business
Stew Leonard Jr. is greeted like a celebrity as he makes his way through his family’s business. Known as Connecticut’s “Disneyland of grocery stores,” Leonard’s locations come complete with animatronics, petting zoos, and costumed mascots. Every few feet, a customer does a double-take and rushes over. Mostly, they want to…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Allen Cooley, photographer, director, and founder of Allen Cooley Photography, a commercial, beauty, and portrait studio based in Atlanta, Georgia. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.I’ve been working professionally as a photographer since about 2006, and for most…
In what world does a young, sequined country singer with just a handful of chart-toppers to her name turn down a special request from the King of Rock?In Dollywood, of course.Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday, was less than a decade into her career when she released the twangy torch…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sara Russell, a 37-year-old small business founder of Mainland Vintage Bath & Body Boutique, based in Brooklyn, NY. It’s been edited for length and clarity.I’ve known about AI for a while, but I was always hesitant to use it. I don’t…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Allison Strumeyer, cofounder and CEO of doublesoul. It has been edited for length and clarity.When I was in college at the University of Pennsylvania, I had a side hustle selling T-shirts. I would connect with local artists to feature their work…
Nvidia is playing many positions on the AI pitch, a leading business professor says.”If AI is a modern-day gold rush, then Nvidia is not only selling the picks; they’re also shareholders in the mines themselves, and now they’re becoming the bank that’s lending to all the prospectors,” Rob Lalka told…
Although OpenAI still straggles behind Anthropic in a closely watched measure of AI adoption among businesses, there’s a spark of hope for CEO Sam Altman’s company.OpenAI has an advantage over its rival’s priciest and most advanced model, according to new data from Ramp’s AI Index. The data shows that Anthropic’s…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kelly Ehlers, the founder and CEO of The Evoke Agency. It has been edited for length and clarity.I’m the founder of a social media agency that brings in millions of dollars a year. I have a team of 45, and we…
What do you do if you’re a big media company that owns a bunch of cable TV networks?In many cases, you try to get rid of them. Just this week, Disney dumped its half-ownership of A&E and other networks for $1.2 billion,Versant CEO Mark Lazarus doesn’t have that option: The…
Carrie and Brian Smith rented an RV in July 2023 while participating in RAGBRAI, an annual seven-day bicycle ride across Iowa.Their accommodations weren’t cheap — or particularly nice.The bath towels were “kids’ old swimming towels,” Carrie told Business Insider. “The seats had cuts in them, and the upholstery was dried…
