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☆ I'm a 26-year-old software engineer making $75,000, and still dream of becoming a professional e-sports athlete. Here's how I balance work and my gaming endeavors
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andy Collins, a 26-year-old software engineer from Chicago pursuing a professional esports career playing the first-person shooting game Valorant. Being a professional esports competitor wasn't the most well-known or traditional career path at the time. Valorant has only been out for four years, but its professional esports scene is rapidly growing in popularity. Even though I'm playing far fewer hours per day than before — I only spend around four hours after work each day playing other teams and strategizing for my weekly matches — I'm in my best-ever form. Are you a professional esports athlete and want to share your story?

Persons: —, Andy Collins, didn't, would've, Valorant, — you've, DarkZero, Valorant esports, I'm, wasn't, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Robert Morris University ., Valorant's Challengers League, North American, League, —, The Guard, Riot Games, DoorDash, Starbucks, Madison Locations: Chicago, United States, Austin, Valorant, mhall@businessinsider.com

☆ Influencer-marketing startup Grin has laid off staffers in a new round of cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Amanda Perelli | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The influencer-marketing platform Grin has laid off "many" staffers — in the company's third round of layoffs in recent months — a spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider. As the company grew, "a distance also grew" between the platform and its customers, the Grin spokesperson said in a statement. First, in November 2022, the company laid off 60 staffers, mostly in Grin's sales department, the company confirmed to BI at the time. Then, in March 2023, the company laid off several staffers across multiple departments, sources close to the company told Business Insider. The impacted staffers in this latest round of cuts will receive a three-month severance package and extended healthcare benefits, the Grin spokesperson said.

Persons: —, Grin, Brandon Brown Organizations: Business, Red, BI Locations: France

☆ Red Lobster, home of the endless shrimp, mulls bankruptcy after spoiling its customers with all-you-can-eat lobster: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It may be the end of the line for the seafood chain Red Lobster, per Bloomberg. AdvertisementSeafood chain Red Lobster is considering filing for bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. According to the outlet, Red Lobster is being advised by the law firm King & Spalding. Red Lobster and King & Spalding did not respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment. Representatives for Red Lobster and King & Spalding did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: —, Spalding, Red Lobster's, Ludovic Garnier, servings, Ian Borden, Borden Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, King, Spalding, Thai Union Group —, Golden Corral, Business Insider Locations: Maine

☆ Neeraj Chopra has gained unlikely stardom in India. If he wins another Olympic gold, he will be ‘treated like God’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —In a line-up of India’s sporting heroes, most of whom have gained celebrity status through cricket, Neeraj Chopra is an anomaly. Matthias Hangst/Getty ImagesPrior to Chopra, India had practically no history in track and field, winning most of its Olympic medals in field hockey and wrestling. But still, Neeraj Chopra is the best sportsperson. “My main focus is to stay healthy,” says Chopra, “but I’m not taking the pressure of winning a gold medal again. He is a moving billboard, one can say now.”And if he wins a second gold medal at the Olympics?

Persons: Neeraj Chopra, ” Chopra, – Chopra, ”, Chopra, It’s, Matthias Hangst, Norris Pritam, He’s, Fabrice Coffrini, “, Pritam, Kirill Kudryavtsev, he’s, I’m, I’ll, ’, –, Michael Steele, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, Ormax Media, Diamond League, Tokyo, “, ”, volleyball, Zurich Diamond League, Getty, Commonwealth Games, Paris Olympics, India Locations: India, Tokyo, Budapest, Khandra, Haryana, Panipat, AFP, Panchkula, Hungary

☆ Millennials having fewer kids could be a drag on the economy for the next decade
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

At the current trajectory, that's set to weigh on the economy for the next decade or more. AdvertisementMillennials aren't having as many kids as previous generations, and that fact could end up dragging down economic growth for more than a decade. "What you're talking about is these birth rates dropping very, very low levels, which over the course of time has huge impacts on the economy," Pomeroy said. The impact of millennials having fewer kids will likely be worse than the impact of aging boomers — and the most dire consequences could come 10-15 years from now, Pomeroy estimated. The most important thing to encourage people to have more kids might be a cultural shift in how we talk about children, Buchholz says.

Persons: Millennials, —, James Pomeroy, Pomeroy, Todd Buchholz, …, boomers, Buchholz, That's, DINK, " Buchholz, it's Organizations: Service, Centers for Disease Control, White House, Medicare, Social Security, CNBC, Sony PlayStation Locations: China, Japan, Russia

☆ I made $9,450 and erased my credit card debt by joining 2 clinical trials. I just had to agree to get the flu and dysentery.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . My flu clinical trial stay came with free room serviceThe study took place in a 3-star hotel in downtown Baltimore. (Just to be clear: I would never eat in my bed at home — gross — but when living in a hotel room with an extra bed, why not?) I'm lucky that I'm not prone to cabin fever, so the prospect of being stuck, quarantine-like, inside a hotel room didn't faze me. We waited for several days for the researchers to find a proper "donor" who could spread the flu.

Persons: —, Christopher Silva, It's, I'd, Silva, we'd, Shirley Jackson, it's, Hilary Brueck Organizations: Service, University of Maryland, Uno, University of Maryland School of Public, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Health Locations: Pennsylvania, Baltimore, hbrueck@businessinsider.com

The pay data includes salaries ranging from a data scientist position that offers $170,000 per year at Discord to a staff engineer role that earns $250,000 or more at Patreon. AdvertisementHere are the annual salaries for a job at FaZe Clan:Legal Counsel: $142,273 median starting range; from $133,308 to $194,437FaZe Clan did not respond to BI's request for comment. At LTK, a senior software engineer would make $130,000Courtesy of LTKLTK, formerly known as RewardStyle, is an affiliate-marketing and social-commerce platform used by influencers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. At Teachable, a level II senior software engineer would make $190,000Teachable is a platform where creators can build and sell online courses and coaching programs. Here are annual salary ranges for several jobs at Teachable:Data Analyst : $69,826 to $85,000: $69,826 to $85,000 Senior Software Engineer : $160,000 to $180,000: $160,000 to $180,000 Senior Software Engineer - Core : $150,000 to $170,000: $150,000 to $170,000 Senior Software Engineer II : $190,000: $190,000 Software Engineer: $125,000 to $135,000Teachable did not respond to BI's request for comment.

Persons: upstarts, we're, Justin Kenna, they've, ByteDance, Teachable, Konstantin Savusia, James Nord, Brandon Brown, Ryan Brown, Brian Mechem, Warby Parker, Grin, Amanda Perelli, Anthony, Alex Zaccaria, Nick Humphreys, Linktree's, Amber Venz, Baxter, Read, Sydney Bradley, economy's, Patreon, Chris Best, Jason Henry Substack Organizations: YouTube, Business, FaZe, Safety, Software, Security, Enterprise Security, FaZe Clan, Fohr, Inc, Grin Technologies, Facebook, Keli Network Inc, Business Affairs, Jellysmack, Linktree, Ops, RewardStyle Inc, Networks, Mighty Networks, Mighty Software, Engineering, Sydney, Sydney Bradley One, BI, Staff, Social, Data Engineering, Trust, Quality Assurance, Hotmart, & $ Locations: California, New York, Texas, FaZe, Fohr, Jellysmack, Karat, Linktree, LTK, Instagram, Dallas , Texas, Teachable

☆ An estate manager for the wealthy shares some of the outlandish and intimate requests she's received from clients
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She and her team coordinate service providers, from gardeners to party planners, for her clients. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementEmily Webb-Doskow, an estate manager, receives strange requests from wealthy clients. These shifts expanded the prospective client base of families who could benefit from an estate manager. She said a starting salary for a full-time estate or house manager could be about $150,000.

Persons: Emily Webb, Doskow, Baker, —, Webb, Rich, I've, She's, bender, Barths, Holger Leue, they'd, they're Organizations: Webb, Service, Craigslist, Business, Baker, Estate Management, YouTube Locations: Los Angeles, New York City, St, America

☆ How FaZe Clan's future owner hopes to rein in pissed-off talent and build a sustainable influencer business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Several of its top talent have revolted against the company on social media over the past year. Beginning in late 2022, Nordan "FaZe Rain" Shat posted a series of YouTube videos criticizing FaZe's leadership and spending decisions. He would oversee the brand alongside Thomas "FaZe Temperrr" Oliveira, FaZe's proposed president, and Yousef "FaZe Apex" Abdelfattah, set to become FaZe's COO. GameSquare CEO Justin Kenna, a former CFO at FaZe, said he knew he needed buy-in from FaZe talent for the deal to move forward. GameSquare wrote in a press release announcing its FaZe deal that it expects to record more than $18 million in savings by cutting "duplicate corporate costs" and other expenses following a merger.

Persons: Shat, FaZe's, influencer Richard, FaZe, Bengtson, GameSquare, Thomas, Oliveira, Yousef, Justin Kenna, Kenna, Bengston, Lee Trink, Tyler, Ninja, Blevins, we're Organizations: FaZe, Nasdaq, Ninja Labs

☆ FaZe Clan's plummeting valuation shows how risky it can be to bet your company's future on influencers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Dan Whateley | Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While esports as a category has broadly struggled with monetization , FaZe's difficulties stemmed more from its reliance on just a few influencers for revenue. The company makes money through revenue splits with its talent, brand partnerships, and esports winnings. For FaZe, that revenue is often concentrated on the backs of a few big stars. "This was too nascent of a business model to be publicly traded with too much 'key person risk' around influencers," Chapman said of FaZe. GameSquare has subsidiaries like merchandise brand Mission Supply Co., influencer-marketing platform Sidekiq, and streaming data analytics firm Stream Hatchet, all of which could potentially be applied to the FaZe brand.

Persons: Influencers, Clan, monetization, Michael Metzger, Josh Chapman, FaZe, Chapman, Justin Kenna, Kenna, we're Organizations: Drake, Konvoy Ventures, Clubhouse Media, YouTube Locations: influencers, GameSquare

☆ Trump rages as former acolytes turn against him under legal heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

She was the third former Trump acolyte to agree to testify against the ex-president and others this week. “If I knew then what I knew now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges. One of Trump’s former associates was feeling no remorse when he arrived in court in New York on Tuesday seeking to undermine another Trump legal defense. It has long been the case that while those around Trump in business and politics often find themselves slipping deep into legal trouble, he skips free. The apparent decisions of Meadows, Ellis and Cohen – together with the mass of legal threats now facing the former president – suggest that charmed life is about to meet its biggest challenge yet.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Mark Meadows, Meadows, Trump, Jenna Ellis, Joe Biden’s, Ellis, Fani Willis, Donald Trump, ” Ellis, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Cohen, Cohen, “ Heck, ” Cohen, hasn’t, Nelson Mandela, Biden, –, doesn’t, Jack Smith, CNN Meadows, Smith’s, Cohen – Organizations: CNN, GOP, ABC News, Trump, Peach State, New York, Republican, ABC Locations: Meadows, Georgia, Fulton County, New York, “, Robben, South Africa, New Hampshire, Washington, North Carolina, Fulton County , Georgia, Trump

☆ Take Five: Summer at Jackson Hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Jason Reed Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - It's summer camp season and not to be left out, U.S. rate setters and overseas pals gather in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to talk central banking. U.S. Federal Reserve officials (plus friends from the ECB, BoE and BOJ) descend on Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Aug. 24-26 for their annual central bank confab. Inflation remains sticky in places and investors want to know how long it will take for central banks to switch to easing. European PMIs could provide a bigger signal on whether the European Central Bank will hike again in September and if the Bank of England opts for a big rate increase. Turkey's central bank is poised to raise rates on Thursday for the third time in a row since Hafize Gaye Erkan was appointed as governor in early June.

Persons: Jason Reed, Ira Iosebashvili, Li Gu, Yoruk, Rosario, Marc Jones, Rachel Savage, BoE, Jackson, Vladimir Putin, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, Tayyip Erdogan, Dhara Ranasinghe, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S . Federal, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Reserve, ECB, Nvidia, CARE, HK, China, European Central Bank, Bank of England, West, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington, U.S, Jackson Hole , Wyoming, China, Ira, New York, Shanghai, Amsterdam, Jorgelina, London, Johannesburg, confab, CHINA, Beijing, United States, European, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Turkey

☆ Indian automaker Mahindra says competition from Tesla 'does not faze us'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Mahindra Group isn't worried about global players like Tesla entering India's highly competitive electric vehicle market, its CEO and managing director Anish Shah told CNBC. So Tesla or anyone else coming in does not faze us," Shah said on "Street Signs Asia" Tuesday. "At one point, Mahindra was written off when all the global majors were coming into India. Tesla is reportedly discussing plans to enter the EV space in India, which is the world's third-largest auto market, according to Reuters. CEO Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June and said he has plans to "make significant investments in India."

Persons: Tesla, Anish Shah, We've, Shah, Elon Musk, Narendra Modi Organizations: Mahindra, isn't, CNBC, Reuters Locations: India

Discord has laid off 4% of its staff, a spokesperson confirmed to Insider. The August layoffs impacted Discord's marketing team heavily, a source familiar with the matter said. The company is undergoing a reorganization of "some business units." Discord laid off around 4% its staff on Thursday, a company spokesperson confirmed to Insider. Several employees who identified as Discord staffers working on graphic design and entertainment partnerships posted about the layoffs on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Organizations: The New York Times

☆ Wearing Paint Instead of Clothes on the Streets of New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Callie Holtermann | More About Callie Holtermann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Across from a Pret a Manger near Union Square Park, Nicolette Barischoff held still as an artist painted an open blue eye across her sternum on Sunday. “It’s a very Zen experience,” she said, as photographers snapped pictures from behind police barricades. This year’s installment was the 10th — and the last, according to the event’s founder, Andy Golub, an artist. He said he was ending it to focus on other projects for his organization, Human Connection Arts. Nije Durdeen, 31, came from Philadelphia to model after learning she might not get another chance.

Persons: Nicolette Barischoff, “, ”, Ms, Barischoff, Andy Golub, Nije Durdeen Organizations: Human Connection Locations: Los Angeles, Philadelphia

☆ Read the pitch decks from these creator economy startups that helped raise millions of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Here are the pitch decks that 24 startups used in Series A, Seed, and pre-Seed rounds. The phrase "creator economy" skyrocketed as a buzzword in 2021 as creators, VCs, and entrepreneurs rushed to cash in on a booming industry. So, how do creator economy startups land those investments? They broke down the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding. Read the pitch decks that helped 24 creator-focused startups to fundraise millions of dollars:

Persons: —, Alexis Ohanian's Seven, Tony Tran, Tran, Jessica Wolf, who've Organizations: United Talent, Intelligence Locations: Skye

☆ Hot dog-eater Joey Chestnut wins July Fourth title with 62 franks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Amr AlfikyJuly 4 (Reuters) - Reigning champion of the annual U.S. Fourth of July hot dog eating contest Joey Chestnut defended his title on Tuesday, clinching his 16th career win by scarfing down 62 franks in 10 minutes. The second place men's finisher, Geoff Esper of Oxford, Massachusetts, was far behind with 49 hot dogs consumed. Chestnut fell short of besting his world record - 76 hot dogs - which he achieved in 2021. She set the women's world record in 2020 with 48.5 hot dogs. Chestnut, by comparison, typically eats nine hot dogs in less than a minute.

Persons: Joey Chestnut, Amr Alfiky, scarfing, franks, Geoff Esper, Miki Sudo, Chestnut, Gabriella Borter, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, ESPN, York City, Thomson Locations: Coney, New York City, U.S, New York, Indiana, Oxford , Massachusetts, York

☆ Djokovic hungry for more Grand Slams as he eyes number 24 at Wimbledon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

He also now sits just one Grand Slam behind Margaret Court who won a record 24. I still feel hungry for success, for more Grand Slams, more achievements in tennis," Djokovic told reporters. "I want to try to use every Grand Slam opportunity I have at this stage where I'm feeling good in my body, feeling motivated and playing very good tennis, to try to get more." Djokovic comes into Wimbledon as the second seed this year with 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz now world number one after his first title on grass at Queen's. Djokovic will begin his Wimbledon title defence against Argentina's 67th-ranked Pedro Cachin on Monday.

Persons: Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, Rafa Nadal's, Roger Federer's men's, Margaret Court, Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz, he's, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos, Pedro Cachin, Rohith Nair, Ken Ferris Organizations: Wimbledon, All England, Argentina's, Thomson Locations: Serbian, Queen's, Bengaluru

Last year the former leader of Yoon’s party hit out at what he said was the “evil influence” YouTube channels. “After President Yoon Suk Yeol came to power, there have been many cases where the presidential office filed complaints to the media,” Jung said. It has since consistently ranked top in terms of real-time daily viewership on YouTube in South Korea. To Professor Jung, it’s a success that demonstrates “voices cannot be silenced.”Kim, meanwhile, hopes to build a show with as much recognition as any on traditional media. “I will create a type of press that has not yet existed on YouTube,” Kim said.

☆ A woman earns nearly $5,000 a month selling pictures and videos of her feet — dirty socks can fetch as much as $500
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Julia Naftulin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Chrissy makes an average of $5,000 each month selling custom videos and photos, plus used socks she mails out. Chrissy told Insider she's been selling photos of her "elegant" size seven feet on the website for three years. That's when I started to explore other options and came across Fun with Feet," Chrissy told Insider. Whenever they see a photo, they want to imagine the person behind that photo," Chrissy told Insider. She said she plans to continue selling feet photos until she gets sick of it, but doesn't anticipate that will be any time soon.

☆ Help Still Wanted: Fewer Job Openings Won’t Faze the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Justin Lahart | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Fed policy makers have been arguing that a drop in the number of job vacancies could effectively cool off the job market. Photo: Jeff Chiu/Associated PressThere was a big debate among economists and U.S. policy makers last year over whether job openings could come down without tanking the job market. Well, job openings are down and the job market is still strong, but the debate is hardly resolved. Newsletter Sign-up Markets P.M. Agenda-setting analysis and commentary on the biggest corporate and market stories from our Heard on the Street team. Data on job openings from the Labor Department and, before December 2000, from a series constructed by Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco economist Regis Barnichon that goes back to 1951, shows that there has never been a decline of 20% or more in job openings without a substantial increase in the unemployment rate.

☆ People think AI is to blame for the mysterious case of the Spotify song with 49 different names
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One Spotify user was recommended the same song under 49 different names and suspects AI is behind it. Turns out, AI-generated songs are taking over conversation in the music industry. Spotify user Adam Faze took to Twitter to try to find out. except every time I looked, it was a different song name and artist entirely." He decided to add each of these recommended tracks to a playlist, which now includes 49 "different" songs.

☆ Influencer-marketing platform Grin lays off staffers across marketing, engineering, and more teams: 'Unfair and unexpected'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Amanda Perelli | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The layoffs affected staffers across Grin's marketing, engineering, and more teams. Grin, a marketing platform used by brands to run sponsored campaigns with influencers on social media, is the latest creator-economy startup to lay off employees. On Tuesday, the company laid off a number of staffers across its marketing, engineering, and other teams, according to multiple people close to the company. In November, a spokesperson for Grin confirmed the company had laid off 60 staffers. Those November layoffs, which affected about 13% of its staff, mostly impacted staffers in Grin's sales department, the spokesperson said at the time.

☆ Travel demand fuels a boom in Asia Pacific — in hotel rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | Chris Dwyer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Hotel rates are at an "all-time high," Alan Watts, Hilton's Asia-Pacific president, told "Squawk Box Asia" on Thursday. In parts of Asia Pacific, hotel rates are climbing even higher. Rates in Asia are skyrocketingThe travel boom in Asia Pacific has been "phenomenal," said Watts. Average hotel rates across Southeast Asia have gone up more than 10% since 2022, according to data from the travel booking company Traveloka. Ctrip, the leading travel booking website in China, also told CNBC that average hotel booking prices in Bangkok jumped by around 70% in late January.

☆ How two high schoolers from Denmark built an NFT marketplace and secured funding through a DAO backed by Bessemer Venture Partners
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bessemer Venture Partners has invested in the NFT marketplace OWND, which it found through its DAO. Better yet, this DAO had the backing of one of Silicon Valley's blue-chip venture firms, Bessemer Venture Partners. Bach Ryhl read all the crypto-related articles he could find on Medium and took a Web3 course on Udemy. Lunau Liechti, in particular, had been following the efforts of brands such as Nike and LVMH to launch NFT versions of their physical products. "We want to make it as easy to buy a Nike NFT as it is to buy a Nike sneaker online," Lunau Liechti said.

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