Robocall just says goodbye

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

Russian carriers have been able to scrounge enough spare parts to maintain robust domestic service across their vast country. S ince the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine, GA Telesis, a Florida-based aircraft-parts distributor, has been getting a lot of suspicious requests. They’re from shadowy companies formed over the past year in the United Arab Emirates and former Soviet republics like Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Mindful of sanctions against Russia, GA Telesis asks for proof that the parts are for a particular airline and plane. When confronted with those questions, company founder Abdol Moabery says, they vanish. “We have a robust compliance department,” Moabery tells Forbes, “but not everybody does.” When the U.S. and Europe first imposed economic sanctions in the wake of the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine a year ago, aviation experts expected that Russian airlines would be reduced to cannibalizing parts to keep a dwindling number of planes in the air. … [Read more...] about How Russian Airlines Have Been Able To Skirt Sanctions And Keep Flying

Eventbrite is No. 42 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. Halloween. That’s the tell for Eventbrite . If the haunted yacht cruises and cemetery tours are reaching out to the event planning and digital ticketing platform to list and promote their events, then the Thanksgiving Eve bar crawls, holiday light shows, and New Year’s Eve specials will follow. During Halloween 2022, the number of paid events on Eventbrite grew 30% over 2019, and ticket volume beat the company’s prior record by more than 50%. The reinvigorated enthusiasm for live experiences has been a boon to Eventbrite’s fortunes—and a success made possible only because Julia Hartz, cofounder and CEO, has spent the past few years effectively re-founding the company, which she created with her husband, Kevin, and their technical cofounder Renaud Visage in 2006. After the pandemic hit in … [Read more...] about How Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz brought the ticketing platform back from the brink

Formic is No. 39 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. Formic ’s insight about automation comes from a very human observation: Many of the business owners who could benefit from robots don’t have the time to research their options because they’re maxed out dealing with their humans. “What I realized was that 99% of places that need robots don’t have robots,” says CEO Saman Farid. “The vast majority of manufacturers in America are these SMBs,” he says of his small- and medium-size business customers. “All of these people have very little automation but are extremely short-staffed.” That results in expensive downtime for factory equipment: “They have to pay for all the time where everything’s just sitting around.” Formic’s solution offers robots-as-a-service. The Chicago-based company, founded in 2020, formally launched in August 2021; and now past its 50th … [Read more...] about This startup is reviving American manufacturing with robots as a service

Holdfast Collective is No. 4 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 September 2022, Patagonia, renowned for being at the forefront of environmental advocacy, sustainable production, and progressive business practices, had a new declaration: Earth would be its only shareholder. What that actually meant was that founder Yvon Chouinard and his family had given up ownership, transferring the company’s voting stock to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the other 98% of its ownership to the Holdfast Collective , a new 501(c)(4) organization. Holdfast’s mission is to preserve wildlands and pursue other nature-based climate solutions, fund grassroots environmental organizations, and support politicians working to fight the climate crisis. Although other companies have used this organizational structure for philanthropic ventures, Patagonia is taking a different … [Read more...] about Patagonia uses capitalism to save the planet with the Holdfast Collective

As a Black woman in an industry—wellness—that’s overwhelmingly white, I know what it’s like to be in classes or scrolling social media accounts that weren’t created with me in mind. Genuine care requires us to clarify where we’re focusing our attention, which allows us to have realistic expectations about impact and accountability. I know that there are ways I can better advocate for myself, and I also know that I live within societal and cultural ecosystems designed not to hear me as a Black woman. Self-care helps us cope with our present external realities, but it won’t always directly change them. As BIPOC leaders, we face unique challenges. Here are some ways to care for yourself amidst those challenges. Ditch the perfectionism The more marginalized identities you have, the more you’ll likely grapple with perfectionism, because we’re socialized to believe that the norm, and those who lead it, look and operate differently than us. For many of us who are … [Read more...] about Self-care isn’t enough. 3 ways BIPOC leaders can combat burnout

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin There is no shortage of cheap Bluetooth speakers from manufacturers that you’d never see on store shelves in North America, but far fewer that make a play for the high end wireless speaker market. It’s difficult to get consumers to part with big money on a speaker that doesn’t carry a familiar name. China’s Trettitre is giving it a go with the $699.99 TreSound1, a sample of which was sent to me by distributor Linsoul Audio . Premium – But Polarizing – Design The TreSound1 has a very unusual appearance, one that draws immediate attention. Trettitre says it incorporates a “mountain” design. To me it looks like a warhead. It’s not just the form factor that makes the design polarizing; the controls take minimalism to an extreme. There are no buttons to mar its surface. On/off and volume control is accomplished by twisting the metal end of the cone, with no option for pausing or skipping tracks. The very tip is an LED that … [Read more...] about Review: Trettitre TreSound1 Wireless Speaker

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Brands are taking advantage of the national attention on both men’s and women’s basketball athletes during March Madness, but their strategies differ. Some had campaigns ready to go before the tournaments began, while others have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which programs and athletes emerge as this year’s biggest stories. Last year, Doug Edert and his signature mustache cashed in when Saint Peter's made history by becoming the first 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight. Entering March in 2022, Edert had around 1,500 followers on Instagram and was rarely posting. A year later, he has more than 148,000 followers and has worked with national brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Barstool Sports. Edert’s mustache is again a focus this year as it adorns special edition Pringles cans. The ““March Mustache Collection” also features Duke’s Dariq Whitehead and Virginia’s Ben Vander Plas. Fans are asked to show off … [Read more...] about How Brands Are Using The NCAA Tournament To Strike New NIL Deals

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin More than David Benavidez’s power and more than Caleb Plant’s intelligence and technical boxing ability, their 168-pound PPV showdown on Saturday is all about the two personalities going into the ring. And how much these two guys purportedly despise each other. Benavidez vs. Plant is one of the most anticipated fights of the year, and partially, it’s because there seems to be true hatred between the two. Here’s everything you need to know about David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win. Benavidez is one of the best super middleweights around. So is Plant. But that’s not really what this fight is about. No, it’s a grudge match with a nasty leadup, and both fighters have tossed personal barbs at each other. Benavidez has called Plant “fake.” Plant has simmered because Benavidez’s father has mentioned Plant’s late daughter. Plant has ripped Benavidez for his past cocaine … [Read more...] about David Benavidez Vs. Caleb Plant: Odds, Records, Prediction

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When you think of beauty pageants, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Probably not academia, social responsibility or sustainable finance. Dr Ana Nacvalovaite, Research fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, says otherwise. Aside from being a distinguished academic and renowned expert within her field of work, Ana is also Mrs Great Britain, and will soon be competing in the semi-finals for “Mrs Globe”. At first it may seem like a contradiction, but for Ana, the world of pageants and academia intersect in several ways. “Beauty pageants have given me a platform to promote social and environmental issues that are important to me, such as gender equality, human rights, and sustainability. It has given me a stage to speak” she tells me. “As an academic, I'm passionate about promoting social responsibility and sustainability and all aspects of society. So, my involvement in the beauty pageant has given … [Read more...] about Beauty Pageants And Academia – The Perfect Contradiction?