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☆ Shopify says AI has helped keep its head count flat
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shopify executives said during the company's first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that its head count has stayed flat for the past three quarters and that using AI has been a major contributing factor. Shopify has been touting its "new shape" since it sold its logistics business and laid off 20% of its workforce in May 2023. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. It's also found efficiencies by using AI throughout the company. Internal AI tools have also allowed Shopify to offer multilingual support 24/7, whereas it was previously offered only during set working hours.

Persons: Shopify, We've, Harley Finkelstein, It's, Jeff Hoffmeister, Hoffmeister, crafters, —, Charlie Miner Organizations: SEC, Business, Shopify's Locations: mstone@businessinsider.com

☆ Shopify plans a reorg of its Support division as the ratio of managers to 'crafters' falls below target
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewShopify is planning a reorganization of its Support division, and employees worry cuts are on the way. He said that Support teams working with Shopify's largest enterprise merchants would not be affected. OpenAI recently hired Glen Worthington, Shopify's former vice president of global support, to lead its own customer service operations. Jen Bebb, previously Shopify's director of global merchant and product support, left the company in March when Worthington left. Clovis Cuqui, who previously led support as Shopify's VP of merchant acceleration, announced his departure in October.

Persons: —, David Kohl, We've, Kohl, we're, crafters, Shopify, OpenAI, Glen Worthington, Shopify's, Jen Bebb, Worthington, Clovis Cuqui Organizations: Service, Business, WordPress Locations: Philippines, Canada, mstone@businessinsider.com

☆ TikTok is circling the wagons ahead of a potential ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. The company plans to exhaust all legal avenues before considering being split from Chinese company ByteDance, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. AdvertisementIf TikTok loses its legal battle, ByteDance, its parent company, must divest the social media platform. This could also prove challenging, as the Chinese government has said it opposes a forced sale of TikTok. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Shou Chew, Sarah Kreps, Shu Jueting, TikTok Organizations: Service, Senate, Business, Punchbowl News, Bloomberg, Wall Street, Tech, Institute, New York's Cornell University, CNN Locations: United States

☆ From Watch Fan to Watch Strap Maker, in 2 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Vivian Morelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Still, he has no regrets and sees the benefits of being self-taught. “Every time I failed, I’d ask myself, ‘How can I improve?’” he said. “It’s a very small circle, and word spreads fast within niche groups like this,” he said. He buys leathers directly from a tannery in Singapore or from a supplier. “Usual crafters use basic alligator and calf, but I love trying out different materials such as beaver tail, special effect lizards, stingray, sharkskin and tilapia fish.

Persons: I’d, ”, “, Chuah, —, I’ll, leathers Locations: Singapore, Paya

☆ With booze, furniture and candles, Dungeons & Dragons makes itself at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In this article ETSYHAS Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTInside the storefront of Cantrip Candles in Hollywood, CA. An avid Dungeons & Dragons fan, Visscher was hosting a game when a beer got knocked over during a rowdy tavern interaction. Inspired by fantasy games and settings like those seen in Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and other popular tabletop role-playing games, Cantrip Candles has created its own lore to pair with its scents. Cantrip Candles also partners with other small businesses to sell wick trimmers, matches, notebooks, plush and apparel. Hasbro , which owns the Dungeons & Dragons brand through its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, has boasted that the game has more than 50 million active players.

Persons: Sarah Whitten, CNBC It's, Christoff Visscher, Visscher, Sellers, Ed Maranville, Harry Potter, Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Kidults, Matthew Lillard, Lillard, Justin Ware, Beadle, Wyrmwood's Maranville, Maranville Organizations: CNBC, Pathfinder, Marvel, Star, Hasbro, &, Wizards, NPD, Grimm's, Wyrmwood Locations: Hollywood , CA, Hollywood, Rhode, Indiana, Kentucky

☆ Here’s what it takes to become an ‘It Girl’ today
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Diana Pearl | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Today, it’s a job in and of itself — one that, to do successfully, requires a team behind you. Richie Grainge had been working as a model for years, and was also known as the little sister of 2000s It girl Nicole Richie. Madison McGaw/BFA.com/ShutterstockGetty has all the makings of a classic It girl — famous family, beautiful looks, a distinct sense of style. “It takes a different kind of confidence to be a little more quiet and still be noticed,” said Baruch. “Even if you have the tools and are following all the calculations of what it takes to be an It girl, it still might not pop,” said Delmonte.

Persons: aren’t, they’re, Clara Bow —, it’s, Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, Bianca Jagger, Carolyn Bessette, Kennedy, Alexa Chung, Jagger, ”, Jeni Rose, That’s, Sofia Richie Grainge, she’s, Jo Malone, Richie Grainge’s nuptials, Liat Baruch, Richie Grainge’s, that’s, We’ve, Anne Hathaway, Erin Walsh, Valentino minidress, Richie Grainge, Nicole Richie, Robyn DelMonte, Ivy Getty, J, Paul Getty, Madison McGaw, Shutterstock Getty, Savannah Engel, —, “, ” Getty, Engel, Federica Parruccini, ” Parruccini, Getty, Hailey Bieber, Rose, John Springer, It’s, influencers, Baruch Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, Cannes Film, Vogue, San, &, Cannes, Rhode Locations: South, France, Maybelline, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Savi, “

☆ Read the memo Shopify sent employees explaining its meeting cost calculator: 'Your calendar is a strategy.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Your calendar is a strategy, and the Meeting Cost Calculator helps you make informed decisions for organizing or accepting meetings. He said that employees could reference a page in Shopify's internal "vault" for more information about the meeting cost calculator. The Meeting Cost Calculator is here to challenge the status quo, nudging us to reconsider meeting necessity and explore more creative collaboration methods. The meeting cost calculator is the latest in a series of experiments Shopify has launched to maximize time and efficiency in its workplace this year. Your calendar is a strategy, and the Meeting Cost Calculator helps you make informed decisions for organizing or accepting meetings.

Persons: Shopify, Kaz Nejatian, Mark Zuckerberg, Tobi Lütke

☆ What happens when ChatGPT tries to create crochet patterns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

ChatGPT, a publicly available language-learning AI, was not designed to create things like crochet or knitting patterns. Before we begin …A few notes on my methodology:For every crochet pattern I generated, I used the prompt “Create a crochet pattern for (blank).”I followed the crochet pattern exactly. At first glance, ChatGPT’s crochet patterns look and read exactly like a crochet pattern. In a traditional crochet pattern, instructions for assembly would note specific places and methods to attach pieces, along with photos or notes on particularly tricky steps. Theoretically, it would be possible to create AI that generated amazing crochet patterns, but that would require very specific training and programming.

Persons: ”, AJ Willingham, ChatGPT, ’ AJ Willingham, You’ll, Yoda ’ AJ Willingham, Yoda, Casey Miller, ” Miller, It’s, Antarctica ’ AJ Willingham, “, Al Arab ’ AJ Willingham, CNN I’ll, Khalifa, you’ve, Eliot, don’t Organizations: CNN, Antarctica, Burj Al, Burj Locations: Kennesaw , Georgia, Antarctica, Al Arab, Al, Arab, Dubai, Burj, Arab’s

☆ Shopify's midlife crisis: How a surprise pivot away from logistics capped the e-commerce giant's whirlwind year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Madeline Stone | Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But Shopify's logistics acquisitions, which came with around 550 more staff altogether, started to look like dead weight after the shine of the initial announcements wore off. By the beginning of 2023, the attitude toward logistics inside Shopify had shifted to palpable frustration, four people who worked for Shopify's logistics division said. Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty ImagesIndependent of logistics, Shopify saw massive cultural shifts in the past several years. One core tenet of Shopify's work culture is "default to open," meaning it values transparency and sharing information with employees. The letter referred to Shopify's logistics work of the past four years as a "side quest" that distracted the company from its "main quest."

Persons: Shopify, it's, Oppenheimer, Ken Wong, Lance McMillan, crafters, Tobias Lütke, Slack, —, Lütke, Shopify's, I've, Toby Shannan, Morgan Stanley, Jeff Hoffmeister, Bobby Morrison, Allan Leinwand, Kaz Nejatian, Nejatian, Madeline Stone, Emma Cosgrove Organizations: Employees, Amazon, Systems, Kiva Systems, Toronto Star, Getty, miscalculating, Facebook, ecosgrove Locations: Shopify, Ottawa , Ontario, —, Silicon

Shopify announced Thursday that it is cutting 20% of staff and selling off its logistics business. Shopify's CEO Tobi Lütke announced early Thursday that the company is cutting 20% of its workforce and selling the majority of its logistics business to supply chain technology company Flexport. It's the right thing for Shopify but it negatively affects many team members who we admire and love working with. Analysts and insiders had also been expecting a major change to Shopify's logistics division, Insider reported Wednesday. But 6 River Systems, a warehouse automation and robotics company Shopify purchased in 2019 for $450 million, is being sold to UK grocery firm Ocado for an undisclosed sum.

☆ Shopify will release earnings earlier than planned as employees ready themselves for more layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Employees told Insider they fear layoffs are on the way. Shopify has moved up the timing of its quarterly earnings call as employees brace for possible layoffs. Fear has been growing among employees that Shopify plans to lay off workers within the next several days. Company leadership told workers in the fall that it planned to change how it evaluated employees' performance. In March, Shopify announced a new framework that would classify employees as either managers or "crafters," with the goal of incentivizing more employees to be individual contributors.

☆ Shopify employees brace for more layoffs as the company cancels in-person gatherings ahead of earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fear is growing among Shopify employees that more layoffs are on the way. Fear is spreading among Shopify employees that the Canadian e-commerce company is planning to lay off more workers within the next few days. Employees said that the company has canceled a number of upcoming "bursts," which is Shopify's name for team off-sites, and other in-person events. Shopify laid off 10% of its workforce — or roughly 1,000 people — last July. The company also quietly laid off several dozen employees before and after the mass layoff was announced.

☆ Leaked document shows Shopify's plan to use 'stealth spear-fishing' recruiting tactics as it flattens its org
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A leaked internal document detailed Shopify's plan to overhaul its recruiting strategy. It said that recruiters needed to raise the bar for the quality of candidates they were bringing on to the company. "To do this, we will exhaustively seek out world class talent, scorching the earth with thoroughness and precision," it continued. The leaked internal document from Shopify cited a January conversation with CEO Tobi Lütke where he emphasized the need to hire fewer people managers and more people who had deep technical knowledge. It also said that Lütke instructed org leaders to "avoid high drama negative talent."

☆ Salesforce: A New Dawn. CEO Marc Benioff is pivoting the cloud company from family to profitability.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and I'm not just talking about the Selena/Hailey 'mean girls' saga — I'm fascinated by the Salesforce spectacle. CEO Marc Benioff recently oversaw the departure of two leading candidates to inherit the Salesforce throne. Now, under their careful watch, Benioff needs to guide the company through a cost-cutting period — something he's never done before. This is quite the turn, considering he was still emphasizing Ohana after laying off 10% of the company in January. CEO Marc Benioff announced on Wednesday that the company is starting a "new day."

☆ Shopify is 'flattening' its org structure to incentivize more employees to become individual contributors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Shopify is making changes to its managerial structure that will likely result in fewer middle managers, "flattening" its organizational structure. Starting in mid-March, employees will choose to become either a full-time manager or a "crafter," as Shopify calls individual contributors. Silas added that Shopify expects to have fewer managers overall, referring to the change as a "flattening" of the organization. Shopify also removed all employee meetings that were scheduled for Wednesdays and limited large team events to specific hours on Thursdays. If you're a Shopify employee with a story to share, contact this reporter at mstone@insider.com or on the encrypted messaging app Signal at (646) 889-2143 using a nonwork phone.

☆ Etsy Looks Crafted to Last
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Laura Forman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Internet companies are scrambling to refashion themselves in a frenzied market. Etsy , it seems, just woke up like this. Once a fringe online marketplace for crafters, Etsy gained widespread popularity during the pandemic. But unlike many Covid beneficiaries in the e-commerce space, Etsy has achieved gains that have thus far proven durable. Etsy reported more than 94 million active buyers as of the end of the third quarter—down less than 2% from its peak at the end of last year and roughly double the number it counted prepandemic.

☆ November reader favorites: Apple AirPods, KN95 masks and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Shari Uyehara | Shari Uyehara Is The Manager Of Editorial Operations Of Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

November, like October, was a month full of sales — we at Select kept an eye out for the best deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the biggest shopping events of the year. With the holiday season just around the corner, we ramped up our gift guide coverage to help you find the best gift for virtually any person in your life, including book lovers, coffee lovers, father figures and more — we also looked into the best advent calendars and stocking stuffers to help you get into the holiday spirit. And as November brought colder weather and the end to daylight saving time, we spoke to experts about everything from products for chapped lips to items that can help you sleep better, including sleep masks and blackout curtains. To give you an idea of what readers shopped for last month, we compiled a list of the bestselling products we covered throughout November, including items purchased during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping days. November reader favoritesBelow, we compiled our readers' most purchased products throughout the month of November, excluding Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

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