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This story is part of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business 2022 . Explore the full list of innovators who broke through this year—and had an impact on the world around us. advertisement advertisement “In everything that we do, one of the first questions I ask is, ‘What’s the intention of this?'” says Kingsley Gbadegesin of his queer-focused fashion brand K.ngsley . The Brooklyn-based, Nigerian-American designer worked in sales and marketing for Versace, Celine, and Loewe before spinning out his own company in 2020 with a line of cut-out tank tops inspired by a DIY club look he once made with a pair of scissors and a white tank top. His tops are now carried by Nordstrom, Ssense, The Culture Edit, and Moda Operandi, and have been worn by celebrities that include Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, and Zaya Wade. Last year, Gbadegesin expanded K.ngsley into a full-fledged fashion brand with the launch of a ready-to-wear collection of genderless … [Read more...] about This is what fashion looks like when queerness is at the center

Shark Tank star Aaron Krause -- the energetic inventor and founder of the bestselling sponge Scrub Daddy -- has been releasing new products at a relentless clip this year. First, there was Eraser Daddy , Scrub Daddy's take on the famous eraser material popularized by Mr. Clean. Heat-compressed and dual-sided, Eraser Daddy is designed to last longer. Two months ago, he launched Scour Daddy , which improves upon the typical scouring pad that has remained unchanged for decades. It was quickly picked up by every Walmart in the country. Next up came Screen Daddy , a circular microfiber pad for cleaning your electronic devices that you can conveniently store directly on them. It's currently available in Bed Bath & Beyond as well as Kroger stores. Last month, when Krause debuted Daddy Caddy and Sponge Caddy -- plastic containers for storing Scrub Daddy products -- they completely sold out at Bed Bath & Beyond stores. That's not it. On October … [Read more...] about Want to Invent Best-Selling Products? Innovate Like the Founder of Scrub Daddy

This story is part of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business 2022 . Explore the full list of innovators who broke through this year—and had an impact on the world around us. advertisement advertisement On the evening last June when Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop won Best Musical at the Tonys, Broadway fans were hardly surprised. For months, the musical had been generating buzz—and $6 million at the box office—on rave reviews and a 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. And yet, A Strange Loop —for which Jackson composed the score and wrote the lyrics and book—is far from your typical Tony winner: It’s is a post-modern hall of mirrors about a poor, young, Black, queer man named Usher, who is employed as an actual usher at a Broadway theater, even as he struggles to write a semi-autobiographical Broadway musical. A cast of six supporting actors share the stage, giving voice to Usher’s conscious and sometimes subconscious thoughts, which … [Read more...] about Michael R. Jackson reveals the genius behind his hit musical ‘A Strange Loop’

If you're afraid someone is going to steal your idea, you're not alone. This is a very common fear. Will a patent help? No, not really. Not in the way you've been led to believe, anyway. Here's the truth. Protecting your idea completely -- meaning excluding all imitators -- is going to be difficult at best. If your idea becomes a successful product, the copycats won't be far behind . There will be infringers and knockoffs. This is simply a fact of life. As a person who is coming up with new ideas, I know this is not what you want to hear. It's a little bit discouraging even. But you shouldn't let this reality stop you, because there is good news. Today, success in the marketplace is all about selling first and fast, and the quickest way to transform an idea into a widely distributed product is by partnering with a company already in business. That's why licensing your invention to a company that has great relationships with major retailers is the best form of protection you can … [Read more...] about The Best Form of Protection For Your Invention Idea

GAS LINES IN AMERICA… Four Governors Declare States Of Emergency Due To Gasoline Shortage Four governors declared states of emergency in response to gas shortages brought on by the Colonial Pipeline hack. Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Monday due to his state’s gas shortage. Republicans Govs. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Ron DeSantis of Florida, and Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared states of emergency on Tuesday. Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced that he would not declare a new state of emergency because the state was already in one due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kemp suspended Georgia’s gas taxes, while Cooper eliminated transportation regulations. McMaster instituted anti-price gouging laws. Virginia Republicans called on Northam to suspend the state’s gas tax. CBS NEWS… The South was being hit hardest. Late Monday, almost 6.5% of gas stations in Virginia were out of fuel, … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: Governors Declare States Of Emergency In Response To Gas Shortages

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Las Vegas is one of the world's greatest restaurant cities - on and off the Strip. Image via ... [+] Wikipedia Andrew Knowlton is the longtime Restaurant Editor for Bon Appétit magazine , as well as the magazine’s columnist, The Foodist. He just gave me an exclusive interview with his top ten picks for visitors to Las Vegas, one of the most popular tourism cities in the world - and home to one of the best and most confusing restaurant scenes. Knowlton eats out more than 200 nights each year, and not so long ago gave me an exclusive preview of the magazine’s Top 10 New Restaurants of 2011 for my readers, but this is even more especial, since this list is not going to appear anywhere else but right here at Forbes.com. While Knowlton covers the entire country, he has a special laser focus on Las Vegas, because it is the site of the magazine’s prestigious annual food event, Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appétit, … [Read more...] about Las Vegas’ 10 Hottest Restaurants – Exclusive Inside Scoop!

After 20 years of being in business, this is what I know for sure: Making customer service a priority is one of your best forms of protection, hands down. What does putting your customer first look like in practice? Asking them about their experience. Answering their questions in a timely manner. Delivering on your promises. Being consistent, truthful, and transparent. Developing products and services that actually solve problems, inspire joy, and then continuing to improve on the experience. Treating each and every person who engages with your brand like a friend. Refusing to settle. Taking responsibility for your mistakes and learning from them. Never forget: Establishing trust takes time, and can be lost in an instant. To build a successful business today, you must truly care about your customer. Few entrepreneurs I know embody this philosophy more wholeheartedly than Marissa Louie , CEO and chief designer of the hit magnetic stuffed animals, Animoodles . The … [Read more...] about How This Entrepreneur Built the Hottest Plush Startup in Years

The moment the sad news came of FVR’s passing, I sent word to a former colleague in the Department of National Defense to request the protocol office of the Palace and Camp Aguinaldo to please, please, buy a big enough flag. Too many state funerals have featured skimpy flags, which makes the proceedings look skimpy and undignified like someone placed a printed napkin on the coffin. The former colleague said not to worry; his own father, a retired officer, had recently passed, and he said he’d been furious over the tiny size of the government-issued flag. As I watched the video feed of President Ramos’ funeral, I was relieved to see that when his urn was placed, for ceremonial purposes, inside a temporary coffin, it was draped, in turn, by an appropriately-sized flag. There is, perhaps, a very small fraternity, indeed, about people who either notice or care about such things. The armed forces, for all their institutional orientation about things (they manualize everything, which is as … [Read more...] about ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’

(CNN) With nearly 9,000 confirmed monkeypox cases nationwide, there is growing concern that US college and university campuses could become monkeypox "hotspots" this fall. Educators are working to reduce the public health risk while some students worry about how their campus experiences might be affected by the virus -- a virus that the nation is still trying to control and that was recently declared a national public health emergency . JUST WATCHED CNN goes inside clinic treating monkeypox as outbreak grows Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH CNN goes inside clinic treating monkeypox as outbreak grows 05:32 "As we head into the fall, I'm concerned about outbreaks on college campuses as they are often a place where individuals engage in higher risk sexual activity and are in close contact with many different people," Dr. Rachel Cox, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the Mass … [Read more...] about To prepare for possible monkeypox spread, colleges focus on educating students

BIDEN DEEPLY UNPOPULAR WITH VOTERS… WSJ: Biden, Democrats Lose Ground on Key Issues, WSJ Poll Finds WASHINGTON—President Biden and his fellow Democrats have lost ground to Republicans on several of the issues most important to voters, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, a troubling sign for the party seeking to extend its controlling majority of Congress for another two years. The new survey showed that 57% of voters remained unhappy with Mr. Biden’s job performance, despite favorable marks for the president’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a recent State of the Union speech, which provided him an opportunity to directly speak to millions of Americans. Just 42% said they approved of Mr. Biden’s performance in office, which was virtually unchanged from the previous Journal poll in mid-November. Meanwhile, Democratic advantages narrowed over Republicans on issues related to improving education and the Covid-19 response. A 16-percentage-point Democratic edge … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: Joe Biden Deeply Unpopular With Voters