Morning Brew Daily

A few weeks back, Apple came under fire for allegedly deploying biased algorithms to determine credit limits for its Apple Card. Some women were given lower spending limits than male counterparts (counterparts who made less money or even had worse credit).

We don’t have to be the ones to tell you that’s a problem, but...that’s a problem. There is a gender gap in tech, and that gender gap leads to worse products for everyone. So...

This week on Morning Brew’s weekly podcast Business Casual, we pick apart how that gender gap came to be, how it’s affecting the bottom line, and why the whole of society should care. To explain it all, Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code.

Boiling it down: You’ve read the stories of gender bias, sexual harassment, and more at companies like Google, Uber, etc. And those stories tend to sink stock prices. So even if you’re not a woman, your Robinhood account could suffer if tech companies don’t get their diversity initiatives in check.

Let’s face it, no matter how many times you’ve unsuccessfully explained to your mom what bitcoin is, you probably don’t even *really* know yourself. Throw words like distributed ledger technology, initial coin offering, and blockchain in? Yeah, no.

So this week on Morning Brew’s weekly podcast, Business Casual, we’re breaking down everything crypto—from bitcoin’s $20,000 ride to Facebook’s misadventures in “reinventing money and transforming the global economy.”

Because crypto memes are big, but crypto’s lasting impacts on the future of the worldwide financial system could be bigger.

Is bitcoin really the favored currency of the black market, and if so...does that matter?

Can Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook deliver on their promises of a new digital currency with the Libra project, and if so...can we trust it?

Is “blockchain tech” really just overhype, and if so...why do we still fall for the headline every time?

To answer it all, Business Casual speaks with Arianna Simpson of Autonomous Partners, an investment fund focused on crypto and digital assets.

Follow @KinseyGrant and @AriannaSimpson on Twitter

It’s been a big week for TikTok. The social video app reportedly passed 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, putting it ahead of both Facebook and Instagram. It started testing online shopping in the U.S. It’s under the microscope in D.C. as a Chinese-owned entity.

And now, it’s getting the Business Casual treatment. This week on Morning Brew’s weekly podcast, we attempt to understand TikTok—what makes it work, why it blew up, and how companies are making money off of it.

Because TikTok isn’t like Facebook or Google, the de facto demigods of social media advertising. According to viral TikTok superstar Spencer X (follower count: 9.8 million), TikTok’s got a few competitive advantages that have Zuck shaking.

Spencer X tells us...a) how TikTok has made live streaming work in both theory and practice b) what brands are best suited to monetize TikTok and c) why influencer marketing is a force to be reckoned with.

Int. Morning Brew office, content team weekly check-in:

[Writer 1] Question: What kind of streaming service is best?

[Writer 2] That’s a ridiculous question.

[Writer 1] False. Black bear.

Any fan of The Office recognizes that reference. And any fan of business news knows the streaming wars are in the process of fundamentally changing the way you get your Dunder Mifflin fix, or any other media for that matter.

Today on Morning Brew’s weekly podcast, Business Casual, we’re picking apart precisely what’s made the streaming wars just that—wars, from Disney to Netflix, Apple to Amazon. 

How do subscriber counts, ad dollars, and content spend equate to small, individual battles, each with winners and losers? Matt Ball, verified media guru and former global head of strategy for Amazon Studios, has the answers. Plus...

How Amazon has impacted the media landscape.

When we’ll be able to declare who owns the future of streaming.

Why Netflix is still the streamer to beat.

What would you do if you’d just raised a $100 million investment fund? If you’re Ben Sun, co-founder and general partner at NY-based Primary Venture Partners, you don’t hop a Blade whenever you’re craving an iced coffee from the Golden Pear in Easthampton. You make sure small startups with big ideas get the money they need to succeed.

This week on Business Casual, Sun explains the ins and outs of venture capital—and how exactly the U.S. VC scene has managed to do $100 billion in investing this year.

What’s that? You want an idea of what Sun talks about in the episode? Because he’s had a crazy successful career in serial entrepreneurship and investing? Fine…

Why profitability only matters sometimes. Hint: Jeff Bezos.

The SoftBank effect. Has Masayoshi Son put a chill on venture capital, or has he been the rising tide that lifts all ships?

How venture capital thrives in a recession. It has a lot to do with weeding out the weaklings.

Don’t wait another minute. Listen to the episode now.

Follow me on Twitter @KinseyGrant

You knew it was coming. It’s time for Morning Brew’s weekly podcast, Business Casual, to jump right into the belly of the beast: the U.S.-China trade war.

What we know: So far, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on about $360 billion worth of Chinese imports, while China has put levies on about $110 billion worth of U.S. goods.

What we don’t know: Everything else.

That’s why this week, we’re bringing in the Chairman of the Twitter Federal Reserve and CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Josh Brown. Remember all those piping hot takes about Big Tech a few episodes back? Josh is bringing even more heat this episode.

A small sampling of what you’ll get re: the U.S.-China trade war this episode...Finally, an answer to the age old question: what came first, the trade war headline or the stock market meltdown? A real-world example to show who pays for tariffs, really. An explanation for how President Trump and Jerome Powell became oil and water. And so much more.

You know what the right thing to do is...but can you act on it? Today on Morning Brew’s podcast Business Casual, Ellevest co-founder and CEO Sallie Krawcheck is tackling one of the biggest questions in business: workplace diversity.

As Krawcheck sees it, we’ve read enough studies proving a more diverse workplace yields higher returns for investors (15% higher, per recent reports). Now, it’s time to do something about the pay gaps, investing gaps, savings gaps, and more that hold top talent back. 

In this episode of Business Casual, Krawcheck also explains…

What companies and CEOs are doing things right

Why women-founded startups (think The Wing, Outdoor Voices, Glossier) are thriving

Why impact investing doesn’t mean sacrificing returns

She knows what she’s talking about: Prior to building Ellevest, Krawcheck was CEO of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, CEO of Citi Wealth Management, and CEO at Smith Barney.

While MySpace was busy ruining friendships in the early aughts, Facebook was readying to upend life as we know it. Knotel CEO Amol Sarva thinks his flexible workspace platform is the Facebook to WeWork’s MySpace.

This week on Business Casual, we’re getting into the nitty gritty of flexible space and the future of work. Sarva isn’t afraid to name names...and cast doubt on WeWork’s financials.

More high points from the conversation:

Sarva explains the difficulties of cauterizing “ethical rot” vs. “financial rot.”.

He makes a case for celebrating the coming recession. Sarva argues that despite how capital intensive real estate is, flexible office space will thrive when things go south.

For anyone looking to optimize your life—Sarva’s point about why we don’t build our own iPhones is for you.

In addition to out-Zuckerberging WeWork, Sarva 1) got his Ph.D. in cognitive science at Stanford 2) co-founded Virgin Mobile USA and 3) uses both “Faustian” and “schadenfreude” in the interview...so you know you’re going to learn something.

Trends come and go, but lunch is forever. Unless you’re Samantha Wasser, founder of the plant-based and vegan restaurant chain by CHLOE. In that case, trends are forever, too.

This week on Business Casual, Wasser explains exactly how making the most of food trends and taking the “polar opposite” approach of most vegan restaurants helped her fledgling salad shop grow to an international chain with an enviable Instagram following. And really good tempeh patties.

But this is Business Casual, and Business Casual is about more than tempeh patties. Wasser explains why a boom in business for plant-based meats like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods is good for all restaurateurs hoping to get more sustainable.

What else is on tap in this episode? Tips and tricks to optimize your phone eats first attitude. An argument in favor of sweating the small stuff. How to pitch venture capital on the long-shunned restaurant space, massive capital investments and all. And three letters: CBD.

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Newsflash: By 2022, about $4.6 trillion will be managed by roboadvisors—super smart algorithms telling you when and what to invest. But can we trust the robots? Betterment CEO Jon Stein thinks yes—but there are limitations.

This week on Business Casual, Stein explains 1) why computers make better money managers than Uncle Rob’s neighbor’s sister 2) where the big banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are failing everyday people and 3) why good advice typically has a price tag. He also masterfully tackles the democratization of financial tools in under five minutes (could be a world record).

And because he was feeling generous, Stein clues you in on the single worst thing you can do with your money.

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