Richard

You don’t need a $5,000-a-month marketing firm to get results. With the Ultimate 2025 Social Media & Freelancer Marketing Bundle, you’ll gain lifetime access to 10 expertly designed courses covering social media strategy, personal branding, and online business growth—all for just $34.99 (MSRP: $200) for a limited time.

Packed with 5.9 hours of actionable lessons, this bundle shows you how to leverage platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and more—without spending your entire workweek trying to figure out algorithms. You’ll also learn how to use ChatGPT to generate viral content ideas, design scroll-stopping thumbnails, and write compelling blogs that boost SEO.

Another advantage of this bundle is the flexibility it offers for real-world applications. You’re not just passively watching videos—you’ll walk away with practical, ready-to-use strategies that can be implemented immediately in your business or side hustle.

Whether it’s optimizing a blog post for search visibility, refining your TikTok hook to grab attention in the first three seconds, or creating a YouTube thumbnail that drives clicks, each course delivers actionable steps you can put into play the same day.

For small-business owners, freelancers, or corporate leaders wanting to sharpen their team’s marketing skills, this bundle delivers practical strategies you can implement the same day you learn them.

With this self-paced, always-accessible training, you can adapt faster—on your schedule and at a fraction of the usual cost.

Get lifetime access to the Ultimate 2025 Social Media & Freelancer Marketing Bundle while it’s on sale for just $34.99 (MSRP: $200) for a limited time.

The Ultimate 2025 Social Media & Freelancer Marketing Bundle

See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

For the ambitious entrepreneur, there is an ever-growing list of exciting new sector opportunities to explore. Many of these, especially those with billion to trillion-dollar valuations, belong to growth industries, which are defined as sectors of the global economy that experience higher-than-average growth rate. These sectors host a high volume of new products and services that entice consumer demand, and many of them are often new or pioneer industries that were non-existent in the past decades.

From the rise of services and products enhanced by generative AI technologies to the attractive growth projections reported in sectors such as the Internet of Things, cybersecurity, robotics and even space technologies, growth industries have the potential to shape the future we will live in. A McKinsey report on future growth industries said that around 18 sectors are deemed to be transformative, with the potential to reshape the global economy, making revenues worth between $29 trillion and $48 trillion by 2040.

Take the longevity industry, which I operate in through Seveno Capital, for instance, which has taken a bold stance to meaningfully extend the human health span through holistic and scientific measures. This emerging sector, which has been projected to be worth trillions by 2030, has been grabbing headlines in 2025. This growth industry’s impressive projections is thanks to a realisation that a significant proportion of the current ageing population has a strong desire to live longer, fuller and healthier lives.

Visionary entrepreneurs are often keen to be early starters in these arenas, a strategic position which could result in significant market share capture and resulting revenue in the coming years. As an entrepreneur and investor who recently entered a high-growth industry myself, I would like to share five useful tips that entrepreneurs need to know about before they make the bold step forward.

Related: 5 Ways to Spot Trends Before They Explode — and Turn Them Into Growth

1. Know your industry

Entrepreneurs entering a growth industry should know the ins and outs of the sector and target regions, from the movement of the regulatory landscape to trends to discussions around ethics and social effects, especially where new technologies are involved.

Keeping up to date with reports on growth industry challenges and opportunities, such as ones produced by the likes of BCG and McKinsey, should be a high-priority item on the entrepreneur’s list of daily tasks.

More importantly, networking with other players within the industry through online forums, conferences and roundtable meetings is key to getting to know your sector.

To help you better understand the prospect of a growth industry, analyze past and present trends across multiple timeframes. See the big picture. Make sure that the highly valued stocks and sky-high valuations are part of a wider trajectory rather than being results of a short-term microtrend.

2. Future-proof your company

There is always risk involved when entrepreneurs enter a growth industry for the first time, so to prepare for this, you need to build a resilient ship that can withstand any storms in the form of market fluctuations and black swan events.

A few factors are important to do this. You have to create flexible business operations that could adapt and change to changes in the wider landscape, for example, if you were previously set only on working in an office, think again and prepare for a digital interface that could run all operations and keep your team collaborating smoothly.

Entering a growth industry usually requires entrepreneurs to be familiar with new technologies. Invest in continuous learning and upskilling across the board so you can be in a good position to stand out among competitors and continue innovating when trends change in the future.

Related: 7 Tips to Enter a New Market and Experience Rapid Growth

3. Build the A-team

The key to success in a highly competitive sector, especially one that is emerging, is finding the right talent for the job. This requires thorough research and analysis, including identifying the type of skillset future competitors within the industry are prioritizing.

This can definitely be a daunting task, as brand presence is required to attract top talent in the first place. This is where it is important for the business to promote its unique business culture on innovative platforms, especially those utilised by younger generations, which require little to no marketing budget.

Since newer industries can be more challenging to hire for, focus on both the relevant skills the business needs and any transferable skills from previous experience that could prove to be valuable in a new growth market.

Once you attract the right talent, foster a progressive business culture and offer attractive perks and flexibility where possible, to encourage them to trust your company and stay. A collaborative approach used to communicate between management and employees will also increase feelings of loyalty to the company and the brand, keeping turnover low to zero.

4. Focus on personalized services

Growth industries are so tech-focused that sometimes, companies can seem impersonal to their customers. Do not make this mistake. In a world where automation is removing even customer service helplines, building a service-oriented company would help your business stand out from the crowd.

Utilize the power of AI technologies to support your business in a way that enables it to then focus on creating more personalized customer interactions and services. Finding the right balance between technology and the human touch will be crucial in attracting your customer base and building brand loyalty.

Related: 5 Innovative Ways to Give Your Customers the Personalized Experiences They Want

5. It’s a race — keep up with the speed

One thing you cannot afford to do when entering a growth industry is to rest on your laurels. The speed of innovation in industries like these can be overwhelming, so entrepreneurs need to be prepared to do their homework and keep up to speed with changes, which can sometimes occur daily, in a sector like the video game industry, for example. “It would be like if Martin Scorsese had to relearn how to use a camera every time he went to make a new movie,” Electronic Arts Chief Strategy Officer Mihir Vaidya has described the rate of change technologies undergo within a growth industry.

When you’re running a business, every photo you put out into the world is part of your brand story. Whether it’s a product image on your website, a team photo for LinkedIn, or a behind-the-scenes Instagram shot, visual quality matters—and it can mean the difference between “just scrolling” and “click to buy.”

Luminar Mobile makes pro-level photo editing accessible, affordable, and ridiculously easy. For a one-time $19.99 payment, you’ll have lifetime access to an AI-powered editing toolkit that can replace skies, relight scenes, retouch portraits, and even remove that random coffee cup from your product flat lay. And yes, it works seamlessly on your iOS or Android device—so you can edit from anywhere.

For entrepreneurs, marketers, real estate agents, content creators, and small-business owners, this is the kind of tool that pays for itself fast. Need to polish product shots before uploading them to your eCommerce site? Want to make sure your LinkedIn headshot looks confident and approachable? Launching a social media campaign that requires cohesive, high-quality visuals? Luminar Mobile puts all that power in your pocket.

With features like EnhanceAI to instantly boost color and clarity, SkinAI to refine portraits, and Erase to remove distractions, you can produce client-ready visuals in minutes—without expensive software or outsourcing. In today’s market, where attention spans are short and competition is fierce, looking polished isn’t optional.

Luminar Mobile makes it effortless.

Get lifetime access to one of the following versions:

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Gluten-free cookie dough brand, Sweet Loren’s, has gone viral before (both Kylie Jenner and Glen Powell have touted the sweet treats), but this week, the brand achieved incredible viral success — and by total mistake.

While trying to update her personal TikTok name, the company’s new social media manager, Ryan Weitz, accidentally changed Sweet Loren’s TikTok name to her own — “Ryan.” She says she immediately tried to change it back, only to find out she would be unable to do so for seven days.

“So I don’t get in trouble, please make this follower count go up,” she says.

Related: This Is What a $300 Million TikTok Strategy Looks Like

@sweetlorens new followers have the chance to get our new flavor for free before it’s on shelf ✨? #socialmediamanager #smm #helpme #jobstruggles #contentcreator #helpyourgirlout #managersbelike ♬ original sound – Ryan

After telling her boss, the duo decided to do what any good social media manager would do — make a TikTok about it.

One week and 42 videos later, Sweet Loren’s is still enjoying viral success, with more than 2.2 million views so far. The company has gained 10,000 followers in the last week, and website-based sales increased 46%, the social media team told PRWeek.

“TikTok is a place where you can have a little fun, so we decided to lean into it and create content around the moment,” Weitz told the outlet. “I was pushed to really go for it, be unafraid, and it’s paid off.”

@sweetlorens looking like I maybe won’t get fired but please keep following to help me out ??? #sweetlorens #socialmediamanager #socialmediastruggles #internmessup #brandhumor #companytok #workfail ♬ original sound – Ryan

Sweet Loren’s finally got the ability to change its name back on Friday (though it still has yet to do so).

Related: Want to Go Viral? 3 Strategies to Make Your Next Campaign Go Viral

On a recent episode of the “Aspire With Emma Grede” podcast, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban said that he thinks every business owner should be learning how to use AI by now, or at least “just asking it questions” — and if you aren’t, your business could be in trouble.

Grede, the co-founder of Skims and CEO of Good American, asked Cuban what he’d say to people who “don’t want any more technology” in their lives. He responded that it would be like saying no to WiFi and instead sticking to dial-up Internet service.

Related: Emma Grede Dropped Out of School at 16. Now the Skims Boss Runs a $4 Billion Empire.

“That’s like [a business] saying back in the day, ‘I don’t need to use a PC. I don’t need to use the internet. I don’t need a cell phone or WiFi,'” he said. “Those businesses died. Done.”

Cuban and Grede previously worked together on two seasons of “Shark Tank.”

When reflecting on the early days of technology, Cuban said that when he was building his business, “there was new software every day, the PCs and the networks were getting faster, and bandwidth was getting faster. And AI is the same way now.” He compared the current AI rush to the invention of the personal computer.

And according to what Grede told Fortune (that Cuban has 60 AI apps on his phone), he’s clearly at the forefront.

“We really delved into AI, [and he] gave me a new urgency around how I use AI,” Grede told the outlet. “He gave me a kick.”

Related: Mark Cuban Spends ‘Most’ of His Time Using This Decades-Old Communication Method. Here’s Why He Prefers It.

On the podcast, Cuban said that if you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to start “playing” with AI to get a sense of how it works. Cuban noted that the technology can help businesses streamline everything from content creation to slide decks to financial reports.

“Learn how to prompt; it becomes like a mentor,” Cuban said. “It becomes like having an entire staff of a thousand business professors.”

“We’re in a whole new world,” he added.

Related: AI Is Transforming the Workplace — Including Social Media Marketing. Here’s How Businesses Can Actually Use It.

^{Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.}

Most solopreneurs are still using AI like a note-taking app — but OpenAI’s newest update just turned ChatGPT into something far more dangerous (and profitable).

This isn’t a smarter chatbot. It’s a fully autonomous AI Agent — a 24/7 virtual worker that can browse websites, dig through inboxes, reverse-engineer competitors, and even handle your Instagram comments… without your constant input.

In this video, I’ll show you how top solopreneurs are scaling faster than ever with this Agent — automating lead generation, outreach and admin so they can grow without adding headcount.

Inside, you’ll discover:

• Instagram lead recovery: How to find missed opportunities buried in your comments and DMs — and turn them into revenue on autopilot.
• Next-level competitor intel: Reverse-engineer winning content strategies and spot gaps your competitors missed.
• Hyper-personalized outreach: Build targeted lead lists, research decision-makers and send context-rich cold emails — all in minutes.
• Podcast & media pitching: Find the perfect shows, research hosts and create irresistible pitches that get replies.
• Admin & follow-ups handled: Clear your inbox, chase proposals and keep leads warm — without lifting a finger.

This isn’t a “someday” AI feature. It’s here now. Whether you’re a consultant, creator, coach, or solo founder — if you don’t learn to work with Agents like this, you’re leaving money (and time) on the table.

The AI Success Kit is available to download for free, along with a chapter from my new book, The Wolf is at The Door.

In private equity, the smartest general partners (GPs) are realizing that co-investments aren’t just a fundraising sweetener; they’re a strategic lever. Done right, they strengthen the portfolio, deepen LP relationships and reduce overall risk exposure. Yet many GPs still treat co-investing as an afterthought rather than a core element of fund strategy.

In today’s climate, where LPs are more selective, underwriting standards are higher and trust is harder to earn, co-investments can be the edge that separates high-performing GPs from the pack. Here’s how the most sophisticated firms are using co-investing not just to raise capital, but to build resilient portfolios and tighter LP alignment.

Related: The Collaboration Between Limited Partners and Growth Partners: Investors’ Perspective

Why co-investments matter more than ever

The co-investment market has matured rapidly over the past decade. According to Preqin’s Global Private Equity Report, nearly 70% of LPs now expect co-investment opportunities from their fund managers. This demand is no longer limited to mega-institutional family offices. Sovereign wealth funds and even smaller foundations are seeking ways to increase exposure to direct deals while lowering blended fee structures.

Meanwhile, a 2023 report from PitchBook emphasized that co-investment volume is rising even in volatile markets, fueled by LPs looking for more control, lower fees and deeper access to quality deals.

For GPs, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge: Co-investments can strain internal resources and slow deal execution if not managed well. The opportunity: When built into the fund’s operations and strategy from day one, co-investments enhance portfolio flexibility, attract strategic LPs and reduce concentration risk, all without diluting fund governance.

Co-investing as a tool for portfolio construction

Smart GPs treat co-investment capacity as part of their capital stack, not a separate, ad hoc offering. This mindset allows them to:

• Pursue larger deals than the fund alone could support, without increasing fund-level concentration.

• Add diversification by allocating fund capital to core positions and inviting co-investors into adjacent or higher-risk assets.

• Act quickly on opportunistic deals by pre-qualifying LPs who can co-invest with short notice.

Let’s say your $100M fund is targeting 10 core platform deals of $10M each. You come across a $25M acquisition that fits the thesis but exceeds your single-asset exposure cap. With co-investment capital lined up, you can still lead the deal, funding $10M from the fund and $15M from co-investors. This approach maintains portfolio balance while giving LPs direct access to a larger asset.

More importantly, it builds your reputation as a GP who brings access, not just capital.

For a case study of this dynamic in action, this piece from Hamilton Lane illustrates how co-investments have become an essential tool in modern private market strategy.

Related: The Risks And Rewards Of Direct Investment For LPs

Reducing risk while increasing ownership

One underappreciated benefit of co-investing is how it allows GPs to retain control of high-conviction assets without overexposing the core fund. In many cases, the most attractive deals are also the most capital-intensive. Without co-investment partners, a GP must choose between taking a smaller slice or over-allocating from the fund.

By bringing in co-investors, GPs can secure majority or lead positions while staying within prudent limits. This improves control over governance, exit timing and value creation plans, all critical levers in reducing downside risk.

Additionally, co-investing can be a powerful tool in navigating market cycles. During downturns, GPs can selectively syndicate capital-heavy deals to preserve dry powder, while still deploying into discounted opportunities. The BVCA’s 2023 Private Equity Guide offers insights into how firms are adjusting their co-investment behavior during a recession.

The operational backbone of a co-investment strategy

Of course, offering co-investments isn’t just about having the deal flow. The GPs who excel at this have built internal systems to handle:

• Legal structuring: Quick SPV setups, allocation mechanics and clear governance roles

• LP segmentation: Understanding which investors have the appetite, capacity and decision-making speed to co-invest

• Data sharing: Secure, real-time access to diligence materials and post-investment reporting

• Compliance and fairness: Ensuring transparent allocation that doesn’t disadvantage the core fund

This operational backbone is often the difference between firms that “can” offer co-investments and those that do so consistently, cleanly and at scale.

For GPs looking to mature their fund ops, platforms like Carta and Juniper Square simplify co-investment administration, LP communications and investor onboarding.

More advanced GPs are also using tools like Passthrough to streamline subscription documents or Anduin for automated investor workflows.

Co-investment fosters lasting trust

From an LP point of view, we see co-investing as a way to display confidence and alignment. It gives them more say, more return and often a larger role at the table. When done fairly, it turns your investors into what they are — full partners. In a world that is becoming more relationship-based in terms of fundraising, GPs who put in consistent, thoughtful co-investments are at an advantage.

• Retain top LPs in future funds.

• Convert one-time investors into anchor commitments.

• Win allocations in competitive fundraising cycles.

According to HarbourVest’s 2023 LP Survey, nearly 80% of LPs reported higher satisfaction and trust in managers who offered co-investment access, especially when the deals performed well and were communicated transparently.

Related: Why Direct Investments By LPs Are On the Rise

A word of caution: Don’t over-promise

With all its advantages, co-investing is not a silver bullet. When used excessively or poorly, it may bring execution risk, create inefficiencies and bring LPs into conflict. The most common shortcomings are:

• Providing too much in co-investments, devaluing their quality

• Granting favors with allocations

• Procrastinating closings from side deal logistics

• Failing to coordinate internal bandwidth to handle the complexity

The best firms are selective. They set expectations with LPs early, often in the PPM or DDQ, and focus on quality over quantity. One excellent co-investment that delivers a win can be more powerful than five rushed ones that don’t perform.

Co-investments are no longer optional; they’re a defining feature of modern private equity. But the edge doesn’t come from offering them. It comes from integrating them into your portfolio construction, risk management and LP strategy.

The smartest GPs know this. They use co-investing not just to fill out a cap table, but to build durable LP relationships, de-risk big bets and unlock operational agility. As fundraising becomes more competitive and LPs demand more from their managers, those who treat co-investing as a core fund ops capability, not a last-minute offer, will stand out.

We’ve all heard it: “Be transparent with your team.” It’s the advice that gets handed out at every startup panel and leadership workshop, especially when the waters get rough. And at first glance, it looks like a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want to know the truth? Who wouldn’t want to work somewhere honest?

But in the thick of a crisis, the reality is more complicated. When you’re the one steering the ship and the waters turn choppy, the call for transparency starts to sound a lot less simple. There’s a very real difference between being open and overwhelming your team. The right amount of information can create clarity and trust. Too much, too soon, or in the wrong way can lead to confusion, distraction and even panic.

Most people — especially founders — learn this lesson the hard way. Maybe it starts with an attempt at full openness: You share every new update as soon as it comes in, mention every risk and try to involve everyone in every tough decision. The intent is good. But then you notice side effects: anxious questions, whispered rumors and a team that feels less steady, not more.

Here’s why transparency can actually hurt your team in a crisis and how to handle it instead.

Transparency without context creates noise, not clarity

Leadership is full of messy, moving targets. During a crisis, your dashboards light up, your inbox fills with alarms, and every meeting brings a new set of questions. For some, the instinct is to share it all — to be as open as possible so nobody feels left out or kept in the dark.

But raw information without context can be worse than saying nothing. If you give your team every data point and warning bell without making sense of it yourself first, you’re handing them a pile of puzzle pieces and asking them to build the picture. Some will try, but most will feel lost. Assumptions fill in the gaps. (And usually, those assumptions don’t land in your favor!)

Context is what separates clarity from chaos. Instead of raw facts, people need to know what those facts mean. Are we facing a cash crunch, or just an expected seasonal dip? Is this client’s feedback a sign of a bigger trend, or a one-off? Your job as a leader is to interpret the story behind the data before you share it widely. If you haven’t made sense of it yet, neither will your team.

When you’re ready to share, give the background, share your thinking and explain why it matters. And if you don’t know yet, it’s okay to say that. “Here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t, and here’s what we’re doing next.” That’s more stabilizing than anecdotal data and uncertainty.

Emotional stewardship vs. emotional spillover

Honesty is important, but so is emotional discipline. In the pressure of a crisis, it can be tempting to process your fears and anxieties out loud, almost as a way of inviting your team into your stress. But there’s a world of difference between letting people in and asking them to carry your burden.

If you share every fear, doubt or draft scenario as you’re experiencing it, you risk dragging your team onto an emotional roller coaster. Instead of feeling involved, they end up riding shotgun to your worst-case-scenario thinking. It can feel like every week brings a new mood swing, and it’s distracting and exhausting.

What your team actually needs is for you to do your own processing with your board, mentors or a small circle of advisors — people whose job is to help you sort out your own thinking. Once you’re grounded, you can come back and share what matters most in a way that helps others do their jobs.

Share your humanity, yes, but don’t turn your town hall into group therapy. Your team deserves your thoughtfulness, not your unfiltered reaction.

Transparency does not equal consensus

One of the biggest misconceptions about transparency is that it means everyone gets a vote. In a crisis, leadership sometimes requires you to make quick decisions, even unpopular ones. If you mistake transparency for consensus, you risk slowing everything down or, worse, giving the impression that every issue is up for debate.

You can and should explain your reasoning, outline the options you considered and be clear about the risks you’re accepting. But ultimately, your team needs to know that you’re accountable for the call and that you’re confident in your direction — even if not everyone agrees.

Inviting feedback is not the same as opening every topic for a team referendum. Sometimes, what people need most is the assurance that someone is steering the ship.

Timing and delivery are just as important as the message

It’s not just what you say, but when and how you say it. Dropping a tough update in an email late on a Friday or scattering information piecemeal in Slack can make your team’s anxiety worse. Instead, gather your team, give them your full attention and offer them space to ask questions even if you don’t have all the answers yet.

Think through the cadence of your communication, too. People need regular check-ins, but they don’t need a tidal wave of info every time you get new input. Predictability creates safety, even when the news itself isn’t what they’d hoped for.

Transparency, when done thoughtfully, builds resilience and trust. But in a crisis, your job isn’t to share a running list of every problem and possibility. It’s to interpret the facts, contextualize them and communicate with care. Honesty matters, but so does judgment.

In the hardest moments, your team is looking for a calm hand on the wheel. Give them clarity and confidence, and you’ll get through those moments much more easily.

Three of the same VC firms that backed Uber, Venmo, and eBay, respectively, are all investing in Pacaso.

Venture backing in companies like Pacaso is nothing new. After all, early-stage companies often have the potential to deliver the most outsized returns.

But, recent regulatory updates have opened the door for individual investors to invest alongside these venture capitalists. Normally, everyday investors have to wait for a company to go public before they can invest, missing out on that early gain potential. Now, some companies are opening up investment opportunities to the public.

This type of investing has already seen some great success stories. For example, in 2016, 433 people invested an average of $2,730 in a private startup named Revolut. Fast-forward to today, those $2,730 stakes are worth more than $1 million, up 89,900%.

That potential could be why 10,000+ investors have taken the chance on Pacaso alongside big-name VCs, contributing $36M+ already. It’s no surprise, considering Pacaso’s résumé:

• The company has made $110M in gross profits to date
• Pacaso’s co-founder sold his last company to Zillow for $120M
• They operate in more than 40 vacation destinations across the U.S., Mexico, UK, and France
• The company reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO

The growth potential is where the excitement is. Below we’ll reveal more about how Pacaso has built a competitive moat so quickly, and how you can share in their potential growth.

Next-generation co-ownership

After his $120M exit and subsequent role as a Zillow executive, Austin Allison created Pacaso’s game-changing co-ownership model. Powered by proprietary tech and an innovative structure that eliminates the headaches of traditional vacation home ownership, it’s already leaving a mark. Here’s how:

• Seamless transactions: Clients easily buy, finance, and resell, shares of luxury homes through Pacaso’s intuitive platform.
• Turnkey ownership: Pacaso handles maintenance, scheduling, and furnishing; owners simply enjoy their vacation homes.
• Maximized value: Homes that once sat empty up to 90% of the year now stay occupied nearly year-round, benefiting owners and local economies.

The demand for their services and expertise is real. In top destinations, co-ownership is growing 21% annually in the U.S., and Pacaso homes have appreciated nearly 10% since 2021 – roughly double the growth of the broader luxury market.

Scaling into 10 new international destinations

Pacaso is already leading the charge in the $1.3 trillion U.S. vacation home market, combining real estate innovation with tech-driven efficiency to generate multiple revenue streams, the company says. These include transaction service fees on every sale, recurring property management fees, and exclusive financing options tailored to co-owners.

And the platform’s global reach is growing quickly, as they’re already seeing strong returns in the $500B global market. In 2024, they set records in Paris and London. Meanwhile, Cabo is the #3-most-searched destination on their platform. No surprise Europe and Mexico have accounted for 22% of revenue over the past two years, the company says.

Now, they’re taking international expansion to an entirely new level. They recently announced 10 new international destinations will be added to their platform, spread across Italy, the Caribbean, and Mexico. That means Pacaso’s unique model is poised to dominate a combined $1.8T in vacation home markets.

Why investors are paying attention

There are many reasons why firms managing a combined $180B+ in assets have already backed Pacaso, including:

• Proven leadership: With a $120M exit and experience as an executive for Zillow, Allison’s real-estate expertise is unmatched.
• Strong growth metrics: Full-year 2024 financials showed a 21% YoY increase in gross real estate volume and a 24% improvement in adjusted EBITDA.
• Surging demand: 40% of Americans want to buy a vacation home in the next year (Coldwell Banker), and co-ownership is growing 21% annually in the United States

After impressive full-year earnings showed gross profit grew 41%, and with continued growth and expansion plans ahead, Pacaso is hitting their stride. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

You can claim your stake in Pacaso today for just $2.90/share. Be part of this market’s next big disruption. Visit invest.pacaso.com to learn more.

This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving the ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the Nasdaq is subject to approvals. comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar success.

Igor Babuschkin announced this week that he is leaving the company he helped cofound with Elon Musk to start his own company focused on AI safety research.

Babuschkin posted the news on X, which is owned by xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company.

“Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023,” he wrote. “I still remember the day I first met Elon. We talked for hours about AI and what the future might hold.”

Related: ‘My Startup Roots Have Begun Tugging on Me’: A Big Tech CEO Just Quit to Be an Entrepreneur Again

^{Igor Babuschkin, co-founder of xAI, during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg | Getty Images}

Babuschkin wrote that “through blood, sweat, and tears,” they “shipped frontier models faster than any company in history,” and during the process, he earned two “priceless” lessons from Musk.

1. Be fearless

“Be fearless in rolling up your sleeves to personally dig into technical problems,” he wrote. Babuschkin noted that Musk personally worked with the team, flying to a data center and staying all night until the issues were fixed.

2. Have a “maniacal” sense of urgency

“xAI executes at ludicrous speed,” he wrote. “Industry veterans told us that building the Memphis supercluster in 120 days would be impossible. But we believed we could do the impossible.”

Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023. I still remember the day I first met Elon, we talked for hours about AI and what the future might hold. We both felt that a new AI company with a different kind of mission was needed.

Building…

— Igor Babuschkin (@ibab) August 13, 2025

Musk replied to his post, offering thanks: “Thanks for helping build xAI! We wouldn’t be here without you.”

Related: Elon Musk’s xAI Is Hiring Engineers for Its Anime ‘AI Companions’ — With Salaries Up to $440,000 a Year