DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The inside story of hot startup Deel's grow-at-all-costs culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Deel employees told Insider how the startup exploded. In just three years, the HR services startup grew from under 30 employees to over 2,000. My colleague Rob Price talked with more than 30 current/former Deel employees about its astronomical rise. Get a front row seat to Deel's grow-at-all-costs approach — intense, even for Silicon Valley. Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty: Why people are sticking with Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ A Los Angeles meteorologist collapsed on air, falling to the floor and forcing an emergency commercial break
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A Los Angeles meteorologist collapsed on the air Saturday morning. In a post on Facebook, Alissa Carlson said she'll be OK.KCAL said Carlson will return when she's well, NBC reported. Alissa Carlson is now resting and recovering, according to KCAL, the Los Angeles CBS affiliate. Neither the news station nor Carlson explained why the meteorologist fainted, NBC reported. "All of us at KCAL News want [to] thank you for your thoughts and prayers after Meteorologist Alissa Carlson fainted during our morning newscast," KCAL wrote in a tweet Saturday.

☆ Over-the-counter eye drop has been linked to infections leading to eyeball removal, vision loss, and one death: CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

EzriCare eye drops were recalled in February over possible bacterial contamination. The CDC recommends avoiding EzriCare and Delsam Pharma Artificial Tears. EzriCare Artificial Tears, an over-the-counter eye drop made by Global Pharma Healthcare, was recalled in early February, NBC News reported. According to the CDC, most patients reported using eye drops — and many reported using EzriCare specifically. EzriCare and Delsam Pharma drops were distributed across the US over the internet, according to Global Pharma Healthcare.

☆ Lawsuit argues Amazon illegally surveilled NYC customers including tracking their body size. Here's why Amazon Go stores are watching you.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new lawsuit alleges the company's stores in New York City illegally collect data on customers' size and shape without telling them. "From the moment a person walks through the door … Amazon uses computer vision to track people," Peter Roman-Friedman, lead attorney on the lawsuit, told Insider. The lawsuit pertains specifically to nine Amazon's Go stores in New York City, where city law says companies must disclose when customers' biometric data is being collected. The new signs say no biometric data is being collected outside use of the palm scanner, according to the lawsuit. "We think that Amazon's conduct has gone from bad to worse," Roman-Friedman told Insider.

☆ Uber Eats mystery is leaving this LA neighborhood with countless, food deliveries. But nobody knows why, and residents are over it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Residents of an LA neighborhood have been receiving unwanted food deliveries for weeks. No one has been able to get to the bottom of a mystery, but Uber Eats has opened an investigation, ABC7 reported. One resident told ABC7 that the deliveries 'haunt my dreams.' "Before you knew it, the whole street was lined with bags of McDonald's and Starbucks, and nobody could explain where it was coming from," Morgan Currier told ABC7. "I've been getting 20-piece nuggets with sweet and sour sauce," Morgan Currier, a vegetarian, told the LA Times.

☆ Twitch cofounder says he’s stepping down as CEO to raise his baby: ‘I want to be fully there for my son as he enters this world’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear announced he is stepping down to care for his newborn son. "Twitch has been like my family, the place I've spent more of my waking hours than anywhere else," Shear wrote on Twitch's blog Thursday. "So it is with great poignancy that I share my decision to resign from Twitch as CEO," Shear wrote. "I want to be fully there for my son as he enters this world and I feel ready for this change to tackle new challenges. "Thank you, everyone, for your support, your critical thoughts, your trust, and your help," Shear wrote.

☆ Making $100,000 in New York City 'feels like' only $36,000, according to new study. Here are the top 10 cities where your money goes further.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

New York City ranked the lowest for cost of living on a six-figure salary in a study of 76 cities. Seven cities in Texas rounded out the top 10, while places like LA and Boston were at the bottom. According to a new cost of living study by financial technology company SmartAsset, a $100,000 salary in New York City leaves workers with what "feels like" just $36,000, the lowest of nearly 80 cities analyzed by the financial advisory company. Each city was analyzed using a salary of $100,000. Here are the top 10 cities for cost of living:

☆ A Silicon Valley Bank employee attempted to serenade Elon Musk with an Alanis Morissette parody, pleading for the billionaire to buy the failed bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Many SVB employees cheered on a post calling for Elon Musk to buy the bank with a parody of an Alanis Morissette song. In a post to LinkedIn, 11-year SVB employee Mona Maitra called on Musk to buy the bank using a parody music video of Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" filmed in a Tesla. commented someone also identified as a Silicon Valley Bank employee. The lighthearted post comes after the highly public collapse of Silicon Valley Bank Friday, which brought lengthy and wide reaching debate over how to handle the bank's failure. "No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer."

☆ Fortnite developer ordered to pay $245 million to refund 'tricked' players in federal settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fortnite developer Epic Games will pay $245 million over its practices surrounding in-game purchases. The payout runs tandem with a $275 million fine the developer agreed to play in December. The FTC plans to return the $245 million payout to consumers. Separate from the $245 million payout, Epic will also pay $275 million for violating children's privacy law. Epic's flagship video game Fortnite is free for players to download, but includes several options for in-game purchases like virtual gear for characters.

☆ Mississippi's sole Tesla store plays by different rules than traditional car dealers in the state. A new state law is changing that
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But Tesla has skirted those regulations by calling its lone location in the state a "store" instead of a "dealership." Tate Reeves Tuesday. But a new state law is set to level the playing field. Tesla currently has one store operating in the state, which has skirted regulations that face traditional car manufacturers by classifying itself as a "store" and not a "dealership," the AP reported. "Almost 200 small businesses in communities across our state are seeking assurances that big manufacturers can't just destroy their businesses.

☆ A fintech CEO is trying to raise more than $1 billion to fund bridge loans for startups impacted by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Brex CEO Henrique Dubugras is fundraising more than $1 billion in loans for startups affected by the SVB collapse. "We are trying to raise as much capital as we can," a Brex spokesperson told Insider. "As of yesterday, we've received $1.5 billion in requests from nearly 1,000 companies," a spokesperson for Brex told Insider. "The reason we're doing it is obviously we want to support a community, that's very important," Dubugras told TechCrunch. "[T]here are verification processes in place to ensure there is no fraud," a spokesperson told Insider.

☆ 'I don't know how this ends': Mom with 4 kids in Ohio who owns small startup says SVB mess is not just a '1% problem'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Silicon Valley Bank, a startup-heavy financial institution once trusted by the tech world, collapsed this week. Regulators shut down the bank, affecting major companies like Roku and Etsy. Silicon Valley Bank, a major financial institution that frequently worked with startups, collapsed days ago, throwing the tech world into a spiral. The collapse has affected companies like Etsy, forced to delay payments to many who sell goods on its site. I know that the financial future of Strongsuit; my team and my family are at risk w/ the collapse of SVB.

☆ A new migraine medication is coming this summer — and it promises relief in just 15 minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new nasal spray to treat migraines. The spray will be available in July and is designed to treat migraines in 15 minutes. The drug, which Pfizer acquired when it bought out Biohaven Pharmaceuticals last year for $11.6 billion, will provide an alternative to oral migraine medication, NBC News reported. The drug is not the first nasal medication of its kind, but it's anticipated to work more rapidly — the medication is intended to offer relief within 15 minutes, according to Pfizer. "Among my migraine patients, one of the most important attributes of an acute treatment option is how quickly it works."

☆ You can live in Peter Parker's house in Queens — but you might get Spider-Man's mail
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A New York City house with Spider-Man's address is for sale for $2.1 million. With 4 beds and 3.5 baths, it's a far shot from Peter Parker's working class upbringing in the comics. 20 Ingram Street in Forest Hills, Queens — the home of the fictional family of Spidey, Aunt May, and Uncle Ben — is currently listed on StreetEasy. "As soon as the comic book identified 20 Ingram as the Spider-Man house, they became flooded," Gigi Malek, the realtor who listed the house, told ABC 7. Now, the home is ready for new owners to take on the task of fielding Spider-Man's mail.

☆ Customers Are Being Asked to Tip Everywhere. They're Sick of It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many have taken a stand against the pressure to tip everywhere, saying the US has a "tipping culture." But the shift in American tipping culture has come with some consumer backlash. Even as consumers expect to be solicited for a tip when they're out and about, some on social media are working to draw a new line, spurring regular debates. Dubbed "tipping culture" by many on social media, the feeling that gratuities have become compulsory has also spread beyond North America and into other countries like Australia. Still, many on the side of service workers argue that tipping is necessary for many workers to be able to stay afloat and pay their rent.

☆ Companies want to know how many people are back in the office. They're using water coolers to find out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bevi, a Boston startup, makes high-tech water coolers that collect usage data. Some investors and hedge funds are using this data to track America's return to office trends, Bloomberg reported. Bevi, a Boston-based startup that sells high-tech water coolers, collects data about how much water its machines dispense over time. When Bevi's usage data rose from 28% to 44% between January 2021 and 2022, office occupancy data collected by securities firm Kastle Systems rose in tandem. The companies hope to gain insight into office trends, as remote work continues to solidify itself as a standard.

☆ A New York City Airbnb has nearly $1M in fines. It hasn't paid any of them, new Bloomberg report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An Aribnb in Queens has accumulated nearly $1M in fines, according to Bloomberg. A New York City law that goes into effect this spring aims to crack down on illegal listings. The homeowner still hasn't paid those fines, Bloomberg reported. For Airbnb and many of its short-term rental hosts, the rules pose a threat to the bottom line. But, even with a large portion of problematic listings and a growing pile of fines, experts say Airbnb hosts can't hide from regulations forever.

☆ Southwest is experimenting with new ways to speed up boarding — starting with upbeat music and flashing lights to get passengers moving
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But Southwest Airlines is on a mission to change that. The new boarding practices include highly visible changes like upbeat music on the jet bridge and video monitors that tell passengers when boarding will begin. The monitors also include lights that flash during boarding, according to the Journal. But some of the airline's ideas are less consumer-facing, and focus on optimizing the boarding process from the airline's side of operations. There, passengers can streamline the boarding process and potentially even upgrade their tickets before they get on a plane.

☆ Bus passengers left stranded for days at station in California in freak winter storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dozens of passengers were left stranded in a Sacramento bus station after highways closed this week. Although Sacramento was not under a state of emergency this week, winter weather and closed freeways still left travelers stranded at the Greyhound station. According to Bowers, stranded travelers were better off sheltering in place. He told KCRA the city worked with the Red Cross to provide necessities like blankets to the passengers at the station. One traveler at the station told KCRA that being stranded was miserable, but the city was accommodating under the circumstances.

☆ $30 million worth of Funko Pop figurines are headed to the dump, as the company looks to purge excess inventory
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Funko will throw away $30 million worth of its plastic figurines, the company said this week. The move comes after Funko Pop inventory ballooned nearly 50% in the last year. According to the company, by the end of 2022 its inventory was valued at $246.4 million, an increase of 48% from the same period last year. The way forward, according to the company, is to throw away much of that inventory, as its button-eyed dolls clutter warehouses and store shelves. Still, Funko executives said the company is working hard to course correct and keep its brand top-of-mind for consumers across the globe.

☆ Mississippi's sole Tesla store plays by different rules than traditional car dealers in the state. A new law aims to change that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But Tesla has skirted those regulations by calling its lone location in the state a "store" instead of a "dealership." A new law that would close the loophole passed in the State Senate and now sits before Mississippi's governor. But a new state law could level the playing field. Tesla currently has one store operating in the state, which has skirted regulations that face traditional car manufacturers by classifying itself as a "store" and not a "dealership," the AP reported. Instead, lawmakers like Sparks argue the bill would create an more even playing field for all car manufacturers.

☆ Amazon will halt construction of its planned $2.5 billion Virginia headquarters, as layoffs at the company continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon will halt construction at its planned Virginia headquarters, but workers will still move into nearly completed areas of the project, Bloomberg reported. According to Bloomberg, a nearly completed first phase of the headquarters called Metropolitan Park will continue as planned, and will house employees starting in June. "We're always evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a great experience for employees," Schoettler told Bloomberg in a statement. Schoettler did not confirm a new start date for PenPlace construction, but told Bloomberg the second headquarters would always be a long-term undertaking. "Our second headquarters has always been a multiyear project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region," Schoettler told Bloomberg.

☆ Democratic Senators urge Meta to halt launch of Metaverse app for teens, citing company's 'failure to protect' young users
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta is preparing to open its app 'Horizon Worlds' to teens as early as this month. "Meta's plan to target young people with offerings in the metaverse is particularly concerning in light of your consistent failures to protect young users," the Senators wrote. According to the Wall Street Journal, Meta plans to release the Horizon Worlds app to teens in order to expand its user base. "Any strategy to invite young users into a digital space rife with potential harms should not be driven by a goal to maximize profit," the Senators wrote. "We call on you to immediately halt Meta's plan to bring teen users onto Horizon Worlds."

☆ KFC is getting rid of 5 menu items — but one fan favorite is finally coming back
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

KFC is getting rid of popcorn chicken, Kentucky fried chicken wings, and chocolate chip cookies. The chain is also bringing back its fan favorite bun-less fried chicken sandwich. "The Double Down is one of the most buzzworthy fast food menu items ever," KFC US Chief Marketing Officer Nick Chavez said in a statement. She did not name any new items, but the fast food chain rolled out some new items in recent weeks. On February 6, KFC announced it would add Kentucky Fried Chicken Wraps to the menu nationwide.

☆ Say goodbye to the iconic mail truck — the postal service is electrifying its fleet, beginning with more than 9,000 new vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The USPS will put more than 9,000 electric mail trucks on the road, electrifying America's oldest vehicle fleet. The postal service plans to spend nearly $10 billion on its electrification plan. The postal service will also install 14,000 charging stations at USPS facilities. "Electrification of our vehicle fleet is now an important component of these initiatives." The postal service has not yet announced where the first electric vehicles will be deployed, noting in a press release that it is still weighing the best routes for the new vehicles.

Search resuls for: "Aidan Pollard"

25 mentions found