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<ul class="summary-list"><li>"Sweaty startup" describes business ownership in traditionally blue-collar industries.</li><li>Sweaty startups are facing challenges from inflation and increased competition.</li></ul>Patrick Hocker, 35, never envisioned owning a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/carbon-monoxide-nyc-rat-exterminator-clap-cheer-free-beer-2023-10">pest-control</a> company. He waited tables at 18, married young, had kids, and became a security guard.After meeting someone who worked in pest control, he got into the industry himself and, after a layoff, decided to start his own business in 2020. He knew his market in northern <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-from-florida-to-virginia-pros-cons-cape-coral-weather-2024-2">Virginia</a> could be profitable because of its higher household incomes."I always said I wanted to own my own business one day, but I didn't want it to be in pest control," Hocker said. "Pest control is not sexy. It's dirty. It's hard, physical work."He said that he spent $5,000 on startup costs including new equipment for his company, Bluebird Pest Solutions, and that he relied mostly on word of mouth and Google reviews to build the brand.However, his four-person company isn't growing as fast as he hoped. He said he thought <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-costs-keep-rising-inflation-goes-down-eggs-tickets-insurance-2024-7">inflation</a> had made customers more budget-conscious.<div type="image" title="Patrick Hocker" height="819" width="1285" msid="112244113" hostid="261" sizebytes="51046"></div>"We've found that people are taking a lot more time this year to make a decision about who to hire, or if they're going to hire someone for pest control, there seems to be more of an emphasis on price over necessarily buying value in that service," Hocker said.Rising prices for vehicle-maintenance supplies and labor costs have eaten into his profits. He said he'd been "playing financial catch-up," as he's relied on this business as his family's sole source of income and cashed out his retirement fund to finance it.Hocker is running a "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sweaty-startups-millennial-business-owners-entrepreneurship-2021-5">sweaty startup</a>," a term coined by the entrepreneur Nick Huber, who owns nine such companies and has amassed communities on X and Reddit. Sweaty startups are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blue-collar-job-demand-growth-white-collar-layoffs-ai-2024-5">blue-collar businesses</a>, often in unglamorous or laborious fields like septic services, car washes, or lawn care. It's what your grandparents would've just called a small business, but it was a tongue-in-cheek answer to the Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurship being glorified in culture at that time. The community boasts success stories of profitable <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/22-year-old-bought-car-wash-passive-income-2023-1">car wash owners</a> and successful <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/start-a-vending-machine-business/">vending machine</a> owners."If you look at who is truly wealthy in these small towns, people who are eating at the nice restaurants and at the nice country clubs, you'll find that they didn't have new ideas at all," Huber told BI. "They didn't have tech startups aimed at changing the world, and they didn't build a billion-dollar business. Most of them did something common or boring, and they just did it uncommonly well."While some sweaty startup owners told Business Insider they loved the work and felt fulfilled, many said it was becoming harder to scale up. Though <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm">consumer spending</a> has been on the rise since 2020, with a marked shift <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hate-spending-consumers-economic-sentiment-retail-sales-inflation-gdp-growth-2024-4">from goods to services,</a> business owners generally blamed customers' tightening budgets. The reasons likely also include high interest rates and increased competition.<h2 id="f0d4786b-e1d6-4b04-aa79-57bb464d6dd3">Growth is challenging, but sweaty startups still provide plenty of opportunities</h2>Huber said he saw sweaty startups become more popular in the first two years of the pandemic following mass layoffs and a rethinking of work. While some entrepreneurs go into these businesses hoping to strike it rich — some have even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/sweatystartup/comments/15mcknl/how_to_handle_the_stigma_of_leaving_a_white/">left Wall Street jobs</a> to do so — many do so because they want more flexibility and time with family, financial risks be damned.Huber said that in some ways the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millionaire-small-business-entrepreneur-revenue-census-construction-finance-real-estate-2024-6">business landscape</a> is getting harder for founders to break into. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-reserve-interest-rates-jerome-powell-borrowing-costs-stock-market-2024-5">High interest rates</a> have hurt owners borrowing cash to open their businesses. While the number of sweaty startup founders seeking venture capital is likely low, Huber said he's known it to happen."A lot of venture-backed businesses are in a lot of trouble and hurting right now," Huber said. "They raised a lot of money in 2021 and 2022, and now they're seeing the economic headwinds from inflation and are unable to raise their next round. They're kind of stuck."Sources said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/private-equity-firms-start-recruiting-early-investment-bank-apollo-kkr-2024-6">private equity</a> firms have been eyeing smaller businesses in these industries, which could tighten competition. For instance, private equity firm <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/executive-coaching-benefits-according-to-graham-weaver-ceo-alpine-investors-2024-7">Alpine Investors</a> has partnered with <a target="_blank" href="https://alpineinvestors.com/portfolio/">hundreds of businesses</a> across industries such as HVAC, plumbing and electrical, roofing repair, and tree care.The American Investment Council, a lobbying and research organization for the private-equity industry, estimates that private equity owns only about 2.5% of all middle-market businesses, or those earning about $10 million to $1 billion, in the US. Still, some small businesses look to private equity to scale their businesses in different markets, even if that means overhauling operations in some cases."Small businesses partner with private-equity firms because they provide access to capital and organizational support to help companies grow," Drew Maloney, the council's president and CEO, told BI.Some business owners who left the corporate world to run a sweaty startup said it came with plenty of benefits but lots of stress about staying afloat.Stan Chen, 36, worked at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-news-updates">BlackRock</a>, then in mortgage sales, and then at a global payments company before getting into a sweaty startup. His family operated restaurants in Boston for decades, and after years in the corporate world, he wanted to transition to a service-type business.He said he "didn't want to have a boss, climb the corporate ladder, and deal with office politics." Referring to his family, he added, "If immigrants who barely speak English that came here with $20 can run a business of three to four restaurants and basically become millionaires and have a nice middle-class lifestyle, I'm pretty sure I can do it too."<div type="image" title="Stan Chen" height="1500" width="2000" msid="112244122" hostid="261" sizebytes="68286"></div>He saw that BerryClean, a house-cleaning service in San Francisco, was for sale. After meeting with the management and employees — who he said reminded him of his family — he acquired the company in July 2019.He said that when the pandemic hit he lost 90% of his business, but he applied for loans and improvised. The company built its own "mini Uber service," Chen said, offering rides in its 20 cars and minivans. When demand for cleaning picked up again, he sometimes worked 18-hour days to keep operations running. The company's washers and vacuums would regularly break down, and he would sometimes have to do laundry at his home to keep clients satisfied.Operations have grown recently, and he said he's seen staff get their lives better on track and "achieve the American dream." Despite the company's growth over the past few years, though, Chen said business had gotten tougher recently with growing competition in San Francisco. He said he had to raise prices to keep up with inflation. He noticed that people wanted to spend less on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-start-cleaning-business-side-hustle-low-startup-costs-2023-2">cleaning services</a> in his area, and the company dug into profits to increase its advertising."A lot of people get into this kind of business for the wrong reasons, because they listen to a podcast or they're on social media, thinking it's easy money," Chen said. "It's not easy money — it's the hardest money there is. You have to earn your keep every day, and you have to get your hands dirty. If you don't do a good job, you're fired."Alejandro Florez, 27, the president of The Cleaning Pros of America in Bradenton, Florida, said the growing investments in janitorial companies in his area were in some ways antithetical to the idea of sweaty startups."A lot of small cleaning businesses are pulled up by the bootstraps, and we usually start them out of necessity as our only avenue of making money," Florez said.<div type="image" title="Alejandro Florez" height="817" width="1089" msid="112244119" hostid="261" sizebytes="35352"></div>Both of his parents were <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/frank-baez-earns-nyu-nursing-degree-used-to-be-janitor-2019-5">janitors</a>, and when he was a senior in high school he started a small cleaning company that he grew by knocking on doors and cold-calling. He relied on trial and error and supplier advice for pricing, production rates, and cleaning strategies for different facilities.He said this year he's had nearly $2 million in revenue with two dozen employees and over 30 clients. He hopes to grow over the next decade by expanding to Jacksonville or Orlando. Still, he said that because the pandemic helped the cleaning industry "massively," markets became much more saturated. He estimated that 45% to 55% of his overhead went to paying his employees."For our market, even though it's very profitable and attractive, there's a low barrier to entry," Florez said. "There's more people at the table wanting to eat from that table."Florez said the growth of private-equity investment in his area had made competition even more difficult. Since 2021, he said, he's been approached by a dozen private-equity firms wanting to invest in his company, but he's turned them down."When you get private equity into the mix, they're bringing a different dimension of business and being able to scale it differently," Florez said. "There are firms that can operate on 10% net profit, which I can't do. There are firms out there that are being a lot more aggressive."<h2 id="b453f9d2-5f80-484d-b4ca-0b542234b938">Trial and error to figure out what works</h2>For some sweaty-startup owners, staying ahead of the competition requires bouncing from company to company based on changing needs.Chris Salisbury, 35, has been an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-side-hustles-for-introverts-2023-11">entrepreneur</a> since he was 16. He started a small house-painting business while in high school and a few other companies in his 20s.<div type="image" title="Chris Salisbury" height="600" width="800" msid="112244117" hostid="261" sizebytes="8160"></div>In 2016, he sold everything he owned; moved to Brooklyn, New York; and decided to start a new business while living in a wood shop. With two friends, he launched Spayce, a commercial cleaning and handyman company that worked with high-profile clients like BuzzFeed — Salisbury said the business brought in $120,000 in its first week and over $4 million in its first year.During the pandemic, Spayce manufactured Covid barriers and secured new contracts with clients. Salisbury also launched the brand We Paint Kitchen Cabinets, which he sold a year later."I pivoted 100 times since COVID happened, but it did initiate the need to automate and start combining all of the things that I learned how to do by hand and being around these tech companies," Salisbury said.Salisbury and his business partner then launched nuDoors in July 2023, specializing in cabinet-door replacements made mostly of recycled material. Though he didn't have much experience in the cabinet industry, Salisbury pulled from his past companies and asked successful people in the industry for help.Salisbury said he and his partner spent over $1 million on new equipment to better automate their manufacturing processes but didn't spend a penny on advertising. He added that the company had grown each month since it was launched and that he expects it to be profitable by next year."The smaller shops are going out of business, not having any workers because they're doing the old way of doing things, and no one's filling the void between the big guys that are too big to talk to you and the small guys going out of business because they can't compete," Salisbury said.Are you a sweaty startup owner or manager? Reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:nsheidlower@businessinsider.com">nsheidlower@businessinsider.com</a>.

Blue-collar entrepreneurs say it's getting harder to turn a profit as competition for 'sweaty startups' heats up     

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Alex Cheney was laid off from recruiting roles at Sendoso and Atlassian within one year.</li><li>He faced high competition, rejection, and ghosting during his search for a new role.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alex Cheney, a 47-year-old former Atlassian employee from La Quinta, California, and the founder and principal of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.alittlebitalex.net/">A Little Bit Alex LLC</a>. It's been edited for length and clarity.My first layoff happened in June 2022 when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/layoffs-at-softbank-backed-gifting-startup-sendoso-2022-6">Sendoso</a> went through its first job cuts of the pandemic.I had been there for nine months and was recruited out of my recruiting-lead position at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/robinhood-investing-review">Robinhood</a> to build Sendoso's entire product team. I was laid off just after launching the company's first employee-resource group as part of a newly created strategy for diversity, equity, and inclusion, one of my biggest passions.<h2>There were a lot of signs before the layoff happened</h2>There was a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-freeze-things-to-think-about-your-company-2022-5">hiring pause</a>," or slowdown in recruiting, and a "prioritization exercise," so I'd already started putting out feelers into my network.I had 17 introductory calls in the first week I was laid off. A former coworker connected me with the team at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/executive-assistant-atlassian-mike-tria-underestimate-job-2022-11">Atlassian</a> when I heard it was looking for a product recruiter.I signed an offer with Atlassian two weeks after my Sendoso layoff and started one month later. I was in charge of hiring product-design leaders in North America. I loved the creative aspect of the role and working with the hiring managers.<h2>Around Thanksgiving, I started to hear some of the same terminology — hiring pause, prioritization exercise — and got nervous</h2>But this time, I was also getting messages that said it was looking at ways to deploy recruiters into other places of the business that aligned more with the growth strategy.This helped curb some anxiety — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-overcome-the-stigma-of-layoffs-find-new-job-2022-7">a layoff</a> causes symptoms like those of post-traumatic stress disorder.Timelines for completing these exercises kept getting pushed back, but talk of deployments continued, so I still felt somewhat comforted.I had just started working on process improvement — another one of my biggest passions — when I was laid off.<h2>In March, I was laid off from my role as a senior technical recruiter at Atlassian</h2>I received a companywide update that said there would be layoffs and that we would all receive an email within 15 minutes to let us know whether we were affected.I was on a plane coming home from a birthday trip to New York City. My layoff notice landed in my inbox one minute before the companywide announcement. Some other colleagues who received it at the same time thought it was a phishing email.It was the second time in a year I had been laid off. I was surprised, and the added challenge of being thrust into a huge hiring pool wasn't great for me, as someone with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/guides/health/mental-health/generalized-anxiety-disorder-symptoms">generalized anxiety disorder</a>.<h2>The aftermath of the 2nd layoff was different</h2>I was suddenly in a job pool of thousands of people vying for the same jobs on LinkedIn.As a recruiter, I had seen <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-great-reshuffle-upward-mobility-quitting-jobs">a drastic shift in hiring</a> from being solidly a candidate's market to an employer's one, and it showed in how companies were recruiting.I feel recruiters get overlooked, with people thinking all they do is hire. Recruiters are some of the most strategic people within an organization — they have to know multiple aspects of the business, often have direct lines of communication with multiple members of senior leadership, and have to pivot on a dime.<h2>I decided to focus on family and friends for the first few weeks of my 2nd layoff</h2>I also had a planned cruise with my best friend, which became a good distraction.After the cruise, I jumped headfirst into a job search that was moderately derailed by my first bout with COVID-19 — but it was likely good timing because I was getting virtually no responses from any of the applications and connection requests I put out.It was abysmal. Companies were inundated with résumés and didn't have the power to respond to all the candidates.<h2>I saw lower salaries for roles requiring the same, if not more, experience than I had</h2>I made $183,000 at Atlassian. Job descriptions listing the same level of experience I had were showing salaries in the $120,000 to $150,000 range.The few calls that I did schedule led to black holes where I was ghosted — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ghosting-job-interview-candidate-work-careers-advice-2022-10">I've been ghosted</a> more times than I can count.My most frustrating experience came from one of the few interviews I did land — where the vice president of product had sought me out on LinkedIn — that ended in a rejection from the head of talent.When I asked for feedback, I was told there was concern about the "short stints" in my résumé and that they were looking for someone with more longevity.I started to second-guess my career path, my level of skill — basically everything. I was heading down a dark spiral when I landed another interview, with a startup. I got through the entire process before I was rejected for being "too specialized."<h2>I had thought about starting my own recruiting consultancy for a while, and in June, the idea took flight</h2>Right after the Atlassian layoff, I was contacted by a former coworker from Robinhood looking for freelance recruiting help, and I took it on.Shortly thereafter, my partner, who runs his own executive-coaching and organizational-development consultancy, connected me with one of his clients who needed help hiring for an executive-level human-resources role.I'd always thought about going off on my own but didn't think I was ready. Once I registered the LLC, suddenly I went from fighting for the few available recruiting jobs to taking control of my career path.I'm still navigating the transition, but it's been successful. I'm on course to surpass my former salary this year.<h2>The biggest thing I've learned from these 2 layoffs is not to doubt my skills, ability, or talent</h2>My layoffs were a result of the economy and market — but honestly, I also think they were caused by companies scaling too quickly and overhiring with the assumption business would keep growing despite the challenges caused by the pandemic. It would've been nice to see organizations such as Atlassian hold on to their talent and shift people around to other parts of the business.Starting over isn't easy, but my network supported me. I landed the first official client of my business through my network.Do not ever burn a bridge. I had people offering assistance to me that I hadn't worked with in more than a decade. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and ask for help. And even though it may seem impossible, taking control of your career path is much easier than you may think.Editor's note: Sendoso did not respond to a request for comment. An Atlassian spokesperson sent the following statement to Insider:

I was laid off twice and ghosted more times than I can count. After heading down a dark spiral, here's how I bounced back.

Shirly and Erez Weinstein had in many ways achieved the American dream. They immigrated to the United States from Israel in the early aughts, bought a house in the suburbs of Atlanta with access to high-quality public schools for their two kids, and excelled in their tech careers. There was just one problem: They weren't happy."Our life was just really busy," Shirly Weinstein told me. "Work, school, after-school — we hardly had any down time or time as a family."They also weren't satisfied with the education options for their kids. "We wanted something more from school," Erez Weinstein said. "We tried Montessori, charter, public, but all these different options felt like more of the same."The kids felt similarly. "Life was boring," Ella, their 11-year-old daughter, told me. So, to shake things up, in 2018 the family sold most of their possessions, bought an RV, and started traveling full time around the US and abroad while homeschooling.For the next four years, the kids did not attend formal classes, instead learning from their experiences in different countries, and did occasional academic work on digital platforms like Khan Academy. Then, in 2022, the family learned about <a href="https://www.boundless.life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boundless Life</a>, a startup trying to build a global network for <a href="https://www.insider.com/we-travel-four-months-every-year-support-schooling-2023-2">digital-nomad families</a>, complete with built-in community, project-based education, and furnished homes where families live for three months at a time.While the phrase "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/partying-yachts-drugs-remote-work-destroying-worlds-most-instagrammable-destinations-2021-7">digital nomad</a>" might conjure an image of a single 27-year-old software engineer writing code from a hostel in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Boundless Life — which has locations in Portugal, Indonesia, Italy, and Greece — targets a different demographic of long-term travelers: parents and their elementary-school-age children. The startup's aim, according to its cofounder Mauro Repacci, is to allow parents "the freedom to travel as a single person might, but with your kids."Boundless Life is one of a handful of programs — like the <a href="https://www.greenschool.org/bali/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green School</a> in Bali and <a href="https://www.thehiveadventure.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hive</a> in the Dominican Republic — that cater primarily to international students and their remote-working parents. While there isn't great data on it, experts I spoke with say that only a small fraction of the estimated 35 million global digital nomads are traveling with children — which makes sense. Whether figuring out school or supporting kids' ability to maintain lasting friendships, many parents are wary of uprooting their families' lives for long-term travel.But with the growth of remote work and newfound energy to reimagine education in response to the coronavirus pandemic, businesses are jumping at the opportunity to make "nomading" with children a real possibility.Last summer I visited the Boundless campus in Sintra, Portugal. When I arrived by train from Lisbon, it was easy to see why the company had chosen the medieval mountain town as its pilot location. The Moorish castles and orange clay roofs give the town a classic European charm, and it has just the right amount of creature comforts and English-speaking waitstaff to please less adventurous travelers. At just shy of 400,000 inhabitants, Sintra is also big enough to absorb the 25 Boundless families without the expats dominating all the local haunts. <div type="image" title="A chef preparing a meal in a kitchen with a mosaic tile floor." height="1536" width="2048" msid="104016349" hostid="261"></div>The Boundless community, which includes families from around the world, felt a bit like a family camp. Families each had their own private accommodations scattered throughout the city, but they frequently spent time at one another's apartments for meals and aperitifs. Parents went out for afternoon espressos and lingered at school drop-off to chat about business opportunities before heading to a mosaic-tiled coworking space replete with WiFi and Portuguese custard tarts.In the school, a remodeled two-story building blocks away from Sintra's castles, mixed-aged groups of students hunched over tubs of water to learn about density and volume. For lunch, the kids ate organic meals provided by a local chef. After school, kids from different families entertained themselves in the cobblestone streets and parks under light adult supervision. Tim, a freelance computer programmer from Ohio, joined Boundless in 2022 after taking his kids out of school at the start of COVID. "The school said 'Zoom Kindergarten,' and I said screw that," he told me.One couple from Seattle — Edward, a marketing consultant, and Jessica, an entrepreneur — not only pulled their four kids under 13 out of school to sign on with Boundless Life, but they also persuaded another family to join them for the experiment. "We wanted to travel, but you can't babysit a 1-year-old and homeschool a 7-year-old at the same time," Jessica said. "Education was the question. If we could figure out the education piece, the rest would fall into place."According to Boundless' cofounder and head of education, Rekha Magon, Boundless' vision is for families to hop to Sintra for a semester and then to Italy's Tuscany region for another, all while their children progress through the same curriculum, which extends from preschool to age 12. "Education should be removed from a single building and exist in the world," she told me. This was perfect for the Weinsteins, who consider themselves part of the <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-worldschooling-why-do-parents-choose-it-2022-8">worldschooling</a> movement — a growing community of families who have decided to eschew traditional education in favor of long-term travel and "learning from the school of life," as Erez Weinstein told me.Compared with all the education options they had tried in Atlanta, Boundless was the first school that seemed to align with their desire for project-based learning with a global perspective. "If Boundless had locations all over the world, we would be set," Shirly Weinstein said. "It's beyond travel. It's experiencing the world." And while the kids seemed to be thriving, perhaps the true beneficiaries were the parents. As one Boundless parent told me, "I've had more social interactions in the past week than months back home — and I didn't have to send a single email to coordinate."Boundless had recreated the village.As a Brazilian from Montreal with Italian ancestry, Mauro Repacci is a fitting founder for a company that promotes global citizenship. The idea for Boundless came about after Repacci and his cofounder Marcos Carvalho sold their previous company, a home-buying platform called NestReady, and were looking to take a sabbatical. It was the summer of 2021. COVID restrictions were loosening and the built-up demand for travel was palpable."During the pandemic, like many people, we started to ask how we wanted to live our life, how we wanted to raise our kids," Repacci told me. "And we felt like we were limiting ourselves by staying in the same country for a long time." He added, "We felt something was missing." He started to tell friends about his aspiration to travel and take time off — perhaps a few months in Costa Rica, another few in Europe or Southeast Asia. His friends were intrigued by the idea of long-term travel but had hesitations about their kids falling behind in school.<div type="image" title="Sintra portugal" height="1333" width="2000" msid="104016352" hostid="261"></div>Repacci and Carvalho started a WhatsApp group with dozens of friends and friends of friends who were all trying to figure out how to make long-term travel work with kids. They researched international schools and looked into the feasibility of hiring a private tutor to travel with them full time. Their brainstorming quickly transformed into a business idea. According to Lona Alia, the head of revenue for the nomad-travel-insurance provider SafetyWing, several factors have led to the growth of digital-nomad families. "There's remote work, the availability of high-speed internet, flexible schooling, and Airbnb," Alia, who is part of a digital-nomad family herself, told me. But perhaps the biggest factor is a cultural shift toward the value of experiences, Alia said. "Many people are realizing that the traditional path of acquiring material goods isn't necessarily the key to happiness, and are instead choosing to invest in experiences, such as travel."For the Boundless founders, figuring out the education piece of the puzzle was key. For families to actually be able to make the leap, Boundless would need a curriculum that was rigorous enough to adhere to parents' standards and flexible enough so families could bounce between locales without their kids falling behind. To solve the problem, Repacci and Carvalho brought on their head of education, Magon, and head of brand and product, Elina Zois. Boundless decided to base its educational model on the Nordic Baccalaureate, an interdisciplinary curriculum based on the Finnish education system that emphasizes project-based work, experiential learning, and cultural immersion. Classrooms are multiage and class sizes are kept small — fewer than 15 kids a class for students under 6 and fewer than 18 for those ages 6 to 12. During my visit, the school felt like a more expansive definition of what an education could be. Learning was not limited by the four walls of the classroom — it took place in parks, pottery studios, restaurants, and museums. Several educators I spoke with were skeptical about how the Boundless framework would translate into meaningful learning experiences for students from a range of academic needs, and how students would be able to integrate their Boundless experience if they transitioned back into more traditional school environments.<div type="image" title="An outdoor play area" height="1536" width="2048" msid="104016355" hostid="261"></div>But parents I met told me Boundless had sparked a level of intellectual curiosity in its children that spilled over to "normal life" upon returning stateside. "Getting to try out a different type of school was life-changing," one parent said. After returning to US public school this year, they said their kids were doing better than they had before doing Boundless. "Not because anything is better at their school this year than last year, but because they are different," the parent said.The company serves about 85 families and 250 kids during any given semester. But despite some early success, Boundless Education, like the organization itself, is still very much a startup. The school isn't accredited — though it's undergoing the accreditation process — and the administration is still figuring out the kinks, like how to quantitatively measure student growth and how to cater to older and more advanced students' needs.There are also financial and cultural barriers to joining Boundless. For one, there's the price. It costs the equivalent of about $1,600 a child, a month, to take part in Boundless Education, and the equivalent of $460 a parent, a month, for coworking and concierge services — and that doesn't include the cost of housing. Though participants were relatively diverse racially and culturally, most of the families I met in Sintra were high earners from North America.Plus, there are cultural and logistical challenges to picking up your family and living around the world for months at a time. Boundless advises families on how to obtain digital-nomad visas for countries that offer them, but the prospect of working abroad long term can be challenging depending on your country of origin. "The biggest barriers to more people nomading are in-laws, grandparents, and a lack of imagination," Andreas Wil Gerdes, a leader in the worldschooling movement, said. "For 200 years, the majority of people have lived in a work-centric model of existence. Finally, people are going back to a life-centric model, but it will take time to catch on."Gerdes is generally supportive of Boundless' mission but commented that the company served a limited slice of those who might be able to benefit from living and learning abroad. "Boundless is the brain-dead solution for people who don't want to have to make any decisions," he said. "But it's a step in the right direction."On my last night in Sintra, the Boundless families gathered together at Praia de Maçãs, a beach 20 minutes from downtown. Kids dashed in and out of the waves, occasionally running to shore to grab a snack or tug at their parents' trunks. "How long have you guys known each other?" I asked a few preteens who were building castles in the sand. "I dunno. A few days," one said, barely looking up.Standing there on the edge of the European continent, I realized that although Boundless is cloaked in the sheen of a venture-backed startup, the business is actually a return to a more collective form of child-rearing. Sure, there's an app that parents use to interact, a curriculum that uses the UN sustainability goals for lesson plans, and a business model that's a response to a global workforce trend. But as I immersed myself in this network of families who were loosely looking after one another's children, Boundless felt more retro-chic than modern. After leaving the beach, I joined the families for pizza at an outdoor restaurant. There were no iPads at the dinner table or calendar invites needed to organize the get-together. In a community full of families, conversations were not dominated by talk of academic tutors and afterschool programs. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I came to Sintra thinking Boundless might be too good to be true, but perhaps that was a failure of my own imagination. Maybe I, like so many others, am still too attached to the idea that school ought to look like 20 students facing the same way in a classroom for seven hours a day. Sure, Boundless is an expensive, turn-key study-abroad experience for elementary-school-age children and their parents, but it's also a refreshing take on what it means to give a child an education, which, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-alarming-state-of-the-american-student-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">especially in America</a>, is in need of a refresh.Certainly there are risks of uprooting children from their routines and communities. Programs like Boundless may not be attractive or accessible to everyone, and it's unclear whether Boundless will be able to scale its programming to meet the growing demand. But when I think about the atomization of our modern lives, each of us cordoned off in our little boxes made of ticky-tack, learning from textbooks and digital apps, I see Boundless as a welcome alternative. Perhaps the world is the classroom we've been waiting for.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/simone-stolzoff">Simone Stolzoff</a> is a writer and author from San Francisco. His debut book, <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?amazonTrackingID=biauto-62117-20&amp;h=df736b25edacfa9fdc3b129d6c816075ed25285cfdf414fa075f97ee7d1a0486&amp;postID=64fa0771261711ba2f6156b2&amp;postSlug=digital-nomad-families-travel-abroad-kids-school-boundless-life-2023-9&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGood-Enough-Job-Reclaiming-Life%2Fdp%2F059353896X%2Fref%3Dcm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top%3Fie%3DUTF8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work</a>, was published by Penguin Random House earlier this year.

Remote work lets you travel the world. This startup helps you take your kids with you.

The <keyword id="6355302" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rupee" source="Orion">rupee</keyword> rebounded from its lifetime lows to close 25 paise higher at 82.75 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday amid weakness in the greenback overseas. Fag-end buying in domestic equities also bolstered sentiment, forex traders said. However, rising crude oil prices in the international market capped the rupee's gain, they added. The local currency recovered on suspected RBI intervention after hitting a record low of 83.29 during the session. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak at 83.05 against the greenback but later lost ground to quote at 83.29. It also touched an intra-day high of 82.72. The rupee pared all its losses to end at 82.75 (provisional), registering a gain of 25 paise over its previous close. In the previous session, the rupee had settled at an all-time low of 83 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.17 per cent to 112.79. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs 453.91 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/vc-investments-in-india-soften-across-all-verticals-except-fintech-kpmg/articleshow/94988138.cms">VC investments in India soften across all verticals, except fintech: KPMG</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/construction-materials-startup-globalfair-raises-20-million-from-lightspeed-others/articleshow/94988399.cms">Construction materials startup GlobalFair raises $20 million from Lightspeed, others</a>

Rupee bounces back by 25 paise to close at 82.75 against US dollar

Welcome, readers! I'm Diamond Naga Siu, a senior reporter on Insider's tech analysis team. I'm so excited to officially take over 10 Things in Tech from the brilliant Jordan Parker Erb. What a way to start the <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1609964921965498370?s=20&amp;t=faj6GN3LpY07hF8CvvjUUg">Jordan Year</a> — she'll be missed.While we wipe away our tears, let's dig in and catch up on tech. The year is only a few days old, but much has already gone down. And it's probably only the appetizer for an even more chaotic year. After a shaky tech market last year with layoffs and hiring freezes, this year is likely going to be another rough — and even more unpredictable — ride.On today's menu we have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/autonomy-electric-vehicle-is-running-out-of-money-2023-1">electric vehicles at a pivotal moment</a>, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-shuts-down-slack-cancels-meetings-in-new-policies-2023-1">chaotic back to work situation</a>, and more. So let's jump right into it.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-in-tech">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a href="https://link.insider.com/click/27645591.160803/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zaWRlci5jb20vYXBwP25yX2VtYWlsX3JlZmVyZXI9MSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPVNhaWx0aHJ1JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9T3BlbmluZ19iZWxs/62667762063d6b9bef0cffb3Bf9c9aa56">here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-debt-vs-venture-capital-startup-advantages-2022-12"></a>1. This is the startup playbook to follow when money is tight. Less funding is going into startups, so they've been forced to pivot strategies to adjust. Instead of getting money from investors, they're taking out multiyear loans. And taking on so-called venture debt often means adopting a new business strategy.<ul><li>In 2021, startups were raising money at record pace. But investors got scared in 2022 when the tech industry started to wobble. Entrepreneurs were worried about what the decrease in available funds would mean for startups and innovation.</li><li>The structure before meant startups were spending money someone gave them. This new structure is risky, since you are spending money you eventually have to pay back.</li><li>But investors and founders told my teammate Emilia David that the move could actually be good for startups. This switch could break their bad habits by ending the days of free-spending and ushering in a new age of creativity.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-debt-vs-venture-capital-startup-advantages-2022-12">Read more on the shifting startup landscape here.</a>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-electric-vehicle-startups-excuses-stock-price-production-numbers-2023-1"></a><div type="image" title="Rivian manufacturing in Normal, Illinois" height="1994" width="2659" msid="96739876" hostid="261"></div>2. 2023 is a make-or-break year for Tesla wannabes. Electric vehicle startups like Rivian and Lucid face a pivotal year after a bumpy 2022. Supply chain issues, talent turnover, and other hurdles hampered these companies. But investors might lose their patience this year. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-electric-vehicle-startups-excuses-stock-price-production-numbers-2023-1">This is what they need to do to survive.</a>3. Operation 'Chaos Monkey 2023' at Shopify. Welcome back from the holidays. All your meetings are canceled. Message histories have been wiped. Every public Slack channel got shuttered. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-shuts-down-slack-cancels-meetings-in-new-policies-2023-1">Read more about Shopify's abrupt back-to-work changes here.</a>4. Gen Z is revolutionizing the resume gap. The newest generation of workers (hello, it's me) is changing how employers see gaps in work experience. Months or years between jobs was previously a red flag. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-rewriting-rulebook-jobs-resume-gaps-career-breaks-work-2023-1">This is how Gen Z is making it a positive thing.</a>5. Remove friend — these are the top Facebook leaders who left last year. Sheryl Sandberg, one of Facebook's most well-known execs, left the company in 2022. She was just one of multiple high-profile departures from Meta after a tumultuous year. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-2022-exits-like-sheryl-sandberg-spell-changes-ahead-2023-1">Meet the others who bounced.</a>6. Reading recs from Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos. These three bookworms have recommended a bevy of good reads over the years. The books range from sci-fi novels to biographies. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/25-books-jeff-bezos-elon-musk-bill-gates-loved-read-2022-1">Here are 28 books that taught these billionaires about business, leadership, and the world.</a>7. Elon Musk brings political ads back to Twitter. Jack Dorsey implemented the ban on political ads from Twitter in 2019. But now, Twitter Safety said: "Moving forward, we will align our advertising policy with that of TV and other media outlets." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-lifts-twitter-ban-political-ads-2023-1">Read more details on the reversal here.</a>8. Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty. With his mother sat two rows behind him in the public gallery, the FTX founder pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges against him. The US government opened the lawsuit against Bankman-Fried for the collapse of his crypto exchange. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-pleads-not-guilty-to-us-criminal-charges-2022-12">Get an inside look at the hearing here.</a>Odds and ends:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-id7-new-electric-car-revealed-ces-photos-2023-1"></a><div type="image" title="[EMBARGO 1/3 7pm DNP] The Volkswagen ID.7 electric sedan" height="1665" width="2220" msid="96739878" hostid="261"></div>9. Everything we know about Volkswagen's new electric car. VW debuted the ID.7 sedan yesterday at CES, taking the lid off a car that's meant to compete with Tesla's popular Model 3. The sedan boasts a 15-inch touchscreen, advanced climate system, and more. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-id7-new-electric-car-revealed-ces-photos-2023-1">Check out all the details here.</a>10. This is where World War III could start. Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year continues to catalyze fear that it could reinvigorate other geopolitical tensions. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conflicts-that-could-turn-into-world-war-iii-during-2023-2023-1">These are the other places at risk of hosting the next world war.</a>What we're watching today:<ul><li>CES Day 2. <a href="https://www.ces.tech/schedule.aspx">Keep up with the latest innovations from the conference here.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bls.gov/">US Bureau of Labor Statistics</a> is releasing its job opening and labor turnover survey.</li></ul>Curated by Diamond Naga Siu in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/29986936.145885/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9kaWFtb25kbmFnYXNpdT9ucl9lbWFpbF9yZWZlcmVyPTEmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1TYWlsdGhydSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PTEwX3RoaW5nc190ZWNo/618961654ff0586e1b3b88e1B180a24e0">@diamondnagasiu</a>) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/gamoid">@gamoid</a>) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/hallam_bullock">@hallam_bullock</a>) in London.

The tech startup playbook to follow when money is tight

New Delhi, Jan 23 () Shared mobility start-up Bounce on Thursday said it has raised USD 105 million (around Rs 748 crore) in fresh round of funding led by Accel, a leading venture capital firm, and B Capital Group which is a global technology fund.
 The fresh funding will fuel a deeper electric vehicle (EV) integration, platform play and help drive profitability, the company said in a statement.
 The series D funding also saw participation of existing investors, Accel Partners India, Chiratae Ventures, Falcon Edge, Maverick Ventures, Omidyar Network India, Qualcomm Ventures and Sequoia Capital India, it added.
 "The main vision of Bounce is to democratise mobility and thus make a significant socio-economic impact. This fresh funding will help us towards this vision," Bounce CEO and co-founder Vivekananda HR said.
 He further said, "It will also enable us to build a mobility platform that will help bringing in different forms of mobility solutions, that are hyper-suited to the needs of cities and towns we plan to expand into, over the next few months."
 Commenting on its investment in Bounce, Partner at Accel Anand Daniel said the brand identifies one of the key gaps in the mobility sector and has managed to provide a convenient and cost-efficient solution with their tech capabilities.
 "The innovations around the keyless mechanism of using a scooter coupled with other Internet of Things (IoT) modifications, make Bounce very unique. We are excited to continue partnering with the Bounce team," Daniel added.
 Bounce currently operates its dockless scooters in Bengaluru and Hyderabad with a fleet of 13, 000 and 2, 000 vehicles respectively. It's docked scooter rental service is available to commuters in over 35 cities.
 The company claims over than 1,20,000 rides per day and has clocked over 16 million rides till date. RKL ANS
ANS

Shared mobility start-up Bounce raises USD 105 mn in fresh funding

New Delhi, Nov 18 () Mobility start-up Bounce on Monday said it has tied-up with Exicom Tele-systems to foray into electric segment.
 Bounce is currently piloting with a few thousand scooters in Bengaluru and is looking to ramp up supply in the next 12 months.
 The company provides last mile connectivity via dockless scooters where users are allowed to pick up and drop a scooter at their place of convenience.
 "India is at the cusp of an electric mobility revolution and we at Bounce believe that we are in a position to accelerate these changes. We believe that electric mobility will take off first with shared mobility," Bounce CEO Vivekananda Hallekere said in a statement.
 Exicom Managing Director Anant Nahata said the company is delighted to support Bounce on this electrification journey by providing most advanced lithium-ion battery and efficient charging solutions.
 "This is the largest deployment of electric two-wheeler vehicles in shared mobility space in India and hope this is first of many steps in our goal of achieving emission free and clean mobility," he added.
 Within 10 months of launching services in Bengaluru, Bounce has completed over 5 million rides, covering 30 million km.
 Exicom has been present in power electronics and energy systems market for over two decades and now enjoys a leading position in EV ecosystem solutions as well. MSS 
RVK

Mobility start-up Bounce joins hands with Exicom Tele-systems for electric foray

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I tested the $18,500 <keyword id="13728574" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="electrameccanica" source="Orion">ElectraMeccanica</keyword> Solo, a three-wheeled electric vehicle with room for one. </li><li>The Canadian startup says the Solo will revolutionize the way people get around cities. </li></ul>It's a cliché that Americans like things big. Big burgers, big malls, big houses. Buying a car? I'll supersize that too, please. Last year, US buyers gobbled up more <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/ford-pickup-remains-americas-top-selling-truck-for-45th-year.html">Ford F-Series pickup trucks</a> than any other model for the 40th year running. Over half of new vehicles sold were some kind of SUV. But how much car does the average person really need, and at what point does a genuine desire for utility cross a line into good old-fashioned American excess?These are the questions electric-vehicle startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electrameccanica-solo-ev-electric-vehicle-with-only-one-seat-2021-9">ElectraMeccanica</a> poses with its debut model, the outrageous-looking, three-wheeled Solo, so named because that's how you'll be traveling if you purchase one of the single-seaters. The thinking goes like this: Most people drive alone most of the time. And typically, they aren't traveling that far or carrying that much stuff. In turn, a single-seat vehicle with around 100 miles of range and a trunk that can fit a few grocery bags should satisfy most peoples' needs more cheaply and efficiently than a conventional car. <div type="image" title="The ElectraMeccanica Solo." height="1875" width="2500" msid="91132958" hostid="261"></div>The Canadian upstart says the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solo-electric-car-electrameccanica-solo-ev-review-pictures-range-price-2021-10">$18,500 model</a> will revolutionize the way we get around cities. It's so sure of this that it's working on a new factory in Arizona to supplement the supply of Solos coming from a contracted manufacturer in China.Eager to put such lofty goals to the test, I jumped at the opportunity when ElectraMeccanica offered a short test drive in downtown Manhattan earlier this month. <h2>First impressions</h2>Walking up to the Solo for the first time, I was shocked at just how small it is. In photos, it looks like half a car; in person, it's more like a quarter. Inside, however, I found there was plenty of room for my 6-foot-1 frame. I'd call it cozy, but not cramped. <div type="image" title="The ElectraMeccanica Solo." height="3333" width="2500" msid="91132960" hostid="261"></div>Buy a Solo and you're treated to many of the comforts you'd find in a regular car: heat, air conditioning, a radio with Bluetooth, heated seats, and a little cup holder. The interior feels basic and a little cheap, but then again, the Solo isn't pretending to be high-end.<h2>Driving the Solo EV</h2>I only had about 20 minutes behind the wheel of the Solo, so I didn't get to take it to its claimed top speed of 80 mph, experience parking, or subject it to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mclaren-gt-supercar-grand-tourer-costco-it-went-shockingly-well-2020-11">the Costco test</a>. But I got a sense of what it's like to drive a Solo in a congested urban environment. <div type="image" title="The ElectraMeccanica Solo." height="3489" width="2500" msid="91132963" hostid="261"></div>Pulling away from a stop, I half-expected the Solo to aggressively accelerate forward like many electric cars do. But it didn't. The 56-horsepower Solo isn't terribly quick, but driving it was still a thrill; it's so low to the ground that you feel almost like you're zipping around in a go-kart that escaped the track. I'll concede that New York's potholed streets can give any vehicle a hard time, but ride quality felt lacking. The Solo conveys every bump in the road to your rear end and bounces around when the going gets rough. Braking required an unexpected amount of effort, but I got used to it pretty quickly. <div type="image" title="The ElectraMeccanica Solo." height="1875" width="2500" msid="91132965" hostid="261"></div>While I can absolutely see the Solo's diminutive size as an asset in many situations — like parking and maneuvering around double-parked cars — it was more of a liability on the mean streets of Manhattan. Several times during my test drive, I felt utterly invisible to the big SUVs, pickups, and trucks hulking down the road around me. I'm being totally sincere when I say that the Solo could benefit from the kind of flag you sometimes see on shopping carts and recumbent bikes. <div type="image" title="The ElectraMeccanica Solo." height="1549" width="2500" msid="91132968" hostid="261"></div>The absolute best thing about driving the Solo is the attention it gets. Everywhere I went, people grinned and pointed, craning their necks to get a better look at the tiny, shoe-shaped car-thing silently scooting by. At a busy intersection, one beaming pedestrian enthusiastically waved me through the crosswalk despite having the right of way. This almost never happens. <h2>The verdict</h2>The Solo drives competently, can squeeze into the tiniest of parking spots, is way more efficient than a typical car, and scores off the charts in smiles per mile. If people shopped completely rationally, I bet many would realize that a Solo meets their needs. But it'll probably be a tough sell in a country where minicars like the Smart ForTwo and <a href="https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/fiat-500-discontinued-2020/">Fiat 500</a> never saw much success, and those can seat more than one person.<div type="image" title="The ElectraMeccanica Solo." height="2033" width="2500" msid="91132969" hostid="261"></div>Driving the Solo, I got the sense that it may have more potential as a vehicle for campus police, parking enforcement, and the like, rather than commuters. And the market agrees. Of the 100-some-odd Solos that have made it to customers since deliveries began in October, around 60% have gone to commercial buyers, ElectraMeccanica CEO Kevin Pavlov told me. He was anticipating a sales breakdown more like 50-50. <div type="image" title="The ElectraMeccanica Solo." height="1875" width="2500" msid="91132970" hostid="261"></div>According to Pavlov, businesses and fleets like the Solo because it's cheap to run and doubles as an eye-grabbing, rolling billboard. ElectraMeccanica has a Solo oriented toward deliveries that has an expanded trunk area. Pavlov says it can fit 12 large pizzas and four two-liter bottles of soda. Will the ElectraMeccanica Solo turn urban transport on its head? I'm not sure the company will sell enough of them to accomplish that. Is the trike an intriguing, unique option that could appeal to buyers looking for something bold, weird, or hyper efficient? Absolutely.

I drove an $18,500, 3-wheeled electric car with 1 seat and big dreams

It's the final Friday, friends. I'm Diamond Naga Siu.Today is the last edition of 10 Things in Tech.Thank you very much for being part of the newsletter. I'm so grateful for every time you've opened, read, clicked, emailed, or shared the newsletter. Although we weren't together for too long, I hope it was a fun, techie time.Moving forward, I'll be a senior reporter on our flagship newsletter, Insider Today. So you'll still see me every morning in your inbox.Insider Today takes you inside the biggest stories in business, including tech. So you can <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">keep up</a> with all of our tech coverage there.We're working on revamping Insider Today, and we want your feedback. Please fill out this <a href="https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/4ICN9N" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quick, five-question survey</a> to let us know what you want to see in the newsletter.Before we say "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-KmOd3i7s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bye Bye Bye</a>" here — see you soon at Insider Today! — for one last time, let's dive into today's tech.Download Insider's app <a href="https://link.insider.com/click/27645591.160803/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zaWRlci5jb20vYXBwP25yX2VtYWlsX3JlZmVyZXI9MSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPVNhaWx0aHJ1JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9T3BlbmluZ19iZWxs/62667762063d6b9bef0cffb3Bf9c9aa56" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-vs-steve-jobs-leadership-tesla-apple-2023-1"></a>1. It's the middle of the year. And we've been through a lot together. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/layoffs-sweeping-the-us-these-are-the-companies-making-cuts-2023">Layoffs</a>, generative <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chatbot-chatgpt-google-microsofty-lying-search-belief-2023-2">artificial intelligence</a>, company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-mass-extinction-event-has-begun-venture-capital-2023-6">collapses</a>, and more. Here are some of my favorite stories featured in the newsletter for the half year we had together:<ul><li>Tesla ≠ Apple. Elon Musk ≠ Steve Jobs. Cars ≠ iPhones. Industry experts love pointing out the similarities between these two tech leaders. My former teammate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/asia-martin">Asia Martin</a> took a step back and highlighted how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-vs-steve-jobs-leadership-tesla-apple-2023-1">they're competing in entirely different markets with incomparable conditions</a>.</li></ul><ul><li>The dueling identities of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. "Ohana Benioff" v. "Business Benioff" reached peak tension this year. My colleagues <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-stewart">Ashley Stewart</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ethomas">Ellen Thomas</a> decoded the flamboyant leader's inner dilemma, while contextualizing the company's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-18-difficult-months-at-salesforce-2023-4">unprecedented challenges</a>.</li><li>Leaked memo after leaked memo. Insider's astute Amazon reporter <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/eugene-kim">Eugene Kim</a> constantly takes us behind-the-scenes of the e-commerce giant. He showed us <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-layoffs-see-emails-hr-and-retail-bosses-sent-employees-2023-1">layoff memos</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employees-support-return-to-office-policy-remote-work-2023-2">internal Slack channels</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-sales-document-generative-ai-2023-5">the company's AI predictions</a>, and more. Most recently, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-ftc-probe-customer-complaints-sign-ups-internal-documents-2022-3">his reporting</a> launched <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-ftc-suit-how-insider-investigation-led-to-crackdown-2023-6">an FTC investigation</a> into the company.</li></ul>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-fears-exctinction-event-startup-failure-rate-increase-2023-6"></a><div type="image" title="A paper graph is folded in waves as it pushes against the skyline of San Francisco, the hub of Silicon Valley. The graph has a stark red arrow pointing downward. The background is a textured gradient purple and orange." height="600" width="800" msid="101395517" hostid="261" sizebytes="107576"></div>2. Silicon Valley is bracing for an 'extinction event' this year. Investors are less keen to spend money. Fewer companies are going public. And there are more startups than ever before — many with less than one year of financial padding. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-fears-exctinction-event-startup-failure-rate-increase-2023-6">Dive into the perfect storm here.</a>3. Mastercard's master plan to hire tech talent. Passion project days. $200,000 salaries. Office amenities. EVP Oran Cummins told Insider what it's like to work at the payments company. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mastercard-hiring-technologist-software-engineer-payments-fintech-2023-6">Tap here to check out the company's revamped work culture.</a>4. Angry Microsoft employees roast their CEO. Satya Nadella shared a thank-you note with employees this week for the company's "landmark" year. His gratitude was met with ire from some discontented employees. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/angry-microsoft-employees-snap-at-satya-nadellas-thank-you-message-2023-6">See what the exasperated employees said.</a>5. Men are using AI to level up their dating profiles. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are helping men write better bios and personalized messages, a new study found. This has also led them to feel more confident about dating. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-men-are-using-ai-for-dating-profiles-messaging-study-2023-6">Swipe right for the full story.</a>6. Top 75 investors for fledgling startups. These investors are the most prolific when it comes to backing brand new companies. Insider sifted through thousands of active investors and identified the ones that founders should focus on most. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-75-best-seed-vc-firms-founders-raising-money-startups-2023-6">Get the full list here</a>.7. Inventors who died from their own inventions/creations/discoveries. The OceanGate Expeditions CEO (of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/titanic-sub-implosion-recovering-bodies-remains-too-risky-expert-2023-6">Titan submarine implosion</a>) is on this list. Others include William Bullock (of the rotary printing press) and Robert Cocking (of the hot air balloon). <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inventors-killed-by-died-from-their-own-inventions-2023-6">Check out seven others.</a>8. An AI prompt engineer shares three requirements for the job. Teodora Danilovic said you don't need a computer engineering degree for this <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-prompt-engineer-jobs-pay-salary-requirements-no-tech-background-2023-3#:~:text=%22Prompt%20engineers%22%20train%20AI%20chatbots,always%20require%20a%20tech%20degree.">high-paying role</a>. Instead, logic and linguistic skills are essential. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-become-an-ai-prompt-engineer-skills-needed-2023-6">She revealed how to become a prompt engineer.</a>Odds and ends:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gucci-penthouse-new-york-city-olympic-tower-for-sale-2023-6"></a><div type="image" title="A library in a Manhattan penthouse with city views" height="1665" width="2221" msid="101395518" hostid="261" sizebytes="196094"></div>9. The 'dated' and 'overpriced' $35 million Gucci penthouse. The 9,450-square foot New York City penthouse has been on and off the market for eight years. It boasts a skylit library, wood-burning fireplace, two interior elevators, and more. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gucci-penthouse-new-york-city-olympic-tower-for-sale-2023-6">Welcome in for the full tour.</a>10. People can finally test drive EVs. Due to past supply constraints, most people couldn't test drive EVs before buying one. That's beginning to change as dealership inventories are looking much more robust. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/auto-dealerships-inventory-electric-vehicles-gas-cars-key-problems-2023-6">Drive over for the full story here.</a> Bonus: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/used-car-prices-never-getting-cheaper-dealership-pricing-inventory-2023-6">Used cars aren't going to get cheaper.</a>The latest people moves in tech:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-vp-energy-data-centers-leaves-month-after-promotion-2023-6">Microsoft's vice president of energy Brian Janous is bouncing</a> after receiving a promotion this month. He was Microsoft's first employee in its data center group.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/norwest-venture-partners-hires-former-salesforce-exec-david-rudnitsky-2023-6">Norwest Venture Partners hired former Salesforce sales wizard David Rudnitsky</a>. He joins as the firm's chief revenue officer, operating executive and principal.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-georges-st-pierre-ufc-champion-mark-zuckerberg-trainer-2023-6">UFC champion Georges St-Pierre successfully offered to train Elon Musk</a> ahead of the Tesla CEO's possible <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-elon-musk-cage-match-send-location-jiu-jitsu-2023-6">brawl with Mark "Jiu-jitsu" Zuckerberg</a>.</li><li>The "Wolf of Airbnb" made nearly $2 million during the pandemic. He ran "mini-hotels" in New York City by renting, then subletting apartments. And this week, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wolf-of-airbnb-made-2-million-pandemic-facing-jail-time-2023-6">he pleaded guilty to wire fraud</a>.</li><li>These are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-netflix-growing-deal-making-what-it-could-buy-next-2023-6">the people leading Netflix's mergers and acquisitions strategy</a>.</li></ul>Curated by Diamond Naga Siu in San Diego. (Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:dsiu@insider.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dsiu@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="http://www.twitter.com/diamondnagasiu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@diamondnagasiu</a>) Edited by Lisa Ryan in New York City, Alistair Barr (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/alistairmbarr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@alistairmbarr</a>) in Silicon Valley, and Hallam Bullock (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/hallam_bullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@hallam_bullock</a>) in London.

10 Things in Tech: Microsoft employees roast CEO Satya Nadella, men use AI for dating profiles, and top investors for fledgling startups

<ul><li><keyword id="982553" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-startups">Indian startups</keyword> have raised more money through VC <keyword id="440371" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fundings">fundings</keyword> and financing, beating now listed companies that raised capital via IPOs this year. </li><li>While the startups raised nearly ₹449 billion in the <keyword id="6357097" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Venture-Capital">venture capital</keyword> (VC) funding rounds in 2018, nearly 25 companies listed on stock exchanges in India garnered ₹341.17 billion from investors. </li><li>Indian market regulator SEBI has been making amendments in regulations to provide <keyword id="6354763" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipo">IPO</keyword> as a substitute to VC funding for startups.</li></ul>2018 has turned out to be an eventful year for startup ecosystem. While several Indian startups are planning to tap the Initial Public Offerings (IPO) market as an alternative capital needs, they have already raised <a href="https://www.cnbctv18.com/market/data/indian-startups-raised-more-money-than-ipos-in-2018-1784121.htm">more money</a> through fundings and financing via the venture capital route, beating other Indian companies that raised money via IPOs this year, CNBC reported citing data from research firm, VCCEdge. Comparing the total amount <a href="https://officechai.com/startups/indian-startups-raised-money-indian-ipos-year/?utm_campaign=fullarticle&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=inshorts">raised by the companies</a> under the two segments — startups getting funding under the Venture Capital (VC) and other companies listed under IPOs — stats show that while the startups raised nearly ₹449 billion in VC funding rounds in 2018, nearly 25 companies listed on stock exchanges elevated with ₹341.17 billion from investors. In 2017, the companies listed under IPOs raised over ₹772 billion. On the other hand, the startup VC investments were found to be comparatively low, raising ₹243.47 billion. The biggest company under IPO, Bandhan Bank, raised ₹44.7 billion from investors this year. In fact, startups are forging ahead with nearly twice the Venture Capital ( VC) funding this year, as compared to 2017. Separately, the <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/sebi-to-release-startup-listing-guidelines-by-january-20/">Security and Exchange Board of India</a> (SEBI) has recently floated changes in the existing regulations for the startup ecosystem. With this, the regulatory body is looking to provide IPO as a substitute to VC funding. However, the market regulator will release detailed guidelines by January 2019. It is also planning to launch a startup platform, with inputs from Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), for its listing process across sectors — including Information Technology, e-commerce and biotech among others. ‘<keyword id="152045" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unicorn">Unicorn</keyword> club’ India, which is the third -largest for startup ecosystem in India, <a href="http://v">added 8 new unicorns</a> to the list this year, adding up to 18 in total. Private companies with a valuation over $1 billion are the ones making to a ‘unicorn club’. Under the venture capital funding, India’s recent unicorns raised ₹70 billion in its latest round of <a href="https://officechai.com/startups/indian-startups-raised-money-indian-ipos-year/?utm_campaign=fullarticle&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=inshorts">fundings from international investors </a>such as Naspers and SoftBank among others. In fact, <keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">swiggy</keyword> entered the ‘unicorn club’ just this year, accompanied by the homegrown food major, <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/newest-desi-unicorn-on-the-block-is-zomato-just-raised-usd-200-million/story/269566.html">Zomato</a>, which raised 13.99 billion from Alibaba Group’s subsidiary — Ant Financial Services. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-largest-online-learning-service-is-all-set-to-become-the-4th-highest-valued-indian-startup-with-a-254-billion-valuation/articleshow/66474294.cms">India’s largest online learning service is all set to become the 4th highest valued Indian startup with a ₹254 billion valuation</a> <a href="http://v">The Indian government may roll back a tax on angel investments that is said to be hurting the country’s startup ecosystem</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-food-delivery-unicorn-zomato-to-expand-footprint-to-30-more-cities/articleshow/66915630.cms">Indian food delivery unicorn Zomato to expand footprint to 30 more cities</a>

For Indian startups, 2018 has been a year of bouncing back as venture capital funding doubles

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Meg He, 33, is the cofounder of <keyword id="12102533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="aday" source="Orion">ADAY</keyword>, a <keyword id="11893303" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fashion" source="Orion">fashion</keyword> brand that creates sustainable professional workwear.</li><li>After leaving a career in <keyword id="11895316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="finance" source="Orion">finance</keyword> and venture capitalism, He started ADAY with former <keyword id="6361649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="goldman-sachs" source="Orion">Goldman Sachs</keyword> coworker Nina Faulhaber.</li><li>This is what running her business is like, as told to freelance writer Claire Turrell.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Meg He, cofounder of ADAY, about her business and career. It has been edited for length and clarity.I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and liked to set myself a challenge. At 15, I started selling vintage designer clothing on eBay. When I was applying to college, I applied to Merton College at Oxford University for economics and management as I was told it was the hardest course to get on to in terms of acceptance rate. But I did it. After graduation in 2008, I was hired as an analyst at Goldman Sachs.At Goldman, I met my future ADAY cofounder Nina Faulhaber. We both have strong work ethics and hit it off immediately. After two years working at Goldman Sachs, we both started working for different venture capitalist companies, and I later worked for Poshmark before taking time off to return to the UK in 2014. Nina and I always stayed in touch and bounced business ideas off each other, and my move back home became the trigger for starting ADAY. <h2>Even while working at Goldman Sachs, I knew finance wasn't the right industry for me. </h2>When I looked around the room at my fellow analysts, I could tell they enjoyed the job more, were more motivated, and were better at it than I was. I had an inner ecommerce geek that needed to get out - I thrived on marrying insights with consumer psychology and behavior and I also loved the way fashion could make people feel empowered. As businesswomen who loved to work out, Nina and I had the idea of launching a workwear collection that was as comfortable as gym wear. We spent 12 months travelling to fabric mills in Italy, visiting sustainable factories in Portugal and Los Angeles, and holding focus groups in the UK. In January 2015 we launched our sustainable fashion brand ADAY with a capsule collection of leggings, shorts, and tops, all made with recycled UV-protected fabrics. While we had big plans, we started small. I had quit my job and then Nina quit hers. From networking and telling people about our plans, we raised about $200,000 to launch the brand. <h2>Our first meetings were held in coffee shops, and we even took an investor conference call in a parking lot.</h2><div type="image" title="ADAY founders Meg He and Nina Faulhaber. Credit: Bridget Badore" height="1401" width="1868" msid="86236597" hostid="261"></div>We had just three full-time members of staff (Nina, myself, and a junior designer), and the former head of womenswear for Everlane as a consultant. While we always had faith in what we were doing, it was comforting when we started to see our plans pay off. After a pair of our leggings sold out, we decided to launch more items like swimwear and to work on new fabrics, like moisture-wicking linen and fabric made from recycled water bottles.<h2>Raising money to expand globally was a slow but steady journey. </h2>In <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/21/aday-aims-to-simplify-your-wardrobe-with-2m-in-funding/">November 2017</a>, we were able to raise $2 million in funding. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrawilson1/2020/02/20/sustainable-slow-fashion-startup-aday-raises-85-million-to-simplify-your-wardrobe/?sh=4678734e4d3d">Two years later,</a> we raised another $8.5 million. This gave us the chance to expand to the US, and in the fall of 2019, we opened a 3,000 square foot office in New York, a store in San Francisco, and launched a travel-inspired collection. But when the pandemic struck in March 2020, we had to go back to the drawing board. Our team of close to 30 people started working from home, we sublet our New York office, closed the store, and pushed back our product launches to 2021 and 2022. However, as more people were looking for comfy clothes to wear for working from home, our sales were still up, which thankfully gave us time to launch Made Again, where we rework over-ordered stock into new pieces. <h2>My work schedule is always changing - I'm often most productive between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. </h2>I start each day by walking my dog around my neighborhood in New York. Then I have virtual meetings from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with investors, potential partners, and staff. I block out two hours each day for deep work, where I fixate on a goal for the business. As I compete in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I tend to keep my days flexible. I go to the BJJ academy five to six days a week and take strength and conditioning classes at the gym. At the moment I am training for the IBJJF World Master Championship in Las Vegas in November. My workouts change depending on how close I am to competing, so if I'm training for one to two hours in the afternoon, I'll work more in the evening. I get a lot of my best work done between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m.<h2>The key to being a successful entrepreneur is to be honest about what you're good and bad at. </h2>If it's not your skillset, hire someone to do it and don't waste time trying to do it yourself. It's also important to have a supportive network of people around you who understand what you're going through. And if you have an idea for a business, don't tell it to everyone. It's like announcing a baby name - everyone has a different opinion, and not everyone's opinion should matter. While investment banking wasn't for me, it did teach me a lot. The meticulous attention to detail working at Goldman Sachs is something I've never seen anywhere else. That commitment to excellence is something I always think about. When Nina and I are faced with a challenge, we'll put in the work to make it A+++ because that's the training we were given. When we thought about launching ADAY, we were just two women who knew nothing about fashion design. Our experience in finance and venture capitalism taught us to be audacious and embrace being a more antagonist start-up to improve the standards of the industry.

I'm a former Goldman Sachs analyst who raised over $8.5 million for my fashion startup. Here's how I realized finance wasn't for me.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/attractive-businesswoman-heads-strategy-meeting-in-royalty-free-image/1084171152">10'000 Hours/Getty Images</a>"VCs - while they're smart and they've got money - they don't always know everything," said Jon Werner, founder of Bones in Motion.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Rejection is inevitable when launching a business, and knowing how to bounce back better than ever is key.</li><li>Business Insider spoke with four founders who have launched media companies, breweries, and digital marketing and fitness software services to learn how to overcome the toughest of obstacles.</li><li>These founders have been rejected countless times by VCs, investors, and banks, and have struggled to get their initial ideas off the ground. Today, they're all running thriving businesses.</li><li>They emphasized doing your research, learning when to pivot, finding the right team, and - ultimately - reminding yourself that your idea will work as important steps to take when faced with failure.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul>Getting rejected, whether in our personal lives or in business, isn't fun. And if you're an entrepreneur looking to attract investors, generate revenue, and scale your company, you know that the stakes are even higher - and rejection all the more terrifying. Building a booming business is every entrepreneur's dream, yet only one in 12 people actually makes it happen, according to a <a href="https://startupgenome.com/reports/global-startup-ecosystem-report-2019">report conducted by Startup Genome</a>. And while we hate to believe it, rejection along the way is practically inevitable. Business Insider spoke with four inspiring founders about their stories of (countless) rejection and how they bounced back to become even more successful.

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10 Things in Tech: Microsoft employees roast CEO Satya Nadella, men use AI for dating profiles, and top investors for fledgling startups

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For Indian startups, 2018 has been a year of bouncing back as venture capital funding doubles

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I'm a former Goldman Sachs analyst who raised over $8.5 million for my fashion startup. Here's how I realized finance wasn't for me.

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