Day: August 6, 2020

5 Expert Tips For Launching a Food or Consumer Products Business During a Downturn

wayne August 6, 2020


9 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


With many people across the globe witnessing COVID-19 negatively affect their finances and way of living, studies show that consumers are starting to be more mindful about their spending. 

With this in mind, starting a food or consumer products business in a downturn may seem like a risky endeavor. After all, as consumers tighten their belts they also tend to “trim the fat” when it comes to goods deemed non-essential. As such, one would assume that healthy foods, toiletries, or self-care products—some of the most popular product groups in these verticals right now—would be some of the first sacrifices made. 

However, as someone who launched a healthy meals delivery business during the last recession—during which we witnessed our greatest period of growth and were acquired—I know that there is plenty of potential for businesses that are creative and adaptable from the outset. 

Drawing from my own experience, and that of other successful entrepreneurs in the space, here are five tips for how to launch a food or consumer products business during a downturn:

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Can startups that tackle the U.S.’s broken healthcare system scale across the world?

wayne August 6, 2020

Hello, this is Jonathan Vanian filling in for Lucinda, who is on her much-deserved vacation.

The shiny new thing for investors: startups using artificial intelligence to fix healthcare woes.

Healthcare-related A.I. funding jumped 14% to $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2020 from $986 million during the previous quarter, according to market intelligence firm CB Insights.

One of the biggest deals in recent months was Cedar’s $77 million round, which it landed in June. That startup uses machine learning and related automation tech to make it easier for patients to pay their healthcare bills.

He Wang, a healthcare analyst for CB Insights, told Fortune that “the biggest theme” he sees is the idea that machine learning is “automating” time-consuming tasks, like those related to billing and payments. 

Healthcare firms are especially interested (and under pressure) to use automation tech “to cut costs” as the economy continues to decline, Wang said. Those firms spend a lot of money on “human capital in this space,” or the agents who act as bill collectors or the middlemen who call insurance companies regarding behind-the-scenes financial minutiae. Especially in these trying times, they want to save money by employing less people than they used …

How Target creates a great workplace for millennials

wayne August 6, 2020

Target is hitting the bullseye when it comes to creating a millennial-friendly workplace culture.

The giant retailer ranked 10th on this year’s ranking of the Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials, large company category. The ranking is based on research and employee surveys by Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture.

The list was produced based on employee survey data from before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. But Target and other Best Workplaces for Millennials have demonstrated their people-first, caring cultures amid the health crisis and during the racial justice uprising that followed the killing of George Floyd—protests that erupted first in Minneapolis, where Target is headquartered.

Great Place to Work asked Target’s Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Kremer about the company’s appeal to the millennial generation, as well as about its responses to COVID-19 and the racial justice movement.

Great Place to Work: In your view, why has Target succeeded in creating a great workplace experience for millennials?

Melissa Kremer: We know millennials are focused on purpose-driven companies, and that’s one of their top considerations as they think about the organizations they choose to engage with. Their values closely align with how we’ve invested in …

The pandemic has been good to Wayfair

wayne August 6, 2020

This is the web version of CEO Daily. To get it delivered to your inbox, sign up here.

Good morning.

Did you buy furniture online during the pandemic?  If so, you are in good company. Wayfair, the online home furnishing store yesterday reported an 84% increase in revenues, to $4.3 billion. And it reported a profit, after a long string of losses. Read Phil Wahba’s report here.

It’s also a good time to be a bankruptcy lawyer. Fortune is keeping a list of companies that have filed for bankruptcy. It includes the two companies that have provided most of my work wardrobe in recent decades–Tailored Brands and Brooks Brothers. That makes sense, since all the suits I bought from them have hung unused in my closet since March 12.

And finally, Facebook debuted its new product Instagram Reels, a clear knock-off of controversial app TikTok, which President Trump has threatened to ban over its alleged ties to Beijing. The social media giant apparently hopes the move will help it win back Gen-Zers and Washington at the same time.

More news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
[email protected]

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Goldman Sachs warns a vaccine breakthrough could hurt these investors

wayne August 6, 2020

Investors should consider the risk of a successful coronavirus vaccine unsettling markets by sparking a sell-off in bonds and rotation out of technology into cyclical stocks, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The increased probability of an approved vaccine by the end of November is underpriced by equity markets, wrote strategists including Kamakshya Trivedi in a note Wednesday. Over the next few months, the ramifications of the U.S. election and the evolution of the virus—in part as schools reopen—are also likely to be key drivers of the market, they said.

Approval of a vaccine could “challenge market assumptions both about cyclicality and about eternally negative real rates,” the team wrote, adding such a scenario may support steeper yield curves, traditional cyclicals and banks, while challenging the leadership of technology stocks.

If this happened along with a change in the U.S. administration, emerging market equities could benefit “if trade policy risks diminish while U.S. tax risks rise,” according to the note.

While the strategists suggested it may be too early for investors to position themselves aggressively for such a shift, they recommended options trades as a way to play the theme. For example, some call options on the S&P 500 still …