Blog

The $10 billion AI startup Thinking Machines Lab (TML), which was founded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati in February, is paying its technical talent up to half a million dollars in salary, according to federal data obtained by Business Insider.

The federal filings, which show how much TML’s hires on H-1B visas were being paid, showed that the company paid three technical staffers $450,000 each, while a fourth received $500,000 in compensation. The figures were from the first quarter of this year and just included salary, not added sign-on bonuses and equity awards. The H-1B allows U.S. employers to hire non-U.S. residents to work in specialty occupations.

Related: Here’s How Much a Typical Salesforce Employee Makes in a Year

The compensation is more than some major players, including Murati’s former company, OpenAI, which reported paying an average salary of $292,115 to 29 technical employees. Anthropic, meanwhile, paid an average salary of $387,500 to 14 employees.

Murati spent six and a half years at OpenAI before stepping down as CTO in September.

TML has yet to launch any public-facing products, though the secretive startup raised $2 billion in seed funding last month at a $10 billion valuation. Its website says that the startup is working “to make AI systems more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable.”

^{TML CEO Mira Murati. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP}

High salaries are just one tactic in Silicon Valley’s AI talent wars. Last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that Meta was trying to poach OpenAI researchers with “giant” signing bonuses of “$100 million” and “even more than that” in compensation.

Related: Here’s How Much a Typical Google Employee Makes in a Year

In fact, six top OpenAI researchers have joined Meta in the past few weeks as part of its new superintelligence team. The group included Shuchao Bi, co-creator of ChatGPT voice mode, and Shengjia Zhao, who co-created ChatGPT and previously led synthetic data at OpenAI.

Still, according to a leaked memo sent by OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Mark Chen on Saturday to staff, the company isn’t “sitting idly by.” Top OpenAI leaders, including CEO Sam Altman, are “recalibrating” compensation and finding “creative ways” to reward talent, Chen noted.

When Danny Yeung sat down for dinner with soccer legend David Beckham, there was no agenda. No pitch deck. Just two guys talking health.

They met through a mutual friend in Hong Kong. Yeung, the CEO of Prenetics, a health tech company specializing in genomics and diagnostics, wanted to create a wellness brand rooted in science. Beckham wanted a product he could take every day without juggling a shelf full of pills.

That conversation led to the creation of IM8, a supplement powder designed to support energy, gut health, immunity, and focus. In five months, it has shipped more than 3 million servings to customers in 31 countries. The growth has been sizeable. In its first full quarter of sales, IM8 generated $5.7 million in revenue, helping Prenetics raise its full-year forecast to between $80 and $100 million.

Beckham’s endorsement helped, of course. But Yeung says the goal wasn’t just to put a famous face on the box. It was to create something the founder and the athlete would both want to use. Beckham takes the product daily. His kids take it. His parents do, too.

“If this product didn’t work, David wouldn’t use it—and neither would I,” Yeung says. “We built it for ourselves first. Everything else came after.”

Here’s what Yeung learned in building the company.

Lesson 1: Start with science

Yeung says the vast majority of supplement companies work backward—designing the brand first and then sourcing ingredients to fit a specific price point. “They lead with a logo and build the formula later,” he says. “That’s not how it should work.”

IM8 reversed the process. Before a single package was designed, the company spent over a year developing the formula with scientists and doctors, many of whom had never partnered with a supplement brand before.

“We approached it like a biotech company,” Yeung says. “We had real clinical trials, real data. No fluff.”

Related: The Supplement Business Has a Trust Problem. This Tech Startup Wants to Fix That.

Lesson 2: Transparency isn’t optional

With more than 200,000 supplements on the market and little federal oversight, many consumers are understandably skeptical. “You can sell dust and call it protein. That’s legal. That’s the reality,” says Yeung.

IM8 tries to counter that with full transparency. The formula includes over 90 ingredients, including CoQ10, prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. It’s NSF Certified for Sport. Lab test results are published online. And the company publicly names its manufacturing partner.

Lesson 3: Keep it simple

Beckham wanted fewer pills in his daily routine. The idea behind IM8’s Daily Ultimate Essentials was to simplify supplementation: one scoop, once a day, covering multiple health needs.

The brand has plans to expand, but only with a few highly vetted products per year. Yeung emphasizes quality over speed.

“We’re not a company that wants to launch 50 different products. We want to focus on doing a few things very well. If we don’t think something is best in class, we won’t do it.”

Yeung’s taking that same mindset to the business side. Prenetics is in active discussions with crypto industry veterans to integrate Bitcoin into its treasury strategy.

Related: Inside The New Era of Longevity Supplements

Lesson 4: A celebrity partner can’t fix a bad product

Yeung says too many founders look for celebrity partners to grab attention, not to build staying power. “I didn’t want to be just another celebrity brand. We’ve seen too many of those,” he says.

That’s why he didn’t pitch Beckham on a business. They met over dinner. Talked science. Swapped health routines. “It wasn’t a transaction,” Yeung says. “It was two people figuring out if they believed in the same thing.”

Yeung believes Beckham didn’t just join because of a business opportunity, but because he believed in the science.

He has been involved in the process, reviewing product iterations, offering feedback on packaging, and flagging early customer reactions.

Lesson 5: Trust has to be earned

You can put a famous face on your brand, but if it doesn’t work, you’re not going to last. “People know when something’s real,” he says. “You can’t fake that.”

Yeung calls IM8 a “trust product.” Customers are putting it in their bodies every day, and that responsibility shapes how the business operates.

The brand’s 12-week clinical study showed that 95% of participants reported feeling more energized. Customer retention is strong. And feedback, Yeung says, has been more meaningful than any marketing metric.

“If people are putting this in their bodies every day, you better get it right.”

Related: Trust Is a Business Metric Now. Here’s How Leaders Can Earn It.

Amazon Prime Day means different things to different people. To consumers, it’s a day (actually a few days) of savings with the world’s largest online retailer offering deals to the 200 million-plus consumers with Prime memberships. To retailers, it’s a daunting reminder of how challenging it is to compete with a juggernaut of that size.

But competing with Amazon is possible. Rather than a threat to ecommerce, I’ve found that Amazon Prime Day’s rising tide can be used to lift all ecommerce boats if you plan in advance and take a tactical approach. In 2023, the ecommerce industry as a whole saw a 6.1% boost in sales and a 52% increase in clicks during Amazon’s two-day event, showing that customers will spend anywhere if retailers can harness the wave of customers Amazon creates. Let’s take a look at some strategies you can use as a retailer to get the most out of Amazon Prime Day without feeling like a slave to the beast.

Related: This Is the Simple Marketing Hack Your Business Needs to Drive Sales All Year Long

1. Plan and prep early

As the old adage “The Law of the 7 Ps” states, proper prior preparation and planning prevent poor performance, and successful customer acquisition during Prime Day is no exception. Make sure you have sufficient inventory of the products your customers love. It’s also a good practice to assess your product inventory to create smart bundles. Small retailers can compete with Amazon by offering discounts on bundled products instead of trying to compete on an individual product basis.

Tiered offers are also a great way to get customers’ attention. Offering products at price points that give different benefits or features can attract customers who may otherwise overlook a single product. Microsoft does the “tiered” thing by offering MS Office Standard and the more feature-rich Office Professional.

On top of that, tiered discounts based on quantity or purchase amount can encourage larger orders. For example, a supplement company I worked with offers a “Buy two, get 10% off” as well as “Spend $100, get 15% off,” and other variations.

2. Run a parallel campaign or event

Amazon goes out of its way to lather up its customers for the excitement of Prime Day with regular contacts leading up to the event. There’s no reason you, as an online retailer, can’t do the same. Running email and SMS campaigns parallel to Amazon’s can let your customers know that there are more deals to be had than just Amazon’s. Campaigns can be focused on high-intent customers whose online behavior and prior purchases can indicate a tendency to purchase high-demand items. High-demand products can be identified by analyzing prior sales data.

Related: These 4 Quick Wins Can Boost Your Customer Count and Revenue

3. Launch and run a 1-2 week lead generation campaign

A great way to bring new customers into your sales funnel is by using a lead generation campaign. I can speak from personal experience about the effectiveness of these campaigns, which I’ve helped customers implement for many years through content marketing strategies. Quality content helps businesses capture contact information from targeted audiences, creating warm leads that can more easily be converted into customers.

By using up to four cadenced contact points over a couple of weeks through various channels — email, direct mail, SMS, website landing pages, etc. — you can move prospects through your sales funnel and keep them informed about your products, ultimately guiding them to where they can complete their purchase.

4. Create urgency using special offers/discounts

Using special offers has several benefits for an online retailer. First, it provides great flexibility as offers can be almost anything from discounts to promotional products to loyalty programs. Second, it allows retailers to creatively entice customers without necessarily having to offer massive discounts.

Some examples of specials can be as simple as offering discounts on the same day as Prime Day. You can also offer access to limited edition products available exclusively during Prime Day in lieu of discounts. Offering points redeemable at a future date or referral bonuses can also be used instead of discounts.

In order to access Prime Day savings, Amazon customers must first purchase a Prime membership. Online businesses can choose to take the same route by offering a savings membership to their customers, or take the opposite approach by advertising that their discounts require no membership.

Related: These 4 Traits Set Excellent Marketers Apart From Mediocre Ones. Here’s How to Make Sure You’re Hiring Them.

5. Maximize your reach

One thing I always recommend my clients do leading up to and during Prime Day is to harness the power of social media. For more than two decades, I’ve worked with businesses in this area, and the benefits are almost too numerous to mention. But here are some that can greatly help online retailers.

Promoting your business on social media leading up to Prime Day can increase your brand awareness during a time when there is a marked increase in online shopping. Social platforms make targeted advertising very easy and cost-effective. By responding to questions and using tools such as polls and surveys, social media lets businesses engage with customers directly.

6. Make the customer experience an excellent one

Amazon prides itself on what it refers to as “customer obsession.” That philosophy has driven their ability to deliver easy-to-find products, one-click purchases and super-fast delivery. Online retailers competing with Amazon can deliver an excellent experience for their customers by taking a similar approach.

Your website should have intuitive navigation, images that load quickly and display clearly on both desktop and mobile, and data that is easily searchable. I’ve worked a lot over the years with retailers and e-tailers on product descriptions. Product descriptions should be concise but detailed and the customer’s recommendations for purchases should be as personalized as possible, leveraging the customer’s purchase history to suggest items that have the most relevance.

The checkout process should be streamlined, allowing the customer to move quickly from shopping cart to checkout to order confirmation and summary with minimal hassle. Order fulfillment should be a combination of an adequate inventory that meets product demand, coupled with fast and reliable shipping. Finally, multiple channels should be available to assist customers with any issues that arise.

Related: Buying Prospect Data Seems Like an Easy Hack for Getting More Customers. But Is It the Right Move?

7. Encourage post-purchase engagement

An effort should be made to engage with customers after their purchase. This gives the retailer an opportunity to find out how their purchase experience was and keeps the customer engaged with your brand. This is where the information you collect during lead generation can help you. You can send customers SMS messages to their mobile phones, emails to their inboxes and special communications for occasions like birthdays or seasonal promotions.

Not just for Amazon anymore

Amazon Prime Day is an opportunity for online businesses to take advantage of increased consumer traffic and provide products and services to savings-conscious consumers. By staying engaged with your existing customers before, during and after the purchase, retailers can boost sales while strengthening their customer relationships. Generating qualified leads can inject new customers into your sales funnel.

NASA and Netflix are teaming up to bring NASA+ live programming, such as rocket launches, spacewalks, and live views of Earth from the International Space Station, to the streaming service’s audience, NASA announced in a press release Monday.

“The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 calls on us to share our story of space exploration with the broadest possible audience,” said Rebecca Sirmons, general manager of NASA+, in a statement. “Together, we’re committed to a Golden Age of Innovation and Exploration, inspiring new generations, right from the comfort of their couch or in the palm of their hand from their phone.”

Related: Netflix’s New Chapter Means Price Hikes and Record-High Subscriber Growth

Netflix reaches a global audience of more than 700 million people, the statement notes, which will help NASA reach a larger audience. The programming starts this summer.

Currently, NASA+ is available for free, with no ads, through the NASA app and on the agency’s website. It will remain available for non-Netflix customers, the statement says.

Related: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Is Laying Off 1,400 Employees: ‘No Easy Way to Communicate This’

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 41, is reshaping the company’s AI efforts to focus on superintelligence, or AI that surpasses human intelligence.

In a memo to employees on Monday, released in full by CNBC, Zuckerberg announced that a new group called Meta Superintelligence Labs, or MSL, will house Meta’s AI initiatives going forward. Alexandr Wang, the 28-year-old former CEO of AI training data startup Scale AI, will lead the group and assume the newly created role of Meta’s Chief AI Officer (Meta has a separate Chief AI Scientist, Yann LeCun).

Related: ‘I’ll Fight to Keep Every One of You’: OpenAI Responds to Meta Poaching Talent, Says It Is ‘Recalibrating’ Pay

In the memo, Zuckerberg called Wang the “most impressive founder of his generation” and said that former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman would “partner” with Wang to lead the MSL team. The new unit will encompass Meta’s existing teams that focus on developing AI models and AI products. It will also include Meta’s fundamental AI research (FAIR) team.

“As the pace of AI progress accelerates, developing superintelligence is coming into sight,” Zuckerberg wrote in the memo. “I believe this will be the beginning of a new era for humanity, and I am fully committed to doing what it takes for Meta to lead the way.”

Meta previously announced a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI earlier this month in exchange for a 49% stake and fresh talent from the startup, including Wang.

^{Alexandr Wang. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

Zuckerberg also wrote that Meta would bring on 11 new hires for MSL, including researchers from competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The new team includes former Google DeepMind researchers Jack Rae and Pei Sun, OpenAI researchers Trapit Bansal and Hongyu Ren, and Anthropic software engineer Joel Pobar.

In the memo, Zuckerberg said that Meta’s vision for AI was “personal superintelligence for everyone” and that the company was going to start working on its next generation of AI models to debut “in the next year or so.”

^{Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

Meta has a broad reach: Zuckerberg disclosed in May that the company’s AI is used by more than one billion monthly active users across its apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The company is also investing heavily in AI, with plans to spend $60 billion to $65 billion this year alone on AI infrastructure.

Related: Meta Takes on ChatGPT By Releasing a Standalone AI App: ‘A Long Journey’

Meta also isn’t afraid to spend heavily on AI talent. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated earlier this month that Meta was offering “$100 million signing bonuses” and “more than that” in compensation to many OpenAI researchers in an effort to poach talent.

Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, refuted the claims last week in a leaked all-hands meeting, saying that Altman was “being dishonest” about the signing bonuses and compensation.

“Look, you guys, the market’s hot,” Bosworth said at the meeting. “It’s not that hot.”

Meta is the sixth most valuable company in the world, at press time, with a market cap of over $1.8 trillion.

Meta has reportedly been compiling a list of top talent to poach in the AI talent wars — and OpenAI researchers are on it.

According to recent reports, Meta has successfully poached eight OpenAI staff members in the past two weeks for its AI efforts. Now, OpenAI leadership is reassuring staff that the company is fighting back against Meta in the war for AI talent.

OpenAI Chief Research Officer Mark Chen sent a memo to staff on Saturday stating that OpenAI would take steps to counter Meta stealing talent. The memo was sent to employees in Slack and obtained by Wired.

“I have a visceral feeling right now, as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something,” Chen stated in the memo. “Please trust that we haven’t been sitting idly by.”

Chen said that he was collaborating with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to talk to employees with competing offers from Meta. Company leadership is “recalibrating” compensation and “scoping out creative ways to recognize and reward top talent” in response to these offers, Chen wrote.

Related: Meta Is Reportedly Offering Up to Nine-Figure Pay for Researchers on Its New Superintelligence AI Team

However, while OpenAI wants to keep its staff, it also wants to keep compensation “fair” among employees.

“While I’ll fight to keep every one of you, I won’t do so at the price of fairness to others,” Chen wrote in the memo.

^{OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images}

Last week, Meta reportedly hired top OpenAI researcher Trapit Bansal and three other OpenAI employees who set up the company’s Zurich office: Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai. The Information reported on Saturday that Meta had hired four more OpenAI AI researchers: Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren.

Meta’s hiring push is due to the company’s focus on a new superintelligence lab. The team will consist of roughly 50 employees who will work closely with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to develop superintelligence, or AI that exceeds human intelligence in reasoning, memory, and knowledge. Zuckerberg reportedly wants Meta to be the first company to achieve superintelligence, with the goal of bringing advanced AI capabilities to Meta’s products, like its chatbot and smart glasses.

Related: Meta Is Reportedly Planning to Release New AI Smart Glasses With Oakley and Prada

Zuckerberg has been prepared to compensate new superintelligence employees handsomely. The New York Times reported that the CEO offered potential new hires compensation in the millions.

Altman said earlier this month that Meta was trying to recruit OpenAI researchers with “$100 million” signing bonuses and “more than that” in compensation, but that none of OpenAI’s “best people” had taken the offer.

However, Meta leadership has pushed back against Altman’s statement. At Meta’s leaked all-hands meeting last week, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, said that Altman was “being dishonest” about the size and scope of the offers. One of the OpenAI employees Meta poached, Lucas Beyer, also posted on X that he did not receive a $100 million signing bonus.

Meta was up over 23% year to date at the time of writing.

If you think you’re “too old” to start your entrepreneurial journey, I have one thing to say to you: That’s nonsense. Life is an unpredictable, magical adventure, and there’s no expiration date stamped on your potential. Yes, you heard me. Forget societal pressures, your inner doubts and that nagging voice telling you it’s “too late.” Buckle up, because I’m about to walk you through eight compelling, can’t-ignore reasons why it’s never too late to launch into the exciting world of entrepreneurship.

Here are some inspiring entrepreneurs who started their businesses later in life:

• Colonel Harland Sanders (KFC): He founded Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) at the age of 62, turning his fried chicken recipe into one of the world’s most iconic fast-food brands.
• Vera Wang: Before becoming a renowned fashion designer, Wang worked as a journalist and figure skater. She launched her fashion brand at the age of 40.
• Charles Flint (IBM): Flint created what eventually became IBM when he was 61, demonstrating that innovation has no age limit.
• Sam Walton (Walmart): Though his entrepreneurial spirit shone early, Sam Walton didn’t open the first Walmart until he was 44.

These trailblazers prove it’s never too late to bring your vision to life.

Related: I’m in My 60s — Proof That It’s Never Too Late to Launch a Startup

1. Experience is your secret sauce

Listen, life has already been giving you lessons for years. Whether it’s working a traditional 9 to 5, raising a family or volunteering, you’ve accumulated some serious real-world experience. That’s your ultimate secret weapon.

You’ve lived, learned and navigated situations that younger entrepreneurs might not have even faced yet. Use this to your advantage. You know how people tick. You’ve mastered communication. Maybe you’ve even learned a thing or two about money management or problem-solving. That’s pure entrepreneurial gold!

2. You know what you (really) want

When you’ve been around the block a few times, you learn who you are and what really makes you happy. This is huge! A younger entrepreneur might start something just because it “sounds cool” or is trending. But you? You know what lights a fire in your soul and gets you out of bed in the morning.

Passion and purpose make all the difference. When you align your entrepreneurial venture with something you truly care about, magic happens. That authenticity will show up in everything you do, attracting customers, collaborators and success.

3. Your network is already built

By this point in your life, you likely have a strong professional and personal network. Whether from past jobs, social clubs, college or the friends you’ve made along the way, you have connections you can lean on.

Need someone to help with accounting? Know a graphic designer who can create your logo? Or maybe you just need advice and support from someone who’s been there. You already have those contacts ready to go. Younger entrepreneurs often have to spend years building relationships, but you’ve got a head start.

4. You’ve already learned from past mistakes

Here’s the thing about being older and wiser: You’ve tried things in life that didn’t work out, and more importantly, you’ve learned from them. Whether it’s a failed project, a challenging boss or a decision that backfired, those lessons are now part of your toolkit.

Mistakes are unavoidable in business, but experience minimizes your chance of repeating them. Think of yourself as a human roadmap, carefully navigating obstacles that others might stumble into blindly.

Related: The Most Important Career Lessons Are the Ones You Learn From Your Mistakes

5. Entrepreneurship keeps you energized

Who says starting a business is just for young folks? Becoming an entrepreneur later in life can rejuvenate you. It’s exciting, empowering and pushes you to keep learning. Whether you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s or beyond, the energy that comes from doing something you love is unmatched.

You’re engaging your mind, chasing your dreams and proving to yourself (and others) that there’s no age limit when it comes to building something amazing.

6. You don’t have to start big

If the thought of starting a business feels intimidating, don’t worry! You don’t have to jump in with both feet immediately. A side hustle can be your testing ground. This is a huge perk of being later in life; you have stability and resources that younger entrepreneurs often lack.

Start small. Sell handmade crafts on Etsy. Share your expertise through consulting. Streamline a hobby that brings in a little extra cash. Then, when you feel ready, scale your business into something bigger.

7. Technology levels the playing field

Here’s the best-kept secret of modern entrepreneurship: Technology has made it easier than ever to launch a business at any age. Forget the myth that you need to be a tech whiz like Elon Musk to succeed. Today, there are countless tools and platforms to help you build a website, ship products, manage finances and market your business.

From beginner-friendly website builders like Wix and Squarespace to social media platforms that connect you directly with your audience, technology is your best friend. Lean into it and watch your empire grow.

8. You’re setting an example

By taking the leap and pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams, you’re showing people around you that it’s never too late to chase what sets your heart on fire. Whether it’s your children, friends or colleagues, your courage can inspire others to stop making excuses and start acting on their dreams.

Who knows? Your story might be the reason someone else finally goes after their passion.

Related: I Co-Founded a Silicon Valley Startup in My 50s. These Are All the Lessons That Brought Me to Where I Am.

Final thoughts

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start your entrepreneurial adventure, consider this your bright neon arrow pointing straight toward the horizon. It doesn’t matter how many candles were on your last birthday cake; there’s no better time than now. You’ve got the expertise, the passion and the determination to turn your vision into reality.

And trust me, the world is waiting for what you have to offer. Don’t keep it hidden. It’s time to show up, step out and make your mark.

As a manager, you’re not just responsible for engagement, productivity and retention — you’re responsible for creating opportunity. That’s the heart of inclusive leadership.

The data has been clear for years: the relationship between a manager and their employee is the most important driver of performance. As a leader, your role isn’t just operational — you are the connector, advocate and catalyst. You don’t just include your employees on the team — you equip them to belong.

The number one inclusive leadership behavior? Creating opportunity for and with your people.

Don’t let the noise around DEI distract you from this truth: when we generate opportunity, we scale inclusive leadership. Employees begin opening doors — not only for themselves, but for each other. This kind of leadership is collaborative, contagious and culture-defining.

Creating opportunity is about more than offering new tasks or promotions. It’s the discipline of making new things possible for every employee, based on who they are and what they need to thrive.

Here are seven powerful ways to lead more inclusively by creating opportunity:

1. Hiring and onboarding

Hiring with equity in mind means proactively sourcing diverse candidates and reducing bias at every stage — from how job descriptions are written to how interviews are conducted. Inclusive leaders work with cross-functional hiring panels, ask consistent questions and focus on qualifications, not assumptions.

Once hired, onboarding becomes the first real opportunity to demonstrate belonging. That means creating space for employees’ full identities — including preferred names and pronouns, accessibility needs and personal strengths — so they can contribute with confidence from day one.

Related: 11 Mindset Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

2. Defining and living organizational values

Company values shouldn’t live in a handbook — they should be reflected in how strategy, culture and people decisions are made. Leaders are responsible for helping their teams connect the dots between the work they do and the values the company claims to uphold.

This includes defining what inclusive behavior looks like in action: showing respect for different identities, actively including underrepresented voices and holding people accountable when values are compromised. It’s about building a culture that’s not just high-performing, but values-driven.

3. Developing people intentionally

Inclusive leaders don’t just assign tasks — they create opportunities for meaningful growth. That starts by understanding what motivates each team member and leveraging tools like AI and collaborative learning to meet individual needs.

It also means recognizing that younger or less experienced employees often have more to contribute than they’re given credit for. Development should be a two-way street, with mentoring, project ownership and cross-level learning all part of the equation.

4. Giving feedback that builds trust

Feedback is a core leadership skill — but inclusive leaders go further by adapting how they deliver it. They know what works for one person may not work for another, and they take the time to learn each team member’s preferences around recognition, coaching and critique.

They also prioritize feedback as a system, not just a moment. That includes following up with internal candidates who weren’t selected for roles and giving them actionable guidance to grow. Feedback becomes not just a tool for accountability, but for opportunity.

5. Mentoring and sponsoring across lines of difference

Mentorship opens doors. Sponsorship pushes them open.

Inclusive leaders provide both — particularly to those who are underrepresented or less likely to receive informal advocacy. That might look like matching mentoring pairs across levels, functions, or backgrounds. Or speaking up for an employee’s promotion when they’re not in the room.

Sponsorship is especially powerful when it’s intentional, consistent and tied to performance, not proximity. It’s how high-potential talent rises — and how inclusion moves beyond intention to action.

Related: How to Revolutionize Your Organization Through the Power of Inclusive Leadership

6. Designing workplaces that engage everyone

Whether hybrid, remote or in-person, employees want balance and purpose, not just policies. Leaders set the tone by building cultures where flexible work is respected and connection isn’t left to chance.

That includes creating intentional forums for engagement, like skip-level meetings and cross-team collaborations. Employees want to feel seen by their leaders and connected to their organization’s mission. It’s not about checking boxes — it’s about cultivating energy, clarity and trust.

7. Advancing and promoting with equity in mind

Most employees define opportunity through growth. For some, that means promotions. For others, it’s added responsibilities, increased influence or specialized assignments.

Inclusive leaders ensure that advancement isn’t left to chance or informal networks. They evaluate whether internal opportunities are being equitably offered — and whether expectations around readiness, time-in-role, or leadership style are fair. In today’s workplace, especially with younger generations, long waits and outdated hierarchies won’t cut it. Opportunity has to be both visible and viable.

A new model for leadership

Inclusive leadership doesn’t belong to a single department or job title. It’s a mindset and skill set every employee should be invited to develop. Encourage your team to explore what inclusive leadership means to them — and create a culture where participation is welcomed, tracked, and tied to real results.

The more we build systems that equip every employee to lead inclusively — regardless of level — the more opportunity we generate across the organization.

Because the best leaders don’t just open doors.
They teach others how to do the same.

For certain businesses, summer is not just a season — it is an engine that drives success for the rest of the year. Hospitality and tourism businesses, for example, tend to make the bulk of their annual revenue between June and September due to increased travel, which leads to a surge in hotel occupancy, shopping, restaurant patronage, and tour and attraction bookings.

This concentrated period of activity presents an unparalleled opportunity for growth, especially for business leaders prepared to optimize finances, staffing and marketing. Here are three tips leaders in the hospitality, retail, service and tourism sectors can use to maximize those lucrative months.

Related: How Entrepreneurs Can Position Their Businesses for Growth This Summer

1. Budget for the rush

According to Deloitte’s 2025 summer travel outlook, 53% of Americans plan to go on vacation this summer, with average spend per household sitting just above $4,600. Smart financial planning is key to securing a share of this revenue. Business leaders can start by reviewing historical data, such as peak periods, sales numbers and bestselling products or services, to make revenue projections — keeping in mind that past performance is not always indicative of future results.

For example, landmark events such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour injected more than $5 billion into the U.S. economy in Q3 2023, with concert-goers (respectively) spending an average of $1,500 and $1,800 on flights, food, hotels and tickets. Those won’t necessarily be replicable results. However, understanding consumer behavior during those periods can help business leaders prepare for future summer events, like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics, and tailor their offerings to maximize revenue opportunities.

Reviewing past expense reports is also crucial for creating a realistic, effective summer budget, as they provide a detailed record of where money was spent, allowing leaders to identify trends and potential cost increases. Business owners should also consider consulting financial and legal advisors to review their budgets, get advice on cash-flow management and re-examine supplier contracts.

2. Optimize operations

Reviewing past financial performance and consumer behavior also helps determine where to optimize operations. For retailers, that might mean ensuring that point-of-sale and inventory-management systems are equipped to handle a surge in demand. With potential for increased foot traffic, the store’s physical layout may also need to be updated to improve customer flow, reduce bottlenecks and enhance the shopping experience.

Having an adequately staffed, well-trained team is also crucial to a seamless customer experience. While installing self-service checkout stations to reduce the need to hire seasonal or temporary employees may be tempting, a 2024 Drexel University study found that human cashiers foster greater customer loyalty and repeat business.

With that in mind, leaders should prioritize the development of effective training programs that empower seasonal and temporary staff to provide exceptional service from day one. Then, they can explore technology solutions to automate scheduling, ensuring optimal staff coverage while minimizing administrative overhead.

3. Refresh marketing

Though plenty of Americans will continue to travel this summer, a 2025 outlook from the Bank of America Institute predicts more cautious consumer travel spending. For businesses in hospitality, retail, service and tourism, now is the time to sharpen marketing strategies to capture those limited dollars.

To gain a better sense of what audience members want out of their summer experience, business leaders might use online polls to gather input and foster a stronger connection. However, they also need to be prepared to pivot their strategies based on findings. To maximize impact, businesses should segment their audience and craft messaging that speaks directly to each segment’s interests. A tourism business, for example, may target adventure seekers, foodies and families — each will be drawn to different amenities and activities.

Related: 6 Strategies to Make Your Business Sizzle This Summer

Finally, collecting and amplifying user-generated content can be an excellent strategy for gaining brand exposure and showcasing original content. Using the business’s location geotag or a unique but simple hashtag can incentivize customers to share their experiences, delivering authentic social proof and expanding the reach of marketing efforts organically.

Summer is a key financial period for businesses in many sectors, but capitalizing on its potential requires strategic effort, not just wishful thinking. Business leaders need to optimize their financials and operations and give customers a compelling reason to choose them over the competition. In doing so, they will set themselves up to make the most of this busy season’s opportunities.

Even the most business-savvy self-starters can feel out of their depth in the stock market. With charts, ratios, earnings calls, and today’s insane volatility to navigate, it’s no wonder many people avoid investing altogether. However, you may be missing out on financial freedom or an early retirement if you continue to put it off.

Sterling Stock Picker breaks down those barriers using smart, strategic AI that personalizes your portfolio and teaches you while you invest. You’ll feel more confident before investing your first dollar and understand when it’s time to pull out. You can use code SAVE20 at checkout to get lifetime access for $55.19, regularly $486.

How it works: Invest in 3 simple steps

Sterling makes it surprisingly simple to start investing in stocks, even if this is your first time. Start by taking a 5-minute quiz to assess your risk tolerance, so the platform understands how bold or cautious you want to be. This ensures all future recommendations are tailored to your comfort level.

Second, you can use the intuitive stock picker to explore companies that match your values, investment goals, and risk appetite. You don’t need to know what a PEG ratio is or how to read a balance sheet—Sterling does the number crunching for you and gives you a clear “buy,” “sell,” or “hold” recommendation using its patent-pending North Star tech.

Once you’re ready, the platform helps you build a diversified stock portfolio automatically. And if you have questions, like whether a certain sector is a good bet right now or if a trending stock is too risky, you can ask Finley, your built-in AI investment coach powered by ChatGPT. It’s like having a financial advisor and mentor rolled into one.

Whether you’re investing $100 or $10,000, Sterling helps you invest with purpose, clarity, and confidence.

Use code SAVE20 at checkout for a limited time to get a Sterling Stock Picker lifetime subscription for $55.19 (reg. $486).

Sterling Stock Picker: Lifetime Subscription

See Deal

Why this deal is worth it

In 2025, the stock market has been anything but predictable. Between tech surges, inflation swings, and ongoing global shifts, there’s been no shortage of volatility—and with that, opportunity. For self-starters who want to capitalize on market dips and sudden upswings, having an AI stock picking app to guide your decisions is more valuable than ever.

StackSocial prices subject to change.