Richard

Cosmetics brand e.l.f. (eyes, lips, face) is acquiring Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, the skin care brand the model and entrepreneur launched in 2022. The deal is worth $1 billion, according to a press release.

“We can’t wait to bring Rhode to more faces, places, and spaces. From day one, my vision for Rhode has been to make essential skin care and hybrid makeup you can use every day,” Bieber, 28, said in a statement. “Just three years into this journey, our partnership with e.l.f. Beauty marks an incredible opportunity to elevate and accelerate our ability to reach more of our community with even more innovative products and widen our distribution globally.”

Related: Meet the Dermatologist Behind Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s Hit Skin Care Brand

Rhode sells a selection of skin care products (toner, moisturizer, lip peptide gloss) with the goal of making “one of everything really good.” She teamed up with BeautyStat entrepreneur and chemist Ron Robinson and dermatologist Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali to help with the formulations.

“E.l.f. Beauty found a like-minded disruptor in Rhode,” said e.l.f. Chairman and CEO Tarang Amin, in a statement. “Rhode further diversifies our portfolio with a fast-growing brand that makes the best of prestige accessible. We are excited by Rhode’s ability to break beauty barriers, fully aligning with e.l.f. Beauty’s vision to create a different kind of company.”

“Rhode is a beautiful brand that we believe is ready for rocketship growth,” Amin added.

Related: Serena Williams Launches a New Company That She’s Been Working on for 6 Years

Rhode reported $212 million in net sales in the 12 months ended March 31, 2025, and plans to launch in Sephora throughout North America and the U.K. before the end of the year, according to the statement.

Bieber said she is stepping into an “expanded role of Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation.”

Rhode was the No. 1 skin care brand in Earned Media Value in 2024, representing 367% year-over-year EMV growth, according to the release.

E.l.f. Cosmetics was founded in 2004 (originally everything was only $1!) and has reported 23 straight quarters of growth.

The sale has been approved by the e.l.f. Beauty Board of Directors, according to the release.

Related: Is Selena Gomez the Next Beauty Billionaire? Rare Beauty, Worth Around $2 Billion, Is Reportedly Up for Sale

Ask most entrepreneurs what they want from a PR campaign, and you’ll hear variations of the same answer: “We want to get our name out there.” That’s fair. Visibility matters.

But here’s the problem: Visibility alone doesn’t pay the bills.

I can’t count how many business owners I’ve spoken with who’ve spent tens of thousands on PR, landed coverage in TechCrunch, Fast Company, maybe even Forbes — and still couldn’t attribute a single new customer to that exposure.

They got press. They didn’t get pipeline.

Why does this happen? Because most PR strategies stop at the headline. They chase media hits and assume the benefits will trickle down to sales. But in reality, unless you bridge the gap between awareness and action, even the best press coverage is just a missed opportunity.

If you want your next media win to actually move the needle, here’s how to make that happen.

Related: 10 Ways to Get More Traffic After You Get Media Coverage

Visibility is not the same as trust

Getting mentioned in a major publication can absolutely help your brand, but not if it lives in isolation. In today’s noisy digital world, buyers don’t just act because they’ve heard of you. They act when they trust you.

And trust isn’t built with a single article. It’s built over time, across multiple touchpoints — and especially through signals that show your brand is credible, authoritative and endorsed by others.

What you’re really doing with PR isn’t creating noise; you’re creating trust signals — evidence points that show prospects you’re worth paying attention to.

But here’s the catch: Those trust signals only work if you use them strategically.

Don’t let a great press hit die in a vacuum

Let’s say you get featured in a respected trade publication. That’s fantastic. But if the only place that coverage lives is on that publication’s website — and you don’t integrate it anywhere else — most of your prospects will never see it.

Instead, you need to treat every media win like a high-value asset and activate it across your marketing channels:

• Website: Add an “As Seen In” section to your homepage or About page. Display logos of publications where you’ve been featured. These third-party endorsements build instant credibility.

• Sales collateral: Include headlines, quotes or story links in your pitch decks and outreach emails. When a prospect sees your company featured in a known outlet, it’s not just impressive — it’s persuasive.

• Social media: Share the coverage multiple times across platforms, not just once. Tag the publication, thank the journalist, and encourage employees to reshare. This extends reach and builds momentum.

• Email campaigns: Use the media coverage as the foundation for a newsletter or a nurture email. Add a CTA like “Read what [Publication] said about us.”

By doing this, you’re turning that one-time event into a multi-touch trust amplifier and increasing the odds that a prospect will move from passive observer to active lead.

Related: How to Make the Most of Your Public Relations

Use press to power your sales team

PR doesn’t just help at the top of the funnel. It can be a huge asset in the middle and bottom of your sales process — especially in long, complex B2B sales cycles where trust and validation often determine the outcome.

Imagine you’re a sales rep trying to close a deal. Which message is more compelling?

“Let me explain why our platform is best.”

vs.

“Here’s a recent article in Industry Weekly that explains how we helped a company like yours improve efficiency by 40%.”

See the difference?

Press coverage gives your sales team third-party validation they can use to reinforce your value, ease skepticism, build urgency and create internal consensus. It’s not just for cold outreach; it’s also a powerful resource for multi-threading deals and arming your internal champions with proof points. When done right, PR becomes one of your most versatile sales enablement tools.

Start measuring what matters

Too many PR programs still rely on vague metrics like “impressions” or “ad value equivalency.” That’s not going to fly with a modern executive team.

If you want to prove PR’s impact, you need to connect it to business outcomes:

• How many site visits did you get from PR sources?

• How many of those visitors converted into leads?

• Did branded search volume increase after your media campaign?

• Did sales use the content, and did it help close deals faster?

Track the full journey. And if you don’t have the tools in place to do that, invest in them. Because what gets measured gets funded.

Related: A 5-Step Checklist to Maximize Press Coverage for Your Business

If you walk away with one idea, make it this: Your press hit is not the win. It’s the door-opener.

It’s what you do next — how you use that coverage to build trust, generate leads and enable sales — that determines whether PR is a cost center or a growth engine.

You’ve worked hard to get the attention. Don’t let it go to waste.

In May 2023, JPMorgan Chase acquired a “substantial majority of assets and assumed the deposits and certain other liabilities” of First Republic Bank after it collapsed and was seized by regulators. The deal also included First Republic’s brick-and-mortar locations.

Two years later, JPMorgan is announcing what it’s doing with the real estate: opening 14 new “J.P. Morgan Financial Centers” in four states that are “thoughtfully designed to cater to the needs of affluent clients,” according to a company statement.

Related: JPMorgan Chase Says AI Could Cut Headcount By 10% in Some Divisions: ‘We Will Deliver More’

“Through these Financial Centers, we are redefining how affluent clients are served, offering a highly personalized level of service that is backed by the global capabilities of JPMorganChase,” said Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, in a statement.

Two locations are already open, 14 will open in 2025, and then JPMorgan says it is doubling the total to 31 by the end of 2026. The new branches are opening (mostly) in the former First Republic locations that JPMorgan acquired in May 2023, including Palm Beach, Florida; Napa, California; Madison Avenue, New York; and Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to the release.

“These new Financial Centers offer a highly personalized service model, providing greater flexibility to meet clients’ needs with exceptional attention and care,” Roberts said.

Related: ‘I Defend Your Right to Buy Bitcoin’: JPMorgan Will Let Customers Buy Bitcoin, Though CEO Jamie Dimon Still Thinks It’s Like a ‘Pet Rock’

Clients with more than $750,000 in qualifying deposits and investment balances are welcome at the new, office-based model, which was inspired by First Republic, JPMorgan notes.

Customers who don’t live near a new center can still access the services at their current location or remotely.

Chase also offers a lower-tier called “Private Client,” which is for clients with $150,000 or more in qualifying deposits and investment balances. It is available in all 5,000 Chase branches nationwide, per the release.

Related: ‘This Has to Stop’: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Outlines How to Run a Successful Meeting

In today’s unpredictable, hyper-competitive job market, resumes often disappear into a sea of sameness. Even highly qualified candidates struggle to stand out when their accomplishments echo those of countless others. What sets someone apart isn’t always what’s written on paper, but who’s willing to speak up for them.

That’s why your professional network is more valuable than ever. Relationships you’ve cultivated since undergrad, grad school, internships, previous roles, volunteer work and industry groups hold untapped potential. But it’s not as simple as asking a friend for a favor. To truly leverage your network, you need to understand how to earn and give high-engagement referrals — the kind that open doors and drive real results.

Related: You Won’t Find What Makes a Hire ‘Special’ on Their Resume

What is a high-engagement referral?

A high-engagement referral isn’t just a polite nod or a casual mention. It’s a personal, proactive endorsement. It signals a high level of trust and alignment between the recommender, the candidate and the opportunity. When someone offers a high-engagement referral, they’re essentially saying, “I know this person well. I’ve worked with them. I believe in their abilities and character so strongly that I’m willing to put my own reputation on the line.”

This type of referral typically goes beyond a LinkedIn endorsement. It may involve crafting a thoughtful introduction tailored to a specific role, reaching out to a hiring manager directly or guiding the candidate through interview preparation. Some advocates even go as far as recommending the candidate across multiple platforms and internal channels. These extra steps show intention and investment, and hiring teams take notice.

Why these referrals matter for leaders

For business leaders, high-engagement referrals can be transformative. Whether you’re building a startup, leading a team or mentoring rising talent, referrals help you attract and retain high-performing individuals. Candidates who come recommended through trusted sources often prove to be stronger performers and cultural fits. The impact goes beyond recruitment. A culture where referrals are encouraged tends to be one where employees are engaged, invested and proud to bring others into the fold. It also elevates your brand as a place where talent thrives and relationships matter.

So why do high-engagement referrals work so well? First, they cut through the noise. In a landscape where hundreds of resumes might flood a hiring manager’s inbox, a trusted referral can bring a candidate straight to the top of the pile. Second, they offer a signal of trustworthiness, adaptability and cultural fit — qualities that are hard to gauge on paper. And finally, they set a positive tone. Walking into an interview knowing someone has already championed your abilities can create instant rapport, boost your confidence, and even influence the outcome.

Of course, earning such a referral doesn’t happen overnight. It begins with clarity. When you ask for a referral, be specific. Tell your contact what job you’re pursuing, why you’re a strong fit and how they can help. Make their job easier by offering a brief message they can tailor or highlighting shared experiences that make your ask feel relevant and authentic.

Even more important is the groundwork you lay before you need the referral. Stay in touch with mentors, colleagues and collaborators. Check in periodically. Share updates on your work. Offer support when they’re navigating changes. The strongest referrals come from relationships that have been nurtured, not neglected until a favor is needed.

Related: 5 Steps to Hiring the Right People for Your Business

How to earn one

Just as you want to receive high-engagement referrals, you should also look for opportunities to offer them. If a former coworker is job hunting and you can genuinely speak to their strengths, take the time to advocate for them. Write the email. Make the call. The value you offer someone else could have a lasting impact — and it positions you as someone who lifts others as you rise.

At the heart of it all is trust. In today’s evolving professional landscape, trust is the currency of opportunity. It’s not just about credentials or connections. It’s about who will speak up for you with conviction — and who you’re willing to stand behind in return.

Build that kind of network. Invest in it. And when the time comes, you’ll have more than a resume — you’ll have real advocates in your corner.

Starbucks is hiring a “Captain – Pilot-in-Command” for its company Gulfstream aircraft.

According to the job posting, the role pays between $207,000 and $360,300 a year. (Business Insider notes that the average airline pilot earned around $250,000 in 2024.)

Related: Starbucks’ New CEO Can Make Up to $113 Million in His First Year

“The captain is one of the company’s most visible representatives to the passengers and serves as a Starbucks ambassador both at home and abroad,” the listing reads. “They model Starbucks’ guiding principles and act with tact and decorum, while providing the utmost in service and safety.”

Starbucks reportedly has at least two Gulfstream G550 jets.

While the job description doesn’t specifically say you’ll be helping the CEO get to the office so he can comply with the company’s return-to-office policy standards, it wouldn’t be a far-fetched idea. It’s been widely reported that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol commutes over 1,000 miles multiple days a week from Newport Beach, California, to Starbucks’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

^{A Gulfstream G550 from a private company (not Starbucks) lands at Barcelona airport in Barcelona, Spain, on August 30, 2024. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images}

The pilot role has numerous responsibilities, including managing the flight and crew. Applicants should have a valid Airline Transport Pilot Certificate, a current 1st Class Medical Certificate, an FCC Restricted Radio Operator Certificate, and other FAA-based requirements.

Candidates should also have at least five years of experience operating as a captain with a corporate flight department and at least 5,000 hours of flight time, plus other certificates. See the job listing for the full slate of required items.

Related: ‘We’re Not Effective’: Starbucks CEO Tells Corporate Employees to ‘Own Whether or Not This Place Grows’

You know that venture capital (VC) drives startup growth and innovation. However, it’s only part of the capital equation. The less glorified side of VC is just as critical, yet doesn’t get the same attention: compliance.

It makes sense. We all want to talk about the big bucks invested in exciting new ventures, but we don’t want to think about the rules and regulations that we need to follow to ensure funding is above board and legitimate.

I’m here to offer valuable insights into these regulatory challenges and how startups can manage them effectively. I aim to clarify the complexities of venture capital compliance while providing a helpful guide for emerging startups.

Related: Venture Capital 101: A Comprehensive Guide for Startups Seeking Investment

The essentials of venture capital compliance

Venture capital compliance covers many regulations and legal requirements that startups must adhere to when securing and managing funding.

These regulations are critical for financial management, legal obligations and investor relations. Compliance is not optional; it is essential to a startup’s legitimacy and long-term success.

The regulatory environment for venture capital includes national and international laws covering securities, investor protection and financial disclosures. These regulations ensure a fair and transparent investment process and promote ethical and legally sound practices for startups and investors.

Understanding compliance from the outset is crucial. A proactive approach to compliance can prevent legal pitfalls and enhance a startup’s credibility with investors. By embedding compliance into their operations, startups can manage the venture capital process effectively and securely.

Regulatory challenges for startups

Startups face numerous regulatory challenges in the venture capital space, including securities laws and complex fundraising regulations across various jurisdictions.

Maintaining healthy investor relations requires startups to be transparent and compliant with all relevant laws.

Securities laws govern the issuing and selling of shares, and non-compliance can result in severe penalties. Fundraising regulations involve many rules about how startups can solicit and accept investments.

A common hurdle for startups is the lack of awareness and understanding of these laws, which can lead to unintentional violations.

Education and preparation are key. Familiarize yourself with regulatory challenges and seek appropriate legal counsel to navigate them successfully. Don’t simply focus on avoiding penalties but on building trust and credibility with investors.

Related: What Does the Venture Capital Due Diligence Process Look Like? Here Is Your Step-by-Step Guide.

Compliance in fundraising

Fundraising is a critical phase for startups, and compliance plays a central role.

Each fundraising stage, from seed rounds to Series A funding, has its own compliance requirements. Managing these legal requirements is crucial for the smooth acquisition of venture capital.

Crafting a strong compliance strategy during fundraising involves ensuring all documentation is in order, from investment agreements to financial disclosures, and adhering to the legal frameworks governing these processes.

For seed rounds, startups need to be mindful of securities laws that apply to early-stage funding, often involving restrictions on the type and number of investors.

Transparency and clear communication with potential investors are essential. This builds confidence and trust, which are crucial for successful fundraising. Startups must stay informed of regulatory changes, as the legal landscape can shift, impacting fundraising strategies and compliance requirements.

Compliance in investor relations

Compliance is a legal requirement and foundational in building and maintaining robust investor relations. Navigating the complexities of compliance can significantly influence investor confidence and trust. A startup’s commitment to compliance demonstrates its dedication to ethical practices and long-term viability.

Compliance should be seen as a trust-building tool. By adhering to regulatory standards, startups signal to investors that they are reliable and committed to safeguarding their interests.

This is especially important in the early stages, where trust is critical to securing investment.

Startups should communicate their compliance efforts transparently with potential investors. Creating a compliant and investor-friendly environment involves regular updates about compliance efforts and open discussions about how regulatory changes might impact the business.

Reporting to investors

One thing that catches startups off guard in terms of compliance and reporting is the time requirement. It’s a much bigger task than most people anticipate.

When you report to your investors, get your traditional financial reports in order. You also want to have your K-1 documents prepared for tax season. This is vital for U.S.-based companies with investments; many don’t realize it.

Building a compliance strategy

Developing and implementing a robust compliance strategy is essential for any startup engaging with venture capital.

This strategy should encompass a range of activities, from establishing internal policies to conducting regular compliance audits. Start by setting clear internal policies that align with regulatory requirements. Communicate these policies effectively throughout the organization to ensure understanding and adherence.

Seeking legal counsel is also crucial, particularly for startups without in-house legal expertise. Legal experts can provide valuable insights into the complex regulatory environment and help startups manage these challenges effectively.

Regular compliance audits are another critical aspect of a successful strategy.

These audits ensure ongoing compliance with regulations and pinpoint potential risk areas. Proactive management helps startups avoid the pitfalls of non-compliance while maintaining their reputations in the investment community.

Related: Compliance Is No Longer Just a Back-Office Function — It’s a Core Driver of Brand Trust. Here’s the Cost of Getting It Wrong.

The future of venture capital compliance

Venture capital compliance requirements are constantly evolving.

Emerging trends and regulatory framework changes are shaping how startups and investors interact. Compliance requirements will become more complex as the investment environment becomes increasingly globalized and digitalized.

I see a future where regulatory technology is more significant in helping startups manage their compliance responsibilities. Using AI and machine learning to track and analyze regulatory changes could become standard practice, enabling more efficient compliance management.

Conclusion

In the fast-paced venture capital world, compliance is a critical element that startups must consider.

It’s essential to adopt a proactive approach to compliance. Staying informed and ahead of regulatory changes is not just about legal adherence; it’s about building trust, securing investments and laying the foundation for sustainable growth.

As the venture capital environment evolves, startups must remain agile and informed, ensuring their compliance strategies are robust and adaptable to the changing regulatory environment. By doing so, startups can continue to thrive and succeed in the competitive venture capital industry.

In 2023, Apple revealed a case of serious internal fraud. A longtime employee had exploited his access to procurement systems, diverting company funds, manipulating vendor relationships and approving fake invoices. The fallout: nearly $19 million in losses.

This wasn’t a Hollywood-style embezzlement. It was slow, quiet and unnoticed for years. It started with unchecked trust and processes that weren’t built to flag abuse.

As entrepreneurs, we often think internal fraud is a big-company problem. It’s not. It’s a systems problem. If you’re building a company, here are five warning signs your resources might be slipping through the cracks — and what you can do to stop it early.

Related: Deter the Inside Job. 5 Ways to Avert Employee Theft and Fraud.

1. Expenses that don’t match the function

If you’re seeing tools or services being expensed by departments that don’t need them, that’s a red flag. I once saw a marketing team regularly expensing high-end video editing software — all for one person. Turns out, it was being used for a personal YouTube channel.

This type of misuse often flies under the radar because it doesn’t look like employee theft. But it adds up.

What to do: Implement project-based expense tracking using tools like Divvy or Expensify. Use a hierarchical project code structure that ties expenses to teams, campaigns and dates. Review monthly reports by category to spot anomalies.

2. Unknown or unverified vendors

Fraud often hides in vendor lists. Fraudsters might create fake vendors or manipulate existing vendor accounts to siphon off funds under the guise of legitimate payments. In fact, over 60% of businesses reported facing attempted or actual payment fraud, much of it tied to vendor-related schemes like fake vendors, duplicate invoices and inflated billing.

What to do: Audit your vendor master list every quarter. Cross-check tax IDs, physical addresses (Google them) and contact details. Tools like Tealbook or Apex Portal can help streamline verification. Also, enforce dual authorization for any new vendor setup.

Flag vendors receiving more than three payments in 30 days or those with round-number invoices. These are patterns fraudsters rely on.

Related: ‘Trust But Verify’ Is How to Fight Back Against Employee Theft and Fraud

3. Employees who avoid oversight or vacation

One of the most overlooked signs is behavioral. People committing fraud often insist on “doing it all themselves” and never take leave — because they’re afraid someone else will uncover what they’ve been hiding.

What to do: Use role-based permissions and require peer review for all approvals. Platforms like SAP Concur or NetSuite allow audit trails and delegation during leave. Rotate key responsibilities annually, and encourage mandatory time-off. It’s not just good for mental health — it protects your systems.

Also, foster a culture of transparency. If your team feels safe raising concerns, you’ll hear about problems long before they show up in the books.

4. Recurring transactions that just slip below approval limits

This one’s clever. A team member submits $4,950 payments when the approval threshold is $5,000. Once? Fine. Monthly? That’s a red flag.

What to do: Adjust approval limits every quarter. Use transaction velocity monitoring in your ERP to flag repeat vendors or payees with high-frequency, low-value invoices. Set alerts for anyone trying to split invoices or payments.

In QuickBooks or Oracle NetSuite, for example, you can set workflow rules to escalate anything with unusual frequency, or sudden vendor activity spikes.

5. Missing documents or vague paper trails

When people start “losing” receipts or submitting retroactive justifications, you may have a problem. Fraud isn’t always about what’s visible — it’s about what conveniently isn’t.

What to do: Move to a cloud-based documentation system like DocuWare or Zoho WorkDrive. Require receipts to be uploaded within 48 hours of a transaction. Implement a digital approval chain and audit logs. If documentation is delayed more than once, escalate.

Why good people go rogue

Not all misuse is malicious. Sometimes, it’s pressure. Financial stress, feeling overlooked or just seeing others get away with it can trigger someone to justify poor decisions. That’s why creating a transparent and fair environment matters just as much as having strong controls.

Talk about integrity openly. Make ethics part of performance conversations. And make it clear that your systems aren’t about suspicion — they’re about fairness and sustainability.

The role of tech in staying ahead

Beyond accounting software, smart companies are using:

• AI-powered anomaly detection (e.g. MindBridge, DataSnipper)
• Real-time dashboards tracking spend per department (e.g. Datarails, Cube)
• Policy enforcement bots in Slack or Microsoft Teams that remind users of rules when they submit expense-related queries (e.g. Compliance.ai)

You don’t need all of these. But you do need systems that grow with your business.

Related: The 5 Most Common Fraud Scenarios for Small Businesses

Prevention is cheaper than cleanup

Resource misuse rarely starts with outright theft. It starts with small allowances, unchecked assumptions and leaders being too busy to notice.

If you’re reading this, take one action this week. Run a vendor audit. Update your approval policies. Review your expense categories. Just pick one.

Because the truth is, it’s a lot easier to fix a leak than to mop up a flood.

There’s a difference in each city’s marketing. Seoul wants to be culturally forward and technologically advanced; Copenhagen wants to be environmentally leading and design-centric. That’s fine, but big cities are hard to encapsulate, mostly because a well-developed city has many strengths.

What both cities share, however, is something entrepreneurs should pay serious attention to: the 5-minute principle that’s revolutionizing how I run my business.

Related: 5 Simple Productivity Hacks That Will Make You More Successful

The accidental business experiment

I live part of the year in the Hapjeong neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea. My older daughter’s school is one stop away on her bus, about a ten-minute ride. That’s as far as anyone in my family needs to go. My younger daughter’s preschool is an eight-minute walk away. And my office is one elevator ride and 50 paces away, in the same complex as my residence.

On the B2 level of the complex is a hypermarket, and the mall that sits between our perch and that store is a veritable feast of retail: convenience stores, home goods stores, pharmacies and wireless shops; sporting goods stores like Nike; some wine shops; a smattering of eateries (including a McDonald’s and a Subway); and coffee bars, including two Starbucks (one a Reserve). Did I forget to mention the movie theatre, the family practitioner, the dentist, the hair salons and the Pilates studios?

As an American who likes driving, living here took adjustment. I’ve lived in metropolises like Boston before, where the CVS and the JP Licks are a short walk away. But before here, I’d never experienced a place where everything is just down the elevator shaft. Moving here felt magical, like I was on holiday at an urban resort.

And after a few months of living this way, I decided to double down: I put my office in the mall too.

Related: 21 Productive Things to Do on Your Commute

The productivity revolution no one’s talking about

It’s hard to describe how convenient my Korean life is. How removing the transit time required for any quotidian task has given me back hours every week.

The business impact was immediate and profound. With my time budget suddenly expanded, I started wondering: what if I could recreate this 5-minute efficiency for my entire operation?

I appreciated it so much that I decided to offer others the opportunity to live the 5-minute life too. My recruiter put up a post seeking English-speaking people who live nearby; now we have a team where eight people commute from a ten-minute walk away. In the words of one, “This is a dream.”

The ROI of proximity: Time is actually money

Let’s do the math. The average American worker spends 52 minutes commuting each day, with some doing way more. That’s 225 hours annually — or six full work weeks — getting to and from work. For entrepreneurs and business owners who bill hourly or measure team productivity meticulously, this represents an extraordinary hidden cost.

When I implemented my proximity-based hiring model, our team recovered approximately:

• 960 hours of collective productive time annually (across team members)
• 15% reduction in our sick days (people who cycle or walk to work get sick less often)
• 32% decrease in tardiness and schedule disruptions
• Zero weather-related absences (a factor during Seoul’s monsoon season)

More importantly, we’ve seen enhanced team collaboration and increased employee retention due to our shared neighborhood experience. Happy hours are easy. We can help each other move. We dog sit for one another. It’s all easy as team members who live and work in the same neighborhood develop stronger connections to the company and each other.

The 5-minute principle: Beyond real estate

When I explain this life to my friends and family, they look at me like I’ve become a devotee of a guru they don’t quite trust. “But isn’t it weird? You don’t ever really leave the neighborhood.” It’s true that I rarely leave. Although the other night, I did take a 45-minute cab ride to the other side of the city to catch Park Jin-young’s (JYP) 30th anniversary concert (he’s amazing live).

But to all American entrepreneurs who commute to offices, fight traffic to meetings and waste precious hours in transit, do we really need to see the scenery during our transit to some daily destination? Wouldn’t business be easier if there were no chance of traffic or weather or accidents, and everything we needed were a block away? So, instead of maximizing your long commute or making it more productive, why not eliminate it?

While not every business can relocate to a self-contained complex, every entrepreneur can apply the 5-minute principle:

1. Strategic co-location: Position your office near where your key team members already live, not where it seems prestigious on a business card
2. Proximity-based recruiting: Target talent pools within specific geographic zones rather than casting wide nets
3. Creating micro-hubs: Establish small satellite offices in neighborhoods where clusters of employees live
4. Virtual proximity: Design digital workflows that minimize “travel time” between apps and functions — the digital equivalent of the elevator ride
5. Proximity partnerships: Form alliances with nearby businesses to create your own service ecosystems

Related: Super Commuting Is on the Rise, Here’s Why and How It Works

What you gain when you stop commuting

I can think of just one thing from my daily commute that I miss: talking on the phone to old friends. My long drives to and from work were good for check-in calls; now that I don’t drive, I don’t have much idle time for calls. But would I give back my 5-minute life for those calls? Nope.

The business applications of the 5-minute principle extend beyond real estate. It’s about reimagining productivity as friction reduction rather than time extension. While your competitors ask employees to work longer hours, you can offer them the gift of more time without sacrificing output.

For entrepreneurs, especially those building teams in competitive talent markets, the 5-minute model creates a distinctive advantage. When candidates consider similar roles with similar compensation, the quality-of-life improvement of a 5-minute commute becomes the deciding factor.

In a business landscape obsessed with digital transformation, perhaps the most revolutionary change we can make is analog: bringing things closer together, not doing more, but traveling less.

In retail, the concept of customer experience (CX) is typically framed through a consumer-facing lens — think loyalty apps, curbside pickup or influencer-driven TikTok campaigns. But the real transformation of CX in the post-pandemic era isn’t happening in apps or ads. It’s happening in the unglamorous trenches of store operations — through workforce tools, communications systems and intelligent infrastructure that the average customer may never even notice.

What’s emerging is a new truth: The future of CX is operational. And the companies quietly reshaping it aren’t your usual suspects.

Related: The 6 Essential In-Store Experiences That Your Customers Want to See

From flashy to functional

In the early 2010s, retail tech was dominated by bold digital concepts designed to “surprise and delight” the shopper. Magic mirrors. Augmented reality. Endless aisle touchscreens. Most of these either flopped or became museum pieces in a few flagship stores. They failed not because they were uncreative, but because they were disconnected — from operations, from employees and from the shopper’s actual intent.

What today’s most innovative retail technologies have in common is subtlety. They don’t shout for attention; they support it. They equip frontline teams with faster information, they adapt to real-world constraints like store layouts and staffing realities, and they improve performance metrics that most shoppers will never ask about but always feel.

Let’s take a closer look at how this shift is playing out.

1. The rise of retail communications infrastructure

A shopper enters a store with a question — say, whether a jacket is available in another size. A decade ago, the employee might leave the customer waiting while they “go check in the back,” perhaps never to return. Today, with voice-controlled mobile communication tools, that same employee can instantly ping the stockroom team without taking a single step away. Within seconds, the customer has their answer.

What this technology enables is more than a productivity boost. It’s a moment of trust. A micro-interaction where a shopper feels heard, respected and helped — without the friction that defines so many in-store experiences. It’s frontline enablement as CX, and it’s catching on fast.

And while tools like these improve person-to-person communication on the floor, other solutions focus on the digital touchpoints customers encounter throughout the store — promotional screens, endcap displays and in-aisle messaging. These systems help major retailers manage these assets across thousands of locations, keeping content synchronized, compliant and up to date as campaigns change.

When the system is working, the store feels intuitive: Offers make sense, signage matches what’s on the shelf, and the experience runs smoothly. When it’s not, shoppers may not pinpoint the problem, but they notice the friction — and it quietly erodes confidence in the brand.

Related: How Technology is Improving Retail Business

2. The shopper sees the surface. Operations define the substance.

There’s a certain irony in modern retail: The more seamless an experience feels, the more operational complexity is likely happening behind the scenes. You can’t staff a store like it’s 2015 and expect to win on experience in 2025. Yet, that’s still the reality for many brands struggling with turnover, outdated scheduling systems and lack of execution.

This is where workforce optimization solutions play a crucial role — providing the workforce intelligence and operational backbone that modern retailers need to keep stores running efficiently. By forecasting demand more accurately, aligning staffing to actual foot traffic and helping managers execute daily tasks without the usual chaos, they’re helping retailers deliver on the promises their ads make. And perhaps more importantly, they’re restoring sanity to the employee experience — a deeply overlooked component of CX.

After all, burned-out workers don’t deliver exceptional service. They follow the script, if you’re lucky. But a team that’s well-staffed, well-informed and empowered? That’s the secret sauce behind any successful in-store experience.

3. Infrastructure that moves with the customer

Retail environments have always been built for stability — fixed shelves, anchored signage, permanent displays. But shoppers are increasingly fluid. Planograms shift monthly. Promotions change weekly. And in pop-up or seasonal formats, store layouts are reinvented overnight.

Traditional digital signage — especially fixed, hardwired displays — can be limiting in dynamic environments. As store layouts shift or temporary formats emerge, retailers increasingly need solutions that can move and adapt just as quickly. That’s where innovative portable display technologies are shifting the paradigm. These battery-powered, cordless solutions are purpose-built for agility. No cords. No construction. No waiting weeks for installation.

What this enables isn’t just convenience — it’s responsiveness. A retailer can reposition signage based on observed foot traffic patterns, launch a flash sale at a specific display or bring product education directly to the point of decision — all without waiting for IT tickets to clear or maintenance crews to arrive.

It’s a subtle but powerful idea: making digital signage behave more like merchandise. It moves. It adapts. It responds.

Related: How to Write an Operations Plan for Retail and Sales Businesses

4. Why this shift matters now

We’re entering an era where the margin between customer loyalty and abandonment is razor-thin. Shoppers don’t give second chances the way they used to. If an in-store experience feels disjointed, slow or inattentive, they go elsewhere — or back online.

At the same time, retail teams are being asked to do more with less. Labor shortages. Shrinking budgets. Rising expectations. There’s no room for bloated tech that dazzles but doesn’t deliver.

That’s why the “silent revolution” matters.

These operational technologies aren’t designed just to dazzle; they’re built to remove friction. Some may look impressive, even attention-grabbing, but their real value is in how seamlessly they empower employees, streamline execution and support smarter customer interactions.

In the end, the best customer experience isn’t one shoppers post about; it’s one they don’t have to think about. The store just works. And more and more, it’s the technology behind the scenes — well-placed screens, real-time communication, smarter staffing — that makes that kind of experience possible.

More and more Asian economies are racing to the top, as the International Monetary Fund’s April outlook projects that India would soon surpass Japan’s fourth place in the global economic order and join China and the U.S. in the world’s top five spots.

On a micro level, individual Asian mid-cap companies, according to an article by Citigroup, are quickly expanding beyond the global manufacturing bases of Japan and China, with their booming factories having a presence in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Additionally, Asian companies are adopting new technologies 8-12 years ahead of the West, according to Citi’s 2023 report.

This rapid growth in Asian businesses is driven by fast-paced innovation and high adaptability, but what truly lies at the heart of these dynamic companies is the fact that, across the board, they practice a business culture that encourages durability and longevity, which is characteristic of traditional and often ancient Eastern values. These unique values, found across the continent, contribute to the fact that many of the world’s oldest, continuously operating companies are actually located in Asia.

As the fourth generation heir of a business that is more than 100 years old in Hong Kong, I believe that learning about aspects of the culture that are practiced across Asia is beneficial for Western entrepreneurs. Here I’ve picked five take-home messages.

Related: I’m the CEO of a Company Generating $1.7 Billion Annual Revenue. This Ancient Philosophy Is My Secret for Business and Leadership Success.

1. Balance the Yin and Yang using Daoism

One of the most important business concepts in Asia comes from Daoist philosophy, a Chinese way of life that originated from the sixth century BCE. For entrepreneurs in particular, the concept of wu wei, which translates as “effortless action,” is crucial as it teaches about agility and acting in harmony with the ebbs and flows of the universe. According to this concept, businesses should prioritize efficiency and effectiveness and know which tasks are urgent, instead of taking too much control over every aspect of a company’s operations.

This philosophy also emphasizes the importance of balancing opposite forces, the masculine Yang and the feminine Yin, so they can co-exist in a positive way. In practice, an example can look something like building a business on “masculine” traits such as competitiveness, unwavering focus and risk-taking, and balancing it with “feminine” traits such as introspection, sensitivity and care. Only possessing these traits is not enough, but entrepreneurs will have to learn the art of moving between one faction and another seamlessly, especially when facing challenging market conditions.

2. Practice patience instead of anger

Patience is the virtue of success in many cultures, and this is no different in Asia. An article written for the Australian Institute of Company Directors shows that many successful Indian business leaders believe that using patience to react to a situation that would normally provoke anger is key to achieving progress. This belief is derived from the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Indian text dating back to the second century BCE, which explains that when a negative event occurs, one must not be bewildered by delusion, which is a reaction that comes from anger. Instead, having a clear mind and controlling one’s reaction to the event will ensure that well-reasoned actions are taken, which will ensure preservation instead of destruction.

Patience will also mean that important lessons can be learned from adverse events, which are normally perceived to be “failures” in business. The Indian way of having a patient mindset is that every failure has the potential to be converted into success, with calm and reasoned thinking instead of reactive impulses that cloud our judgment.

Related: In the Age of Instant, Here’s Why Leaders Must Learn the Art of Patience

3. Understanding the Confucian art of giving face

Many of China’s flourishing businesses follow Confucian values, which originate from the country’s way of life propagated from the sixth century BCE — which remains relevant today. This Chinese social code has also influenced businesses across Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Among the most important Confucian values practiced in Asian business ethics is the concept of giving face, otherwise known as mianzi.

This is the belief that making someone look good, i.e., “giving face,” is key to establishing harmonious relationships between parties you’re doing business with. While protecting your own image is considered to be one of the highest ideals under this belief system, “giving face” to another is also equally as important, by carefully considering their thoughts and showing care. Mianzi is crucial to every business relationship out there, especially where clients and customers are involved, and is key to receiving support from others and achieving longevity.

4. Applying the Buddhist Law of Attraction

Among the most visible principles practiced by Asian businesses is the Buddhist Law of Attraction, which says that our thoughts and intentions shape our experiences and reality. Arising from Buddhist philosophies founded by Siddharta Gautama Buddha in the fifth century BCE India, the Law of Attraction simply means that entrepreneurs should define their businesses carefully and thoughtfully.

A company is seen as more than an organization or instrument set up to make money; instead, it is visualized as an agent that could deliver beneficial effects to the community in which it operates. This is something that my company, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company, especially believes in, since it is performing a crucial service to its customers rather than operating purely as a profit-driven business. If your purpose is clear, then success will follow, is what I’ve learned in my own experience as a business leader.

Related: 5 Things I Learned About Business From an Asian Monastery

5. Learning how “to lift together”

An important aspect of Indonesian and Malaysian business cultures is the concept of gotong royong, which translates as “to lift together,” an ancient principle of communal work and collaboration within a community. This concept originated in the island of Java and has been known and practiced within the Malay Archipelago since the 117th century BCE.

This concept is still practiced today and is a cultural value that creates important cohesion between business partnerships. For example, Indonesian startups have utilized the concept of gotong royong to create strategies where separate businesses come together for mutual benefit instead of competing alone within profitable industries.