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Explore the full 2023 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies , 540 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the firms making the biggest impact across 54 categories, including advertising , beauty , design , and more. How do four septuagenarian Swedish pop stars pull off a dazzlingly energetic 20-song set list before thousands of fans in a custom-built stadium? Easy: They get their holograms to do it. ABBA Voyage , a stunning marriage of art and technology architected by the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), has been a critical and financial success. It’s also a symbol of how the live performance industry is being transformed by technology, as digital elements are deployed to deepen fan immersion while staying true to what makes a live music experience so irreplicable. With concerts becoming increasingly visual extravaganzas, artists have access to new mediums to explore their creative … [Read more...] about The 10 most innovative companies producing live events in 2023

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Thomas Tuchel has been living in Munich for weeks. He has been spotted walking his dog in Bogenhausen, a leafy, affluent neighborhood on the Isar river. His two young daughters and ex-wife live in Munich. But now, Tuchel has truly arrived in Munich . In Bavaria’s temple of elite football, the shiny Allianz Arena. Smiling on the press podium, sat between Bayern board members Hasan Salihamidzic and Oliver Kahn, Tuchel explained why he joined Bayern: “On a personal level, it is great for me to work in Bavaria, the state where I was born, and to live close to where my children and my family live.” Besides that, it was all business from Tuchel. “The DNA of the club is a responsibility. It is clearly defined. The responsibility is to win,” he said, with Kahn and Salihamidzic looking pleased on either side of their new signing. But there is another, more important responsibility at Bayern. One not uttered by … [Read more...] about Between The Lines, Kahn And Salihamidzic Warn Tuchel: Play Nice With Bayern’s Stars

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Is it time for us contrarians to “buy the dip” in bank stocks? We’re drowning in big bank-scare headlines. Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB VB ) knuckled under in days, Signature Bank (SBNY) wasn’t too far behind, and across the pond, Credit Suisse (CS) needed a buyout bailout from rival UBS (UBS) . The next bank run, however, won’t be with the big boys . Too big to fail, baby . Here, we’ll find not only government help but also secure yields of up to 5.1%—trading at a discount, no less. Why the big guys? Well let me show you. Last week, my software firm received this email from one of our vendors: “Brett, Just wanted to give you our new banking details. We’re out of SVB; we’re moving to JPM.” JPM for the win. And they’re not the only big bank benefiting. CNN recently reported that Bank of America BAC (BAC) , Wells Fargo WFC (WFC) and Citigroup C (C) “have all experienced a … [Read more...] about Make Your Own Bank Run On These Blue-Chip Yields

UPDATE The smelly, murky water putting off tourists from swimming in the sea at Maenam Beach in Koh Samui , southern Thailand , is not an oil spill but caused by a plankton bloom , which is a natural phenomenon, according to the Director of Koh Samui Harbour Authority, Arun Buppako. The photos circulating of green murky water at the beach show dead plankton floating on the surface of the water, said the director. Officials inspected the area and found no oil spills, he added. According to NaewNa , the director said… “Plankton blooms are a natural phenomena that happen every year. One main contributing factor is that when wastewater from the community is released into the sea, it acts as nutrients for plankton, causing them to multiply quickly. When the oxygen in the water depletes, the plankton dies, turning the seawater green. Related news Three mpox cases found in Thailand 4 hours ago Strikes in Germany force Thai Airways to … [Read more...] about Murky water at Koh Samui beach caused by plankton bloom, not oil spill: officials

When the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—back after a six-year absence—begins its 50-city tour of North America this September, it will include 75 highly trained performers and a litany of extravagant acts. Tightrope walkers will flit across a triangular rope, 30 feet in the air. Acrobats will launch themselves between four spinning wheels suspended from stadium ceilings. BMX bikers will spring off a giant trampoline. And a 360-degree set studded with massive video screens and enhanced with sonic spatial technology will envelop audiences in the spectacle. There won’t, however, be any lions, tigers, or bears. Oh my! “When you have a brand called ‘The Greatest Show on Earth,’ you can’t downscale,” says Juliette Feld Grossman, chief operating officer at Feld Entertainment, which acquired the iconic circus in 1984. “You really have to reimagine and reinvent.” Founded in 1871, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus delighted American families … [Read more...] about The Greatest Show on Earth gets a second chance

A good product will win you customers, but it takes a lot more to create, cultivate, and keep true, actual fans. The magic word for most is community, and the brands here, being honored as part of Brands That Matter 2022, have found ways to foster and excite growing communities around them. Decades-old brands, including Fender guitars and Magic: The Gathering, are using new content to stay relevant. For Fender, this past year was about building a content hub full of tools for the millions of new people who started to play over the past few years as a COVID-19-lockdown-induced new hobby. Magic: The Gathering has leaned into celebrating a more diverse set of players with its direct-to-consumer platform, Secret Lair. Meanwhile, three-year-old wrestling upstart All Elite Wrestling has taken on a Goliath by showing a different side of its diverse lineup of stars. Here are the brands making the most of fun and fandom: All Elite Wrestling As discussions around mental … [Read more...] about These 6 brands are growing by letting fans pursue their passions

Explore the full 2023 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies , 540 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the firms making the biggest impact across 54 categories, including advertising , architecture , design , and more. Nature has typically been the first place that beauty companies turn to for solutions to aging and skin imperfections. Now there’s a new source—biotech—and it takes its inspiration from the pharmaceutical industry. The move toward lab-generated ingredients that promise to improve on what scientists would find in nature dovetails with society’s larger embrace of personalized medicine, including cell and gene therapy, says Sarah Broyd, a partner at Durham, North Carolina–based Clarkston Consulting who specializes in consumer healthcare and pharmaceuticals. “Even the mRNA technology used in some of the COVID vaccines has contributed to a greater general understanding of how biotechnology works, which has … [Read more...] about The 10 most innovative companies in beauty of 2023

FromSoftware is No. 15 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023 . Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. When open-world fantasy game Elden Ring hit video-game consoles last February, it landed like a blockbuster film. FromSoftware , the game’s Japanese developer, sold 12 million units (starting at $60) within two weeks, and the release was heralded with a tribute traditionally associated with major filmmakers—a lengthy New Yorker profile of the game’s creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki, who is known for taking players into magical kingdoms that are anything but fairy tales. Over the previous decade, Miyazaki had established a reputation for punishingly difficult games with Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls , in which you might take the role of a knight or magician to battle through labyrinths of lethal enemies. Along the way, the ghosts of other players who’ve died might warn you of what’s around the bend … [Read more...] about Game developer FromSoftware attracts fans by making play more challenging

Loom is No. 45 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023 . Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. Video communication has become de rigueur since the pandemic, but rather than just moving a meeting from a conference room to a screen, Loom does something different. It takes the short-form video phenomenon and turns it into an effective way for businesses to pitch clients, explain how a product works, or share information internally. Think of it like TikTok for enterprises. By allowing customers to create short videos (up to five minutes long) that can be watched anytime and shared as needed, the eight-year-old company helps its 18 million users across 350,000 businesses eschew time-sucking scheduled video meetings, both internally and externally. Those clients—which include Netflix, HubSpot, and P&G’s Tide brand—have been using it a lot. As of December, more than 215 million “looms” had been … [Read more...] about How Loom became TikTok for enterprises

Maven Clinic is No. 30 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023 . Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, employers now serve as a backstop for abortion access in this country. Maven Clinic is a virtual healthcare provider with a focus on women’s health, offering everything from OB/GYN care to egg freezing and lactation consultations. Today, it’s also helping the companies that offer its services as an employee benefit to navigate the new landscape for reproductive care. The month after the ruling, Maven saw a 67% bump in companies looking to add reproductive health benefits, and founder and CEO Kate Ryder conducted online workshops for hundreds of human resources leaders on how to upgrade their offers. The company’s three-year-old Maven Wallet app helps to reimburse patients if they need to travel out of state for care and speeds reimbursement from … [Read more...] about Why Maven Clinic is the highest-valued startup in women’s health