Since its founding in 1973, the outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has strived to make quality goods in an ethical manner. This combination of strong values and superior products has allowed the company to grow into an $800 million brand. But over the years Patagonia has run into a number of roadblocks in their quest to “build the best product” and “cause no unnecessary harm.” For example, in 2010 an animal rights group revealed that the company had been buying goose Continue reading
Israeli entrepreneur Yekutiel Sherman had a great idea for a product: a selfie stick that folded seamlessly into the back of a smartphone’s case. He spent a year carefully designing his idea, producing prototypes and securing small investments from family and friends. By December 2015 Sherman launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to finish funding the item, now called Stikbox. But while the project immediately attracted investors, his popular crowdfunding campaign also caught the attention of Chinese bootleg manufacturers. Within Continue reading
For those who have spent years ordering items from online retailers like Amazon, setting foot inside a store can sometimes seem like taking a trip back in time. But while the shift away from brick-and-mortar locations has utterly changed industries like music and clothing, grocery stores have remained largely the same since the dawn of the digital revolution. After all, most people still prefer to examine food in person before they buy it.
But that hasn’t stopped a collection Continue reading
In recent years Hollywood has watched its dominance over entertainment decline as new forms of media like streaming video become more and more popular. As a result, today’s movie studios don’t take many risks when they’re planning the next crop of summer blockbusters. That’s why remakes and sequels appear so often now in multiplexes: Hollywood hopes that the public’s previous knowledge will encourage them to buy tickets to familiar franchises.
This plan didn’t exactly work in the summer of 2016, Continue reading
For Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, establishing a clear narrative around a startup’s foundation and purpose is essential to success. Few people understood this concept better than Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of the formerly acclaimed blood-testing firm Theranos. She founded her company in 2003 at the age of 19 after dropping out of Stanford University’s School of Chemical Engineering. Holmes left college early because she claimed to discover a revolutionary new method for medical testing: rather than drawing a significant amount of blood Continue reading
Last week we shared a video about how food companies label some items as “natural” even though they’re no healthier than their non-natural counterparts. While that term may soon come under regulation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently banned another marketing buzzword from use on commercial products. As of last Friday, “antibacterial” soaps are no longer allowed on U.S. store shelves after manufacturers failed to prove they were safer or cleaner than regular products.
“Consumers may think antibacterial washes Continue reading
A few years ago Amazon announced a plan to start their own drone-based delivery service, allowing customers to receive goods just hours after ordering. At the time the idea seemed almost too futuristic to be true. After all, the image of dozens of robots circulating the sky and dropping off packages sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. According to the company, however, the plan for Amazon Prime Air remains on track and may even become a reality Continue reading