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Its no secret that the most exciting companies are often run by their founders. Whats less obvious is that the rare opportunities to become CEOespecially of fast-growing tech companiestend to go to people who have been acting like founders all along. Founders often bring the rare combination of vision, grit, and salesmanship that can take a company from idea to juggernaut. As a result, founder-run companies tend to dominate the tech space. In fact, founders remain CEOs at 88% of B2B software companies at IPO, according to recently published SaaStr analysis of 65 major IPOs in this space. I remember being very intrigued during the 2017 Uber CEO search, precisely because of this dynamic. For a company as exciting and transformative as Uber, it was quite rare to have an open CEO role. And for that reason, candidates who were CEOs of much larger revenue scale companies were rumored to be considering the role, including CEOs of companies like General Electric and Hewlett Packard. Dara Khosrowshahi was chosen for the role, and it was no accident that he had trained so closely with IAC founder, Barry Diller. I think most would agree that Khosrowshahi, despite having never been a founder, has been excellent at Ubers helm (and the stock price shows it). The same is true of nonfounder CEOs Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks, and so many otherslike Greg Peters, who rose through the ranks at Netflix and became co-CEO in 2023. Show up for the company In early 2024, I started getting calls to interview for CEO roles, including one at Figure, a fast-growing blockchain and fintech company. The founder was considering moving into an executive chairman role. Instinctively, I knew this was a big opportunity. I had worked for its founder, Mike Cagney, before and my fintech experience had shown me the enormous opportunities in solving capital market inefficiencies with blockchain technology. I think a big reason why I had these opportunities is that I had been operating like a founder rather than an executive for years. I remember distinctly when I was the VP of finance at SoFi, but was asked to turn around the mortgage division. A number of people advised me against it: The role was very specific (not every company has a mortgage division, but every company has a finance department) and I had to move out of San Francisco to an operations center far outside the city. I chose to do it, because that was what the company needed. I optimized for the companys needs rather than what I thought was the career-optimizing decision. Ultimately, optimizing for the company was the career-optimizing decision too, as I was later promoted to chief revenue officer. However, whenever I share that anecdotewhether talking with mentees or employees about them making similar moves, I have been almost universally rejected. It can be unnatural to optimize for companies. But for a founder, its second nature. Volunteer for opportunities That lesson came back again at Brex, which I joined following SoFi. Our initial public product launch was highly anticipated internally, as we had worked for over a year to build the product, and were keeping our $50 million in capital raises in stealth. Three months before the scheduled launch, we unexpectedly lost our marketing head. I knew nothing about marketing at the time, but I had witnessed SoFis marketing success firsthand. I was the CFO, but I knew we had to have a marketing launch, so I stepped up, offering to run marketing and the launch. This was a high stakes launch, and I had no experience. It was tough, with a lot of ups and downs. But ultimately it was not only hugely rewarding for me, but also a very successful marketing launch. In looking back at my experiences, and of people I admire, there are a few common themes: Optimize for the company, not your resume. A founder mentality does what needs to be done for the companys success, whereas an executive mentality can view it as presenting more downside than upside. The best opportunities dont involve applications Rather, theyre created by those who think and act like founders long before theyre given the CEO title. They almost always come from inside organizations or via referral. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Whether its stepping into unchartered territory or taking on that role that looks like a headacheit might just be your best move yet. The best CEO jobs may seem unavailable or out of reach, but if you act like a founder today, you might just be asked to fill one tomorrow. Michael Tannenbaum is CEO of Figure.
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E-Commerce
TJX Companies has announced the grand opening of six new T.J. Maxx stores later this month. The off-price retailer, which carries major brands at discounted rates, has over 5,000 stores across nine countriesin the United States, it also operates Marshalls, HomeGoods, HomeSense, and Sierra. Currently, there are more than 1,330 T.J. Maxx stores in the U.S. This news comes a little over a year after CEO Ernie Herrman announced the companys goal of adding 1,300 stores to its global portfolio of locations during a quarterly earnings call. T.J. Maxx enthusiasts, read onhere’s the full list of new locations coming soon, as well as the opening date for each. Glen Allen, Virginia Address: 9850 Brook Road, Glen Allen, Virginia Opening date: August 10 Clinton, Connecticut Address: 215 East Main St., Clinton, Connecticut Opening date: August 21 Dickinson, North Dakota Address: 446 18th St. West, Dickinson, North Dakota Opening date: August 24 Saratoga Springs, Utah Address: 1233 North Lake Drive, Suite E, Saratoga Springs, Utah Opening date: August 24 Tooele, Utah Address: 945 North Main St., Suite F, Tooele, Utah Opening date: August 24 Washington D.C. Address: 5300-B Wisconsin Ave. NW, District of Columbia Opening date: August 28 Despite consumers and department stores facing retail uncertainty as tariffs loom, off-price retailers may be at an advantage as they typically receive their goods after supplying brands have already paid the price of tariffs. TJX Companies has seen a steady stock increase over the past five years. The stock price (NYSE: TJX) dipped slightly today before beginning a steady increase this afternoon.
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E-Commerce
The State Department announced on Monday it will start a new pilot program in August that will require some foreign travelers to pay up to $15,000 for a bond, so they won’t overstay their visas. Here’s what to know. What are the details of the new visa bond program? On Monday, the Federal Register listed the program details, and while many remain unclear, in short, it said the State Department would begin a 12-month-long visa bond pilot program, which could apply to foreign citizens applying for temporary B-1 or B-2 visas visiting the U.S. for business or pleasure. It applies to “nationals of countries identified . . . as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering Citizenship by Investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement.” In that case, consular officers may be required to post a bond of up to $15,000. The bond is “reimbursable,” and meant to deter people from staying for longer than theyre allowed. Those travelers who stay in the U.S. after visa expires will forfeit their bond; those who leave before it expires will get their money back, according to the New York Times. When does the requirement begin? The pilot program starts in about two weeks on August 20, according to a statement from the State Department sent to the Washington Post. It will expire on August 5, 2026, but it is unclear if that date will be extended. Which countries are being targeted? On Tuesday, a notice from the State Department said travelers from Malawi and Zambia would be required to post the bonds, the Washington Post reported. It also indicated additional countries could be added. How can I get further information? For further information, contact the Visa Services Office at the Bureau ofConsular Affairs, Department of State, by phone at (202) 485-7586 or via email at VisaRegs@state.gov.
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E-Commerce
The Titan submersible was crushed by intense water pressure beneath the North Atlantic Ocean in the summer of 2023. A catastrophic implosion instantly killed the four passengers and pilot, Stockton Rush, who was also the CEO of the company that owned the vessel. Two years later, the U.S. Coast Guard released a lengthy report saying the disaster could have been prevented, but deeply flawed safety procedures and efforts to avoid oversight had effectively doomed the vessel and all aboard. Things to know about Titan: What was the Titan? Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic shipwreck since 2021. Owned by OceanGate, a company based in Washington state, the final dive came on June 18, 2023. The submersible was reported overdue that afternoon, and ships, planes and equipment were rushed to the scene about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. Johns, Newfoundland. The Titanic rests on the ocean floor about 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) below the surface. Experts had cautioned that the submersible’s hull could implode under intense pressure at extreme depths. The craft’s design OceanGate touted Titans roomier cylinder-shaped cabin made of a carbon-fiber, although experts say it was a departure from the sphere-shaped cabins made of titanium used by most submersibles. A sphere is a perfect shape because water pressure is exerted equally on all areas, said Chris Roman, a professor at the University of Rhode Islands Graduate School of Oceanography. Titan had made more than two dozen deep-sea dives, which put repeated stress on the hull, said Jasper Graham-Jones, an associate professor of mechanical and marine engineering at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom. Investigators also found that Titan was stored outdoors over the Canadian winter, where its hull was exposed to temperature fluctuations that compromised the integrity of the vessel. The water pressure at the Titanic is roughly 400 atmospheres or 6,000 pounds per square inch. Arun Bansil, a Northeastern University physics professor, likened the pressure to the force of a “whale biting on somebody. The passengers probably would have had no idea what happened, Bansil said in 2023. What investigators said OceanGate had a culture of downplaying, ignoring and even falsifying key safety information to improve its reputation and dodge scrutiny from regulators, Coast Guard investigators found. OceanGate ignored red flags and had a toxic workplace culture, while its mission was hindered by lack of domestic and international framework for submersible operations, the report says. Numerous OceanGate employees have come forward since the implosion to support those claims. By strategically creating and exploiting regulatory confusion and oversight challenges, OceanGate was ultimately able to operate TITAN completely outside of the established deep-sea protocols, the report found. In addition to Rush, the implosion killed French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British adventurer Hamish Harding and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.
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E-Commerce
Shares of Palantir Technologies sailed past previous record highs Tuesday after booking its first $1 billion sales quarter and raising its performance expectations for the year. The stock rose above $170 on Tuesday after breaking previous records four times this year in the global artificial intelligence race. The previous high for the stock was set just over a week ago when its stock closed at $158.80. Since going public in 2020 when it posted a $1.17 billion annual loss, the artificial intelligence software company has swung swiftly to a profit and sales are booming. Profit rose 33% to $327 million in the second quarter. Its $1 billion quarterly revenue haul was fueled by a 53% spike in government sales, despite massive spending cuts under President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency, once led by the worlds richest man Elon Musk. DOGE has had zero negative impact on Palantirs U.S. government business, which achieved its fastest growth rate since the second quarter of 2021, wrote William Blair analysts Louie DiPalma and Bryce Sandberg. Palantir is clearly benefiting from AI industry momentum across its government and commercial customer bases. The company also recorded a 93% jump in business sales. Overall U.S. revenue surged 68% to $733 million. Late Monday, Palantir raised its annual revenue expectations to between $4.14 billion and $4.15 billion. It also raised its U.S. commercial revenue guidance to more than $1.3 billion, which would mean that Palantir achieved a growth rate of at least 85%. This was a phenomenal quarter, CEO Alex Karp said in a statement accompanying the earnings release. We continue to see the astonishing impact of AI leverage. Karp believes AI will benefit everyone, saying during a call with industry analysts on Monday that Palantir is, bullish on all aspects of American life, including and especially people in the blue collar.” He said Palantir wants to arm the working class or blue collar workers with AI agency enhancing skills, and said that the company will reach out to labor leaders to help familiarize workers with the technology. People with less than a college education are creating a lot value and sometimes more value than people with a college education using our product, Karp said. Palantir, headquartered in Denver, specializes in software platforms that pull together and analyze large amounts of data.
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E-Commerce
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