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When most people think about entrepreneurship, they envision hoodie-clad coders building the next tech unicorn. My startup story? It began with dirty socks and a delivery van.My unusual passion began in my freshman year of college when I started running a laundry pickup and delivery service called Wake Wash. The business was a success, but when graduation approached, my partners wanted to pursue investment banking. Not wanting to be branded as the embarrassing “laundry guy,” I sold Wake Wash for $200,000 and reluctantly joined the corporate world.Management consulting pleased my parents and offered me great colleagues, but it was soul-crushing…

AI is finding its voice — and using it to take your weeknight pizza order.Restaurants, including Domino’s and Wingstop, have used voice AI assistants for years to chat with customers on the phone and take their orders. Lately, though, they’ve been finessing those assistants by adding region-specific accents, adjusting their tone, and making other changes that make them more natural for customers to converse with.”If someone hears a really off-putting, unrelatable voice, they’re going to hang up,” said Lily Clifford, the CEO and founder of Rime Labs, which developed the text-to-voice model that Domino’s and Wingstop use.Multiple restaurant chains are…

My husband and I are in our second year of marriage and are finally starting to think seriously about homeownership.Between scanning Zillow, reading housing studies, and even scrolling through social media, one thing is clear: buying a new home has never felt so out of reach, even for two working people with decent salaries.For my job as a real estate reporter, I’ve interviewed 10 people who built accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. Many of them did so because moving to a new or bigger home wasn’t an option for them or their loved ones, so they resorted to a workaround…

While addressing the Libertarian Party national convention in 2024, President Trump promised to free Ross Ulbricht, a former tech entrepreneur incarcerated for creating a dark web site called Silk Road that was used by drug traffickers. “If you vote for me, on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht,” Trump said, sparking applause. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images President Trump has long called for escalating the U.S. drug war against Mexican cartels and wants tougher penalties for dealers selling fentanyl and other street drugs in American communities. “I am ready for it,…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Greg Petronzi of True Patina, a watchmaker specializing in vintage Rolex repairs. He is also a licensed psychologist and professor at New York University. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.I’ve always had a fascination with watches, starting at a young age. Around middle school, I had a Swatch with a see-through plastic case and an automatic movement. You could see all of the parts of the watch as it was working, and I always found that so interesting.In college, I pursued psychology. That was my practical career path.…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Austin Mark, 39, who bought a house in July 2024 with three other people — his husband and another couple, Nate and Stephanie. Business Insider has verified Mark’s home ownership. His words have been edited for length and clarity.My husband Bryan and I moved from Chicago to the West Coast 14 years ago. We decided to move back to Chicago last year, and our friends Nate Hanak and Stephanie Strother asked if we wanted to purchase property together.They’re the only people on the planet who we could imagine doing it with.…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Joshua Lee, a 45-year-old serial entrepreneur and venture partner in Brea, California, who started his career at EY (then called Ernst & Young). The following has been edited for length and clarity.I graduated from UCLA in June 2000 with a degree in business economics and a minor in accounting.My accounting minor led to unexpected opportunities. I spent a lot of time with professors who advised me to apply for companies recruiting on campus, which included Ernst & Young (EY).But the real inspiration came from my uncle Jack. After my father passed…

2025-05-31T09:00:02Z Share Facebook Email X LinkedIn Copy link lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. June marks the start of many summer internship programs on Wall Street. BI asked industry insiders where interns hang out when they’re not pulling all-nighters. From bars to coffee shops, see 5 top places summer interns will go to see and be seen this summer. In the next two weeks, hundreds of…

President Trump speaks after signing executive orders in the Oval Office in March 2025, including terminating the security clearances of those who work at the law firm Perkins Coie. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Veteran lawyers have reached a curious conclusion about President Trump’s deals with big law firms this year: they do not appear to be legally valid. Trump since coming to office has punished certain firms for their past clients or causes, stripping them of security clearances and government contracts, while trumpeting deals with others, including titans like Kirkland & Ellis and Latham…

2025-05-30T22:34:58Z Share Facebook Email X LinkedIn Copy link lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he planned to increase tariffs on steel from 25% to 50%. The increase will “even further secure the steel industry in the United States,” Trump said. The president’s sweeping tariff strategy remains in legal limbo. President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans to increase tariffs…