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<ul><li><keyword id="19945904" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ola" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ola">Ola</keyword> is reportedly looking to re-enter the <keyword id="19963428" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="quick-commerce" source="keywords">quick commerce</keyword> business.</li><li>The company is also planning to offer UPI services to customers.</li><li>The company’s earlier quick commerce service, <keyword id="22710114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-dash" source="keywords">Ola Dash</keyword> was shut in 2022.</li></ul> Ola tried its hand in the quick commerce business with Ola Dash but failed to crack the market and wind up operations in 2022. Amid the rising popularity of quick commerce apps such as <keyword id="20069203" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Blinkit" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Blinkit" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Blinkit">Blinkit</keyword>, <keyword id="19939135" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swiggy-Instamart" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Swiggy Instamart" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Swiggy Instamart">Swiggy Instamart</keyword> and Zepto, Ola is now looking to re-enter the business. According to a<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/ola-drawing-up-a-route-map-to-join-quick-commerce-party/articleshow/112354202.cms"> report</a> by Economic Times, <keyword id="20138354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ANI-Technologies" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ANI Technologies" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="ANI Technologies">ANI Technologies</keyword>, the parent company of <keyword id="20138355" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-cabs" source="keywords">Ola Cabs</keyword> is planning on setting up <keyword id="21641710" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dark-stores" source="keywords">dark stores</keyword> to ride the quick commerce wave. <h2>What are dark stores?</h2>Dark stores are special warehouses used to fulfil online orders. They are not open to the public and are designed to make packing and shipping items fast and efficient. Dark stores are often used by grocery stores, supermarkets, and other retailers to handle the growing demand for online shopping. The term "dark" refers to the fact that these stores are not open to the public, as they are not intended for in-store shopping. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112288793" title="Electric two-wheeler sales cross the 1 lakh mark after four months, Ola Electric leads the market" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> According to the report, the dark stores will be operated by Ola and the company is planning on deploying robots to minimize human involvement. “It's a dark store as a service where the whole setup will be delivered with significant automation but there will be some people involved,” a source familiar with the matter told ET. <h2>Ola plans to offer UPI services</h2>It’s not just quick commerce, Ola is reportedly planning on offering UPI services to its customers. The company already has the Ola Money app, which has found few takers. The company had converted from a full wallet to a small prepaid instrument (PPI) wallet earlier this year. <keyword id="19914967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhavish-Aggarwal" source="keywords">Bhavish Aggarwal</keyword> is expected to talk about the company’s upcoming initiatives at an event on August 15. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tata-curvv-ev-with-up-to-585-km-range-launched-starting-at-17-49-lakh/slidelist/112342769.cms">Tata Curvv EV with up to 585 km range launched starting at ₹17.49 lakh</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/top-10-selling-cars-in-india-in-july-2024/slidelist/112337262.cms">Top 10 selling cars in India in July 2024 – 6 out of 10 are from Maruti Suzuki</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ola-electric-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112319824.cms">Ola Electric IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a>

Ola wants to re-enter the quick commerce business to take on Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart

<ul class="summary-list"><li>TwinMind, founded by former Google X employees, builds an AI assistant to better understand you.</li><li>The founders believe memory is key and something that rival products like OpenAI's ChatGPT lack.</li></ul>A startup formed from a handful of former Googlers — specifically <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoff-moonshot-x-development-sergey-brin-larry-page-astro-2023-01">Google X</a>, the skunkworks lab that explores sci-fi moonshot ideas — is coming out of stealth.Named TwinMind, its app functions as an AI assistant that lives in your smartphone and always listens. Its founders like to compare it to Jarvis, the AI designed by Marvel's Tony Stark: it's constantly learning what you're doing and talking about and then using that information to better understand you.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://twinmind.com">TwinMind</a> founder CEO Daniel George said the company raised over $2.5 million this year from two rounds, the latest giving TwinMind a $30 million post-money valuation. Notable investors to date include Oracle chief AI scientist Dan Roth, Rocketship VC founding partner Anand Rajaraman, and Michael Liou, an early investor in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robinhood-ceo-comments-remote-work-return-to-office-mandate-reversal-2024-5">Robinhood</a> and Zapier.TwinMind is emerging into a competitive market filled with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rise-of-godgpt-religions-christians-using-chatbots-spiritual-formation-2024-11">chatbots galore</a>. George told Business Insider he believes the idea of an AI assistant that learns and retains information about users will help set TwinMind apart.While other AI assistants and chatbots, such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ai-gemini-bard">Google's Gemini</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chat-gpt-2023-1">OpenAI's ChatGPT</a>, are improving at memory, it's still not something they're very good at."If you had your own Jarvis, why would you Google? Why would you ask ChatGPT?" George told BI. "None of these other tools capture you. None of them understand you. They don't understand what's happening in your life."TwinMind works like this: It runs in the background of your phone and continually listens. It stores audio in the short term and transcribes it to text, which goes into TwinMind's memory bank. Then, users can open the app and see a readout of their day, broken down into key moments.You can also ask it questions. Because TwinMind is learning about you, what you've done, and the people you've spent your day with, it aims to pull all that information in, allowing you to talk to TwinMind in a way that feels more natural and without having to add heaps of context.The startup is also rolling out a web browser extension, which (with permission) will see what users are browsing online and capture it in memory. With integrations with calendars and Gmail, users can also ask TwinMind to draft emails. That's something you can already do with other chatbots, of course, but TwinMind's edge here is drawing on all that memory it holds of the user."You just go in there and, say, write your marketing email. And it knows everything about me, who my co-founders are, what my company is, what we have done before," said George. "Imagine Grammarly, but instead of correcting grammar, it actually writes it based on all the memories and context."<h2 id="b54bc0bb-ecca-439e-8260-0635a910baae">Wolverine origins</h2>At Google X, George was the first machine learning scientist on Wolverine, a hearing wearable project <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-x-alphabet-hearing-project-wolverine-codename-augmented-reality-2021-3">first reported on by Business Insider in 2021</a>. That project has since spun out into <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iyo-google-x-moonshot-audio-devices-earbuds-2024-4">a startup named Iyo</a>.When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, George was working at JPMorgan with TwinMind cofounder and CTO Sunny Tang, a Google X alum.He says the two watched as colleagues started using the AI chatbot in meetings. The pair hacked together a crude chatbot of their own that would transcribe meetings and answer questions about what was being said. The idea evolved into the startup ThirdEar. Then they changed the name to TwinMind since someone else had the ThirdEar domain name, and George says the team also felt the name didn't reflect the visual elements they were building, such as the Chrome extension.TwinMind does most of its processing locally on the phone and will connect to the cloud if it needs to answer a question or if the user wants an improved AI. TwinMind offers a free app version with a $20-a-month tier for users who want access to more advanced large language models.Naturally, it raises some questions about privacy. George said that because TwinMind does not capture images and only transcribes the audio, it falls under the same category of assistants as Siri or Alexa.Perhaps the more impressive feat here will be on the hardware side."The main innovation is figuring out how to get this thing running all day, in your pocket, without draining your battery, [and with] all the Apple walled garden stuff," George said.He said they figured it out and claims the TwinMind app can run for 12 hours in the background non-stop before running out the battery.The team has just opened its seed round, and George said they're looking to raise at least $5 million. The company is also telling potential investors about its future plans, which include making the switch between phone and desktop more seamless so that TwinMind feels more embedded in users' lives.George said more than 2,000 early testers have already provided feedback, and the team is launching the app this week on Product Hunt. It will first be available for iPhone and as a Chrome extension, with Android and Mac apps to follow next year."We are sure that in a couple of years, everyone is going to have a personalized AI companion that knows their whole life and has access to all of the world's knowledge on the internet," George told BI. "And that would be the way people access information. Not through Google."

Former Google X employees come out of stealth with TwinMind, an AI app that hears and remembers everything about you

<ul class="summary-list"><li>You may have noticed how desperate some politicians' fundraising appeals can sound.</li><li>It's because raising money from everyday people has grown ever more important for campaigns.</li></ul>If you're a person who's at all involved in politics, from the most seasoned operative to the casual observer, you're undoubtedly familiar — and perhaps a bit annoyed — with the desperate fundraising appeals uttered in the voice of politicians.It may be an email purportedly sent from the candidate's iPhone, a text with Nancy Pelosi's smiling face on it, or a screenshot from a Notes app from a Senate candidate on your social media feed. These urgent requests for political contributions take various forms, but they often share an unseemly stench of desperation that feels unbefitting for our country's elected leaders.It's not a Democratic or Republican issue, either — campaigns from both parties can often come across as downright silly when they're trying to raise an extra buck.So how did we get to a point where politicians are willing to stoop to this level?<h2 id="a21e4204-f95b-4ed7-bf49-072c965f4dc4">Going down the 'rabbit hole'</h2>In recent decades, changes in both technology and the law have made small-dollar fundraising — bringing in tons of donations under $200 rather than massive donations from a few people — an increasingly important part of how campaigns are funded.The internet now allows campaigns to cheaply solicit contributions from people at a scale and frequency that letters in mailboxes never could. The Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United vs FEC also dramatically increased the importance of money in politics, as campaigns now had to contend with an unlimited influx of spending from outside groups and corporations.That created a political environment where any campaign that didn't want to solely rely on wealthy donors — whether out of sincere convictions or for optics — had to figure out how to raise large sums of money from large groups of people.Mike Nellis, founder and CEO of the Democratic campaign firm Authentic, said that "a lot of the urgency that you see" in fundraising messages is due to the importance of small-dollar donors to campaigns.President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign is seen as the pioneer of the urgent fundraising appeal. One email simply entitled "I will be outspent" generated more than $2.6 million that year, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-11-29/the-science-behind-those-obama-campaign-e-mails">according to Bloomberg</a>.But over time, some campaigns have taken an increasingly apocalyptic tone, employing increasingly guilt-driven tactics. Now we're at a point where a campaign may tell you the fate of the election, and the country, depends on your $20. Former President Donald Trump's campaign has embraced this strategy. It has sent emails ranging from "Biden's political firing squad is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://politicalemails.org/messages/1454419'">lining up</a>" to more banal gimmicks <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://politicalemails.org/messages/1582554">like</a> "the most important email I've ever sent." Just this week, those on the campaign's distribution list received one that read:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://politicalemails.org/messages/1579224"> "all hell breaks loose at 11:59 PM!" </a>One key factor here is message testing, campaign operatives told BI.Political campaigns and the professional firms they hire to implement their fundraising strategies get real-time data about which messages raise lots of money and which ones don't, they said."You're able to rapidly test things, and that can bring you down a rabbit hole," said Kenneth Pennington, partner at the progressive campaign firm Middle Seat. "So if ratcheting up the desperation is bringing in more dollars than versions of the content that have less desperation, it might lead you to believe that more desperation is always good."There's also an arms-race dynamic to it all. Just about everyone — from presidential candidates to city council hopefuls — is fundraising via email, texts, and social media. Campaigns are forced to compete over a limited amount of people's attention and money."It is a race to the bottom to get attention, and that makes people increasingly desperate," Nellis said."You have to make some choices," Pennington said. "Either I'm going to send out a lot more messages to compete with the volume of messages that are already out there, or I'm going to ratchet up the nature of those messages, make them more desperate, or more alarming, or eye-catching or urgent."<h2 id="c3850a0f-b585-4fc2-9520-09a4777bf411">'Ways to get attention that I think you wouldn't be super proud of'</h2>If you were hoping that the volume and urgency of political fundraising messages might ever truly diminish, you're out of luck — the only way to change that would be to decrease the importance of money in politics via campaign finance reform, and that seems more illusory than ever, the operatives said.In the meantime, campaigns aren't going to unilaterally disarm."I don't really have a moral problem with sending a lot of emails to you to elect another Democratic senator," said Pennington. "Campaigning is a big part of American life, and if we want to change it, we should change some of our laws."But there's a big, ongoing internal conversation among campaign professionals in both parties about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/50-professionals-urge-democratic-fundraising-company-crackdown-spam-deceptive-emails-2021-8">how far is too far</a>, and how to avoid the long-term consequences of scorched-earth fundraising appeals."There's ways to go after and get attention that I think you can hold your head up high and feel pretty good about that work," Nellis said. "And there are ways to get attention that I think you wouldn't be super proud of, like sending out emails that are like 'the sky is falling, we're all gonna die if you don't donate $10.'"A growing number of campaigns are now drawing the line at engaging in tactics that are outright scammy, such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/campaign-matching-donations-democrats-republicans-bogus-gimmick-2021-5">claiming that donations will be matched</a> multiple times over when that's not the case, or roping people into making recurring donations without them being fully aware of it.Others are simply pushing for more honesty — being realistic about what an individual donor's contribution will mean for the campaign while avoiding manipulating people's emotions.John Hall, a leading GOP fundraising and communications professional, called for honesty with donors in a <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/@john_13136/my-principles-for-online-fundraising-8dea4595ae6f">Medium post</a> last year, arguing failing to uphold that principle would eventually lead to donor burnout."What raises the most money is often the most extreme messaging, the most aggressive tactics, and a willingness to guilt individuals into donating," Hall wrote. "This tactic is effective at getting an immediate initial donation, but over time, the donor is either desensitized to or begins to resent this 'strategy.'"Donor burnout has become a real problem for Republicans, as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/01/trump-republican-small-donations-problems/">the Washington Post</a> reported in April. Trump and the RNC have brought in less money from smaller donors than expected compared to 2020.But it's a difficult problem to address as a party, or as an industry, in part due to the structure of campaigns themselves. They crop up when a candidate runs for office and often disappear when they lose, leading to a lack of long-term thinking about the effect their appeals have on the public.One way to avoid sounding too embarrassing and veering into manipulative tactics, campaign operatives argue, is to simply lean into the talents that a politician already has.If the candidate is inspiring to voters on their own, there's less need to scare people into sending them money.Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, has raised record-shattering sums of money since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, all while generally avoiding the more manipulative fundraising tactics that have come to define much of politics on both sides of the aisle."There's an assumption that the more desperate the appeals become the better the fundraising works," Pennington said. "That's a notion that kind of goes unchallenged, that I don't really subscribe to."

How politicians got comfortable sounding desperate when asking for money

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Health startup Roon is raising $15 million at a $65 million pre-money valuation, BI has learned.</li><li>Sequoia, an existing Roon investor, is set to participate in the round.</li></ul>Health information site Roon is raising a new funding round, Business Insider has learned.The startup is raising $15 million at a $65 million pre-money valuation, according to two people familiar with the efforts.Existing investor Sequoia Capital has recommitted to the funding round, according to those people.Roon aims to replace "Dr. Google" with its website and app for consumers to ask their health questions and get expert answers.The company previously raised a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/12/roon-wants-to-educate-patients-with-freshly-sourced-info-on-their-conditions/">$7.5 million</a> seed round in 2022. Firstmark, TMV, and Sequoia Capital led the round, with SV Angel, Maveron, and M13 participating.Terms of the deal are not finalized and could be subject to change. Roon and Sequoia did not respond to requests for comment.Roon pitches itself as a "trusted guide for health" on its website. The company provides accessible medical information to users and partners with trained medical professionals to answer specific medical questions about users' health journeys.Currently, Roon's site says it can help patients navigating fertility and family building, dementia, the neurological disease ALS, or the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme.The company initially began by providing medical information on glioblastomas, sourcing experts on the specific condition before expanding to additional topics, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/12/roon-wants-to-educate-patients-with-freshly-sourced-info-on-their-conditions/">per TechCrunch</a>. Roon also offers to connect users with other people experiencing similar health conditions.Roon CEO Vikram Bhaskaran, a former Pinterest executive, founded Roon in 2021 after struggling to find accessible information about his loved ones' medical conditions. He partnered with his former Pinterest colleague Arun Ranganathan, who serves as Roon's CTO, and Rohan Ramakrishna, a trained neurosurgeon and Roon's chief medical officer.Today, expert <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/health">health information</a> isn't always easy to find with a simple Google search. Patients may turn to resources like WebMD, forums like Quora, or even social media for advice on their conditions — with unsurprisingly unreliable accuracy.AI platforms, such as Perplexity and OpenAI's ChatGPT, are increasingly becoming a resource for medical questions as well. However, there have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/software-developers-want-ai-to-give-medical-advice-how-accurate-is-it/">concerns around the reliability and accuracy</a> of these platforms' outputs.Consensus, a search engine that helps people parse scientific papers, raised a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://consensus.app/home/blog/announcing-our-11-5m-series-a-fundraise/">$11.5 million</a> Series A led by Union Square Ventures in July to tackle a similar market.Roon aims to differentiate itself with its focus on "medically vetted" information, Bhaskaran told TechCrunch in 2022."There's so much medical misinformation… it's crazy that patients don't have anywhere to go to answer questions," he said.

Exclusive: Health startup Roon is raising $15 million from Sequoia to replace 'Dr. Google'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Once upon a time, Americans could use certain apps to get cheaper prices and services.</li><li>The so-called millennial lifestyle subsidy offered convenience, but its relative rewards have faded.</li></ul>Sarah Manley, 31, was facing sticker shock.Manley, an artist and musician in Baltimore, was a loyal Airbnb user before the pandemic. When she emerged from lockdown and looked on the platform for a short-term stay, she was shocked by how much prices had risen. Indeed, Airbnb's <a target="_blank" href="https://s26.q4cdn.com/656283129/files/doc_financials/2022/q4/Airbnb-Q4'22-Earnings-Call-Transcript.pdf">average daily rate</a> rose by 36% from 2019 to the end of 2022.Manley opted for a hotel. Short-term rentals aren't the only habit she's ditched. She isn't using ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft anymore. She's found that parking at the airport for a few days is actually cheaper than the round-trip fare."If I was using rideshares and the delivery apps and everything the way I was, I would run out of money each month," she said.Manley is one of many American adults adjusting to life after the so-called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-millennial-lifestyle-subsidy-2023-7">millennial lifestyle subsidy</a>: a cadre of apps and services that launched in the 2000s and 2010s and earned the loyalty of a generation by offering convenience and low prices to things that may have been out of reach before. Think Uber, <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/29/wonder-group-blue-apron-acquisition/">Blue Apron</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-startup-failure-benchmark-insight-partners-venture-capitalists-learned-nothing-2023-4">WeWork</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-food-delivery-startup-sprig-is-shutting-down-2017-5">Sprig</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/flywheel-sports-filing-for-bankruptcy-and-closing-all-studios-2020-9">Flywheel</a>. Subsidized by their venture-capital backers, the brands sought to attract as many customers as possible, hoping profits would follow.But as inflation and higher interest rates have pushed prices up and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-vc-has-changed-in-2023-amid-a-slowdown-2023-11">scared away some investors</a>, consumers who got used to subscriptions and luxury experiences for less are having to find alternatives. For some, like Manley, it means going back to the old-fashioned way of doing certain things: shopping around for hotel deals, taking public transit more, and working out at home with fitness classes on video."At first it was obviously an adjustment being like, wait, I'm trying to go to this event and normally I'd take a Lyft," Manley said. "You kind of had to recalibrate some stuff, but I have gone away from it, and I don't see myself going back to it anytime soon."<h2 id="e2576016-c467-4070-a3e3-81d70b57c654">The millennial lifestyle subsidy hooked a generation on convenience and lower prices</h2>For a while, cash-strapped younger Americans seemed as if they'd lucked into a good deal: They might have had dismal career prospects or no chance of homeownership, but at least they could take a fitness class for $5 or even for free.The subsidized services felt like they were "for the people," Manley said. "That sounds very dramatic, but it was like, oh cool, we've come together to make these cheaper, better alternatives than the only option we've ever had."Suddenly the luxuries that were out of reach for recession-battered Americans — especially those who lived in food deserts or struggled with inconsistent public transit — were a little more accessible. For reasonable prices, you could get food delivered to your front door, access to boutique fitness classes, or a private-car-like experience. Millennials who were just reaching early adulthood got hooked.But the low entry prices for many of those services are rising. In 2022, Peloton raised its membership fee to $44 from $39 and rolled out additional <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23734329/peloton-app-subscription-tiers-fitness">subscriptions</a>. Citing YipitData, Bloomberg reported that between 2019 and 2022, the average <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-04/uber-lyft-plunge-as-driver-supply-casts-doubt-on-profits">Uber price</a> rose by 45% and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/instacart-ceo-is-worried-about-inflation-of-food-prices">Instacart service fees</a> rose by 61%.It's caused some people to question whether their apps and subscriptions were worth it — or if they should go back to doing things as their parents did.Grant Plotkin, 26, is a Gen Zer who experienced the pre-2020 millennial subsidy as a young adult. He hopped to different ride-hailing services when they offered promotions to get off the ground. He opted for Airbnbs instead of hotels. He ordered meal kits.But as prices have gone up, he's shaken up his routine: Rather than finding him in a car, you're much more likely to catch him on the ferry. Instead of going to a WeWork-style coworking space, he'll use his building's amenities. He's eating out less, and when he does need to take a car somewhere, he's comparing prices across platforms.Plotkin estimated that if he were to use the same services he used before the pandemic, his costs would double."I remember Ubers used to just be a no-brainer, and it would be like $20 here, $15 there, super easy. And now I mean it's $40 or it's $50, and you got to question that," Plotkin said. "I mean, that can be more than your meal."<h2 id="cfcca580-f2e4-4486-ba30-bd1aa8fd3b38">The end of the millennial subsidy could mean higher prices across the board</h2>Rising wages have kept many Americans' finances in relatively good shape despite inflation, so the convenience of the apps is still strong. Airbnb this spring <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://news.airbnb.com/airbnb-q1-2024-financial-results/#:~:text=Airbnb%20Co%2DFounder%20and%20CEO,another%20record%20summer%20travel%20season.%E2%80%9D">reported record first-quarter bookings</a>, but with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-host-falling-revenue-more-competition-dropping-prices-2022-12">more hosts entering</a> the short-term rental market, many say they're getting <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnbust-airbnb-short-term-vacation-rentals-investors-real-estate-reckoning-2023-3">fewer stays</a>. In a prime example of ending a subsidy, Netflix recently increased prices for some of its plans and cracked down on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-password-sharing-clampdown-angry-subscribers-2023-2">password sharing</a> following a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-earnings-losing-subscribers-second-straight-quarter-2022-7">loss of subscribers</a>. It <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-password-sharing-crackdown-worked-how-to-increase-subscription-streaming-2024-1">worked</a> to lure more individual sign-ups.Brett House, a professor of professional practice in the economics division at Columbia Business School, said low prices were never meant to be a long-term gift to consumers — they were meant to function as disruptors.But that the model isn't sustainable in a higher-interest-rate environment. When money was cheap to borrow and pour into a new company, investors could subsidize the costs of entry prices in hopes that infinite growth would lead to a captive audience. Now, though, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/05/01/1248454950/federal-reserve-inflation-interest-rates">interest rates at a two-decade high</a>, capital is more expensive.Plus, as inflation squeezes people's budgets, they're looking for ways to change their habits. For some, that's cutting out meal kits and subscriptions. Even wealthy shoppers are turning to discount brands like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-shoppers-aldi-dollar-general-tree-inflation-retail-prices-groceries-2023-6">Dollar General and Aldi</a>.The end of subsidies might also be exacerbating some of the inequities that they papered over: House said the hardest-hit Americans may be those in areas without reliable public transit or with few stores — meaning they can't go just walk elsewhere to find a better deal."That sort of economy always had a dark underbelly, and that's really, I think, what the legacy of this period is going to be," Bilal Baydoun, the director of policy and research at the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning think tank, told BI. Those lower-than-normal prices were feeding a "monster," he said, "and that monster is the sort of monopolistic, Big Tech-enabled pricing schemes that we're seeing today."One of the legacies of this era's apps could be dynamic pricing. In the same way that ride-hailing apps increase prices during busy times, algorithms have made it easier for companies of all kinds to offer varying prices based on market conditions or user information.It also introduced more customers to the idea. You might scoff if a taxi driver said you needed to pay more for a ride in the rain but not blink an eye when an app says costs could rise because of the weather. The next iteration of the millennial subsidy might be gamifying <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-surge-pricing-dynamic-prices-save-money-walmart-wendys-risks-2024-7">surge pricing</a> for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-surge-pricing-dynamic-prices-save-money-walmart-wendys-risks-2024-7">groceries</a> or a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-dynamic-pricing-surge-cost-fatigue-2024-7">side of fries</a>."It's making people miserable to not know what things cost. I mean, we live in an age where budgeting is really essential to get by amid a really long-term affordability crisis in this country," Baydoun said. That creates a "sense of chaos," Baydoun added, and a sense of "just being at the whims of corporate pricing consultants who are paid large sums to really just come up with more and better tricks."All of that might lead to companies pursuing ever riskier tactics to bring in revenue, like surge pricing or drip pricing, where fees are slowly revealed throughout a transaction — something that could break customer loyalty and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-uber-eats-lyft-doordash-instacart-grubhub-drivers-make-2024-2">mean lower pay for workers</a>.In the meantime, Americans are trying to find new subsidies where they can. For Plotkin, that's taken the form of another increasingly popular offering: credit-card rewards. Companies <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-express-platinum-card-gold-gen-z-millennial-rewards-2024-6">like American Express</a> have stepped in with offerings like subscription services and early access to events to attract new and younger customers. And younger workers are responding in kind, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-rewards-points-friends-fights-brunch-money-payment-venmo-2024-7">tussles breaking out</a> over who exactly gets to put their card down for brunch when everyone gets 5% cash back on dining."To maximize ROI — if you even would call it that — for going out and about in town, it's like, OK, I use my specific card that gets more points for rideshare versus dining versus apparel or retail," Plotkin said. "And I've tried to become more savvy. I feel like I have to stretch that dollar even further now in this economy."Has the loss of the millennial subsidy affected your finances or lifestyle? Contact this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:jkaplan@businessinsider.com">jkaplan@businessinsider.com</a>.

Forget Uber and Airbnb: Some people are going back to doing things the old-fashioned way to save money  

<ul class="summary-list"><li>By 2100, 97% of countries are expected to have fertility rates below replacement levels.</li><li>Demography experts told BI that countries offering financial incentives won't solve this.</li></ul>The world is facing a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asia-countries-worry-fertility-rate-affect-armies-few-soldiers-experts-2024-6">fertility rate crisis,</a> and experts warn that giving <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-making-incentives-wont-work-experts-cash-car-subsidies-medals-2024-6">financial incentives to would-be parents</a> isn't going to come close to solving it.<a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext#cestitle300">A Lancet study forecasts</a> that by 2100, over 97% of countries will have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-faces-a-low-fertility-future-hit-global-economy-report-2024-3">fertility rates below the population replacement level</a>.Some countries, fearing shrinking populations, have invested heavily in policies in the hopes of reversing the decline.In Tokyo, the rates are so low that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-government-launching-dating-app-marriage-rates-population-decline-japan-2024-6">government is launching a dating app</a> to help citizens find love and get married.The Japanese government has also tried to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-birthrate-reaches-record-low-billions-spent-2023-6">boost fertility rates</a> by offering up to a year of parental leave and even cash incentives.In South Korea, the <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-fertility-rate-dropped-fresh-record-low-2023-2024-02-28/">least fertile country in the world,</a> Seoul is offering people money to <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-fertility-rate-dropped-fresh-record-low-2023-2024-02-28/">reverse their vasectomies or untie their tubes.</a>That's on top of South Korean companies offering employees up to $75,000 to have children, and a government allowance system that <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-parents-south-korea-seoul-750-per-month-population-declines-2024-2">gives all parents with newborns $750 a month</a> until their baby turns one.However, according to Trent MacNamara, a Texas A&amp;M professor whose work has focused on fertility rates, throwing money at the problem can only do so much."Theoretically, it's possible to produce higher fertility with traditional policy," he told Business Insider. "If a government transferred new parents about 5% of the costs of raising a child, we could expect a roughly 5% bump in fertility."But he noted that such measures come with "backbreaking costs" that governments are hesitant to bear, especially given the strain aging populations place on social welfare systems.MacNamara said that even in countries like South Korea, which has invested billions, the impact of the policies is still inconclusive.While governments are scrambling for solutions, none have discovered the holy grail — an affordable, practical policy leading to sustained fertility rate rises, he said.Sarah Harper, a professor of gerontology and the director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, says that cash incentives have a limited long-term effect."It encourages a mini-baby boom, followed by a baby crash, as those women who would have spread their childbearing across several years all go at the same time to get the cash bonus," she told BI.Harper said that instead of throwing money at the issue, the biggest chance for success is through promoting gender equity.She said that countries that promote "positive parenting, ensuring that mothers, as well as fathers, can continue their careers through acceptance in the workplace," have the best chance of maintaining birth rates.However, she added that even this is unlikely to return levels to above-replacement.Philip N. Cohen, a family demographer at the University of Maryland, said it's a "fool's errand" trying to solve the fertility crisis.He said that most policy ideas have failed, and besides, "human history in the period of modernity, the last few hundred years, is the history of declining birth rates."A few unique, ambitious policy ideas could, in theory, make an impact — like a social welfare fund for single mothers and mass immigration from poorer countries—but, Cohen said, they're unlikely to be implemented in most countries."That's politically fraught, even if the math of it makes perfect sense," he said.As for the overall trend, "there's no way I think we can turn that around," he said.

Throwing money at plunging birth rates won't solve the issue, demography experts say

<ul><li>The Mumbai-based startup was founded in August last year.</li><li>Shashwata has an MBA from Wharton and studied data science at Yale University.</li><li>Shobhita has spent several years working with leading healthcare companies including GlaxoSmithKline.</li></ul>In August 2020, sisters Shobhita and Shashwata Narain founded Veera Health to provide “medical care, nutrition therapy, lifestyle coaching and doctor support” for women who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) ⁠— a hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age. Today, they have fresh funds to the tune of $3 million from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and Global Founders Capital and claim to have helped over 10,000 women with the condition. Other investors include Y Combinator, CloudNine Hospitals’ cofounder Rohit M.A., Tinder India Head Taru Kapoor and other angel investors including Benjamin Bryant, Ethan Perlstein, Holly Liu, Utsav Somani and Walter Chen, the company statement said. Shashwata has an MBA from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and studied data science at Yale University. Shobhita spent several years working with leading healthcare companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (<keyword id="6358248" type="AGENCY" weightage="20" keywordseo="GSK">GSK</keyword>), Accenture Life Sciences and UnitedHealth. The inspiration for the startup, which offers a digital platform for online consultation, came from the founder being affected by a similar condition. “I was extremely frustrated by how long it took me to get diagnosed with PCOS, get proper medical advice to manage my condition. Even after trying multiple doctors, I felt like I was in the dark about how to actually treat my symptoms. There’s definitely a lot of judgement in the Indian context as well. We hear story after story from our customers about how they were body-shamed or told to get married instead of treating PCOS,” said Shobhita Narain, chief operating officer (COO) and cofounder. What is PCOS? Women with <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pcos/symptoms-causes/syc-20353439#:~:text=Polycystic%20ovary%20syndrome%20(PCOS)%20is,fail%20to%20regularly%20release%20eggs.">PCOS may have infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods</a> or excess male hormone (androgen) levels. The ovaries may develop numerous small collections of fluid (follicles) and fail to regularly release eggs. A 2019 study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research found that the prevalence of PCOS could be as high as 22.5% i.e., more than one in every five women, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6902362/">in a city like Mumbai</a>. Of course, it varied widely from one region to another. The study concluded that the data available from around the country was limited. SEE ALSO- <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/reliance-retail-the-cash-cow-for-mukesh-ambanis-ril-may-be-hit-by-the-second-wave-of-the-pandemic/articleshow/84644924.cms">Reliance Retail, the cash cow for Mukesh Ambani’s RIL, may be hit by the second wave of the pandemic</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/zomato-paytm-sony-liv-disneyhotstar-down-as-massive-internet-outage-sweeps-across-many-countries/articleshow/84653441.cms">Zomato, Paytm, Sony LIV, Disney+Hotstar back up after glitch takes down internet</a>

A Wharton MBA grad and a former GSK exec’s healthcare startup raises $3 million to reach more PCOS patients

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/golden-age-gig-work-instacart-doordash-delivery-jobs-over-2023-12">gig economy</a> is expanding beyond delivery and rideshare.</li><li>One example is Shiftsmart, an app that lets workers pick up one-off shifts at a host of employers.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a worker in South Carolina who worked for Shiftsmart, an app that allows workers to pick up shifts for various employers, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-layoffs">Google</a>, Subway, and USPS.The worker worked for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/circle-k-green-thumb-industries-weed-florida-gas-stations-2022-10">Circle K</a> and Parker's Kitchen, a South Carolina-based chain of convenience stores and gas stations, by claiming shifts through Shiftsmart.The worker asked not to be named for fear of retaliation at work. Business Insider has verified the worker's identity and employment. The story has been edited for length and clarity.I am homeless, and gig work is pretty much the only thing that kept me above water.I started with Shiftsmart last year. I needed a way to make extra money, and a friend turned me on to it. I signed up.I would go to Circle K and work as a cleaner and merchandiser. To start a four-hour shift, I would show up, contact the manager, and let them know that I'm here to assist with whatever they need.They would put you on certain tasks: Mopping up the floor, cleaning the bathrooms, restocking, just different odd jobs they need to take care of.There were a whole bunch of other jobs that I could've gotten on Shiftsmart, like a mystery shopper, but most of them were 50 miles away — an hour's drive. You could take them, but then you're out the time and gas money.If shifts sit unclaimed for too long, they'll entice you by raising the pay. The other day, I went in and worked a little over four hours. The estimated pre-tax earnings would've been $57.17 with a $50 bonus because nobody wanted to pick up that shift.The bonus will start at $10, for example, then they'll raise it up to $20, then they'll raise it up to $30, and so on until somebody takes that shift. You get paid between 24 and 48 hours after the shift, in my experience.What's funny is that one of the managers for this Circle K location I worked at through Shiftsmart noticed that I was working hard and said, "Hey, are you doing this just for side money, or are you looking for a full-time job? I would love to hire you." So, I decided to take her up on it and start working there full-time.Shiftsmart itself has technical issues. Once, I was missing just over $1 of my pay. I had to go in through the app and submit a request. They sometimes correct it, but sometimes you won't hear anything from them. I'm not going to keep going after somebody for $1.17, but that adds up over the scale of thousands of people who could be experiencing the same thing that I am.It also uses a ranking system. They have a "reliability" score, which is how often you actually show up to shifts and how often you cancel shifts with at least 24 hours' notice. They also have an "on-time" score. That goes down if you are late to work, of course, but if you show up 30 minutes or more early and clock in, then your time will also go down.I realized that, at the pay rate Shiftsmart and Circle K were offering, it was putting me further into a hole financially. I don't know the exact numbers, but Shiftsmart has to be getting paid by Circle K whenever someone takes a shift. As an employee, I can make more money, and I don't have to deal with the same rankings and compete for shifts.I'm just cutting out the middleman, in other words.If you're going to get into gig work, by all means, do your hustle and try to survive, but don't get stuck in it. Understand that these types of gig jobs are not for all people. If somebody gets hurt on the job, they're not covered by workers compensation. I'm not sure I'd do it again.Shiftsmart did not respond to a request for comment from BI.Are you a gig worker and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com

A millennial who used a gig app to work in retail explains why he's never using it again

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vlad Tenev is the cofounder and CEO of Robinhood, an app that makes it possible for anyone to buy and sell stocks.</li><li>It became a major tool retail traders used to pump up the stock of GameStop.</li></ul>The new movie "Dumb Money" follows the main players responsible for the GameStop stock surge in 2021. In an unprecedented event in trading, retail traders fueled by the subreddit r/WallStreetBets collectively raised the stock so high that it was eventually trading at a whopping $483 per share, leading regular people like <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-is-keith-gill-now-dumb-money-movie-gamestop-2023-9">Keith Gill</a>, played by Paul Dano in the movie, to gain millions while costing some hedge funds to lose billions.The David versus Goliath event had never been seen on Wall Street before and birthed the phrase "meme stock." The event was made possible by Robinhood, an investing app created by Baiju Bhatt and Vlad Tenev that allows users to buy stock with a simple swipe of a finger.In the lead-up to the GameStop short squeeze, Robinhood CEO Tenev was a billionaire and on the verge of launching an IPO.But then the unprecedented surge happened. Suddenly, r/WallStreetBets was shut down, and tons of retail traders were selling their shares, believing the stock had hit its peak. But while users were trying to cash in on their millions, Robinhood didn't have the collateral to pay out their clients. So, as the movie depicts, Robinhood shut down the trading for GameStop in a panic.Tenev, who is played by Sebastian Stan in the movie, faced criticism for the decision and Robinhood was hit with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/robinhood-must-face-us-market-manipulation-claims-over-meme-stock-rally-judge-2022-08-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dozens of lawsuits</a> accusing the company of market manipulation.A month after halting the trading in 2021, Tenev <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/testimony-of-vlad-tenev-ceo-of-robinhood/e75581fb-2849-4fdc-b8cc-0e193c554998/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified before the United States House Committee on Financial Services</a> and came under fire for not providing clear answers to a number of questions.<div type="image" title="Vlad Tenev, CEO and Co-Founder, Robinhood in his office on July 15, 2021 in Menlo Park, California." height="2462" width="3990" msid="104072165" hostid="261" sizebytes="397944"></div><h2>Vlad Tenev says 'Dumb Money' is all 'fiction'</h2>Since the madness of GameStop, Tenev has pushed forward with Robinhood. He is still the company's CEO and is trying to distance the company from its association with what happened in 2021 by offering new features to the app like retirement options and 24-hour trading.In a recent interview with the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/can-robinhood-reinvent-investing-again-ceo-vlad-tenev-is-betting-on-it/4A7DADD1-7D18-4C47-A23B-9C84FFAD7893" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wall Street Journal</a>, Tenev said he has not seen "Dumb Money" and was never contacted about it. But he has some thoughts on it."Having a movie created that has Robinhood featured is I think a really important testament to the impact we've had," he said. "But you have to remember, the movie's fiction and nobody talked to us about it so I'm expecting it to be a fictional account."However, there are some truths the movie highlights that can't be disputed.<div type="image" title="Baiju Bhatt Vlad Tenev Cindy Ord on the stock exchange" height="3166" width="4749" msid="104072166" hostid="261" sizebytes="363960"></div><h2>Did Robinhood really have the worst IPO debut ever of its size?</h2>Yes. As the movie notes in a title card at the end, when Robinhood launched its IPO in the summer of 2021, it had the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-29/robinhood-flirts-with-worst-debut-ever-for-ipo-of-its-size#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worst debut ever for one of its size</a>.On the first date of trading, the stock fell 8.4% ending the day at $34 a share. Robinhood's market capitalization was around $29 billion by the time trading closed that first day. Its anticipated valuation was at $35 billion.Robinhood had the worst opening-day performance on record among 51 US companies that raised as much cash as Robinhood or more.<div type="image" title="Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev stands in front of a window overlooking New York City." height="3024" width="4032" msid="104072167" hostid="261" sizebytes="620128"></div><h2>Is Vlad Tenev no longer a billionaire?</h2>The end of "Dumb Money" states that he's lost his billionaire status, which is true. Since Robinhood went public, its stock fell 60% by January 2022, down to $14 a share.Tenev's net worth is $845 million as of 2022, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2022/01/19/robinhoods-struggles-continue-its-cofounders-are-no-longer-billionaires-shares-down-60-since-ipo/?sh=cba00b3362f9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Forbes</a>. At its peak, his worth was $4.3 billion.

'Dumb Money' shows how Vlad Tenev's Robinhood investing app fueled the GameStop stock frenzy — here's where the former billionaire is now

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sandeep Rao is a software engineer who has worked at Meta, Apple, and Oracle. </li><li>When he first started his career as a new graduate, his compensation was only $15,000.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sandeep Rao, a 32-year-old software engineer based in San Jose, California. Business Insider has verified his income with documentation. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.My salary journey in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-sabotages-new-startups-businesses-coopting-disruption-2024-3">Big Tech</a> has seen my total compensation — which includes base salary, bonuses, and stocks — increase from $15,000 in 2012 to $685,000 in 2024.I'm a staff software engineer and have worked at three different tech companies, moving from Oracle to Apple to Meta. Over my career, I've led the development of successful software apps and features from scratch that are used every day by millions of people across the world.While I have made my career moves primarily based on which areas of software engineering I'd get to work on, compensation is also important to me, so I've been strategic and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/script-for-asking-raise-higher-salary-andrea-owen-2021-10">negotiated for higher salaries</a> with each move.Tech companies use tools like additional equity to retain high-performing employees. In my experience, if you're consistently a top performer at your organization, it's certainly possible to keep your pay at or above market level and have a rewarding career within your company.<h2>I took a low-paying job to get my foot in the door</h2>While I got my <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/high-paying-college-majors-six-figures-salary-engineering-college-graduates-2024-4">undergraduate degree in electrical engineering</a>, I realized midway through college that software engineering was my passion and pivoted to pursue a career in software instead.My first job was as a software developer at Oracle in India. While Oracle isn't generally low-paying in the tech industry, my salary of 850,000 rupees, or $15,000, was low compared to what new grads were making at that time in competing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-salaries-what-you-make-google-apple-amazon-meta-ibm">Big Tech companies like Microsoft or Amazon</a> because it was a "take it or leave it" new grad offer.The work was unappealing to me because it didn't align with my career interests — I didn't want to continue building expertise in that specific area of software engineering — but I took it to get my foot in the door of a Big Tech company and build credibility.I knew I eventually wanted to end up where all the action is — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-history-technology-industry-animated-timeline-video-2017-5">Silicon Valley</a>. I worked at Oracle from 2012 to 2014, and during this time, I applied to graduate schools in the US because I felt a formal computer science degree would help me compete with the talented people in the Valley.I got accepted into a graduate program in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I left behind my family and friends in India and moved to the US with nothing but a suitcase and $65,000 in student debt.Grad school was hard, but the doors it opened for me made the struggle worth it.<h2>I was ecstatic to get a job at Apple</h2>I finished grad school and got a job as a software engineer at Apple in Cupertino, California, where my base salary was $115,000.I was ecstatic to work at one of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-surpasses-amazon-as-worlds-most-valuable-brand-2021-1">best companies in the world</a> and felt my dreams were coming true. But I realized I wanted to work on more direct user-facing applications rather than on technology that ran under the hood.Initially, I considered looking for new opportunities within Apple, but between high taxes, the high cost of living, and my student loans, I felt more compelled to switch companies, given that I'd likely receive a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-trends-job-quitters-raises-double-labor-market-adp-august-2022-8">significant salary bump</a>.I had gotten a very small cost-of-living raise on my base salary at Apple, but it wasn't significant; not getting a bigger raise wasn't a big motivator in my decision to change companies, but it certainly made my choice easier.<h2>My negotiation skills helped me get a 10% salary increase</h2>At the end of 2017, I moved to Meta (then Facebook) in Menlo Park, California. I wanted to experience the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-best-place-to-work-in-america-2017-12">culture of younger internet-based companies</a> whose products are used by billions of people.When I received my offer, I did my research to get a clear understanding of what my market value was and what salary I wanted to land on. I also learned what parts of my total compensation are negotiable, such as stocks and the sign-on bonus, and what is non-negotiable, like base salary and annual bonuses.I was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pay-job-salary-resesarch-bonus-compensation-negotiation-2023-9">prepared to negotiate</a> and walked away with an offer of $140,000, which was 10% more than their original offer.In 2021, I landed a large-scale project at Meta that added a lot of value to the Messenger app and worked with several cross-functional teams across engineering, design, data science, and legal.My accomplishments, such as this one, and high performance at work got me the promotions, visibility, and leverage to negotiate for higher pay and a successful salary journey.Every year between 2018 to 2023, my base salary increased — as did my total compensation — through a combination of performance-based yearly stock refreshers, additional boosts from promotions, and stock market appreciation.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/entry-level-engineers-salary-pay-meta-google-tech-amazon-blind-2023-8">Compensation in a tech career</a> usually gets more and more equity-heavy than salary-heavy, so base salaries don't increase as quickly as equity, but my salary and total annual compensation steadily rose:<h3>Oracle</h3><ul><li>2012-2014: $15,000 total compensation</li></ul><h3>Grad School</h3><ul><li>2014-2016: $0 total compensation</li><li>Student loan debt: $65,000</li></ul><h3>Apple</h3><ul><li>2016: $130,000 total compensation</li><li>2017: $165,000 total compensation</li></ul><h3>Meta</h3><ul><li>2018: $230,000 total compensation</li><li>2019: $240,000 total compensation</li><li>2020: $350,000 total compensation (promotion)</li><li>2021: $510,000 total compensation</li><li>2022: $375,000 total compensation (promotion, but total compensation dropped due to stock price drop)</li><li>2023: $545,000 total compensation</li></ul>In 2024, I'm projected to make $685,000 through a combination of base salary, bonuses, and stock.<h2>Five strategies for increasing my compensation package</h2>Over the years, I learned five salary strategies that helped me grow my salary and overall compensation:<h3>1. Always do your homework about market rates for your role, level, and location — especially when you switch jobs.</h3><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/great-resignation-reshuffle-job-switching-inflation-salary-raise-gas-employment-2022-9">Switching jobs</a> is a good way to increase your income.Even if money may not be the primary motivator for a job switch, I always make sure to be conscious and strategic about my compensation by doing salary research to avoid leaving any money on the table.When I started doing salary research during my switch to Meta, I found out my market value was much higher than what I was making at Apple at that time. This helped me start my negotiations with Meta at the market rate rather than the salary I was making.I used <a target="_blank" href="http://levels.fyi">Levels.fyi</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blind-how-does-it-work-anonymous-workplace-app-2022-11">Blind</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-large-companies-to-work-for-jobs-hiring-glassdoor-list-2024-1">Glassdoor</a> to find salary information and clearly understand my market value. Keep yourself updated on these benchmarks even if you don't plan on a job change anytime soon, so you know you're on par with the market, and any salary difference is offset by other factors such as better work-life balance.<h3>2. Never let your bad salary "baggage" carry over to your new job.</h3>If your salary isn't up to market standards right now, don't let it affect your pay at the next job. Otherwise, it'll lead to a cycle where you'll be underpaid for the rest of your career.Employers and recruiters could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-administration-wants-close-wage-gap-more-pay-transparency-2024-1">use your salary history</a> to give you only a modest raise, while your actual market value could easily be double or triple your most recent salary.In California, labor laws make it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/california_equal_pay_act.htm">illegal for employers</a> to ask you about your current salary and salary history. You're also allowed to ask potential employers for the pay range for the position you're applying for.If your state has similar protections, just being aware of this law can help you make any corrections to your pay during negotiations. This helped me start offer negotiations from my market value instead of my current pay.<h3>3. Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith to make that 10x impact on your career.</h3>That could involve <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-switch-careers-tech-entry-jobs-developer-software-engineer-2022-5">switching from a non-tech job to a tech job</a> or taking a short-term hit for long-term gain. For example, I picked Oracle for my first job despite the low pay and unappealing work so I could build credibility to get into a Tier 1 grad school.I also took a loan of about $65,000 to pay for Carnegie Mellon, even though I could have chosen to go to a cheaper public university.Deciding to work at Oracle and attend Carnegie Mellon cost me a few years and a lot of debt, but doing so opened doors unlike anything else, and I haven't looked back ever since.<h3>4. Negotiate to keep your base salary from falling behind</h3>It's inevitable for your salary to fall behind as you stay longer at a company, especially in tech due to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-it-means-to-be-offered-stock-options-2015-11">restricted stock unit (RSU) "cliffs."</a>Most RSU packages offered to new employees in the tech industry have a two- to four-year vesting period. Unless the employer offers a significant pay bump along the way, total compensation usually takes a drop after this vesting period. Many companies also offer annual performance-based stock refreshers to lower this salary gap, but they're usually not as large as the initial grant. If you love working at your company and feel forced to move just to get a raise, you can ask your senior leadership to make a "correction." After all, it's much more expensive and time-consuming for employers to hire new people than to retain good employees.Most Big Tech companies have employee retention programs like additional or discretionary equity. Additional equity programs are mainly used to retain high-performing employees, so they're usually highly selective.This is how I was able to keep my compensation at or above market level despite spending six years at Meta. When I was reaching the end of my vesting period in my fourth year, I had a conversation with my senior leadership to see if there was any room for a pay correction so I could go back to focusing on my work 100% without worrying about salary.Being prepared with my predicted compensation drop and market data greatly helped me build a cogent narrative going in. If you're consistently a top performer at your organization, it's certainly possible to keep your pay at or above market level and have a rewarding career within your company.<h3>5. Don't assume people will reward your work or anticipate your needs — ask.</h3><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/achieve-your-goals-be-proactive-have-clarity-ask-for-help-2022-1">Always ask for what you want</a>, whether it's a raise or that interesting project that just came in. The worst that will happen is you'll get a "no." If you don't ask, nobody will know, or even worse, people may assume that you're happy with what you have and move on. I used this strategy when I heard of a new company initiative and asked to be a founding engineer because I was looking to create more impact in my role. Despite the high risk and ambiguity involved, I successfully delivered on the projects, which eventually led to a promotion. None of this would've been possible if I hadn't asked. At the end of the day, you're your biggest advocate when it comes to your salary and career journey. There's no substitute for hard work, but being strategic about how you achieve your goals can go a long way. Sometimes, you have to take big risks and step out of your comfort zone to get that high-paying dream job.If you want to share your career progression and salary journey, email Jane Zhang at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:janezhang@businessinsider.com">janezhang@businessinsider.com</a>.

Here's how much money I made as a software engineer at Meta, Apple, and Oracle

Hello, readers. It's Hallam Bullock here, reporting from London. As the proud owner of a delightful cat (she's a British Shorthair), I am baffled by a worker's decision to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clearlink-ceo-comments-remote-employees-open-laptops-parents-productivity-report-2023-4">sell their family dog</a> in order to meet expectations at work. More baffling still, is that their CEO, James Clarke of Clearlink, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clearlink-ceo-comments-remote-employees-open-laptops-parents-productivity-report-2023-4">appeared to laud the sacrifice</a>. In a video posted by Vice, Clarke addressed Clearlink's return-to-office mandate and said that many of his remote workers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clearlink-ceo-comments-remote-employees-open-laptops-parents-productivity-report-2023-4">didn't open their laptops for a month</a>.I'm curious where you stand on this story. Would you ever consider selling your family pet to make more time for work? Let me know: <a href="mailto:hbullock@insider.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hbullock@insider.com</a>. Now, I've curated our five top stories in tech for you. (Yes, I'm afraid it isn't the usual 10, but I thought today I would keep things short and sweet — like my cat.)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" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-therapy-mental-health-apps-betterhelp-talkspace-cerebral-dark-side-2023-4"></a>1. Online therapy fills a critical need — but it has a dark side. You may recall a Politico investigation last year that explained how Loris, a startup that helps companies improve their customer-service conversations, found a way to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-therapy-mental-health-apps-betterhelp-talkspace-cerebral-dark-side-2023-4">make money off of people caught in a mental-health emergency</a>. <ul><li>The data Loris used to create its "empathetic" software was generated from text conversations with people in distress, sourced from Loris' parent company, Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit suicide-prevention hotline.</li><li>The Politico story sparked outrage, but in the past year, a flurry of reports have found that some of the most recognizable names in the industry have repeatedly engaged in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-therapy-mental-health-apps-betterhelp-talkspace-cerebral-dark-side-2023-4">creepy and harmful data-sharing practices</a>.</li><li>The reports reveal a dangerous cocktail of tech solutionism, abuse of consumer trust, and regulatory failure that puts highly vulnerable people at risk.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-therapy-mental-health-apps-betterhelp-talkspace-cerebral-dark-side-2023-4">Read the full story</a>. Top tech stories of the week:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tried-to-make-openai-the-furthest-thing-from-google-2023-4"></a><div type="image" title="Elon Musk and Larry Page" height="1438" width="1917" msid="99692541" hostid="261" sizebytes="111130"></div> 2. OpenAI only exists because Elon Musk had a disagreement with Larry Page. That is, however, according to Musk, who told Tucker Carlson that the two tech billionaires disagreed on safety and regulation. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tried-to-make-openai-the-furthest-thing-from-google-2023-4">How it resulted in the current AI arms race</a>. 3. An entrepreneur used ChatGPT to build and sell a product for thousands. Three weeks ago, Ihor Stefurak used ChatGPT to build a Chrome extension in 10 hours. A week ago, he sold it and used the money to buy a house. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-i-built-chrome-extension-sold-acquire-thousands-2023-4">Here's how he did it</a>. 4. The real reason bosses are freaked out by remote work: they think it's for "sissies." Insider's Aki Ito broke down why so many CEOs are ordering everyone back to the office — and part of it is because they see the home as "the woman's domain." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-return-to-office-sexism-women-bosses-employees-2023-4">Read the full story</a>. 5. Inside the rise and fall of Larry Page's flying-car company. Workers at Kittyhawk once felt that "success was all but assured." But former employees said the bold mission found itself torn between the conflicting visions and shifting priorities of its billionaire founder and his handpicked CEO. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-kittyhawk-google-founder-billionaire-larry-page-flying-car-company-2023-4">How Kittyhawk came crashing down</a>. Today's team: Hallam Bullock and Shona Ghosh in London, Lisa Ryan in New York.

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