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Trying to get from point A to point B? If only it were that simple! With any manner of travel these days, youve got options: planes, trains, buses, ferries, and beyond. And finding the best path to embark on isn’t always easy. Even finding all the available options can sometimes be a pain. But it doesn’t have to be. For over a decade, Ive been using a tool that demystifies how to get from one location to another. Its a great way to see all the available travel options in a single spotcomplete with estimated prices and travel times. Notably, theres absolutely no AI at play here. AI travel tools may be interesting for brainstorming ideas, but this tool will show you only real transportation options with up-to-date information. Lets get moving. Psst: If you love these types of tools as much as I do, check out my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. You’ll be the first to find all sorts of simple tech treasures! Google Maps who? The next time you encounter a complicated web of route options, remember a site called Rome2Rio. Rome2Rio shows every last possible travel option in a single streamlined place. It even finds routes Google Maps missesthats the main point. To get started, head to the Rome2Rio website. You can also install the free app for your Android device or iPhone, if you’d rather. Whichever path you pick, you wont need to create an account or jump through any silly hoops to get going. Just plug in the destination youre starting from, the destination youre headed toand thats it. Youll instantly see all your options, with prices attached. Rome2Rio has two boxes to fill out: where you’re starting and where you’re going. The site will even provide options that string together multiple modes of travel. If the best method available for a given trip is to take a train, board an airplane, and then jump on a ferry, Rome2Rio will tell you. You’ll see every travel option imaginableand how much it costsin a matter of moments with Rome2Rio. You can actually book your travel through Rome2Rio, too, but Ive always just used it as a search engine and a starting point for my travel planning. Ultimately, Rome2Rio is a huge, regularly updated database that does one thing and does it exceptionally well. It even beats most AI-powered travel tools in 2025, assuming you just want to know concrete ways to get from A to B. Rome2Rio is available on the web, as an Android app, and as an iPhone app. The service is completely free. (It makes money with ads and affiliate links, if you use it to book travel.) Rome2Rios privacy policy says the service will never sell your personal information. And again, you dont even need an account to use it. Navigate your way to even more productivity-boosting goodness with my free Cool Tools newsletter. You’ll get an instant introduction to an incredible audio app and a new off-the-beaten-path gem in your inbox every Wednesday!
Category:
E-Commerce
If you have investments in the stock market, the past several weeks have probably felt a little worrisome. (And by a little worrisome I mean just barely keeping oneself from sobbing in the bathtub with a pint of Ben & Jerrys.) U.S. and global markets have yo-yoed in reaction to the current administrations inexplicable tariff wars. And since this market volatility is a direct result of Americas foreign economic policy rather than normal economic fluctuation, its difficult to know what to expect. Theres no promise of fiscal unicorns and rainbows when we get to the other end of this trade warbut before you cash out your 401(k) and bury the money in your backyard, keep these important facts in mind. Yes, this does feel different If it feels like this market turbulence is different from others in recent memory, thats because it is. The current market instability stems from the presidents tariffs rather than a market crash (like the 2008 housing bubble collapse) or a disruptive global event (like the 2020 COVID-related market downturn). Thats significant because economists and investors know what to expect from market crashes, which are relatively common and repeat on a somewhat predictable 7-to-10-year pattern, followed by an average recovery time of 1.4 years. While the 2020 market shenanigans also felt unprecedented at the timesince none of us had ever lived through a global pandemic beforethe recovery within four months of the markets lowest point made it clear that everyone wanted to get back to business as soon as possible post-COVID. In both of those cases, it made sense to HANK TOUGH! and stay the course through the market downturns, since there was a long history of the market rebounding from similar situations. But our current heartburn-inducing market ride stems from Americas global retaliatory trade war, and we cant necessarily count on the natural rebound that has occurred after every other destabilizing market event in recent memory. Any countries angry about U.S.-imposed tariffs could make long-term financial or policy changes that will continue to affect our domestic market for years. There is simply no way of knowing what long-term effects there will be on our investments. But there is a precedent Just because we have never lived through a tariff-triggered market downturn doesnt mean our current situation is unprecedented. Almost 100 years ago, isolationist tariffs introduced by Utah Senator Reed Smoot (yes, that was really his name) and Oregon Representative Willis Hawley exacerbated an existing financial crisis. You may only remember the Smoot-Hawley tariffs of 1930 as part of the mind-numbing lecture Ferris Bueller missed on his day off, but this act raised import duties in an attempt to protect American farmers and businesses. Unfortunately, the Smoot-Hawley tariffs prompted retaliatory tariffs, and the American economy suffered for nearly a decade. Thankfully, we are in a much better situation than our ancestors were. The Great Depression started with the 1929 stock market crashbefore Smoot and Hawley teamed up, ammonia and bleach style, to impose tariffs. As of February 2025, the U.S. was enjoying a robust economy with a growing GDP, while the 1930 tariffs introduced by Smoot and Hawley kicked the wounded economy when it had already been sucker punched by the market crash. The drop in your investment portfolio over the past couple of weeks was nausea-inducing in part because it was falling from a high point. But investors in the 1930s saw their money lose value in the crash and then lose more value from the tariff wars. No one wants to hear a financial expert say, It could be worseand here are some examples of when it was! However, recognizing that the recent turbulence is rocking an economy that had otherwise been stable can help fend off the worst of the panic. Planning for the unexpected Any financial adviser worth their salt will tell you that past performance is no guarantee of future returns, but understanding how markets have reacted in the past can offer some perspective on how markets may react in the future. Since we can look back to the 1930s and see how other countries reacted to Americas isolationist financial and foreign policyand how the market responded to tariffs being flung back and forth across borders like a game of hot potatowe can make plans and predictions based on the worst-case scenario. We know from Smoot and Hawley that tariffs often lead to retaliatory tariffs, which can have a negative impact on the market. Even though there is no way of knowing what will happen, its probably a good idea for investors to buckle up for a bumpy ride. Heres how: Remember that the market will eventually recover For anyone who is 10 or more years out from retirement, you can feel confident that things will improve. Unless were in a dogs and cats living togethermass hysteria! type of extinction-level event, consider ignoring your 401(k) balance for a little while. Your investments will do better if you slowly back away from your portfolio and let the market recover. Forewarned is forearmed Just because the market will return to some semblance of normalcy without any effort on your part doesnt mean you should do nothing. Now is the time to shore up your finances by paying off high-interest debt, setting aside money in an emergency fund, finding ways to lower your expenses, and starting some secondary income streams in case of job loss or involuntary retirement. All of these actions will help your finances whether were in for a long stretch of market nastiness or things are about to come up roses. Invest conservatively as you get closer to retirement Your asset allocation is supposed to get less risky as you approach retirement, since that will protect your principal in case of a market downturn at the wrong time. If youre planning to retire in the next few years, you can make sure any new contributions you make to your retirement accounts are invested in low-risk-lower-return assets, like bonds, treasury funds, CDs, or other cash equivalents. While hese investments arent going to grow like the market normally would, the market also may not grow like it normally would. Stashing your contributions into these kinds of investments will offer you more peace of mind that the money will be waiting for your retirement. You still have time for market recovery Once youre no longer in the flush of youth, you may assume you dont have the luxury of investing for the long term. Its not like a 60-year-old can afford to wait out the market like a 30-year-old can. But you can invest like you have decades ahead of you. Because you do! As you approach retirement and even during your retirement, you will keep a portion of your portfolio invested for the long haul. When you retire, you dont need all of your money right away. Youll keep a significant chunk invested for a longer time horizon, which helps ensure that your money will last your entire life. How to respond if youre already retired By far, retirees are the most vulnerable to a protracted market plunge. Going back to work and/or waiting out the market weirdness is generally off the table for retirees, so it can feel like there are no good choices. But that doesnt mean retirees are helpless in the face of larger economic forces. As with current workers and near-retirees, retirees can make plans now for the worst-case scenario. This might include: Reducing expenses: This is easier said than done, considering the price of eggs and everything else, but start thinking about ways to downsize your costs. Selling items: If you have a lifetimes worth of home goods, collectibles, or Precious Moments figurines sitting around, you may want to start selling some off. This could be a good way to increase your retirement income without having to take money from your investments. Considering a reverse mortgage: Since your home is likely your most valuable asset, a reverse mortgage could be a decent way to access cash from something other than your investments. Dont panicplan Panic is the leading cause of selling at the markets low point. Instead of selling off your investments to staunch the flow of tariff-induced anxiety, make a plan instead. If you assume the market may be bumpy for the foreseeable future, how will that change your financial decisions? Making investment choices based on that assumption will serve you well no matter what happens. In the best-case scenario, things will recover sooner than expected and this will be a footnote in your investing career. But even in the worst-case scenario, planning for volatility will help you make more rational decisionsand protect you from making your paper losses real by getting out of the market. It may be a bit of a grim sounding win-win, but its a heck of a lot better than crying into a pint of Chunky Monkey in the bathtub.
Category:
E-Commerce
In 2017, Nathan Cozzolino started Rose, a farm to edibles brand based in Los Angeles. Cozzolino and his team cultivated organic hemp and marijuana, produced its own low-dose gummies with natural organic ingredients, and sold the product to licensed dispensaries. This structure required overhead that cost upwards of $80,000 a month. Six years in, the brand wasnt able to sell enough products to cover its expenses despite being sold in more than 100 retailers. That changed in July of 2023 when Rose switched the entirety of its production to hemp. We did it because it was that or go out of business, Cozzolino says. He let go of his cannabis licenses, downsized his facilities, and within 60 days built a website where he could sell directly to customers. Within the first month of online sales, Rose was able to break even. Now, the company is selling more products than its able to make, and Cozzolino and his team can focus on the part of the business they love most: the agricultural and culinary work, and sharing the therapeutic benefits of cannabis. Being able to sell online directly to our customer in a responsible way has been what Rose has needed to fully realize our potential as a company and to be able to pursue everything that we dreamed of doing, Cozzolino says. And that always brings us back to the farm, investing in the land, and seeing how we can make our product more interesting, starting with the agricultural component of it. Rose is part of a bigger shift in the cannabis industry toward hemp-derived edibles, which can give users much of the same effects as cannabis-derived THC at lower dosages. As customers increasingly search out low-dose options, theyre finding that these products, from gummies to chocolate to mints and beverages, can be legally shipped right to their door with a few clicks online, circumventing the need to visit a licensed dispensary. [Photo: Rose] The recreational cannabis landscape has been rapidly changing in recent years. While flower and vapes still account for the majority of the market, edibles are becoming a fast-growing category, especially in the United States. The market generated $10.6 billion in 2024a figure thats expected to reach $47.1 billion in 2043, according to a recent report from Research and Markets. And within the edibles market, a growing number of brands are using hemp-derived THC, which is biochemically the same as cannabis-derived THC, in their products. The explosion of hemp-derived cannabis products has helped quicken the normalization of cannabis, says John Kagia, the director of cannabis policy in New York and an industry analyst. There are a few reasons for this: Cannabis companies have found that low-dose edibles are extremely popular with their customers. Meanwhile, the 2018 Farm Bill that removed hemp containing up to 0.3% THC from the federal list of controlled substances has made it easier for cannabis companies to meet the demand. Brands are betting that curious cannabis users will be intrigued enough by gummies and seltzers to eventually become loyal shoppers and daily cannabis users. [Photo: Gossamer] The Edible Future of Cannabis To people in the cannabis space, the mainstreaming of edibles is a natural next step for recreational and medicinal weed. Theyre very universal, says Verena von Pfetten, a cofounder, with David Weiner, of Gossamer, a cannabis media platform. You don’t have to learn how to roll a joint, you don’t need to buy a piece. Plus, clearly labeled doses make it easy to measure just how much THC youre ingesting. These arent the mystery brownies that might knock you out for an entire afternoon. Gummies account for 72% of the edibles market, and a gummy vitamin is something people are comfortable with, von Pfetten adds. When Weiner and von Pfetten, who have media backgrounds, launched Gossamer in 2017, they saw an opportunity to make cannabis more accessible to people who were interested in the effects of THC but were alienated by the stereotypical stoner branding or expert-level discussions about strains. Everything was verity or green or canna something, Weiner says. It was just kind of like, surely there’s a more sophisticated way of tapping into this. [Photo: Gossamer] The marketing around edibles tends to be approachable, with brands playing into the deired effect that someone might want to achieve, like better sleep, more energy, or relaxation. The customer we want to reach, and that we believe is actually the largest customer base across the board, doesnt make their lives revolve around cannabis; they incorporate cannabis into their lives, von Pfetten says. And so how can we help them do that? Gossamers online store, which began offering hemp-derived edibles in 2024, sells everything from THC tinctures to gummies to pre-rolls. The bestsellers are, by far, one- and two-milligram products. [Photo: Rose] The Business of Edibles Edibles also make business sense for cannabis producers. The THC in these products can be derived from hemp, a variety of the same plant species as marijuana that contains a lower concentration of THC. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized the industrial production of hemp containing up to 0.3% THC. It also declassified the plant and cannabinoids derived from it, as a controlled substance. This means that products made with hemp can cross state lines and dont need to be sold in regulated dispensaries, opening the market to states where recreational marijuana use is prohibited so long as they dont have regulations against hemp. Despite more states legalizing recreational cannabis, companies in this space havent been growing as quickly or as easily as they anticipated. Just 27% of cannabis businesses are profitable. The regulated adult-use market across the country is fragmented, with each state having slightly different rules about retail. Since hemp- and marijuana-derived THC are biochemically the same, edibles brands have been switching to hemp-derived THC in their products, which has helped their businesses remain viable. A significant advantage that the hemp-derived ecosystem has is centralized production, Kagia says. It’s much cheaper for these brands to build in one place and ship nationally than to build in every individual market like they would have to do in the adult-use space. Additionally, Kagia is seeing the strongest growth in demand for hemp-derived edibles in states that have not legalized medical or recreational marijuana. What the industry needed was to be able to have a small operation, with little overhead, still working in a regulated way using third party labs for testing, Cozzolino of Rose says. But they needed to be able to sell directly to their customers without a storefront and with an online business the way the rest of the world works. The most popular edibles brands have also quietly shifted to hemp-derived THC for their low-dose edibles, including Wyld (the best seller in most states); Kiva, a portfolio of brands that makes chocolates, gummies, and mints; the chewables brand Sundae School; and Cann, the beverage company. The move is paying off. Aaron Nosbisch, the founder of Brez, a maker of beverages infused with hemp-derived cannabis and mushrooms, posted on LinkedIn that 83% of its sales were DTC and that the brand is pacing to make over $50 million in revenue this year. [Screenshot: Edibles.com] Selling Edibles, Without the Dispensary With more edibles on the market, the retail landscape is changing, too. Before, these brands were at the mercy of dispensaries, which often paid wholesale prices based on the amount of THC in a product and not the overall quality of experience. (For example, a package of 20 microdose gummies from Rose retails for $40 and has 20 mg of THC total while a tin of pre-rolls with 1,635 mg THC total sells for $45 at MedMen.) Additionally, the brand communication could be uneven depending on how familiar dispensary staff was with a product. It wasnt the best environment for low-dose options. Most brands from the get-go have said, we think people want a lower dose edible, von Pfetten says. And then the struggle has been getting dispensaries and the general industry on board with selling them at that price point. The hemp-derived market allowed brands to sell the products that they always wanted to make direct-to-consumer. And despite big investments in retail design, dispensaries remain alienating for some shoppersor just inconvenient. The experience that retailers are providing is not speaking to individuals, Cozzolino says. Meanwhile, gas stations and corner stores have also begun to sell these products, leading to confusion about what is actually being sold and how safe it is. This is still such a young market that we don’t yet have a good sense ofhow consumers are processing the difference between these two products, Kagia says, referring to hemp-derived THC and marijuana-derived THC. Von Pfetten compares the public level of knowledge about the cannabis industry and all the products available to skincare in the 1960s. If you talked to women about AHAs, retinol, salicylic acid, and hyaluronic acid, I think most women would be like, What the fuck are you talking about? I use cold cream, she explains. We are just barely getting to that point in cannabis. People are like, oh, weed gets you high, but then you start talking about CBD, CBG, and terpenes and PHC. So there’s all this education that needs to happen in order for customers to really understand the benefits of the products, and a lot of that education is happening online. [Screenshot: Edibles.com] In addition to direct-to-consumer sales, online shops specializing in edibles, like Gossamer, are now entering the marketplace to balance a trustworthy, reliable retail experience with convenience. You still need some guardrails, von Pfetten says, noting that a fully DTC market isnt sustainable since brands need multiple points of discovery. How do I know that this is vetted and curated? Edible Arrangements, the fruit basket company, launched Edibles.com, a marketplace for hemp-based THC products in March. It now sells to customers in Texas, which has not legalized recreational cannabis, and is using its existing franchise locations as delivery hubs. It essentially layered another product onto its logistics infrastructure. It plans to expand to Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia next. Soon, Edibles.com will also build a physical retail location in Atlanta. An interesting strategic thing for us to solve is how do we alleviate some of the barriers to entry and how do we give trust and education to our consumers that will then translate into permission to say, You know what, maybe I will try these products, says Thomas Winstanley, the chief marketing officer for Edibles.com. Because if it’s coming from Edible Brands, then maybe I can take it a little bit more seriously than what I see at a gas station. [Photo: Rose] The Complicated Future of Hemp-Derived Edibles While hemp-based edibles continue to gain popularity, some states are beginning to regulate the product, citing public health concerns. Meanwhile, cannabis interest groups are lobbying the government to regulate hemp-based products and close the loophole in the Farm Bill, as U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) Executive Director Edward Conklin wrote in a letter to Congress last year. The alcohol industry is also lobbying for more restrictions on hemp-based edibles. As states roll out more regulations around hemp-derived THC, the online shops and brands have stopped shipping to them. In 2023, Washington State created a new law that said any product containing THC is considered cannabis and must be sold in licensed dispensaries. In September of 2024, California enacted temporary emergency regulations to ban hemp products with detectable levels of THC and recently extended the policy to June 2025. In New York, where edibles constitute 15% of licensed cannabis sales, there are now potency limits on the sale of hemp-derived edibles. Anything over one milligram per dose, or 10 milligrams per package, must be sold in a dispensary. According to Kagia, New York set the limits based on potential intoxication risk. Kagia hopes that there is more clarity on the federal level about the production and distribution of hemp-derived THC products as a matter of public health and safety and for business efficiency reasons, too. It would be unfortunate if we ended up with another patchwork national model for hemp-derived products just as we have for the adult use ecosystem, he says. I don’t think it serves the cannabis economy writ large to have these bifurcated models where functionally the same products can be sold in one context but not in another. And so we are looking forward to robust discussion with our national lawmakers on the governance of hemp-derived cannabinoids moving forward. Cannabis companies are cautiously watching the space. Von Pfetten believes that dispensary customers will and should continue to shop in licensed facilities for high-dose edibles but as long as the right guardrails in place are in place in terms of shipping, age gating, and vetting, someone should be able to buy a one-milligram or a two-milligram edible online or receive it direct in a store. To Cozzolino, the regulatory discussion about low-dose edibles is missing the fact that these products are about a culture of cannabis, not intoxication. If the people regulating [cannabis] try to force us back into a three-tiered system, then they’re inhibiting that and ultimately they are decreasing the value of what people in the world can experience with cannabis, he says. So while low-dose edibles might be the future of cannabis, anxiety about the category looms. Luckily, theres a gummy for that.
Category:
E-Commerce
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