 |
|
|
|||||
We dont talk enough about what doesnt scale. Which is ironic, because we talk about scale constantly. Scale is the shorthand for success in just about every industry. If it cant scale, is it even worth doing? Thats the kind of thinking that floods strategy decks, venture capitalist meetings, and quarterly reviews. But heres the question I keep circling back to: Can it still matter if it doesnt scale? Because Ive seen real impact in spaces where scale wasnt the point. And frankly, it wasnt even possible. THE MYTH OF MASS = MEANING Theres a quiet arrogance baked into how we treat scale, as if the size of a thing is what determines its significance. But some of the most meaningful changes happen in small rooms, not big stages. Think about financial education programs in rural communities. Or credit-building initiatives that are culturally tailored for a single neighborhood. Theyre unpolished, localized, hard to replicateand deeply effective. Yet because they dont lend themselves to scale, theyre often dismissed or deprioritized. Scaling can absolutely expand access. But we shouldnt mistake repeatability for revolution. WHATS LOST IN THE RUSH? Heres what often gets left behind when scale becomes the headline: Nuance. What works in Memphis might not work in Minneapolis. Relevance. One-size-fits-all is rarely true in communities that have historically been overlooked or underserved. Feedback loops. When you scale too quickly, you lose the intimacy that invites honest feedback and real-time course correction. When we chase scale at all costs, we sometimes lose the very texture that made the original idea impactful. Small, sharp, and mighty. THERES POWER IN THE PILOT Ive watched high-touch, hyper-relevant initiatives change the trajectory of communitiesinitiatives that no one would label scalable. The FICO Educational Analytics Challenge is a great example. It started with a small set of universities, giving students hands-on exposure to real-world AI and data science problems. The goal wasnt to reach millions overnight. It was to invest deeply in students who otherwise might never get that kind of access. The early results were powerful. Students walked away with skills that shifted their career aspirations. One university even added a data science minor after participating. Those are outcomes that dont need millions of participants to matter. Sometimes, small is the strategy. Sometimes, we need depth before breadth. WHEN SCALE IS THE LEVER That said, scale still has its place. Especially when the problem is systemic. Programs like the Educational Analytics Challenge are now growing toward a repeatable framework that more schools can adopt, while keeping the student voice at the center. The lesson? Scale works when it builds from authenticity, not when it erases it. The key is not to romanticize smallness or villainize growth. Its to stay honest about what kind of impact were after, and whether our obsession with scale is helping or hurting that mission. WHAT IF WE MADE ROOM FOR BOTH? What if our strategies had space for pilots that werent polished, partnerships that were scrappy, and impact that wasnt measured solely by reach? What if we treated scale as a choice, not a default? And what if we stopped asking Will it scale? as the first question, and started asking, Will it matter? Thats the kind of question worth building around. Rukiya Kelly is head of corporate impact and engagement at FICO.
Category:
E-Commerce
As of yesterdays market close, Netflix is the only Big Tech company whose stock is trading at four figures, but that will soon change. The TV streaming giant, whose shares closed at $1,089 on Thursday, has announced that it will initiate a stock split next month. That will send the stocks price per share much lower, though it will not change the companys fundamental value. Heres what you need to know about Netflixs upcoming stock split. Whats a stock split? A stock split is when a company decides to divide the number of its existing shares in order to create new oneshence the term split the shares. A stock can split by any factor a company wants. For example, in a 2-for-1 stock split, for every one share of the stock presplit, there will be two shares post-split. Or in a 100-to-1 stock split, for every one share presplit, there would be 99 additional shares post-split. However, because new shares are being created in a stock split, the value of the stock is diluted by an amount commensurate with the split. Take a 100-to-1 stock split of the imaginary Company XYZ. If the share price of Company XYZ was $1,000 before the split, its new share price would be $10 after the split ($1000/100). Yet even though Company XYZs stock price is now 100 times cheaper, the company itself isnt worth less. A companys valueits market capis determined by adding up the total value of all its shares. How much is Netflix splitting the stock by? Netflix has said that it will split its shares by a ratio of 10-for-1 next month. This means that for every one share of Netflix stock (Nasdaq: NFLX) that exists today, there will be another nine NFLX shares in existence after the split. Netflix is by far the only major company to split its stock in recent years. In 2024, Walmart split its stock 3-for-1. In 2022, Amazon split its stock 20-for-1 and Tesla split its stock 3-for-1. And in 2020, Apple split its stock 4-for-1. More recently, this week, there have been rumors that Palantir Technologies may soon split its stock. When do Netflixs shares split? There are several dates to keep in mind when it comes to Netflixs upcoming stock split. The most important day is Monday, November 17, 2025. This is when NFLX shares will begin trading at their new post-split price on the Nasdaq. On this day, there will be 10 times more NFLX shares in existence than there are today. Another important date is Friday, November 14, 2025. This is the day that each shareholder of record will receive nine additional shares for every one share of Netflix they own as of the “record date. They will receive these additional nine shares after the markets close on November 14. The final date to remember is Monday, November 10, 2025. This is the “record date. Only shareholders who own NFLX shares after market close on this date will receive nine additional shares on November 14 for every one they own after market close on the 10th. What does this mean for investors and Netflixs share price? Netflixs 10-for-1 stock split means that, come Monday, November 17, NFLX shares will trade at 10 times less than their closing price on Friday, November 14. However, as explained above, this does not mean that Netflix will be worth 10 times less, because there will also be 10 times as many shares in existence. This also does not mean investors of record will see the total value of their NFLX shares decrease. Though the individual share price will be 10 times lower, investors of record will also have 10 times the number of shares that they previously did. So why is Netflix splitting its stock then? Stock splits have no effect on the fundamental finances or valuation of a company. But stock splits can have a powerful psychological effect on investors, particularly retail investors. Big institutional investors, like investment banks and hedge funds, buy stocks in dollar amounts$5 million or $100 million worth of shares in a single company at a time, for example. But retail investors often buy shares based on the stocks individual share price. And a single share priced at more than $1,000 often puts that stock out of reach for retail investors, who may just have a few hundred dollars to invest each month. By artificially lowering its stock price through a stock split, a company can make its shares more attractive and accessible to retail investors, which could actually help drive up the share price as more people buy into the stock at its lower price. But making a stock more attractive to retail investors isnt the only reason why companies split their stocks. Another reason is to make the companys shares more accessible to its employees, who can often buy shares via an employee stock purchase program. If a companys stock price is too high, employees may not even be able to afford one share per month. A lower share price can make it so that more employees can buy into the company. Indeed, the employee factor is the main reason Netflix cited for its stock split. The purpose of the stock split is to reset the market price of the company’s common stock to a range that will be more accessible to employees who participate in the company’s stock option program, the company said when announcing the split on October 30.
Category:
E-Commerce
Our financial system still treats teens like little kids who need to wait their turn. Meanwhile, by the time most Americans turn 13, they have a smartphone in their pocket and are actively participating in the economy. Teens are transacting regularly, and many are earning through digital channels, running online businesses, or pursuing a passion project. There’s a better way. SUPERVISION AND A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT We need to give teens supervised access to financial tools earlier in their lives. Let them learn financial responsibility through real experience. Help them build smart money habits in a controlled environment. By the time they hit 18, every teen should have the financial knowledgeand the confidenceto manage their money independently. Locking them out until adulthood is an outdated approach thats damaging the financial health of the U.S. consumer. On the flip side, granting full access to everyone turning 18 despite a lack of any meaningful financial experience is like handing someone keys to a car on their birthday without letting them practice driving. Its dangerous. It means a steeper learning curve, higher stakes, and tons of missed learning opportunities. Thats what we’re doing with money. Keeping teens sidelined doesnt just hold them back. It hurts the economy and undermines future growth. The rules of money were written for the few, not the many. Those with access build wealth and opportunitylike teens who get a debit card earlylearn to budget with guidance, and even get a chance to build credit before college. By 18, theyre ready for loans, apartments, and independence. Teens without those luxuries (read: a majority of the young U.S. population), are stuck using cash or borrowed accounts and enter adulthood with less real-world experience managing finances, and fewer options. The result is a system where the financial elite get a head start, and everyone else is forced to improvise with workarounds. THE COST OF WAITING Today’s teens are already an economic force. More than half report earning an income, and theyre not just working traditional jobs. Theyre running online businesses, doing creative work, and participating in the gig economy. In fact, two in five teens are earning through digital channels, outpacing those in older cohorts. And theyre completely reshaping what it means to be a consumer in America. Their demand for instant, flexible, digital-first experiences are already changing how businesses operate. Take buy-now-pay-later for example. What started as young people rejecting traditional credit cards has become a market worth hundreds of billions of dollar, with one of our brands, Afterpay, creating an entirely new payment infrastructure around transparency and avoiding debt traps. Over the next decade, teen habits will set the standard for how money is earned, spent, saved, and invested. Ignoring this shift isnt just overlooking the futureits missing whats happening right now. Instead of creating tools for a massive group of active economic participants, banks and incumbents push teens to borrow their parents’ accounts, deal with cash, or cobble together apps that weren’t designed with them in mind. In a world that’s rapidly going cashless, these workarounds aren’t just inconvenient. They delay financial learning, widen inequality, and leave an entire generation less prepared for adulthood. Lets fix the problem. ACCESS WITH PROTECTION At Block, we believe providing access and promoting safety are complementary. Through Cash App, we’ve built something different: a platform where teens can fully and responsibly participate in the digital economy while parents maintain oversight and control. With a parents or guardians sponsorship, teens can send and receive money, save, and even begin learning about investing in stocks and bitcoin. Parents get real-time transaction monitoring, customizable permissions, and a front-row seat as their teen learns responsible financial habits in a controlled environment. And this approach is working. Our data shows that teens are using these tools responsibly, and we’re setting teens up to develop confidence and capability in managing their money, two skills that will serve them throughout their lives. A CALL FOR CHANGE The technology to do this safely exists today, and the research backs it up. What we need now is a fundamental shift in how we think about young people and money. This means: Recognizing teens as active participants in the U.S. economy Building financial tools that balance access with protection Giving parents the right tools to guide their teens’ financial journey When we give teens safe, supervised financial access today, we’re not just preparing them for tomorrow. We’re accelerating the future of our entire economy. Owen Jennings is head of business at Block.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||