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Tech founder and provocateur Travis Kalanick made millions betting on key parts of the young adult lifestyle with Uber (transportation) and dining (ghost kitchen startup CloudKitchens). Can he hit a trifecta with a bet on tech-focused, community-driven apartments? Kalanick has partnered with Oliver Ripley, founder of the luxury hospitality company Habitas, to launch Sekra, a bid to tackle the massive multifamily housing market with a firm that will focus on building and managing upscale rental apartments. Its a market thats sure to grow: Ripley estimates 80% of people younger than 40 globally rent, and thats only going to increase as stubborn housing affordability impacts remain a key issue. In the U.S., the number of rental households has grown steadily, hitting more than 46 million last year, according to the Census Bureau, with strong growth in the percentage of Gen Z members renting. The idea is to apply layers of technology and hospitality to create a more profitable brand of rental housing; while Sekras tool and tech stack are still under development, other apartment companies have saved money by automating repairs, streamlining operations, cutting energy bills, and making the touring and leasing experience faster, reducing vacancies. There’s a real opportunity to do something different in the multifamily space, to build a global brand that sits at the cross section of community, culture, and longevity and wellness, Ripley says. [Photo: Sekra] Ripley describes Sekra as taking both a hardware and software approach. The hardware portion includes building a proprietary tech platform for operations and iterating with residents (other tech in the market such as Elise.AI has seen significant growth in recent years). The in-development resident app will incorporate programming, content, and in-unit internet of things functionalitysuch as the ability to control appliances or lightingthat will give residents an integrated experience that will command above-market rents. It also includes building a space that encourages socialization and better sleep, including consulting with sleep experts, installing noise insulation and blackout shades, and using circadian rhythm lighting. The software part means hiring ambassadors for the properties and curating the community and its residents. Ripley says the onboarding for new residents will be done by the Sekra team, the residents themselves, and through the resident app. The application of technology to a branded living experience may be harder than it looks. Evidence exists that tech can save apartment owners money: A survey by the National Apartment Association about AI usage found operators achieved 10% savings in payroll and a 15% increase in retention rates. According to Joel Steinhaus, a former WeWork exec who cofounded a coworking firm called Daybase, theres a big opportunity: The housing market is huge and there arent any dominant brands in the market. But theres a reason for that. It’s just hard to contemplate being relevant to someone in their personal space when they want to make it their own, he says. For context, a 2024 resident survey of 172,000 renters taken by industry group the National Multifamily Housing Council found that the most desired community features are fairly basic, including cell reception, a fitness center, covered parking, and a poolall sought after by more than 70% of respondents. Features like maker spaces, party rooms, conference rooms, vegetable gardens, dog parks, and others were cited by 50% or fewer renters. Sekra, which has quietly raised $12.5 million from a cadre of tech and real estate VCs and investors, including Fifth Wall, Moinian Group, and Harvey Spevak, the chairman and managing partner of Equinox, seeks to open its locations later this year, zeroing in on sites in coastal U.S. cities as well as in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. Sekra will both renovate and operate existing buildings and eventually build its own new, ground-up projects. As Ripley says of the gigantic global rental market: It just felt like an industry ripe for disruption, ripe to be messed with. [Photo: Sekra] Go With The Flow A portmanteau of Sekhmet, the Egyptian goddess of healing and protection, with Ra, the Egyptian sun god, Sekra seeks to combat a few hurdles facing renters and the apartment market: the challenge of buying a home, the lack of socialization and authentic community during a global loneliness epidemic, and the blandness of much of the high-end housing stock. Early renderings show a hotel lobby-esque experience, with a muted color palette, textured materials, and plenty of curved lines. Its not the first tech-bro-helmed startup seeking to revolutionize the apartment market. WeWork founder Adam Neumann launched Flow, his own rental platform, in 2022, and has quietly built a company valued at $2.5 billion, which includes 1,000 rental units and nearly 500 condo units in South Florida, control of an under-construction 4-million-square-foot riverfront district in Miami, and holdings in Riyadh. Ripley argues that his experience with Habitas in building hospitality brand suited to young travelers makes him an ideal candidate to change the way apartments operate. Sekras seeking to create points of differentiation in areas that have long been puzzles for multifamily operators: creating authentic communities and applying tech to help streamline operations. Both goals have a profit motive. Better community means fewer move-outs and vacancieskey measures of rental housing profitabilityand more efficient operations lead to lower operating costs. Ripley claims hell be able to double retention rates. Steinhaus says that building community in real estate, as he has in his coworking firm, means being cognizant of the mistake of making too much effort. Creating community means being the host of the party, not the life of the partytoo much forced fun and performative programming may make it impossible for organic community development to take root. When asked to define programming for Sekra, Ripley mentions elements empowered by residents, and some familiar concepts: game nights, movie nights, lectures or talks, therapy nights or wellness programming, and book clubs. Brendan Wallace, CEO and cofounder of Fifth Wall, an investor in Sekra, believes Ripley and his team, with their hospitality background, are the ones who can build a single tech ecosystem that addresses all of these challenges and do a better job managing and increasing profits. Many current owners lack an understanding of the elements of hospitality and community building, Wallace says. We see this when we talk to owners. They have big ideas, and even similar notions, but they end up being poorly executed and feel kludgey.
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E-Commerce
Users of several trendy AI tools will now be able to demonstrate their proficiency with the software directly in their LinkedIn profile. On January 28, the company announced partnerships with three vibe coding platformsLovable, Relay.app, and Replitthat will allow qualified users to link their accounts on those apps to their accounts on LinkedIn, adding certificates based on their proficiency with the tools. The level of certification can increase over time as people continue to use a tool and demonstrate their sophistication with it, says Pat Whelan, head of career products at LinkedIn. While the details of the certification process are up to the individual partner companies, Whelan says the new certificates will serve as a signal to hiring managersand LinkedIns own hiring assistant AI toolsthat people actually have demonstrated sought-after skills harnessing AI. That signals to hirers that this person actually has that skill and actually put the time intheyre using that product, he says. And it becomes a way for you to sort of stand out as a job seeker and be seen in this crowded and challenging job market. Unlike test-based certifications, those looking to add the new certificates to their profiles wont simply be able to cram and pass an exam. In at least some cases, proficiency will be assessed by product-makers own AI systems, but it will require actual usage of the underlying tool. [Animation: LinkedIn]The partner determines the level of capability in using that tool, and we ingest that signal, Whelan says. That way, the person who knows the tool well can determine exactly how to measure that and how to rank it. Experience with a particular tool doesnt have to be at a job seekers day job: Usage for side projects and side hustles is just as valid, Whelan says. Certificates will also be available from more partners including Gamma, GitHub, and Zapier in the coming months, and additional companies can sign up to potentially participate in the program. Software makers arent charged to participate, according to LinkedIn. [Animation: LinkedIn]The new certificates come as LinkedIn has increasingly come to emphasize career-relevant skills, as well as formal education and job experience, in helping people promote themselves and in helping to match job seekers to positions. AI features within LinkedIn itself have evolved to help people search for positions based on descriptions rather than exact keywords and to help users understand whether their profiles clearly demonstrate they match what the hirers behind particular roles are looking for in a candidate. And as generative AI software has rapidly evolved, many have learned to use such tools on the job or on their own time, meaning they dont have college coursework or other traditional training certificates showing theyre proficient in the use of AI. The new certificate system doesnt cover every popular AI toolat least not yetbut does provide a new way for users of some major AI products to showcase their verified experience with the software. We think there’s a lot of opportunities to create new signals where members can show they genuinely have skills in these emerging areas, Whelan says.
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E-Commerce
Another day, another announcement of restaurant closures in the casual-dining space. Earlier this week, FAT Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of that process, the restaurant company is seeking to reject leases for a number of shuttered company-owned restaurants, including locations for Johnny Rockets, Smokey Bones, and Yalla Mediterranean, court filings show. FAT Brands owns 18 restaurant chains in total, including Fatburger, Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookies, and more. Most of its more than 2,200 locations worldwide are franchised. FAT Brands said in its bankruptcy filing that it owns roughly 150 locations directly. “Our dynamic portfolio of brands has demonstrated tremendous resilience in a challenging restaurant operating environment over the last few years,” Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of FAT Brands, said in a statement when announcing the bankruptcy. “We are well positioned for long-term profitability and growth. The chapter 11 process will provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our capital structure to support our concepts and ensure they remain at the forefront of their sectors.” Which FAT brands locations have shuttered? In its bankruptcy announcement, FAT Brands said it expects restaurants to continue operating normally throughout the process. However, the company disclosed in a bankruptcy filing on Monday that it has shuttered a number of company-owned restaurants: 14 Smokey Bones locations nationwide, along with two Johnny Rockets and five Yalla Mediterranean locations. The latter twos impacted stores are only in California. Fast Company has reached out to FAT Brands to ask if other stores will be impacted. We will update this post if we hear back. Johnny Rockets closures California Orange: 20 City Blvd E Santa Monica: 1322 Third Street Smokey Bones closures Florida Casselberry: 1430 State Road 436 Fort Lauderdale: 6500 N Federal Hwy Plantation: 809 South University Drive Georgia Buford: 3333 Buford Drive, Site 1000 Illinois Rockford: 6690 E State Street Massachusetts Stoughton: 301 Technology Center Drive Michigan Grand Rapids: 4875 28th Street SE Utica: 45001 Schoenherr Road Ohio Columbus: 3939 Mose Crossing Maumee: 512 West Dussel Drive Pennsylvania North Wales: 252 Montgomery Mall Wilkes-Barre: 265 Mundy Street Virginia Newport News: 12541 Jefferson Avenue Woodbridge: 2601 Prince William County Parkway Yalla Mediterranean closures California Dublin: 5246 Dublin Blvd Dublin: 1781 N. Victory Place Seal Beach: 12420-A Seal Beach Blvd Fremont: 3141 Mowry Avenue Walnut Creek: 1813-A Ygnacio Valley Road Some casual-dining restaurants are struggling Life is continually getting more expensive and fewer people are spending their money at casual-dining restaurants. FAT Brands joins the ranks of Noodles & Company, Outback Steakhouse, and Cracker Barrel‘s Maple Street Biscuit Companyall of which have recently closed locations. Some fellow casual-dining restaurants, such as Red Lobster and TGI Fridays, have not only closed stores in recent years but, like FAT Brands, have filed for bankruptcy. However, both of those brands have since plotted out a comeback, and FAT Brands has hinted at one as well. “We plan to use this process to connect with key stakeholders around a value-maximizing plan and will act prudently to remain steadfast in upholding and protecting stakeholder interests,” Wiederhorn said in his statement. Shares of FAT Brands Inc (Nasdaq: FAT) fell 33% on Tuesday following the announcement. The stock was trading at under 25 cents a share in premarket on Wednesday.
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E-Commerce
Two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti over the weekend in Minneapolis, a Customs and Border Protection official told Congress in a notice sent Tuesday, while Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs filed an objection saying immigration agents tried to enter the country’s consulate in the city without permission.Officers tried to take Pretti into custody and he resisted, leading to a struggle, according to a notification to Congress obtained by The Associated Press. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times, the official said.A Border Patrol officer and a CBP officer each fired Glock pistols, the notice said.Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said. The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.Separately, a man was arrested after he sprayed an unknown liquid at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar while she was speaking at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis. The Democrat had just called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign when she was sprayed. Trump says ‘we’re going to de-escalate a little bit’ The developments came a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota in the wake of Pretti’s death, which was the second fatal shooting this month of a person at the hands of immigration law enforcement.By sending Homan to Minnesota, “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ “Will Cain Show.” That’s significant since White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly Monday about Homan’s being dispatched to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.The president added of Homan, “Tom, as tough as he is, gets along” with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.As he left the White House on Tuesday, the president was asked whether Pretti’s killing was justified. He responded by saying that a “big investigation” was underway. In the hours after Pretti’s death, some administration officials sought to blame the shooting on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse.Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff who had initially called Pretti “an assassin,” issued a statement suggesting CBP officers in Minneapolis “may not have been following” protocol. He said the Homeland Security Department’s initial statements about what transpired on Saturday was “based on reports from CBP on the ground.” Ecuador files a protest with the US Embassy A video of the Ecuadorian consulate entry attempt posted on social media shows a staffer running to the door to turn the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents away, telling them, “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.” One ICE officer can be heard responding by threatening to “grab” the staffer if he touched the agent before agreeing to leave.International law generally prohibits law enforcement authorities from entering foreign consulates or embassies without permission, though sometimes permission may be assumed granted for life-threatening emergencies, like fires.“Consulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at the time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” the ministry wrote on X.A “note of protest” was filed with the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador so that similar attempts aren’t made at other consulates, the ministry said. The State Department, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump says of sending Bovino to Minneapolis: ‘Maybe it wasn’t good here’ Immigration enforcement activity witnessed by journalists in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs on Tuesday appeared comparable with recent weeks. As before, most didn’t result in major confrontations with agents. Activists say they continue to monitor enforcement operations through social media and chats on messaging apps.The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of immigration raids. But after Pretti’s killing and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.Trump said Bovino, the go-to architect for the president’s large-scale city-by-city immigration crackdowns, was “very good” but added “he’s a pretty out-there kind of a guy” and “maybe it wasn’t good here.”Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, along with the city’s police chief, met with Homan on Tuesday and agreed to keep talking. Homan posted on social media that the discussions “were a productive starting point.” Courts weigh in on detained immigrants In Texas, a federal judge issued a temporary order prohibiting the removal of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father who were detained last week in Minnesota in an incident that further inflamed divisions on immigration. U.S. Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any removal or transfer of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while a court case proceeds.Also in Texas, federal immigration authorities released an Ecuadorian man whose detention led the chief federal judge in Minnesota to order the head of ICE to appear in his courtroom, the man’s attorney said.Attorney Graham Ojala-Barbour said the man was released in Texas. The lawyer said in an email to The Associated Press that he was notified in an email from the U.S. attorneys office in Minneapolis that his client had been freed.In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s handling of immigration cases. He took the extraordinary step of ordering Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, to personally appear in his courtroom Friday.Schiltz had said in his order that he would cancel Lyons’ appearance if the man was released from custody.“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” he wrote.Schiltz’s order followed a federal court hearing Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to halt the immigration enforcement surge. The judge in that case said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response. Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey and Karnowski from Minneapolis. Associated Press writers Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report. Seung Min Kim, Mike Catalini and Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Its been a brutal week when it comes to layoffs. On Monday, shoe giant Nike announced it would lay off 775 employees, and on Tuesday, Pinterest announced it would lay off around 15% of its workforce. The same day, UPS announced 30,000 job cuts. Now Amazon is also joining their ranks with the announcement today of mass layoffs. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? On Wednesday, Amazon announced that it was eliminating 16,000 positions across its workforce. The company has around 1.5 million workers worldwide. In an unfortunate event, on Tuesday, Amazon accidentally sent an email to employees referencing the layoffs before they had been communicated to staff. But now the company has made the layoff announcement official. In a blog post on its website, Amazons senior vice president of people experience and technology, Beth Galetti, reposted the message sent to Amazon employees earlier in the day. In that message, Galetti said the layoffs will impact approximately 16,000 roles at the company. Galetti did not state which divisions would be most impacted by the layoffs. However, the senior VP did note that Amazon will be offering most U.S.-based employees who are affected by the layoffs a chance to look for a new position within the company for the next 90 days. Galetti also stated that Amazon will continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future. Why is Amazon laying off so many workers? Galetti didnt go into detail as to the exact reasons why Amazon is laying off so many workers, other than stating that the company is looking to strengthen itself by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy. However, she did reference the companys earlier mass layoffs. In October 2025, Amazon announced an earlier round of job cuts, eliminating 14,000 corporate roles at the company. At the time, Galetti said those cuts were the result of CEO Andy Jassys September 2024 directive to strengthen Amazons culture and teams. The reductions were sharing today, Galetti wrote when announcing the 2025 layoffs, are a continuation of this work to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure were investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers current and future needs. At the time, Galetti also stated that Amazon needed to become a leaner company with fewer layersan outlook apparently reached in part due to the rise of artificial intelligence. The world is changing quickly, Galetti wrote in October. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology weve seen since the Internet, and its enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones). Galetti again echoed the theme of a rapidly changing world in her memo today. Just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate, she stated. Thats never been more important than it is today in a world thats changing faster than ever. Amazon also closing stores But Amazon isnt stopping with just layoffs this week. Yesterday, the company announced it was shutting down two of its physical retail store chains. On Tuesday, the company said it would close all of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go grocery stores. After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, weve made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores, the company said. As with the layoffs, the closure of its Go and Fresh stores signifies Amazon is being relentless in its pursuit of cost-cutting and reallocating portions of its business in order to cut operational costs and boost its bottom line. How has Amazons stock reacted? After announcing the closure of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores yesterday, Amazon.com, Inc. stock price (Nasdaq: AMZN) closed up about 2.6% for the day, with AMZN shares finishing at $244.68. As of this writing, AMZN shares seem relatively unaffected by the layoff announcement. Currently, Amazons stock is up about three-tenths of a percent in premarket trading. The companys stock price has already had a small but healthy return in 2026 so far. As of yesterdays close, AMZN shares were up 6% for the year. But over the past 12 months, Amazons stock has underperformed the broader Nasdaq Composite, which is up over 23% since this time last year, according to Yahoo Finance. By contrast, Amazon shares are up less than 4% over the same period. Investors will be eagerly awaiting the results of Amazons all-important holiday quarter when it reports its Q4 2025 earnings on February 5.
Category:
E-Commerce
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