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Without a shadow of a doubt, President Donald Trump’s return to the White House marks the most polarizing shift of political power this century. Trump’s reappointment was followed by multiple eerily timed aviation tragedies, promises of mass deportations and some controversial mandates from Elon Musk. Musk, who heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has called for a return to office for all government employees — a move that some have questioned as a non-legally enforceable scare tactic to reduce headcount.

So, all things considered, the first weeks of Trump’s second presidency have been eventful. To say the least.

As the dust settles on Trump’s reappointment, the President’s new ‘America First’ tariffs have been a source of controversy — with many considering them to hold the greatest ramifications for U.S. and global economies, especially at this juncture.

Related: What Tax Strategies to Use for Bitcoin & Crypto Trading

Per President Trump’s orders, the U.S. will be imposing a 25% tax on goods from Canada and Mexico. There’ll be a further 10% tax on goods from China in hopes of curtailing the exploitation of America by its biggest trading partners. The alleged goal of Trump’s tariffs is to thwart the seemingly uncontrollable flow of narcotics and migrants into the U.S. The idea is that containment of the above may reduce economic waste, crime and inflation in the short and long term, respectively.

The introduction of tariffs might shake things up now, but tariffs are a tool to achieve specific, longer-term objectives. As we move forward, it’s important to remember that we can’t always take things at face value.

Setting the stage for Bitcoin

Contrary to popular opinion, tariffs don’t always equate to net economic losses like most economists claim. While consumer goods will likely increase in price on average, that doesn’t always coincide with a 1:1 loss in sales simply because models can’t account for the complexities of reality.

More specifically, many factors besides price influence one’s decision-making – i.e., build quality, customer service and social signaling. What if Trump is able to deliver on his promise of making America great again, and the incentivized consumption of domestic products and services results in economic surpluses? Models simply don’t account for this.

Few realize that Trump’s tariffs go far beyond merely economic instruments; they are part of a more sophisticated geopolitical strategy. If these measures force a global migration toward quality assets, like gold and Bitcoin, prices will briefly inflate. This is a calculated measure to ensure a more stable economic future grounded in U.S. supremacy.

As a provocation, these tariffs might incentivize countries to better confront the issues regarding the migrant crisis for the U.S. while also putting their trade links into disarray such that they might be more amenable toward adopting currencies like Bitcoin. The real end game here is to foster market conditions that will induce policymakers to create more accommodative monetary policies that ultimately benefit domestic markets and risk assets.

In the short term, we should expect extreme market volatility, soaring credit defaults and disrupted operations for many U.S. companies. In the medium, Powell turns on the money printer to rescue U.S. markets and everyday Americans, all while quietly setting the stage for Bitcoin to emerge as the world’s unexpected savior of global markets and trade.

At present, the move has been disruptive to the crypto market (with some market analysts suggesting the price could fall back to $75,000 by the end of March). The implication in this analysis is that investors may turn bearish on crypto markets as inflation rises — but the reality is that BTC has weathered a lot, come back from worse, and historically proven to be a strong hedge against inflation.

Related: Why Not Owning Bitcoin is Making You Poor

When “strength” is your greatest weakness

America rose to become the undisputed global superpower through a perfectly executed socioeconomic conquest. With the U.S. dollar being the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. not only dominates global mindshare, but it’s also the reason we can borrow cheaply from foreign allies for further economic expansion.

But there’s a problem. The growth we’ve seen stateside and the “all-time highs” we have witnessed are the result of record-breaking consumer debt. The geopolitical benefits of the dollar being recognized as the global tender that propelled America to current heights is the source of its destruction 80 years later. A strong dollar counterintuitively weighs on export-heavy states by weighing on the U.S. trade deficit and lost jobs due to company outsourcing.

Understand that the impact of tariffs far exceeds what meets the eye. There are a lot of factors at play when assessing the health of markets. Price, no pun intended, is probably the most sensitive lever to tug in the eyes of the average American; it’s also the case that markets are due for a correction altogether if we wish to improve affordability. Quantitative Easing (QE) post-crisis lasted entirely too long, leading to historic inflation, and unfortunately, tariffs are Trump’s most effective way to manifest change.

Introducing: The Bitcoin standard

Despite being unofficially dubbed the “Bitcoin President,” the crypto community’s feelings about Trump’s presidency are mixed. While some remain hopeful that the U.S. will establish the Strategic Digital Asset Stockpile, there’s a growing crowd of mentally exhausted degens unsure what to think.

On one hand, it’s good to know that builders in the space no longer have to face frivolous lawsuits enacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, the temptation remains to question this administration’s understanding and commitment to our industry. Trump has been vocal about supporting Bitcoin’s price, but during what appears to be Bitcoin’s make-or-break moment, Trump incites market hysteria.

I wouldn’t hold my breath for the U.S. government purchases of Bitcoin to be the major upside catalyst this cycle. There’s quite a bit of legislation required to make that happen; however, with a scarce, reflexive asset like Bitcoin, the fear of missing out is what causes its price to skyrocket. Of note, Trump signed an executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund that will almost certainly be exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.

The key takeaway is that Trump’s words alone validate Bitcoin in a way that history couldn’t have ever predicted. All the while, his actions suggest America’s preparing to confidently stamp its mark on the evolving ‘New World Order’ of global trade and commerce. Given the anticipated duress that lies ahead for the dollar, I wouldn’t be surprised if other countries, particularly smaller nation-states, follow the likes of El Salvador and establish country reserves, ultimately catapulting the asset to new heights.

It’s likely to be underreported, but the fact is that the tribulations that await the average American in 2025 are the result of the U.S. government spectacularly failing its people.

Related: A Bitcoin Hot Girl Summer — Will Bitcoin’s Success Continue?

Irresponsible government spending and the mismanagement of interest rates left Americans more distraught than ever, while the “system” seemed to work equally spectacularly for the elite. It’s unjust, given the sacrifices of the American people are what makes America great. And yet again, here lies the crypto bros being left holding the bag. It’s un-American.

However, whether you like it or not, Trump has kept his promises. He has signed multiple EOs and granted Ross Ulbricht his freedom, ushering in a new era of liberty and transparency. Yes, it’s too early to tell if Trump’s moves are truly intentional or just a ploy to gain the popular vote. Either way, it’s going to be a bumpy ride, so I suggest you find cover and hold on tight to your bags. It’s almost time.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has seen his net worth tank by around $102 billion in the last couple of months, mostly due to Tesla’s share price dropping around 35% this year (from around $404 to $263). The company’s market value has dropped by almost $400 billion, and about 60% of Musk’s wealth is from Tesla shares and options.

U.S. sales of Tesla vehicles dropped 16% in the U.S. in December 2024 and January 2025, according to Cox Automotive, while sales in China fell 29% during January and February, per CNN.

Musk is still the richest person in the world, though, with a net worth of $330 billion, according to Bloomberg. And some analysts are optimistic that Tesla will turn around despite its massive drop in value.

“While the DOGE/Trump Musk iron-clad partnership has created major brand worries for Tesla … we estimate less than 5% of Tesla sales globally are at risk from these issues,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note on Friday, per Barron’s. “We expect Musk will better balance his time between DOGE and Tesla/SpaceX over the course of 2025.”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are currently tied for the No. 2 spot with $222 billion each. (It’s worth noting the tie is due to Bezos’s wealth being down $16 billion year-to-date and Zuckerberg’s up $14 billion.)

Related: Want to Work for DOGE? Elon Musk Is Looking for ‘Super High-IQ’ Hires — But There’s a Catch

Goldman Sachs‘ latest cost-cutting initiative, internally nicknamed “Project Voyage,” will ask select managers to move from central hubs like the bank’s downtown New York City office to emerging locations like Salt Lake City and Dallas — or leave the company.

According to a Bloomberg report, the investment bank is shipping its managers to growing locales to help develop talent pipelines in regions where the company is growing, thanks to the efforts of mainly junior-ranking employees.

Moving managers to Dallas and Salt Lake City could also allow Goldman to capitalize on office space. The cost of renting a commercial office building in Manhattan was about $80 per square foot, compared to around $26 per square foot for Salt Lake City and Dallas.

Meanwhile, Goldman is building a $500 million campus in Dallas in 2028 and is on track to increase its current headcount of 4,600 employees in the area to 5,000 by the time the office opens.

Living and working outside of NYC also provides employees more value to their paychecks — NYC’s cost of living is 130% higher than the national average, with a median rent of $7,749 per month, per Payscale. Meanwhile, Salt Lake City’s overall cost of living is 10% higher than average, with a median rent of $1,944 per month, and Dallas’ cost of living is 2% higher, with a median rent of $1,497 per month.

Related: Where Do You Have the Most Buying Power? In These 4 Cities, Your Paycheck Is Worth More Than It Seems.

As part of Project Voyage, Goldman Sachs is gearing to cut around 3% to 5% of its 46,500-person workforce in the coming months. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Goldman will make cuts in the spring this year, instead of in September as the bank has done in recent years.

According to Business Insider, Goldman divisional heads are currently determining who to cut and relocate. Some jobs that are lost through cuts this spring will be backfilled with roles outside of New York in lower-cost locales like Dallas.

In the long term, Goldman seeks to reduce expenses by $1.3 billion overall by laying off some employees and moving others to lower-cost locations. The bank first voiced the objective at its first-ever investor day in 2020, per Bloomberg.

Project Voyage began in the fourth quarter of 2024 as a multi-year initiative to save the company money, per BI. The layoff and relocation plan affects multiple divisions across the bank, including global banking and markets, engineering, marketing, and operations.

Related: Goldman Sachs Slashed Thousands of Jobs. Now It’s Hiring Hundreds of New Roles After Scrutiny From Regulators.

According to the WSJ, the layoffs will focus on decreasing the number of vice presidents at Goldman. VPs, a group between associates and managing directors, are a large and costly part of the bank, with their ranks ballooning out far enough in recent years that VPs have been reporting to other VPs instead of managing directors, per BI.

Glassdoor data shows that a Goldman VP can cost the bank up to $325,000 in base pay per year. Third-year VPs can earn over $1 million in salary and bonuses, a Goldman headhunter told eFinancialCareers.

AI startup Sensay published what it says was the world’s first job advertisement for a Full Stack Developer (AI Agent) last month on LinkedIn, asking for fully autonomous AI to create code, test and fix software bugs, and write technical documentation.

But they aren’t looking for a human to fill the role. Instead, the startup is looking for human developers to submit fully functional code that it can use — and it intends to pay those developers an unspecified annual salary, open to negotiation, for their work creating the AI agent.

Sensay creates lifelike digital replicas, AI clones of real people, to carry out tasks on someone’s behalf, like sending emails, writing chat messages, and participating in video calls. The company says it works on over half a million interactions every day.

Related: AI Agents Can Help Businesses Be ’10 Times More Productive,’ According to a Nvidia VP. Here’s What They Are and How Much They Cost.

But although the job is asking for AI applicants, Sensay told Entrepreneur it isn’t expecting AI to respond to the posting.

Sensay’s job posting is unique from the tens of thousands of job postings for human AI engineers because the startup only wants the software of the AI agent, not the full-time talents of the people who built it.

Related: What You Need to Know About ‘AI Agents’ and Why We Are One Step Closer to The Jetsons

“This is an exciting moment for Sensay,” said Founder and CEO Dan Thomson stated in a press release. “By bringing on board our first AI employee, we’re taking a big step toward a future where AI and humans work together as colleagues and collaborators.”

The non-human AI agent would operate on its own and be tasked with helping build other AI. The job posting had over 100 applicants at the time of writing. It asks for an AI program with proven software development capabilities, especially in AI and machine learning, and a track record of puzzling out complex development challenges.

Sensay intends to embed the AI agent into their communication channels, like email, WhatsApp, and Slack, so that it can respond to feedback, suggest ideas, and contribute to software development like an actual employee.

The company better make sure their new hire doesn’t create its own LinkedIn profile, though.

Related: ‘More Soul-Crushing Than Ever’: Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were ‘Ghost Jobs’

According to a report earlier this year from 404 Media, LinkedIn has identified and deactivated two accounts labeled as AI “co-workers.” The accounts had the flair #OpenToWork, which is used on LinkedIn to signal to employers that someone is open to new job opportunities.

Reddit users were quick to point out that job applicants face many hurdles on the way to landing a job, including fake job listings — and now they have to compete with AI applicants, too.

According to LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence survey, American workers feel less confident about their job security now than they have in the past five years.

We all know what “crisis” means, and we’re all likely on the same page about what “public relations” entails. But put the two together, and you’ve got a burgeoning arm of traditional PR services that has taken on a relatively new sheen in the age of instant news — and that’s becoming increasingly more common.

Why? Because in this brave new age, crises abound, and communication about them is no longer relegated to scheduled press conferences, week-old newspaper articles or “60 Minutes” segments. Used to be you could kind of hide when your brand took a hit or at least circumvent an immediate response until you got all your ducks in a row about the oil spill, product recall or scandalized political candidate. But nowadays, when you’re on the elliptical at the gym at 6:02 p.m. and you hear about the cybersecurity breach that occurred at your bank at 6:00 p.m., not so much.

Crisis PR, popularly known as “crisis comms,” is a branch of PR focused solely on managing a company’s or individual’s reputation during a negative event, and its sole purpose is to protect that reputation until the ramifications of the adverse situation can be properly addressed and mitigated. And it’s something that every single entrepreneur in every single industry needs to be ready for — before they need it.

Related: A 3-Step Plan for Handling Any PR Crisis

A three-pronged approach to crisis PR

There are many facets to crisis comms that you can easily access and research on the web. These include multiple areas of concentration (e.g., information sharing, media relations, risk assessment), multiple pain points (bad reviews, negative press, disgruntled employees, collateral damage) and multiple players (spokespeople, stakeholders, your staff, the public).

So what I’m going to lay out here is less of a comprehensive plan that attempts to encompass all possible scenarios and more of my own personal three-part proactive approach that I’ve employed for a multitude of clients who have gone through a multitude of crises in the 15+ years I’ve been running my own PR firm. In other words, I’ll present a bird’s-eye overview of crisis PR instead of trying to futilely detail every twig and leaf that make up the bird’s nest. And I label it a “proactive” approach because each of the prongs is put in place prior to a crisis arising.

Each crisis will vary in nature, complexity and severity, but all types of crises — whether reputational, public safety or financial — can benefit from these foundational strategies and thus should start with these strategies.

Related: Don’t Let Crisis Control You: 5 Expert Tips on Effective Communication

Strategy #1: Acknowledging the reality of crises

Really? I’m suggesting that an entrepreneur launch a PR crisis plan just by admitting that crises happen? Yep, you betcha. That’s because I’ve seen firsthand, over and over, business owners who truly don’t want to dedicate effort and resources to this area because they simply feel immune to crisis by the small size of their business, protected from it by the type of business they run or in denial that some random unfortunate happening could actually bring them down and out.

It’s not much different than the homeowner who doesn’t want to invest in higher insurance premiums because the chances of a flood, tornado, hurricane or lightning strike hitting their property are so slim. They get their chimney swept and their dryer vent cleaned out every year, so a house fire can’t happen, right? Wrong.

A full quarter of my business is cleaning up “house fires.” So the first thing you need to do is get over your aversion to the word “crisis.” Once you accept that you are as vulnerable as anyone else, you can start conceptualizing and realistically assessing:

• Where are your weak points?
• What are the possible worst-case scenarios for your business?
• Who or what poses the greatest threats to your reputation?
• Where or to whom will you turn if one of those threats materializes?

Strategy #2: Pre-planning

When you have a list of potential risks in hand, not only can you start mapping out reactions and responses to any of those risks emerging, but the list itself forms the destination points on your map. Here’s what I mean.

Say you’re in the business of selling a product. What could happen that could really hurt your sales of that product and, in the process, significantly bruise your reputation? Well, you could get a few bad customer reviews (not great). You could get a bad write-up in the press (even worse). Your product could in some way be involved with an accident or injury (pretty awful). For each scenario, you want to plan in advance how you will counteract these potentialities.

Pre-planning steps you can take include:

• Closely monitor comments and feedback so you can promptly and tactfully respond to negative reviews — on your own site, on Amazon, wherever your product is sold; to the consumer, silence is often equated with an admission of poor quality or service
• Employ a social listening tool to stay on top of the monitoring (most negative feedback these days does indeed appear on social media)
• Have a written response at the ready for any unflattering press attention you may receive; this should include the mission and values of your company, positive testimonials you’ve received, an account of the good works you’ve done and the ways your product has bettered or advanced your industry
• Be willing to ask for a retraction, a deletion or the opportunity to post a response on any outlet that publishes negative content
• Have safety reports on your product available
• Partner with subject-matter experts who can attest to the usefulness and fidelity of your product
• Establish relationships with specialists you can retain when you need legal counsel or professional-grade crisis management

Additionally and more generally, as ongoing efforts, you can prepare for mishaps large and small by:

• Analyzing your industry as a whole to learn what calamities befall it
• Becoming aware of market trends so you can anticipate developments and strategize in the face of them
• Getting your internal operations in order for when external circumstances threaten to disrupt them

Related: It’s Time to Redefine What It Means to Be Resilient as an Entrepreneur

Strategy #3: Assemble a team and devise actionable steps

Once you’re aware of potential crises in your market and have measures in place to prevent them to the greatest extent possible, it’s time to activate a crisis management team and assign each member specific crisis plan steps. My team includes my lawyer, accountant, business manager, a publicist, a writer and a digital assistant assigned to my firm’s social media community engagement activity.

Your team might look very different and meet very different needs. So neither the size nor even the scope of the team matters as much as what actions you’ll want to take to respond rapidly but responsibly in the face of a crisis.

Related: 10 Simple Ways to Build a Collaborative and Efficient Team at Work

Here are some of my recommendations:

• Openly acknowledge the problem and, when you’re accountable for some or all of it, sincerely apologize for your misstep
• Craft clear, concise messaging, then consistently transmit it, across all channels and to all concerned parties
• Identify and reach out to all stakeholders, listening to their concerns and assuring them that you’re managing the situation appropriately
• Respond promptly and courteously to all requests for comments
• Share your plans for remediation
• Remain transparent and honest throughout the crisis
• Monitor public sentiment and course-correct when you hit a false or unintended note
• Support your employees in any way they may need to feel reassured and confident in a successful outcome
• After the fire has been doused, conduct a post-game analysis, learning from your mistakes and taking measures to never repeat them again
• And lastly, of course, launch a reputation-rebuilding campaign, if needed, to reestablish trust with your client base and regain your good name

No one likes a crisis — not even people like me who earn a livelihood from helping clients navigate theirs. But crises are unavoidable in this incredibly fast-paced world, where social media invites us to share thoughts that may not yet be well thought out, where video and audio recordings capture people at their worst moments and where news is spread instantaneously around the world, often before it is verified in any way.

Whether you prepare for the inevitable in-house or hire a professional to equip your repository of responses and fortify your reserves, just prepare. Maybe you can’t totally avoid something you never saw coming. But you can be ready for it when and if it does. Get ready.

^{This article originally appeared on Business Insider.}

Psst! How much was your bonus?

On Wall Street, your end-of-year paycheck can often indicate your standing at work. Yet, knowing where your bonus pay ranks compared to peers is not so simple.

In an effort to shed some light on Wall Street pay trends, recruiting firm Prospect Rock Partners surveyed more than 900 investment bankers about their 2024 salaries and bonuses.

The survey was conducted between December 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, using Prospect Rock’s banking industry contacts. It’s the third year Meridith Dennes, the firm’s managing partner, has conducted it.

“It’s always been so cryptic,” Dennes told Business Insider about the Wall Street compensation structure. “The whole point of the survey is that compensation is much more nuanced than what people talk about.”

Related: How Much Do Tesla Employees Make? Internal Docs Reveal the Surprising Salaries of Elon Musk’s ‘Hardcore’ Staffers.

Survey respondents included bankers from all ranks, from analysts up to vice presidents and managing directors, and across a multitude of coverage groups, and firms.

Prospect Rock Partners gave BI permission to publish select slides from its full survey. The results shared here suggest that so-called elite boutique banks (think Evercore, Lazard, and Centerview) saw total compensation increases of between 11% to 68% across all roles. Total pay for associates at elite boutiques rose an average of 31% for first-year associates and 33% for second-year associates. Managing director compensation at elite boutiques jumped from about $1 million in 2023 to over $1.7 million in 2024, an increase of 68%.

These bonus insights come as Wall Street waits with bated breath to see whether the M&A rebound many industry experts predicted for 2025 will fully materialize or fizzle out.

“There’s so much uncertainty — geopolitical risk, the impact on the private sector of DOGE cuts, tariffs, and the interest rate environment — which can cause a lot of turmoil in the market,” Dennes said.

The investment banking hiring surge that started at the end of 2024 continues, however, Dennes said.

“I, as a recruiter, am seeing an increase in job requisitions coming in, but it’s much harder to find talent than what people want,” she said. “More companies who haven’t used recruiters in the last two years are coming out of the woodwork now.”

2024 compensation overview

^{2024 comp across all levels Prospect Rock Partners via BI}

This portion of the survey gives the average 2024 compensation for survey respondents at all investment banking levels.

The most junior employees — first-year analysts — averaged a base pay of more than $110,000. The data also suggests that most analysts earned a bonus that equaled about 50% of their base pay in 2024.

Higher-level bankers — vice presidents and up — generally earned bonuses equal to or higher than their base pay. The biggest gains went to group heads, who are usually managing directors and partners. They saw average bonuses of more than $1.7 million.

What bulge-brackets are paying associates

^{Total average bulge-bracket comp, 2023-2024 Prospect Rock Partners via BI}

Bulge-bracket firms are the largest banks, which tend to handle the biggest deals and, therefore, have the largest investment banking teams. These firms tend to include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup.

Associates are the second-most junior rank at an investment bank after analysts. This chart shows that associate-level survey respondents who work at bulge brackets earned between $176,000 and $221,000 in base pay for 2024. They reported higher bonuses in 2024 over 2023.

What middle-market banks are paying associates

^{Total average middle-market comp, 2023-2024 Prospect Rock Partners}

Middle-market bankers tend to focus on smaller clients, often those with annual revenue of under $1 billion. This cohort included banks like William Blair, Piper Sandler, Oppenheimer, and Baird, Dennes said.

The average 2024 base pay for associate bankers at these firms was lower than at bulge brackets — but not by very much. The average 2024 bonus for each position was even more for this cohort than for survey respondents who work at bulge brackets.

What ‘elite boutiques’ are paying associates

^{Total average elite boutique comp, 2023-2024 Prospect Rock Partners}

Associate-level bankers who work at “elite boutiques” take the cake for the highest average 2024 base pay and bonus, reporting higher numbers than their peers at bulge brackets and middle-market firms.

Elite boutiques are considered the top-tier boutique banks that can compete with the big firms. In 2024, Evercore, Centerview, and Lazard, for example, snagged top 10 positions on the league tables for both global and US M&A advice, according to M&A tracker LSEG.

Survey respondents from this group work at firms like Evercore, Centerview, Lazard, PJT Partners, and Moelis.

More details on ‘elite boutique’ pay

^{Prospect Rock Partners}

These banks tend to focus solely on investment banking versus larger firms, which may have consumer banking and asset management services. Some boutiques also focus on deals within a specific sector, like media, telecom, or healthcare.

That means they often have stronger execution abilities, said Dennes, and therefore higher fee income per banker on their leaner teams.

“One of the most significant findings is the clear correlation between increased compensation in 2024 and recovering deal volumes,” she wrote in an overview section of the survey’s findings. “This recovery appears most pronounced at elite boutiques, where compensation is directly tied to deal performance and revenue generation.”

Pay by industry group in 2023 & 2024

^{Compensation for level-two banking associates by coverage area Prospect Rock Partners}

Second-year associates, whose 2024 comp is described in this section of the survey results, are bankers who have been in the field for anywhere from two to five years, depending on whether they started in investment banking as an analyst or were hired out of an MBA program.

The largest group of respondents in this group described themselves as M&A generalists. The survey says this cohort averaged $187,000 in base pay and about $134,000 in bonuses last year.

Other well-paid associates in this group worked in business services, restructuring, and DCM.

Some overall comp is down from years ago

^{Average total comp and its changes Prospect Rock Partners}

The report shows how average comp has changed since 2022. In some cases, it wasn’t for the better, like for vice presidents and managing directors.

For context, global dealmaking hit more than $3.16 trillion in 2024, which is up 10% over 2023, but still lower than 2022 volumes of $3.45 trillion, according to deals tracker LSEG.

Related: Microsoft’s Salary Guidelines Were Leaked — Here’s How Much New Employees Make

According to a new report from Business Insider, Meta keeps internal block lists of anyone who has worked at the company and is ineligible for rehire.

Former employees can make the list even if they have a record of good performance, the outlet notes.

Five former employees, including two managers, told Business Insider that Meta keeps track of former employees who violate company policies or are underperforming and gives them a “non-regrettable attrition” tag. Managers could reportedly add former employees without documented performance problems to “do not rehire” lists in “minutes” by “just filling out a form.”

Nearly 4,000 workers were impacted by what Meta said was performance-based cuts earlier this year.

While getting on a Meta block list may be as simple as completing a form, getting off one is more difficult.

According to Business Insider, one senior Meta engineer blocked from being rehired was told by a hiring manager that even a sign-off from a vice president wouldn’t change their status. Another hiring manager said they had yet to see someone get off a list and have a chance to interview at Meta again.

The number of former employees on Meta’s block lists was unclear.

Related: Meta Confirms It Is Doubling Executives Bonuses to ‘Motivate’ and ‘Reward Them’ a Week After Layoffs

Two employees impacted by Meta’s 11,000-person layoffs in 2022 told the outlet they had a history of earning “Exceeded Expectations” on their performance reviews, but discovered they were labeled “ineligible to be hired” by Meta HR when re-applying for different roles through third-party staffing agencies.

Related: Meta Says It Has Fired 20 Employees For Leaking Information: ‘We Expect There Will Be More’

In response, a Meta spokesperson told Business Insider that several factors determine whether an employee is eligible to be rehired, including “the last rating prior to separation and any other recent performance signals” and how the employee left the company (“policy violation, performance termination, voluntary resignation, etc.”).

Meanwhile, Meta’s block lists don’t appear to be the norm throughout the industry.

Laszlo Bock, Google’s head of people operations from 2006 to 2016, told BI in a follow-up story that he has “never seen” a formalized, “large scale, systematic approach” like Meta’s.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this,” Bock wrote in a LinkedIn post about the block lists.

Meta had 74,067 employees as of December 2024.

Related: I Got Laid Off at Meta Despite a Glowing Performance Review. I Went From Crying in My Room to Launching My Own Business — Here’s How.

Last month, it was announced that defense technology startup Anduril Industries will take over Microsoft’s $22 billion contract to make high-tech goggles for the U.S. Army. The company has also recently revealed other defense contracts in the $200 million range each.

Now, it needs employees to make it all happen.

Anduril, which was founded by Palmer Luckey (who created the Oculus VR and sold it for $2 billion to Facebook in 2014), has been targeting cities with large populations of young tech talent, like Boston, Atlanta, and Seattle, for its unconventional recruitment campaign.

Spotted in Boston @anduriltech pic.twitter.com/RDxELv5Pho

— Ari Wagen (@AriWagen) February 24, 2025

The campaign says “Work at Anduril.com” with a “Don’t” placed over the top in a spray-painted, street-art-like font. The ads use various mediums around the cities, especially in key public transportation hubs. In Boston, for example, the ads look like graffiti on the T (Boston’s subway system).

Australian site Defence Connect called the campaign “kooky” and wrote that its staff initially thought Anduril had been hacked. Last year, Anduril Australia announced it was building a manufacturing facility in the country, the outlet noted.

In response to the ads and their viral appeal, Anduril’s Vice President of Marketing Jeff Miller told the Boston Globe: “Anduril is not for everyone. That’s the point.”

The stunt has worked, at least on the mega job site, LinkedIn, where it has been posted about several times.

Anduril currently has 711 open positions on its website.

Related: Elon Musk’s xAI Is Reportedly Set to Hire Thousands of ‘AI Tutors’ With Pay Up to $65 an Hour

In the ever-expanding concrete jungles of metropolitan cities, space is a luxury — a commodity sought after with relentless fervor. Yet, amid towering skyscrapers and sprawling developments lie overlooked gems: small urban spaces with untapped potential to yield extraordinary financial returns. With innovative strategies and entrepreneurial ingenuity, these modest pockets of land can be transformed into thriving economic engines, benefiting not only their developers but also entire communities.

Maximizing returns through innovation

For entrepreneurs, innovation is the cornerstone of unlocking financial prosperity in compact urban spaces. Micro-businesses, co-working spaces and pop-up ventures have revolutionized how we perceive and utilize small spaces. Parking lots, for example, are no longer just static vehicles for income but can double as event spaces, electric vehicle charging hubs or even seasonal markets.

From my time working with smart cities solutions provider companies like Roker and other parking technology and operations enablers, I’ve witnessed firsthand how reimagining parking infrastructure can yield multifaceted revenue streams. In one initiative, underutilized parking areas were repurposed into EV charging stations, generating a 25% increase in annual revenue while supporting green energy initiatives. Similarly, partnerships with local businesses to host pop-up retail stores in unused parking bays created a vibrant community hub, attracting foot traffic and increasing local business sales by over 40%.

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Financial viability: Is it worth the investment?

For any entrepreneur, the burning question is: What’s the ROI? Let’s break it down with numbers:

• EV charging stations: Reports suggest that urban EV stations can generate significant monthly revenue per charger in high-demand areas.
• Pop-up shops: Short-term retail spaces in busy locations have been known to command monthly rental rates ranging from $500 to $5,000, depending on foot traffic and location.
• Community events: Repurposing a parking lot into an event venue can net substantial revenue per event, depending on scale and sponsorship.

Such financial insights show that with modest initial investments, overlooked spaces can yield exponential returns, making them highly lucrative for entrepreneurs willing to think outside the box.

Lessons from global transformations

Across my career, I’ve had the privilege of working in regions like the United States, Australia, the U.K., Singapore, Malaysia, the Gulf countries and Canada, each offering unique lessons in urban transformation.

• In the U.S. and Canada, adaptive reuse projects have been pivotal. From transforming disused warehouses into tech hubs to repurposing parking lots for food truck parks, these regions demonstrate how innovative thinking can turn underutilized spaces into thriving economic zones
• In Asian cities, limited land availability has led to the rise of vertical farming and rooftop gardens. One notable project is the transformation of urban spaces into thriving urban farms, promoting sustainability and generating significant annual revenues.
• The Gulf countries excel in maximizing utility, with parking areas hosting pop-up markets during festivals, generating substantial revenue while fostering community engagement.

These global examples demonstrate that the entrepreneurial possibilities for small spaces are boundless, especially when aligned with local market needs and cultural nuances.

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Sustainability and community impact

The potential of small urban spaces isn’t limited to financial returns; they’re a vehicle for fostering sustainability and enhancing community connections. Repurposing areas for urban farming, green roofs and eco-friendly initiatives attracts investors and builds goodwill and loyalty within communities. For instance, transforming an underutilized parking lot into an urban garden can increase surrounding property values by up to 15%, benefiting the local economy while promoting green living.

In my experience at working with multiple parking companies and with many parking operations, we successfully introduced community-centric events in urban lots, from farmer’s markets to fitness classes, which revitalized neighborhoods and brought in consistent revenue streams. These initiatives bridged the gap between profit-making and community-building, proving that entrepreneurs can achieve both.

To unlock the hidden financial potential of small urban spaces, entrepreneurs need a strategic framework:

1. Assess the space: Identify overlooked spaces with high foot traffic or strategic value.

• Conduct a thorough spatial analysis using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) tools like Google Maps to identify overlooked areas with high foot traffic or strategic advantages.
• Evaluate zoning regulations, accessibility and proximity to key amenities or transportation hubs.

2. Innovate the use: Think beyond conventional uses — what unmet needs can this space fulfill?

• Identify unmet community needs. For instance, in urban areas with limited green space, consider creating micro-parks or urban gardens.
• Incorporate multi-functional designs — transform parking lots into EV charging stations, Amazon Lockers, etc., during weekdays and food truck hubs on weekends.

3. Calculate ROI: Conduct feasibility studies to evaluate potential returns versus investment.

• Use financial modeling to compare potential revenue streams against investment costs. For example, forecast revenue from hosting pop-up shops or EV charging fees and balance it with setup and maintenance expenses.
• Include potential tax benefits and subsidies for sustainable or community-focused initiatives.

4. Engage the community: Foster local support by aligning projects with community interests.

• Host public consultations or surveys to gather insights and build support. Projects aligned with local interests — like farmer’s markets or fitness classes — often see higher adoption rates and long-term success.
• Collaborate with local businesses and organizations to share resources and costs, creating mutual benefits.

5. Sustain and scale: Develop models that are scalable and sustainable in the long run.

• Implement modular designs that can be expanded or adapted based on demand. For example, start with a few EV chargers and scale up as adoption grows.
• Focus on sustainability by integrating renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and promoting environmentally friendly practices.

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Conclusion

The financial opportunities hidden within small urban spaces are vast and waiting to be seized. By harnessing creativity, leveraging global best practices and focusing on sustainability, entrepreneurs can transform these overlooked areas into engines of economic growth and community vitality. With the right mindset and approach, the smallest of spaces can yield the largest returns — proving that in the world of urban innovation, size truly doesn’t matter.

Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Currently, 84% of all consumers check out a brand’s social media page before making a purchase, resulting in about 20% of all sales coming directly through links from social media. For this reason, entrepreneurs often prioritize getting as much visibility on social media as possible. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is by creating viral content and taking advantage of emerging trends.

The challenge with trends is that they only create a very short window of opportunity, lasting just a few days or weeks. These trends can be difficult to spot when they are just warming up. Most brands that try to capitalize on trends do so when the trend is fizzling out and don’t get the most benefit. Companies that can jump on the leading edge of a trend can significantly improve their ability to be prioritized by the social media platform’s algorithm and gain massive momentum from going viral. This can result in thousands, if not millions, of additional views to your post or social media profile. A single viral post can completely change the trajectory of your business’s long-term success.

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1. Leverage social listening

Catching the beginning of a new trend can be challenging. While these trends appear to come out of nowhere, they often start with subtle rumblings across social media. Leveraging a social listening strategy can help your company identify topics or terms that are becoming increasingly popular across social media and online forums. By recognizing these early indicators, you can more accurately predict what themes are primed to explode across social media. There are numerous social listening tools that companies can use to quickly and effectively analyze online discussions to spot potential trends.

You also want to pay attention to what’s happening in pop culture or with industry leaders. Influencers and industry leaders in the space can often stimulate widespread discussions of a specific topic, especially when they are controversial. When they speak, people listen.

2. Copy the trend, but be original

One of the biggest challenges with social media today is that brands prioritize participating in a trend over the quality of their content. Because trends don’t last long, many companies sacrifice creativity in exchange for speed. This often results in boring replicas of posts made by other creators. While you might get some additional traffic from joining the trend, social media users are more likely to scroll past your post if it’s just a regurgitation of thousands of other similar posts. Instead, focus on bringing a fresh take on the trend to your brand and tailor it to your specific target audience. This will improve the chances of your post going viral.

3. Understand the trend and align with your brand

Many trends come with an underlying cultural meaning for very specific demographics. For this reason, it’s important to understand the context of a trend. Misinterpreting a trend can lead to major PR issues and damage your brand’s reputation. It’s best to try and avoid sensitive or controversial topics unless you feel confident navigating these waters. It’s always best to err on the side of caution rather than risk damaging your brand reputation by posting something that creates negative publicity.

Not every trend is a good fit for your brand. It’s best not to force it. If a trend doesn’t align with your overall brand strategy, it might be better to let it pass and look for the next opportunity.

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4. Platform-specific design

Each social media platform is different. Identifying a trend will only get you so far. You’ll need to make sure you craft content that is appealing to the type of audience on that specific social media platform. For example, Instagram tends to favor video and visual content, while success on Twitter may rely more on a solid hashtag strategy. You may need to customize your social media posts for each platform individually.

5. Use hashtags thoughtfully

Hashtags are a great way to tie your social media posts to trending topics. However, you want to be thoughtful about how you use hashtags. Using hashtags that are not relevant to your post can cause your social media account to be penalized by some social media algorithms. In addition, adding a bunch of irrelevant hashtags can make your post appear spammy to end users.

6. Know when to call it quits

Trends can disappear just as quickly as they emerge. While you do want to jump aggressively on trends that you want to pursue, you also need to know when it’s time to move on. Continuing to post on trends that have passed can make your brand appear out of touch or outdated. In many cases, it may be best to remove old trend-inspired posts once the traffic begins to taper off, as it might cause more harm than good keeping them up.

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Trendjacking has the potential to create online success for any small business if done correctly. This can be a very challenging strategy to master. A study by Stanford University found that the probability of a social media post going viral is one in a million, so don’t feel discouraged if your first attempts don’t launch your brand into the stratosphere. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches and find out what works best for your business.