Latest news with #Grit
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business
- Business Insider
TripAdvisor cofounder says he sometimes gets ghosted on LinkedIn now that he's no longer CEO
It turns out even CEOs can be left on read — especially if they're no longer running a household name company. Steve Kaufer cofounded TripAdvisor in 2000. Over his 22 years at the company, Kaufer sold his company for $212 million to IAC, navigated it through the 2005 Expedia spin-off and 2011 spin-off into a standalone public company, and built up a workforce of over 3,000 employees. In 2022, Kaufer stepped down as CEO. Nowadays, Kaufer told the Grit podcast that one unexpected reality of leaving such a high-profile position is that some people don't return his LinkedIn messages. "I laugh at it sometimes when I reach out to someone on LinkedIn and I get ghosted," Kaufer said. "I'm like, 'Wow, that that didn't used to happen to me, but okay, get used to your new life.'" Losing the trappings of being CEO of a publicly traded company didn't bother Kaufer, though he did think they "would have carried over a little bit more." Kaufer wasn't an especially public-facing CEO. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Kaufer has yet to publish a book or join a slew of Big Tech boards. On the podcast, Kaufer said he intentionally kept a lower profile. "I enjoyed solving the real business problems and I'd be out on stage or speaking gigs where I genuinely thought the publicity for the company was helpful," Kaufer said. "I don't miss it." Grit interviewer Joubin Mirzadegan asked Kaufer what the biggest downside of the job was. Kaufer said that it wasn't having to do quarterly earnings calls or being in the public eye — it was the scale. "I felt very responsible for the success of the company, for the 3,000 people," Kaufer said. Under Kaufer, TripAdvisor faced stiff competition from Google. Google Flights launched in 2011, the same year TripAdvisor spun off into its own private company. In 2016, Google launched a standalone travel app, which it has since shuttered. Kaufer said that Google's travel play put the company in a "challenging place." Before starting TripAdvisor, Kaufer co-founded and led engineering for Centerline Software. The company never scaled to the size of TripAdvisor, and eventually, Kaufer and his fellow owners split the company and sold half. Kaufer remembered his work at Centerline Software fondly, as well as the early days of running TripAdvisor. "Smaller companies just move faster," Kaufer said. "It was time for me to give up the seat to somebody who enjoyed figuring out how to move the company quicker, how to communicate to the entire company about the need for the speed." Kaufer's own speediness, he said, was more "startup cowboy." Now, Kaufer is CEO of Give Freely, an automatic coupon finder that allows users to support their favorite charities while shopping online. The company is small, as Kaufer intended. When TripAdvisor colleagues asked what he would do after leaving, Kaufer had a clear response: "I don't know, but it's going to start off as a one-person company or a 20-person company," he said. "I just want to start where I can get back to the days where I know everyone's name," Kaufer said. "It's a real small, effective team with all the agility that comes with that."
Chicago Tribune
21 hours ago
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
13th annual Northwestern Medicine Lake Bluff Criterium sees over 500 Cyclists compete on Saturday
Under the threat of rain, over 500 racers took part in the 13th annual Northwestern Medicine Lake Bluff Criterium in downtown Lake Bluff on Saturday, for an all-day racing event from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. The Northwestern Medicine Lake Bluff Criterium was the ninth race in the Chicago Grit 10-race series, offering courses across greater Chicagoland, from West Dundee to Winfield, Elgin, and Fulton Market in Chicago, and taking place over 10 consecutive days. 'Lake Bluff not only provides a bucolic backdrop for Saturday's race, but this is a town where residents rally around their public events, like the block party tradition which takes place on the Village Green in tandem with the Criterium,' Drew Irvin, administrator for the Village of Lake Bluff, said. Saturday's full-day racing lineup featured 9 pro and amateur men's and women's bicycle races with cyclists from more than 42 states and many foreign countries. 'Over the years, the Criterium brings thousands of cyclists and sporting enthusiasts into our town on race day, elevating exposure to our entertainment and business district, and giving little Lake Bluff a chance to showcase all it has to offer,' Irvin said. Jan Van Mieghem of Evanston says he is an avid racer with two sons in Saturday's first race, in the Men's Novice category. 'We've been watching the weather closely; the threat of rain can make the course more challenging, and if the corners get slick, it really increases the crash threat,' Van Mieghem said. Ron Oesterlein is co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Lake Bluff Criterium and owner of Lake Bluff Hub & Cycle. 'The Grit strength race is so exciting to watch, every 45 seconds or so, you can see 100 racers come past you – the racers just fly by,' Oesterlein said. Families were encouraged to join in the Criterium fun by participating in the Family Fun Ride, sponsored by Lake Forest Bank & Trust, Lake Bluff, at 6:15 p.m. on the pro racecourse. 'Biking really brings our community together, and the Family Fun race is a big deal for the kids because they get to experience a professionally run track, and the high energy of the crowd — quite a thrilling moment for them,' Oesterlein said. Oesterlein says Northwestern Medicine was the title sponsor and official healthcare provider for the Lake Bluff Criterium. 'We believe good health starts with strong, healthy communities and are hopeful that this world-class sporting event inspires our neighbors to lead more active, health-focused lifestyles.' Seamus Collins, president of Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, said in a news release. Northwestern Medicine also provided on-site healthcare professionals to care for racers and spectators in need of medical attention, all part of their first-aid station set up at the Lake Bluff Fire Station. In addition to Northwestern Medicine, title sponsor for the 13th consecutive year, other sponsors included: pace car sponsor Knauz Automotive Group, Lake Forest Bank & Trust, Lake Bluff; ULINE; Lake Forest Country Day School; DiVinci Painters; Pasquesi Home & Garden; and EJ's Place Restaurant. The Lake Bluff Crit Party took place on the Village Green from 4 until 8 p.m., featuring live music by the Nic Barnum Band, Lake Bluff food vendors Bangkok Tokyo and Duffer's Pub, plus the Sweet Memories ice cream truck. Craft beer from Nightshade and Dark's Pandemonium Brewery – with a special batch of IPA brewed just for the event called 'Drunk and in Charge of a Bicycle,' with a portion of the proceeds from beer sales donated to the Roberti Community House in Waukegan. Twenty-year-old Marcus Van Mieghem of Evanston took first place in the Men's Novice race. 'I learned early on how important it is to try and conserve energy during the race while staying among the group of lead racers,' Van Mieghem said. 'I prepared for the Criterium, with hard 20-minute training to build a strong base and build the stamina to take on the longer 30-minute course,' Van Mieghem added.
Geeky Gadgets
5 days ago
- Geeky Gadgets
5 Must-Have Open-Source Android Apps to Simplify Your Life
Finding the right Android apps that balance functionality, privacy, and efficiency can often feel overwhelming. Open source apps offer a transparent, customizable, and frequently ad-free alternative to proprietary software. These apps not only prioritize user privacy but also provide practical tools to streamline daily tasks and enhance productivity. In the video below from Enoch Boateng, you'll discover five exceptional open source Android applications that stand out for their utility, user-focused design, and privacy-conscious features. Watch this video on YouTube. Tomato: A Streamlined Pomodoro Timer If managing your time effectively is a priority, Tomato is a minimalist Pomodoro timer designed to help you stay focused. The app uses the Pomodoro Technique, breaking your work into manageable intervals—traditionally 25 minutes—followed by short breaks. However, the timer durations are fully customizable, allowing you to tailor the app to your specific workflow. Tomato also provides detailed productivity insights, including visual graphs that track your progress over time. Built with Material 3 design principles, its clean and modern interface ensures ease of use. With its focus on simplicity and transparency, Tomato is an excellent tool for boosting productivity without unnecessary distractions. Grit: Your All-in-One Task and Habit Tracker Grit combines task management and habit tracking into one cohesive platform, making it easier to stay organized and motivated. You can categorize tasks into areas such as personal, work, or health, making sure that your priorities are clearly defined. The habit-tracking feature includes a visual habit map, which helps you monitor progress and maintain consistency. The app also supports scheduled reminders, so you'll never miss a task or habit. Additionally, home screen widgets provide quick access to your daily goals, keeping everything you need at your fingertips. With its intuitive design and dual-purpose functionality, Grit is a valuable tool for anyone looking to stay organized and build positive habits. Momentum: Build Consistency with Ease Momentum is a habit tracker designed to help you establish and maintain routines effortlessly. Its straightforward interface includes features like a calendar view and streak tracking, which can motivate you to stick to your habits over time. The app also integrates an AI assistant that suggests habits based on your goals and provides timely prompts to keep you on track. Momentum prioritizes user privacy by offering offline functionality and local data storage, making sure your information remains secure. Whether you're adopting a new habit or breaking an old one, Momentum provides the tools and structure needed to succeed. Toolbox: A Versatile Utility App For users who value efficiency and versatility, Toolbox is an all-in-one utility app that offers a wide range of features. It includes tools such as a stopwatch, compass, text manipulation utilities, and encryption options. Developers will appreciate advanced features like SSH connections and HTTP utilities, while creative users can explore tools like a whiteboard, music analyzer, and random generators. Despite its extensive functionality, Toolbox remains lightweight and ad-free, making sure a smooth and seamless user experience. This app is an indispensable resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive, privacy-respecting toolkit to handle a variety of tasks. Thor App Manager: Take Control of Your Apps Thor App Manager is a powerful yet lightweight tool for managing your Android apps with precision. It offers advanced features such as batch installation and uninstallation, app freezing, and process termination. For rooted users, Thor unlocks additional system-level controls, including package editing and deeper app management capabilities. The app also provides tools for APK management and app data backup, making it an essential resource for users who frequently customize or experiment with their Android setup. Thor's focus on functionality and precision ensures that you can manage your apps confidently and efficiently. Enhance Your Android Experience with Open source Apps These five open source Android apps demonstrate the potential of transparent, privacy-focused software to deliver meaningful functionality. Whether you're looking to improve productivity with Tomato and Grit, build better habits with Momentum, access versatile tools with Toolbox, or gain advanced app control with Thor App Manager, these applications cater to a wide range of needs. By choosing open source solutions, you can enjoy a customizable, ad-free experience while maintaining control over your data and privacy. Take a look at other insightful guides from our broad collection that might capture your interest in Open source Android apps. Source & Image Credit: Enoch Boateng Filed Under: Android News, Guides Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
Business Insider
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Handshake's CEO says the AI training world is evolving from generalists to STEM experts getting paid over $125 an hour
A kitchen-table side hustle is on the cusp of requiring an advanced degree. The data annotation industry has paid hundreds of thousands of part-time contractors around the world to filter, rank, and train AI responses for the world's largest AI companies. Now, who does that contracting work is changing, according to one tech CEO. Garrett Lord, the CEO of job search and AI training platform Handshake, said the data annotation industry is moving from requiring generalists to needing highly specialized math and science experts. "Now these models have kind of sucked up the entirety of the entire corpus of the internet and every book and video," he said on an episode of the "Grit" podcast released on Monday. "They've gotten good enough where like generalists are no longer needed." Lord said that frontier AI labs need experts in areas like accounting, law, and medicine, as well as in STEM domains like physics, math, and chemistry. The CEO said that contractors are making an average of over $100 to $125 an hour on the platform, applying their domain expertise to AI training projects. Pay for generalists ranges between a couple of dollars to about $40 per hour based on task and location, generalist contractors on other platforms told Business Insider. Lord's remarks come after big shake-ups at one of Handshake's competitors: Scale AI recently received a $14.3 billion investment from Meta. Just hours after Meta announced its blockbuster deal, Google halted multiple projects with the company, BI reported last month. OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI have paused some Scale projects, too, Scale contractors working on them told BI. Handshake and other data labeling platforms like Appen, Prolific, and Turing have welcomed the deal. Executives from these companies said they are seeing more interest from Big Tech clients. "The labs don't want the other labs to figure out what data they're using to make their models better," Lord said in an interview with Time magazine published last month. He added that demand for Handshake's services "tripled overnight" in the wake of the Meta deal. "If you're General Motors or Toyota, you don't want your competitors coming into your manufacturing plant and seeing how you run your processes," he told Time. A Scale spokesperson told BI last month in a statement that "nothing has changed" about its customer data protection. "Security and customer trust have always been core to our business, and we will continue to ensure the right protections are in place to help safeguard all of our work with customers," the statement said.
Entrepreneur
11-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Want to Win? Lace Up. It's a Long Climb
Success takes time, failure and a brutal climb. There isn't a shortcut — it's a long, brutal climb that tests your grit, not your speed. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. When AC/DC screamed, "It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll," they weren't just talking about music. They were talking about life. About business. About anything that actually matters. Building something like a career, a company or a life you're proud of is not a straight shot. It's a climb. Most people quit before they even lace up their boots. I've lived this. I can tell you there is no elevator - only some steep stairs. The grind will gut-check you When I started in real estate, I thought I was going to take off like a rocket. I thought I was going to crush it because I was hungry. Nope. I was begging people to give me a shot. I was making cold calls, but no one answered. I was burning through my savings, wondering if I was just the punchline in someone else's story. It's not just hard. It's humiliating. That's the climb (I think Miley Cyrus knows what I'm talking about here). The grind isn't supposed to reward you right away. It's supposed to test you. To see if you're serious. There were nights I would sit in my car after another failed showing and ask myself, "Are you done? Or are you gonna keep swinging?" Nobody talks about this part. The grind is where most people quietly disappear. Everybody loves you at the finish line. Nobody cares at mile one. When you're winning, people line up to cheer. They want to high-five you when you cross the tape. They want to be in the photo. When you're losing? When you're figuring it out? When you're working for tips? Crickets. Nobody's watching when you're rehearsing in the garage. Nobody's calling when you're cold and broke and doubting everything. I remember hosting open houses where literally nobody showed up. Just me and the smell of fresh cookies, hoping the scent would sell the house. Those moments? They're lonely. But they're necessary. That's where most people tap out. They didn't realize how long the road really is. Related: How Failing 22 Times Paved the Way to My Success The road is the reward The win isn't what changes you. The road does. You can't microwave success. You can't DoorDash resilience. You have to live it. You have to get up when you're embarrassed. You have to keep going when you're wildly behind. As you might know, I'm a big music collector. I've always loved how music paints a picture, brings emotion, and — most importantly — brings people together. There's a reason AC/DC didn't write, "It's a short way to the top." It's long. It's brutal. It's personal. And it's worth it. The stories are what stick. The deals you chased for years. The connections you built that finally paid off. The nights you went to bed completely drained, and still showed up the next morning. Side note: I have a lot of energy and never drank caffeine. Once I became a dad, I met the most tired version of myself to ever exist. Ever. Still getting to know him to this day, and typically that's over a cup of joe (or three) these days. I used to think the destination would feel better than the process. I learned quickly: The process is where the gold is. Learn to love getting hit Here's a lesson I wish I had learned sooner. You've got to fall in love with the hits. Rejection. Failure. Starting over. That's the currency of growth. Life can often feel like we're more of a punching bag than a human. I know I'm not the only one who understands what that feels like. If you're not getting rejected, you're not in the game. It's a long way to the top. I've been laughed at. I've been told I wasn't good enough. I've been told no so many times I stopped years ago. And that's how I knew I was actually doing something. Related: 5 Lessons I Wish I Didn't Learn the Hard Way During My 20 Years in Business Speed won't always save you I love moving fast. But I build systems that make speed sustainable. Fast without a foundation will collapse. I've built businesses that took years before anyone noticed. I've seen people flame out in six months chasing the shortcut. Speed is exciting. Speed makes you feel like you're winning. But most of the time, you're just building something that can't hold the weight. The long road builds muscle. The long road builds reputation. The long road builds something that can actually hold the weight of success. I don't want fast wins that fall apart. I want to build things that last longer than me. Related: 5 Ways to Spot Trends Before They Explode — and Turn Them Into Growth If you're climbing, you're winning You don't need to be perfect. You just need to keep moving. It doesn't matter if you're on step two or step two thousand. If you're still climbing, you're still in it. You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to be the loudest (I recently wrote more on that topic). You just have to keep showing up. Success isn't a party bus. It's a back-alley van you have to push uphill yourself. While walking through quicksand. While juggling. The more ridiculous that sounds, the more accurately I'm describing what the journey feels like. If you're sweating, struggling, still standing? You're already winning. The top isn't some magical place. It's the next step. It's the decision to keep going. Remember, if you're on the long road, good. That means you're exactly where you're supposed to be. Keep going. The top isn't going anywhere.
