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Each year, our Innovation by Design Awards celebrate the most notable projects across the design world. And while there are many design awards offered across the industryperhaps too many!Innovation by Design continues to be the most rigorous, facing the scrutiny of a panel of leading design journalists and influential designers. But its also time for Innovation by Design to evolve. So this year, you may see were doing things a bit differently. And were sure you will like these changes. First off, weve paired back our core design categories significantly, reducing them from 50 to 20. Why? The list had simply gotten big, with too many subcategories that had feature creeped over years of additions. We believe that this abbreviated list can fit any design project imaginableranging from UX, to architecture, to experience design, to interior design, to material designbut with a clarity that will allow you to know which categories make the best fit for your project. This update also means there will be fewer than half the winners weve had in the past, which will add to the prestige of receiving Innovation by Design recognition. It also means we can celebrate each of our honorees with more gusto. This year, our Innovation by Design winners will be celebrated at a ceremony in September during the Fast Company Innovation Festival, Sept 1518. (Full details to come.) Truth be told, its the perfect excuse to throw a big party in New York City and celebrate the year with industry friendsand maybe even head home with a trophy. To enter Innovation by Design, submissions are due by April 11 . Good luck!
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E-Commerce
A federal judge has denied Elon Musk’s request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company but said she could expedite a trial to consider Musk’s claims against the ChatGPT maker and its CEO.U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled late Tuesday that “Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits” in his request for a preliminary injunction. She offered to hold a trial in her California courtroom as soon as this fall, “given the public interest at stake and potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred.”Musk, an early OpenAI investor, began a legal offensive against the ChatGPT maker and CEO Sam Altman a year ago, suing for breach of contract over what he said was the betrayal of its founding aims as a nonprofit.He escalated the legal dispute late last year, adding new claims and defendants, including Microsoft, and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business. Musk also added his own AI company, xAI, as a plaintiff, claiming that OpenAI was unfairly stifling business competition.He and a group of investors more recently made an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid to buy a controlling stake in the nonprofita move that undermined Musk’s “claim of irreparable harm,” the judge wrote.OpenAI said it welcomed the court’s decision.“This has always been about competition,” a statement from the company said. “Elon’s own emails show that he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. That would have been great for his personal benefit, but not for our mission or U.S. interests.”Musk alleges in the lawsuit that the companies are violating the terms of his foundational contributions to the charity. He had invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, his lawyer has said.Musk attorney Marc Toberoff said in a statement late Tuesday that he is pleased that the court offered an expedited trial on the core claims.“We look forward to a jury confirming that Altman accepted Musk’s charitable contributions knowing full well they had to be used for the public’s benefit rather than his own enrichment,” Toberoff said.Gonzalez Rogers in a hearing last month called it a “stretch” to claim “irreparable harm” to Musk, and she called the case “billionaires vs. billionaires.” She questioned why Musk invested tens of millions in OpenAI without a written contract. Toberoff responded that it was because the relationship between Altman and Musk at the time was “built on trust” and the two were very close.“That is just a lot of money” to invest “on a handshake,” the judge said.The dispute has roots in a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAI’s CEO.Emails disclosed by OpenAI show Musk had also sought to be CEO and grew frustrated after two other OpenAI cofounders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity.Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO and has remained so except for a period in 2023 when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced.Gonzalez Rogers, appointed by then-President Barack Obama in 2011, has handled a number of tech industry cases including Apple’s fight with Epic Games, though she said last month that Musk’s case is “nothing like” that one. That case was also the last time she granted a preliminary injunction, eight months before the case went to trial. O’Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island. The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of AP’s text archives. Matt O’Brien and Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writers
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E-Commerce
For years, weve been told that only the toughest businesses survive. The ones that adapt the fastest, compete the hardest, and run with laser-focused efficiency are the ones that win. In this way of thinking, resilience is about outlasting the competition, and success is measured in years, dollars, and market dominance. But what if weve been looking at it all wrong? A company can last a century, but longevity alone doesnt mean it made a lasting impact. The real question isnt how long a business sticks aroundits what it leaves behind. And after studying some of the worlds most successful immigrant entrepreneurs, Ive found that their secret isnt just grit or relentless competition. Its kindness. For these leaders, kindness isnt just a nice tagline or a feel-good PR move. Its at the core of how they hire, make decisions, and create real value. At a time when trust in institutions is fading and talent has more mobility than ever, this often-overlooked trait might just be the biggest competitive edge in business today. The unseen advantage Business often dismisses kindness as an impractical luxury that dulls competitive edge, slows execution, and dilutes financial performance. But my research disagrees. Immigrant entrepreneurs are statistically substantially more successful than their native-born peers despite often arriving in new countries without financial capital, connections, or credibility. But what they do have is an instinctive understanding of how to build social capital and create businesses that: Treat employees as partners, not cost centers. See customers as relationships, not transactions. Approach suppliers and competitors to collaborate, not just negotiate. Take Reem Hassani, the Iraqi American cofounder of Numi Tea, who grew a multimillion-dollar brand by prioritizing long-term impact over short-term gains. When I asked her why she insisted on organic, fair-trade ingredientsdespite the costshe didnt hesitate: Because business should be a force for good. If we have the power to do better, why wouldnt we? The success follows. Kindness is the foundation of Numis entire business model, and it has built a network of trust so strong that some small-scale farmers still sell exclusively to the company even when corporate giants offer them more. The business case for kindness Kindness in business is not about being a soft touch; hard data show it produces measurable results: Employees who feel their company genuinely cares about them are 87% less likely to leave. Companies with strong cultures of trust see 74% lower stress levels and 50% higher productivity. Purpose-driven businesses grow three times faster than their competitors. But despite this overwhelming evidence, many business leaders still assume that competition trumps connection and success depends on extracting the maximum from employees, suppliers, and customers. In contrast, immigrant entrepreneurs, perhaps motivated by their early experiences of hardship and dependency on community support, tend to operate differently. They integrate kindness into their businesses and make it a competitive advantage by: Focusing on others My research shows that immigrant entrepreneurs find success by creating businesses that are deeply rooted in their personal values and focused on serving others. Take Korean immigrant Saeju Jeong, who struggled during his early years in New York but remained committed to honoring the memory of his father, a doctor who had died of cancer. Remembering his dying fathers words about the importance of tackling the causes of illness, Jeong created Noom, a weight-loss app that uses behavioral psychology to help people make sustainable changes to their lifestyles. Noom, which Jeong cofounded with fellow immigrant Artem Petakov, is now valued at $3.66 billion. Prioritizing relationships over short-term wins In business, the pressure to scale quickly and maximize profits is relentless. But the immigrant founders I studied prioritized long-term relationships over immediate financial gain. Dominique Ansel, the world-renowned pastry chef behind the Cronut, received countless offers to turn his viral sensation into a mass-produced product. But he refused because, as he told me, When you love your craft, you dont sell out. Ansels decision wasnt just about protecting his brandit was about respect for the customers who waited in line for something special. His commitment to customer relationships and quality has given the Cronut longevity far beyond the average food trend and created a sustainable business thats still thriving. Sharing their success For immigrant entrepreneurs, success is not an individual pursuit nor are its fruits something to hoard. They build businesses to sell and to serve and are committing to sharing what they gain. The most enduring immigrant-founded businesses I researched constantly focused on their legacies by strengthening communities, creating opportunities, and ensuring lasting impact. That philosophy is embodied by Fadi Ghandour who founded the 1-billion-valued logistics company Aramex. Ghandour delivers impact through Ruwwad, a venture that funds education and entrepreneurship programs in marginalized communities across the Middle East and North Africa. His belief? A companys success should lift entire ecosystems. The quiet force that endures Kindness isnt a footnote to success but its foundation. All the immigrant entrepreneurs I studied had experienced firsthand how it can change lives and made kindness the cornerstone of their business because it was both the right thing to do and the smartest way to lead. Sometimes it appears that the world rewards speed and ruthlessness. But kindness is the quiet force that endures. It builds trust, deepens loyalty, and turns businesses into legacies. The leaders who understand this wont just succeed in the next decade. Theyll reshape the future of business itself.
Category:
E-Commerce
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