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☆ Jeff Bezos' $500 million megayacht sets sail for its first sea trials — watch video of the 417-foot vessel hitting open water
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jeff Bezos' new $500 million megayacht hit the open water this week to undergo tests. Sea trials are usually one of the last phases of construction, bringing the yacht one step closer to full sail. The yacht previously caused uproar for nearly requiring that a historic bridge be dismantled for it to pass. The boat's sea trials come after a turbulent year for the megayacht, which was built in the Netherlands. Watch the latest video of Bezos' yacht here:

☆ The behind-the-scenes role that's minting future stars at BlackRock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some of the most powerful people on Wall Street are men and women you've never heard of. Click here to learn more about BlackRock's new chief of staff and why the role is rising in importance across Wall Street. Everybody wants macro traders. A fintech helping companies engage with their retail investors got backing from Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six. These are the top 10 holdings in the church's investment portfolio, including one Wall Street titan.

☆ This fintech helping companies engage and build loyalty with retail investors just nabbed funding from Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Stakeholder Labs helps businesses identify and engage with retail investors. CEO and cofounder Matt Joanou observed the untapped potential of retail investors while at Reddit. This startup wants to help companies engage with their retail investors, and it just got backing from an investor well-versed in building active communities. Stakeholder Labs provides plug-in software that verifies a company's shareholders and measures customer behavior with a goal of driving long-term loyalty. Stakeholder Lab's software, called Roundtable, is integrated directly into a company's website or app, allowing customers to self-identify as a shareholder.

☆ Here are 15 mental health startups set to defy the funding slowdown and excel in 2023, according to venture capitalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Europe's mental health startups raised a record $1.4 billion in 2021 but investment slumped last year. We asked 9 of Europe's top mental health VCs to name the startups to watch in 2023. Startups tackling issues around mental health have been far from immune to the global slowdown in tech funding. Insider asked nine European venture capitalists to pick out mental health startups that will excel throughout 2023 despite the overarching slowdown in funding. Here are 15 European mental health startups to watch in 2023, according to some of the region's top investors.

☆ A judge won't let Sam Bankman-Fried use any messaging apps that auto-delete texts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A federal judge in New York banned Sam Bankman-Fried from using messaging apps that auto-delete texts. Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried used the encryption app Signal to send messages while detained at his parents' home. "I'm far less interested in the defendant's convenience than the risk of deleting messages," Kaplan said at a hearing Thursday. The terms the parties had proposed would have barred Bankman-Fried from using apps like Signal, which encrypt messages and allow users to delete them automatically after a set period of time. Kaplan was also concerned about Bankman-Fried encrypting messages in a way that would keep them out of the hands of prosecutors.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the 20-slide pitch deck generative AI startup Regie.ai used to raise $6 million from OpenAI-backer Khosla Ventures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Regie.ai is a generative AI startup that automates content creation and management for sales teams. Check out the 20-slide deck that landed Regie $6 million in Series A funding from Khosla Ventures. Together, the two founded Regie.ai, a generative AI startup that automates content creation and management for sales teams. Regie signed its term sheet with Khosla Ventures in October 2022, as excitement around generative AI started to pick up, Sridhar said. Here's an exclusive look at the 20-slide pitch deck Regie.ai used to raise $6 million in Series A funding from Open-AI backer Khosla Ventures:

NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried is in talks with U.S. prosecutors to resolve a dispute over the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's bail conditions, his lawyer said on Thursday. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty and is under house arrest at his parents' California home. Once worth an estimated $26 billion, Bankman-Fried was arrested in December after FTX collapsed. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk management failures, but said FTX collapsed because of a liquidity crunch and that he did not steal funds. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A shortage of accountants is pushing the industry to reboot its image to win over young talent: 'You have to sell them'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Accountants manage financial processes and financial reporting and ensure regulatory compliance. To combat shortages, those in the accounting industry are working to attract more people to the field. Sandy Torchia, the vice chair of talent and culture at KPMG, said the company hasn't been impacted by the accountant shortage yet. How the accounting industry is addressing the shortageMany firms are shifting to remote-work policies and investing in automation and technology to attract and retain talent. Lisa Simpson says the accounting industry needs automation to allow accountants to focus on "higher-value work."

☆ Late Subway co-founder's stake donated in potential tax shield
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Abigail Summerville | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It will shield both the estate and the foundation from a big tax bill were Subway to be sold. Reuters reported in January that Subway was exploring a sale with the help of a financial adviser. A Subway spokesperson said the company does not comment on ownership structure and business plans. Buck, who was a nuclear physicist, and co-founder Fred DeLuca started Subway in 1965 after DeLuca asked Buck for advice on how to pay for his college tuition. Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Anirban Sen and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Why fear itself is this fintech founder's greatest fear — and should be yours too
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his inaugural address that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." "I think the greatest lesson I've learned from my own humble life is the fear of the fear itself is probably one's greatest fear," the co-founder of the fintech startup told CNBC's Make It. Davies explains that the difficulty lies in what to do with that fear and balancing the need to step back and march forward. "But I'd also say that the greatest moment of fear is often the moment you need to have the courage to step forward and take that leap — that leap of faith," Davies added. "When standing on the edge of a cliff 500 feet above the ocean, with a sheer drop, it's right to be fearful.

☆ From FTX to Adani Group, Fraud Allegations Are Going to Rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Then there's the Adani Group, which lost a jaw-dropping $72 billion in market value after short-seller firm Hindenburg Research last week accused it of "brazen" market manipulation and accounting fraud. Adani Group, whose founder's net worth recently approached Elon Musk's, has vehemently denied the allegations. Could Wall Street get hit by the Adani Group fiasco? But Wall Street is placing its bets on a California chipmaker, helping its founder get richer to the tune of $5 billion. From Madonna to Tom Brady, many celebrities who shilled for crypto or NFTs are either being sued civilly or facing regulatory scrutiny, according to the Wall Street Journal.

☆ Inside homebuilding heir Bill Pulte's battle against a Twitter troll who turned out to be an executive at his former company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Bill Pulte, the grandson of one of the homebuilding industry's most successful founders, has built a Twitter following of 3.2 million. He's such a believer in Twitter that the Pulte family office participated in Tesla CEO Elon Musk's bid for control, with an investment he says in the "millions of dollars." Pulte alleges that Jones used Twitter bots to harass him and the larger Pulte family with damaging, incendiary accusations, including that his father, Mark Pulte, was an arsonist. Additionally, he said Sheldon's account appeared to have interacted with at least one of Jones' Twitter accounts. With his suspicion that multiple executives were involved in the Twitter harassment, Pulte's digging in his heels.

☆ I used a 'light hypnosis' app for a month. It helped my productivity, but I was more blown away by what it did to my downtime.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Julie Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Julie Peck is a freelancer who was having trouble focusing on tasks, so she tried the app BrainTap. Similar audio programs are available for free on YouTube and Spotify, as well as on rival meditation apps like Insight Timer, Sacred Acoustics, and EquiSync. BrainTap app screenshot. Screenshot of different modules on BrainTap app. I've listened to the focus programs first thing in the morning, during the afternoon, and at the end of the day.

☆ Steve Jobs' nepo babies: From a model to a secret daughter, here's everything we know about the Apple cofounder's kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Grace Kay | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Steve Jobs left the bulk of his fortune to his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, when he died in 2011. Later, he had Reed Jobs, Erin Jobs, and Eve Jobs with his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs. Apple, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Reed Jobs did not reply to requests for comment, nor did representatives for Lisa Brennan-Jobs and Eve Jobs. Since Jobs' death, Powell Jobs has been active in philanthropy and founded Emerson Collective in 2004 as a "social change organization." Erin Siena JobsErin Siena Jobs is the most private of Steve Jobs' children.

☆ Anthony Scaramucci compared Sam Bankman-Fried to Bernie Madoff, and alluded to Dante's 'Inferno' as he discussed the FTX founder's downfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Anthony Scaramucci spoke about his relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried at a Davos crypto panel. Scaramucci alluded to the circles of hell in Dante's "Divine Comedy" and compared SBF to Bernie Madoff. FTX bought 30% of SkyBridge Capital for $45 million in September 2022. The Financial Times reported that SkyBridge Capital also bought $10 million of FTX's cryptocurrency, FTT, as part of the deal's requirements. "I made a mistake being involved with Sam," Scaramucci said.

☆ See inside the Yankee Candle Founder's former home, a compound that features a Bellagio-inspired indoor water park, two-story arcade, and private concert venue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Kittredge had three outdoor tennis courts and one indoor court constructed at the estate. The indoor tennis court also doubles as a concert venue, which has hosted such bands as The Doobie Brothers, as well as KC and The Sunshine Band. Yankee Candle founder's estate hits the market Courtesy of Surette Media Group

NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Eight major media outlets on Thursday asked the U.S. judge overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal case to make public the names of two people who helped guarantee the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's $250 million bond. Saying the public interest "cannot be overstated," lawyers for the outlets, including Reuters, said the public's right to know Bankman-Fried's guarantors outweighed their privacy and safety rights. Media seeking to identify Bankman-Fried's sureties also include the Associated Press, Bloomberg, CNBC, Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones, the Financial Times, Insider and the Washington Post. Cohen and Everdell also represented Maxwell in her criminal case. In seeking to keep the sureties' names under wraps, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said their client's parents, who co-signed the $250 million bond, had been harassed and received physical threats since FTX's early November collapse and bankruptcy.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's not-guilty plea keeps his options open, says a former federal prosecutor who explains what the criminal case means for investors-turned creditors of FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's lawsuit had alleged that both Ellison and Wang knowingly deceived the public under Bankman-Fried's direction. O'Brien, a former assistant US Attorney for the Department of Justice, specializes in white-collar criminal defense and commercial and securities litigation. "When you get indicted, your first appearance in court, you don't know what the charges are. You're presented with a piece of paper, an indictment, but you don't know what the evidence is." But Bankman-Fried's plea doesn't have much to do with what the outcome will be for investors who lost funds on the exchange, O'Brien noted.

☆ FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

They're currently scrutinizing former FTX engineer Nishad Singh, people familiar with the matter said. Singh first met Sam Bankman-Fried through the now-disgraced FTX founder's younger brother Gabe, who he was high school friends with. "[Former FTX chief technology officer] Gary [Wang] is scared, Nishad is ashamed and guilty," Bankman-Fried said. "It hit [Singh] hard. Read more: Everything we know about Nishad Singh, the 27-year-old former FTX exec who had an 8% stake in the crypto exchange

☆ Banks vs. Fintechs: Why all the billions in the world can't help Wall Street crush its digital rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Bianca Chan | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

To compete, banks have written fat checks to acquire fintechs — tech, talent, and all. But on Wall Street, old habits die hard, and Goldman has struggled to make Marcus, a big fintech bet, a success. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Wall Street leaders have been at the helm of a push to get their employees back to their desks. It's more that the very things that make Wall Street, well, Wall Street are preventing it from embracing the ethos of Silicon Valley. And perhaps, for Wall Street, that's the moral of the story.

☆ Why now is the best time for Gen Zers to launch a business, and how they're taking advantage of the opportunity to change the workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Here's why now is the best time for Gen Zers to start their own businesses. It helps that some successful Gen Zers are earning more than America's top CEOs. Here's why now is the best time to start a business for young people and two Gen Z entrepreneurs who have done it. New ventures in copywriting, social media management, and virtual assisting have been among some of the most successful, Mawhinney said. With this in mind, young founders have the opportunity to build brands that new workers resonate with.

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☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's $470 million Robinhood stake is set to be seized by US authorities, attorney says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's Robinhood shares are set to be seized by US authorities, an attorney said Wednesday. Bankman-Fried, FTX's new bosses, bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and FTX creditor Yonatan Ben Shimon have all laid claim to the Robinhood stake, per a December 22 court filing. Bankman-Fried disclosed a 7.6% stake in Robinhood in May, acquiring 56.3 million shares in the trading platform for $648 million through an Antigua-based holding company called Emergent Fidelity Technologies. Robinhood shares traded at $8.36 as of Wednesday's closing bell – meaning that Emergent's position is now worth just over $470 million. Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried is facing off against FTX's new bosses in a 4-way battle for $450 million of Robinhood shares

☆ Apple is coming off a terrible year and Wall Street is torn on whether it's set for more pain or about to skyrocket.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While the meeting minutes don't tell us exactly what the Fed will do next month, generally they are worth paying attention to for hints into the thinking of central bankers. Shares fell further on Tuesday and Wednesday after a Nikkei report said demand for MacBooks, AirPods, and Apple Watches is weakening. But Loup Funds' Gene Munster said Apple stock should be worth double its current value, given that it's one of the world's greatest companies. What's your outlook for Apple stock this year? This hedge fund manager has returned 163% over the last year, and he's anticipating more pain to come for stocks.

☆ I used a 'light hypnosis' app for a month. It helped my productivity, but I was blown away by what it did to my downtime.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Julie Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

☆ Wall Street's competitive and rigorous internship process could use a facelift
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wall Street's version of the Hunger Games — nabbing a summer internship at an investment bank — is about to kick off. Thousands of college students are eagerly refreshing investment banks' careers pages awaiting applications to open for internships for the summer of 2024. (Yes, you read that right, this summer's internship spots have already been wrapped up for a while.) It's a process that results in young people making decisions that will set them on a certain path for years to come. Despite a difficult end to the year for the bank thanks to a costly fine, Wells' investment bank was actually among the top 10 advisors in M&A in 2022, Bloomberg reports.

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