Author: Editor

I spent over 10 years at Meta, joining in 2012 when the company was still called Facebook and the newly acquired Instagram team occupied just two rows of stand-up desks in a half-filled Menlo Park campus.As a global director, I helped lead a creative group launching campaigns with Marvel, Disney, Mini, Lexus, Wendy’s, Activision, and a fleet of innovative agencies and brands that trusted us to bring their stories to life on our platforms. I loved my job.My team became my work family, Meta’s hallways became my work home, and the security badge hanging from my belt became a big…

Allison and Stephen Ellsworth built Poppi from nothing and sold it to PepsiCo for just under $2 billion last year.They told Business Insider this week about the risks they took and sacrifices they made along the way, and shared how they’re stopping their newfound wealth from spoiling their children.Starting from scratchAllison was experimenting with home remedies for her stomach pains and skin issues in 2016 when she turned to apple cider vinegar. She couldn’t stand the taste so she tried mixing it with sparkling water and fresh fruit, and Mother Beverage was born.She enlisted Stephen to help her sell her…

Even a backyard barbecue might raise your stress levels this year, as higher food costs make the price of summer staples harder to swallow.One culprit is the price of ground beef, which reached a record $6.90 per pound in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That price is quickly approaching double what it was 10 years ago, and it’s up almost 20% from a year ago.But beef aside, price increases stemming from the Iran war have worsened the already dim prospects for an affordable summer cookout. The price spikes come at a time when consumers are spending the biggest…

AI may not be getting a warm reception at college graduations this spring, but it’s reshaping the workplace that the class of 2026 is about to enter.Until recently, employers typically assigned junior recruits basic, and often mundane, duties to teach them the ropes. But with AI tools like ChatGPT now capable of handling much of that work at warp speed, some companies are giving entry-level hires bigger responsibilities from the get-go.”AI is changing the entry-level experience for an entire generation of white-collar workers,” Peter Cappelli, a management professor and director of the Center for Human Resources at the University of…

Megan Sweeney wants hundreds of thousands of dollars back that her business spent on tariffs over the past year.There’s one problem: She hasn’t been able to log into the government’s website for refunds.Sweeney, CEO of Pacific International Bearing, a California-based company that sells ball bearings, has spent several weeks trying to access an online US Customs and Border Protection portal known as ACE before she can apply for a tariff refund.No one at PIB has logged on to the website in years, Sweeney said. On Tuesday, she spent an hour and a half on the phone with CBP, attempting to…

Lightspeed Venture Partners’ newest partner wasn’t just attractive because of her experience investing in AI, the Silicon Valley firm’s big focus.She also brings more than 350,000 social media followers who seek out her takes on hot startups and product launches.In a first for the firm, Zau will play a dual role of helping shape Lightspeed’s media strategy alongside seed investing. Specifically, she’ll cohost “Lightwork,” a forthcoming weekly podcast on AI, and help lead the firm’s Lightspeed Launch program that provides support to new founders. She’ll report to both the investment and marketing sides of the firm.”I understand founder-speak and investor-speak,”…

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Eshaan Jain, a 35-year-old senior product manager in Seattle. It has been edited for length and clarity.I moved from Los Angeles to Seattle about five or six years ago for my job at Amazon. I prefer Washington because California was extremely expensive, especially with state taxes, and I wasn’t saving much. Seattle is still expensive, but it feels more manageable.The biggest benefit of working in Seattle is that Washington has no state income tax, which helps me save about 10% more of my take-home salary.My office is right in downtown Bellevue, a…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leigh-Ann Russell, chief information officer and global head of engineering at BNY. She’s based in New York City. This story has been edited for length and clarity.After joining BNY in September 2024, I decided to take up journaling to reflect on my leadership journey. But I found it challenging because I sometimes forgot to bring my journal when I traveled. Once you stop doing it, it’s hard to pick it up again.I realized I’d be better off with a digital journal. At first, I tried vibe coding one, but it was…

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with David Emelianov, a 32-year-old software engineer and entrepreneur, based in the Bay Area, and Jordan Gaston, a 31-year-old software engineer and entrepreneur based in Austin. Their words have been edited for length and clarity.David Emelianov: Jordan and I met years ago in elementary school. We weren’t super close friends, but then we reconnected in 2017. We were both in Seattle, I was working at Microsoft at the time, and he was at Amazon.Jordan Gaston: A mutual friend of ours put David and me back in touch. I worked at Amazon until COVID.…

President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown is triggering alarm, confusion, and fierce debate among lawyers, advocates, and many in the business world who rely on visa holders for skilled labor.On Friday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would grant “adjustment of status” — the process that allows some immigrants already in the US to apply for a green card without leaving the country — “only in extraordinary circumstances,” potentially forcing many applicants to return to their home countries and wait abroad while their cases are processed.While a USCIS spokesperson told Business Insider that applicants who “provide an economic benefit…