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Nili Lotans Tribeca flagship has been a fixture in the neighborhood for 20 years. It’s an austere space that brings her aesthetic universe to life, one that blends silk slip dresses with military-inspired jackets, and crisp button-down shirts with utilitarian pants. But now, across the street, there’s a second store devoted to just one thing: denim. No knits. No tailoring. Just jeans. Denim has always been at the heart of Lotan’s collections, but Lotan has found that the careful design of the jeansand care that went into making themgets lost when they are folded into seasonal collections. Now, the denim store and flagship operate as a single ecosystem. Sales associates help clients find their favorite jeans, then walk them over to complete the look. [Photo: Nili Lotan] This new store is part of Lotan’s growing fleet of seven stores around the world, alongside a healthy wholesale business that spans upwards of 150 stores. She launched this business in 2003 without outside investment, growing slowly and conservatively, prioritizing profitability over growth. Nili Lotan has a cult following that spans from Seoul to Paris, achieving a scale that looks effortless nowbut was earned through two decades of discipline, focus, and creating products that aren’t built on trends. It takes about 15 years to be an overnight success, Lotan says. But when you get there, you know what youre doing. [Photo: Nili Lotan] Designing For Herself Lotan grew up in Israel, the daughter of European immigrants, and moved to New York in her early twenties. Before launching her own label, she spent decades working for other designers including Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, and Adrienne Vittadini. I worked six years in every company that I worked for, she says. I learned. When she launched her brand, she had modest ambitions. She designed five pieces, each carefully chosen to reflect her own distinct style and point of view. Her look is defined by the collision of contrasting aesthetics: refined silk blouses with workwear trousers, feminine dresses with menswear-inspired jackets, pairing leather pants and jackets with office attire. The aesthetic is easy to wear but also a little surprising. Lotan is part of a cadre of independent women designersincluding Jenni Kayne, Rachel Comey, Veronica Beard, and Jamie Hallerwho design based on their own personal style and lived experience, treating their own wardrobes as research. For stylish, well-heeled women in big cities, the approach of smaller designers is more intriguing than larger luxury houses. Shon [Photo: Nili Lotan] Nili Lotan Loves Denim For two decades, Nili Lotan’s best-selling product has been the Shon jean, which features a slightly barrel shape, inspired by vintage workwear and military garments. Lotan was immediately intrigued by its silhouette, which stood out at a time when skinny jeans were all the rage. She styled it with unexpected tops, like blazers and lacy blouses. Lotan believes part of her success comes from not chasing trendseven when trends eventually catch up. Over the few years, barrel-leg jeans had a moment. “Everyone finally caught up,” she says. But even as the trend has faded, the Shon continues to fly off the shelf. “People are drawn to my pants not because they’re in fashion, but because they capture a feeling: It’s rebellious, it’s cool, it has a personality. For Lotan, part of the appeal of denim is that it is a complicated material to work with. To achieve the look you want, you have to consider how the fabric is dyed, bleached, and softened, then distressed by sanding and stone-washing. Then, you need to work with experts who can cut and sew the thick, heavy material. She works with just two Japanese fabricsstretch and non-stretchand launders everything in a Los Angeles factory that uses solar power and recycled water to reduce water use by up to 90%. If you start with not-so-good fabric, youre never going to get authenticity, she says. Designing is like cooking. Youre only as good as the material youre using. Florence [Photo: Nili Lotan] Today, 45% of Lotan’s business comes from five pairs of pants. The silhouettes are varied. Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg have been very influential to Lotan. The Celia jean is a mid-rise flare inspired by the looks Birkin would wear in the 1970s; the Florence jean is a flare with two patch pockets n the front inspired by the French sailor pants Birkin wore all her life. Then there’s the Shon. It now comes in every possible denim wash, and even other materials, including corduroy, cotton, linen, and leather. “Some of my customers have 10 Shons,” says Lotan. “They will buy them in every configuration, every fabric.” The denim store is designed to be a pure expression of Lotan’s design philosophy. It’s a place where customers can slow down, try things on, and understand what theyre buyingand why it feels different. On the floor, Lotan displays some of her sources of inspiration, including the flight suit her husband wore as a pilot in the Israeli Air Force. “This is what started it all,” she says.
Category:
E-Commerce
Jimmy Donaldson might have made his fortune on YouTube, but the man better known as MrBeast has plans for a much wider financial empireand hes well on his way to achieving it. Through Beast Industries, the $5 billion holding company for his growing corporate ecosystem, Donaldson is assembling a wide range of businesses that extend far beyond the influencer space. The latest expansion came on February 9, with the purchase of the teen-focused banking app Step. Banking isnt the end game, either. Beyond his current holdings, Donaldson has broader ambitions that could further diversify his income streams. Heres a look at the businesses currently under the Beast Industries umbrella, along with one Donaldson hopes to add in the months ahead. Feastables Donaldson makes more from Feastables than he does from his social media videos. Launched in 2022 as a chocolate bar company, it quickly expanded into other snacks, including cookies and gummies. The products are stocked at Walmart, Target, and CVS and distributed internationally. And despite spending virtually nothing on advertising and marketing, the company hit annual revenue of $200 million faster than any other consumer packaged goods brand, ever. Lunchly This joint venture, founded alongside Logan Paul and KSI, two other giants in the creator space, is positioned as a healthier alternative to Lunchables (though there’s virtually no evidence backing up that claim). The brand had a big PR misstep in 2024, when its meals were alleged to contain moldy cheese, which caught the attention of the Food and Drug Administration. Lunchly got through that controversy and its products are still on the market, with four varieties of snack kits available at stores. Step Donaldson’s most recent acquisition takes him into the fintech space. Step is a digital banking platform that counted Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, and Stephen Curry among its investors. It caters to younger generations, offering savings accounts, a debit-card-like Visa that builds their credit score, and more. (Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.) In a February 9 social media post, Donaldson said he saw the Step acquisition as an opportunity to “give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had. Step will likely be folded into a new division, called MrBeast Financial, which Donaldson recently trademarked. MrBeast Channels Donaldson might be branching out, but to many people he remains, above all, a YouTube star. His primary channel is the most subscribed to in the world. Localized channel offshoots show his videos with Hindi, Spanish, and other non-English voice-overs. His additional channels, including Beast Reacts and MrBeast Gaming, further boost his online presence. Beast Games In 2024, Donaldson expanded beyond online videos to the streaming world, acting as executive producer for Beast Games, which airs on Amazon Prime Video. That show went on to become the most-viewed unscripted series in Prime Video’s history, attracting more than 50 million viewers within its first 25 days. A second season debuted on Prime Video in January, quickly climbing to become the most-streamed program on the service. Beast Philanthropy Not all of MrBeast’s business ventures are for-profit. Beast Philanthropy is a 501(c)(3) organization that aims to leverage social media to raise funds for global charitable causes. In November, the unit announced a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation to combine their strengths. Months before that, Donaldson livestreamed for 15.5 hours to collect money for charity, raising $12 million in that time, setting a new record. MrBeast Labs This line of toys, launched in 2024, didn’t get the online push that Feastables did (in part because Donaldson was weathering some controversies at the time). That didn’t hurt the reception much, though. Thanks to positive media reviews, the minifigures were topping the sales charts on Amazon within a year. Prices for the toys range from $5 to $25. Beast Animations Another YouTube channel, Beast Animations features short-form videos based off of the MrBeast Lab toy line. Using an anime-like art style, the 10-episode series has been viewed more than 42.5 million times since its debut in October 2025. There’s no word yet on whether a second season is planned. Viewstats Donaldson is famously obsessed with data, so it’s not a big surprise that he built his own platform to analyze the numbers on his many channels. And given his wide swath of business ventures, it’s not too surprising that he began distributing those digital tools to other content creators. Viewstats markets itself as a device to help creators “create video ideas, titles, and thumbnails that go viral.” MrBeast Burger A rare misstep for Donaldson, this chain stumbled after customers complained about undercooked burgers. Envisioned as a delivery-centric venture specializing in burgers and fried chicken sandwiches, MrBeast Burger was meant to be a cornerstone of a food empire. Initially, it did well, selling 1 million burgers in three months. But then the quality complaints started and Donaldson got frustrated with Virtual Dining Concepts, his partner in the venture, which led to a bitter court battle. The business is still operating, but Donaldson has de-emphasized it amid his other ventures. Beast Mobile This is a business that Donaldson has not yet launched, but one he has made clear is a goal. In December, Beast Industries CEO Jeffrey Housenbold said at The New York Times DealBook Summit that the company plans to launch a phone service that would leverage MrBeasts popularity to sell wireless plans. Rather than building its own cellular network, Beast Mobile would likely be a mobile virtual network operator, running on the infrastructure of an existing carrier, similar to Mint Mobile. No timeline for the launch has been announced.
Category:
E-Commerce
Ever feel like your solo business is running you into the ground? Solopreneurs don’t have the luxury of handing off tasks to a team. Everything lands on your plate, and there’s never enough time. AI won’t run your business for you (despite what some of the big AI companies would have you believe). But it can give you back hours every week. Some tools are AI-first, meaning their primary job is to perform an AI-driven task. You can also look at adding AI features inside tools youre already using. I rely heavily on AI in my solo business. I can get more done in less time, without sacrificing quality in any of my work. Here are a few AI tools that can make a huge difference in a solo business. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-1.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-mobile-1.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Work Better\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn\u0027t suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.workbetter.media\/\u0022\u003Eworkbetter.media\u003C\/a\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91457605,"imageMobileId":91457608,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Meeting notetakers An AI notetaker was the first AI-first tool I added to my business. My notetaker auto-joins my calls, records the conversations, transcribes everything, and sends me a recap with action items. Instead of scrambling to remember what a client said three months ago, I have a searchable archive of every meeting. This solves a real problem: You can be fully present during the conversation rather than taking notes by hand. You also dont risk missing something important, which can happen with manual note-taking. Tools: Otter, Fireflies, Fathom Knowledge systems Over time, solopreneurs accumulate a mountain of valuable material: proposals, client emails, blog drafts, research notes, and random thoughts. Most of it gets buried in folders (or notebooks), which makes it hard to track through your thinking or find related ideas. A personal knowledge system changes that. It creates a searchable “second brain”like your own Wikipedia. Add AI into the mix, and you can chat with your own content instead of digging through your notes and files. Think of AI as a personal research assistant who has read everything you’ve ever written. Tools: Google NotebookLM, Tana, Notion AI, Reflect Standard operating procedures Even if you work alone now, you might eventually bring on help (like a virtual assistant, a subcontractor, or a specialist for a specific project). When that happens, you’ll need documented processes. The problem is that writing step-by-step instructions for everything you do is tedious. Most solopreneurs never get around to it. AI tools solve this by recording your screen as you complete a task and automatically generating written documentation. You walk through a process once, and the tool creates a standard operating procedure (SOP), complete with screenshots and written instructionswithout any extra effort on your part. SOP tools are uncannily good. I usually only need to make small tweaks to the written version, and sometimes dont need to make any edits at all. I store them on my Google Drive so I can easily share them if needed. Tools: Loom AI, Scribe, Tango A business coach One of the hardest parts of working solo is not having colleagues to bounce ideas off of. You make decisions about pricing, clients, marketing, etc., without a gut check from anyone else. AI chatbots can serve as an on-demand sounding board. They won’t replace your judgment, since they cant understand the nuance of the real world and human relationships. But they’re useful for thinking through options, drafting difficult emails, or walking you through the different angles of an idea you might have. In Claude, Ive created a Business Coach project. Ive uploaded a lot of files so Claude has context, including information about who I am, the work I do, my brand, and the potential clients Im targeting. When Im trying to think through something, Claude asks me questions. By responding, I clarify my own thinking. The key is prompting well. The more context you give about your business, your situation, and any constraints (like your time or finances), the more useful the output. Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini AI features embedded in existing tools Every company has been rushing to add AI features to its products. Some are good. Some are included with your existing subscription, while others treat AI as an add-on. For example, I rely on Airtable to run the back-end portion of my business. AI-powered field agents have been able to accomplish a lot of tasks I used to do manually. A few other ideas: AI-powered transaction matching in accounting software like QuickBooks or Kick can categorize your expenses and spot anomalies. AI scheduling assistants in tools like Motion or Reclaim can help you plan your day and protect your calendar from too many meetings. AI email features in apps like Superhuman or Spark can draft replies or prioritize your inbox. The tools you already pay for are getting better. If AI has been added since you originally signed up, the features are worth exploring. Start with one new tool AI fluency is becoming a baseline skill, like knowing how to use a spreadsheet. And its becoming ubiquitous: Apps will keep adding AI features to make work easier and faster. But you don’t need to master everything at once. Pick the tool that solves an obvious problem or can complete a tas that drains a lot of time from your day. Figure out how to get the most out of it before adding the next thing. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-1.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-mobile-1.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Work Better\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn\u0027t suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.workbetter.media\/\u0022\u003Eworkbetter.media\u003C\/a\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91457605,"imageMobileId":91457608,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
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