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2025-07-25 10:05:00| Fast Company

Post-pandemic, flexible work models were meant to deliver the best of both worlds: freedom and fluidity without losing the spark of in-person collaboration. As the pendulum swings back toward on-site work, companies still need to compete for top-tier talentnotably in tech. But increasingly, they also need to convince those people to come back to the office. Its not enough to offer a desk and a decent coffee machine. The office has become something more symbolic: a reason to believe. A space that reflects your companys intent and identity. Thats why commercial real estate, once just a line item on the P&L, is quietly becoming a talent brand platform. And if you think thats an exaggeration, look at the competition happening right now at the high end of the office and mixed-use market. Despite a general oversupply of space and an ongoing shift to remote work, premium buildings are still in demand in prime markets such as New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. Thats because theyre delivering more than square footage. Theyre transforming the workplace into a cultural and connective experiencea choice, rather than a mandate. The talent mandate driving the real estate competition Before the pandemic, Class A developers were already beginning to differentiate through design and lifestyle. But post-pandemic, the stakes have risen. At the top of the market, the most successful commercial real estate developers are now acting more like boutique hospitality brands. They’re curating experiences, designing for well-being, and programming spaces in ways that resonate with a workforce that values autonomy, connection, and purpose. Look no further than Hudson Yards promise of connected community, or Brookfield Properties (owner of New Yorks Brookfield Place and Londons 100 Bishopsgate), mission to create new ways to work.” In our work with clients like Tishman Speyer and SL Green, weve seen firsthand how a hospitality mindset long central to hotels and resorts is being used to reposition commercial spaces as magnets for talent. These are no longer passive shells for work; theyre active tools in the battle for culture, collaboration, and competitive advantage. The imperative isnt just to create high-end offices. Its to build environments that help companies recruit the best people and inspire them to come together in person. That means more than adding rooftop gardens or wellness studios (though those help). Its about the story those elements telland how they connect to a deeper promise about work, life, and belonging. From asset to experience Take The Spiral in New York, a Tishman Speyer property designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. Its terraced, corkscrew architecture connects every floor to outdoor green space, a vertical extension of the High Line that literally winds nature up the building. This isnt just a design flourish; its a signal of fresh air, light, openness that tells employees: Youll be well here. Or Morgan North, another Tishman Speyer project we collaborated on, where a multi-acre rooftop park atop a historic post office delivers an unexpected sense of calm and retreat in the heart of Manhattan. These arent gimmicks, but curatorial decisions meant to align with the values of the people companies want to hire: wellness, connection, inspiration. At One Madison, developed by SL Green, that narrative continues with a rooftop French garden, luxury fitness from Chelsea Piers, and culinary offerings from chef Daniel Boulud. Theres even an exclusive tenant-only amenities floor. This isnt just where people work; its a place they want to be. Why space is a dimension of brand Real estate branding has been seen as ephemeral; temporary campaigns to lease up space. But this new era demands something more permanent, more intentional. When done right, the brand of a place becomes part of the product itself. It doesnt fade once the buildings full. It lives on in the daily experience of the people inside. And thats where hospitality becomes essential. Not in a superficial sense, but in how you curate and program a space to say something meaningful. In many ways, its less about branding as communications, and more about creating an environment that signals what kind of company you are, and what kind of people will thrive there. In this context, hospitality is no longer a metaphor, its a method. It means thinking about your office as a host would a guest: What do they need? How do we make them feel welcome, inspired, and cared for? But whats the ROI? Were often asked: Does this really make people more productive? How do we justify this level of investment in the workplace experience? The short answer is: the best spaces dont distract, they create tangible operational leverage. When employees can walk in a park, work from a lounge, eat world-class food, or exercise without leaving the building, theyre more productive, more loyal, more connected, and more likely to return. More importantly, these spaces send a signal to current and prospective employees. They say: We value your experience. We want you to do your best work, and enjoy your life while doing it. Thats a powerful competitive edge, especially when top talent is scarce and expectations are high. What founders should be asking If youre a founder or people leader, the question isnt How much space do we need and what well-being perks can we offer? Its What kind of experience are we creating, and what does that say about who we are? The office, in this light, becomes a key pillar of your employer brand, not a backdrop, but a stage. One that helps you tell your story and helps your people to live it. And when thats done well, its not just employees, present and future, who notice. Investors, clients, and collaborators do, too. In the most effective developments, brand doesnt just show up in a name or a logo. It informs the entire user experience, just as it would in a top-tier hotel or entertainment venue. From the lobby to the lounge, from fitness to food, every detail becomes a chapter in a larger story. So, if your real estate is still telling a story about available space, youre already behind. The next wave of workplaces is telling a different story, about purpose, energy, community, and care. Thats the kind of story the best talent wants to be part of.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 10:00:00| Fast Company

When it comes to processes that employers, managers, and leaders dread, its likely to be performance management. And unfortunately, according to Gartner research, 71% of CHROs agree that managers are not fulfilling their role when it comes to performance management. And as a result, employees arent getting the type of feedback that they need to perform. These shortcomings ripple beyond individual performance and can affect organizational success. A May 2024 Gartner survey of 1,456 employees found that only 52% believe performance management is helping their organization achieve its business goals. What prevents employees from getting the most out of performance management is likely due to a perception of bias or lack of fairness in the process. Surprisingly, employees are starting to view AI as being less biased than humans when it comes to performance decisions. An October 2024 Gartner survey of nearly 3,500 employees found that 87% of employees think that algorithms could give fairer feedback than their managers right now, and an additional Gartner survey from June 2024 found that 58% of employees believe humans are more biased than AI when it comes to making compensation decisions. Generative AI in performance management Employees are embracing the idea that AI or generative AI (GenAI) can increase, rather than erode, fairness in the workplace. Understandably, a healthy level of skepticism still exists. At Gartner, we found that only 34% of employees agree or strongly agree that if an algorithm provided performance feedback (instead of their manager), the feedback would be fairer. It’s the duty of CHROs to improve the effectiveness and fairness of performance management at their organizations. But if that means integrating GenAI to achieve their goals, they need to take the following steps. Step one: Evaluate the benefits of GenAI against performance management pain points To leverage GenAI to improve performance management, HR leaders need to understand the pain points at their organization. They also need to have an idea of how GenAI capabilities might be useful in addressing them. Data from Gartner employee and manager surveys, as well as interviews with CHROs and heads of talent management, revealed two common complaints about performance management. First, the effort required is too high.  Employees and managers complain that the process demands too much of them, is overly complex, and relies on cumbersome technology. Second, many questioned how useful it actually is. Employees and managers shared that performance management was not relevant to how they work, not aligned with business needs, and disengaging and unmotivating. To have a greater understanding of the pain points within their unique organization, CHROs and heads of talent management should ask managers and employees across the organization to provide feedback on their biggest pain points. From there, HR leaders can assess whether GenAI is the right tool to address those issues. For example, if fairness is an issue, leaders can implement GenAI as a tool to evaluate text for bias. If time-spend and disparate technology are an issue, companies can use GenAI to summarize data and generate insights from multiple HR systems. Step two: Gauge readiness for GenAI in performance management Not all workplaces are alike, and some may be more open to the full spectrum of GenAI capabilities than others. Surveys can be a great tool to assess workforce readiness for GenAI in performance management. This way, leaders can ensure that the technology enhances, rather than detracts, from the employee experience. Leaders should combine quantitative survey data with qualitative feedback by equipping managers with tools to get a fuller picture of workforce GenAI readiness. This might mean sharing standardized GenAI statements reflecting the desired performance state with managers. For example, that might mean using GenAI as a way to level bias in performance management, increase efficiency, and employee satisfaction. In addition, question guides can also support managers in gathering candid employee input, such as whether employees are comfortable with GenAI drafting goals or suggesting performance ratings (with human oversight). Managers should collate feedback to assess GenAIs limitations in performance management. Step three: Secure employee trust to boost adoption and satisfaction Trust is a top barrier to AI adoption. This is why building a foundation of trust is important when integrating GenAI in performance management. CHROs and talent management leaders can build employee trust by increasing visibility into decision-making and establishing an open dialogue about GenAI. HR leaders should start by equipping managers and employees with the rationale for how and why the organization is introducing GenAI in performance management. A simple view into the why behind a decision helps employees accept and trust the decision. Employees also need to understand how decisions will directly impact their roles, so they can process, adapt, and move forward in good faith. Lastly, leaders should establish mechanisms for employees to share feedback on GenAI in performance management to build trust and improve processes. These kinds of mechanisms help leaders identify when there is an erosion of trust, so they can rectify it by incorporating more human touch. Effective performance management leads to better organizational performance Improving performance manageent boosts employee engagement and business success. Gartner research shows that when HR aligns performance management with employee and business needs, organizations see higher perceptions of fairness and accuracy. They also see increases in employee performance (40%), engagement (59%), and overall workforce performance (60%). Increasing performance management utility drives better outcomes for everyone. With employees starting to see the potential of GenAI in performance management, now just might be the ideal time to integrate this technology.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 10:00:00| Fast Company

Amidst the other recent headlines about his signature, you may have missed the news that Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order in the coming days that will allow defined-contribution plans like your 401k to include private market investments. If youre not the sort of person who views a mutual fund prospectus as light beach reading, this may sound like the kind of boring story that only your crypto-obsessed brother-in-law might care about. But this is serious business that could have repercussions on your retirementespecially if you’re not paying attention. This proposed policy could be sending us down the same bumpy road that knocked the tires off of company-sponsored pension plans, dramatically increasing retirement insecurity for most American workers. Heres what you need to know. Whats in the executive order? The specific details of the forthcoming executive order (EO) remain hazy. But most experts agree that the president will probably use the EO as an opportunity to formalize the 2020 Pantheon Ventures/Partners Group opinion letter from the Department of Labor. This letter, issued during Trumps first administration, suggests that private equity investment options could be included in defined-benefit plans (i.e., 401k and 403b plans and the like) as part of a target-dated fund or other managed fund. The letter also emphasizes that plan participants should not be able to directly access private equity investments. Its likely this letter may serve as a blueprint for the EO that crosses Trumps desk in the near future. Whats private equity? Private equity is an investment in a privately traded company by an accredited investor or group of investors who take on a controlling interest in the organization. Though typically lucrative, private equity investing is often characterized by a long time horizon and a lack of liquidity. Private equity firms often charge high fees and expenses, and they may not disclose conflicts of interest. Lets look at these specific characteristics: Private trading Private equity is an investment class that is not available to the general public. This is unlike shares in publicly traded companies that anyone can purchase on the open market. Accredited investors An individual may be considered an accredited investor if they have earned $200,000 (or $300,000 with a spouse) for each of the past two years, or if they have a net worth of over $1 million excluding their primary residence. This means youre only allowed to invest in private equity if you can be relatively sure you wont be completely wiped out if you make a single bad investment. Controlling interest Typically, private equity investors take a controlling interest in the company and work to actively manage the business in order to increase its value. Illiquidity Private equity investment requires a long time horizon and most private equity funds will impose limits on when an investor can withdraw their funds. These limits will often last years. Fee structure Private equity funds come with fees and expenses that can be confusing, opaque, or just plain undisclosed. Conflicts of interest Private equity firms can and do have interests that conflict with those of their investors and the funds they manage. Though the SEC has proposed stronger rules for Private Fund advisers, and the commission does enforce what it can, investors must remain vigilant for the possibility of conflicts of interest. So whats the problem with private equity? There are some very good reasons why defined-benefit plans have always been closed to private equity. At its best, private equity is an effective tool that can help companies restructure and position themselves for future growth.  This is what Dell did in 2013. But too often, private equity functions more like the Bust Out episode of The Sopranos, where Tony drives his friend Daveys sporting goods store into bankruptcy by maxing out debt to purchase inventory the mobsters peddle for a profit. Sears and Toys R Us are two examples of companies that didnt survive their private equity adventures. Those two bankruptcies eliminated 70,000 jobs, and company pension plans were eventually frozen or terminated. Why add private equity to 401k plans? There are $12.2 trillion worth of assets in U.S. defined contribution retirement plans. Private equity would appreciate getting a foothold in an investment sector that has traditionally been cut off from non-accredited investors. Proponents of the idea claim that allowing 401k investors to include private equity in their defined contribution plans will give them the opportunity to enjoy the higher returns that are typically restricted to accredited investors. But detractors worry that private equity is too risky and illiquid an investment class to have in a workplace retirement planwhich is where an employee would take a hardship withdrawal during a tough economic time. Critics like Elizabeth Warren have called private equity predatory and demanded stronger regulations. Why not just ignore it? If investing in private equity isnt your cup of tea, it may seem reasonable to simply put the matter out of your mind. You just won invest in any of the private equity target-dated funds and your 401k will continue chugging along. The only issue with this plan is the fact that opening the door to private equity in our defined contribution plans will also make the employers sponsoring those plans more vulnerable. Under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), employers have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure the investment options in your 401k are prudent and that any fees are not onerous. Plan sponsors have traditionally been leery of private equity in 401k retirement plans because of their illiquidity, complexity, opacity, and high fees, which leaves them open to ERISA lawsuits. Considering the fact that ERISA lawsuits against excessive 401k fees have risen to a near record high in the past year, employers have good reason to be worried. Yes, this does mean that everything is working as planned. Employers are supposed to take fiduciary responsibility for their employees retirement plans, and when they dont, the workers can file ERISA lawsuits against themand win. So far, so good. But the creation of ERISA 50 years ago, including the much-vaunted litigation portion of the law, may have contributed to the decline of pension plans. If it ain’t broke . . . Placing even more complex fiduciary responsibility on the shoulders of employers could have similar unintended consequences that we cant yet see. Average 401k savings rates and balances have recently been at record highs. As pensions have declined, and more Americans are feeling nervous about the future of Social Security, do we really want to open up defined contribution retirement plans to a new class of under-regulated, risky investments?  The average retirement investor simply has no need of private equity in their 401k.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 10:00:00| Fast Company

Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market best known as a platform for betting on elections, sports, and geopolitical events, is on a winning streak. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission dropped investigations into whether Polymarket was allowing U.S. traders access to the platform despite lacking a proper license. This week, the platform announced that it will acquire QCX, a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange, giving it fully legal access to the U.S. market. Meanwhile, Polymarket has increasingly become a venue for betting on an array of cultural and even meme-level current eventssuch as who will be the next editor of Vogue or whether the Coldplaygate canoodlers will each get a divorce. In the process, Polymarket has ended up surprisingly well positioned to become a pop culture brand itself. There are similar prediction-market competitors, notably Kalshi (where you can also bet on possible Coldplaygate aftereffects), but Polymarket has increasingly become a shorthand fixture for the category, often cited by other media. The platform has become synonymous with understanding the probability of current events, Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan claimed in a statement announcing the QCX acquisition, adding that increasingly mainstream audiences are using Polymarket to trade their opinions. The statement noted that its users have bet some $6 billion on the platform so far in 2025. Founded in 2020, Polymarket uses blockchain technology that enables users to buy and sell “shares” in possible outcomes of various events. But aside from actual bettor participation, Polymarket and other prediction markets have attracted attention as de facto gauges of probability, applicable to just about any future event, with commentators like popular economics blogger Tyler Cowen regularly dropping references to interesting Polymarket data points. In particular, the platform has attracted attention as a predictor of election results. (Polling guru and gambling expert Nate Silver has been an adviser to Polymarket since 2024.) Today theres an ever-shifting array of events to bet on, whose probability, according to those bets, is neatly quantified as an expression of market sentiment. An Israel-Hamas ceasefire before August? Polymarket says theres a 35% chance. Will Tesla launch a fully driverless, open-to-the-public Robotaxi service before August? The chance is 3%, according to Polymarket. How many times will Elon Musk tweet next week? What will be the highest-grossing movie of 2025? Will the existence of aliens be confirmed this year? (Theres a 6% chancethe same odds as Trump getting the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.) New bets are introduced regularly by Polymarket, with suggestions and input from its users. Myriad regulations and laws govern gambling, as well as trading what are essentially options contracts, and until recently, Polymarkets regulatory standing has been murky. In 2022, it agreed to pay a $1.4 million penalty and restrict access to U.S. users. Many bettors in the U.S. seem to have found work-arounds, leading to the renewed scrutiny, but that appears to have been resolved. The next regulatory (and competitive) challenges may focus on sports betting, still heavily restricted in many states. (Rival Kalshi has recently partnered with popular trading app Robinhood on sports-prediction products.) Even so, the rise of Polymarket and its rivals speaks to how culturally accepted gambling has become. Strictly restricted and borderline taboo a decade or two ago, betting is now baked into sports discourse. And its against that societal backdrop that Polymarket has in effect leaned into the role of marketizing watercooler topics. Its Coldplay-couple market involves a parlaya gambling term for a multipart bet: For a bettor to win, both of the canoodlers (or their spouses) must announce their intention to divorce by the end of August. Polymarket currently pegs the chances of this happening at 16%. The platforms brand stance is notably more highfalutin, positioning prediction markets as more accurate than pundits by gathering collective knowledge and perspectives into a single value that represents the markets view of an events odds, as a company statement puts it. Markets seek truth. That said, prediction markets can miss their targetPolymarket gave Robert Francis Prevost only a 1% chance of becoming the new pope. But of course, thats an attraction for bettors: As with any form of gambling, the real money is in outsmarting the wisdom of the crowd. Polymarket is betting that this is part of the appeal that will bring prediction markets into the mainstream, and part of the cultural conversation on just about any topic. And lately, its odds are looking better than ever.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 10:00:00| Fast Company

On Saturday, July 26, tens of thousands of people, including large numbers of families, are expected to join Families First protests and rallies against the Trump administration’s policies. Those policies range from reversals of environmental protections to the newly passed big beautiful bill, with its massive cuts to Medicaid, to the White House’s immigration policy, which has led to raids and arrests carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across the country. Here’s what to know. What’s happening? Thousands of parents, grandparents, immigrants, caregivers, children, and religious leaders are planning to gather in peaceful demonstrations in all 50 states, with major events scheduled in Washington, D.C.; Tucson, Arizona; and Chicago. “At a time when too many families are already struggling to afford what they need, these cuts will take away families healthcare coverage, food, and essential care, and some families have already had loved ones disappeared by ICE, Ai-jen Poo, executive director of Caring Across Generations, told Fast Company. “Our families come first, and well continue showing up for one another.” What to expect According to organizers, Families First is a nationwide day of action with family-friendly rallies, youth art-making fairs, teach-ins, canned-food drives, and community events to raise awareness about the need for healthcare, safety, food, education, and climate action to protect children and families in the United States. Like many of the recent anti-Trump protests, Families First is expected to include people from all walks of life and parts of the country. As previously reported, protestors have included struggling middle-class families with young children; retirees worried about cuts to Social Security and Medicaid; teachers in schools where funding has been pulled and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are under attack; and recently laid-off government workers targeted by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Who’s organizing Families First? Families First events are being organized by a coalition of more than 75 organizations, led by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, MoveOn, Community Change Action, Caring Across Generations, MomsRising, Planned Parenthood, Peoples Action, Family Values @ Work, Families Over Billionaires, and the Service Employees International Union. A full list of coalition partners and scheduled events is available at the Families First Now website.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 09:45:00| Fast Company

Outdoor product company Yeti is best known for its coolers, but this summer, it has a surprise hit product that doesn’t having any cooling functionality at all. It’s a tote bag that’s been part of its existing product offering for yearsbut has gone viral on TikTok after taking a page out of the Stanley playbook, with product offerings that are colorful, accessorizable, and collectible. Launched in 2018, the durable, waterproof, $150 Yeti Camino Carryall Tote Bag isn’t new, but now dubbed the hottest mom tote of the summer, it’s taking on a new life as the sort of colorful must-have consumer product we’ve seen previously with the likes of Stanley cups or Trader Joe’s totes. At least one analyst credits the bag’s new level of popularity with a rise in stock price for the company, which reported quarterly sales of $351 million, up 3% from the same period last year. [Photo: Yeti] The bag’s hefty design is at the heart of its appeal. At 18.1 inches by 15.2 inches, the bag is big, “but not too big,” according to Yetis product page. And though it weighs barely more than 3 pounds empty, the tote’s oversize handles were built for carrying a lot at once, including bottles and half-gallon jugs that can be organized with deployable dividers. As its name implies (camino means road in Spanish), it’s tough and designed to be used on the go. “You can carry everything from firewood to kids’ sand tools to water for washing your hands after camping somewhere,” Yeti’s head of marketing, Bill Neff, told Fast Companys Jeff Beer in March. “Then you can hose it out. It became the super versatile piece for us.” The idea behind the Camino was Yeti cofounder Roy Seider’s, but not everyone at the company saw its potential at first. It was Yeti’s second bag product after branching out into the category in 2017, it and became a quick hit. “We didn’t know what it was going to be,” Neff said in March. “We thought it was going to skew female. No one really understood it, except for Roy, but we launched it and it was bananas how fast, for both male and female customers, it became the product that they used for everything.” For a company whose coolers have been called a luxury good for bros, though, the tote has offered an avenue to market specifically to women. Product images and TikTok videos tagged with the bag skew female, while colorways like influencer beige, pink, and cherry blossom cater especially to female tastes. As of this writing, all the fun colors are sold out on Yeti’s website and you can only order the Camino in boring colors: olive or navy. It’s clear the Camino is not just a bag for the outdoorsman anymore. It’s become a bag for moms too, as a heavy-duty, all-purpose utility purse or as a beach or diaper bag for long summer vacations or a quick trip to the park. It’s functional for sure, with room for everything, but like a dude donning North Face in the city, there’s an element of gorpcore in its appeal as an accessory. The ability to customize the bag with patches, charms, or Labubus, plus a rotating, limited-edition seasonal colorways, gives the product an extra edge on TikTok, where newness, exclusivity, and conspicuous consumption reign supreme. Yeti is now doubling down on bags. The company bought the Montana bag brand Mystery Ranch in January, and on its earnings call in May, CEO Matthew Reintjes credited the Camino specifically for helping Yeti’s strong quarter. “Yeti is bringing a unique point of view to this fragmented bag space supported by our strong design, brand and commercial engine,” Reintjes said. “We remain very optimistic about the massive global addressable market we see in front of us across premium bags, packs, and luggage.” Reintjes calls the Camino tote “the sleeper product” in Yeti’s portfolio. “It’s like the Swiss Army knife of bags,” he said in March. It’s more than just its versatility and durability, though, that have proven valuable for the company. Every brand is looking for its Stanley cup moment, and with the Camino tote, Yeti has found in its portfolio a product capable of viral TikTok infamy of its own.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 09:30:00| Fast Company

Legos newest set is a replica of a Nintendo Game Boy, and its designed to tap into the millennial nostalgia thats ruling the cultural zeitgeist. The 421-piece set is the latest in a series of collaborations between Nintendo and Lego, which have included builds based on the Super Mario, Animal Crossing, and Mario Kart worlds. Currently, the Game Boy is available for preorder at a price point of $60; it will be purchasable online and in stores starting October 1. [Photo: Lego] According to a press release, the collectible is an almost one-to-one replica of the original Game Boy, standing at just over 5.5 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide. It comes complete with a control pad, A and B buttons, a contrast adjustment, and a volume dialessentially, all the elements youd find on the original device. The main drawback is that, tragically, the brick-based Game Boy is not playable. However, it does come with a Game Pak slot and two Game Paks (also made of Legos, of course) based on The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Super Mario Land. The Game Paks come with lenticular screensor screens that use light deflection to mimic movementreplicating scenes from the respective games, so you can briefly pretend that its a functioning electronic. Legos Game Boy replica comes as 80s and 90s IP has flourished in pop culture. Movies like Barbie and Twisters, fast-food menu throwbacks, and the return of 90s fashion (like via the long-dead J.Crew catalog) have all brought millennial nostalgia into the limelight. [Photo: Lego] Theres also renewed interest in retro tech aesthetics, even among younger generations who werent around during the products heydays. In 2024, that meant product releases like Anduril founder Palmer Luckeys 90s-esque portable gaming device and a pager by Sega that only sends emojis. So far this year, the Commodore 64 PC has already made a comeback and the iPod Nano got turned into a design object. Now the Game Boy is on sale againif only in Lego form.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 09:00:00| Fast Company

For the third consecutive year, venture capital investment in climate tech fell in 2024. Investment in the sector reached only $37.8 billion, nearly 40% lower than its all-time high in 2021. Looking ahead to 2025, a report from PitchBook suggests climate tech investments could fall even further. The broad scope of climate tech means the companies focused on it are subject to policy and industry changes impacting many sectors, such as energy, agriculture, and transportation. However, even as tariffs and shifting policy priorities threaten companies bottom line, many venture investors in the space say there is no cause for alarm. This isn’t surprising to us, says Sara Simonds, executive director of Venture Climate Alliance, an organization that brings together climate-focused venture capital firms. Many of the VCs that we work with have been investing in these sectors for the better part of a decade or longer and are accustomed to the ebbs and flows in industry outlook. The last surge of investment started in 2021, when the market for renewable energy and other climate technologies looked very different. Favorable policies under President Joe Biden bolstered the sector and made it a hotbed of activity even for venture capitalists who werent previously involved in the space.  The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, for example, invested billions in clean energy, electric vehicles, and other climate-friendly technologies. That act built on tax credits for electric vehicles, carbon sequestration, and other initiatives provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021. On the venture capitalist side, those policies led to expensive deals that pushed the annual VC deal value over $60.5 billion in 2021 and $53.8 billion in 2022, according to the PitchBook report. Now some climate-favorable policies and tax breaks are gone under President Donald Trump, and tariffs are raising the cost of clean energy in the U.S. (China remains the leading supplier of solar panels, wind turbine components, and lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency.)  Many tourist investors who temporarily entered the climate space during its period of high growth have taken these changes as a sign to scale back investments or leave the space. This, combined with declines in the number of VC deals in the tech sector more broadly, has added to climate techs troubles. However, venture capitalists who specialize in climate tech investments arent worried. In fact, they see opportunities for growth that may outweigh the financial risks these policy and market changes bring. Part of their confidence in the sector comes from having experienced past boom-bust cycles in climate technology markets. The CleanTech 1.0 eraa period in the mid-2000s when venture capitalists heavily staked renewable energy startups that ultimately failedwas a formative experience for many of todays climate tech investors. They observed not only how these businesses failed but also how others succeeded in their wake as the need for climate-friendly solutions grows. Climate change is the macro of all macro trends, says Andrew Beebe, managing director at Obvious Ventures. Maybe not as a human, but as an investor, the macro on climate is amazing. The challenge becomes greater by the day and that means the opportunities just become greater by the day. Additionally, many of the changes on the policy side have greater impacts on mature industries that venture capitalists are less directly involved in, says Matt Eggers, managing director at Prelude Ventures. Venture capitalists tend to invest in startups and other early-stage companies with potential to grow. While there is always innovation going on behind the scenes of mature industries, some that are well-established (like traditional solar and wind technologies) are less appealing to investors looking for groundbreaking new technologies or unexplored areas of industries. What many dedicated climate tech investors are looking for remains the same as when the sector hit its peak three years agonew or improved technologies that are scalable and have strong market potential. Last year, North America remained the largest market for climate tech investment, and it saw big gains in the energy sector, according to the PitchBook report. In particular, growth was notable in dispatchable energy sources whose output is easily increased or decreased to meet demand, and in infrastructure to produce, store, and transport hydrogen. Similarly, the first quarter of this year saw more investments in energy, with large fusion and nuclear deals. Weve got technology that were really excited about in the portfolio, Eggers says. He and Beebe both see opportunities in companies using electrification and artificial intelligence to transform the climate tech sector. Beyond the technology, Eggers adds that investors look for companies with strong leadership teams and ideas that appeal to big or fast-growing markets, particularly those that have been disrupted by the types of policy and economic changes plaguing many industries today. When theres disruption, theres opportunity, Eggers says. This extends to the investment space as well, where investors are finding promising companies to fund in this now less-crowded area of the venture market.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 09:00:00| Fast Company

Theres a quiet unraveling happening in business. You feel it in the glassy eyes of employees. You see it in customers ghosting once-beloved brands. You hear it in leadership meetings when someone asks, Why arent people sticking around? and no one has a real answer. The truth is that brand loyalty is fading. Not because people are distracted. Because theyre disillusioned. And no, a new logo wont fix it. The Belief Gap There was a time, not long ago, when brand was a kind of secular faith. We believed in Nike, Apple, or Patagonia. These brands stood for something, or at least they made us feel like they did. They gave shape to aspiration. They helped us orient ourselves in a world that often felt chaotic. But faith, as theologians have long known, requires more than symbols. And trust, once broken, is a difficult thing to restore. What used to bind uscustomer to brand, employee to companyis fraying. Not because people are fickle, but because brands became false idols. The modern brand machine promised meaning and delivered margin. They said people first, but meant until the next earnings call.  Todays consumers are savvier, and employees are more vocal. Neither will tolerate brands that say one thing and do another. Theyre not impressed by slogans. They want to know what your company actually stands forand if your actions align with that claim. Theyre asking, Do I see myself in this? Do I trust this? Does this matter to me? And if the answer is no, theyre gone. The Quiet Collapse of Brand Meaning According to McKinsey, three out of four consumers have changed brands in the past two years. Meanwhile, research from MIT Sloan reveals that toxic culturenot payis the number-one predictor of employee attrition. Its not just bad bosses or weak onboarding. Its something deeper: a breach of belief. The breach happens quietly. The brand deck claims innovation, but inside, risk is punished. The values on the wall say people first, but layoffs come before leadership cuts. The company celebrates diversity in its marketing while sidelining it in its hiring practices. People notice. And once they do, no creative or bold rebrand can undo it. This isnt a customer service issue or an HR problem. Its a crisis of meaning. Brands Built for Yesterday Cant Survive Tomorrow For decades, brand loyalty followed a predictable pattern: identify a target audience, claim a point of view, build a story, develop an identity, and launch. Then, pour money into media and hope the message sticks. Meanwhile, culture, what it feels like to actually work there, was a separate track, typically owned by HR, reduced to perks and performance reviews. In an era where every employee has a microphone and every customer has a camera, the gap between what a company says and how it behaves is visible. Its searchable. Its shareable. The line between internal and external is invisible. The pandemic, political polarization, economic volatility, and a new generation of employees and customers have shifted the calculus. Today, people dont just want good products or clever taglines; they also want meaningful experiences. And when the story you tell the market doesnt match the one your team lives every day, brand loyalty dissolves. The Brands That Still Have Devotion? Theyve Earned It. Trader Joes, for all its cult-favorite snacks, has never been about product alone. Its about people. The staff doesnt feel like theyre trapped in a fluorescent prison. Theyre trusted, empowered, often joyful. That energy transfers. The experience feels human. It makes loyalty feel easy. Costco didnt build its billion-dollar business by playing it safe. It pays better wages than nearly anyone else in retail. Its benefits rival some tech companies. It knows that loyalty at scale starts with respect, not perks. And then theres Chobani. Its founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, didnt just democratize Greek yogurt. He redefined what it means to lead with conscience, giving refugees jobs and equity, turning profit into purpose without ever preaching about it. The brands moral backbone is the brand. None of these brands engineered loyalty. They didnt split-test their way into affection. They simply aligned what they stood for with how they behaved. The Old Brand Playbook? Burn It. You know the one: Identify your audience (our audience is . . . everyone!).  Conduct market research regarding their preferences, values, and unmet needs, (probably just a hunch, its gotta be a millennial). Stake out a position (throw in a cheesy tagline for good measure). Develop your brand story (two people found an alpaca farm, cut out the middle man, and brought you a better poncho). Develop your visuals (fingers crossed this looks good for as cheaply as possible). Throw lots of money at marketing (nothing like wasting a lot of money to market a bad brand!). This formula used to work when people asked fewer questions. But today, a brand that only looks good is a brand thats already behind. Today, you cant brand your way out of a broken culture. You cant market your way past mistrust. You cant buy loyalty with a new logo and some values in a pitch deck. Rebuilding Loyalty Is a Leadership Mandate This is no longer a task for the marketing department. Brand loyalty has become a test of leadership and vision. Rebuilding loyalty isnt about going louder; its about going deeper. It starts with asking better questionsand being willing to sit with the answers. Ask your employees: What do we stand for, from your perspective? What do we ignore that truly matters? What would make you proud to work here? Ask your customers: What values should this company embody? Where are we falling short? What would make you proud to buy from us? What change would make you stay? These are not marketing questions. They are questions of identity. What youll find in those answers is not just sentiment, but structure, and a blueprint for rebuilding not just brand loyalty, but brand integrity. Loyalty Isnt Gone. But Its No Longer Passive. Lets stop pretending people are loyal to colors, fonts, or discounts. Theyre loyal to how your company makes them feel, to whether they believe youre worth their time, attention, and energy. The good news? Loyalty is still possible. Its just more discerning.  The brands that will win in this new era wont be the noisiest. Theyll be the clearest. The ones who know exactly who theyre customer is and theyll run through brick walls to keep them. People arent loyal to campaigns. Theyre loyal to conviction. So dont just try to win loyalty back. Build something bigger:belief.

Category: E-Commerce
 

2025-07-25 09:00:00| Fast Company

In a new stadium under construction in Egypt for Cairos Al-Ahly Football Club, the soccer field and more than half the seats are sunken slightly underground. The design is partly a way to meet local height restrictions. But the lower temperature below ground also helps keep the outdoor stadium more comfortable, even in sweltering summer weather. Al-Ahly Stadium in Cairo [Photo: Gensler] It allows us to benefit from natural cooling, says Ryan Sickman, who leads the sports practice at Gensler, the architecture firm behind the design. The stadiums facade, designed for LED displays, is also perforated so breezes can easily flow through. Its one of many ways that architects are designing sports venues for extreme heat as the world gets hotter and it’s becoming more difficult for athletes to playand for fans to watchsafely. In Austin, another Gensler-designed stadium is oriented so that as many fans as possible can sit in the shade during games. To keep the space ventilated, it isn’t enclosed. Instead of typical plastic seats, the designers chose mesh to help keep fans cooler. Q2 Stadium in Austin [Photo: Gensler] In Qatar, a stadium designed for the 2022 World Cup uses a white roof to reflect sunlight. Zaha Hadid Architects, the team that created the design, also shaped the roof to help channel hot air away from the stadium. It can be rolled out like a sail to shade the field or fully enclose the space. Inside, a solar-powered cooling system pumps cool air to each seat while also forming a cool bubble over the playing field. Materials also help. In Las Vegas, engineers at Arup used several different materials in the facade of Allegiant Stadium to keep it cooler inside. A translucent ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) roof insulates the space. Black-and-silver coatings use infrared reflective pigments to reflect as much sun as possible. Tinted glass also helps reflect sunlight and reduce glare. Al Janoub Stadium in Doha [Photo: Hufton + Crow] Some approaches take inspiration from older ideas. A technology that circulates water under a field to help keep natural turf healthy, for example, can double as a way to keep the field cooler for players. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Arup-designed King Abdullah Sports City Stadium uses traditional Islamic screens for shade and ventilation. The cladding is designed to pull cool air in, then let it rise and exit the top of the stadium. On the roof, perforated mesh inserts inspired by bedouin tents let air flow through. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas [Photo: Jason O’Rear] Passive techniques like this reduce or sometimes eliminate the need for energy-intensive air-conditioning. Sickman says architects “can use some of the things that maybe we forgot because of the advent of technology and active cooling, and go back to strategies that served the test of time. Still, outdoor stadiums can only go so far. In cities like Cairo, soccer games are already played at night when the temperature is lower. The World Cup in Qatar was moved from summer to winter because of the heat. But as extreme heat waves become more common, it may sometimes be too hot to play even as teams try to adjust their scheduling. A report in the medical journal Lancet found that in 2023 people around the world experienced an average of 50 more days of health-threatening temperaturestimes when it could be dangerous to play sportsthan they would have without climate change.

Category: E-Commerce
 

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