as the ship enters Copenhagen, March 21, 2022.
US Navy/MCS3 Class Mark Klimenko
During the deployment, 2nd Fleet, which is based in Virginia, had command and control of the destroyers USS Forest Sherman, USS The Sullivans, USS Donald Cook, and USS Mitscher.
A fifth destroyer, USS Gonzalez, deployed from the US in January as part of the surge but was later redirected to the Mediterranean and then to the Middle East.
Dwyer also embarked Destroyer Squadron 22 as a forward command element aboard a destroyer and later on USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the Navy's Italy-based 6th Fleet, which 2nd Fleet had tactical command of and used to direct ships in the North Atlantic.
Second Fleet is officially responsible for the western Atlantic from the Caribbean to the North Pole, but it can also act as "a maneuver arm" for a four-star headquarters — in this case US Naval Forces Europe and Africa.
"At time of need I can surge forward and support a four-star naval headquarters with my maritime operations center commanding-and-controlling ships that are outside of my normal area of responsibilities," Dwyer said. "This operation was the first time that we actually put it in practice, and we showed and proved that unique, agile, mobile capability."
USS Forrest Sherman and USS Donald Cook train with German frigate FGS Sachsen, center, in the Baltic Sea, March 9, 2022.
US Navy/Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Reuben Richardson
The US Navy has been trying to reacclimate crews to the high north and the Arctic, which are increasingly accessible but remain tough environments for sailors and ships.
Upon arriving in the region in February, "those crews did encounter weather they're not accustomed to," and the fleet took precautions so they could be safe and effective, Dwyer said. "But again, that builds that experience of those ships being able to operate in areas that they're unfamiliar with."
Over the following weeks, the US ships trained with the Italian, British, Danish, Polish, German, and Swedish navies in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, conducting what Dwyer called "a full range of maritime missions, from maneuvering, from communicating, from establishing networks and links."
US Navy ships do extensive training on the East Coast, Dwyer said, "but to actually sail alongside a naval vessel from one of our NATO allies or one of our partners, you just can't do that in training."
"That live interaction — actually coming up on bridge-to-bridge and having that communication and then discussing how they're going to execute the assigned mission together — is something you can't replicate," Dwyer added.
Avenues of approach
Sailors man the rails aboard USS Forrest Sherman in Kiel, Germany, March 21, 2022.
US Navy/MCS Seaman Eric Moser
As head of both US 2nd Fleet and NATO's Joint Forces Command Norfolk, Dwyer is responsible for keeping open the ocean between North America and Europe.
While Dwyer did not link 2nd Fleet's recent activity directly to Russia, NATO leaders have warned repeatedly about Russian naval activity and the risk it poses on both sides of the Atlantic. Dwyer's predecessor led several exercises to simulate a contested transatlantic crossing.
Since reaching full operational capability in July, "JFC Norfolk has been actively monitoring the North Atlantic through to the Arctic to ensure NATO's strategic transatlantic lines of communication remain open in order to support the sustainment of Europe," Dwyer told NATO commanders this month.
NATO leaders have warned specifically about Russia's submarines, which are more active and have new, longer-range weapons. US officials have said those subs' presence in the Atlantic means the US mainland is "no longer a sanctuary."
"In the past few years Russian submarine activity in the high north has already increased noticeably. This is a worrying development," Iceland's foreign minister, Thórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, said in April.
Norwegian frigate HNoMOS Thor Heyerdahl, French frigate FS Latouche-Tréville, and FGS Sachsen in the North Atlantic during Northern Viking 2022.
Iceland sits in the middle of the Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap linking the Atlantic and the Arctic, where the ships and subs of Russia's powerful Northern Fleet are based. NATO militaries have put renewed emphasis on that strategically important waterway.
"Iceland will do its utmost to facilitate the ongoing monitoring of such activities and any response that may be required," Gylfadóttir said of Russian submarine activity.
That emphasis was reflected in Northern Viking 22, an exercise held in Iceland in April. Its focus on anti-submarine warfare was of "specific relevance," according to German Navy Cmdr. Arne Pfingst, who said the GIUK Gap is of "great interest" to Germany's Navy.
Second Fleet did not command forces involved in Northern Viking, but Dwyer, speaking to reporters in April, said the North Atlantic is "without a doubt" becoming "a more dynamic environment."
Second Fleet's mission is "to deter and defeat potential adversaries in our area of responsibility, wherever that happens to be," Dwyer added. "At its core, it's to defend the avenues of approach between Europe and North America."
More: U.S. Navy Second Fleet North Atlantic Arctic | 2022-05-09T21:43:09Z | www.businessinsider.com | US Navy 2nd Fleet Surge Deploys to North Atlantic Amid Russia Tension | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-2nd-fleet-surge-deployment-north-atlantic-russia-tension-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-2nd-fleet-surge-deployment-north-atlantic-russia-tension-2022-5 |
A Texas -based TikToker posted a video that apparently shows her rent rising by $2,478, The Daily Dot reported Friday.
The creator, Katelyn Fletcher, used a TikTok audio where someone asks "Are you okay?" and the person responds, "No."
Rents in Austin, even more so than the rest of the country, have been skyrocketing.
For Katelyn Fletcher, it wasn't the fun kind of "congratulations" email, according to a Friday story from The Daily Dot.
In a TikTok video posted last week, Fletcher referenced an email that portended an apparently enormous rent increase.
The email in her video appears to show someone congratulating her. Then, Fletcher labeled what she said is her current rent, $2,200, and then showed another number, which she said would be the new price if she re-signs the lease: $4,678 per month.
That would be an increase of $2,478, or of 112.6%.
Fletcher set the TikTok to an audio apparently from American Idol audio where a judge asks, "Are you okay?" and the performer responds, "No."
Fletcher, an online creator and 25-year-old cofounder of marketing firm Klearcut Media, according to her Instagram bio, responded to a request for an interview but did not immediately respond to follow-up questions. (Fletcher also goes by Katelyn Nassar online, which appears to be her married name, per a Zola gift registry.)
But Fletcher likely isn't the only Austinite hit with an enormous rent increase.
From January 2021 to January 2022, Austin's average rent increased 35%, more than the increase at the national level, (15.2%) per Redfin data, KVUE reported.
Still, the average rent for Austin for January 2022 was $2,245—much closer to Fletcher's apparent original rent than the new number.
Austin has been a hot destination for California-disaffected tech bros, like Elon Musk, Insider has reported, as well as pandemic-inspired relocators, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
One startup in the area even offers micro homes, which Insider toured. Aside from rent, Austin has also seen home-selling prices in flame, Insider has reported: The average home price went up year over year by $116,000 in January 2022.
And, as The Daily Dot story notes, Texas does not have any laws on the books related to rent increases, per the Austin Tenants Council and McCaw Property Management, so landlords can raise rent willy-nilly, as long as the lease has expired.
Commenters on Fletcher's TikTok video brought up rent protection, too.
One person noted Oregon's law on the issue, saying that landlords cannot raise rent on existing tenants by more than 7% plus the previous year's consumer price index (CPI), per the Oregon State Bar website.
The CPI measures a city dweller's "market basket" of goods and services, which rose 8.5% over the last 12 months as of March 2022.
California also has a law limiting rent increases, and local governments passed more laws for tenant protection in the wake of the pandemic, according to CNBC.
"God I wish I lived somewhere with renter's rights," another user commented.
Another asked if it was a typo. "I literally emailed them asking if it was a typo," Fletcher said.
To another person who asked if it was true, "It's real I can confirm," she wrote.
Rent nationwide has gone up year-over-year "staggering," 16.3% per data from Apartment List released in late April, and renters are losing hope they could own a home, Insider has previously reported.
More: Austin Austin rent Elon Musk | 2022-05-10T00:21:27Z | www.businessinsider.com | This Texas-Based TikToker Got 'Congratulations', Rent Raised by $2,500 | https://www.businessinsider.com/this-texas-based-tiktoker-got-congratulations-rent-raised-by-2500-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/this-texas-based-tiktoker-got-congratulations-rent-raised-by-2500-2022-5 |
US Senate candidate Blake Masters of Arizona and GOP megadonor Peter Thiel.
Gage Skidmore/The Star News Network; John Lamparski/Getty Images
Blake Masters, a GOP candidate for Arizona senate, threatened to sue a reporter for defamation.
The Arizona Mirror reported Masters may support banning birth control and praised a Nazi leader.
Masters invoked Peter Thiel's Hulk Hogan-Gawker lawsuit, which put the publication out of business.
Blake Masters, an Arizona GOP candidate for Senate, threatened to sue a reporter for defamation after an Arizona Mirror article suggested Masters raised a Nazi leader in a 2006 essay and would be open to banning birth control should he be elected.
The article, published May 6, reported that Masters' campaign website contained a pledge that the candidate will only vote for judges who oppose the Supreme Court rulings of Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and Griswold v. Connecticut, and suggested Masters would ban contraceptive use based on this position.
The reference to Griswold has since been removed from Masters' campaign site.
The Arizona Mirror also referred to a 2006 essay written by Masters that ends with a quote from Hermann Göring, a military leader and one of the most powerful figures of the Nazi party – credited with creating the Gestapo – who was eventually prosecuted during the Nuremberg Trials and sentenced to death.
Masters quoted Göring's thoughts on war at the end of the essay, calling his words "poignant."
Invoking the 2013 Hulk Hogan-Gawker lawsuit funded by supporter and former coworker, Peter Thiel, Masters said he would sue the Arizona Mirror and reporter Dillon Rosenblatt for the reporting, saying in a tweet: "Gawker found out the hard way and you will too."
Masters' campaign did not respond to Insider's requests for comment on May 7 or follow-up requests on May 9.
Gawker filed for bankruptcy and went out of business following the lawsuit, funded in large part by Thiel, that found the publication liable for invasion of privacy, infringement of personality rights, and intentional infliction of emotional distress for publishing a sex tape featuring Hogan.
A jury awarded former professional wrestler Hogan, whose real name is Tony Bollea, $115 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. The parties settled for $31 million.
Masters, whose campaign has been given $10 million in donations by Thiel's pro-Masters PAC, suggested the lawsuit against the Mirror would be a priority "after winning" the election. Current polling shows Masters behind other candidates in the GOP primary race for Senate by as much as six points.
"If spreading false progressive political propaganda under the guise of "reporting" were an Olympic sport, you would be on the podium," Kory Langhofer, counsel for Masters, said in a demand letter published Monday and sent to the Arizona Mirror.
"But be prepared for the consequences of your business model of subverting facts, for consequences are indeed coming."
More: GOP Arizona Senate Blake Masters
Gawker | 2022-05-10T03:50:56Z | www.businessinsider.com | Blake Masters Threatens Reporter, Invokes Peter Thiel's Hogan-Gawker Suit | https://www.businessinsider.com/blake-masters-threatens-reporter-invokes-peter-thiels-hogan-gawker-suit-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/blake-masters-threatens-reporter-invokes-peter-thiels-hogan-gawker-suit-2022-5 |
Check out the 11-slide pitch deck Paddle, a billing startup that competes with Apple's in-app payments, used to raise $200 million from KKR
Christian Owens, Paddle CEO.
Paddle, a UK-based software billing startup has raised a $200 million Series D funding round.
The startup, which was founded in 2012, has brought in funding from KKR at a unicorn valuation.
Check out the 11-slide pitch deck Paddle used to raise the fresh funds below:
Payments infrastructure startup Paddle has raised $200 million in fresh funds from investing giant KKR.
The London-based company was founded in 2012 by Christian Owens and Harrison Rose when they were teenagers with neither cofounder attending university.
Paddle makes it easier for software-as-a-service (Saas) firms, which rely on regular subscriptions, to bill customers and keep the money coming in. It has developed a platform that promises to cover payment processing, billing, and sales tax, among other things. The startup previously made headlines for taking on Apple's in-app payments infrastructure.
"We've been growing really nicely and were a net beneficiary of software booming during COVID-19," Owens told Insider. "Lots of great businesses find their stride during times of crisis but go through belt-tightening, for us, we're giving this infrastructure that helps businesses go global and do their billing, so we're in a position where there is always a need for what we provide."
This Series D funding comes at a $1.4 billion valuation and makes Paddle the UK's latest unicorn. The deal was led by KKR, alongside existing investors FTV Capital, 83North, Notion Capital, Kindred Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank.
Owens said the company began fundraising in January, against a backdrop of a global tech sell-off, but said Paddle's raise remained strong because it had shunned a "grow at all costs mentality."
"For us, our business fundamentals are such that in a flight to safety we are still growing fast and from a stable base," Owens added. "We provide core infrastructure that companies need as opposed to more discretionary spend. Our focus is on being extremely ambitious on building a meaningful business for our customers, it's a marathon, not a sprint."
To that end, Paddle is growing out its headcount globally as it looks to expand its offering geographically, particularly in the US which Owens said was the company's fastest-growing market. Similarly, global businesses need more localized support in their time zones and languages, something the startup is looking to improve its offering for customers.
Check out Paddle's unicorn pitch deck below:
More: Features Fintech SaaS | 2022-05-10T05:37:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | Paddle: UK SaaS Startup Raises $200m at $1.4bn Valuation From KKR | https://www.businessinsider.com/paddle-uk-saas-startup-raises-200m-at-14bn-valuation-from-kkr-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/paddle-uk-saas-startup-raises-200m-at-14bn-valuation-from-kkr-2022-5 |
Web3 startup Freeverse.io is creating a new generation of 'dynamic' NFTs. Here's the pitch deck it used to raise $11 million.
Nine months after raising a €1 million seed round, Web3 startup Freeverse.io has raised $11 million.
Its platform creates dynamic NFTs that can change based on how they are used.
CEO Dr. Alun Evans believes this will offer a better way of valuing NFTs beyond being collectibles.
NFTs have spurred a multi-billion dollar industry amid a goldrush for what critics would describe as little more than static images stored on the blockchain whose value is derived from artificial concepts of scarcity.
But for one European startup, NFTs don't have to be static or scarcity valued. Instead, they can be "living" digital assets that "capture value from owners" who use them, describes Freeverse.io CEO and cofounder Dr Alun Evans. The Barcelona-based startup has just raised €10 million ($11 million) to fuel the development of "dynamic NFTs," as he calls them.
Many of the criticisms of the NFT boom have pointed to the market's value – which hit $44.2 billion according to blockchain data firm Chainanalysis – as one that has been driven by speculative buying and selling among consumers seeking a quick profit.
But NFTs that change in value based on how they are used can offer a more sustainable means of attributing value to digital tokens, rather than valuing them through an auction, Evans said.
To that end, Freeverse's platform allows the likes of games developers, content creators and consumer brands to add a layer to NFTs that allows the digital asset to "change and evolve based on how they are used," Evans said.
The startup, which just raised its Series A round, sees this as a clear way of giving NFTs values that isn't just based on being collectibles.
"NFTs are these static items, so they can't change and that means their value is very tied to this concept of scarcity," Evans told Insider.
But dynamic NFTs can, for instance, allow brands to build stronger ties to their followers by giving them NFTs that can change based on their engagement with brand offerings such as virtual events, which can in turn lead to digital or real-world rewards, he said.
"It starts off as a basic Level One NFT and then it levels up based on how much you're engaging with that brand," Evans said. "Then you get rewards for leveling up."
The round was led by Earlybird Venture Capital and Target Global, with additional funding from existing backers and angel investors such as Adara Ventures and German soccer player Mario Götze. It comes nine months after Freeverse raised €1 million ($1.1 million) in a seed round.
Freeverse will use its fresh funds to accelerate its push to market and continue developing its product.
Evans noted that despite there being "a smaller pool" of talent for developing such technology in Europe, the intrigue of working for something different makes it "relatively easy to capture the attention of people" seeking new tech engineering roles.
More: Features NFT Web3 | 2022-05-10T06:33:20Z | www.businessinsider.com | Freeverse.io Raises $11 Million to Create Next Generation NFTs | https://www.businessinsider.com/freeverseio-raises-11-million-to-create-next-generation-nfts-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/freeverseio-raises-11-million-to-create-next-generation-nfts-2022-5 |
Luxury travelers are not concerned by the inflation in hotel prices.
Oleg Breslavtsev/Getty Images
Global hotel prices have increased by 184% from a year ago, per Travel Daily Media.
This is due to a sudden surge in travel demand, worker shortages, and a dearth of of guestrooms.
Hotels have introduced sign-on bonuses as high as $2,000 to overcome labor shortages.
When the Covid pandemic first hit in early 2020, more than 142 countries instituted complete or partial border closures, with 91% of the world's population restricted from travel in March 2020, according to the Pew Research Center.
But now, as travel has resumed faster than expected following an accelerated vaccination roll-out in high-income countries, hotels worldwide can't keep up with the pent-up demand amidst labor shortages, causing room prices to skyrocket.
The UK Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform and partner travel agent Butter found that hotel room rates increased by 184% between October 2020 and October 2021, per Travel Daily Media. And yet demand for hotel stays in New York City rallied by 361%, causing a 28% price increase across the city. Meanwhile, in Europe, Rome and Lisbon experienced room price increases of 23% and 20%, respectively.
While price increases are partly due to the sudden surge in travel demand, the lack of supply in guestrooms and staffing add to the problem, experts told Insider.
Most hotels are unable to open at total capacity due to labour shortages.
Martin Harvey/Getty Images
Lim Hui Ting, a co-founder of ultra-luxury travel agency UniqLuxe, told Insider that many hotels are still unable to open at total capacity, with many operating at 60% to 70% occupancy.
The reasons for reduced room capacity vary: While a few hotels used the downtime in travel to renovate, the majority cannot fully reopen due to a shortage of labor caused by hotels letting staff go to stay afloat during the height of the pandemic, Lim added.
In March, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that the leisure and hospitality industry faced a quit rate of 5.7%. The high rate of resignation is primarily due to burnout among service staff, many of whom had to double-up shifts to cover colleagues who were let go, per The Economist.
Nonetheless, the jump in prices hasn't fazed consumers with deep pockets.
According to Lim, her clients have been very accepting of the new hotel rates, noting that people have put off travel for the past two years and are eager to pamper themselves. "Even if entry-level rooms are sold out, they are fine with booking the higher categories," Lim said.
However, as hotels enjoy increased revenue after a two-year lull, the staffing crunch may ultimately be a double-edged sword, as high- net-worth travelers still expect five-star service. Leaving them unsatisfied on their holidays will, in turn, cause them to become detractors.
That's what happened to 55-year-old Wendy Chong when she stayed at the 5-star Amara Sanctuary Resort Singapore. Chong told Channel News Asia that her room — for which she paid SG$2,000 ($1,440) for a three-night stay — was only ready two hours after the stipulated check-in time. Despite the delay, the concierge was unapologetic, prompting Chong to leave a bad review on Facebook.
A 40-year-old hotelier who works for a luxury group and asked to remain anonymous to protect his job told Insider: "It is expected for service levels to drop with so many guests and not enough staff to service them. But if guests are dissatisfied, they will not book again. Hotels will be forced to reduce prices in the long run."
A labor crunch causes shifts in service and sky-high hiring bonuses
Marriott's chief global officer told CNBC "more and more of [Marriott's] guests have actually asked that [housekeeping doesn't] come in their room."
Many hotels have also changed up how much service they provide to guests during their stays, though in wildly differing ways. At Hilton hotels in the US, housekeeping will only be done on the fifth day of the stay — unless guests opt-in to additional housekeeping services — to compensate for the lack of housekeeping staff. Hotels are defending their stance of removing daily housekeeping by claiming guests are not comfortable with people entering their rooms after checked-in after the pandemic. Ray Bennett, chief global officer for Marriott, told CNBC that "more and more of [Marriott's] guests have actually asked that [housekeeping doesn't] come in their room."
Meanwhile, hotels across Europe and Asia Pacific have had housekeeping staff adhere to a more stringent post-Covid cleaning regimen, which requires increased sanitization of the rooms.
To overcome the labor crunch, hotels have introduced sign-on bonuses as high as $2,000 for housekeeping and kitchen positions to lure staff back. The bonuses are paid over several months to ensure employees stay.
But such one-off incentives may not be appealing enough to solve the labor shortage in the long term. According to CBRE Hotels' March 2022 US Hotels State of the Union report, frontline hotel employees earn 12.8% less than retail workers. Hotels would need to start re-evaluating their wages if they wish to attract and retain employees back to an industry that no longer seems stable after the pandemic, per Skift.
But as hotels struggle to hire and retain a workforce in a post-pandemic environment, those who can afford to seemingly have no qualms about splashing out more cash for top-tier service.
"While I would be empathetic towards the plights of housekeepers, I would rather pay top dollar to ensure I find a hotel with better service," Beatrice, a 29-year-old financier who preferred not to disclose her last name, told Insider.
More: Travel hotel Inflation labour shortage | 2022-05-10T06:33:26Z | www.businessinsider.com | Hotel Room Prices Skyrocket Amid Worker Shortages, Declining Service | https://www.businessinsider.com/hotel-room-prices-skyrocket-amid-worker-shortages-declining-service-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/hotel-room-prices-skyrocket-amid-worker-shortages-declining-service-2022-5 |
QAnon adherents are trawling the border wall in Sasabe, Arizona, looking for children who are making the journey into America.
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Followers of the QAnon movement have set up camp in Arizona, per The New York Times.
The QAnon adherents are trawling the border looking for migrant children crossing into the US.
The group believes the children are being sex-trafficked by a satanic cabal of pedophiles.
A new report by The New York Times has revealed how QAnon adherents are trawling the southern border to find and intercept children crossing over into the US.
The Times visited some followers of the QAnon movement who have been camping out near Arizona and operating as a vigilante border patrol force. QAnon adherents believe in a conspiracy theory that claims former President Donald Trump is fighting against a satanic cabal of pedophiles.
According to The Times, the group was seen intercepting a group of 15 migrant children from Guatemala, who were then shepherded to a campsite where they were provided food. There, a man named Jason Frank gave them "Let's Go Brandon" shirts bearing images of President Joe Biden, after which the children were rounded up and made to pose for a group photo.
Per The Times, Frank's group believes the children are being sex trafficked across the border and formed an armed organization to intercept them right when they cross into America.
"They are being trafficked, sex trafficked. That's the No. 1 trade," Frank, 44, told The Times. "The money, that's where it's at now."
The Times reported that Frank, a minor influencer in QAnon circles, has been at the border since April in a borrowed RV, in which he stores a trove of firearms. Frank and his group seek out children struggling to get across gaps in the border wall, luring them to them with food and then broadcasting their arrival on Facebook.
At press time, Frank's Facebook page had been deactivated.
The Times also spoke to Mia Bloom, an expert on extremism, who said that the children were being used as a "prop" for the group to spread their message. "They are instrumentalizing the children for internal propaganda and to further their political agenda," Bloom told the outlet.
Frank's claims about the border and child sex trafficking appear unsupported by evidence.
"We haven't heard about migrant children brought in to be sex workers or slaves," Stacey Sutherland, an official with the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network, told the Times. "At the border, it's overwhelmingly people who paid to be smuggled."
Margo Cowan, a public defender in Arizona's Pima County, told The Times that she found the group's actions "extremely dangerous." Meanwhile, Chris Nanos, Pima County's sheriff, called the "QAnon types" patrolling the border "nut jobs," but said it was a matter for the US Customs and Border Protection agency to handle.
The CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
More: QAnon US Customs and Border Protection Migrant migrant children | 2022-05-10T06:55:03Z | www.businessinsider.com | QAnon Followers Trawling Southern Border for Migrant Children: Report | https://www.businessinsider.com/qanon-followers-trawl-southern-border-looking-for-migrant-kids-report-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/qanon-followers-trawl-southern-border-looking-for-migrant-kids-report-2022-5 |
Algorithmic stablecoin UST has struggled to maintain its peg amid the crypto crash. We spoke to 6 crypto-investing heavyweights who are sounding the alarm on the project — and one who's making a bull case.
Kari McMahon and Vicky Ge Huang
The algorithmic stablecoin UST has struggled to maintain its peg to the dollar amid volatility.
The terra ecosystem and its UST stablecoin are now among the most controversial topics in crypto.
Seven crypto-investing heavyweights weigh in on the bull and bear cases for the ecosystem.
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to a reserve asset, like a fiat currency or gold. The stability and reliability of stablecoins mean they offer an accessible way to enter and exit the crypto market. But over the weekend, the algorithmic stablecoin UST, which is linked to the terra ecosystem, depegged from the dollar amid volatility in the crypto market.
The volatility came as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 0.50% on Wednesday. The interest rate hike then combined with a strong US jobs report brought a turbulent end to the week in global markets with investors grappling with higher interest rates in the face of slowing growth and surging inflation.
The declines continued into the weekend for the crypto market, which is always open. From Friday, bitcoin (BTC) tumbled 6% to reach around $30,700, as of 2:58 p.m. in New York, according to CoinGecko pricing. Major altcoins including solana (SOL) and avalanche (AVAX) plunged 14% and 17% over the past 24 hours, respectively.
On Saturday, terra's UST started to lose its peg to the dollar and the ecosystem's governance token LUNA, which plays a role in maintaining the stability of UST. It fell 15% in 24 hours.
Some believe the loss in the peg came down to a significant swap of UST to tether (USDT) taking place in the Curve protocol by a crypto whale. Fans of the terra ecosystem, known as "LUNAtics", questioned if this was a coordinated attack by a competitor. The peg started to recover as Terraform Labs CEO and cofounder, Do Kwon addressed the issue on Twitter.
The terra ecosystem is closely watched because both the governance token, LUNA, and the stablecoin, UST, have quickly climbed the ranks of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
A burning mechanism leveraging the LUNA token and a reserve of digital assets, such as bitcoin, are being used to maintain the stablecoin's peg with the dollar.
But critics have raised doubts about the arbitrage mechanism between LUNA and UST.
In March, two pseudonymous crypto traders, who go by Sensei Algod and GRC challenged Kwon to a bet that the price of the LUNA token will be lower than $88 a year from now. Kwon accepted both wagers, sending a total of $11 million of UST to an ethereum wallet owned by another crypto trader known as Cobie, who acts as the escrow for the funds.
To further boost UST, Kwon pledged to buy $10 billion worth of bitcoin to support the stablecoin. Some market participants have questioned what would happen to bitcoin's price and support level if terra were to stop buying it, or if the network were to suddenly experience a loss in confidence from investors.
On Monday, the Luna Foundation Guard, a non-profit launched to grow the terra ecosystem, voted to deploy $1.5 billion in capital to "allay market concerns around UST" and maintain the peg. Despite these measures, UST depegged for a second time and LUNA lost more than 50% in value in over 24 hours.
Crypto investors have also raised concerns about the complexity involved in maintaining algorithmic stablecoins, which are supposed to be stable and reliable assets. Others argue that stablecoins are truly decentralized, which means they will remain outside the purview of regulators and governments.
Speaking at the Crypto Bahamas conference, seven crypto heavyweights shared their outlooks on the ecosystem.
Amy Wu, FTX's head of ventures, gaming and M&A
Amy Wu, head of FTX Ventures
The team behind the crypto exchange FTX shared bearish sentiments on the terra ecosystem in the lead-up to the conference and during the event. FTX.US CEO Brett Harrison told CoinDesk that algorithmic stablecoins are "not truly stable". There are risks to these assets, which is why they offer such high yields, he added.
It's a sentiment that Amy Wu, FTX's head of ventures, gaming, and M&A, echoed during the conference.
"It's certainly an area that there's a lot of interest in," said Wu in an interview. "I fundamentally think it's quite unstable."
FTX Ventures isn't currently investing in stablecoins but Wu highlights the team is still building out a thesis in the space.
"It's a really interesting thought experiment, right?" Wu said. "I think it's actually quite a fascinating technology. I just think as a replacement for fiat currency, I think you will run into consumer protection issues from the instability of it."
"I am a believer in the USDC, that's backed by real assets," she added.
John Darsie, a managing director at SALT and business development director at SkyBridge
Similar to Wu, John Darsie, a managing director at thought leadership forum SALT and business director at alternative investment firm SkyBridge, is more bullish on the USD coin (USDC), the stablecoin which is backed by centralized fiat reserves such as dollars and short-term government bonds.
"We think it's transforming the financial system," said Darsie at a press briefing.
Instead of governments and regulators focusing on the creation of a central bank digital currency, Darsie believes regulators should instead explore more "actively and aggressively" regulating decentralized stablecoins that are fully backed by assets and run by private companies, such as USDC.
"We think the algorithmic stablecoin market is a little bit risky and questionable, but I think if you get a fully backed, stablecoin that is private and monitored in a transparent way," Darsie said. "That's probably the best outcome from a central bank digital currency perspective."
Dan Gunsberg, founder and CEO of Hxro Network
Dan Gunsberg is the founder and CEO of Hxro Network.
Hxro Network
Dan Gunsberg is a veteran trader who entered the crypto market in 2015. He is now the founder and CEO of Hxro Network, a decentralized derivatives platform on solana, and sees problems brewing with algorithmic stablecoins and the rise of crypto derivatives.
"I think that in the right hands, they can be useful," said Gunsberg in an interview. "In the wrong hands, they could be very problematic."
Where Gunsberg sees problems is if derivative strategies were to be created from these algorithmic stablecoin strategies.
"Ultimately, those types of things are what got us in trouble in 2008," Gunsberg said. "Albeit it'll be at a much smaller scale, but it could be that they have the potential to be systemically catastrophic."
Peter Johnson, co-head of private investments at Brevan Howard Digital
Peter Johnson, the co-head of private investments at Brevan Howard Digital, is one of the few odd ones out: he takes a more bullish view on algorithmic stablecoins.
Johnson invested in Terra both at his current company and while at Jump Crypto.
"We are big fans of what they're building and overall just big fans of stablecoin adoption," said Johnson on a panel.
"We invest in big macro shifts that we see coming," he added. "And one of those is the adoption of stablecoins, [which] will be a new way that money moves around the world."
Patrick Heusser, CEO of Crypto Finance (Brokerage) AG
Patrick Heusser is the head of trading at Crypto Finance Brokerage.
Crypto Finance Brokerage
Patrick Heusser, an ex-UBS trader who also served as the head of trading at Crypto Finance (Brokerage) AG before assuming his current CEO role, approaches algorithmic stablecoins from two different perspectives.
As a private person and veteran trader, he finds it hard to ignore the profit-generating opportunities of getting into algorithmic stablecoins early.
"There is always value because they try to bootstrap liquidity ," Heusser said, referring to the high interest rates or other incentives offered to early users. "So I tried to get in early, make some money, and then get out."
At the same time, the history of currency pegs casts the future of algorithmic stablecoins into doubt.
"One of my former bosses always said 'if there is a peg, a peg is there to break,'" he recalled, pointing to the Swiss National Bank's move to scrap the franc's peg to the euro in 2015 and the Malaysian ringgit's de-pegging from the US dollar in 2005, as examples.
As the CEO of a regulated broker-dealer, Heusser said his firm is not allowed to interact with decentralized finance protocols. While he'd love to offer clients high yields such as the nearly 20% APY offered by the Anchor Protocol, he is concerned about the sustainability of the returns.
"The Anchor Protocol is burning about $5 million a day in their treasury to sustain the yield," he said. "I understand they are doing it to bootstrap liquidity and generate adoption, but at some point, you've got to come to an economically reasonable place. You can't subsidize it forever."
Ming Wu, founder and CEO of Strips Finance
Ming Wu is the founder and CEO of Strips Finance.
Strips Finance
Ming Wu is the founder and CEO of the decentralized interest rate derivatives trading platform Strips Finance. His trading career spanned Goldman Sachs, a high-frequency trading firm, and blockchain company Paxos.
While Wu is also skeptical about the sustainability of Anchor Protocol's current high double-digit percentage yield, he believes that the interest rate can settle at between 4% and 10%.
The reason is that the bitcoin basis trade (also called the cash-and-carry trade), which is often considered a nearly risk-free strategy, generates between 4% and 10% in yield.
"If the carry trade is more than 10%, then market makers will always be willing to borrow at a rate lower than 10%," Wu told Insider in an interview. "I think the sustainable level is between 4% to 10%, depending on how wide that carry gets. More than that, you need to start asking where is that yield coming from."
Right now, the additional yield that Anchor Protocol offers to depositors of the UST stablecoin is coming from the protocol's own yield reserve, which has shrunk to $177 million from $324 million about a month ago. This is after the Luna Foundation Guard agreed to recapitalize the Anchor yield reserve with 450 million UST in February.
As more algorithmic stablecoins spring up to replicate the success of UST, the whole space could become a "capital game" where protocols spend massive amounts of capital in order to generate demand and grab market share, in Wu's view.
"If I have more capital than you, I can provide a higher yield than your protocol for a longer period of time and I can gain market share," he said. "But then once you do gain market share and you kill the other competitors, you run out of money, and then someone else is going to come out."
In a sense, UST could have already become "too big to fail" after amassing collateral including billions in bitcoin and $100 million of avalanche's native token to back the stablecoin.
"Because if UST collapses, then this collateral needs to be sold in the market, which would kill all kinds of protocols," he said.
Scott Freeman, co-founder and partner of JST Capital
Scott Freeman, a lawyer-turned hedge fund manager, cofounded crypto finance firm JST Capital in 2018. Freeman said the firm's traders are bullish on terra's native token LUNA and it does participate in algorithmic stablecoin-based strategies.
However, he is aware of the risks in the space.
"We don't take too much risk in that space because I think those things are still untested," he told Insider. "UST has made some good progress stabilizing it and giving people more comfort about the assets backing them, but we are still wary about not taking too much risk."
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HXRO | 2022-05-10T09:35:47Z | www.businessinsider.com | Crypto Price Crash: 7 Crypto Heavyweights on TerraUSD $UST Stability | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-price-market-crash-terra-ust-stablecoin-stability-do-kwon-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-price-market-crash-terra-ust-stablecoin-stability-do-kwon-2022-5 |
This former Monzo exec aims to take the pain out of weekly grocery shopping with his new startup Lollipop. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck it used to raise $6.1 million.
Lollipop cofounder Tom Foster-Carter.
Fintech founder and former Monzo COO Tom Foster-Carter has turned his eye to groceries.
His new startup Lollipop wants to make the weekly shop much easier for busy families.
Check out the 14-slide pitch deck the startup used to raise $6.1 million from Octopus Ventures.
A serial entrepreneur and former Monzo chief operating officer has turned his attention away from fintech to grocery shopping.
Tom Foster-Carter, who also cofounded debit and credit card aggregator Curve and children's finance app Osper, is set on transforming the weekly shop. His latest venture Lollipop, founded in 2020, just landed £5 million ($6.1 million) to help families get fed without the stress of planning meals and shopping for groceries.
The seed round was led by Octopus Ventures and builds on a £1 million ($1.2 million) pre-seed round from Maki VC, a backer of Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill's femtech startup Jennis.
The cofounder had the idea when his first child arrived during the busiest week of his career.
"I remember seeing these two – a huge work milestone and this huge personal milestone – colliding and I couldn't do anything about either of them," Foster-Carter told Insider. "I knew it was gonna throw our lives into chaos and it absolutely did."
Doing the weekly shop nearly tipped the new parents "over the edge," and Foster-Carter knew there had to be a software solution.
London-based Lollipop crunches user data – such as dietary requirements, number of people in the family, and their ages, budget, and lifestyle goals – and offers up recipes from its own in-house chefs or from BBC Good Food to create a meal plan. Users can also add their own recipes manually, and the platform will soon be able to pull information from website links.
Lollipop claims rapid delivery apps, which focus on last-minute orders, miss 90% of the grocery market that centers on stocking up the shelves.
Once recipes are selected, Lollipop syncs up with British supermarket Sainsbury's and builds a shopping basket with automatically-selected ingredients that can be swapped out for alternatives if needed. In the future, users will be able to customize the types of ingredients they prefer. For example, the platform could always opt for the organic, gluten-free, or "lazy option," such as pre-chopped ginger or garlic.
The company expects to add different supermarkets as it scales.
The system also has a sense of what ingredients that users commonly have in, Foster-Carter said, so some items like salt and pepper are automatically deselected from the basket until a user wants to top up their supplies. The platform also has a community element as users often share meal photos and advice, the cofounder added.
Lollipop, which claims to have thousands of people signing up every week, also allows users to order household essentials such as toilet paper . The company's target audience is busy families like Foster-Carter's own.
The fresh cash will be used to build out the platform, come out of beta, and double the company's 20-person strong team by the end of the year.
Long term, Foster-Carter sees Lollipop connecting to smart devices so it knows exactly what is in a user's fridge and cupboards and when it goes out of date. The cofounder said this will help tackle food waste and hopes to facilitate food sharing amongst neighbours.
Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Foster-Carter used to raise the fresh round.
More: Pitch Deck Startups Venture Capital Features | 2022-05-10T09:36:11Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ex-Monzo Exec Raises $6.1 Million for Grocery Delivery App Lollipop | https://www.businessinsider.com/monzos-former-coo-raised-6-million-grocery-shopping-pitch-deck-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/monzos-former-coo-raised-6-million-grocery-shopping-pitch-deck-2022-5 |
Should you refinance?
Do you need a cosigner?
This week's student loan refinancing rates: May 10, 2022 | 5-year graduate rates down by over 1%
Rates on undergraduate refinanced loans are up from two weeks ago.
The average interest rate on refinanced undergraduate student loans increased last week, while refinance rates on graduate loans dropped, according to Credible. Student loan rates are low overall, so you may think about refinancing your student loan now before they go up.
Interest rates on private student loans are tied to a variable index rate and borrowers' credit scores. Mark Kantrowitz, president of PrivateStudentLoans.guru, says lenders may be waiting to see where federal loan interest rates will be starting in July. This could help companies decide what interest rates to charge so they can beat out Parent PLUS loans on price, for example.
Kantrowitz thinks rates will start increasing in June.
The average rate on 5-year variable undergraduate refinanced student loans is 5.07%, which is a substantial increase of 0.95% from two weeks ago. In November, this rate was much lower, at 2.85%.
Five-year graduate variable rates have dropped significantly since two weeks ago. Currently, the average rate is 2.57%, down from 3.71% the week prior.
Refinance rates on 10-year undergraduate fixed student loans this past week are up a tad from two weeks ago, with rates increasing by 0.10%. Rates on undergraduate loans have increased by 1.30% since last May.
Graduate loans have ticked down from two weeks ago, falling by 0.05%. They are up by 1.11% from six months ago.
Your credit score has a major effect on the rate you'll get when you refinance. Usually, the better your credit score, the better rate you'll receive. Below, we've listed the 10-year fixed student loan rates by credit score:
Start the process by researching different companies and checking your terms with each lender. Review the details of each offer and determine which rate and term length works best for you. You have to refinance through a private student loan lender, as you aren't able refinance a student loan through the federal government.
Once you've decided on a company, you'll provide documents that verify your finances and identity. After the lender gives you its final offer, you'll need to agree to the terms and sign on the dotted line. Then, your new lender will pay off your existing loan and you'll be locked in with a new loan.
Refinancing your student loan may lower your interest rate, allow you to switch from a variable-rate loan to a fixed-rate loan, or change your term length. Switching up your term length can allow you to spread out payments over a longer period for smaller monthly payments, though you'll pay more in interest overall.
Be careful before refinancing a federal student loan. Even if you're able to get a lower rate when you refinance a federal loan, you will lose key protections that come with federal loans. For example, you won't qualify for the COVID-19 related student loan payment pause, currently in place through August 31, 2022, and federal student loan relief programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
You also won't be able to take advantage of certain repayment options like Income-Driven Repayment plans, which take your specific income and family size into account when determining monthly payments. In certain cases, borrowers with very low incomes may even pay as little as $0 per month.
Do you need a cosigner to refinance a student loan?
It depends on the lender. Some lenders require one, while others recommend one to increase your chances of qualifying for a loan. You may also get a better rate with a cosigner.
Generally, to get a loan without a cosigner, you'll need a solid credit score, reliable payment history, and steady source of income. | 2022-05-10T10:10:56Z | www.businessinsider.com | This Week's Student Loan Refinancing Rates: May 10, 2022 | 5-Year Graduate Rates Down by Over 1% | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/student-loan-refinancing-rates-today-tuesday-may-10-2022 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/student-loan-refinancing-rates-today-tuesday-may-10-2022 |
Carbon-removal startups could be essential to avoid catastrophic climate change. We profiled 11 that investors say are poised to take off.
Louise Parlons Bentata and Nestor Rueda-Vallejo cofounded Bluemethane.
Bluemethane
The IPCC says carbon removal is essential to keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees.
The carbon-capture-and-sequestration market is expected to be worth $7 billion by 2028.
Insider profiled 11 European carbon-removal startups investors think are poised to take off.
Sucking carbon out of the atmosphere through both nature and technology is likely to form an important part of the world's effort to reduce emissions and avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has described carbon removal as essential in meeting the Paris agreement's target of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and it's gaining traction among investors.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global carbon-capture-and-sequestration market is expected to grow from $2 billion in 2021 to $7 billion by 2028.
PitchBook data indicates there are 55 venture-capital-backed companies in Europe's carbon-capture-and-sequestration ecosystem. Startups in the sector raised $52.8 million across 20 deals in 2021, a figure dwarfed by this year's $1 billion across 12 deals to date. The Swiss startup Climeworks raised the lion's share, raking in $650 million in one round last month.
Alphabet, Meta, Stripe, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability have also committed to scaling carbon-removal technologies. Under a joint initiative named Frontier, the companies said in April that they'd earmarked $925 million to purchase permanent carbon removal from companies building new solutions over the next nine years.
Carbon-removal companies come in different forms — some are designed to suck carbon straight out of the air, while others extract it from industry processes before it's emitted. Some startups take a nature-based approach to sequestering the gas.
Biochar, a form of charcoal that prevents carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by storing it in solid form, is another option. It is made from organic materials like crop residue that are exposed to high temperatures and low oxygen.
Carbon can also be stored in materials such as limestone and carbon fiber, which can be used as building materials and car parts.
"We will need to do all of these things, because we will need to move from net zero to net negative," Michal Nachmany, the founder of Climate Policy Radar, told Insider. Nachmany, whose startup is building a searchable database of global climate policies, added that carbon-removal technologies should be used in addition to reducing emissions, "not instead of."
Carbon removal is a nascent industry. Many technologies are new, unproven, and costly, making them difficult to scale.
Climeworks, which runs a direct-air-capture plant in Iceland, has said it's convinced the global price of carbon will settle in the range of $100 to $200 a ton once the urgency and necessity of carbon removal are fully understood and the right policies are in place. It expects the cost of its current direct-air-capture technology to be $250 to $300 a ton by 2030.
Nachmany said investors, governments, and corporations must be bullish on carbon removal despite the high costs. "Investing in R&D and things that currently look very expensive and unrealistic — if we don't start that now, then they will continue being unrealistic and expensive," Nachmany said.
David Frykman, a general partner at Norrsken VC, said that bringing down the cost is key to success.
"The need for carbon removal is sadly obvious. Luckily, there is a lot of innovation currently happening in the space," Frykman said, adding that he's watching the industry but hasn't made an investment. "What's more, we need companies that create the infrastructure, verification, and financing of carbon removal. There are many exciting companies working on these issues, not least due to recent gains in the momentum regarding net-zero commitments."
Insider asked venture capitalists and industry experts to identify portfolio and nonportfolio companies they're most excited about. Each company is profiled below.
EcoLocked enables houses to be built with biochar.
Mario Vaupel, Steff Gerhart, and Micheil Gordon.
Bosch Startup Harbor
Recommended by: Sie Ventures' Triin Linamagi and Speedinvest's Andreas Schwarzenbrunner
Relationship to VCs: Nonportfolio
Headquarters: Berlin
What it does: EcoLocked lets building owners, architects, and civil engineers use biochar as a building material, mixed with concrete.
EcoLocked hopes its strategy will help decarbonize the construction industry. It says it can be integrated with existing processes at a small extra cost and tailored to different concrete applications.
The company told Insider it has a triple impact: reducing emissions in the construction sector by replacing some cement, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, and locking in additional carbon dioxide over a building's lifetime.
It also markets carbon-removal certificates and green energy from its production plants.
Why it's poised to take off: The construction industry is a major contributor to climate change. The cement industry is thought to be responsible for about 8% of global CO2 emissions. The International Energy Agency said that in 2018 the sector accounted for 36% of final energy use and 39% of energy- and process-related CO2 emissions.
"This means solutions for this sector are essential to any global strategy to sequester carbon," Schwarzenbrunner told Insider. "Biochar locks away carbon for hundreds to thousands of years, meaning that new construction can offset its emissions footprint through using it to lock away carbon — this massively improves the sector's footprint."
Linamagi added that the industry is shifting from "operational emissions" to "embodied emissions."
"EcoLocked is ideally positioned to capture the upcoming demand for zero-carbon materials," she said.
The startup is filing its process patent and is set to bring the first certified concrete mixes to market in early 2023, the investor added.
The Cool Corp is storing carbon in new materials.
Tommy Zijian Zhao and Josephine Tyler, the cofounders of The Cool Corp.
The Cool Corp
Recommended by: Sie Ventures' Nicole Velho
Relationship to VC: Nonportfolio
What it does: Cool Corp aims to create a profitable, scalable, and permanently carbon-negative solution for all carbon emitters by using captured CO2 to create carbon-based materials.
It says its thermo-catalytic process is used primarily to create carbon nanotubes — which can be used for energy storage and in car parts and boat hulls — but also creates other nanomaterials.
While the company doesn't capture the carbon itself, converting it into materials is a form of sequestration.
Why it's poised to take off: "The business model not only services the carbon emitters but has the potential to sell the materials on at the same time, which makes it attractive," Velho said.
"They are receiving inbound requests from carbon emitters on a monthly basis as emissions penalties and net-zero targets are kicking in, and current solutions available are expensive, which shows the need for this type of solution. These include cement companies, oil majors, and power plants, to name a few."
Seabound captures carbon from ships as they emit it.
Seabound's cofounders, Alisha Fredriksson and Roujia Wen.
Seabound
Recommended by: Ryan Orbuch, a partner at Lowercarbon Capital
Relationship to VC: Portfolio
What it does: Seabound retrofits cargo ships with its carbon-capture technology to extract CO2 before it's emitted into the atmosphere. Its technology converts the CO2 to limestone through a mineralization process; it's stored onboard and then sold on. The product can be used as a carbon-neutral building material or to make synthetic fuels.
Why it's poised to take off: International shipping is responsible for 2% to 3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. The International Maritime Organization has set a goal of reducing the sector's impact by at least 50% by 2050 compared with 2008 levels.
The industry will likely need a complex ecosystem of solutions to decarbonize. Electric ships have long been on the water but are not widespread, while cost remains a barrier to zero-carbon fuels.
"Seabound's clever but simple approach to maritime carbon capture has the potential for very low capex and minimal ship-board modifications, enabling rapid scale-up," Orbuch told Insider.
Climeworks runs the world's largest carbon-capture plant.
Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, the founders of Climeworks.
Recommended by: Microsoft
Relationship to investor: Portfolio
Headquarters: Zurich
Total raised: $784.1 million, according to Crunchbase
What it does: Climeworks is a carbon-dioxide-removal company with a commercial-scale facility called Orca in Iceland.
Climeworks' partner Carbfix mixes the captured CO₂ with water and pumps it underground, where it is stored permanently as stone because of rapid underground mineralization.
Why it's poised to take off: "The latest IPCC report underscores that the world must take urgent action to bring down emissions," a Microsoft spokesperson told Insider. "Climate scenarios that limit global warming to 1.5°C rely on large-scale applications of carbon removal technologies. Climeworks' direct air capture and storage technology is a scalable solution that can remove CO₂ from the air and store it in a permanent and measurable way."
The company counts Shopify, Stripe, and Microsoft as customers. It recently announced a $650 million funding round to continue scaling its solution.
Mash Makes creates biochar from crop waste.
The Mash Makes team.
Mash Makes
Recommended by: Norrsken's David Frykman
Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
What it does: Mash Makes, formerly Mash Energy and Mash Biotech, is a spin-out from the Technical University of Denmark that specializes in turning waste into electricity, biofuels, hydrogen, and biochar.
Agricultural residues, invasive species like water hyacinth, and sewage sludge would otherwise be burned or decompose, releasing emissions. Mash Makes uses the materials to produce green fuel products, which it said are priced competitively to incentivize buy-in, and create biochar.
The company says it takes care of everything itself, from acquiring biomass residue to manufacturing the machines to producing fuels and biochar. It said its machines are portable and deployable "in essentially any location where it makes sense."
Why it's poised to take off: While Mash Makes' focus is on green fuels, the pull for Frykman is its model to turn crop waste that "otherwise would have been burnt on fields creating air pollution" into biochar — he said this helps rehabilitate farmland and stores away carbon.
Bluemethane removes methane from water.
Recommended by: Michael Langguth, the chief strategy officer at Carbon13, Cambridge's climate accelerator
What it does: Langguth says Bluemethane is developing "breakthrough technology" — it plans to capture methane emissions from water, permanently removing the methane and unlocking a new source of bioenergy.
The company is starting with hydropower plants and plans to scale to nonhydropower reservoirs, wastewater treatment, and, eventually, natural bodies of water.
Bluemethane is working with a water utility company in the Netherlands this year and has a two-year research project with the Colombian energy company EPM.
Why it's poised to take off: "Bluemethane is focusing on the urgent but sometimes overlooked challenge of methane capture," Langguth said, highlighting the company's "fast progress" with its proofs of concept.
Tierra Foods is restoring soil quality to sink carbon.
Marcela Flores and Angela Newton, Tierra Foods' cofounders.
Tierra Foods
Recommended by: Michael Langguth, the chief strategy officer at Carbon13
What it does: Tierra Foods is doing carbon capture through regenerative agriculture, developing ingredients to improve soil quality and restore biodiversity.
While soil is a big carbon sink, some agriculture practices degrade its ability to store carbon.
The company says it uses land "that was once fertile but has been left barren from over-farming." It plants trees, perennials, and annuals to help to feed the soil, sink carbon, and attract greater biodiversity.
It is focusing its work on rainforests in Central America. "By creating markets for novel, under-used, and highly nutritious ingredients from the rainforests, we sequester carbon and deliver measurable holistic social impact and biodiversity net gains," the company told Insider.
Why it's poised to take off: "Tierra Foods just received investment from Climate VC and are launching a high-protein, no-gluten flour in the US," Langguth said. Its agro-forestry pilot is set to launch this year too, with a second food product expected to follow in 2023.
"We're looking forward to seeing their progress as they combine carbon capture with biodiversity, support for indigenous farmers, and healthy foods."
Brilliant Planet is unlocking algae to capture CO2.
Adam Taylor, Brilliant Planet's CEO, and Raffael Jovine, its cofounder and chief scientist.
Brilliant Planet
Relationship to investor: Nonportfolio
Total raised: $26.7 million
What it does: Brilliant Planet says it creates algae to sequester carbon "at the gigaton scale." Its open-air pond in the desert draws in seawater, which is used to replicate algae blooms that occur in the oceans.
Scientists have found that different types of algae are important in carbon sequestration. Brilliant Planet says its process is cost effective, long term, and scalable. It also doesn't use freshwater, a limited resource.
Why it's poised to take off: "Brilliant Planet is still early in its journey, but the results are looking very promising," Langguth said. The company claims its pond sequesters 30 times as much carbon as a rainforest per unit area.
"In addition, they are doing this in otherwise unused desert areas along the coastline of Morocco. This method could create jobs in an area where otherwise there are very few jobs — proving that with the right innovation in the right place, net zero is not a painful cost but a powerful economic driver."
Carbon Clean is capturing carbon from the cement and steel industries.
Prateek Bumb and Aniruddha Sharma, Carbon Clean's cofounders.
Carbon Clean
Recommended by: Chevron New Energies' Chris Powers
What it does: Carbon Clean built a modular carbon-capture device named CycloneCC to fit into the production lines for heavily polluting industries such as cement, steel, and refineries.
The company says its technology captures 90% of carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere and reduces the costs of carbon capture when compared with existing solutions. Its website says it's set to achieve $30 per metric ton of captured carbon.
The company also claims to have captured more than 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide since its inception.
Why it's poised to take off: Powers described Carbon Clean's technology as a "game-changer for hard-to-abate sectors."
"CycloneCC has a footprint ten times smaller than conventional carbon capture, making it easily deployable in less than eight weeks. The solution can reduce CapEx and OpEx by up to 50 per cent, driving down the cost of carbon capture to $30/tonne on average, which is crucial to making carbon capture commercially viable," the investor told Insider.
"Chevron's recent investment into the business alongside the development of a CycloneCC pilot at a gas turbine in California will help the company pursue its goal to become the world's leading provider of carbon capture solutions for heavy industry."
Agreena is using regenerative agriculture to store carbon.
Julie Koch, Simon Haldrup, and Ida Boesen, Agreena's cofounders.
Agreena
Recommended by: Giant Ventures' Madelene Larsson
Total raised: 27 million euros
What it does: Food and agriculture account for a significant portion of global greenhouse-gas emissions, as agricultural land covers much of the world's land surface.
"Farmland has the potential to sequester more carbon than all global emissions," Larsson told Insider. However, there are few incentives for farmers to shift their practices.
Agreena helps farmers get paid for turning their land into carbon sinks through regenerative agriculture. Its carbon marketplace connects corporates with farmers to sell carbon credits.
Why it's poised to take off: "Agreena is on track to become a backbone of Europe's green economy, having scaled revenue significantly within 12 months of launch," Larsson said. "Regenerative agriculture is one of very few economically viable routes to remove carbon at scale today. The experienced Agreena team, led by former Danske Bank executive Simon Haldrup, will help remove 20 million cars' worth of carbon per year by 2030."
Mission Zero captures carbon from the air in a more energy-efficient way.
The Mission Zero team.
Total raised: 3.8 million pounds
What it does: Mission Zero, a spin-out from Deep Science Ventures, says it's developing direct-air-capture technology to recover carbon dioxide from the air "at a fraction of the cost and energy required today."
Mission Zero and the Omani organization 44.01 recently bagged $1 million from Elon Musk's XPrize carbon-removal competition.
It says its tech is scalable and low-cost because it can operate at room temperature, is heat-free and modular, and uses off-the-shelf technologies to take advantage of supply chains.
The company says it hopes to bring gigaton-levels of economical DAC capabilities to the carbon-capture industry by 2030.
Why it's poised to take off: "The latest report from IPCC confirms that direct removal of carbon from the atmosphere is essential to meet the Paris agreement," Larsson said. "One of the major issues with DAC is the heavy usage of electricity.
"Mission Zero's technology harnesses well-established techniques of electrolysis to pull high-purity CO2 from the air cheaper and in a more energy-efficient way than other DAC methods. Mission Zero's modular system approach and plan to sell the CO2 output as a product to customers creates an additional revenue stream, further driving down the effective cost of removal."
More: Features climate tech Sustainability Tech Insider | 2022-05-10T10:11:02Z | www.businessinsider.com | Climate Tech: 11 Carbon-Removal Startups to Watch, According to Investors | https://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-carbon-removal-startups-to-watch-according-to-investors-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-carbon-removal-startups-to-watch-according-to-investors-2022-4 |
Good morning. With the broader market taking a beating, there is a risk that Elon Musk could reprice his bid to take Twitter private — at least according to one short seller.
As markets buckle, the Musk-Twitter drama could potentially enter a new chapter. Let's take a look.
Britta Pedersen/Getty Images; Twitter; Rachel Mendelson/Insider
1. A short seller sees risk of Musk repricing the Twitter deal. According to Hindenburg Research, the Tesla CEO has all the leverage and the stock price would be a lot lower without his bid.
The deal in its current form, the analysts wrote, may be threatened thanks to several key developments in the broader market, including the Nasdaq's nearly 20% dip since Musk disclosed his 9.2% stake in the company on April 4.
In the absence of Musk's takeover proposal, Twitter's implied stock price is about $31.40, the analysts wrote. That's good for roughly 37% downside from its current trading price.
And there's still a looming threat of the $1 billion breakup fee that lets Musk ditch the deal. This piles more risk on top of the potential that Musk sells his 9.2% stake if a deal fizzles out.
"In our view, Musk holds all the cards here," the analysts concluded.
2. US stock futures rallied early on Tuesday. It comes after Monday's trading saw the S&P 500 sink below 4,000 for the first time in over a year as each of the three major indexes turned red. Here is your morning market snapshot.
3. On the docket: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Aramark, and Hyatt Hotels, all reporting.
4. The risk of a stock market crash is rising. But according to UBS, these 40 high-quality stocks should beat the market by around 15% in a recessionary environment. See the firm's full list of picks here.
5. There's nowhere to hide in markets. Diversification has failed to protect portfolios from a myriad of macroeconomic risks, including inflation and rising interest rates. This is why stocks, bonds, and crypto are all getting crushed.
6. Bitcoin briefly fell below $30,000 on Tuesday and is now almost 60% below its all-time high. Crypto has come under fire as investors prepare for a hawkish Federal Reserve . As one analyst put it: The "dramatic reversal of Fed liquidity …will collapse the pandemic-era bubble in cryptocurrencies." More here.
7. Goldman Sachs is moving to halt work on most SPACs due to liability concerns. As regulators beef up guidelines, the investment bank is backing away from the space, Bloomberg reported Monday. In March, the SEC proposed rules that call for greater disclosure of conflicts of interest, and would make it easier for investors to sue over false projections. Here's everything you want to know.
8. Cryptos are getting killed right now, but the investment chief at a digital asset firm still believes in this batch of altcoins. Ben McMillan isn't losing hope on a turn around for digital assets. He shared the five cryptos he has his eye on — and the ideal percentage of your portfolio that should be in virtual tokens.
9. As stocks nosedive, Goldman Sachs named which companies investors should buy right now. David Kostin of Goldman Sachs said companies that spend big on stock buybacks should outperform, and they might contribute to a notable rally soon. He highlighted these 17 stocks.
10. This graph shows how inflation is outpacing wages. At a glance, it looks like wages are going up — but they aren't keeping up with skyrocketing inflation. | 2022-05-10T11:07:01Z | www.businessinsider.com | 10 Things Before the Opening Bell: May 10 | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-before-the-opening-bell-may-10-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-before-the-opening-bell-may-10-2022-5 |
10 Things in Tech: Apple's major shakeup
Hi there. Settle in — today's edition is filled with news about reorgs, hirings, and compensation in the tech industry.
1. Apple is planning a major reorg. The tech giant wants to shake up its massive $76 billion Services business. Here's what sources told Insider:
Apple Services — which houses the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, AppleCare, Apple Pay, Apple News, advertising, and Apple TV+ — grew 17% to $19.8 billion in its last quarter and reported 825 million paying subscribers globally.
One person, who has spoken directly to senior vice president Eddy Cue, said he's considering how to unleash growth by reorganizing its management structure and pushing harder into areas like streaming and advertising.
Cue has already changed responsibilities for one executive who spearheads Apple's sports portfolio, and a vice president responsible for Apple's ad business was quietly promoted at the beginning of the year.
Here's what else sources told us.
2. Data shows which tech companies could soon implement cost cuts and layoffs. An Insider chart shows hiring activity by major US tech companies during 2020 and 2021, along with the performance of their shares since mid-November. See the full chart here.
3. Uber's CEO said hiring will be treated as a "privilege." In an email to staff obtained by CNBC, Dara Khosrowshahi said the company will cut spending on hiring, incentives, and marketing. What we know about Uber's hiring squeeze.
4. Get ready, the Forever Resignation is coming. The number of Americans quitting their jobs not only spiked to record levels during the pandemic — it may remain permanently elevated, ushering in an era of endless resignations. What happens if the Great Resignation never ends?
5. Tons of electric-car charging stations don't actually work. While the stations are becoming more common, a new study found they still have major reliability issues, and that more than 25% of the stations in California's Bay Area were unusable. Read more of the study's findings.
6. Tech employees say their companies' retention efforts don't do enough to tackle uneven compensation and low morale. Employees at companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft told Insider their management has been dismissive about their concerns, and that they feel undervalued and underpaid compared with new hires. Here's what else they told us.
7. NFT support is coming to Instagram. Adam Mosseri, the company's head, announced it would be allowing people to "share NFTs that they've made or that they've bought, either in feed or in stories or in messaging." Everything you need to know about NFTs on Insta.
8. Bitcoin dropped below $30,000 for the first time since July 2021. The plunge comes amid a wider crypto market sell-off. Early on Tuesday, Terra Network's luna token also fell by as much as 61%. Here is the latest.
9. We checked out Bored and Hungry, a new Bored Ape Yacht Club-themed restaurant. An Insider reporter ate at the wildly hyped new fast-food concept, and still isn't convinced NFTs are the future of restaurants. She shares her experience here.
10. Meditation app Calm just launched a contest to find TikTok's "smoothest voice." The app wants entrants to post TikTok videos narrating something original, from a text to a grocery list. The winner will be paid $5,000, joining a list of narrators — including celebrities like Matthew McConaughey and Harry Styles. Get the full rundown here.
Coinbase, Sony, Peloton, and SoFi are reporting earnings today. Keep up with earnings here.
The Robotics Summit & Expo starts today in Boston.
SpaceX is set to launch a rocket carrying 60 Starlink satellites for the company's internet satellite constellation system.
IBM Think starts today in Boston.
Intel Vision 2022 starts today in Texas.
More: Newsletter 10 things in tech Newsletters | 2022-05-10T11:07:03Z | www.businessinsider.com | 10 Things in Tech: Apple Shakeup | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-in-tech-apple-reorg-services-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-in-tech-apple-reorg-services-2022-5 |
How to get a job at Workhuman, the platform helping companies tackle the Great Resignation
Britney Nguyen
Workhuman wants to find solutions to the HR problems companies are facing with the Great Resignation.
HR-software company Workhuman is helping companies improve employee engagement and productivity.
Workhuman is hiring across the company and has offices in Massachusetts and Dublin, Ireland.
As companies grapple with employee retention, they're turning to Workhuman for solutions.
As companies grapple with attracting and retaining employees amid the pandemic and subsequent Great Resignation, they're turning to Workhuman for software tools to recognize and celebrate their employees.
Workhuman is a human-resources software company that specializes in employee recognition and continuous performance management, Lauren Van Duyn, a recruitment manager at Workhuman, said.
Some of Workhuman's products include its social-recognition software that lets employees engage on a social feed, and its performance-management solution called Conversations where employees can request and receive feedback.
During the pandemic, Workhuman's team and customer base have continued to grow, in part by providing a solution to problems companies are facing during the Great Resignation. According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 11.5 million job openings at the end of March. A study in the MIT Sloan Management Review found that toxic workplace culture is 10.4 times more likely to drive employees away than low compensation.
"We've seen an increase in the need in the market for what we do, which has created the ability for us to continue growing," Van Duyn said.
Lauren Van Duyn, the recruitment manager at Workhuman.
Adrienne Scott Photography
Workhuman is hiring for roles across the company at both its Massachusetts and Dublin, Ireland, offices. Most of the company is still working remotely, but Van Duyn said Workhuman is in the process of redesigning office space to fit its growing team. In Dublin, Van Duyn said the hiring is more on the product side for product management, software engineering, and architecture. In the US, the company is hiring more for sales, marketing, and customer success.
Since Van Duyn joined Workhuman in 2018, she said the company has doubled from about 500 to almost 1,000 employees globally. The company's head count has grown by about 20% year-over-year, and while Van Duyn doesn't know what the numbers will look like in the next year, she said hiring hasn't slowed down.
Van Duyn walked Insider through the interview process at Workhuman, and what candidates can do to stand out to interviewers.
Prepare for situational questions
Workhuman's interview process starts off with a recruiter phone interview, Van Duyn said.
"I think candidates find it's more beneficial," she said. "We're able to provide a lot of insight to candidates about the role, the team, the hiring manager, the company, so they walk away from it understanding more about us in the same way we walk away from it understanding more about them."
From there, candidates complete a phone interview with a hiring manager to further assess their general skills, before going into back-to-back virtual interviews with members of the team.
Before the virtual interview, Van Duyn said candidates receive materials to help them prepare for the types of questions they'll be asked and what company values interviewers will have in mind when talking to candidates. Workhuman even has its own Spotify playlist that candidates can use to get hyped up for the interview, Van Duyn said.
Candidates for more technical roles can expect a skills assessment, Van Duyn said. "Sometimes we'll do an Excel assessment if that's something important to a particular role," she said. "Oftentimes, it's more about fleshing out the skills that people have through conversations."
Van Duyn said interviewers ask situational questions to understand a candidate's skill set. "Tell me about a time when you were the busiest you've ever been, and you got through it," Van Duyn said. There's a difference, she said, between asking that and asking a candidate how efficient they are with time management.
"We get a really robust picture of someone's experiences and how they've navigated similar situations before, so we have an idea of how they would handle those situations if they work with us," she said.
Show why you care about building a better workplace
A candidate's ability to show they not only want the job but want to work specifically at Workhuman because of its mission stands out the most in the interview process, Van Duyn said.
"We love a candidate who asks inquisitive questions about our company, and how we know what we do works," she said. "Our software is making the workplace a better place for so many people, so we really love to hire people who care about that and are passionate about it."
Being authentic throughout the interview process also helps candidates stand out, Van Duyn said, because Workhuman is focused on hiring the person, and not just on their skill set.
One of the best things about working at Workhuman, according to Van Duyn, is that the company uses its own products.
"You're able to feel connected to your contribution to the organization," she said. "You're being celebrated for the work you do every day, you're being recognized for it by your peers, management team, and leadership."
More: great resignation Future of Work Hiring | 2022-05-10T11:07:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Get a Job at Workhuman, a Human-Resources Software Company | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-job-at-hr-software-company-workhuman-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-job-at-hr-software-company-workhuman-2022-5 |
Check out the pitch deck this AI brand strategy startup used to raise $30 million to help marketers audit the strength of their brands
BlueOcean CEO Grant McDougall and President and COO Liza Nebel.
BlueOcean
BlueOcean provides marketers with brand insights drawn from metrics, like competitor financial performance and media spend.
The startup has raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners.
See the key slides from the pitch deck it used to convince investors to back its latest fundraise.
San Francisco-based AI brand strategy startup BlueOcean raised a $30 million Series B funding round in April, which it plans to use to develop a self-service model, introduce APIs for its data, and expand into Europe.
The company, founded in 2019, aims to provide insights for brand marketers based on quantifiable metrics of a brand's performance. It does this through machine learning algorithms that comb sources like news, online media channels, and forums for data, such as competitor financial performance, media spend, and public sentiment.
"One of the questions I get asked all the time by marketers is, 'We've got a brand tracker, and I don't know why it is moving?' So we've been focused on, 'Let me tell you why'," its cofounder and CEO Grant McDougall told Insider.
McDougall said that currently, marketers have a glut of tools at their disposal, but the resulting data is fragmented. BlueOcean's platform tells marketers how to best use these tools, such as their paid advertising or content strategy, based on market data and competitor movements. It then spits out a "BlueScore," which helps marketers understand the strength of their brand.
For example, if it detects a brand is underspending relative to a competitor, the tool will suggest to increase spending on paid search, or to change the brand's content mix on social.
"We'll often work with product marketers, and will say, 'Change your messaging to include collaboration,' so very direct, very different to a traditional brand tracker, which would say, 'Consideration has gone up two points'," said McDougall.
McDougall sees applications for BlueOcean's data beyond brand intelligence. For example, financial service providers and VCs could access anonymized brand data to help them make investing decisions.
BlueOcean counts companies like Microsoft, Riot Games, and Bloomingdale's among its 84 enterprise clients, said McDougall.
The round was led by Insight Partners, with participation from FJ Labs. The company has raised $50 million in funding to date.
Check out the key slides from BlueOcean's Series B investor deck.
BlueOcean provides marketers with AI-powered brand insights.
The tool collects information about a brand's performance, to help marketers make decisions.
BlueOcean relies on quantifiable metrics like competitor financials and media spend, as well as on more subjective ones like public sentiment.
The startup is attempting to automate market research that was traditionally done by humans, such as surveys.
Using BlueOcean's data, marketers can answer questions like who to target with paid search ads or how to adjust their content strategy relative to competitors.
McDougall said marketers' data is fragmented across platforms, and BlueOcean aims to be a one-stop-shop for insights that marketers can use to inform their marketing spend.
BlueOcean is working on API —application programming interface — integrations with tools like Salesforce and various content management systems to let marketers action its recommendations from the platform directly.
BlueOcean's proprietary BlueScore combines its own scoring model with publicly available data.
Since 2020, the startup says its annual recurring revenue has increased fivefold. | 2022-05-10T11:07:39Z | www.businessinsider.com | PITCH DECK: BlueOcean Raises $30 Million Series B Round | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-ai-brand-strategy-startup-blueocean-30-million-series-b-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-ai-brand-strategy-startup-blueocean-30-million-series-b-2022-5 |
See the 15-slide presentation a former Googler used to raise $9 million for his new approach to home care
Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer
Reverence founder and CEO Lee Teslik.
Reverence wants to change how healthcare providers coordinate and deliver home care.
On Tuesday, the company said it raised $9 million from the venture-capital firm Target Global.
Check out the presentation Reverence used to raise its initial funding.
Reverence, a startup that wants to make coordinating in-home care easier for both family members and staffers said on Tuesday it raised $9 million.
New York-based Reverence was founded by Lee Teslik, a former journalist and speechwriter who most recently worked as an executive at Google. Teslik also has ties to the healthcare industry — he's married to Kate Ryder, the CEO of $1 billion healthcare startup Maven.
The initial funding for the company came from Target Global, a European firm with 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) under management.
Ricardo Schäfer, a partner at Target Global, explained why the firm invested despite Reverence's US focus being outside of its typical geography. He said he was convinced to invest because Reverence is tapping into a big market that's still growing and is largely decentralized. He also wanted to bet on the team, including Teslik.
"What he's doing is effectively rebuilding from scratch using technology to build a better service," Schäfer said. "I think that gives him the shot to effectively become the best provider in the market."
Reverence is building a technology platform with the aim of entering contracts with health plans to coordinate the care of certain groups of Americans aging at home.
Teslik said that one of the selling points for Reverence was how immediately the startup could have a product that helped tackle the major problem of coordinating staffing for in-home care.
"There's such a burning pain point right now with respect to staffing and with respect to deployment of people," Teslik said. "So when we were able to come along and have this immediate-term product that helped on that front, but then sat alongside a kind of longer-term vision for how we could reshape the space."
See the 15-slide presentation Reverence used to win over Target Global and raise $9 million:
Reverence is building a technology platform that aims to change how healthcare workers coordinate and deliver home care.
There's an increased interest in getting care at home as the US population ages.
Reverence's presentation dives into the problems the company is trying to address in home care.
In particular, the shift toward home care may help with pressures facing an aging country. The presentation cites estimates on increased healthcare and eldercare costs over the next decade.
For instance, Reverence points to the drop in average occupancy rates at nursing homes, from 89.9% in the second quarter of 2015 to 84.9% in the second quarter of 2020, shortly after the pandemic began.
Reverence points to evidence of at-home staffing pressure, support from the government, and consumer interest.
Coordinating staff is one big area Reverence wants to address, and it acquired the company Hirehand to assist.
Reverence then lays out how it's building its approach to home care, with the intent of one day working with health plans to provide its platform and services.
Teslik has seen from personal experience how overwhelming the burden of caring for a loved one at home can be from watching his grandfather. Teslik's grandmother had early-onset Alzheimer's, and for more than 20 years, a lot of her care at home fell to her husband.
Reverence wants to build a comprehensive product that can help with everything from coordinating care to staffing visits to making sure that care is consistent across each visit.
Reverence then describes its acquisition of Hirehand to help schedule home-care shifts.
Beyond making sure home-care shifts are scheduled, ensuring staff deliver the right care is key to how Reverence can prove it's changing home-care practices. "The clinically guided checklisting functionality for what you're actually doing in the home will be important to manage in the context of any given patient when you're connecting them back to impact within the healthcare system," Teslik said.
The final part of the presentation digs into how Reverence plans to pull off its approach to home care.
In addition to Teslik, Reverence has brought on Hirehand's founder, Scott Erwin, to lead product, and Uber Health's chief medical officer, Dr. Michael Cantor, as a clinical leader.
The idea is to work with health plans and the home-care industry to implement Reverence's platform. It'll start by conducting pilots to make sure parts of its solution, like shift management, run smoothly.
On its final slide, Reverence lays out how it's measuring success as it takes on coordinating on-the-ground care in a way that can lower costs and improve home care.
More: Features Reverence home care | 2022-05-10T11:41:47Z | www.businessinsider.com | The Pitch Deck Reverence Used to Raise $9 Million From Target Global | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-reverence-home-care-target-global-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-reverence-home-care-target-global-2022-5 |
More than 50 percent of millennial say they want to invest in cryptocurrency for retirement — here's what experts are saying about whether you should
Bitcoin IRA claims to have opened more than 50,000 accounts in 2020.
You must use a self directed IRA to include cryptocurrencies.
Some benefits of including crypto are diversification and the potential for extreme growth.
However, crypto can be extremely volatile and risky. You should be cautious when investing
According to a recent NBC poll, one in five Americans have invested in cryptocurrencies. Similar trends show that more people are looking to crypto as a retirement asset.
Bitcoin IRA, a retirement platform, claims to have opened more than 50,000 consumer accounts in 2020.
A crypto IRA is a retirement account where you can invest and store cryptocurrencies. Today, the Retirement Industry Trust Association (RITA) estimates anywhere between 2-3% of all IRAs are invested in alternative assets such as crypto. But more than 50% of Gen Zers and millenials plan on including crypto in their retirement plans, according to a study by Capitalize, a retirement savings platform.
Here's what you need to know about crypto IRAs
Some financial service firms now offer the option to invest in cryptocurrency with a self-directed Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Unlike your regular IRA, this type of individual retirement account also holds alternative investments such as precious metals.
"The self-directed IRA is the only way one can purchase cryptos in an IRA," Adam Bergman, CEO of IRA financial, a provider of self-directed retirement plans, said.
They "hold alternative assets, such as real estate, private equity, notes, and bitcoin. Traditional financial institutions do not allow IRAs to invest in IRS approved alternative assets, such as real estate."
With a self-directed IRA, you can still choose between a traditional IRA and a Roth self-directed IRA. Bergman recommends a Roth IRA as your earnings grow tax free.
To include cryptocurrency in your IRA, you will need a custodian
Because the IRS considers bitcoin and other coins as property, they're taxed like stocks/bonds and require a custodian to manage.
A custodian is a financial institution such as a bank or credit union that holds assets for safeguarding. The custodian also needs to make sure your IRA conforms to rules set by the IRS and the government.
Several cryptocurrency IRA companies offer custodial services to simplify this process. There are multiple companies to choose from. Bitcoin IRA is one the largest companies offering IRAs for trading crypto. It offers 24/7 trading and was one of the first. Coin IRA, another company, offers consultants to assist you with trading. iTrust Capital offers more than 25 cryptocurrencies to pick from such as dogecoin, bitcoin, uniswap, stellar, solana, and polygon.
There are several benefits and drawbacks you should consider before investing
According to Adam Bergman, cryptocurrency investments can provide diversification beyond traditional asset classes. "It's a smart strategy to get exposure to digital assets with an amount based on the size of the individual's retirement account and risk profile."
Jay Blaskey, the Head of Sales at BitIRA, thinks cryptocurrencies have the same potential values as tech stocks like Microsoft or Apple if you purchased them early on.
"If you had bought tech stocks and you just stayed the course over a 10 year, 15 year, 20 year period, you'd have done incredibly, incredibly well."A key benefit of a crypto IRA vs others is the potential for tremendous growth. Apollo Global Management, an alternative investment management company, predicts that Bitcoin will hit $200K in 5 years.
But cryptocurrencies also come with several risks. In May 2021, bitcoin fell 53%. So there's a chance for massive gains, but also massive losses.
Tyrone Ross, financial analyst and former CEO of OnRamp Invest, a crypto asset management company, explained that crypto is risky not only because of the extreme volatility , but because of the security measures you have to put in place.
"Right now there is no FDIC insurance on crypto, so when it's gone it's gone," he said.
Ross recommends researching custodians to ensure they're trustworthy and regularly changing your pins and password to mitigate some of these security risks.
Considering cryptocurrencies volatility Ross recommends the asset class to millennials or younger.
"If you're headed to retirement within the next five years, and then you're starting to look at crypto, now that's dangerous," he said. "I would talk to a financial professional, but those that are 40 and younger are in a better position."
Begman similarly suggests those that want to invest in cryptocurrencies through their IRA only allocate a small portion to the asset class.
"Many financial advisors believe retirement investors should have between 1 to 5% of their retirement portfolio invested in digital assets," he said. "Cryptocurrency investments are uncertain and highly volatile. Any retirement investor interested in using retirement funds in cryptocurrencies should do their due diligence and proceed with caution."
More: Tekendra Parmar Jenna Gyimesi contributor 2022 IRA | 2022-05-10T11:41:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | Experts Weigh in on Whether to Include Crypto in IRA Retirement Plan | https://www.businessinsider.com/should-you-invest-cryptocurrency-for-retirement-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/should-you-invest-cryptocurrency-for-retirement-2022-5 |
Dominick Reuter and Jane Ridley
Supply chain challenges and product recalls are leading to major shortages of infant formula.
Out-of-stock percentages hit 40% at US retailers in April, up from 31% at the start of the month.
One mom who needs four cans per week for her premature baby told Insider she's paying $33 per can.
Infant formula shortages at the start of April were already bad, with out-of-stock percentages topping 30% at US retailers during the week of April 3, according to grocery price tracking service Datasembly.
By the end of the month, the problem got even worse, leaping to 40% on average nationwide, and more than 50% in six states: Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Texas, and Tennessee. San Antonio, Texas, fared the worst of US metro areas, with 57% of formula products out of stock.
Faced with supply issues, brands including Target, Walgreens, and CVS began limiting purchase quantities online and in some stores.
Kelly Bernarducci, of Ossining, New York, told Insider that her premature baby, Logan needs around four cans of powdered formula every week.
Bernarducci said she had to throw away all of her supply back when Abbot Nutrition issued its product recall in February, and now she's facing shortages of the replacement formula Logan's doctor recommended.
"It's so expensive and can cost $33 a can," Bernarducci said.
Lia Daley, whose five-month-old son, Dominic, can only take hyper-allergenic formula, has found that new mothers like her are pulling together to survive the crisis.
"People post on moms' Facebook group looking for formula and another mom will comment; 'I'm willing to spare one can or whatever,'" Daley said.
Three in four infants receive some amount of formula by the time they turn six months old, according to US statistics, but the Food and Drug Administration strongly advises against feeding babies with homemade recipes.
The Infant Nutrition Council of America — a trade group that includes Abbot, Gerber, and others — asks customers not to stockpile formula, saying that "there is no shortage in the supply of infant formula coming from manufacturers."
If you are a parent dealing with formula availability issues, and would like to share your story, please get in touch via email.
More: Baby formula Infant Formula Parenting Abbott | 2022-05-10T12:38:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | Baby Formula Shortages Got Even Worse in April | https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-infant-formula-shortages-got-even-worse-in-april-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-infant-formula-shortages-got-even-worse-in-april-2022-5 |
Dairy Queen ranks among Warren Buffett's best-known businesses. CEO Troy Bader lays out the benefits of Berkshire Hathaway's ownership, and explains how he's navigating the pandemic, inflation, and new customer demands.
Dairy Queen CEO Troy Bader.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired Dairy Queen for nearly $600 million in 1998.
Dairy Queen CEO Troy Bader told Insider that Berkshire's ownership lets him invest for the long run.
Bader explained how Dairy Queen has dealt with the pandemic, inflation, and new customer demands.
Warren Buffett acquired Dairy Queen for nearly $600 million in early 1998 because he understood its business, and the fast-food chain had excellent economics and outstanding management, he told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders at the time.
The famed investor also joked that he and his business partner, Charlie Munger, brought a "modicum of product expertise" to the deal and had "put our money where our mouth is" as they were longtime customers.
Dairy Queen CEO Troy Bader reflected on the benefits of Berkshire's ownership, explained why his business has thrived despite pandemic disruptions and surging inflation, and outlined how customer demands are changing in an interview with Insider during Berkshire's annual-meeting weekend.
Building under Berkshire
Berkshire's purchase of Dairy Queen removed it from the stock market, enabling its management to invest for the long term without worrying about hitting Wall Street's earnings forecasts each quarter, Bader said.
Buffett and his team are always ready to help, but in return they expect Bader to nurture the Dairy Queen brand, take care of the chain's customers, and represent Berkshire with integrity, Bader said.
It's a bonus that Bader's boss exemplifies the deep affection many people feel towards his company, he said.
"When I think about Mr. Buffett, he is very much a fan," Bader said. "What he feels is really what we see with so many of our customers, who have this different connection with Dairy Queen."
Dealing with the virus
The COVID-19 pandemic was "very, very challenging" for Dairy Queen from an operational standpoint, but resulted in an exceptional financial performance, Bader said. The company's sales soared to a record $5.5 billion last year as its drive-thru business boomed, and its global, same-store sales were up over 18% from their level in 2019.
Bader emphasized the "huge burden" that pandemic-safety procedures placed on Dairy Queen franchisees, who operate all but two of the company's roughly 6,000 restaurants.
He cited the company's longstanding relationships with suppliers as a key reason why they "went out of their way" to keep its locations stocked.
Bader also tipped his hat to employees who successfully rolled out five flavors of Stackburgers earlier this year, marking the biggest change to Dairy Queen's menu in two decades.
Higher prices, less money
Inflation is dealing a one-two punch to Dairy Queen by raising its costs and squeezing its customers, Bader said.
Consumers are spending more on housing, gas, utilities, and food, leaving them with less disposable income to spend on eating out. Meanwhile, Dairy Queen franchisees are raising prices to offset higher costs. The upshot has been a decline in transaction volumes, Bader said.
"How do you thread that needle between a consumer who still wants to eat out, but is feeling more pressure, and yet we need to still reasonably increase prices to stay in business and have reasonable profit?" Bader asked. "That's the balance we're trying to find."
Regardless, Dairy Queen's sales have grown as the average value of transactions has climbed, reflecting more families and groups eating together, and customers upsizing their orders. Bader suggested people are treating Dairy Queen as an affordable indulgence, and a way to spend time with loved ones during a tough period.
Catering to customers
Dairy Queen's products need to be high quality, craveable, and differentiated, so people seek out the chain and are already fantasizing about their next visit before they're done eating, Bader said.
The meaning of "convenience" to fast-food customers has extended beyond the proximity of the nearest location, Bader said. It now encompasses whether the chain has a mobile app that people can use to communicate with the company, place orders, access deals and information, and earn loyalty points, he noted.
Home delivery is also a "whole other channel for the business that isn't going to go away," Bader said. Moreover, Americans have become more open to fresh flavors and unusual combinations, he continued.
"We have an Oreo Dirt Pie Blizzard that you never would have thought about 10 years ago," Bader said. "Those gummy worms are going to be creeping out of that Blizzard."
Troy Bader | 2022-05-10T12:38:23Z | www.businessinsider.com | Dairy Queen CEO on Warren Buffett, Berkshire, Pandemic, Inflation | https://www.businessinsider.com/dairy-queen-warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-pandemic-inflation-troy-bader-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/dairy-queen-warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-pandemic-inflation-troy-bader-2022-5 |
Purchasing an inflation guard and updating your replacement coverage cost annually will ensure you're completely covered.
simonkr/Getty Images
Unionized construction jobs tend to offer better pay, benefits, and training opportunities.
A new report found nonunion firms have more trouble hiring, and are more likely to see project delays.
While construction is more unionized than the national average, the majority is still nonunion.
Like businesses across the country, construction contractors say they're dealing with a labor shortage.
Despite rising wages, the Associated Builders and Contractors said the industry still needs nearly 650,000 workers after3.2% of the workforce quit in March 2022, the second-highest rate since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began measuring it. Amidst a hot real estate market, employers struggle to hire enough workers to keep up.
"The construction worker shortage has reached crisis level," Home Builder Institute president and CEO said in November 2021.
But the authors of a new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign argue that the labor supply crunch is nothing new. There is, however, one factor that seems to make the difference in whether contractors can keep their workers and finish projects on time: If their workers are unionized.
"Union contractors are significantly less likely to have delays in completion times due to shortages of workers — and they've actually been more likely to add workers in this tight labor market," Frank Manzo IV, the executive director of ILEPI and co-author of the report, told Insider.
Manzo, PMCR director Robert Bruno, and PMCR fellow Larissa Petrucci analyzed the results of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) surveys from 2018 to 2021. The annual survey polls about 2,000 firms on what's happening in the world of construction labor; beginning in 2018, the survey broke out specific data from union and nonunion contractors.
The results: Nonunion contractors were 16% more likely to say they had difficulty filling open roles than union contractors. They were also 21% more likely to see their project completion delayed because of worker shortages, and 13% more likely to lose craft workers to other industries.
"Union contractors have been significantly less likely to be losing their workers to other industries. So the non-union side is losing their workers to other industries at much higher rates than the union side," Manzo said. "That's because the union segment of the industry offers competitive annual earnings, health insurance coverage, retirement benefits, all of which rival bachelor's degrees."
For instance, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unionized construction workers made a median of $1,322 a week in 2021. Their non-union peers made just $922 weekly. However, union membership is still low, with just 13.6% of construction workers represented by a union, according to BLS. That's higher than the national average, but still means the majority of construction workers are not union.
Part of the current pipeline issue — which nonunion contractors said was more likely to be "poor" — may stem from unions' investments in rigorous training programs.
"Union contractors invest in both job quality and apprenticeship training," Manzo said. "Their joint labor management apprenticeship programs deliver a more robust training regimen, higher completion rates and, and better earnings than the employer-only kind of nonunion apprenticeship programs."
According to Petrucci, union contractors are more likely to be women, Black, or military veterans compared to nonunion workers — "which you can imagine is going to attract and retain more diverse apprentices."
The report authors say that some fixes to the labor shortage could include promoting access to joint labor management apprenticeship programs, bringing back prevailing wage laws to set standard wages, and making it less "onerous" to organize workers. Other fixes also include things like accessible childcare, and paid leave.
"The data reveal that if you want to increase the chances that a project will be completed on time and safely, you should look to the union contractors who have access to this readily available pool of highly trained, skilled workers," Manzo said.
More: Economy labor shortage labor shortages Construction
Construction Jobs | 2022-05-10T13:13:02Z | www.businessinsider.com | Unionized Construction Workers Stay at Jobs and Keep Projects on Time: Report | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-construction-project-done-on-time-unions-report-02022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-construction-project-done-on-time-unions-report-02022-5 |
Nicole Gaudiano, Esther Kaplan, Taylor Tyson, Annie Fu, and Skye Gould
Getty Images / Wikipedia
84% of lawmakers who sponsored state "trigger laws" banning abortion are men.
The laws had zero women sponsors in five states; 12 of the 13 governors who signed them into law are men.
91% of US senators who voted to confirm Supreme Court justices in the anti-Roe majority are men.
What does it take to dismantle nearly 50 years of abortion rights for women? Hundreds of powerful men.
A look at the players behind a likely imminent wave of abortion bans reveals a stark lack of gender diversity that extends beyond the mostly male Supreme Court justices expected to strike down Roe v. Wade and the 91% male US senators who voted to confirm them.
A total of 380 state legislators served as lead sponsor or cosponsor of abortion bans in 13 states that take effect as soon as the high court overturns the landmark decision. They're predominantly men, too — 84%.
In fact, five of these so-called "trigger laws" — in Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee — had zero women sponsors or co-sponsors. Of the 13 governors who signed them into law, 12 are Republican men. Yet the language in these laws specifically targets women.
The vast majority of political players behind these bans were also Republicans, including 86% of bill sponsors. All of the anti-Roe justices were nominated by Republican men and 94% of the senators who voted to confirm the justices were Republican.
Jenny Chang-Rodriguez, Alex Ford, Marianne Ayala, and Shayanne Gal contributed to this story.
More: Abortion Roe v Wade Supreme Court abortion rights | 2022-05-10T13:13:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | Male Lawmakers Drove "Trigger Law" Abortion Bans for Women | https://www.businessinsider.com/male-lawmakers-drove-trigger-law-abortion-bans-for-women-chart-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/male-lawmakers-drove-trigger-law-abortion-bans-for-women-chart-2022-5 |
Flying car startup Archer may be poised to soar past rivals like Joby in a $1 trillion market, JP Morgan says. Here's why analysts call it an 'early boarding opportunity for investors.'
Adam Goldstein (R) and Brett Adcock, co-founders of Archer Aviation, which JP Morgan analysts called an "early boarding opportunity for investors."
Archer is working to create an aerial ride hailing service with its Maker eVTOL.
JP Morgan analysts say Archer is an "early boarding opportunity for investors."
Archer still faces a number of risks in bringing its flying car to the market.
Flying car startup Archer Aviation is poised to soar past competitors like Joby in pursuit of a $1 trillion market opportunity, according to JP Morgan. In a 40-page note published April 28, equity research analysts Mahima Kakani and Bill Petersen gave ArAcher an overweight rating and a 2022 end-of-year price target of $7, calling the startup an "early boarding opportunity for investors."
Palo Alto-based Archer, which was founded in 2018 and went public via a SPAC merger in 2021, is working to create an aerial ride hailing service with its Maker aircraft. It's one of a number of startups working to make electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, or eVTOLs, a reality, and plans to start its business in Los Angeles and Miami in early 2025.
Kakani and Petersen said they believe Archer's balance sheet is stronger and its shares are undervalued compared to competitors like Lilium, EHang, Vertical Aerospace, and Embraer's Eve, along with Joby.
Here are five key takeaways from the JP Morgan analysts' note.
The eVTOL market could exceed $1 trillion in a few decades
If medical, cargo, defense, and autonomous use cases for eVTOLs materialize, the analysts expect the eVTOL market to exceed $1 trillion in a few decades.
The fact that eVTOLs are much quieter than helicopters, produce zero carbon emissions, require less real estate than traditional aircraft, and are able to operate in urban locations are all factors the analysts cited as enabling the huge market opportunity.
In its base case, JP Morgan expects Archer to generate $7 billion in revenues and an EBITDA of $2.4 billion by 2035.
The eVTOL market could double or triple the helicopter market within the next decade
It's "reasonable to assume" the eVTOL market could be worth $75 billion to $100 billion, or double to triple the size of the $35 billion helicopter market within the next decade, the analysts wrote. By 2030, the passenger side of the market could be nearly as large as today's helicopter market.
It's even possible that the eVTOL industry will grow on par with the commercial airline industry, the analysts said.
Archer's eVTOL design may allow it to gain FAA certification before its rivals
The design of Archer's Maker eVTOL is a key reason the analysts say they think the startup's shares are undervalued relative to its competitors'.
"Archer plans to employ a multi-rotor engine design that, when compared with other eVTOL companies creating proprietary rotor technologies, may be more likely to receive FAA certification," the analysts wrote.
When designing the Maker, Archer avoided adding features that may have added value but also created more risk in getting FAA certification. Archer has also stayed in contact with the FAA at each step of the manufacturing process, which has helped it build a low-risk aircraft, according to the analysts.
Archer's partnerships give it a competitive advantage
Archer has established a number of partnerships with third party companies that the analysts say give it a competitive advantage over its peers. Its most notable partnership is with United Airlines, with United agreeing in 2021 to buy $1 billion worth of Archer's eVTOLs with the option for $500 million more. The deal was the first and largest of its kind between an eVTOL maker and commercial airline. In April 2022, the two formed a joint advisory committee to create maintenance and operational standards for eVTOLs.
Archer has also partnered with auto conglomerate Stellantis, which the analysts said will let Archer keep its manufacturing costs low thanks to Stellantis' high-volume composite manufacturing and supply chain.
REEF Technologies, another partner of Archer's, has committed to providing Archer with 4,800 landing sites for its eVTOLs that can be retrofitted to include eVTOL charging infrastructure. REEF, which has also partnered with Joby Aviation, owns and operates a number of parking garages, and plans to create eVTOL take off and landing sites on the roofs of unutilized garages.
Archer is also working with the US Air Force on research for potential eVTOL use cases, and the analysts said a partnership with the Air Force could be a fallback for Archer to make some money if commercial operations take longer than expected to pan out.
Archer still faces significant risks
Since eVTOLs are still such a new technology with an unproven business case, Archer still faces significant risks and may fail in meeting its goals, the analysts noted. Most projections on how the eVTOL industry will grow are based on existing ground and rail transportation statistics, they said, which may not be the most accurate in determining how the industry will pan out.
Social acceptance of eVTOLs may be slower than the industry anticipates, as people could have concerns about the cost, safety, and accessibility of flying in an eVTOL. The infrastructure needed for eVTOLs to take off and land around cities may take longer than expected to come to fruition, and macroeconomic factors could slow the industry's development.
More: Archer Aviation Aviation eVTOLs | 2022-05-10T14:09:31Z | www.businessinsider.com | Why Archer May Soar Past Rivals Like Joby, Per JP Morgan | https://www.businessinsider.com/archer-jp-morgan-joby-aviation-investors-evtol-flying-car-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/archer-jp-morgan-joby-aviation-investors-evtol-flying-car-2022-5 |
I have bipolar disorder and built Bonobos while keeping it a secret. Here's my advice to leaders who also have mental illness.
Andy Dunn, cofounder of menswear brand Bonobos, sees a doctor every 72 hours along with a psychiatrist twice a week.
Brian McConkey
His new memoir, Burn Rate, details his personal and professional life with bipolar I disorder.
In this exclusive essay, Dunn urges other leaders to take baby steps toward sharing their truths.
Bipolar disorder is not an illness with a cure. It can only be contained. And the research shows that mental health issues over-index in the founder/entrepreneur population in a major way.
These are sobering facts for those who, like me, are trying to balance life as a leader — and life with mental illness. But this doesn't mean we should give in to our mental health challenges.
I vowed never to be a liability to my son
The day my son was born in October of 2020, I vowed never to be a liability to him. I owe him my stability, or at least my very best efforts. It's been four years since I've experienced depression and five since I've experienced mania.
This is a remarkable run relative to my earthquake episode in 2016, enabled only by a religious approach to weekly therapy, daily medication, an Olympic sleep regimen, and consistent disclosure of my mood state to my wife, doctor, mom and sister.
I'm monitored every 72 hours
I see a doctor every 72 hours to make sure my psychiatrist has eyes on me twice a week, and that the mixture of medications I am taking is up to date.
But that kind of access to care is — in our current system and with current stigmas around mental health disclosure — a privilege.
We need to do more as a society to offer people the time, the support, the referrals and the reimbursement we all deserve to get the care we need.
It all starts with disclosure
Working on my second startup, I feel way more stable and consistent (though our team will have the final say on that). Here are three steps I urge leaders to take, especially those with mental illness.
It all starts with disclosure. First tell a friend. Then tell a fellow exec. Then tell all the execs. Then share with the company.
Invest in the team's self-care. Find a corporate partner to offer mental health services to your employees. Or give team members a stipend for therapists or coaches. Offering $2,000 a year is a start.
Create community. Build an employee resource group around mental health and make sure you and other leaders personally attend.
Like others, I am learning to face my "ghost" head on, beginning with disclosure to my circle and my team, in the hopes that I can be the kind of leader they deserve, and spare them and myself the falls from grace that can occur when hubris is put ahead of health.
And so to any leader reading this, whether a founder, CEO, or executive, it's time to take the baby steps, and then the big steps, towards sharing your truth. In your vulnerability is power, and the paradox of being vulnerable is that it draws everyone in closer.
Andy Dunn cofounded menswear brand Bonobos and served as CEO through its acquisition by Walmart.
More: Thought Leadership original contributor contributor 2022 Andy Dunn | 2022-05-10T14:09:31Z | www.businessinsider.com | Bonobos Cofounder Shares His Advice to Leaders Who Have Mental Illness | https://www.businessinsider.com/bonobos-andy-dunn-advice-leaders-with-mental-illness-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/bonobos-andy-dunn-advice-leaders-with-mental-illness-2022-5 |
A couple who retired at 29 shares their single best piece of advice for people who dream of financial freedom
Courtesy of Lauren and Steven Keys
Lauren and Steven Keys happily "lived like broke college students" well into their 20s.
They say that frugality wasn't a sacrifice, because saving money gave them freedom.
After retiring at 29, they continue to live simply and economically off their retirement fund.
Steven and Lauren Keys entered semi-retirement at 29 after saving aggressively in their 20s. As retirees, they spend most of their time traveling and working on projects that interest them.
They have one big piece of advice for those who covet financial freedom: Reduce your expenses. It starts with understanding what makes you happy, and then choosing not to spend beyond what you need. Granted, not everyone can reduce their expenses significantly — but it worked for them.
Get clear on what makes you happy
Lowering your consumption starts with clarifying your values and understanding what truly brings you joy. Lauren says that lowering your consumption does not have to mean deprivation. The two forgo drinking at bars, dining at expensive restaurants, and staying at fancy hotels. Instead, they do what they love: They spend time with friends and travel often, writes Steven on their website, Trip of a Lifestyle.
Another reason for mindless spending is boredom, Lauren says. If your response to boredom is shopping, Steven suggests creating a "positive action" list. "Positive actions" are repeatable actions you default to when you're bored, like getting up to exercise or learning something new. Instead of spending money when you have nothing to do, you can check off items on your "positive action" list.
Getting clear on what makes you happy doesn't have to feel like a sacrifice. "You have to be content with your choices now; otherwise, you're always going to feel like you need to make sacrifices when, in fact, you're just trading things for additional freedom, which we value a lot more," Lauren tells Insider.
Learn to happily live on less
"Too many people assume that $50,000 or $100,000 in annual expenses is a baseline, when in fact, a super enjoyable life can be lived for a lot less," Steven writes.
When they were earning about $40,000 each at their first full-time jobs after college, they used about half of one person's income to pay for their combined annual expenses. Surplus funds were swept into their investments in the stock market, where their savings earned compound interest .
Even as semi-retirees, Lauren and Steven have continued to keep spending at bay. They continue to live off their retirement fund by keeping their expenses low. For instance, the couple has shared one second-hand car for the past eight years instead of buying a new one. They bought it for less than $6,000. They also refrain from dining out, but when they do, Taco Bell is their go-to restaurant.
Although they don't work full-time, Steven continues to take on part-time contract work and put that money into investments.
Lauren and Steven recognize that not everyone can downsize their budget as much as them have, but they say there are still ways to reduce costs in many situations. They have a variety of resources for saving money and increasing income, including their financial roadmap, their post-retirement monthly budget breakdown, and look into how they saved enough to retire in their 20s.
PERSONAL FINANCE A couple who retired at 29 shares the 3 smartest choices they made to save money | 2022-05-10T14:44:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | Couple Who Retired at 29 Advice to Achieve Financial Freedom | https://www.businessinsider.com/couple-retired-early-advice-for-financial-freedom-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/couple-retired-early-advice-for-financial-freedom-2022-5 |
I want to retire early and as a millionaire, and financial planners say I need to do 5 things right now to manage risk
I'm obsessed with retiring before I'm 50, so I asked financial planners how to mitigate risk now.
They recommend paying off all debt, diversifying my portfolio further, and securing insurance.
They also suggest avoiding lifestyle inflation and strategizing to reduce my taxes in retirement.
After spending most of my 20s making a mess of my finances, I've worked overtime to clean up my act in my early 30s so far. I've started saving for retirement, putting cash into an emergency fund, investing in index funds, and sticking to a strict budget.
I've also found myself obsessed with trying to retire early (before I'm 50) and as a millionaire. Since I'm less than 16 years away from that time, and my net worth is nowhere near seven figures, I'm actively doing what I can now to make that goal happen. Even though I'm investing, saving, and working on bringing in new income streams to grow my net worth, I'm scared of something unplanned happening that will push me further from my overall plan.
In order to make sure I'm managing as much risk now as possible, here's what financial planners say I need to consider if I want to retire early as a millionaire.
1. Continue to diversify my portfolio
Investing in index funds, individual stocks, and cryptocurrency is only something I started to do a few years ago. As I continue to grow my investment portfolio, financial planner Evon Mendrin says that it's a good idea to diversify my portfolio even further to help with risk.
"Concentration drives wealth-building, and diversification helps protect it," says Mendrin. "It usually takes a concentration in your career or investments to build enough wealth for early retirement — putting all of your time to be the best in one profession, or benefiting from company stock options."
Mendrin recommends investing in thousands of stocks in the US and across the world instead of in a small number of companies (such as through index funds or exchange-traded funds), and having the right mix of stocks, real estate, bonds, cash, and other assets to build wealth for retirement.
2. Address any debt
As I work hard to save and invest, one thing that could get in the way of my millionaire retirement plan is taking on too much debt. Financial planner Jay Zigmont says that if you can pay off all of your debt (including your house), then retiring early becomes much easier since you can put more of your income into investments.
3. Secure the right insurance
When planning for the future, it's easy to forget what we need right now to handle any potential financial emergencies. Which is why Zigmont says it's so important to make sure you have the right insurance in place.
"Many people do not think about insurance until they need it, which may be too late," says Zigmont. "Make sure you have appropriate coverage on your home and cars, including an umbrella policy. Make disability and health insurance a priority. By the time you reach 50, either have a plan for long-term care out of your retirement funds or a long-term care insurance policy in place."
4. Have 3 different kinds of investment accounts
In addition to diversifying investments, financial planner Lauren Anastasio says that you can reduce the risk associated with changes in the tax code, which will undoubtedly occur between now and your retirement, by having investments in three different types of accounts: taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free growth.
"A taxable account is one that is not designated for retirement, like a personal brokerage account, which you can make penalty-free withdrawals from at any time," says Anastasio. "A tax-deferred account is one that often receives tax-deductible contributions but taxable withdrawals during retirement, like a pre-tax 401(k) or traditional IRA. A tax-free growth account would be a Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, or HSA."
This strategy allows you to pick and choose which accounts you draw from before and during your retirement to maximize your income, reduce your tax burden, and ensure continued growth of your money.
"Working with a tax advisor can help you be strategic about when and from which account to pay yourself in retirement to vastly reduce your tax bill," Anastasio adds.
5. Don't spend more as you make more
As you get closer to retirement or you find yourself in a position of making more money, financial planner Charles H. Thomas III says to beware of lifestyle inflation, since it's a risk that can throw your plans off track.
"When you get a raise at work, it's tempting to spend that raise on a more comfortable lifestyle," says Thomas. "Instead, think about how part of your increased salary can be saved or used to pay down some debt. Over time, the habit will get easier and you'll still have a comfortable lifestyle."
MARKETS What is financial freedom? 5 individuals and couples who retired early — or are on track to do so — explain what it means to them
More: Early retirement Retire Early Financial Planners Personal Finance Insider | 2022-05-10T14:44:46Z | www.businessinsider.com | 5 Things to Do Now to Retire Early and As a Millionaire | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/retire-early-millionaire-manage-risk-financial-planner-advice-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/retire-early-millionaire-manage-risk-financial-planner-advice-2022-5 |
What is umbrella insurance?
What does an insurance umbrella do?
What does umbrella insurance cover?
Who needs an umbrella insurance?
How much does umbrella insurance cost?
Umbrella insurance is extra personal liability coverage for home, auto, and renters insurance
Umbrella insurance can cost between $150 to $300 for your first million dollars of coverage.
Umbrella insurance is additional coverage to your home or auto insurance policy.
Umbrella insurance offers excess liability if your liability coverage is not enough to replace your assets.
Umbrella insurance will cover at-fault property damages and bodily injuries of other parties, not yourself and your dependents.
Liability coverage in your homeowners and auto insurance will protect you from a lawsuit if you're found responsible for property damages or bodily injuries. However, for some people, liability limits in a standard policy aren't enough.
Umbrella insurance is worth the buy if the total value of your assets exceeds the limits of your auto or homeowners insurance . You want to ensure you can replace your assets if you lose a lawsuit.
Umbrella insurance is extra liability insurance that protects you from losses beyond your standard liability coverage. Think of an umbrella policy as backup insurance for your other insurance products like your homeowners, auto, and renters coverage.
Umbrella insurance is standard for those with increased concerns that another party will sue them and jeopardize their net worth. "In our litigious society, when a lawsuit settlement could very well wipe out your financial assets, you may want the extra protection for your assets that a personal umbrella liability policy provides," says Loretta Worters, vice president of media relations at the Insurance Information Institute (III).
Liability coverage covers the policyholder if someone is injured on their property and sues for damage. Providers will typically offer a minimum of $100,000 for liability coverage, but experts at the III recommend that homeowners purchase between $300,000 to $500,000 of liability coverage.
Also, unlike a standard liability policy which only covers injuries and damages, an umbrella policy covers legal cases and damage related to libel, vandalism, slander, invasion of privacy, and other hazards.
For some homeowners, $500,000 isn't enough coverage. In that case, consider purchasing an umbrella policy.
According to Allstate, personal umbrella policies are usually available in million-dollar increments, from $1 million to $5 million. According to the III, most insurers will require you to have at least $300,000 worth of liability coverage on their homeowners insurance policy and $250,000 on your auto insurance policy before they will sell you an umbrella policy.
Umbrella insurance can be added to your homeowners and auto insurance policy. Umbrella insurance is meant to protect you from financial losses if you are served with a lawsuit from another party. That being said, umbrella insurance will not cover damages and injuries to you, your dependents, and your property.
What umbrella insurance does cover:
Bodily injury: Will help you pay for someone else's medical bills if you're at fault
Personal injury: Will protect you from lawsuits related to libel and slander,
Property damage: Will protect you if you're at fault for a car accident
Landlord liability: Will protect you if you're a landlord and someone is injured on your property
What umbrella insurance doesn't cover:
Your property: If your property is damaged by someone else
Your medical expenses: If you are hurt or injured on your property
Business losses: Liability losses will not be covered if you operate from home.
Intentional crime or actions: This policy won't financially protect you from illicit behavior.
Lawsuits from breach of contract: If you're facing a lawsuit for a contract breach, umbrella insurance will most likely not cover you.
According to Emily Grant, vice president of Travelers Insurance, umbrella insurance covers you, your dependents, and relatives that reside with you. If you are a landlord, umbrella insurance will cover you against a lawsuit from your tenants.
You can be liable for almost anything, so you want to ensure your assets are protected in the worst-case scenario. "Most everyone could benefit from umbrella insurance. Think of umbrella insurance as peace of mind insurance if you are found liable for damages that exceed the liability limits of your car, home, boat, or other personal insurance policies," says Grant.
Here are just a few of the people that may consider umbrella insurance.
Landlords: If you have rental units, umbrella insurance is an excellent investment to protect yourself from lawsuits from your tenants, mainly if injuries occur in a common area like the lobby or gym.
Pet owners: Your homeowners or renters insurance will usually cover pet bites under your policy's liability coverage. However, some insurance companies will not offer pet liability coverage for certain dog breeds and exotic pets; therefore, umbrella insurance may come in handy.
Homeowners with "attractive nuisances": Pools or trampolines— also known as "attractive nuisances," can be appealing additions to your home. However, the likelihood of someone getting injured on your property may increase with these features. Some homeowner insurance may exclude "attractive nuisances" in their policy.
Household with teenage drivers: Driving on their own can be an exciting milestone for a teen. However, parents of teen drivers may have concerns about dangers on the road, mainly because younger drivers have less experience behind the wheel than adult drivers, increasing likelihood of an accident.
Umbrella insurance is relatively inexpensive. Your first $1 million of umbrella insurance coverage will cost $150 to $300 per year. After that, insurance will cost about $100 to $150 per million dollars of coverage. The exact amount varies based on the number of homes, cars, and boats you insure, according to Worters. An umbrella policy is an additional coverage and not a standalone policy. You must purchase homeowners insurance and auto insurance before you get umbrella insurance.
Umbrella insurance is an excellent investment for those at increased risk of at-fault accidents on the road or your property. Paying thousands or even millions of dollars in medical, property replacement, or legal fees can leave a dent in many people's finances, which can be challenging to recover from. So you should speak to your insurance representative to see if umbrella insurance is right for you.
"When it comes to talking about umbrella insurance, we like to say that 'you don't have to be a millionaire to be sued like one," says Grant. "An umbrella policy can also help with defense costs if you are sued for these events.
PERSONAL FINANCE What is personal liability insurance?
More: Personal Finance Insider PFI Reference Homeowners Insurance umbrella insurance
what is umbrella insurance | 2022-05-10T14:44:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | Umbrella Insurance: Definition, What It Covers | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/umbrella-insurance | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/umbrella-insurance |
The average US gas price rose to a record $4.374 per gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA.
State averages differ dramatically, with the average price per gallon hitting nearly $6 in California.
The price spike has been powered by oil refiners, which are charging record premiums as demand outstrips supply.
After a brief reprieve, Americans are once again staring down record-high prices at the pump.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the US hit an all-time high of $4.37 on Tuesday, according to AAA data. That's up from Monday's average of $4.33 and roughly $1.41 per gallon higher than levels seen one year ago.
Though the nationwide measure shows prices at fresh highs, costs still vary dramatically from state to state. California boasts the highest average price, with drivers paying about $5.84 per gallon for regular-grade gas. Hawaii and Nevada also tout average prices above $5 per gallon.
Parts of the South and Midwest, however, are still enjoying much more affordable visits to the pump. Georgia featured the lowest average on Tuesday, with a gallon of gas costing about $3.90. Missouri and Oklahoma followed with averages of roughly $3.93 and $3.95, respectively.
The record comes amid a new obstacle in the energy market's recovery. Gas prices first soared in March after the US and allies announced major sanctions on Russian energy commodities. That run-up has reversed course in recent weeks, but the decline has done little to pull gas prices lower. The fault lies with refiners and the so-called crack spread.
Refiners are responsible for turning crude oil into the gasoline and diesel that consumers use to travel. The rough calculation used in the refining industry is known as the "3-2-1 crack spread," which refers to how a refinery can generally process three barrels of crude into two barrels of gas and one barrel of distillate fuel such as diesel. The spread describes the price difference between what refiners pay for crude oil and their selling prices for finished products.
That price difference is also why gas prices are still so high despite cheaper crude. The crack spread hit a record high of $55 per barrel last week, Bloomberg reported, up from the $10.50 average seen from 1985 to 2021. Put simply, refiners are struggling to keep up with demand and are charging much more for their finished goods.
The problem, like many weighing on the US economy, is a massive imbalance between supply and demand. Refiners are running near full capacity, meaning the pickup in crude supply is still running into snags on its way to consumers. Demand has also picked up markedly in Europe, where countries that relied heavily on Russian oil just months ago are trying to quickly wean themselves off Kremlin-linked crude.
Refining capacity is the new bottleneck driving gas prices higher, and with summer set to bring stronger travel demand, the supply-demand gap is likely to worsen.
More: Economy Gas Prices oil prices gasoline prices
energy market | 2022-05-10T15:40:49Z | www.businessinsider.com | The Average Gallon of US Gas Climbs to a Record $4.37 | https://www.businessinsider.com/gas-prices-climb-record-nationwide-crude-oil-market-437-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/gas-prices-climb-record-nationwide-crude-oil-market-437-2022-5 |
Godiva's CEO reveals how the candymaker plans to double its revenue in four years with its first celebrity spokesman and convenience store sales
Ryan Joe
Godiva CEO Nurtac Afridi.
Godiva is launching its biggest marketing campaign ever, starring 'Captain America' star Chris Evans.
The chocolate maker wants to broaden its chocolates' appeal beyond gifting and double revenue in four years.
The company also wants to make sure it doesn't lose its positioning as a luxury gift.
Godiva has long positioned its chocolates as a luxury product you give as a gift, instead of buying for yourself.
But on Tuesday, Godiva launched its biggest marketing campaign ever to court consumers who would ordinarily reach for a Snickers or Hershey's bar.
While 67% of chocolate consumers buy premium chocolate like Godiva, Ghiardelli, and Ferrero, 83% percent of them buy mainstream brands, according to a 2021 report by the National Confectioner's Association.
The campaign, called "Godiva is chocolate," cost double what Godiva usually spends on campaigns — the company wouldn't give figures — and required double the personnel to execute it. Some of that cost is due to Godiva's first-ever work with a celebrity. Chris Evans, best known for playing Captain America in the Marvel movies, narrates various 15- and 30-second spots, featuring women enjoying Godiva chocolate as they take a break from things like minding their children.
The campaign is running on digital channels including connected TV, YouTube, and Instagram, as part of the company's increasing digital investment to reach millennials. Godiva also plans on introducing its new TikTok channel later this year.
The push to expand beyond gift sales is core to Godiva's plan to double its revenue in four years.
The company is making this push after experimenting with selling its chocolates through retailers. Godiva started selling its products in convenience stores in 2017, but doubled down on selling through retailers in 2021 when it closed its 128 US stores, said Godiva global CEO Nurtac Afridi.
"We used to be in hundreds of Walmart stores in 2020," said Afridi. "In 2021, we were in 1,200 stores."
Afridi closed Godiva's stores because the pandemic killed off foot traffic. But even pre-pandemic, she said, traffic had been declining, and the stores weren't reaching new customers.
"You are locking yourself to certain points," Afridi said of the boutiques. "But there are 300,000 points of sale in North America, and we wanted to reach out to more consumers." Since increasing the availability of its products through retailers last year, Godiva's sales spiked 37%.
Godiva's repositioning still carries risks. It's selling some of its most popular products as individually-wrapped candies in convenience stores, which will create new expenses and potential complications.
"It costs money to get the smaller molds, and the wrapping and the packaging, and it's more work from a supply chain logistics management perspective," said Ephi Maglaris, executive director of the trade org the Fine Chocolate Industry Association. Godiva is not a member of the org.
Godiva also risks losing its premium cachet if its products become mainstays in convenience stores. Afridi said Godiva is expanding its portfolio by making its candies more available, and that it's not ceding its reputation as provider of high-end gifts.
"Godiva has a very strong positioning in gifting," she said. "And we will protect that."
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More: Retail godiva Godiva CEO | 2022-05-10T15:40:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | Godiva Launches Marketing Campaign to Make Chocolate More Accessible | https://www.businessinsider.com/godiva-transform-business-with-chris-evans-biggest-marketing-campaign-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/godiva-transform-business-with-chris-evans-biggest-marketing-campaign-2022-5 |
Close and restart the app
Try Netflix on another device
Check to see if the Netflix service is working
Sign out and sign back into Netflix
Update the Netflix app
Uninstall and reinstall the Netflix app
7 ways to troubleshoot if Netflix isn't working on your streaming device
You may need to try a few different troubleshooting methods if Netflix isn't working on your streaming player.
If Netflix isn't working on your device, restart the app or try a different device to narrow down where the problem is.
You can also check to see if the Netflix service is down. If not, double check your own internet service.
Here are seven different ways to troubleshoot a problem with Netflix.
Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services with a deep catalog of original programming as well as licensed TV shows and movies. If you can't start Netflix or play its content, that can ruin a binge-watching session. Here are seven ways to troubleshoot Netflix and get back to watching whatever show you are currently binging.
If Netflix won't start or isn't playing video, the first — and easiest — fix is to close and restart the app. Closing the app should flush away any bad data that's keeping the app from working properly. This is a good first step whether you need to close the app on your iPhone, on Android, on a streaming media player, or on a smart TV. How you do this varies depending on what kind of device you have, but for most streaming devices, select the app and then click and hold or long-press on it until you see additional options that include force-closing the app.
Often, all you need to do is close and then restart the Netflix app.
One way to narrow down your problem is to try Netflix on another device. If you are trying unsuccessfully to watch Netflix on your TV's Roku, for example, see if you can make Netflix work using the mobile app on your phone or in a browser on your laptop. If it works on one device but not the other, you've narrowed down the problem to that specific device, and it's not an issue with the Netflix service or your internet connection.
It's rare for the overall Netflix service to be offline, but if you can't get the app to work properly, it's possible that Netflix is down. To see if the problem resides with the Netflix service rather than your app, you can check Netflix status page at Downdetector or Netflix's status page. You can also search "is Netflix down" in your web browser.
Netflix maintains its own status page that can tell you if the service is working.
Some Netflix problems can be easily solved by signing into Netflix anew. If you're already signed into Netflix, first sign out and then sign in again. The process is essentially the same no matter what app or device you are using; find your account icon and select Sign Out, then sign in again.
Of course, if you see a connection error in the Netflix app or your videos play unreliably, there's a good chance that there's a problem with your internet connection — either your WiFi router needs to be rebooted or the service from your ISP is problematic.
If you can open a web browser on the device you're trying to watch Netflix, run Google's online speed test. You can do this on your mobile phone, on a laptop or your desktop PC. If you're trying to use Netflix on a streaming media player or a smart TV, run the speed test on another device in the same room to make sure you're not too far from the WiFi router, or watch video on another app on that same device. You should have an internet speed no slower than 5 Mbps for high definition or 15 Mbps for 4K video streaming. See our guide on internet speeds for more information.
A Google speed test won't just tell you how fast your connection is — it's also an excellent way to find out if your internet connection works to begin with.
If your internet is offline or too slow to reliably play video on Netflix, reboot your WiFi router and internet modem. Unplug both for at least two minutes, then plug in the internet router and let it power up until you see all the status lights (up to five minutes). Finally, plug in the WiFi router and wait several minutes until your connection is complete.
If there's still a problem, you might need to contact your ISP's support line to see if the service is down in your area or if there's an issue with your own connection.
It's possible that you aren't using the most current version of the Netflix app, and the version you have has some sort of serious bug or incompatibility with other software on your device. Most devices update apps regularly, but it's possible your copy of Netflix hasn't been updated recently. Here is how to update apps on your iPhone or on your Android device. For other devices, check your user guide to see how to update apps.
Finally, if all else fails, it might be possible to solve your problem by uninstalling the Netflix app and reinstalling it. This may eliminate any glitchy software that was interfering with your ability to use the app. Remember that you'll need to sign in again using your account credentials.
TECH How to cancel your Netflix subscription, no matter how you subscribed to it
TECH How to log out of Netflix on any TV, streaming device, or game console
TECH 12 ways to get the most out of your Netflix subscription and viewing experience, including keyboard shortcuts and other hidden features
TECH Here's how much data you're using while streaming Netflix, and how to change your data usage settings
More: Tech How To Netflix Troubleshooting Streaming | 2022-05-10T15:40:55Z | www.businessinsider.com | 7 Ways to Troubleshoot If Netflix Is Not Working on Your Device | https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-not-working | https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-not-working |
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says banning abortion would damage the economy and 'set women back decades'
Sec. Yellen said at a Senate Banking committee hearing on Tuesday that an abortion ban "would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades."
The Supreme Court seems poised to overturn abortion case Roe v. Wade.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that could damage the economy.
Yellen said it could also "set women back decades," and potentially disrupt labor force participation.
On May 2, Politico released the leak heard around the world: The Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that gave Americans the constitutional right to an abortion.
While the ruling is still far from final, the Supreme Court confirmed that the draft was authentic.
The leak sparked immediate backlash from protesters and politicians alike. One emerging concern over a potential overturning are the economic repercussions for a still-recovering country, where women have already been on the short end of job gains and employment.
"Eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades," Yellen said at a Senate Banking committee hearing on Tuesday.
As the US still tries to rebound from the economic fallout of the pandemic, labor force participation — a key measure that tracks how many Americans are working or actively looking for work — hasn't recovered. In fact, it dipped in April. Yellen said that Roe helped up women's participation.
"Roe v. Wade and access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, helped lead to increased labor force participation," she said. "It enabled many women to finish school — that increased their earning potential. It allowed women to plan and balance their families and careers."
She warned that restraining access to abortion would increase the likelihood of women needing social welfare benefits to avoid slipping into poverty.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh has expressed similar concerns over the economic fallout of Roe being overturned.
"This will impact women individually, but also is going to impact our economy as a whole," Walsh told Insider on Friday. "I don't think we could underscore the importance of what actions potentially could happen at the court."
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco surveyed 1,000 women who had sought abortions over five years for The Turnaway Study. They found that women turned away from receiving an abortion who went to give birth experienced more poverty than woman who had received an abortion. The women turned away saw their debts increase, and credit scores sink.
President Joe Biden pledged to fight to protect abortion access a week ago, saying in a statement that "we will be ready when any ruling issued." However, the Biden administration has few options at its disposal. The Washington Post reported that the White House weighing executive actions to help low-income women residing in GOP-led states to access abortion care.
Senate Democrats are setting up a largely symbolic vote for Wednesday aimed at codifying the Roe v. Wade ruling and to mold it into law, Insider's Oma Seddiq reported. It's bound to fail since Democrats haven't amassed enough support to gut the Senate's 60-vote threshold known as the filibuster.
More: Economy Politics Roe v Wade Roe v Wade leak
codify Roe v Wade
abortion protest | 2022-05-10T15:41:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | Treasury's Yellen: Abortion Ban Would Damage Economy, Set Women Back | https://www.businessinsider.com/treasury-secretary-yellen-banning-abortion-damage-economy-set-women-back-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/treasury-secretary-yellen-banning-abortion-damage-economy-set-women-back-2022-5 |
Chatbot operators at real estate software firm AppFolio have filed for a union election. Here's what they want.
Lisa Operators United logo
Lisa Operators Union
Workers who operate an AppFolio chatbot dubbed Lisa have filed for a union election.
The approximately 70 part-time, hourly workers belong to the Lisa Operators United.
Workers wants include a better culture, equal benefits and consistent shift availability.
Approximately 70 part-time, hourly workers who operate AppFolio's property management chatbot — dubbed Lisa — have filed for a union election. The Lisa Operators United ballots were mailed out Tuesday and the workers are confident that they have majority support to win the election.
The company's AI-backed chatbot automatically responds to people's questions about properties and helps schedule showings, but when a question is too specific, such as details of one particular apartment unit, human chatbot operators step in to answer queries.
"We basically monitor [Lisa] to make sure that she's doing what she's intended to do — it's a lot less automated than people think," Kel Smith, an organizer for Lisa Operators United said. "There is a huge team of humans behind her, teaching her and helping her along the way."
Smith is about to celebrate their three-year anniversary with the company and said Lisa has become increasingly automated throughout that time.
But Smith highlighted how Lisa's automated experience for customers rides on the shoulders of operators who "make split-second decisions every 10 to 20 seconds all day long" and are expected to handle 150 messages per hour.
They said the workload and message volume have steadily increased over time, while pay has stagnated, this is one of several reasons workers are interested in forming a union.
The operators organized under the parent union Communications Workers of America and requested voluntary union recognition from AppFolio CEO Jason Randall after going public in March, but the union filed for a National Labor Relations Board election after AppFolio failed to respond by the end of that month.
Workers are organizing around several issues like the bot's impact, changes to operator jobs, and worker career growth. But company culture, predictable shifts and equal benefits are chief among their concerns.
AppFolio did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
An AppFolio Lisa Operators United organizer Instagram post
Lisa Operators Union via Instagram
A better workplace culture
Although the operators are entirely remote and keep Lisa running in locations across the country, the workers are united in the workplace experience that they wish would prioritize their wellness, safety and mental health.
"Sometimes we get graphic photos that come in and a lot of frustration and hostility, which is normal in any customer service aspect," Smith said. "But when you're dealing with instances of domestic violence, it adds another layer of complexity."
In addition to wanting concrete support for operators who receive troubling chat threads, the operators want communication when decisions are made that will impact their jobs and clear professional growth paths for those who want it.
Smith highlighted that much of the company's chatbot leadership is not from within the company, so the managers might not understand what the operators are experiencing when changes are made to their workflow or jobs.
"They'll implement things where it's like nobody asked for that," Smith said. "It makes it really hard for me to do my job, and sometimes they roll it back instantly — that's happened a couple of times — so that problem would be solved if we were included in those decisions."
Consistent and equitable shift availability
As part-time workers, the operators want to have consistent and equitable shift availability due to previous fluctuations in operator expectations, shift availability and worker availability.
Many of the operators are artists or work in academia and found a 20-hour weekly average amenable to their seasonal work. But to their disappointment, that recently changed to a strict 20-hour weekly minimum.
Summer months are often the peak leasing time, and the company will hire temporary workers to meet the demand, but outside of these busy months, organizer and operator Jake Syersak, who has been with the company for three years, said shifts can be hard to find.
"If you're used to working 30 hours a week, all of a sudden you might only be able to get 10 hours a week, which is very damaging to maintaining a steady income," Syersak said.
This mismatch in demand led workers to create a mutual aid fund via Patreon for their fellow operators, which was shared in the company Slack . But Syersak said "immediately, management calls me into a meeting and tells me that that's inappropriate, that I need to delete the post."
AppFolio management told him the fund, which was dispersed to operators who struggled to maintain their income due to inconsistent hours, made others at the company uncomfortable.
Fair benefits
Operator benefits, such as paid sick leave, varied based on location, and Smith said this inconsistency did not come to light until an operator with the benefit reminded coworkers to use it in a company Slack channel.
"We assumed that because we were remote workers, there were some weird loopholes that prevented us from getting those state benefits," Syersak said about paid sick leave. But when the workers started unionizing, some operators with legal backgrounds started questioning not having the benefit.
Syersak lived in Georgia when he first started working at the company but later moved to Washington state, which was sick leave eligible.
"I just reported them to the Washington Department of Labor for not paying those paid sick leave hours, because — and it was kind of an afterthought — at that point I still thought that I was just misreading the law or something like that," Syersak said.
The state department issued an infraction against AppFolio and ordered it to pay Syersak the money he was entitled to. This prompted the company to open paid sick leave hours for all operators who lived in an eligible location.
After his success, the operators collectively started writing the human resources department and quoting the law verbatim to get remuneration for all the missed sick pay from years prior, and Syersak said the company "eventually just started sending us checks."
"I don't think that they're inherently evil — from the way they structure management a lot of things fall out of sight," Syersak said. He spoke more about the impetus for a union, "We just really wanted to project into the future and save people the trouble of falling into something where they would suffer for a long time."
Are you a tech employee who's unionizing or part of a union? Contact Diamond Naga Siu at dsiu@insider.com or through the secure messaging app Signal at 310-986-1383. Please reach out using a nonwork device. Twitter DM at @diamondnagasiu. Check out Insider's source guide for other suggestions on how to share information securely.
More: Chat Bot Union NLRB | 2022-05-10T16:15:30Z | www.businessinsider.com | AppFolio Chatbot Operators Aim to Unionize, Here's What They Want. | https://www.businessinsider.com/appfolio-chatbot-operators-aim-to-unionize-heres-what-they-want-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/appfolio-chatbot-operators-aim-to-unionize-heres-what-they-want-2022-5 |
Logistics giants like Amazon, FedEx, and UPS are spending billions to slash air cargo emissions, and these 4 electric aviation startups are cashing in
Maia Anderson and Emma Cosgrove
FedEx Express plans to test Elroy Air’s Chaparral autonomous air cargo system moving shipments between sortation centers.
Logistics giants are looking to use electric aircraft to help meet their sustainability goals.
Electric aircraft startups have seen a rush of funding in the last two years as some near takeoff.
Amazon, FedEx, and UPS are betting these four startups will be the future of cargo deliveries.
Just as UPS, FedEx, and Amazon are racking up electric van orders, they are also looking to the skies for the emissions reductions they need to meet the sustainability goals they've proudly proclaimed. But reducing emissions in the air is going to take a lot longer than on the road.
"I don't think we're in the first inning. We are in spring training for passenger electric aircraft," Kristine Liwag, head of Morgan Stanley's aerospace and defense practice, told Insider.
Battery technology is decades away from replacing ocean-hopping cargo jets, but it is good enough to power small aircraft like electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). This new breed of aircraft can haul up to 1,500 pounds for a few hundred miles, although they're still waiting on certification from the FAA. Still, the country's logistics giants have taken notice.
In the last 18 months, FedEx and Amazon have made investments in electric cargo aircraft companies. FedEx, UPS, DHL, and AYR Logistics have all signed purchase agreements for eVTOLs or other types of electric aircraft to use for cargo deliveries. Amazon has invested in multiple companies working to create alternative aircraft fuel.
Investing in eVTOL tech now is a hedge against a series of trends that will demand changes to today's logistics business, Bala Ganesh, vice president for engineering at UPS, told Insider last year. "There's hyper urbanization, there's going to be restrictions of internal combustion vehicles in urban areas, there's going to be traffic congestion and thereby, maybe even congestion pricing of what can come in or not in the cities," he said.
Although the partnerships between carriers and aircraft startups are just agreements to one day purchase the aircraft, it's becoming clear to some industry analysts that the eVTOL industry players aimed at logistics may get off the ground before those focused on passenger flights.
"You have a ready customer base that can start deploying these use cases of eVTOLs, versus for passenger, it is necessary to create a new market," Andres Mendoza Pena, a transportation analyst at global management consulting firm Kearney, told Insider.
A recent string of SPAC deals and ample venture funding have given many eVTOL companies the capital they need to develop their aircraft over the next few years, and work toward getting the necessary certifications to start deliveries, Liwag said.
Experts expect these early models to make a significant impact in parcel networks, particularly in rural areas, according to Ravi Shanker, a transportation analyst at Morgan Stanley. And once these aircraft can carry payloads in excess of 1,000 pounds, they're likely to attract interest from all kinds of logistics players, including trucking firms, he said.
These are the early deals in what experts expect to be a long journey into more sustainable aviation.
FedEx & Elroy Air
FedEx Express teamed up with Elroy Air in March, agreeing to test Elroy's autonomous cargo eVTOL in the "middle mile," moving shipments between sortation centers.
The San Francisco-based startup says its mission is to "enable same-day shipping to every person on the planet." It unveiled its Chaparral eVTOL, designed to carry 300 to 500 pounds of cargo over a 300-mile range, at the end of January. The startup was founded in 2016 and has raised $56 million so far, according to Crunchbase. According to Elroy Air, the Chaparral can "deposit cargo, pick up another load, and take-off again, all in just a few minutes and without operator interaction." Test flights are set to kick off in 2023.
UPS & Beta Technologies
A rendering of Beta Technologies' eVTOL aircraft.
UPS said in April 2021 it plans to purchase 10 cargo-carrying eVTOLs from Vermont-based Beta Technologies, through its UPS Flight Forward subsidiary, with the option for up to 140 more. The logistics giant plans to use the eVTOLs at its facilities to reduce time-in-transit, vehicle emissions, and operating costs in small and mid-size markets.
Beta's eVTOL, called the ALIA, has a 1,400 pound cargo capacity and a 250-mile range, and can fly at up to 170 mph. It can recharge in an hour or less and produces zero operational emissions. The startup was founded in 2017 and has raised $886 million, according to Crunchbase.
UPS plans to use Beta's aircraft for time-sensitive deliveries that would otherwise fly on small fixed-wing aircraft. Replacing Cessnas with eVTOLs, which can take off from almost anywhere and land on UPS facility grounds, means skipping several rounds of loading and unloading and at least one truck trip — not to mention the aircraft emissions.
"The neat thing about a point-to-point aircraft is that you get to omit a lot of those handoff points," Founder and CEO Kyle Clark told Insider last year.
UPS also reserved Beta's eVTOL recharging station, which can also be used to charge the company's fleet of EVs. Beta plans to start delivering the first 10 eVTOLs in 2024.
Amazon & Beta Technologies
Kyle Clark, CEO of Beta Technologies
In 2021, Beta also landed an investment from Amazon's $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, part of its commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
"The development of sustainable and decarbonizing technologies will help facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy and protect the planet for future generations," Kara Hurst, Amazon's vice president and head of worldwide sustainability, said in a statement.the investment.
The investment was part of a $368 million funding round for Beta, led by Amazon's Climate Fund and Fidelity, which took the eVTOL startup to unicorn status, according to CNBC. Amazon has not yet agreed to buy any aircraft.
DHL Express & Eviation
DHL was the first to order 12 electric Alice eCargo planes from Eviation.
In August 2021, DHL Express agreed to buy 12 fully electric cargo planes from Arlington, Washington-based startup Eviation. DHL plans to use the aircraft, called the Alice, to create an electric Express network that operates in all environments currently served by piston and turbine aircraft.
"We firmly believe in a future with zero-emission logistics," John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, said in a press release. "Therefore, our investments always follow the objective of improving our carbon footprint."
The Alice cargo plane can carry 2,600 pounds and has a range of just over 500 miles. It takes 30 minutes or less to charge per flight, and can be plugged in during loading and unloading, according to DHL. Because its motors have relatively few moving parts, DHL says the aircraft will reduce maintenance costs.
Eviation was founded in 2015 and acquired by Singapore-based Clermont Group in 2019. It expects to deliver the first Alice aircraft to DHL in 2024. The logistics company is investing nearly $7.5 billion by 2030 to reduce its carbon emissions.
Amazon & ZeroAvia
The world's first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight.
Another beneficiary of Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, ZeroAvia is developing a hydrogen-electric propulsion system to be retrofitted into existing fixed-wing aircraft. Based in Hollister, California, the startup plans to have the first commercial hydrogen-electric aircraft ready for operation in 2024, and a 200-plus seat aircraft ready by 2040.
Amazon invested in ZeroAvia in December 2020, saying the startup's powertrain "has real potential to help decarbonize the aviation sector." ZeroAvia was founded in 2017 and has raised $110 million to date.
AYR Logistics & Elroy Air
AYR plans to use the Chaparral eVTOLs for delivering food, shelter, medical supplies, vaccines, and equipment to those in need.
Elroy Air
Humanitarian logistics provider AYR Logistics agreed in November 2021 to buy up to 100 Chaparral eVTOLs from Elroy Air.
Stephen Lyons, chief development officer at AYR, said the Chaparral is ideal for operating in remote locations with minimal infrastructure or ground support. The company plans to use the eVTOLs for delivering food, shelter, medical supplies, vaccines, and equipment to those in need.
"Our aircraft need to operate in incredibly challenging and austere conditions, frequently without basic airport infrastructure, so we are very particular about the equipment we use," AYR CEO Serge Sergeef said in a press release. "For us, these Cargo-UAVs are heralding a new era in logistics and will undoubtedly become the new workhorse for humanitarian agencies."
More: BITranspo Logistics Airfreight | 2022-05-10T16:15:36Z | www.businessinsider.com | 4 Startups Logistics Giants Have Tapped for Sustainable Aviation | https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-sustainable-aviation-startups-logistics-giants-amazon-ups-fedex-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-sustainable-aviation-startups-logistics-giants-amazon-ups-fedex-2022-5 |
Lauren Johnson and Lindsay Rittenhouse
Andy Jassy, Amazon's CEO.
Mike Blake/Reuters; Savanna Durr/Alyssa Powell/Insider
Amazon's ad business is the third-biggest digital ad player behind Google and Facebook parent, Meta.
Amazon's $31 billion ad revenue is now a driver of retail sales and fuel for its other businesses.
Advertisers and analysts lay out where it's headed next and the risks to its growth.
This is the first in a 10-part series publishing over the coming days that examines Amazon's booming advertising business: The people driving it, the ripple effects on other companies, and what's next.
Kiri Masters was an investment banker at JP Morgan Chase who left in 2015 to start Bobsled Marketing, an agency that helps brands scale Amazon. Seven years later, her 50-person company manages more than $20 million in e-commerce spending for more than 100 midsize brands. Bobsled was acquired by digital agency Acadia for an undisclosed amount in March.
It's a success story for Masters, but also Amazon. She's one of many entrepreneurs who's ridden an e-commerce ad wave driven by vendors for whom Amazon has become indispensable not only for selling their wares, but advertising them.
Amazon was once leery of advertising. Its founder and former CEO, Jeff Bezos, said in 2009 that "advertising is the price you pay for having an unremarkable product or service."
But by 2015, Amazon was offering ads that helped sellers promote their products in search results. When someone searches for toothpaste on Amazon, they're likely to see a Procter & Gamble or Unilever product advertised. Amazon's trove of customer shopping data also fuels ads on audio, video, and other publishers' websites.
Today, that advertising business is no longer simply a way to drive product sales on Amazon. It fuels its investments in other areas, like its quest for TV ad budgets, and burgeoning grocery store business. Amazon's ad business, which generated $31 billion in 2021, dwarfed Microsoft and Snap and ranked third behind Google and Facebook parent, Meta.
And with its ability to show ads to a receptive audience and unfettered access to people's shopping data, it may be just getting started.
"If Amazon advertising successfully transitions into CTV and in-store media, it will tap massive new pools of marketing spend, like linear TV and shopper marketing. That would put Amazon on a course to surpass Meta in US ad revenue over the next several years," said Andrew Lipsman, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, which shares a parent with Insider.
Here's how Amazon's business exploded in recent years, and where it could go next.
Amazon's ad ambitions are constantly evolving
Amazon launched its advertising business in a big way in 2017 when it opened up its advertising API, software that is used to automate ad buying, said Melissa Burdick, a former Amazon exec and cofounder and president of e-commerce adtech firm, Pacvue.
"That was the tipping point when they provided programmatic access to the platform," she said.
Amazon started by giving a few e-commerce agencies and adtech firms access to the API. There are now nearly 600 advertising partners in Amazon's advertising ecosystem, according to Amazon's directory of companies in the space.
"The reason why there's so many tools in this space is because of the complexity and how manual it is," Burdick said.
Amazon's advertising ambitions went into overdrive once the pandemic hit and e-commerce sales boomed.
Brands that once avoided selling products and advertising on Amazon because it manufactured competing products had to start selling there quickly while building their own direct-to-consumer platforms, said Jessica Richards, the EVP and managing director of commerce for North America at Havas Market.
"The reality is, consumers are searching on Amazon to compare products, even if they plan to step into a store or order directly," she said.
One of the biggest factors that helped triple Amazon's ad revenue over three years was the sudden influx of advertisers like insurance providers, movie studios, and automakers that don't sell products on Amazon.
Amazon hired salespeople with advertising-heavy backgrounds like Ryan Mayward, who now leads Instacart's ad business, to warm up to big holding companies that spent hundreds of millions of dollars with Google and Meta. Amazon's pitch started shifting away from promoting specific products sold on Amazon and toward using its data to target and measure ads outside of Amazon. It also started building adtech products to place ads on publishers' websites.
The shift in messaging and products marked a change in how Amazon saw advertising as a chance to sell ads to nonendemic advertisers. The company revamped its sales structure in January under former Google ad executive Alan Moss to pitch advertisers bigger ad packages and to court large advertisers who are more interested in brand-building ads than direct response.
As part of its ambitions to grow advertising, Amazon also pitches a data clean room called Amazon Marketing Cloud. Advertisers who spend heavily on Amazon can use it to see things like who's clicking on ads and if they took an action after seeing an ad, like visiting a certain store or buying a certain item — data that's especially valuable in light of Apple and Google's privacy changes.
Now that advertisers are having challenges tracking their ads on Facebook and Google as cookie-based targeting gets phased out, they're shifting to Amazon, with its rich consumer data, said Travis Johnson, the global CEO of Amazon consultancy Podean. "Their tentacles to understanding consumer behavior is superior."
Amazon's ad ambitions don't end with digital. It plans to sell ads in Amazon Fresh stores as a way to boost their profitability — a lure to packaged goods that have long paid Walmart, Target, and other retailers for in-store ad campaigns that market to shoppers right in the grocery aisle.
Amazon has its eyes set on TV advertising
TV, still the domain of big-brand budgets, is central to Amazon's advertising ambitions.
Amazon is in a tight race with Hulu , Roku, and YouTube, which are also chasing TV budgets that are moving from linear TV to streaming . Amazon sells video ads in Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV), Fire TV apps, streaming sports games, and Twitch . Research firm Ampere Analysis estimates that Freevee brought in $300 million in ad revenue in 2021.
But its push for TV ad budgets will face its biggest test on Prime Video this fall. Prime Video is normally an ad-free environment, but Amazon will exclusively stream its biggest advertiser event to date this fall: the NFL's Thursday Night Football.
Amazon is pitching advertisers large ad packages across all Thursday Night Football games in the upcoming season, said Sam Bloom, CEO of Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media. And it's hiring aggressively to support the partnership, with about 175 NFL-related roles listed on its website in April.
Amazon's challenge is convincing advertisers who are used to cherry-picking games and who might have sticker shock over Amazon's pitch, Bloom said. Another media buyer told Insider that Amazon is pricing Thursday Night Football games higher than traditional TV. If a CPM, or cost of advertising to 1,000 people, on linear TV is $40, the CPM for Amazon's Thursday Night Football games is being sold around $50. Amazon declined to comment on ad pricing.
But Amazon does have measurement and identity tools coveted by TV advertisers that show if people who saw an ad bought the advertised product, Bloom said.
"Amazon has all the components for agencies to give clients clear solutions that show the efficacy of exposure to sales," he said.
Beyond the NFL partnership, Bloom said that he sees potential with Amazon's broader video advertising products including Twitch, Freevee, and Fire TV apps. He said that the size of Amazon's video properties and data makes it compelling for advertisers.
But he questioned whether Amazon will keep its connected TV ecosystem open for third parties or create walled gardens that limit the campaign data advertisers get, which could turn off advertisers.
"It's an existential question for Amazon," he said.
Amazon's ambitions risk neglecting its core advertisers
The bulk of Amazon's ad revenue still comes from search advertising. Amazon has to balance its push for brand advertising with new challenges popping up for direct-response advertisers.
More direct-response advertisers have flooded Amazon's search products over the past year, causing ad prices to go up significantly. The average cost per click of Amazon's core ad product — sponsored products that appear in search results — increased 29% year-over-year in March 2022, according to data from Amazon adtech firm Perpetua.
If prices keep going up, it could turn off Amazon's core advertisers.
"The Amazon seller is one of the most discerning when it comes to cost," Eitan Reshef, the CEO of agency Blue Wheel, said.
Amazon is also facing growing competition from retailers like Walmart, Instacart, and Target that are trying to copy its success with advertising. Walmart's ad business soared 130% in 2021 to $2.1 billion, and with its huge, brick-and-mortar store space in which to sell ads, there's more room for growth.
But Amazon is also under pressure from lawmakers who have accused it, along with other tech giants, of anticompetitive practices. The question with Amazon is whether it uses sellers' data to inform its own private-label products, a practice Amazon has repeatedly denied.
But with Amazon already grabbing ad dollars from Google and Meta, its advantages in data and untapped opportunity to sell ads in audio, in stores, and overseas, advertisers aren't counting it out.
Todd Hassenfelt, the e-commerce director of growth strategy and planning at Colgate-Palmolive, is a longtime Amazon advertiser who's watched the platform closely. He's seen firsthand its pitch evolve from promoting awareness ads to making moves to tie its Alexa smart speakers, Fire TV, and even Whole Foods stores to an endless potential to personalize ads and track them to sales results. It's a compelling pitch that challenges brands to rethink their ad-investment strategies: "The FOMO piece is big." | 2022-05-10T17:11:22Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Amazon Is Building Its Huge Advertising Business | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-amazon-building-huge-advertising-business-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-amazon-building-huge-advertising-business-2022-5 |
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The pitch deck used to raise $1.7 million for a vegan-food brand co-founded by a Made in Chelsea star
YouTuber Mikey Pearce and "Made in Chelsea" star Verity Bowditch.
Courtesy of Clean Kitchen Club
29-year-old Mikey Pearce founded Clean Kitchen Club in 2020 as a vegan fast-food restaurant.
He later recruited "Made in Chelsea" star Verity Bowditch as cofounder and scaled across London.
This is the pitch deck they used to raise $1.7 million in funding in their seed round.
YouTuber Mikey Pearce and "Made in Chelsea" star Verity Bowditch raised $1.7 million in investments for their quick-service restaurant, Clean Kitchen Club. The pair told Insider they wanted to create a company that makes vegan food more than "just an alternative."
Clean Kitchen Club is a plant-based fast-food restaurant with five sites across London that offer takeout or dine-in vegan food.
Pearce launched the business in the summer of 2020 from his family's kitchen in Brighton, England.
Shortly after, he recruited his friend Bowditch for her expertise in sustainability and plant-based nutrition as a graduate from King's College London with a biomedical science and nutrition degree.
The vegan quick-service restaurant brand currently makes more than 2,000 sales a day, and its cofounders plan to expand into the retail market with a line of frozen-plant protein, according to Pearce and Bowditch.
Prior to fundraising, the business was valued at £7.5 million. In October 2021, they raised £1.4 million, or $1.7 million, in their seed round.
Bowditch and Pearce walked Insider through the pitch deck they used to secure the funding.
Bowditch said it was important that the deck be vibrant and playful to avoid any element of the brand "preaching" a strict plant-based diet.
"Veganism sometimes gets a stigma, and we wanted to debunk those myths and have accessible plant-based food on every high street," Pearce said. He added the deck needed to show that "Clean Kitchen wasn't just about a food company or a hospitality business, it was a lifestyle we wanted to implement."
In the deck, the founders emphasized that more than 80% of their customers were not vegan, and that Clean Kitchen Club had a 70% return-customer rate.
"It's so crucial that we had that data to show our repeat customers, as it shows that people enjoy the products, it's not, 'Oh, I'll just try it once.' They come back, and that's vital," Pearce said.
Bowditch and Pearce also wanted to include some individual testimonies to show firsthand the reactions of their customers. "It's really important to get customer feedback in there, especially our 4.8-star Deliveroo rating," Bowditch added.
"As we go into retail, you've got to show that that product is tried and tested, and people keep coming back for more, then you're scalable."
Pearce said communicating that their concept and business model already had proven market success was integral to landing investment. Pearce added they would reinvest capital raised into organic growth areas such as the marketing strategy.
Before the deck, the company had grown a social audience of more than 30,000 Instagram followers by promoting the brand on the founders' respective platforms.
"I think any deck should show what you've done without any money using your skills, so for us, it's PR and marketing, so we're going to show that," Bowditch said.
The second half of the deck homes in on what the founders regard as the problems within the industry – vegan alternatives are more expensive, lack flavor, and the limited options always look less appealing – and how Clean Kitchen Club can provide solutions.
"We found that there are flaws in the current plant-based industry, plant-based grab-and-go and plant-based quick-service restaurants, but we feel that we can plug the gap and that's the core: We're offering a solution to a problem," Pearce said.
Clean Kitchen Club
Calling themselves "clean ambassadors," the duo "live and breathe" their business and promote their product online via their own personal social-media channels.
"I personally think that in the most successful businesses the founders embody their brand… We wanted to get our personalities across, which I think shine through the deck," Bowditch told Insider.
"People back people and it's still an early-stage startup. So on this round, we had to be able to get people to believe in us and get involved in the journey and support our vision to work with us," Pearce added.
Another critical element of the deck was selecting images that captured the variety of food on offer and the cofounders' experience building a business's image on social media.
Bowditch said it was important that the deck emphasized sustainability, adding that "sustainability is a second thought" for many of Clean Kitchen Club's competitors.
"We've built this business trying to be as sustainable as possible from the get-go," she added.
"That's in the ingredients we use, the packaging we use, even the ink is water-soluble, and our burger releases 83% fewer carbon emissions than the beef alternative," Bowditch said.
Bowditch and Pearce wanted to pinpoint where Clean Kitchen Club sat within the industry for other retail and fast-food meat-free alternatives.
"There are a few competitors out there that do one thing, but we wanted to show we're plant-based for everyone, so there are smoothies and acai bowls, as well as hangover food. Investors will really buy into the different dining aspects and show that we're scalable," Bowditch said.
"We love all the brands we've spoken about, what they do, and they're amazing, but it was vital to show this is how we can do it differently," Pearce said.
One slide focuses on the cofounders' plan to open several new physical stores. Clean Kitchen Club plans to open five more London sites in four months.
"Our main business strategy is a quick-service rollout, so we want to do a widespread rollout, we want to act quickly. We want to open 40 sites," Pearce said.
"We're always analyzing the data and looking at where the best areas are for new sites. We look at the residential areas, we look at what areas are popular for veganism, and also, we look at our analytics from our Instagram, where our audience is already based," he continued.
Bowditch added that it also showed that the business, which was just over a year old at that point, was "looking into the future and really serious about this brand and take it to the very end."
More: Pitch Deck Features UK Freelance | 2022-05-10T17:44:31Z | www.businessinsider.com | The Pitch Deck a Vegan-Food Brand Used to Raise $1.7 Million | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-vegan-food-brand-raised-million-made-in-chelsea-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-vegan-food-brand-raised-million-made-in-chelsea-2022-5 |
Y Combinator's head of admissions reviews over 20,000 startups for its accelerator a year. Here's what she looks for in a successful application.
Stephanie Simon, the head of admissions at Y Combinator.
Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's most storied startup accelerator, is known for its exclusivity.
Only about 1% to 2% of startups of over 20,000 applications a year are accepted for each cohort.
YC's head of admissions, Stephanie Simon, shares the qualities she looks for in applications.
For early-stage founders looking to grow their startup in an accelerator, few names spark as much excitement as Y Combinator.
The startup accelerator is well-known for its exclusivity, accepting only between 1.5% and 2% of the over 20,000 applications for its summer and winter cohorts.
Stephanie Simon, head of Y Combinator's admissions team, sifts through all of those applications. She joined the team in 2016 and took over leading it in November 2020. Simon has read through thousands of applications during her tenure and offers up her best tips to budding startup founders looking to gain acceptance to the accelerator's exclusive program.
A Y Combinator spokesperson told Insider that while the deadline for the summer 2022 program has passed, the admissions team will still review all applications submitted late until the cohort starts in June.
The process to apply to Y Combinator is pretty straightforward, said Simon. Once a founding team submits an application, the admissions team and even a few executives will review it.
If the committee decides they want to interview the founders, they schedule a 10 minute video interview, and then make a decision about a founder's application shortly thereafter.
"I would say 99% of the time, you're getting a 10 minute interview, and we're giving you an answer within a day," Simon said.
She also emphasized that no startup — no matter how trendy — will automatically get selected over others.
There are times when people on the admissions team are really excited about certain types of companies, like crypto in recent years or "chat bots" in 2016. But what's more important is the strength of the team. "The lens is 'what are the smart, impressive teams working on?'" said Simon.
Having a technical founder on the team is key
Simon says that one way for startups to stand out is to have a cofounder and one team member come from a technical background.
"Basically, we're looking for founding teams where they can build the product, or at least the beginning versions of the product on the team itself," she said.
By having a technical founder, a startup will be able to problem solve more quickly and creatively because of their preexisting knowledge of the tech, Simon explained. A technical founder will also make hiring engineers easier, which can be one of the hardest things that startups have to do, she said. And technical founders usually have networks that they can hire from.
The startup should be solving a real problem
The other key quality most successful YC pitches have is a sense that the problem the startup is trying to solve feels real.
"When it's a problem that the founders themselves have felt or someone they know closely has felt, it just feels more grounded in reality, and feels way more likely to succeed," Simon said.
She says she can tell from the pitch whether there's honesty and authenticity to the problem the founders are trying to solve rather than just a good startup idea.
Domain expertise is also important in some cases, Simon said. For startups in certain sectors like insurance and biotechnology, being an expert will matter a lot more to the admissions team when they're reviewing the application.
Only a few qualities would completely disqualify a company
The biggest turn off for YC admissions managers is "inauthenticity," said Simon. In every applications batch, they do receive some with startup ideas that don't seem genuine.
"It's pretty obvious when the idea feels made up and they [the founders] haven't experienced it personally or don't know anyone who has experienced the problem that they're trying to solve," she said.
However, Simon does point out that there's only one criterion that would completely disqualify a startup: "I think the only absolute no for us is if, when we imagine that company being successful, it was net negative for the world."
More: Y Combinator Startups Venture Capital | 2022-05-10T17:44:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | Here's What Y Combinator Looks for in Successful Startup Applications | https://www.businessinsider.com/what-y-combinator-admissions-stephanie-simon-looks-for-successful-startup-applications | https://www.businessinsider.com/what-y-combinator-admissions-stephanie-simon-looks-for-successful-startup-applications |
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