The coronavirus pandemic has underscored the need for heightened cleaning and hygiene practices in office buildings. Practically overnight, the need for comprehensive, reliable, and regular cleaning became a primary focus. Robots are emerging as cost-effective solutions to the challenge of properly and regularly washing and disinfecting large public areas. Neo, for example, a four-foot-tall, 1,000-pound… Continue Reading
The New York Times, building on the success of the “Daily” podcast it parents, is expanding its role in audio journalism. The Times Company bought Serial Productions, the company behind the hit podcast “Serial,” for $25 million. The purchase will facilitate the production company’s capacity to increase the number of shows it makes, and will… Continue Reading
New York and many other states have lifted the strict lockdown restrictions. After spending months “trapped” indoors, many families are trying to figure out how to transition out of quarantine and resume a new normal in the shadows of the coronavirus. Author, psychologist, and therapist, Dr. Jayme Albin, offers advice on helping kids face these… Continue Reading
The pandemic-induced recession has many people looking for different ways to save. One place to start is by investing in our technology. Put differently: we have to take better care of our tech so it lasts longer and serves us better. Before corona, most of us tended to have no patience for mindfully managing our… Continue Reading
Small businesses have had to get creative to survive the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown enforced to curb the spread of the contagion. But the same technologies that sustained these businesses also yielded increased costs and complexities. As our lives are increasingly more digitalized, business owners (of all sizes) are contending with new expenses relating… Continue Reading
Health insurance company Oscar has raised $225 million in its latest round of funding. Existing investors Alphabet, General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Lakestar, and Thrive Capital, renewed their commitments, while new supporters joined the venture, including Baillie Gifford and Coatue. Oscar, the New York-based health insurance provider, has raised a total of $1.5 billion since its founding in 2012 by Mario Schlosser and Joshua Kushner. It is the first direct-to-consumer health… Continue Reading
Corona has forced changes in every part of life. Stores are not the same place we were used to just a few months ago. There are less people walking around, plastic partitions at checkout, customers and clerks wearing face masks, and many more disinfecting stations. These modifications are costly and many businesses, already strapped after… Continue Reading
The current ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led to some remarkable business discoveries, including the revelation that fintechs, primarily online financial service companies, are effective liaisons for small business owners as well. The agility and flexibility that most fintech companies have allows them to be responsive in real-time; they experienced fewer policy and bureaucratic hurdles than… Continue Reading
In March, the Brooks Brothers clothing manufacturer was praised for its quick response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The designer brand transitioned its three US factories to produce personal protective equipment for medical teams and frontline workers. But these same factories are now at risk of becoming casualties of the virus they were working to protect… Continue Reading
Eastman Machine Company in Buffalo makes fabric-cutting machines. It is a fourth generation family owned business that has weathered its fair share of crises. Over the course of the company’s 132-years history has unfolded: World War I, the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the Great Depression and World War II. The company’s equipment is used… Continue Reading