Latest news with #FutureofEverything
Business Insider
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Business Insider names Kim Last Editorial Director of BI Live
Business Insider welcomes Kim Last as Editorial Director of BI Live, the new events business that translates its award-winning journalism to global audiences through interactive event formats. In this role, Last will develop and curate a slate of events that bring Business Insider's unique editorial voice to life. The move is part of Business Insider's commitment to engage its audience by translating content into experiences that spark dialogue and drive value for decision makers. BI Live will focus on in-person, interactive events that showcase the best of Business Insider's reporting across core coverage in business, technology, and innovation. Last will co-lead the initiative alongside Priscilla Ellington, Vice President of BI Live. Last joins Business Insider from The Wall Street Journal, where she most recently served as Head of Live Journalism and Special Content. At the Journal, Last expanded the Future of Everything event franchise and played a pivotal role in driving the publication's live journalism efforts globally. Prior to the Journal, she held critical roles in conference development at Vox Media, including Recode, and at Fast Company, she launched the inaugural Fast Company Innovation Festival. "Kim is an innovative and inspiring journalist, colleague, and leader. We are so fortunate that she will help Business Insider build this critical new format for our journalism. Her vision and deep editorial expertise will drive the exciting future of BI Live," said Business Insider Editor in Chief Jamie Heller. "I'm incredibly excited to join Business Insider's new live events business. There's tremendous opportunity to not only build distinctive event franchises that engage and grow BI's audience across the business, tech, and innovation verticals, but also the chance to create live journalism that goes well beyond the spaces where we convene. I'm especially looking forward to working in the newsroom to help develop BI's journalists into dynamic, insightful live interviewers who can bring their expertise to life on stage," said Last.
Business Insider
11-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Qantas is pulling the plug on Jetstar Asia — and 500 jobs
Qantas is shutting down Jetstar Asia, its Singapore-based budget carrier, blaming rising operating costs and a crowded market. The budget airline will cease operations on July 31 after more than two decades. Jetstar Asia will continue flights until then on a "progressively reduced schedule," Qantas said in a statement on Wednesday. "Despite delivering exceptional customer service and operational reliability, Jetstar Asia has been impacted by rising supplier costs, high airport fees, and intensified competition in the region," the Australian company said. Jetstar Asia flies 16 routes from Singapore to destinations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka, and Australia. Jetstar operations in Australia, New Zealand and Japan will not be affected. Customers booked on canceled flights will be offered full refunds, and Qantas will try to move them to other airlines where possible. The shutdown will also result in the loss of more than 500 jobs, a Jetstar Asia spokesperson told Business Insider. Affected employees will be given redundancy benefits and assistance with other roles within Qantas and other airlines. Qantas added that 13 Jetstar Asia Airbus A320 aircraft will be progressively redirected to Australia and New Zealand. Qantas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Competition among budget carriers in Southeast Asia was "brutal," Alan Tan, a professor specializing in aviation law at the National University of Singapore's Law School, told Business Insider. "The departure is a great loss from the viewpoint of price and service competition for travellers," he said. Virgin Australia IPO The closure comes on the same day that Virgin Australia announced its intention to list on the stock market in Sydney on June 24. The shares will be priced at A$2.90, raising A$685 million and valuing the company at A$2.3 billion. The IPO will allow some existing investors, including Bain Capital, Qatar Airways Group, and the Virgin Group, to realize part of their holdings. Investors participating in the offer are expected to hold about 30% of shares on issue, with the remainder being held by existing investors. Virgin carries about 20 million passengers a year on more than 100 aircraft. It operates 76 routes to 38 destinations across its domestic and short-haul international airline business. From next week it will start long-haul international services between Australia and Doha in partnership with Qatar Airways, which has a 25% stake in Virgin. Budget model is 'dead' United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby earlier this month criticized the budget airline model and called it "crappy." He told the "Future of Everything" event that the low-cost carrier model was "dead." "The model was screw the customer," he said. "It was like trick people, get them to buy, and get them to come, and then charge them a whole bunch of fees that they aren't expecting … disclosures buried in legalese," he continued. "Their problem is they got big enough that they needed repeat customers. They don't get them." His comments came the same day that United announced a new partnership with JetBlue, which some consider to be a budget carrier.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From Calvin Klein Icon To Founder: Brooke Shields Launches Commence At 59, Raises $3.5M And Says 'It Is So Not For The Meek Of Heart'
Actor and model Brooke Shields entered the beauty startup scene at age 59 with the launch of Commence, a haircare brand designed for women over 40. The company debuted its first three products in June 2024 and secured $3.5 million in funding from outside investors to support the launch, Forbes reports. Shields made the announcement during The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything event in New York City, where she described the experience of becoming a founder later in life as 'so not for the meek of heart.' She also shared how the journey has pushed her in new ways, saying, 'I never thought I'd be a CEO.' Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Commence targets a demographic often overlooked by mainstream beauty brands, namely women navigating midlife changes such as menopause and aging hair textures, CNBC reports. According to Forbes, Shields launched an online community during the pandemic to connect with women over 40 and discovered recurring concerns around thinning hair, scalp dryness, and gray hair management. The brand's initial lineup includes a $21 dry shampoo, a $26 leave-in conditioner, and a $30 thickening root serum, Forbes reports. To bring her vision to life, Shields assembled a team that includes Karla De Bernardo, known for her marketing work with Macy's (NYSE:M), and Mark Knitowski, a former fragrance and product expert at Victoria's Secret (NYSE:VSCO). Rather than building a brand centered around her personal image, Shields told the Journal that she opted to keep her name off the product labels. 'The products have to speak for themselves,' she said, reinforcing her commitment to long-term brand independence. Trending: Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. While raising capital, Shields said that she encountered skepticism from some venture capitalists who questioned her entry into an already saturated beauty space. One investor told her she would likely fail, prompting her response: "I'm not here for your opinion, I'm here for your money." Although the investor passed on the opportunity, Shields told the Journal that she was proud of herself for speaking up and standing her ground. 'We'll go back to pitch him again,' she added. According to a January report by Beauty Matter referenced by Shields, Gen Xers spend an estimated $279 billion annually on beauty and personal care, with forecasts projecting that number to reach $430 billion over the next said she saw an opportunity to serve a demographic she felt was overlooked by existing beauty brands, according to the Journal. She was included in Fortune's 50 Over 50 list, which celebrates entrepreneurs, scientists, and changemakers redefining what achievement looks like in later stages of life, Forbes reports. Shields doesn't sugarcoat what it takes to build something from the ground up. 'I would tell someone, just don't give up,' she told the Journal. 'You've got to just be avaricious, and if you start doubting, just do something that absolutely stops you and keep moving forward. Be ready to pivot and be ready to surround yourself with the best talent that you can find to support the whole team.' Commence is still in its early days, but Shields is clear about where she wants to take it. She's building toward something lasting that reflects the needs, identity, and buying power of a group that's been ignored so far. Read Next: Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target – UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? MACY'S (M): Free Stock Analysis Report This article From Calvin Klein Icon To Founder: Brooke Shields Launches Commence At 59, Raises $3.5M And Says 'It Is So Not For The Meek Of Heart' originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
06-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Actor Brooke Shields: I started my first business at age 59, and it's 'not for the meek of heart'
At age 59, Brooke Shields added a new title to her resume: CEO. The longtime actor and model launched a haircare line called Commence, aimed at women over the age of 40, in June 2024 — and as a first-time startup founder and CEO, she was quickly humbled, she said on May 28 at The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything live event. "It is so not for the meek of heart," said Shields, now 60, adding: "Every step of the way you're just going, 'I can't believe I've done this." Shields recalled meeting with a venture capitalist in hopes that he'd invest in her startup, for example. He wasted no time telling her that she'd fail in the heavily saturated market of celebrity beauty brands, she said. "I said, 'You know what? I can stop you right there ... I'm not here for your opinion, I'm here for your money,'" said Shields. To her surprise, the gutsy move earned her some respect, she noted. And though he ultimately didn't give her any money — the business was too small — Shields said she was proud of herself for speaking up. "We'll go back [to pitch him again]," she a startup cost more money than Shields expected, so she raised roughly $3.5 million from outside investors to fund the launches of her company's first three products, Forbes reported on August 2. Similarly, at the Journal's event, she spoke about the unexpected skills you need to succeed as an entrepreneur — ones you might not know if you've never done it before. Building a strong team is only the start, she said: You need endurance and resilience to recover from setbacks, which will inevitably happen, and stand apart from your competitors. "You have to be really clear about your vision, your mission, and you have to really be clear that you can find a way to differentiate yourself," said Shields. Shields referred to Commence's target demographic as an example of a differentiating factor: As she aged, she noticed that her many of her peers felt like menopause and wrinkles made them feel less worthy as people, compared to when they were younger, she said. She saw an opening in the market. Gen Xers spend $279 billion per year on beauty goods, according to a January report. That number is expected to grow to $430 billion in the next 10 years, Shields said. Launching a startup is typically very challenging: Roughly 20% of new businesses fail within their first year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But don't let the belief that you've already peaked in life, or your doubts about succeeding, stop you from taking the risk, she advised. "I would tell someone, just don't give up," said Shields. "You've got to just be avaricious, and if you start doubting, just do something that absolutely stops you and keep moving forward. Be ready to pivot and be ready to surround yourself [with] the best [talent] that you can find to support the whole team." Successful entrepreneurs including Mark Cuban and Jeff Bezos have given similar advice over the years. "View setbacks as helpful obstacles that drive learning," Bezos wrote in an October 2021 social media post. "Whatever your goals are, don't give up no matter how hard it gets." ,
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Digg's founders explain how they're building a site for humans in the AI era
The rebooted version of social site Digg aims to bring back the spirit of the old web at a time when AI-generated content is threatening to overwhelm traditional social media platforms, drowning out the voices of real people. This presents an opportunity to build a social site for the AI era, where the people who create content and manage online communities are given a bigger stake in a platform's success, Digg's founders think. A Web 2.0-era news aggregation giant, Digg was once valued at $175 million at its height back in 2008 and is now being given new life under the direction of its original founder, Kevin Rose, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The two recently teamed up to announce a new vision for Digg, which will focus on enabling discovery and community, the way that the early internet once allowed for. Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything conference on Thursday, the founders offered more insight as to how they plan to accomplish that goal with the Digg reboot. Initially, the two touched on problems they encountered in the earlier days of social media, with Ohanian recalling how he chose to resign from Reddit's board over disagreements about the company's approach to hate speech that he felt was bad for society and the business. For instance, the company was allowing a forum on Reddit called "r/WatchPeopleDie" to continue operating up until the Christchurch mass shooting, which caught the attention of the media, he said. It was only then that Reddit decided to adjust its policies around violence and gore on the platform. After Reddit, Ohanian went on to found venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, where he says he's focused on building businesses that are more "values-aligned." He said he sees Digg as another step in that direction. Rose reflected on the early days of machine learning, where the technology was often used to reward posts on which people would rant about the "most obscure, kind of fringe-y weirdness," he said. "Sometimes that can be good, but oftentimes it's pushing really weird agendas. And that's not even getting into the whole bot and AI side of things that are also pushing those agendas," Rose said. With Digg, the founders want to create a new community focused on serving real people, not AI or bots, they said. "I've long subscribed to the 'dead internet theory,'" Ohanian said, referencing the idea that much of what we see online is not created by actual humans, but bots. Ten years ago, this was more of a conspiracy theory, but with the rise of AI, that's changed, he said. "Probably in the last few years -- since we've blown past the Turing test -- [the dead internet theory] is a very real thing." "I think the average person has no idea just how much of the content they consume on social media, if it's not an outright bot, is a human using AI in the loop to generate that content at scale, to manipulate and evade," he added. To address the rise of bots, the founders are looking toward new technology, like zero-knowledge proofs (aka zk proofs), a protocol used in cryptography that could be used to prove that someone owns something on a platform. They're envisioning communities where admins could turn the dials, so to speak, to verify that a poster is human before allowing them to join the conversation. "The world is going to be flooded with bots, with AI agents," Rose pointed out, and that could infiltrate communities where people are trying to make genuine human connections. Something like this recently occurred on Reddit, where researchers secretly used AI bots to pose as real people on a forum to test how AI could influence human opinion. "We are going to live in a world where the vast, vast majority of the content we're seeing is in … some shape or form, AI-generated, and it is a terrible user experience if the reason you're coming to a place is for authentic human connection, and it's not with humans -- or it's with people masquerading as humans," Ohanian said. He explained that there are a number of ways that social sites could test to see if someone is a person. For instance, if someone has owned their device for a longer period of time, that could add more weight to their comment, he suggested. Rose said that the site could also offer different levels of service, based on how likely someone was to be human. If you signed up with a throw-away email address and used a VPN, for example, then maybe you would only be able to get recommendations or engage in some simpler ways. Or if you were anonymous and typed in a comment too quickly, the site could then ask you to take an extra step to prove your humanity -- like verifying your phone number or even charging you a small fee if the number you provided was disposable, Rose said. "There's going to be these tiers that we do, based on how you want to engage and interact with the actual network itself," he confirmed. However, the founders stressed they're not anti-AI. They expect to use AI to help in areas like site moderation, including de-escalating situations where someone starts to stir up trouble. In addition to verifying humans, the founders envision a service where moderators and creators financially benefit from their efforts. "I do believe the days of unpaid moderation by the masses -- doing all the heavy lifting to create massive, multi-million-person communities -- has to go away. I think these people are putting in their life and soul into these communities, and for them not to be compensated in some way is ridiculous to me. And so we have to figure out a way to bring them along for the ride," Rose said. As one example, he pointed to how Reddit trademarked the term "WallStreetBets," which is the name of a forum created by a Reddit user. Instead, Rose thinks a company should help creators like this who add value to a community, not try to take ownership of their work as Reddit did. With the combination of improved user experience and a model that empowers creators to monetize their work, the founders think Digg itself will benefit. "I want to believe the business model that will make Digg successful is one that aligns all those stakeholders. And I think it is very, very possible," Ohanian said. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
