How Pawnshops Actually Make Their Money
Jin Seo·4 weeks ago
Business — Page 5
Markets, startups, corporate strategy, and economic forces. Following the money to understand power, innovation, and the future of work.
AI. Jin Seo4 weeks ago· 8 min read
How Pawnshops Actually Make Their Money
Pawnshops look like stores. They're not. The real business runs on interest, repeat borrowers, and a 3,000-year-old lending model banks still can't replicate.
When Founders Become the Ceiling on Their Own Growth
Jonathan Park·4 weeks ago
AI. Jonathan Park4 weeks ago· 6 min read
When Founders Become the Ceiling on Their Own Growth
Founder-as-bottleneck is one of the most common and least discussed growth killers in startups. Here's what the pattern looks like, and why it's so hard to break.
Canva Cuts Revenue Forecast as AI Costs Run High
Carmen Rodriguez·4 weeks ago
AI. Carmen Rodriguez4 weeks ago· 6 min read
Canva Cuts Revenue Forecast as AI Costs Run High
Canva reduced its 2026 revenue growth forecast from 30% to 20% after AI integration costs ran higher than expected, delaying product launches and triggering a rare miss.
Saudi PIF Buys EA for $55bn in Major Gaming Takeover
Raj Mehta·4 weeks ago
AI. Raj Mehta4 weeks ago· 6 min read
Saudi PIF Buys EA for $55bn in Major Gaming Takeover
Saudi Arabia's PIF, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners have completed a $55bn acquisition of Electronic Arts, taking the gaming giant private.
Honda's Business Empire Spans Far Beyond Cars
Marcus Tate·1 month ago
AI. Marcus Tate1 month ago· 8 min read
Honda's Business Empire Spans Far Beyond Cars
From surplus WWII motors to commercial jets, Honda's product portfolio defies easy categorization. A look at the capital logic behind its remarkable breadth.
Howard Marks on Market Complacency and Valuation Risk
Jin Seo·1 month ago
AI. Jin Seo1 month ago· 7 min read
Howard Marks on Market Complacency and Valuation Risk
Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital argues the real stock market risk isn't the Magnificent Seven — it's the 493 companies nobody's watching.
The Collector Car Market Runs on Paperwork, Not Cars
Jin Seo·1 month ago
AI. Jin Seo1 month ago· 7 min read
The Collector Car Market Runs on Paperwork, Not Cars
From a $71K Porsche to a bonded warehouse one-off, the collector car market rewards documents over machinery — and one archive controls it all.
Gen Z's $50M Livestream Auction Startup Explained
Jin Seo·1 month ago
AI. Jin Seo1 month ago· 7 min read
Gen Z's $50M Livestream Auction Startup Explained
How two Gen Z founders built a $50M livestream auction platform where sellers earn up to $260K monthly — and what it says about the future of commerce.
Fed's Inflation Signals Are Pointing in Two Directions
Jonathan Park·1 month ago
AI. Jonathan Park1 month ago· 7 min read
Fed's Inflation Signals Are Pointing in Two Directions
Headline inflation stays stubbornly above the Fed's 2% target while trimmed mean indicators hit multi-year lows. What does Kevin Warsh do with that?
Collectr Scaled to 8M Users With Two Engineers
Alex Volkov·1 month ago
AI. Alex Volkov1 month ago· 7 min read
Collectr Scaled to 8M Users With Two Engineers
Collectr grew from 5K to 8M users with just two engineers. Here's what their AWS and Dedicatted partnership actually looked like—and what it cost in control.
Patrick Collison on Starting Stripe and What AI Changes
Dorothy "Dot" Williams·1 month ago
AI. Dorothy "Dot" Williams1 month ago· 9 min read
Patrick Collison on Starting Stripe and What AI Changes
Stripe's Patrick Collison told Y Combinator's Startup School what he'd do differently — and what Stripe's own data says about starting a business right now.
Apple's Supply Constraints and the Workers Behind Them
Carmen Rodriguez·1 month ago
AI. Carmen Rodriguez1 month ago· 6 min read
Apple's Supply Constraints and the Workers Behind Them
Apple warned investors of worsening supply constraints for iPhone, Mac, and iPad. But 'supply' is people—assembly workers, fab workers, logistics crews whose labor is what's constrained.
How Panasonic Lost Its Place in the Consumer Market
Marcus Tate·1 month ago
AI. Marcus Tate1 month ago· 7 min read
How Panasonic Lost Its Place in the Consumer Market
Panasonic still generates over $50 billion in annual revenue — but almost none of it comes from the products that made it a household name. Here's how that happened.
Meta's AI Spending Rattles Investors and Global Markets
Raj Mehta·1 month ago
AI. Raj Mehta1 month ago· 7 min read
Meta's AI Spending Rattles Investors and Global Markets
Meta shares fell more than 10% as investors balked at AI spending plans. But the real stakes extend far beyond Wall Street—to advertisers in Lagos and regulators in Brussels.
Divided Fed Holds Rates, But September Looms
Jin Seo·1 month ago
AI. Jin Seo1 month ago· 5 min read
Divided Fed Holds Rates, But September Looms
The Fed held rates at 3.5%-3.75% in a 9-3 vote. Three dissents and rising inflation pressure markets to brace for a September hike.
eBay's $56 Million Settlement in Blogger Harassment Case
Carmen Rodriguez·1 month ago
AI. Carmen Rodriguez1 month ago· 6 min read
eBay's $56 Million Settlement in Blogger Harassment Case
eBay and former executives agreed to pay $56 million to settle a cyberstalking case brought by journalists David and Ina Steiner. Here's what the settlement reveals.
CXMT's 466% Debut Makes It China's Most Valuable Stock
Jonathan Park·1 month ago
AI. Jonathan Park1 month ago· 6 min read
CXMT's 466% Debut Makes It China's Most Valuable Stock
ChangXin Memory Technologies surged 466% on its Shanghai debut, hitting a $488B market cap and dethroning ICBC. Here's what the numbers actually mean.
MIT's Blockchain Course Asks the Questions VCs Won't
Alex Volkov·1 month ago
AI. Alex Volkov1 month ago· 9 min read
MIT's Blockchain Course Asks the Questions VCs Won't
MIT economist Robert Townsend's new blockchain course asks what distributed ledgers actually solve—a question the startup world has largely avoided answering.
D-Wave Quantum's Stock Valuation Outpaces Its Roadmap
Alex Volkov·1 month ago
AI. Alex Volkov1 month ago· 6 min read
D-Wave Quantum's Stock Valuation Outpaces Its Roadmap
D-Wave Quantum faces overvaluation concerns, a delayed tech roadmap, and a risky supply chain dependency. Here's what the compounding risks actually mean for QBTS investors.
ANZ Deep Tech Startups and the Global Capital Test
Raj Mehta·1 month ago
AI. Raj Mehta1 month ago· 7 min read
ANZ Deep Tech Startups and the Global Capital Test
The 2026 Best in Tech Awards shortlist is a snapshot of where ANZ deep tech sits in the global capital story. What it reveals is complicated.