The risk of a partial U.S. government shutdown beginning next week is rising as congressional Democrats and Republicans hit an impasse over how to continue to fund the federal government.
A shutdown could affect financial markets by limiting the operations of financial regulators and delaying the publication of key economic data.
How might markets react?
Historically, markets have tended to shrug off shutdowns. However, this time could be different.
A prolonged shutdown risks delaying or canceling key economic data releases investors use to assess macroeconomic trends, such as the monthly employment and inflation reports, analysts at Nomura said in a note this week.
That would mean the Federal Reserve is flying blind, making it more likely to stick with its own economic projections of two 25-basis-point rate cuts for the rest of 2025, the analysts said.
With investors unable to assess the extent of a U.S. economic slowdown, the Treasury yield curve could steepen further as rate cuts get priced in with more conviction, leading to a wider gap between short- and long-dated Treasury yields, TD Securities said in a note.
A lengthy government shutdown could also affect some market participants’ ability to conduct complex trades for which they may require regulatory guidance.
What happens to financial regulators?
While U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration had not widely shared its contingency plans as of Tuesday, a shutdown would likely reduce the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to a skeletal staff, according to its October 2024 plan for a lapse in government funding.
This would severely limit the agencys ability to review corporate filings, investigate misconduct, and oversee markets.
Likewise, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would furlough almost all of its employees and cease most market oversight activity, according to its 2023 contingency plan.
Previous government shutdowns have caused delays in the CFTC publishing reports on traders’ positions in futures and options markets.
The banking regulators and consumer watchdog, which are not funded by congressional appropriations, will remain functional.
In 2019, a protracted government shutdown slowed down some of Trump’s de-regulatory efforts in part because of staff furloughs at the Office of the Federal Register, which must formally publish all steps in the rule-writing process, Reuters reported at the time.
Will IPOs be affected?
Yes. A shutdown would likely freeze the IPO pipeline. Companies planning to go public would be unable to proceed without the SEC’s approval, potentially dampening momentum in the equity capital markets, which have enjoyed an IPO boom in recent months.
Michelle Price, Reuters
As the rise of artificial intelligence continues, companies operating in this space or relying on the technology are finding that they have two inextricable needs: data centers that can run and process the AI, and access to ample energy to power those vast data centers.
One new company, Fermi America, aims to offer solutions for both these needs. And this week, Fermi announced its plans for an upcoming initial public offering and dual stock listings. Heres what you need to know about Fermi America and its planned IPO.
What is Fermi America?
Fermi America is a very young company. It was only founded this year, just nine months ago in January 2025. The company is so new that its website is still a relatively barebones affair.
Given the youth of the company, its no surprise that the majority of Americans have most likely never heard of it.
But they have heard of its cofounder, Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who ran as a GOP contender for president in 2012 and 2016. After unsuccessful presidential bids, Perry was appointed as the 14th United States Secretary of Energy, during President Donald Trumps first term in office.
In addition to Perry, Fermi America was also cofounded by Toby Neugebauer, a former comanaging partner of Quantum Energy.
Fermi America intends to be a provider of data and power centers that other companies can use to host their AI needs.
But I say intends to, because Fermi America doesnt actually provide any services yet. Heck, it doesnt even have any infrastructure yet to provide its services.
What Fermi America does have is a lease for 5,236 acres of land owned by Texas Tech University, which is where Fermi plans to build a “HyperGrid” in an undertaking dubbed Project Matador.
What is Project Matador?
Project Matador is the name given to Fermi Americas HyperGrid project. This HyperGrid will be a combined data and power center that other companies will pay to lease space on to run their AI needs.
In its Form S-11 Registration Statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fermi says Project Matador is a multi-gigawatt energy and data center development campus that will ultimately be called the Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus at Texas Tech University.
Fermi says the mission of this campus is to deliver up to 11 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon, HyperRedundant, and on-demand power directly to the worlds most compute-intensive businesses.
It says it will achieve this mission by using nuclear, solar, and natural gas energy to power the facility. By 2038, the company says it aims for the campus to deliver up to 11 gigawatts of power to AI data centers. It also says it expects the first 1.1 gigawatts of power to be online by the end of 2026.
However, all this is hypothetical for now. To date, Fermi America has not actually started constructing Project Matador. The company still needs to secure funding for the campuss construction. It aims to raise some of that money through investments, including funds raised from its IPO.
Yet the fact that Project Matador is little more than an idea at this point is something potential investors should consider. As Fermi America warns in its Form S-11, our business model is highly dependent on the successful construction, development, leasing, and continued maintenance of Project Matador.
When is Fermi Americas IPO?
Fermi America has not announced a date for its planned IPO yet. This week’s announcement is for Fermis IPO roadshow, which is when executives of a company planning to go public meet with potential investors. Roadshows are designed to generate hype and interest in a companys initial public offering.
What is Fermi Americas stock ticker?
Fermi Americas shares will trade under the stock ticker FRMI.
What exchange will Fermi Americas shares trade on?
Fermi America shares will trade on not one, but two stock markets. The company says it intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in the U.S. and on the London Stock Exchange in the UK.
What is the IPO share price of FRMI?
An exact IPO price for Fermis shares has not been determined yet. But the company says it is targeting a price range of between $18 and $22 per share for its public offering.
How many FRMI shares will be available in its IPO?
Fermi says it plans to make 25 million shares of its common stock available in its IPO. The company says it will also grant its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3.75 million shares.
How much will Fermi America raise in its IPO?
With an expected IPO price of between $18 and $22 per share, Fermi is expected to raise between $450 million and $550 million in its IPO.
How much is Fermi America worth?
Reuters notes that under the companys current IPO price estimates, Firmi America is targeting a valuation of up to $13 billion.
What will Firmi America use its IPO proceeds for?
According to its roadshow announcement, Fermi America says it intends to use the net proceeds from its IPO to support the continued growth and development of Fermi America’s business, to secure personnel, to increase its financial flexibility, and for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, procurement, construction, and installation of long lead-time items.
Many of the office buildings emptied by the pandemic are still sitting vacant. A recent report from Moody’s Analytics found that in the second quarter of 2025, office vacancy rates were still above 20% nationwide, and cities across the country are still trying to figure out what, if anything, to do about it. One startup has an unconventional solution: it wants to fill that empty space with crops.
Area 2 Farms is a three-year-old company based in Arlington, Virginia, that’s taking the concept of indoor farming to unusual spaces. Its first farm, in Arlington, grows dozens of varieties of crops in a low-slung brick building tucked between a dog day care and a car repair shop. With a new infusion of venture capital, the company is planning to expand, and it’s looking to empty office buildings as potential future farms. “Part of our vision is that a farm can go anywhere,” says the company’s founder, Oren Falkowitz.
Backed by $9 million in new funding from Seven Seven Six, Slow Ventures, 468 Capital, and Animo, Area 2 Farms is planning to build 10 new farms across the U.S. in 2026. Falkowitz says the company is currently pursuing opportunities in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Nashville, South Florida, Orlando, Austin, and Raleigh-Durham, and Atlanta. His goal is to build indoor farms within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population.
[Photo: Area 2 Farms]
Proximity is the driving idea behind the company. Falkowitz grew up in south Florida and remembers a time when oranges were typically bought not at a grocery store but from the actual orange grove, directly from the farmers who grew them. Today studies estimate that most produce travels hundreds of miles before it reaches the end consumer.
“The production of our food just gets pushed further and further away,” Falkowitz says. “As a result of this distance, the stores are asking growers to produce things that are more shelf-stable, not necessarily more diverse or more nutritional.”
Falkowitz, who previously worked for the National Security Agency and later founded two cybersecurity companies, proposes a hyperlocal alternative. “We move the farm, not the food,” he says.
[Photo: Area 2 Farms]
The company’s pilot farm in Arlington produced its first crop in fall 2022. The company estimates it has produced more than 20,000 harvests since then, using a modular rack-based system that automatically moves crops through a cycle of mimicked daylight and darkness.
Planted in box containers filled with soil, the farm is able to grow kitchen staples like lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and mushrooms, as well as more niche items like amaranth microgreens and purple shamrock. Rising 18 feet tall, the racks cram 200 acres-worth of annual crop growing into 3,000 square feet of real estate.
Indoor farming is not new. Greenhouses are an essential part of the global food system, and Falkowitz notes that hydroponic farming has existed since the days of Babylon. “I would say it’s only partially interesting to be growing vertical, and it’s totally uninteresting or uninnovative to ship your products to Whole Foods, or Safeway, or Publix,” he says.
Area 2 Farms works more like those orange groves Falkowitz remembers as a child, but with the high-tech twist of its automated growing racks. Local farmers run the space and its customer base comes primarily from within a two-mile radius for weekly farm share pickups. “When we build a farm or we move the farm back to people, we want them to interact with it. We don’t want anyone in between the farmer and the consumer,” he says.
The idea has caught on. “We’ve been sold out for the last hundred weeks,” Falkowitz says.
That’s why he’s keen to expand Area 2 Farms’ modular farming technology to new spaces. “What we wanted the technology to be able to do is to fit wherever it could,” he says. “In order to build a greenhouse in a city you would need a quarter-acre to an acre of just land, and that does not exist.”
What does exist in cities is underutilized buildings and oddly shaped lots. Area 2 Farms is currently in the process of building its second farm on a trapezoid-shaped lot in Fairfax, Virginia, that’s been vacant for 20 years.
Falkowitz sees even more potential in the empty offices that litter cities across the country, and he says cities and real estate owners have been open to the idea of taking this farming technology inside former offices. “They’re just like, ‘have the space. We don’t know what to do with it,'” Falkowitz says.
Area 2 Farms is one alternative, and perhaps a second chance for buildings that might have otherwise gone obsolete. “At the core, we’re really focused on revitalizing underutilized or existing spaces,” Falkowitz says. “And that can be a wide array of shapes.”
Whiskey has always carried weight. Think crystal tumblers, low-lit bars, Don Draper pouring a glass after a big win, or Sinatra crooning with a dram in hand. These rituals and symbols have long defined the category, but in 2025 they may also have held it back. While other “dusty” drinks made surprising comebacks this summer (see Bacardis Breezer relaunch, Smirnoff Ice chasing Gen Z, even cask ale enjoying a 50% surge among 1824-year-old pub-goers), whiskey didnt seize the moment.
The idea of making whiskey more appealing to younger drinkers isnt exactly breaking news. But it matters now more than ever, thanks to a new opportunity with this demographic. According to recent IWSR data, 70% of Gen Z now drink alcohol, up from 46% just two years ago. This generation is curious, open to experimentation, and more likely to embrace unexpected drinks than older cohorts.
Yet whiskeys sales have been declining in younger demographics, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. The urgency is clear: if whiskey wants to remain culturally relevant, it has to capture Gen Zs attention now, before other categories cement themselves as the new go-to for younger drinkers.
Reinventing rituals without abandoning heritage
For whiskey, the challenge isnt about throwing away tradition. Its about loosening it up. A single malt aged for 40 years will always command respect, but it cant be the only story the category tells. If Gen Z is to adopt whiskey, it has to feel approachable, flexible, and fun.
Thats where new rituals come in. Long associated with hushed reverence, whiskey can become a summer staple when presented in lighter, fresher serves. The Whiskey Highball is the clearest example of this shift. A tall glass, sparkling soda, and a hint of citrus: its whiskey, but social and sessionable. Suntorys Toki has built its modern identity almost entirely around this serve, while Dewars has positioned the highball as an everyday cocktail in the U.S.
These moves show that whiskey doesnt need to change what it is, it simply needs to change how it shows up.
Flavors and RTDs: breaking down barriers
Gen Z drinkers often dont want to start with smoky or peaty intensity. Flavored whiskeys like Jack Daniels Apple or Crown Royal Peach prove that approachable entry points can feel fresh rather than gimmicky. RTDs, like Jameson Ginger & Lime or Jack & Cola, add portability and sociability, two qualities whiskey has historically lacked.
And its not just big brands making moves. New labels like Strutter, a peanut-butter-and-honey flavored whiskey with streetwise swagger, show how newcomers are breaking category codes.
Rebranding whiskey: from heritage to inclusivity
Whiskey has always had heritage on its side, but heritage can weigh heavy. The brands finding traction are swapping imagery of leather armchairs and oak panels for lighter, lifestyle-led storytelling. Jameson continues to frame whiskey as sociable and welcoming. Makers Mark is leaning into vibrant cocktails like the Whiskey Smash and Whiskey Spritz.
The message is clear: whiskey doesnt need to dictate the vibe; it can flex to fit it.
A unified approach to the future
Whiskey has made progress, but it hasnt yet claimed drink of the summer status. Why? Because the category is fragmented. Different brands push different experiments, which dilutes the impact. Whats needed now is a unifying symbol: one iconic serve, one joyful narrative, a category-wide push that says, Whiskey can be light, inclusive, and fun.
Heritage and lightness arent opposites. Together, they can future-proof whiskey for new generations.
Opportunity calls
Whiskeys history has always been about time: ageing in barrels, patience, tradition. But in 2025, time is also about urgency. The summer of 2025 showed what happens when whiskey hesitates. Other categories rushed in and grabbed Gen Zs attention. If whiskey doesnt evolve quickly, it risks becoming the drink people respect but dont reach for.
The good news is, Gen Z is drinking more, experimenting more, and seeking brands that are inclusive, playful, and authentic. If whiskey shows up in the right wayslighter, fresher, more sociableit can still win them over.
As a whiskey lover, I hope to see that happen. Because whiskey has all the ingredients to thrive with Gen Z, it just needs to play with a lighter, more joyful culture. If it does, the drink of summer 2026 might not be a spiked seltzer or a retro alcopop. It might finally be whiskey.
It had begun nearly two years prior, with a miscarriage, and then another. I was compiling a list of fertility clinics when he made an appearance on the ultrasound monitor, a flickering response to my quietly brewing despair.
I spent the long months of pregnancy that followed feeling like a cartoon character with a me-size thunderstorm threatening at every turn. Though my pregnancy was healthy, I was convinced I had to remain vigilant until my son was in my arms. When my husband and I visited my obstetrician nine days past my sons due date, I wasnt surprised to see an irregularity in his heartbeat. Less than an hour later, we were checking into the hospital to start my induction. Later that night, my sons heartbeat dropped again, prompting a small army of doctors and nurses to rush the delivery room. But he recovered, my body stopped resisting, and then it was over. We sat together in the emptied room, my son curled against my husbands chest, his tiny hat askew. Here was my family.
Do our beginnings matter? Its the question at the heart of Orchid, one of a new wave of companies performing genomic screening on human embryos. Roughly 40% of in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles today include genetic screening, but in almost all cases, the tests are a relatively rudimentary gauge of obvious chromosomal abnormalities, with results similar in scope to a prenatal amniocentesis test. Orchid and its competitors, all of which were founded within the last decade, assess embryo health in a far more comprehensive, and potentially more radical, way.
For Noor Siddiqui, Orchids 31-year-old founder and CEO, old-fashioned origin stories, like my sons, are the equivalent of rolling the dice, as she often says. She doesnt yet have children, but she and her husband hope to someday have two sons and two daughters. To prepare, she has frozen more than a dozen embryos, and plans to retrieve even more eggs. In keeping with Orchids protocols, her embryos have been biopsied; the DNA contained in those four- to six-cell biopsies has been amplified; and the resulting genomic data has been sequenced and scored for chromosomal abnormalities, as well as cancer, autism, diabetes, birth defects, and hundreds of other diseases and disorders.
The most important parenting decisions anyone can make, Siddiqui argues, happen before birth: your choice of partner and your childs genome. She views screening embryo genomes as a form of preventive medicine. For the first time ever, parents can mitigate a massive amount of risk that was previously left to chance, she says. She imagines that future couples will start their parenting journey as she did, by reviewing a data-rich, tastefully designed embryo report for each of their prospective children. They will be able to remove from consideration any embryos with serious and often rare monogenic conditions, such as cri du chat syndrome, and compare relative risk on more complex conditions, including intellectual disability and schizophrenia.
Siddiqui has no doubt that the practice will one day be widely accepted, and essential.
“I started this company because I was pissed I couldnt have a baby the way I wanted, Siddiqui says when we meet on a misty afternoon in June for a walk along the Chicago lakefront. Its her first venture outdoors after a day in hotel meeting rooms alongside attendees of a reproductive medicine conference, where she was a featured speaker trying to convince an audience of physicians that patients undergoing IVF would benefit from Orchids tests.
Like many of Orchids customers, Siddiquis life has been shaped by genomic disease. Her mothers DNA contains a de novo mutation that has slowly destroyed her vision; today, she is legally blind. At Stanford, where Siddiqui studied computer science as an undergraduate and in a masters program, classes on artificial intelligence introduced her to the possibilities of applying deep-learning techniques to genomic data. The merging of computational science and genetics was a revelation. I saw what happened to my mom, she says. I dont want [my children] to suffer.
Since its founding in 2019, Orchid has evaluated thousands of embryos whole genomes, at an out-of-pocket cost of $2,500 per embryo. (Couples who use Orchid screen an average of five embryos.) Orchid partners with IVF clinics to ensure that embryo biopsies are performed according to its guidance and then amplifies the embryo DNA for analysis at its own clinical labs.
Traditionally, IVF clinics evaluate embryos according to their morphological grade, which assesses the number and quality of cells in an embryo. If the clinic orders genetic testing, it is typically a test known as PGT-A, which can detect diseases like Down syndrome, caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. (The A in the tests name refers to aneuploidy, or an abnormal number of chromosomes.) Orchid goes further. In addition to scanning for hundreds of rare single-gene mutations, it uses statistical techniques to generate polygenic risk scores designed to gauge an embryos predisposition to complex but often common diseases, such as hypertension and coronary artery disease.
Because polygenic conditions are influenced by behavior and environment in addition to genetics, the value of their associated risk scores is hotly contested within the research community. Being told one embryo has less risk of hypertension or coronary artery disease than another does not preclude a future diagnosis. But that hasnt stopped couples with a family history of hereditary disease and considerable financial means from flocking to Orchid. My inbox is all babies, says Siddiqui.
But critics are circling too. Siddiquis observation that sex is for fun, and embryo screening is for babies, which she first voiced in a YouTube video in 2021, has become a polarizing catchphrase. A fertility specialist appearing on 60 Minutes echoed it with pride, but ethicists wary of a designer-baby future point to it as a sign of Huxleian doom.
As she gamely walks the waterfront in a black blazer and sensible heels, Siddiquis frustration with the status quo is palpable. I think its insane that we go to these doctors, talk to these conferences, and theyre grappling with, oh, this is too much information to share with patients, she says. Well, Im going to have a lifetime of medical bills and a child whos always going to suffer from an incurable disease because you didnt want to look at a little bit of extra information. You didnt want to spend five extra minutes with me telling [me] all the options for the most important decision of my life. And that enrages me.
But an intervention like Orchid doesnt just reduce suffering; it also introduces choice and control to the reproductive process in unprecedented ways. Through the ages, children have been viewed as a gift (sometimes an unwelcome gift, but a gift all the same). After meeting with Siddiqui, Orchid provides me with a sample embryo report to review. Looking at it, I have the uncomfortable feeling that Im looking not at a gift, but at a productindeed, a luxury product. Am I getting a winner or a dud? Does the promise of increased health span justify the cost of the service? The process rewards couples with the economic means to produce a multitude of embryos, and, by its very nature, encourages consumer-directed optimization. And, throughout, theres the unspoken, but implied directive: May the best baby win.
When Jeffs wife suffered two early-term miscarriages, he felt helpless. The couple started looking into IVF, hoping to ind a way to prevent further losses.
Jeff, a prominent startup founder himself, heard about Orchid through a colleague who had been advising Siddiqui. He was surprised to learn that some embryos with genetics that are not compatible with life can still generate high morphological grades on traditional IVF tests. When such embryos are implanted, they tend to miscarry. Orchids screening process offered a solution, combining PGT-A with scores for 1,200 monogenic conditions and a dozen polygenic conditionsincluding Alzheimers disease, which runs in Jeffs wifes family.
Jeffs wife went through two rounds of egg retrievals. The couple spent upwards of $25,000, in addition to their IVF costs, to screen the resulting embryos with Orchids technology and welcomed a first baby last year. Jeff was so taken with Orchid that he became an investor.
Everyone tries to provide a better life for their kids, wants to send their kids to the best school, he says. Why would you not want to give your child the highest probability of health success? And as a society, he argues, we should be trying to eradicate disease and improve our gene pools. He hopes to see federal support for embryo screening, paving the way to lowered costs and greater access. (Eleven states require insurance to cover IVF and fertility preservation; no legislation currently addresses embryo screening.)
Perhaps not surprisingly, Orchids earliest and most vocal customers and supporters have been a whos who of Silicon Valley elites, products of a culture where data is prized, longevity is hackable, and children follow after career success. Orchid has raised $12 million from the likes of 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, and Ben Lamm, cofounder of the dire wolfreviving startup Colossal Biosciences.
For Siddiqui, who completed the fellowship program for young entrepreneurs founded by libertarian iconoclast Peter Thiel, Orchids emphasis on consumer choice is a feature, not a bug. She has spent time with Orchid parents and their Orchid babies; she trusts them. I think consumers are smart, she says. At the end of the day, what I love about the world is that the arc bends toward good.
Indeed, if theres a theme common among the leaders of embryo-screening companies, its a sense of befuddlement, even exasperation, at the wary reception they have received in clinical circles. Many of these founders, like Siddiqui, have been affected by genetic or chronic disease. When professional organizations like the American Society of Human Genetics caution against the use of polygenic embryo screening in clinical care, its personal.
Nathan Treff, cofounder and chief scientific officer at Orchid competitor Genomic Prediction, developed type 1 diabetes in early adulthood. His research, which relies on a database of DNA from adult sibling pairs, suggests that couples using Genomic Predictions polygenic risk scores for embryo selection can reduce the odds of their child having type 1 diabetes by at least 45%. Dont you think its unethical not to tell patients with diabetes that this was an option? he says.
In June, Genomic Prediction announced a partnership with Nucleus Genomics, a genetic health company founded by another former Thiel Fellow, Kian Sadeghi. Genomic Prediction oversees the wet lab process by which embryos are biopsied and their DNA is amplified; Nucleus receives the raw DNA data and conducts its own proprietary analysis.
We believe in genetic optimization, Sadeghi told Core Memory podcast host Ashlee Vance in June. We believe [that] if couples want access to height or IQ or hair color or eye color or alcohol dependency, they should have access to that. And the other thing is we really believe in the consumer deciding. As Nucleuss website puts it: Understand your embryos future body, mind, and health, starting with traits like male-pattern baldness and severe acne.
Orchid doesnt offer information on cosmetic traits in its reports, and Siddiqui has consistently insisted that Orchid is focused on preventing disease. But the line between markers of disease and mere traits is blurrier than it might first appear. Height is a traityet pulled to its extremes, it becomes idiopathic short stature or Marfan syndrome. Plus, there are correlations between theoretically desirable traits and less desirable ones for reasons that scientists have yet to untangle. For example, educational attainmenta proxy for IQis negatively correlated with traits including conscientiousness and extraversion, and positively correlated with autism spectrum disorders and anorexia.
To some researchers, even Orchids focus on disease is problematic. They would like to see companies performing embryo screening connect their abstract polygenic risk scores to real models of disease in more concrete ways. For example, a risk score for obesity, which presents as a spectrum of symptom severity, is not the same as a risk score for cancer. Theres no such thing as half cancer, writes Sasha Gusev, a statistical geneticist and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, in his Substack The Infinitesimal. Orchid and its peers struggle to communicate these distinctions, at the risk of fostering false hopeor worse, false certaintyamong their customers.
Companies like Orchid are still far too young to have a systemic impact. But already, researchers are hypothesizing about how embryo optimization might play out on a population-level scale. Patrick Turley, director of the Behavioral and Health Genomics Center at the University of Southern California, was lead author of a 2021 paper outlining problems with the use of polygenic risk scores in embryo selection. He foreshadows a world in which cost-focused nationalized healthcare systems, in particular, might lead the way in embryo screening. Whats the cost-benefit analysis? he asks. If you could reduce someones diabetes risk by three or four percentage points, what does that mean in terms of lifetime medical spending, but also quality of life in the future?
There is something undeniably appealing about de-risking reproduction and lowering lifetime medical costs. Siddiquis preferred metaphorsrolling dice, winning or losing the genetic lotterymake natures reproductive methodology appear haphazard, even capricious. Embryo screening, in contrast, seems like a safe and responsible approach. But of course, Siddiquis portrayal is incomplete. There is intelligence and optimization built into natures design, even if it does sometimes lead to loss. More than half of first-trimester miscarriages are the result of chromosomal abnormalities. My miscarriages caused great grief, but they were also, likely, safeguarding me.
Was my son, in the end, the best baby, and is he now the best 6-year-old? The question is almost absurdam I the best mom? All I know for certain is that hes mine.
Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies is our flagship franchise and one of our most eagerly awaited editorial projects each year. To determine honorees, our editorial team spends months evaluating organizations that are driving progress across industries and around the world. We track their performance, compare them to competitors, and assess their impact within broader industry and societal trends. The final list serves as both a definitive snapshot of innovation today and a road map for whats next. Here’s what we’re looking for:
Fresh innovation
Most Innovative Companies is not a lifetime achievement award. We’re interested in whats new. Tell us about products, services, or strategies introduced in the past year. We also welcome news of upcoming launches. If something is under embargo, simply note that in your application. This is your chance to get on our radar early.
Measurable impact
We want to see that your innovation is making a difference. Share the metrics you use internally to gauge successwhether its revenue growth, user adoption, engagement, or other KPIs. If any data is confidential, just flag it in the submission.
The big picture
We recognize companies that are tackling major challenges and reshaping industries, culture, or society. Show us how your innovation moves your field forwardand how it connects to larger global or cultural trends.
Editorial opportunity
Each application is carefully reviewed by our editorial team, often by multiple editors. Beyond informing the Most Innovative Companies list, these submissions help shape our editorial coverage year-round. We frequently pursue additional stories based on what we learn here. In other words, this is a unique opportunity to introduce your company and tell your story directly to Fast Companys editorsin your own words.
We’re accepting MIC applications through October 3.
Chick-fil-A says it’s testing out a stand-alone drinks-focused restaurant concept.
Called Daybright, the new concept will open this fall outside Atlanta, Chick-fil-A tells Fast Company. It’s being brought to life by Red Wagon Ventures, a Chick-fil-A subsidiary and business incubator named after founder Truett Cathy’s first business selling Coca-Cola out of a red wagon when he was 6 years old.
“We look forward to sharing more details in the future,” Chick-fil-A says about the concept.
Though there’s not yet a public menu for Daybright, it’s expected to serve coffee, smoothies, and cold-pressed juice alongside a limited selection of food. But sorry, peach milkshake fans, Daybright will not have any Chick-fil-A menu itemsand that goes for both food and beverages.
The announcement indicates Chick-fil-A isn’t just looking to compete on chicken sandwiches alone anymore. As fast-food prices have risen and customers have decided to stay home or choose other options, beverages offer restaurants a higher-gross-margin item that it can easily upsell to customers. In other words, drinks are cheap for restaurants to sell, and customers might be convinced to pick up a snack to go with their beverage. The category can also draw in young people during off hours. With Daybright, the chain could also steal market share from the likes of Starbucks and Dutch Bros Coffee by nabbing customers who stepped out for a morning coffee or a quick, cheap snack.
Daybright will arrive as other chains are experimenting and investing more in their drinks too. Taco Bell expanded its beverage offerings over the summer, and though McDonald’s in May shut down CosMc’s, its beverage-first, drive-through concept launched in 2023, it’s taking what it learned from the store to bring to McDonald’s locations in the U.S. and eventually around the world.
For Chick-fil-A, a privately held company that reported $22.7 billion in sales in 2024, the new concept could be a lifeline since its sales growth has slowed. By giving customers a new reason to stop by, even if it’s just for a drink, Daybright could give Chick-fil-A a leg up at a challenging time.
When I was a leader in corporate America at a large regional bank, I held the assumption that once I was promoted, and received my new title and salary, then I would finally feel confident and successful. I was wrong. The allure of a new title and office wore off quickly, and my persistent worries about whether I was cut out for leadership, or even a good leader at all, continued to persist. A decade later, even after I submitted the first draft of my book, Closing the Confidence Gap, I was overwhelmed with self-doubt. I felt completely stuck: Unable to move forward with marketing, I was paralyzed by many of the same old fears of What if people think Im no good and this book finally proves it?
In my thousands of hours of conversations with leaders, I discovered that we share a common belief: that our confidence will arrive once we receive a certain title or status. We think we will finally feel successful. But it doesnt happen that way. Self-doubt is always waiting at the edges of our capabilities. When we attempt to push doubt aside and ignore it, we reduce our ability to remain curious and respond most effectively. Counterintuitively, avoiding the feeling only makes it grow stronger, thus playing a larger role in preventing us from applying for roles that excite us, holding crucial conversations, speaking up and sharing ideas, or making courageous asks.
If self-doubt is holding you back from meeting your potential in leadership, here are some steps you can take to help manage that feeling, and even use it to your advantage.
NOTICE AND NAME WHAT IS HAPPENING
Noticing and naming an emotion is the first step toward emotional acceptance. This means that you are allowing your feeling to exist without judgment or a desire to change this. It can help to rely on an emotions wheel to find the language to describe what you are feeling.
If this process is overwhelming, take four deep breaths and ask yourself, What feelings arise in my body? Once you get curious about these feelings, it will become easier to name the emotions. Naming our emotions doesnt amp up their power, it identifies them accurately. With this accuracy, we can feel more in control of their cause and the right next steps we need to take.
NORMALIZE THE FEELING BY FINDING A SUPPORT SYSTEM
The first step toward normalizing self-doubt is accepting the feeling. For example, you may say to yourself, Self-doubt is a normal, healthy human emotion and a sign that I am stretching my comfort zone.
A second important step toward normalizing self-doubt is taking the vulnerable step to describe what is happening to a supportive and neutral party. This can be in-person or online, either with one person (such as a therapist or coach) or with a community. When I struggled with self-doubt after writing my book, I took the vulnerable step to share this with my entrepreneurial community who, in response, shared their own feelings of self-doubt. This helped me normalize this feeling and provided support to help me move forward.
REFRAME SELF-DOUBT AS A STATE NOT A TRAIT
The internal language we use impacts how we behave. When our internal language describes self-doubt as a trait (for example: I am a nervous wreck. I cannot show up for this presentation) we are not allowing room for this to be changed.
Instead, we should reframe this feeling into a state. One potential reframe could be, I notice that I am feeling doubtful and nervous, this means Im moving closer to achieving my stretch goals.”
To separate a state from a trait, it can be helpful to ask yourself what helpful reasons there are for feeling self-doubt. You may ask yourself, How does this emotion benefit me? Potential benefits include keeping you humble, or ensuring that you put in adequate preparation and effort for a keynote, meeting, or project.
TAKE ACTION WHILE FEELING DOUBTFUL
If you wait until you feel confident or fully ready to do something, you may wait forever. I have interviewed leaders like Arianna Huffington, Indra Nooyi, and Padmasaree Warrior. Here is what I learned from them: Rising through the ranks in leadership does not mean that your self-doubt disappears. It means that you have learned to anticipate and accommodate self-doubt at all stages of leadership. Successful leaders have transformed their relationship with doubt, knowing its essential on the path to a meaningful career.
Taking action is a muscle that is built with small, brave steps. If you struggle with self-doubt while presenting, you may not give your first keynote to an audience of 1,000 people. Instead, you may agree to lead your next team meeting. Once you have done this a few times, you may then decide to speak up at a company-wide meeting. Its the actions of confidence that come first, the feeling that comes second.
Confidence is a side effect of taking action.
In recent months, major tech companies have lured top talent from rival companies with multimillion-dollar salaries and rumors of unprecedented sign-on bonuses. Big firms are fighting for talent from Apple, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and beyond, reportedly offering pay packages that resemble those of NBA stars. Meta has been aggressively poaching talent from its competitors in the race to dominate AI, luring Apples robotics chief earlier this month in a move that made headlines.
Its news like this that makes workers ask themselves: How can I get that to happen to me? (Even if Im not a Silicon Valley CEO?) Luckily, career experts say anyone can make themselves more poachable.
Lest anyone grinding out in a 9-to-5 with a slightly smaller salary than these Big Tech chiefs feels jealous, a reminder: Tech is their own world, Mark Anthony Dyson, career coach and founder of The Voice of Job Seekers, told Fast Company. That said, theres no harm in taking some inspiration from these high-profile hires.
Here are just a few strategies to roll out if youre hoping to catch the eyes of recruiters who can whisk you away to your dream job:
Be a thought leader
Visibility is keyfor people to notice you, changing your LinkedIn profile photo to say open to work isnt enough. You have to put yourself out there, experts say.
That means actively posting and sharing industry insights on LinkedIn, most importantly, but also speaking at events and media mentions, if applicable. Kait LeDonne, a personal branding expert, pointed to a survey that showed 64% of recruiters said that a candidate whos a recognized thought leader in their industry is more likely to get a role than a candidate with the same exact credentials but a quieter presence.
Create enough of a presence that youre seen as an active industry thought leader, LeDonne said. You dont need to be top of the industry, but you need to publish content [on LinkedIn] that shares more about your industry or influences your industry. For most people, two to three times a week is going to be just fine.
Expand your skill set
The hard truth: Today, it isnt enough to just do your job, said Kathy Caprino, a career leadership coach and author. She and other experts encourage professionals to actively seek out opportunities to learn new skills, both inside and outside their fields. And dont be shy about sharing that education, whether its a yoga teacher training or an AI course.
Caprino recommended people list their new skills on their résumés and across their LinkedIn profiles: in their headline, about section, and under certifications. She also suggested people write a short post about how theyre using those skills, for extra visibility.
If I see someone taking courses on Coursera or getting certified in something, that goes a long way, added Bridget ONeill, a career consultant and owner of the RE Consultancy. It shows theyre continually active. That is a very poachable trait.
Continued growth and education shows employers and recruiters that candidates are future-oriented. It also helps combat what ONeill said is a red flag to her when looking at someones résumé or LinkedIn profile: stagnancy. You can see it immediately, she said. Some common mistakes? A résumé thats not up-to-date or doesnt list any skills or courses; a LinkedIn page with an old headshot, no background photo, or no engagement in the form of posting or sharing posts. She says missed opportunities like those show no passion, interest, curiosity.
Seek out your career idols
Find the people at the top of your fieldthe people whose jobs you want, or people at companies you want to work forand connect with them in any way possible. Go to events theyre attending or hosting; join groups theyre involved in; send them an email to introduce yourself.
Get to know those professionals whose career paths you want to emulate and get to know their work deeply, Dyson said.
The goal is to get on their radar. Caprino encourages people to engage with career idols on LinkedIn, even if its as simple as resharing one of their posts. It helps you get noticed, she said. Now this manager or director or CEO has a bit of a connection with you.
Reach out to recruiters yourself
You cant always wait for recruiters to slide into your DMssometimes you have to make the first move.
Caprino suggests people contact recruiters on their own to introduce themselves, and explain what theyre looking for in their next role. She encourages clients to write their dream job description and share it with recruiters as well as trusted colleagues and connections.
Get involved with industry groups
The American Institute of Graphic Arts. The Society for Human Resource Management. The National Association of Black Journalists. Women in Machine Learning. Whatever your field is, it likely has associated industry groups. Seek them out, both online and in person, if you want to advance your career, experts say. Its a way to create more visibility for yourself and also get an early scoop on job opportunities.
When people are leaving (their current jobs), one of the first places they go is to their industry organizations to say, Im moving from here to here, youre the first to hear. Thats a smarter way of networking, Dyson said.
That way, when the opportunity does come up, youll be top of mindand one step closer to being poached.
Business travel is often seen as glamorouswhether thats new destinations, exciting opportunities, or packed itineraries of fun and adventure. I was certainly looking forward to all of these things when I began working with national and international companies. Unfortunately, once we actually start to go on these trips, the reality looks different. Its long flights, disrupted sleep, constant stimulation, and very little space to recharge.
Over time, this can leave us running on empty. As a result, decision-making, creativity, and well-being all suffer. Rest and recovery on work trips arent luxuries. Theyre necessities if you want to stay at the top of your game. When we travel without recharging, our energy debt compounds. We need to treat recovery as part of the trip so we can win the business and avoid burnout.
Heres how you can build real rest and recovery into your next business trip from someone whos currently writing this in a hotel room in Melbourne, Australia, at 5:45 a.m.
Reconnect to recharge
This week, I flew to Sydney for a meeting with LinkedIn. It would have been easy to put my head down, follow the arrows through the airport, and dive straight into emails before the meeting.
But Ive had a hectic month. I launched my book and rolled out our Employee Empowerment Program. I realized I needed to recharge my batteries before I walked into the LinkedIn headquarters if I wanted to be on my game. So, I made a deliberate choice. I went for a walk, swapped the hamburger for salmon and salad, and sat barefoot on the grass in the sunshine, overlooking the Opera House.
Now, this wasnt about time off work. It was about energy management. I knew that I had a big week ahead, so I created the space to reconnect and recharge. Thats the shift we need to make. We need to treat recovery as an essential part of the trip rather than something we squeeze in between meetings.
Here are some tips and tricks from a fellow traveller:
1. Redefine downtime as a leadership strategy
We often believe recovery is passive, but real recovery is strategic. Leaders who prioritize well-being know that rest fuels focus, emotional intelligence, and decision-making. Before your next trip, plan your recovery moments like you plan your meetings and add them to your calendar. This reframes recovery from bonus time into an essential leadership practice.
2. Protect your sleep like its a meeting
Sleep is one of the most underrated productivity tools that we have. Jet lag, late dinners, and device use often strip quality rest from work trips.
To reset your body, choose light exposure wisely. Morning sunlight helps your circadian rhythm adjust faster. Do your best to create a hotel sleep ritual whether that be a sleep mask, stretching, or avoiding screens an hour before bed. Say no when you need to. Skipping one late-night drink can mean sharper thinking in tomorrows negotiations. Sleep doesnt waste time. Its a performance tool.
3. Move, but dont overtrain
Many leaders hit the hotel gym hard to compensate for travel fatigue, but intense training while jet lagged can backfire. Instead, think movement, not punishment. That might mean walking between meetings, if possible, or doing a short mobility routine in your hotel room. If you have access to green spaces, consider doing your exercises outside.
4. Fuel for energy, not just convenience
Airport snacks and hotel buffets rarely support recovery. Nutrition on the road often means quick fixes, but thoughtful choices pay dividends.
Start by paying attention to your hydration. Dehydration can mimic fatigue. Try to stick to light dinners, as heavy meals late at night can disrupt your sleep. And as much as you can, try to opt for whole foods. Food can be your fuel for clarity.
5. Build in micro-recovery
Recovery doesnt happen overnight. Small pauses throughout your day can reset your energy. Before key meetings, try 60-second breathing resets. Take short tech-free breaks. When youre in taxis and waiting lounges try reflection instead of email. These micro-recoveries keep your battery charged.
6. Connect to people and places
Recovery isnt just physical. Connection to people and the environment is deeply restorative.
Be sure to schedule at least one social catchup a week. Or if youre feeling a little drained by social interaction, explore your surroundings. Take a walk through your nearest park, a waterfront, or a new part of town. Connection grounds you, combats loneliness, and creates moments of joy that buffer against stress.
7. Debrief and recover on return
Too many managers land home and rush into the next workday. Block half a day post-trip for recovery and reflection. Journal insights, reconnect with family, and allow your body to reset.
Business travel will always have its challenges, but weaving in intentional recovery transforms it from an energy drain into an opportunity for resilience. Leaders who travel well dont just survive their schedules; they thrive because of them. The question is not How much can I push through on this trip? but How can I return with more clarity, connection, and energy than when I left? Real rest and recovery arent indulgences, theyre your competitive advantage.
