• Steve Carell says he never watches himself in TV shows or movies he stars in — even "The Office."
• Speaking on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" this week, "The Morning Show" star said he didn't even watch the show when it was on TV, with the exception of a few times the cast screened it together.
• He added that he hasn't even seen "Despicable Me," but has heard it "from the front of the car" while his kids have been watching it.
• "If I had been in 'Shawshank Redemption,' I would watch that," he said. 
• You can watch the clip below.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

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• Funiculars, or "hillavators," are outdoor cable cars sometimes featured in homes in hilly Marin County, California.
• This real estate trend combines practicality with luxury, as many overlook the ocean.
• Hillavators are sometimes installed when homes don't have room for an elevator.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. 

Marin County, California is home to what would be an architectural oddity in the rest of the country.

Some homes located on hills have clear cable cars, called funiculars or hillavators. Many of the most expensive homes are built on hills to take advantage of the view, which only makes a funicular more necessary.

Camara Scremin is a real estate agent who has sold hundreds of homes in Sausalito in Marin County over the past ten years. While she says that funiculars aren't part of every house in the area, they aren't uncommon either.

"Our hillside terrain effectively requires them when people don't want many, many steps up to their front door from the street or garage," Scremin told Business Insider in an email. 

Although they're convenient, hillavators require regular upkeep and extra precautions for the weather. The company that installed the funicular at 147 Beach Road in Belvedere, California come back for regular maintenance at least once a year, Joe Root from Cottage Coastal Builders, who worked on the house, said.

We have a cover for inclement weather and are installing a backup generator system to cover that and the house during outages," he said.

Scroll to find some examples of the hillavators of Marin County. 

SEE ALSO: Millennials love plants so much it's convincing tech companies to replace office artwork with 'living walls'

This Belvedere home overlooking the San Francisco Yacht Club Marina is on the market for nearly $8 million.

147 Beach Rd, Belvedere

It has a custom hillavator that seats 4.

Scremin said "Obviously these hillavators are an alternative to an elevator as sometimes people don't have the space for an elevator and they can be prohibitively expensive," although this hillavator is a high-end amenity to an already luxurious house.

Hillavators are a way to manage steep climbs, and also to show off a stunning view.

Residents can ride up to the house, and take in a view of the Bay.

This 4 bedroom Sausalito home is also located next to the Marina.

123 Woodward Ave, Sausalito

The property has 85 steps, or a funicular to take visitors to the main house.

"Because Sausalito has very few brand new homes I would say that nearly all of our hillavators are added later as a way to 'age in place' or just create more convenience," Scremin said, as with this home, built in 1999 and remodeled in 2012.

"It's exciting to watch the views expand as you ride up the hill" this home's listing agent, Marsha Williams, said to Business Insider in an email.

This Somerset home with a large funicular sold for nearly $2 million in 2016.

Real estate agent Camara Scremin said of the funicular at this Sausalito home, "never before have we seen one more beautiful than the one at 244 Spencer."

This home was sold with Golden Gate Sothebys International Realty. Scremin has since moved to Compass Real Estate.

"One too many loads of party supplies up a lot of stairs or a broken leg and people start to think it [a hillavator] may be a good investment," Scremin said

"It was constructed of all glass walls to catch the beauty of the Bay Views and the drama of descending to the gorgeous home below and offered a bench seat with cushion as well. It truly was a vision," Scremin said of this funicular.

• Carole Zimmer has been a journalist for 30 years covering news for Bloomberg, NBC, National Public Radio, and public radio programs including Marketplace.
• She is the host of an award-winning podcast called Now What? which features conversations with people that most of us are curious about — like Gloria Steinem and Mandy Patinkin.
• Zimmer talks to these people in their homes or offices, not in a studio, where they are surrounded by objects that evoke memories that are important to them.
• She says the wisdom they have shared has helped her have a more positive attitude toward life.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Over the past four years, I've interviewed many people I've always wanted to meet. I was eager to meet them to learn some of their secrets. What inspires them? How do they navigate all the bumps in the road that we come across every day? What big decisions have they made that changed their lives? What makes them feel joyous when they get up in the morning?

The way I got to meet people who had something to teach me about success, fulfillment, and inspiration was I started a podcast called "Now What?" I created the program after leaving a job at a major media company where I had worked as a reporter and producer for 15 years. I said goodbye on a Friday and when I woke up the following Monday, I found myself sitting in my living room staring at the paintings on the wall, not sure what to do with myself. There were no deadlines I had to meet, no assignments to research. No one was standing over my shoulder waiting for me to finish a script for a program that was about to go on the air.

I didn't feel liberated. I felt lost. And that's when I decided that I wanted to hear from wise people who could tell me things about how they had conducted their lives in periods of uncertainty or when they doubted themselves or felt at sea.

I was lucky. I had known Gloria Steinem for many years and she agreed to be my first guest. 

We spent the afternoon in her Manhattan brownstone talking about all the important things before going through her closet where Gloria showed me her favorite motorcycle jacket with the spikes. Besides being smart and funny and principled, Gloria has great taste in clothes. 

SEE ALSO: 6 incredibly successful celebrities who've publicly grappled with burnout

1. Gloria Steinem on feeling satisfied with your life

Gloria Steinem grew up in Ohio, living in a trailer in which her father Leo used to travel around and sell antiques. When Gloria was 10, her parents divorced. Gloria's mother Ruth had had a nervous breakdown before Gloria was born. During Gloria's childhood, Ruth spent time in and out of mental institutions. Despite having a difficult family situation, Gloria went on to graduate from Smith College, become a journalist, and gain a reputation as one of the most important feminists of the 21st century.

She describes herself as an optimist:  

"I hope you're going to interview a lot of people who are over 60 and 70 because I think there are all kinds of different rewards. All the old jealousies pretty much go away. Your old lovers become your family. One of the big moments I keep trying to explain to my friends was when I was in a taxi going downtown and you know I couldn't use my iPhone or something and I was actually looking out the window. And I suddenly thought, you know, I don't want anything I don't have. And it's a great feeling. I don't know how to describe it. It doesn't last. It's a flick of a second. But it's a kind of feeling of well-being. And at one with the universe."

Hear more from my time with Gloria Steinem.

2. Carl Reiner on the joys of being old

When Carl Reiner was 28, he co-wrote and acted on "Your Show of Shows" with Sid Caesar. He then got the idea to write a situation comedy based on his own family life. The series, which became "The Dick Van Dyke Show," ran for five years and won 15 Emmys. In the 60s, Reiner and his friend Mel Brooks began doing a comedy sketch at parties. Reiner was the straight man and Brooks was the 2,000 Year Old Man who had 42,000 children — and not one of them ever came to visit. Reiner also directed Steve Martin in "The Jerk" and "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." At 97, Reiner is one of the oldest celebrities on Twitter. He tweets every night.  

"I check the obits in the morning. If I'm not in it I'll eat breakfast. But now I look at the obits differently. I used to look to see how old people were you know and usually they're much younger. Instead of getting upset by it, 'I say beat you. I got you beat.' Every once in a while there will be a 100-year old. I say, 'You win.'"

Reiner also does something else every morning. He walks around the block in his Beverly Hills neighborhood, singing a song that Bing Crosby recorded called the Tumble Down Shack in Athlone. 

Reiner sings:

"I'm a long way from home and my thoughts ever roam to ould Erin far over the sea. There's a bright gleaming light guiding me home tonight down the long road of white cobblestone. Down the road that leads back to that tumble down shack, to that tumble down shack in Athlone.

"That's it," he says. "I've got to go back to work." 

Hear more from Carl Reiner on the joys of being old.

3. Norman Lear on one possible secret of living a long life

In the 1970s and 80s, Norman Lear was the king of television, creating one hit series after another including Sanford and Son, the Jeffersons, and All in the Family. Two years ago, Lear, who is 97, sold a new show to NBC about adventures in a senior community. In 2019, Lear made Emmy history when his show, Live in Front of a Studio Audience, was nominated for Outstanding Variety Special, making Lear the oldest person ever nominated for an Emmy.  ABC has renewed Lear's Special for two more installments. 

"I have been getting up every single day for 95 plus years and doing the same thing. Looking forward when I go to sleep to the taste of coffee the next morning. I make a big deal out of breakfast. I love breakfast. I usually have a thin slice of bagel with some smoked salmon and a large salad. So a lot of people think 'Oh, he has a salad. That's why he's feeling good.'"

Do you get terrified of dying?

"No, I don't. I don't wish it and I started to say I'm not looking forward to it, but I am in the sense that some questions will be answered. Even if there's no question answered, that's an answer. Sorry, no more questions. It's just another long sleep."

Hear more from Norman Lear on one possible secret of living a long life.

4. Mandy Patinkin on embracing his struggles

Sixty-six-year-old Mandy Patinkin plays CIA officer Saul Berenson on "Homeland." He's also an Ambassador for the International Rescue Committee and every season when he finishes shooting "Homeland," he goes to a refugee camp to try and help the people who are living there.

 "I would not have learned any of those things that I know today at this moment without the struggles I faced earlier. I didn't get to pick and choose in a candy store exactly how to be and behave. My nature was just what it was. I did the best I could. Sometimes it wasn't what I wished for. But I got to live long enough, thank God, and I got to have great children and a great wife and great friends. And great opportunities and great teachers. And then I got cancer, you know, in 2004 and I don't wish anyone to get cancer but it sure makes you look at the sunrise and sunset differently. It sure makes you look at every day since that diagnosis in a very different way. You want to make the most of it. You want to be better if you can. Not just to make the cancer go away, just not to waste the day and the precious time you have."

Hear more from Mandy Patinkin on embracing his struggles.

5. Alan Alda on how to communicate

Eighty-three-year-old Alan Alda worked as a waiter and a clown before landing the role of Captain Hawkeye Pierce, a surgeon in a mobile unit in the Korean War. "M*A*S*H"  lasted for 11 seasons and became one of the biggest TV hits ever. Alda helped start the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stonybrook University, which has trained more than 10,000 scientists and doctors to better communicate. He's been married to his wife Arlene for 62 years.  

"If you really want to communicate, pay attention to me. The essence of communication is when you think of me rather than you. What's happening in the other person's head is more important than what's happening in your head. You have a message. If you just spray the message at me I'm not going to get it. You have to get into where I live. You have to be aware of what's happening to me. Conversation is a partnership. It's a democratic process."

Hear more from Alan Alda on how to communicate.

6. Sheila Nevins on how she thrived in a male environment before the #MeToo era

Eighty-year-old Sheila Nevins spent 35 years at HBO, where she made more than 1,100 documentaries and won 65 Emmy awards. She's the author of "You Don't Look Your Age" where she reveals that she's had an eye lift, two face lifts, and "enough Botox to detonate Iran." Nevins wears leg warmers all year round.

 "I followed the recipe of my time. The recipe of my time was to use what you were given to get what you want. I didn't sleep with a million bosses. Anyway, they're all dead. But I would say that I did not turn away advances. I really never turned someone down. I would say 'Oh, please don't.' I did the little baby thing or 'I'm going to tell your wife.' I followed the rules of the day. The rules of the day were to accept it, to comply with it and to be a little girl. I think I perfected the little girl voice. Instead of saying I'm a woman and get your hands off, I perfected that little girl voice."

How did you move on with your life after you left your job?

"The exit was extremely painful. The weaning off the job was torture. It was torture. But once I walked out the door, the air was clear. I think that I actually should not have died at my desk. I did think I would. I did think that was the place to die. And I'm not dying so fast. But I would say that I've accepted the fact that I'm a temporary resident. I'm on loan from eternity." 

Hear more from Sheila Nevins on how she thrived in a male environment before the #MeToo era. 

Carole Zimmer is the host of the award-winning podcast "Now What?" Curated conversations with people you want to know. (Subscribe for free here.) She's a journalist with more than 30 years of experience working in radio, television and digital media including Bloomberg News, NPR and NBC. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, New York Magazine, and other publications. She has received numerous awards including an Edward M. Murrow award for her radio documentary, "Stalking a Silent Killer." You can find more of her work at carolezimmer.com.

• There's a wide variety of business podcasts out there, making it hard to figure out which ones are worth a listen.
• Business Insider asked professors, successful MBA grads, CEOs, and other thought leaders what their favorite podcasts are, and compiled a list of 24 picks.
• From hard-hitting interviews to thought experiments, here's what top leaders are listening to regularly. 
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

While many people have opinions about the best business podcasts to listen to, Business Insider searched far and wide to assemble a group of select industry thought leaders — CEOs, business school professors, authors, notable career experts, exceptionally successful MBA grads, and other movers and shakers — to chime in with their favorites. 

These individuals argue that these 24 podcast picks are almost as instructive as getting an MBA degree. So if you're looking for a quick and free education that doesn't require going back to school for two full years, you'll want to add these to your playlist.

1. HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

Thibaud Clément is the CEO and cofounder of Loomly, a brand success platform with more than 130,000 users that raised a seed round of more than $3 million and experienced around 600% revenue growth in 2018.

Clément, who has an MBA from the University of Ottawa, stated that as the CEO of a fast-growing startup, he finds HBR IdeaCast to be "a reliable business resource that comes with the quality stamp of [HBR], meaning high editorial standards, sharp guests, and a well-rounded show."

He said that the popular podcast helps him reflect on different aspects of his role, with "practical insights and advice" that he can actually leverage on the job. 

"In one episode, you learn about how to better manage personal challenges such as how to thrive as a working parent or how to be less distracted at work," explained Clément. "In another episode, you may be provided with insights on how to grow as a professional, like how to find and keep your company's soul or what great coaching looks like. Yet in another episode, you will be led to think about the societal impact of business on society and vice versa, including what dematerialization impacts the economy or how African-Americans [advance] at work."

He added that he frequently finds himself recommending it to other professionals. "[T]here is always — at least — one of their 700+ episodes that comes to mind when discussing a specific topic," Clément said. "You simply cannot go wrong with this podcast."

2. Behind The Numbersby eMarketer

Clément said that this podcast is "one of the best podcasts for all things digital," noting that it's "particularly helpful to understand how digital media and marketing are evolving today — and what this means for the business world tomorrow." 

The eMarketer podcast also offers flexible options to tune in: "[T]he show is available in a daily format (offering deep dives on specific topics) or in a weekly roundup (gathering key industry insights), so that you can easily fit it in your agenda," said Clément.

3. Safe For Work by Wondery

Lauren Miller, leadership coach for MBA students at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and adjunct faculty at the Integrated Innovation Institute, stated that workplace-oriented podcast options "tend to be overwhelmingly saturated in technology and entrepreneurship topics, and are often based on either pop trends or very specific research in management science." 

But she identified Safe For Work as one of the few podcasts that she "listen[s] to, scribble[s] notes about, and re-listen[s] to whenever [she] feel[s] a little unfocused." 

"Liz Dolan, former CMO at Nike, leads this podcast about real-life workplace issues such as navigating networking events for introverts, resume solutions for gaps in employment, how to create better work meetings, and bouncing back from a work failure," Miller explained. "[It's] very conversational in nature and an easy listen. They take a cheeky approach and aren't afraid to 'call a spade a spade' when it comes to workplace frustrations." 

She added that since the Safe For Work podcasts are about 20 to 25 minutes in length, they're "perfect for a morning commute." 

4. Coaching For Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

"Dave Stachowiak is a master at interviewing business leaders and getting to their kernels of truth," said Miller. She said that episodes such as "The Way to Get Alignment With Your Boss,""Performance Measurement That Gets Results," and "How to Make Your Work More Visible" are some of her favorites.

Miller advised that since these interview-style podcasts "are richer and a bit denser," you should make sure you carve a good block of "focus time"— 30 to 40 minutes — to tune in to them. 

5. The Unmistakable Creative by Srini Rao 

"Srini Rao [founder of Unmistakable Creative] has raw, intense, and personal conversations with business and creative leaders in a wide variety of positions and industries," said Miller. "The focus of this podcast is looking within to push ourselves to achieve more meaningful success." 

Miller points to "How to Go From Idea to Done,""Why a Tolerance for Discomfort Is Essential to Peak Performance," and "The Psychology of Visionaries" as favorite episodes.   

6. The Tim Ferriss Showby Tim Ferriss

Jan-Christopher Nugent, CEO and cofounder of ecommerce solution provider Branded Online, which offers ecommerce solutions that have helped companies achieve 100% growth, said that "[p]odcasts are a great way to get a wealth of content in an easy to consume format. And the willingness of people who are the top of their game to give a roadmap as to how they got there, truly can't be found anywhere else."

For Nugent, "a podcast has to be not only insightful but also entertaining." 

In describing why The Tim Ferris Show fits this bill, Nugent said that "sometimes the best new idea comes from someone outside of your field. [Ferris'] guests include CEOs, athletes, and entertainers, and [he] not only gives business acumens but also daily routines, books, and other habits that contributed to their success."

7. Perpetual Traffic by DigitalMarketer

Nugent also gave a plug for Perpetual Traffic as another podcast that he listens to regularly.

"The hosts are enthusiastic, and I can compare what they are seeing in the broader marketplace … against what my company's clients are experiencing to create actionable tactics," he said.

8. How I Built This with Guy Raz by NPR

Debika Sihi, associate professor of economics and business at Southwestern University, recommends this podcast by NPR "to almost everyone pursuing a degree in business or just interested in business."

"This phenomenal podcast navigates the journeys of different entrepreneurs that have built some of the world's most well-known brands or innovations," she said. "This podcast is wonderful because rather than focus only on the outcomes or drivers of a successful venture, it focuses on the entire process, including how individuals learn from early challenges." 

She added that as you listen to different episodes, "common themes" emerge about ideation and product or service development. "These themes offer cautionary lessons listeners can consider, or at least be aware of, in their own business careers," said Sihi. 

Sarah Welch — the chief marketing officer at CarGurus, an automotive research and shopping website that, based on monthly unique visitors, has become the largest online automotive marketplace in the US in just over a decade — seconded Sihi's recommendation of How I Built This for its "[a]mazing entrepreneurial journeys with incredible lessons learned that could be applied to any business."

9. Hidden Brain by NPR

Welch — who earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2002 — caveated that while NPR's Hidden Brain is not technically a business podcast, it's highly relevant to business as host Shankar Vedantam "uses science and storytelling to reveal fascinating and unconscious patterns that drive human behavior." 

She added that as a marketer and a leader she finds "a lot of the insights highly relevant in thinking about how to effectively influence people, as well as how to control for unconscious biases of [her] own that might lead to sub-optional decisions."

10. upside by upside

This podcast is dedicated to highlighting interesting startups outside of Silicon Valley, and one of Welch's top recommendations. 

"As a leader of several Boston-based companies that people always assumed must have been Bay Area (TripAdvisor, CarGurus), this one really speaks to me," explained Welch.

11. WorkLife with Adam Grant by TED

In this TED original podcast, organizational psychologist Adam Grant "explore[s] the science of making work not suck," according to the podcast's website. Grant is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of many bestselling business books including "Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World" and "Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success."

Adam Medros is the president and COO of online learning platform edX, which was founded by Harvard and MIT and, according to the company's website, is home to more than 23 million learners. Medros, who earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, explained that WorkLife is on his "always listen list" because it always makes him think about organizational challenges and opportunities from a different perspective. WorkLife was among Apple Podcasts' most downloaded new shows of 2018, and spent two weeks in the number-one spot on the entire podcast chart.

12. Exponentby Ben Thompson and James Allwortha 

Exponent is about tech and society. The podcast offers "tech strategy that goes with Ben's awesome [blog] Stratechery," explained Medros.

13. Build by Maggie Crowley 

Build's host Maggie Crowley is a former Olympian turned Harvard MBA student turned director of product management.

"[Crowley] at Drift is doing a great job talking about product management and building great products," said Medros of this podcast.

14. The Knowledge Project by Farnam Street

Jarie Bolander is the founder and COO of healthcare systems company Lab Sensor Solutions, Inc., which has been part of two accelerator 500 startups and has raised $1.1 million to date.

Bolander, who has an MBA from the University of Phoenix, describes The Knowledge Project, hosted by Shane Parrish, as "a masters class in mental models and optimum performance." 

The podcast has had more than 10 million downloads and features interviews with a wide range of business thought leaders, from Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman to Stanford University's Greg Walton. "The topics are wide ranging and foster the most important thing missing from MBA school — internal mindset," said Bolander.

15. My First Million by The Hustle and Shaan Puri

Bolander also likes My First Million, which he explained as "[i]nsightful interviews with founders who went from zero to hero, or rather $0 to $1 million," noting that the conversations presented by The Hustle and Shaan Puri are "engaging and personal with a lot of nuggets of wisdom." 

16. Trill MBA Show by Felicia Ann Rose Enuha

Marin Heiskell, a manager at Deloitte Consulting and industry leader in Deloitte's Diversity and Inclusion Practice, as well as a 2010 graduate of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, recommends Trill MBA Show as the "top podcast for MBAs — especially MBAs of color." 

Hosted by Felicia Ann Rose Enuha, who has an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business (and dubs herself "The Trillest MBA You Will Ever Know" on the podcast's website), The Trill MBA Show "is one of the realest career advice podcasts out there, as it provides candid advice and experiences for MBAs on preparing to succeed in corporate America," according to Heiskell.

"Felicia has guests from various industries share their lessons learned — including lessons from failed attempts at following the cookie-cutter advice given in business school or in business books like 'find a sponsor!,' 'gain an advocate!,' and 'lean in!'," she said.

She added that what makes this podcast "real" is that it offers a "safe space to talk about what advice has worked and what hasn't — and why."  

"It is clear that Felicia's goal is to create Trill MBA graduates: educated people of color equipped with advice from those who look like them who didn't get it right all the time," shared Heiskell.

17. TED Podcasts by TED 

Todd Markson, the chief strategy officer at education and technology company Cengage— the largest US-based provider of teaching and learning materials for higher education — graduated from the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business in 2004 and worked as a principal at Boston Consulting Group and a partner at Wolverine Ventures before joining Cengage. 

"One of the key components to being a master of business is to always challenge yourself to explore and embrace new ideas," said Markson. "This is what I love about the TED Podcasts. You are constantly exposed to some of the world's greatest thinkers — coming from every industry, on every topic." 

He added that it "challenges you to question what you know, and think about things in a new way. I've found this to be more important than any lesson learned in a classroom, is to listen and learn from others. You'd be surprised what you can apply to your life and business." 

18. Freakonomics Radio by Stitcher

"Freakonomics is a great listen for any individual in business or with strategy ambitions," said Markson. "It's a good reminder of the wild and often unthinkable connections there can be between seemingly unrelated things. It challenges our conventions on a wide span of topics, and does so in a fun, compelling, and impactful way."

He added that it's forced him to "push to always explore things beyond face value and look for new ways to approach things and new ways to solve old problems." 

19. The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast by Darren Joe

William Taylor is a career development manager at MintResume, which offers resume templates and other career resources for job search candidates and employers.

With over 12 years of experience in career advising, coaching, and recruitment, Taylor "strongly recommend[s]" The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast.

"[F]ormer MBA admissions director Darren Joe gives MBA applicants the inside scoop on how to craft a successful application for top-ranked schools," said Taylor. "He interviews admissions directors and students from around the world who offer their opinions and advice on how to get accepted to programs like Wharton, MIT Sloan, INSEAD, London Business School, and more."

20. Cold Call by Harvard Business School

Pratibha Vuppuluri is the chief blogger at She Started It!, an online resource guide for working moms, and has more than a decade of experience in the financial services industry — including as a consultant at UBS and an assistant vice president at Deutsche Bank. She was also part of a team selected to represent Columbia University in the Global Social Venture Competition from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business — before she launched her own venture.

Cold Call, Vuppuluri said, "gives you a taste of what it's like to study at Harvard's legendary MBA program. In every episode, a [HBS] faculty member discusses a case study that they've written and taught. They also provide insights into the program." 

21. Planet Money by NPR

When Lauren Beitelspacher — the division co-chair and associate professor of marketing at Babson College — teaches graduate classes, in addition to using How I Built This to help students "realize that the founders can't do it alone and have to surround themselves with trusted people who have complementary skill sets," she also likes to use NPR's Planet Money.

"Planet Money is great because it gives relevant examples of economic concepts," explained Beitelspacher. "My favorite episode is 'The Starbury.' In this episode, Stephon Marbury tries to create a shoe to compete with the Air Jordan on affordability, and it just couldn't sell in the United States. This creates great conversations around marketing, branding, and distribution."

22. Reply All by Gimlet Media

Beitelspacher less frequently also recommends Reply All to students.

"It focuses on how the Internet has changed the way we communicate and shop," said Beitelspacher. "It's fascinating for discussions around go-to-market strategies and word of mouth."

23. Masters in Business by Bloomberg

Roland Polzin is the chief marketing officer at Wing, a startup launched in 2016 that offers a 24/7 mobile virtual assistant app powered by a hybrid of human and artificial intelligence. 

In addition to his C-level position, Polzin is also in his last year at the full-time MBA program at UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, specializing in business strategy. "Although there is no perfect substitute for the overall MBA experience, I listen to Masters in Business," said Polzin. "It's an excellent addition to MBA classwork and gives me insights to many topics from different angles. They present current and highly relevant information to me as an entrepreneur and allow me to expand on my personal experience beyond my immediate network and environment." 

24. The #AskGaryVee Show Podcast by Gary Vaynerchuk

Matt Erickson is the marketing director at National Positions, a Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency that has served thousands of clients across multiple industries, media channels, and target markets.

Erickson, who has an MBA from California State University at Sacramento, said the #AskGaryVee Show is a favorite of his.

"Gary is one of the few who is not afraid to speak his truth, break down problems to the core, and go beyond the spreadsheets."

Erickson also appreciates that the podcast helps listeners gain a "deep-seated sense of thinking on your feet and about practical solutions to business problems."

"Most of Gary's content includes discussions with other business entrepreneurs — the information being offered is much more real-time than what you get from most textbooks," Erickson concluded.

SEE ALSO: An MBA admissions expert who's helped students get into Stanford, Wharton, and London Business School explains exactly how to nail the personal essay

READ MORE: Required reading: These are the books top professors at the best business schools in the country are having their MBA students read

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack and Flickr, says 2 beliefs have brought him the greatest success in life

• Megan Holston-Alexander is a senior associate at Unusual Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm started by former AppDynamics founder Jyoti Bansal and former Lightspeed general partner John Vrionis.
• Holston-Alexander, one of Business Insider's rising stars in venture capital, is leading many of the firm's diversity initiatives through its Academy program and its limited partner base because, as she told Business Insider, she doesn't trust "any old body" to recruit diverse candidates to technical or entrepreneurial roles in Silicon Valley.
• Although there's been progress among venture firms focusing on funding diverse founders, a recent study from Morgan Stanley found only 40% of surveyed venture firms are prioritizing investments in women and multicultural founders. 
• Holston-Alexander estimated that there will not be a significant change in the number of black venture capitalists with check-writing abilities in the next five years, something she says is crucial to funding underrepresented founders and making Silicon Valley more equitable.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Turns out, venture capital's foray into diversity is mostly talk.

According to a study from Morgan Stanley released on Wednesday, 83% of surveyed venture firms believe they are intentionally investing in underrepresented founders. But that changes when asked whether or not it worked in practice — only 40% of the nearly 200 US firms said doing so was a firmwide priority. Add in findings from another study out of Stanford that black-led firms are rated less favorable than white-led firms, and it's not a stretch to understand how this vicious cycle perpetuates. 

"The mandate has to come from the top. So somebody has to say, at the top, this is important and it is something that I am allowing you to spend time on that I think is valuable," Unusual Ventures senior associate Megan Holston-Alexander told Business Insider.

Holston-Alexander is determined to make a dent in the less-than-inspiring statistics. As a junior employee at the relatively young VC firm, started by former AppDynamics founder Jyoti Bansal and former Lightspeed general partner John Vrionis, she was uniquely positioned to create programs and initiatives early on, something decades-old firms have struggled to implement. In a semi-official capacity, Holston-Alexander has taken charge of the firm's diversity programs through its Academy program and its referral process in partnership with a handful of limited partners.

"If I can help create Unusual as a firm that is open and willing to support a different type of entrepreneur, then I think that will make us a better firm and I think the partners at our firm believe that, the other associates believe that," Holston-Alexander said. "We take this kind of moral responsibility very seriously."

Holston-Alexander said a big part of her work comes from Unusual's LP base, which includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs. She has helped the firm create an internship program with different HBCUs for both technical and finance students, both of which are overlooked by similar programs at other venture firms. The Alabama native also works closely with All Raise, a Bay Area nonprofit that seeks to end the funding gap for women and minority founders, by donating her free time to help connect founders with funders.

Bucking a self-fulfilling prophecy

Part of the problem, she said, is that Silicon Valley's legacy institutions, like other venture firms, are run by leadership that trends older, whiter, and more male than the general population. Partnered with the network-based model in which venture capital operates, entrepreneurs and technically talented candidates are overlooked. The solution, she suggests, isn't just to bring those candidates forward into more visible roles, but also to actively seek those individuals from outside traditional networks.

"Somebody else could do that, but I don't know that I trust just any old body to do it," Holston-Alexander said. "It's important to me that we nurture those relationships in a positive way. It takes a certain amount of empathy and understanding because you don't want to go in and be like, 'Oh hello black college, we want to come save your students and give them opportunities.'"

This is the so-called pipeline problem many industry veterans point to. But Holston-Alexander thinks that that problem is more of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Without women and minority investors, she said that underrepresented founders have a harder time getting venture funding. The data backs her up. 

"I think people are talking about it but I do not think in the next five years there will be a meaningful change in the number of people of color who have the power to write a check at venture capital firms," Holston-Alexander said.

SEE ALSO: Jack Dorsey’s former chief of staff and the woman behind Y Combinator’s legendary Demo Day are joining All Raise, a nonprofit trying to close the funding gap for women

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 7 lesser-known benefits of Amazon Prime

• Fashiontrends from the early 2000s are now making a comeback.
• Heeled flip flops, for example, are now all the rage, with stars like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian West wearing them frequently.
• Necklaces made from seashells are also coming back in style, thanks to VSCO users.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The fashion industry is feeling nostalgic for the early 2000s.

From Urban Outfitters to Fashion Nova, shoppers can now find clothes and accessories that look like they were plucked from the early aughts. Puka shell necklaces are available to buy online, and heeled flip flops seem to be a favored footwear choice among celebrities.

Here's a look at some of the 2000s-inspired fashion trends that are coming back in style.

Platform sandals might not be practical, but they are popular.

Between the '90s and early 2000s, just about everyone owned a pair of platform sandals. Steve Madden's classic black shoes were especially popular, known for their giant rubber soles and thick elastic bands. 

Back in April, Steve Madden brought the sandals back exclusively at Urban Outfitters, and they're still available to buy today for $70.

Button-up cardigans are making a comeback.

Throughout the early aughts, button-up cardigans were a staple in many wardrobes. The garments were typically worn over camisole tank tops, though some people also wore them as tops.

Thanks to celebrities like Bella Hadid, the style is popular once again in 2019. Even stores like Forever 21 are now offering button-up cardigans, like the Faux Pearl Button-Front Cardigan ($25).

Knotted headbands were all the rage in the early 2000s — and they still are.

Though headbands were already popular in the '90s, Blair Waldorf from "Gossip Girl" made them even more so in the early 2000s. Now, with a reboot in the works, headbands are having a resurgence. 

At the time of this post, stores like Bloomingdales and Nordstrom are selling high-end versions of the accessories, like the Embellished Knot Headband by designer Lele Sadoughi ($150). Anthropologie also has more affordable options.

Celebrities can be thanked for the return of heeled flip flops.

From Kim Kardashian West to Rihanna, celebrities can't get enough of the divisive footwear trend. The latter star seems to be one of the first stars to bring the trend back from the 2000s, debuting heeled flip flops during the Fenty Puma By Rihanna runway show in 2017.

Since then, other stars have also donned the shoes, while brands like ASOS and Yeezy have started to sell their own versions. Designers like Jeffrey Campbell also sell versions, such as the Thong 2 Slide Sandals ($49.95) pictured above.

Read more: Celebrities like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian are bringing high-heeled flip flops back from the early 2000s

Velour tracksuits have been sliding back into fashion since 2018.

Once a status symbol of the early 2000s, neon tracksuits are now a nostalgic nod to fashion of the past. The two-piece sets started to come back last year, and now it's common to find retailers such as Fashion Nova selling pieces like the Original Trendsetter Velour Set ($29.99).

Necklaces made from seashells are no longer a thing of the past.

While celebrities bring back trends they previously wore 10 years ago, members of Gen Z are taking ownership of styles created before they were born.

For example, VSCO girls are known for wearing necklaces made from seashells, which were first popular between the '90s and 2000s. Retailers such as Urban Outfitters are capitalizing on the trend with items like the Pacific Palms Shell Necklace ($18).

Tie Dye is one of the brightest trends returning from the early aughts.

Arguably one of the best things about tie dye is that it can be worn in numerous ways, from T-shirts to accessories. Thanks to its versatility — as well as a hectic political climate— the print is now back in style. Anthopologie's AGOLDE Richie Tie-Dyed Sweatshirt ($158) is just one example on the market.

Like tracksuits, tube tops have been making a quiet return to the fashion industry.

Last year, tube tops began popping up in stores and online. Celebrities also put their own twists on the style, bringing back a trend that is still going today. Not only is Forever 21 selling versions of the top — like the Velvet Glitter Tube Crop Top ($9.99) — but so are brands like ASOS, Revolve, and H&M.

Colorful lenses are still proving to be trendy.

If you miss the oversized, colorful sunglasses of the early aughts, don't fret. Colored lenses are back in style, with brands like Opening Ceremony and Guess— which sells the Originals Pink Cat-Eye Sunglasses ($49), pictured above — offering versions of the look.

• • Read more:
  • Rihanna wore a strapless dress with heeled flip flops for a look that'll take you back to the early 2000s
  • Harry Styles keeps his clothes in a 'giant refrigerator' with 24-hour surveillance to preserve them
  • A woman makes thousands of dollars a day as a hand model, but her job requires more hard work than you might think
  • Factory workers who make Lululemon leggings say they're beaten, humiliated, and earn as little as $106 per month, a new report says

• This is a preview of THE HEALTHCARE PAYMENTS REPORT from Business Insider Intelligence.
• Business Insider Intelligence offers even more healthcare coverage with Digital Health Pro. Subscribe today to receive industry-changing digital health news and analysis to your inbox.

The US healthcare payments market is enormous: Healthcare expenditure hit $3.65 trillion in 2018, per projections from CMS, and this spending is only expected to accelerate.

But the industry is at a tipping point. Better-informed and more critical customers, along with a push to combat the complex and opaque medical billing process, are creating demand for innovation in the healthcare payments space.

Despite a titanic market size and room for innovation, digital transformation is occurring incrementally at best. In fact, 90% of healthcare providers still leverage paper and manual processes for collections, according to data from a report commissioned by InstaMed and compiled by Qualtrics.

And even when healthcare providers offer digital solutions like online portals to customers (which 60% do), they seem to be falling short: While the majority of consumers claim they want to make appointments (68%), fill out registration forms (68%), and pay healthcare bills (61%) online, the share of consumers who actually do so hovers around 30% for those use cases. Discrepancies like these make healthcare payments a greenfield for lucrative digital innovation.

In The Healthcare Payments Report, Business Insider Intelligence looks at the healthcare payments process, including the types of healthcare payments, the stakeholders making them, where those payments are going, and what's driving change in the market. We then examine payments companies' innovations from the past year that address healthcare payments' most pressing challenges, analyze why they're lucrative, and discuss how other payments companies can learn from the innovations to furnish their own solutions.

The companies mentioned in this report are: InstaMed, JPMorgan, Liquid Payments, Patientco, Waystar

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• The US healthcare payments market is massive: Total US healthcare expenditure hit $3.65 trillion in 2018, per projections from The Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. For reference, consumers spent slightly less on retail purchases — $3.63 trillion — in 2018, per Internet Retailer.
• But healthcare payments innovation has failed to keep up with consumer demands due to providers' reliance on legacy processes, and this may be hurting providers' bottom lines. 
• Healthcare payments are complicated by the different stakeholders — providers, payers, and patients — that have a role in each transaction. These stakeholders' needs are shifting as the market changes: Consumers are taking a more active role in paying for their healthcare while states are pivoting toward a model that compensates providers based on the quality of their services rendered rather than the quantity.
• Some payments firms are successfully adapting to the shifting market by creating digital solutions that balance the evolving needs of the entire healthcare payment value chain. 

In full, the report:

• Outlines the structure of the current healthcare payments market.
• Analyzes the forces and stakeholders driving change in the market.
• Highlights companies that are implementing innovative solutions in the healthcare payments space, and offers key takeaways that other players can apply to their own approaches.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are three ways to access it:

1. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now
2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >>Learn More Now
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Welcome to Cultivated, our weekly newsletter where we're bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global cannabis boom. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every week.

Hello!

A lot happens in a week. 

First, a troubling trend: Cannabis companies — from the biggest publicly traded companies to venture-backed startups — have been cutting lots of jobs, close to 600 by my rough count.

On top of that, analysts have slashed their price targets for most of the companies in the sector as we gear up for a big week of earnings next week.

And second, where venture investors once saw green (excuse the pun) in cannabis tech, there are signs that the party is ending. The average deal size for cannabis industry VC-deals has shrunk over the first three quarters of 2019, and there are no signs that the trend will change.

In other news, I moderated a pair of panels at the swanky Luxury Meets Cannabis Conference on Tuesday. It was interesting to see the crossover of cannabis and cosmetics (an industry in which I am no expert), and how investors think there is some value to unlock there. 

-Jeremy 

Here's what we wrote about this week:

Cannabis firms just cut hundreds of jobs as the once-hot industry contends with a 'toxic' landscape

The once red-hot cannabis industry is coming back down to earth. 

Over the past few weeks, cannabis companies — ranging from venture-backed startups like Pax to giants like CannTrust — have announced a series of job cuts, amounting to close to 600 laid-off workers in the sector as a whole.

There are unique reasons for the job cuts at each company, but industry analysts and experts say the operating environment for cannabis companies has entered a uniquely challenging phase. 

We're closely tracking the cuts. 

Venture funds have poured close to $2 billion into cannabis startups this year. But top investors are starting to get wary as headwinds mount.

More mainstream venture capital is flowing into cannabis-related companies than ever before, but the industry is becoming less attractive as it faces headwinds, investors told Business Insider.

Through September, venture capital firms have already poured close to $2 billion into cannabis-industry startups, according to the data provider PitchBook. That's up from just $17 million in 2013, right after Colorado became the first state to open its doors to the commercial cannabis industry. 

Much of that money, however, has flowed into early-stage companies. For companies later in the growth cycle, there still isn't much capital available because THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, is federally illegal and the funds that have the ability to invest large sums into startups are still mostly on the sidelines.

Capital raises, M&A activity, partnerships, and launches

• Acreage Holdings and GreenAcreage announced the closing of a series of sale-and-leaseback transactions amounting to over $70 million.
• Tilray announced it has exported medical cannabis from Canada into the US for a clinical trial led by Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
• Snoop Dogg's Casa Verde Capital led a $7 million financing round into Bespoke Financial, a lending platform for the cannabis industry. 
• Canopy Rivers, the venture arm of Canopy Growth, has entered into a strategic alliance with Kindred, that gives Canopy Rivers' portfolio companies access to Kindred's brokerage marketing, and brand-building services.
• DetectaChem has launched a test to differentiate CBD and THC using its MobileDetect app, which will determine if a sample contains more than 0.3% THC. 
• Cannabis and CBD company Toast has launched a line of CBD "slices" or cigarettes, that contain no THC or tobacco products.

Executive moves

• Kyle Barich is joining Holistic Industries as Chief Marketing Officer. Barich was previously the head of CDM, a healthcare advertising agency.
• Kevin Sarsany joins cannabis-focused Viridian Capital Advisors from The Spectrum Group, a Washington DC-based consulting firm.
• Dr. Ari Mackler joins Plus Products as the company's chief science officer. Mackler was previously vice president of clinical development for The Wonderful Company.

Chart of the week

Despite challenges, it's been a blockbuster year for cannabis venture investment. As of September 30, VCs have poured close to $2 billion into the industry:

Stories from around the web

Confessions of a legal pot dealer (Toronto Life)

How 2 Giuliani associates failed to break into Florida's pot industry (Politico) 

How Sacramento failed to monitor its cannabis storefronts, as the FBI steps in (The Sacramento Bee)

Did I miss anything? Have a tip? Just want to chat? Send me a note at jberke@businessinsider.com or find me on twitter @jfberke.     

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Animated map shows where American accents came from

• The walls are closing in on President Donald Trump as he faces an impeachment inquiry over his communications with foreign leaders, and he's dragging Republican members of Congress into his mess.
• This week on Capitol Hill was particularly chaotic, as another State Department official gave damning bombshell testimony to the three committees pursuing the impeachment inquiry.
• The testimony of the acting US ambassador to Ukraine was so explosive that his opening statement — leaked in full to the Washington Post — prompted "sighs and gasps" from people in the room.
• Republican members of Congress were also boxed into a corner into defending a Trump tweet making a racially insensitive comparison between the ongoing impeachment investigation and a lynching.
• And on Wednesday, a group of 30 House Republicans barged into a highly secured committee room where three Committees were attempting to depose another witness, an official from the Pentagon. 
• The failure of their stunt and the panic around Taylor's testimony further highlights the lack of a coherent messaging strategy from either the White House or Congress.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The walls are closing in on President Donald Trump as he faces an impeachment inquiry over his communications with foreign leaders, and he's dragging Republican members of Congress into his mess. 

This week on Capitol Hill was particularly chaotic, as another State Department official gave damning bombshell testimony to the three committees pursuing the impeachment inquiry.

Republican members of Congress were also boxed into a corner into defending a Trump tweet making a racially insensitive comparison between the ongoing impeachment investigation and a lynching — further highlighting the risks of publicly defying or denouncing Trump. 

Then, a group of House Republicans caused total chaos in the basement of the Capitol Hill by storming and forcing their way into a highly secure committee room where those three committees were attempting to hear testimony from a Pentagon official with cell phones in hand — a huge breach of national security. 

It doesn't help that the White House lacks a coherent strategy on impeachment — as Sen. Lindsey Graham himself admitted — and has mostly improvising their messaging as they go along. 

Here's a breakdown of how Trump helped fuel a very bad, no good, horrible week for congressional Republicans.

Acting US ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor gave explosive closed-door testimony 

For the past few weeks, current and former diplomats have come to Capitol Hill to provide damning testimony on the nature of the Trump administration's and Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani's overtures towards Ukraine. 

But according to Politico, the testimony of former chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy to Ukraine and acting ambassador Bill Taylor was so explosive that his opening statement — leaked in full to the Washington Post— prompted "sighs and gasps" from people in the room.

The whistleblower complaint filed by an anonymous intelligence community official in August claimed Trump was "using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election" in a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Trump ordered his administration to withhold a nearly $400 million military-aid package to Ukraine days before the phone call.

While the White House's notes of the call show the US president made no direct mention of offering aid in exchange for Zelensky's assistance in probing former Vice President Joe Biden, they confirm Trump brought up how the US does "a lot for Ukraine." Immediately after, Trump asked Zelensky to do him a "favor, though" by investigating Biden and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine is in possession of a Democratic National Committee server. 

So far, the administration and many members of Congress have claimed there was no quid-pro-quo whatsoever, and that Trump was justified in asking Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

But White House acting chief of staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney seemingly admitted in a press briefing to reporters last week that the administration engaged in a quid-pro-quo with Ukraine to trade US military aid for investigations — blowing that defense out of the water. 

"Did he also mention to me in passing the corruption related to the DNC server? Absolutely. No question about that. But that's it, and that's why we held up the money,"Mulvaney said during the conference, later doubling down and adding, "I have news for everybody: get over it. There's going to be political influence in foreign policy. That is going to happen

Not only is pressuring a foreign government to dig up dirt on a political opponent a potential violation of federal campaign finance laws, but withholding military aid to do so — as Mulvaney suggested — could also constitute bribery, extortion, and misappropriation of taxpayer funds. 

While Mulvaney tried to walk back his disastrous press conference, the damage was already done — and further compounded by Taylor's testimony. 

In short, Taylor testified to a concerted effort spearheaded by Giuliani's back-channel and abetted by other diplomats to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation into the Bidens (even if no investigation actually happened), in exchange for releasing the aid. 

He described how in texts and phone calls with officials, including US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland, others had made it clear that releasing the aid was contingent on an investigation, which Taylor found extremely alarming. In fact, Taylor called it "crazy"in text messages previously released to Congress.

At one point Taylor testified that Sondland, a wealthy hospitality executive, explained to him Trump "is a businessman" and "when a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something ... the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check."

GOP members of Congress felt compelled to defend Trump's comment comparing impeachment to lynching 

On Tuesday morning, Trump threw a stick of dynamite on the atmosphere on Capitol Hill by comparing the ongoing impeachment proceedings to a lynching in a tweet — once again putting Congressional Republicans in an uncomfortable situation of risking Trump's wrath if there were to fully condemn his remark. 

"So someday, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here - a lynching," Trump wrote.

Trump's comparison of the ongoing impeachment investigation to the systemic murdering and torture that thousands of African-Americans faced in the late 19th and early 20th century was immediately decried as highly offensive and racially insensitive.

Some congressional Republicans have denounced Trump's use of the term.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine wrote that"lynching brings back images of a terrible time in our nation's history, and the President never should have made that comparison."

Other members of Congress who are more closely aligned with Trump either completely defended the comparison, or at least defended Trump's frustration: 

• Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said, "The House Democrats are clearly pushing really hard and playing politics with all this stuff ... I get his frustration, I probably wouldn't use that language."
• Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that impeachment was "a lynching in every sense of the word" and "un-American." He later told reporters, "it's not just racial my friends. No. I'm from South Carolina I understand it very well. Mob rule is what lynching is all about."
• Sen. Tim Scott, also of South Carolina, said, "There's no question that the impeachment process is the closet thing to a political death row trial, so I get his absolute rejection of the process. I wouldn't use the word lynching."
• Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, "given the history of this in our country I would not compare it to a lynching. That was an unfortunate choice of words."

House Republicans caused chaos and compromised national security by storming a secure briefing room

After Taylor's bombshell testimony on Tuesday, a group of 30 House Republicans barged into a secure committee room where the Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight Committees were attempting to depose another witness, an official from the Pentagon. 

The group of House Republicans caused a scene in the basement of the Capitol Hill by storming and occupying the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) where those three committees were attempting to depose Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper, documenting the incursion on social media, and even ordering pizza and food to the room.

For the past several weeks, Republican members of Congress have complained about the way House Democrats have conducted the inquiry — mostly hearing witness testimony and reviewing documents behind-closed-doors, shutting out Republicans. 

The congressmen's stunt was not perceived as a show of resistance, but widely denounced and mocked as both publicity stunt, and more importantly, one that compromised national security and revealed hypocrisy.

Their claim that the GOP is being shut out of the process — which ostensibly served as the basis for the storming of the room — also doesn't make much sense. A total of 46 House Republicans, including 12 of the ones who participated in the SCIF storming, sit on one of those three committees and are able to participate in every step of the inquiry. 

Not only has the Republican Party adopted Trump's rhetoric of embodying the law and order party, but Republicans hammered 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over allegations that she breached national security by keeping State Department emails on a private server.

Many members of Congress brought their cell phones into the room to live-tweet or live-stream the stampede — a major breach of protocol that poses major national security and cybersecurity risks. 

Members of Congress are strictly prohibited from bringing any electronic devices at all into the SCIF — which is designed to be an extremely secure facility for committees to hear ultra-classified information on urgent national security matters.

Glenn Carle, a former CIA covert operative, told Insider's Sonam Sheth that bringing cellphones into the room is especially problematic because they are "essentially microphones for sophisticated intelligence services" because "services can implant code remotely — from phishing and various attacks — into the phones, which could capture emissions in a given range, and then transmit them later."

After the incursion, Capitol Police had to sweep the room for electronic devices and the Sergeant at Arms even had to get involved.

The GOP's publicity stunt succeeded in capturing the media's attention and temporarily delaying Cooper's testimony.

But the storming of the SCIF ultimately won't succeed in slowing down the pace of the impeachment inquiry or do anything to substantially rebut the allegations at the heart of the inquiry. 

The failure of their stunt and the panic around Taylor's testimony further highlights the lack of a coherent messaging strategy from either the White House or Congress. And with more testimony coming out every day, GOP members of Congress will still be stuck improvising a defense as they go along. 

Read more:

12 Republicans who stormed closed-door impeachment proceedings already had permission to attend

Intelligence veterans say Republicans storming a secure congressional facility was a 'thuggish' and 'offensive' stunt that risked national security

Ukraine just threw a huge wrench into Trump's key defense denying a quid pro quo

Trump's Ukraine envoy gave 'damning' testimony to Congress that prompted 'sighs and gasps' from people in the room

SEE ALSO: Republican lawmakers are challenging Trump more often, but they won't abandon him until his base does

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' star Robert Herjavec explains what makes America great

Hi, readers.

I'll lay off WeWork this week, although the story has no signs of going away anytime soon. Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising nugget from this past week was that Adam Neumann invited the heads of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to the Hamptons while the two exchanges were fighting over his listing and then requested they ban meat and disposable plastics. The ban had nothing to do with WeWork, of course; it was just that Neumann is personally anti-meat and anti-plastic.

Meanwhile, a lot of WeWork employees were mad about Neumann's $1.7 billion golden parachute.

In other big Wall Street news this week, Citi executive Jane Fraser was promoted to president and head of the consumer bank. The move lays the groundwork for her to succeed Mike Corbat as CEO and become the first female CEO of a top US bank.

Women in senior leadership positions are rare, particularly in the financial sector, Business Insider's Sherin Shibu reports. While banks are under pressure to add more women to senior ranks, this was undermined earlier this year, when Rep. Al Green, the Texas Democrat, asked the CEOs of the seven biggest US banks whether they believed their successor would be a woman or a person of color. Not one CEO raised his hand. Which is part an unfortunate bigger picture: Just 25 CEOs in the Fortune 500 are women.

Other banks, including JPMorgan, have made steps to elevate women in recent months, with CEO Jamie Dimon putting Jennifer Piepszak and Marianne Lake into roles that could lead to them replacing him.

This is the last time you'll be getting Wall Street Insider from me for a while as I'll be on maternity leave until March. While I'm out, you'll be hearing from my fabulous deputy, Meredith, who will keep you up to date on all the best finance stories of the week. (I promise you won't miss me at all!)

I'm planning on spending the rest of the weekend taking my son to the zoo and the Museum of Natural History in our last few days as a family of three. If you have any tips about how to handle a toddler and a newborn, I'd love any help.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
—Olivia

Inside WeWork's all-hands meeting, where the new chairman from SoftBank addressed employee concerns about worthless stock options and Kanye West's 'Flashing Lights' played

WeWork held an all-staff meeting on Wednesday to talk about SoftBank's takeover and the embattled office company's future.

WeWork Chairman Marcelo Claure, who came from SoftBank, answered questions about employees' stock options and cofounder Adam Neumann's future at the company.

Claure said he had no specific numbers on layoffs, but is committed to "fast" and "transparent" job cuts.

READ MORE HERE »

The new head of Blackstone's massive credit business is plotting a $12 billion direct-lending push aimed at recession-proofing the firm

Blackstone's credit arm — known as GSO Capital Partners — is going through a transition. All three of its founders will have retired from the firm by year's end.

It has 400 employees globally, with $140 billion in assets under management, and it offers investors everything from energy loans to European lending.

As GSO's last founder exits, its new leader, Dwight Scott, says it will now focus on what's known as direct lending, or giving loans to midsize companies with no brokers involved.

These are safe bets in a downturn, he said, because Blackstone would be a senior creditor in the event of a bankruptcy. Blackstone expects to raise between $10 billion and $12 billion for direct lending by the end of the year, Scott said.

READ MORE HERE »

Cannabis firms cut hundreds of jobs as the once hot industry contends with a 'toxic' landscape

Cannabis companies have been hit with a wave of layoffs in recent weeks ranging from venture-backed startups like Pax to giants like CannTrust. It amounts to close to 600 jobs across both startups and public companies.

The layoffs come amid a broader downturn in the sector. One index of marijuana stocks lost over 60% of its value since its high in January 2018.

On the private side, a tight funding environment has made it difficult for growth-stage cannabis startups to raise capital.

READ MORE HERE »

Inside a meeting of elite investors, which mixed in yacht and jet sales pitches with doom-and-gloom recession talk

Inside a bright room lined with exposed brick on the third floor of a downtown Manhattan townhouse, members of the investment community sipped cucumber- and mint-infused water and discussed recession fears, geopolitical issues, and the yacht market.

At this wealth-management event held Wednesday, thrown in part by a lifestyle-media company and an asset-management firm, the chatter captured what elite investors, economists, and decision-makers are dwelling on. Among the topics that men and at least two women discussed were the family office space as well as investing amid international trade uncertainty.

"It's not really quantifiable — it's completely an emotional purchase," said Bianca Nestor, a charter broker for Burgess Yachts, responding to an attendee questioning a yacht investment's practicality.

READ MORE HERE »

We found the 40 most powerful investment bankers at Bank of America. Here's our exclusive org chart.

Business Insider is mapping out the power structure in the global banking and markets businesses overseen by Bank of America Merrill Lynch's chief operating officer, Tom Montag, one of the most powerful executives on Wall Street.

We've identified 40 of the most powerful people in the bank's new-look corporate and investment bank, which has been surging this year since a leadership overhaul.

Business Insider spoke with insiders, ex-employees, consultants, and other industry experts for this project.

YOU CAN SEE THE CHART HERE»

SigFig, the buzzy robo-adviser that's teamed up with big wealth names, has cut about 10% of staff

SigFig, the robo-adviser that's signed deals to sell its tech to some of the biggest wealth managers, has cut about 10% of its workforce — some 20 people — Business Insider has learned.

It's seen some departures in roles that helped sign up and take care of clients. Martin Attiq exited in August as the firm's head of strategic partnerships. Randy Bullard left in September as general manager of wealth management.

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In markets:

• Billionaire Howard Marks gives his best advice for navigating an anomalous market where 30% of the world's debt has a negative yield
• Wall Street has fallen in love with stocks that pay big dividends, and Goldman says they're still the cheapest in a decade. Here are the 13 the firm recommends most.
• 'A license to print money': A former chemical engineer and Ph.D. with no market experience now makes a living day-trading full time. Here's his 3-step process to finding that one successful trade that makes his day.

In tech news:

• Flexible apartment-rental company Blueground raised $50 million from investors including the former CFO of Blackstone and Airbnb as it looks to take on Zeus, Sonder, and Lyric
• The CEO of $2.6 billion Plaid spends a third of his time recruiting. Here's why he 'hires for spikes' rather than seeking well-rounded candidates.
• Bullying allegations, $1,000 pens, and a celebrity chef: Inside the collapse of Faraday Grid, the '$6.5 billion' energy startup backed by Adam Neumann

Other good stories from around the newsroom:

• Employees at digital-media companies like Vice and BuzzFeed are griping over dashed stock dreams
• A 27-year-old hailed by Amazon as one of the best small-business owners under 30 shares how he used his engineering background to tackle every entrepreneur's biggest enemy: lack of sleep

Join the conversation about this story »

• Todrick Hall is an entertainer who rose to prominence after making it to the semi-finals on "American Idol" and becoming a popular YouTuber, then transitioning to mainstream entertainment with "RuPaul's Drag Race," the starring role in "Kinky Boots" on Broadway, and by collaborating with Taylor Swift.
• Hall is now facing multiple accusations of failing to pay people who have worked for him.
• A London-based videographer told Insider that Hall has failed to pay her £800 (roughly $1,000) in the ten months since she spent more than a week recording him on a freelance basis for his YouTube channel. She also says she purchased a microphone and light for the project that Hall and his team took with them.
• Hall's former assistant Tommy McKissock has made a slew of allegations against him. 
• McKissock is distributing a copy of a 2018 legal complaint alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, failure to pay overtime, failure to pay minimum wage, and breach of contract against Hall. McKissock says Hall settled earlier this year with the plaintiff, who had been the manager of Hall's world tour for his album "Straight Outta Oz."
• Before McKissock began posting about the accusations against Hall, Thom White, a dancer and choreographer who worked with Hall on multiple projects, also accused him of non-payment and of making anti-black comments. Hall tweeted that White "hasn't been paid yet" but "will be."
• Even more artists who had worked for or with Hall began accusing him of non-payment and raising other qualms, including the well-known drag queen Manila Luzon, who says Hall never paid for her to host his Halloween party in 2018. A DJ at the party and another drag performer told Insider they were never paid either.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Accusations against the entertainer Todrick Hall are piling up on social media, with droves of people coming forward specifically to say that the YouTuber, actor, and singer-songwriter never paid them for their work.

Hall, who rose to prominence after reaching the semi-finals on season 9 of "American Idol" and since becoming a successful YouTuber, touring artist, recurring presence on "RuPaul's Drag Race," Broadway star, and most recently, a VMA Video of the Year awardee, has only publicly acknowledged one accusation.

But Hall's former personal assistant Tommy McKissock says the accusations surfacing on Twitter are just some examples of bad behavior Hall exhibited throughout McKissock's tenure, which allegedly included making anti-black statements, failing or refusing to pay the people he employed, and sexual harassment, as recounted in a copy of a 2018 legal complaint McKissock has been distributing online, which has been verified by Insider. 

A DJ and drag queen who worked at Hall's "Halloween Ball" event in 2018 and a videographer who recorded footage for Hall's YouTube channel in early 2019 both told Insider they were never paid for their services, despite repeatedly making contact with his associates, who told them that payment would eventually be made. McKissock told Insider their experiences are part of a larger pattern of unjust business practices and unethical behavior.

Representatives for Todrick Hall didn't respond to Insider's request for comment. 

Rumors concerning Hall's money mismanagement have swirled since he first defended Taylor Swift against Scooter Braun

Hall made headlines in late June when one of his best friends, Taylor Swift, first publicly clashed with record executive Scooter Braun. Hall, who had previously worked with Braun, tweeted that he left him a "long time ago" because Braun is "an evil person who's [sic] only concern is his wealth and feeding his disgusting ego." Hall also wrote that he believes Braun is homophobic, which singer Demi Lovato then publicly disputed.

Allison Scarinzi, who has worked with Braun, replied to Hall's tweet and accused him of "stealing from your fans on your Christmas tour." She and Hall argued over whether Hall left Braun or Braun dropped Hall, and Scarinzi also noted that "If you want to play the screenshot game I've got a bunch from unpaid cast members."

Hall then replied, "[...] just for the record, I have never stolen from anyone...just took longer than expected to pay them back."

Braun didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but the rumor that Hall stole money, particularly by failing to pay people who worked for him, has persisted. On October 14, choreographer Thom White tweeted a thread about working for Hall that accused him of making anti-black statements and not paying dancers, including White.

White didn't respond to Insider's request for comment, but wrote on Twitter that Hall asked White to be in the "F*G"music video. At first, White was reluctant, after he says he took a non-paid role in "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels," a video that has since been monetized and garnered more than 20 million views on YouTube. 

On Twitter, White said Hall also made anti-black statements while filming the video, including asking for light-skinned dancers behind him in a shot because "this is looking a little too chocolate." White says Hall said the "F*G" role would be paid, but that White was ghosted after texting Hall multiple times and asking who to contact for payment. 

Hall responded to White on Twitter and wrote"My comment; I adore Thom, like LOVE him. This is surprising to me, he hasn't been paid yet, he will be...not because he's trying to 'expose' me but because he deserves it. I only got two texts, no calls, I was over seas opening my tour & that video has only been out for 2 weeks."

That tweet spawned several more accusations, including a follow-up to White's thread. As of October 21, White says Hall has still not paid him. In addition, White posted a screenshot of a status he says Hall posted to his private Facebook account attacking White and saying "Unless you're a stripper, you just don't get paid immediately in LA, ever."

Hall's former assistant says the entertainer has failed to pay many employees, including dancers, DJs, and a videographer

McKissock, Hall's former assistant, told Insider that he stopped working for Hall in January 2019 after Hall failed to meet a promised deadline to reimburse him for two months' worth of expenses, including his own backpay. McKissock says Hall eventually paid him what he was owed, after McKissock pressured him to do so via text messages.

Soon after White posted his thread about working with Hall, McKissock began tweeting multiple accusations against him and others as well, including that one of Hall's friends and fellow "You Need to Calm Down" star Chester Lockheart assaulted McKissock on the "Straight Outta Oz" tour in 2016.

McKissock told Insider that, after telling Hall that Lockheart put his hand down McKissock's pants and grabbed his genitalia, "I was punished by Todrick for it." McKissock says Hall threatened to "expose him" on the internet, including by posting instructions for his fans to attack McKissock if he accused Hall of misconduct.

He also says Hall threatened his career and intimidated him over the years McKissock worked for him as an executive assistant, but also as a producer for his YouTube channel and "Forbidden" album, along with being a tour assistant and film production assistant for "Straight Outta Oz" and "Netflix's Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall."

McKissock is now leaving the entertainment industry to pursue becoming a personal fitness trainer and entrepreneur, and says he is "okay with his fans attacking me because it is worth exposing the truth."

"I want to expose Todrick and Chester because they are men in power who have a history of exploiting others for their own professional gain. I was silenced for years based on intimidation and threats to my career. I no longer fear the repercussions of speaking out," McKissock told Insider. 

Lockheart didn't respond to Insider's request for comment. 

Apart from McKissock, Insider spoke with three others who have worked for Hall and say they were never paid for their services. One, Travis Holcombe, says he and a coworker, DJ Josh Peace, DJed "throughout the night" at Hall's 2018 "Halloween Ball" event. A poster for the event includes both DJs' names.

Holcombe told Insider that "I didn't know who Todrick was when I agreed to do the event, but it seemed legit. They even had me sign a contract before the event, stipulating that I would be paid within five days of the event."

He says he reached out to a representative of Todrick Hall Events, who repeatedly said payment would be made "tomorrow," but it never arrived. Holcombe says he never dealt with Hall directly, and that every associate of Hall's was "super apologetic" until they finally stopped responding to him altogether.

"I have a contract and I considered small claims. It seemed pretty open and shut, but even if I win, I'd be back at square one trying to actually collect the money," Holcombe told Insider.

Multiple well-known drag queens also made appearances at the even. One, Manila Luzon, tweeted that Hall still owed her payment and including a picture of the two at the event. Hector Franco, who performs drag as Kiki Xtravaganza, told Insider that he was hired for the event and additionally hired Peace, Luzon, and the drag queens Loris and Gottmik. 

Franco says Loris and Gottmik were paid, but that he, Luzon, and Peace never recieved payment and are owed more than $2,000 combined. Franco stopped trying to seek payment after six months.

A London-based videographer named María Mendia also told Insider that she is owed £800, or roughly $1,000, for filming Hall for his YouTube channel between December 29, 2018, and January 7, 2019.

At the time that Mendia worked for Hall, McKissock was still Hall's executive assistant. Mendia communicated with McKissock, who provided Insider with an invoice Mendia sent him. As late as July, the email chain shows McKissock sending the invoice to Hall directly and asking that Mendia get paid.

"I didn't make a big deal of this because I thought my payment was a weird case," Mendia told Insider. "I even paid for a microphone and some light that they were going to use [...] I paid for it and they took both things with them."

Similarly to Holcombe, Mendia never discussed payment with Hall directly. Rather, she repeatedly attempted to make contact with his assistants and his business manager, who were apologetic – one even told Mendia she was "not the only one" seeking payment for work done for Hall.

Since acknowledging White, Hall has not publicly addressed any of the accusations. He replied to one commenter on Instagram and said "I DO PAY MY DANCERS unless I tell them there's no pay in which case they chose to come and volunteer their gift and talent which I have done several times."

Join the conversation about this story »

• Over the years, Apple has made a name for itself by releasing revolutionary products and paying close attention to design details.
• But not all of its products and features have been successful.
• For example, the iPod Hi-Fi speaker system never took off, and the Newton personal assistant device was not popular. 
• Here are 11 Apple products and features that were hyped up — but ended up being let-downs.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple is one of the most recognized and highest valued companies on the planet. With the release of new generations of Apple products causing huge media buzz each year, it's not hard to remember the best and most popular items Apple has crafted over the years. 

But no tech company is perfect, and getting to the top isn't always a smooth process — a few flops or failures are bound to pop up along the way. 

Apple is no exception. In fact, here are just a few of the features and products that Apple hyped up as the next big thing, but then quietly swept under the rug.

Additional reporting by Steven Tweedie.

SEE ALSO: The most memorable Apple ad every year, from its '1984' Super Bowl hit to dancing iPod silhouettes

DON'T MISS: The 9 best ways to save money on Apple products

Ping was meant to be the next big social network, but it was a little off-key.

Launched in 2010, Ping was an attempt to turn iTunes into a social network.

The idea was simple — create an easy way to share music between friends to build your network as well as follow artists to keep up with their releases. The network received positive reviews initially, and Apple was able to boast that it had seen 1 million users sign up for the service within 24 hours of launch. 

Despite the optimistic start, Ping ended up shutting down within two years of launch. The concept was confused from the start, best captured by Steve Jobs' description that Ping is "sort of like Facebook and Twitter meets iTunes," but then said it was "not Facebook" and "not Twitter."

In fact, Ping lacked Facebook integration, which made it a direct competitor to the largest social network on the planet, despite initial demos indicating that Facebook integration was included. 

3D Touch was billed as revolutionizing how we interact with our iPhones, but many people didn't know it was a thing.

"Apps and games will never feel the same again," Apple's 2015 announcement of 3D Touch claimed.

The feature, which used pressure-sensitive screen technology and software to differentiate between a tap and a more deliberate press or hold, was positioned as the future of navigating an iPhone via touch.

But years later, Apple discontinued the feature in its newest lineup of iPhones, replacing it with a less technologically complex feature called Haptic Touch.

The biggest sign 3D Touch wasn't a hit? Many people never knew it existed in the first place, and most probably won't notice the recent change.

The AirPower wireless charging mat was meant to be the future of charging, but it lacked juice.

In 2017, Apple highlighted three new products among their launch announcements: the iPhone 8, the iPhone X, and the AirPower pad. As a group, the three products were supposed to herald the future — no more cables, no more plugs, just place it and charge it. The pad was billed as a way to wirelessly charge multiple devices simultaneously. Users wouldn't even have to worry about where the device was placed on the mat to charge. The promise was too good to be true. 

Just a year after the initial announcement, the AirPower wireless charging mat was meant to land in 2018, but the release window passed without any word from Apple. Six months after the original release window, Apple made an unprecedented move and cancelled the AirPower charging mat — the first time the company cancelled hardware after publicly announcing it. 

Animoji were meant to transform messaging, but they only transformed users’ faces.

When Apple launched the iPhone X, it included facial recognition technology that allowed users to unlock the phone just by looking at it. 

At the end of the presentation senior vice president Philip Schiller showed off another feature: Animoji— animated emojis that could move and speak, potentially changing the way people send messages to each other. 

For the $1,000 phone, the animjois were a nice and admittedly a little gimmicky draw. Utilizing over 50 muscles of recognition to map a person's face, the animojis appeared in dozens of animal faces. Apple doubled down on the feature and upgraded it to a "Memoji,"allowing users to customize the animoji. 

Despite the novelty and the attempt to keep the feature fresh, not everyone has taken to it the way Apple might have hoped. Right after they were announced, TechCrunch decried the feature and pointed out numerous issues with it, including the need to listen to messages rather than read them. Others, like Slate, were quick to latch onto the dangers of putting facial recognition tech into the public, especially as a fad to spread it faster. 

Perhaps the most telling sign the feature hasn't taken off yet is that two years on, people are still publishing articles asking "what are animoji?"

Back when everyone had an iPod, Apple's iPod Hi-Fi speaker system was way too expensive to catch on.

While Apple doesn't usually cancel hardware after announcing it, it can often shut down production very quickly. In 2006, the iPod was the undisputed king of music players— Apple saw an entire ecosystem of related products pop up as everyone tried to take advantage of the fact that virtually everyone owned an iPod. 

In 2007, Apple sold its 100 millionth unit after only six years of production. Naturally, Apple wanted to capitalize on the popularity and released its own accessory, the iPod Hi-Fi — a speaker dock that would provide the best sound quality for users. The iPod only needed to be slotted onto the top of the speaker. 

As sensible and obvious as a speaker system for the iPod was, the Hi-Fi was cancelled a year after launch. The speakers worked fine, but the price point was frankly absurd. 

At $350 a unit, the speakers might have been cheaper than other systems at the time — especially considering the ease of use — but that made the speakers more expensive than the iPod itself, which was retailing at only $300. 

Apple tried to enter gaming with the Pippin console, but users weren't willing to play along.

An early example of Apple innovation and ambition, the Pippin was a gaming platform that Apple developed in the mid-1990s. The system would feature online play, becoming the first console to utilize the internet to enhance the gaming experience. One of its most hyped games, Super Marathon, was developed by Bungie, the makers of Halo. 

The console was licensed to third-party developers, which would help spread the Mac OS into more households on more products. Bandai was the main developer of the console.  

As another forerunner to Apple's later policies and practices, the Pippin hit the market way over the pricing point that was acceptable at the time — $599 compared to the $299 PlayStation and the $199 Nintendo 64. 

The console sold only 42,000 units. The license approach also did not sit well with Steve Jobs, who returned to the company in 1997 and immediately shut down the project to bring all Mac production in-house again. 

The Newton attempted to add a more personal touch to technology, but it suffered from delays and bugs.

Before everyone carried smartphones, a lot of people carried Personal Digital Assistants. Perhaps unsurprisingly for most Apple fans, Apple originated the term PDA when it released the Apple Newton MessagePad in 1992. 

The Newton was forward-thinking. In addition to the usual schedule management and contact lists, it included the ability to send a fax from wherever you were, which was earth-shattering in the early 90s. The most distinctive feature was the signature recognition, which allowed users to write or draw on the screen with a stylus. Every feature of the MessagePad was forward-thinking. 

The price was as ambitious as the device itself: The MessagePad started at $699, which would translate to over $1,200 today. People might have suffered the price if not for the thousands of bugs the device suffered — so many bugs that Apple delayed the device three times. While later models made small improvement on these issues, the Newton line of devices was one of the products Jobs cancelled upon his return to Apple in the late '90s.   

Meanwhile, the Apple III was meant to take a more business-minded approach, but it couldn't keep pace.

After the success of the Apple II, Apple entered the '80s with a plan to dominate offices the way it already dominated homes. The machine attempted to meet the various demands of the business world, such as typewriter-style keyboards that allowed for variance between upper and lowercase font (a feature missing from the original line of Apple II) and expanded screen display (80 columns). The III was the first computer that Steve Wozniak didn't design. Instead, the III was designed by committee between Apple's engineering and marketing departments. 

As with most designs by committee, it shouldn't be surprising that the III suffered a number of problems. A stability issue forced Apple to recall the first 14,000 units produced and sold. Another issue was that Jobs was so annoyed by the noise the cooling fans made that he refused to include any fans or vents, and the III would severely overheat. Despite attempts to deal with these and other issues that arose, the Apple III was discontinued in 1984. 

Apple intended for the Lisa to lead a revolution in home PC units, but internal disagreements led to the Macintosh undermining any possible success.

The Apple III wasn't the only attempt to replace the Apple II: the LISA (which stood for Local Integrated Software Architecture) started development in the late-80s and attempted to take the computer in a different direction. Most notably, it introduced a graphical interface, which Steve Jobs saw as the future of every computer to come. The Lisa developed several programs in the Lisa Office that would be considered staples in the modern day, such as LisaWrite and LisaGraph, as well as programming tools in the Lisa Workshop. It also included a mouse, which was rare for computers at that point.

Despite such vision and innovation, the Lisa suffered from three major missteps: the first was the price point, set at $10,000; the second was to use an exclusive file system, known as Twiggy, which was inefficient and too large at 5.25 inches; and, lastly, they kicked Steve Jobs off the project when the computer managed to sell only a few thousand models in the first year.  

If Jobs hadn't left the Lisa team, though, he might not have taken all the innovative ideas and put them into another device that was truly groundbreaking: the Macintosh. 

Apple's Performa series was meant to reach new heights, but it kept stumbling and fell flat on its face.

The Performa series was riddled with problems from the start. Apple produced around 70 models of the Performa series, with only processing speeds to differentiate between most models. The x200 was sold on the promise of faster speeds, CD-ROM compatibility, and the ability to connect to the internet. The Performa was taken into classrooms as the future of educational computing, allowing students to use new programs and software. 

The problem that no one quite realized was that the processing really only worked for low-duty tasks such as word processing or using CD-ROMs. When attempting to connect to the internet or another computer on a shared network, the Performa would hiccup and stutter, missing out letters while typing in web-addresses. The problems the Performa faced would start and perpetuate the idea that Macs were not as stable or fast as other PCs, which plagued Macs for over a decade. The Performa needed to rely on additional accessories to make up for its issues, which made the device even more expensive to use.  

The Power Mac G4 Cube was meant to crack the home market, but it only managed to crack its own casing.

When looking at the G4 Cube, it's easy to see a lot of the problems that Apple has been accused of over time, particularly the emphasis of design over performance. The design was elegant and ahead of its time. The Mini Mac could be seen as a spiritual successor — so much so that after the release of the Mini, people tried to make it look like the G4 Cube. 

The Mini didn't suffer from the kind of problems that the Cube did, most notably the numerous cables that were clearly visible and therefore reduced the elegance of the design. The most notorious issue the Cube faced was how delicate it was: The case often suffered from hairline cracks. Apple stated that the cracks were a byproduct of the manufacturing process.

Apple released the PowerBook 5300 to create a better laptop, but it didn't take over the computer world as hoped.

The PowerBook was meant to be a leap forward for portable computers. While starting at an already considerable processing power of 64 MB of RAM already installed (which is more powerful than a lot of laptops on the market today), and it had ports for expansion to include floppy or zip drives, making the PowerBook a fairly versatile device.

The PowerBook also enjoyed one of the most impressive marketing pushes of any laptop device, showing up in a number of hit movies in the 90s, including "Liar, Liar,""My Best Friend's Wedding," and, most famously, "Independence Day." 

Despite the publicity and the nice hardware, the PowerBook suffered from two significant issues. The first, and more minor issue, is that the cheapest model — the one most attractive to consumers — was not as fast, since Apple dropped additional cache to drop the price an additional $200. Worse, the batteries had a habit of catching on fire, forcing Apple to issue a recall on the device.

Apple did not comment when reached by Business Insider.

• Harvard Business Review (HBR) released its annual CEO 100 list of the top chief executives globally — notably, Jeff Bezos didn't make the cut.
• HBR says it ranks the "best-performing"CEOs based on financial performance as well as environmental, social, and governance measures.
• Companies with CEOs in the top third of the list include NVIDIA, Salesforce, Texas Instruments, Adobe, Mastercard, Microsoft, LVMH, L'Oréal, Nike, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Cisco.
• Some CEOs on the list —including Mark Parker from Nike and Anders Runevad from Vestas — stepped down this year.
• Only four women made the full list of the top 100 CEOs in the world.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Harvard Business Review (HBR) published its annual list of the top 100 CEOs globally— notably, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is missing entirely.

Bezos took the number one spot in HBR's 2014 ranking, and has remained on the list until this year. HBR attributes his sudden disappearance to a change in ranking methodology.

HBR says it ranks CEOs based on financial performance as well as environmental, social, and governance measures (called "ESG," collectively). Whereas ESG comprised 20% of the total CEO score in years past, it became more important in 2019. ESG now comprises 30% of the total CEO score, which proved fatal for Bezos. 

According to HBR, Amazon has a low ESG score; it cites Sustainanalytics, which attributes the low score to "risks created by working conditions and employment policies, data security, and antitrust issues."

Some CEOs included on the list have stepped down from their roles this year, including Mark Parker from Nike and Anders Runevad from Vestas.

HBR acknowledged that women CEOs are "underrepresented" on the ranking, with just four women on the list this year. It says this number is illustrative of how few women are in the c-suite and is not indicative of performance.

The full ranking can be found on HBR's website.

Check out the top 35 below.

SEE ALSO: The 34 best CEOs in the world in 2018, according to the Harvard Business Review

DON'T MISS: Jeff Bezos just lost $7 billion overnight. Here are 11 mind-blowing facts that show just how wealthy the Amazon CEO really is.

35. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, Symrise

Sector: Materials

CEO since: 2009

Country: Germany

34. Richard Fairbank, Capital One

Sector: Financial services

CEO since: 1994

Country: US

33. Hisashi Ietsugu, Sysmex

Sector: Healthcare

CEO since: 1996

Country: Japan

32. Chuck Robbins, Cisco Systems

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 2015

Country: US

31. Martin Bouygues, Bouygues

Sector: Industrials

CEO since: 1989

Country: France

30. Gilles Andrier, Givaudan

Sector: Materials

CEO since: 2005

Country: Switzerland

29. Debra Cafaro, Ventas

Sector: Real estate

CEO since: 1999

Country: US

28. Alfred Chan, Hong Kong and China Gas

Sector: Utilities

CEO since: 1997

Country: Hong Kong

27. Xavier Huillard, Vinci

Sector: Industrials

CEO since: 2006

Country: France

26. Lisa Su, Advanced Micro Devices

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 2014

Country: US

25. Gregory Goodman, Goodman

Sector: Real estate

CEO since: 1995

Country: Australia

24. Laurence Fink, BlackRock

Sector: Asset management

CEO since: 1988

Country of company: US

23. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase

Sector: Banking

CEO since: 2005

Country: US

22. Simon Borrows, 3i

Sector: Financial services

CEO since: 2012

Country: UK

21. Jacques Aschenbroch, Valeo

Sector: Automotive

CEO since: 2009

Country: France

20. Mark Parker, Nike

Sector: Sporting goods

CEO since: 2006

Country: US

19. Jean-Paul Agon, L'Oréal

Sector: Consumer goods

CEO since: 2006

Country: France

18. Benoît Potier, Air Liquide

Sector: Materials

CEO since: 1997

Country: France

17. Hamid Moghadam, Prologis

Sector: Real estate

CEO since: 1997

Country: US

16. Nancy McKinstry, Wolters Kluwer

Sector: Commercial services

CEO since: 2003

Country: Netherlands

15. Bernard Charles, Dassault Systémes

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 1995

Country: France

14. Anders Runevad, Vestas

Sector: Industrials

CEO since: 2013

Country: Denmark

13. Elmar Degenhart, Continental

Sector: Automotive parts

CEO since: 2009

Country: Germany

12. Michael Mussallem, Edwards Lifesciences

Sector: Healthcare

CEO since: 2000

Country: US

11. Erik Engstrom, RELX

Sector: Commercial services

CEO since: 2009

Country: UK

10. Bernard Arnault, LVMH

Sector: Luxury consumer goods

CEO since: 1989

Country: France

9. Satya Nadella, Microsoft

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 2014

Country: US

8. Johan Thijs, KBC

Sector: Banking

CEO since: 2012

Country: Belgium

7. Ajay Banga, Mastercard

Sector: Payments

CEO since: 2010

Country: US

6. Shantanu Narayen, Adobe Systems

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 2007

Country: US

5. Ignacio Galán, Iberdrola

Sector: Utilities

CEO since: 2001

Country: Spain

4. Richard Templeton, Texas Instruments

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 2004

Country: US

3. Francois-Henri Pinault, Kering

Sector: Luxury consumer goods

CEO since: 2005

Country: France

2. Marc Benioff, Salesforce

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 2001

Country: US

1. Jensen Huang, Nvidia

Sector: Information technology

CEO since: 1993

Country: US

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Nearly half of Americans who have paid back a loan or debt have done so by following a payment plan, according to a new survey from Insider and Morning Consult.
• About 20% received financial help and 13% had their loans forgiven, while others declared bankruptcy or received a financial windfall.
• The survey is part of Insider's new series, "The State of Our Money," which looks at financial health among Americans.
• Read more personal finance coverage.

Paying off debt seems intimidating, but it can be done.

A new survey from Insider and Morning Consult polled 2,096 Americans about their financial health, debt, and earnings for a new series, "The State of Our Money." Of those surveyed, 1,613 have paid back a loan or debt before. Here's how they did it (note that respondents could select more than one option):

• 49.5% followed a payment plan
• 20.6% received financial help from friends and/or family
• 13% had loans forgiven by a creditor
• 11.5% declared bankruptcy
• 11.5% received a financial windfall, including inheritance, winning the lottery, and returns on investments

The results show the importance of taking charge when it comes to paying off debt. Nearly half of respondents took action and followed through with a strategy or payment plan, while the other half were able to repay their debt due to events one can't particularly count on happening.

How to pay off debt when it feels like you can't

To pay off debt fast, you should first list all sources of debt — such as credit-card debt, student loans, and a personal loan — along with the outstanding balance, interest rate, minimum payment, and payment due date, wrote Business Insider's Tanza Loudenback.

Call your bank and ask for a lower interest rate. If you have credit-card debt, consider consolidating all your balances onto one card with a 0% introductory APR and paying off the balance within the promotional period. Then follow the debt avalanche method: Paying off the most expensive debt first (the one with the highest interest rate) so you can save money on interest.

If you don't follow through with a payment plan and aren't fortunate to receive a financial windfall, financial help, or have your loans forgiven, you may end up joining the 11% of respondents who declared bankruptcy.

While bankruptcy can "be a powerful and affordable way of eliminating debt," attorney Simon Goldenberg of The Law Office of Simon Goldenberg, PLLC, previously told Business Insider, it's not as simple as it seems.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy — liquidation bankruptcy for people with limited incomes, that aims to discharge all debt — involves more risk, attorney William Waldner of Midtown Bankruptcy previously told Business Insider. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is less risky but more involved — it involves a restructuring of debt, in which the debtor makes payments for three to five years, with the goal of getting the debt discharged at the end.

So bankruptcy may not wipe out the debt the way you think it will.

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• President Donald Trump accepted an award presented at the historically black Benedict College in South Carolina.
• The appearance attracted protesters and criticism from the likes of Democratic presidential primary candidate Sen. Kamala Harris.
• Students at the college told multiple outlets that they were told to stay in their dorms during the event and Trump's speech.
• Only a handful of students were allowed in, and most of the 200 attendees appeared to be unaffiliated with the college.
• During the event, Trump compared unfair treatment in the justice system to the impeachment inquiry against him, which he called a "witch hunt."
• Read more stories like this on Business Insider.

The 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum at the historically black Benedict College in South Carolina has become embroiled in controversy after President Donald Trump appeared Friday to accept an award for his involvement in the passage of the prison reform package called The First Step Act, which expands opportunities for release of elderly inmates, increases opportunities for inmates to earn good-time credit, and includes resources for inmates transitioning back into society.

On Friday, Democratic presidential primary candidate Sen. Kamala Harris announced that she would not be attending a portion of the event Saturday because of the decision to include Trump, saying, "There is nothing in his career that is about justice, for justice, or in celebration of justice."

On top of the mounting impeachment inquiry and accusations of obstruction of justice against Trump, the president notably settled a housing discrimination case brought against his family's company surrounding allegations that they discriminated against prospective black tenants.

As Trump spoke and accepted his award at the college Friday, several hundred protesters and supporters clashed outside, drowning each other out with competing chants, according to USA Today.

Exacerbating the befuddling optics of the event was the fact that students, outside a select handfull, were asked to stay in their dorms during Trump's appearance.

Classes were reportedly canceled, and students were given lunch in their housing units.

School spokesperson Kymm Hunter told multiple outlets that the decision was made for security reasons.

Instead of students, of which there are over 2,100, the speech was seemingly populated with around 200 supporters from outside of the college.

Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Stephen Benjamin told CNN that he though they may have been "brought in" from somewhere else.

In his speech, Trump talked about prison reform and went on to compare what he characterized as unfair treatment against some by the Justice Department to the impeachment inquiry against him, which he called, "a witch hunt" and "an investigation in search of a crime."

Earlier in the week, Trump faced bipartisan backlash when he likened the impeachment probe to "lynching."

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• Cannabis website Leafly is taking steps to limit spending, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider.
• Leafly is pausing most hiring, cutting all non-essential travel for employees, and reining in its yearly holiday party, according to a memo obtained by Business Insider. 
• "We're taking Q4 to get our very large new team settled and ready for 2020, while continuing to fill some select product and engineering roles, which is the responsible thing to do," a Leafly spokesperson said. 
• Over the past few weeks, cannabis companies have announced a series of job cuts, amounting to close to 600 laid-off workers in the sector as a whole.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories, and subscribe to our weekly cannabis newsletter, Cultivated. 

Cannabis website Leafly is taking steps to limit spending as the industry reckons with a slowdown after a period of rapid growth.

The company is freezing hiring, limiting travel for employees, and reining in its holiday party, according to a memo obtained by Business Insider. Leafly also ended contracts for 16 temporary workers, the company confirmed.  

"When you grow as much as we have -- we have added 150 people in just over 7 months, doubling in size -- it's important to effectively onboard everyone and make sure that we, as an organization, are working well within and across teams," Leafly CEO Tim Leslie wrote in the memo, which was sent Thursday evening.

"With this in mind, we're going to pause further hiring with the exception of a few urgent product and engineering hires," he wrote.

Leslie said in the memo that the company has added 150 people in just seven months — bringing the total workforce to 300 — which he said is the hiring goal for this year.

"Leafly has doubled in size over the last seven months," Leafly VP of Corporate Affairs Laura Morarity told Business Insider. "And like all responsible companies we're managing to an annual budget." 

"We're taking Q4 to get our very large new team settled and ready for 2020, while continuing to fill some select product and engineering roles, which is the responsible thing to do," she said. 

Leafly was started in 2010 in Seattle as a way to locate dispensaries and review cannabis strains and has since expanded into content marketing, a news and editorial division, and an events business. In 2011, Privateer Holdings— a cannabis private-equity fund backed by Peter Thiel—bought the company. It was spun out of Privateer in February 

"We need to lean into our guiding principle of acting like an owner and are asking everyone to postpone or cancel any travel that is not business critical, as we've already used our full T&E budget for the year," Leslie wrote in the memo.

Leslie joined Leafly in March after serving as a VP of Amazon Prime. 

Despite the memo going out Thursday, Leafly is still advertising for nearly 30 jobs on its employment page, for positions across editorial, content, engineering, sales, and product in its Seattle headquarters and in its Toronto and Berlin offices. 

In October, Leafly's data science team launched a strain explorer tool to help visualize cannabis strains. The company  has published deep investigative journalism on the spate of vaping-related lung injuries.  

Leafly isn't the only cannabis company to cut back. Over the past few weeks, cannabis companies — ranging from venture-backed startups like Pax to giants like CannTrust — have announced a series of job cuts, amounting to close to 600 laid-off workers in the sector as a whole.

Read the full memo here: 

Hello team,

As we march toward the end of the year and our Leafly Market launch, I want you to know how excited I am about the team we've hired and what we're building for our customers -- we're accomplishing a ton together. We're pushing hard, delivering products and features with velocity, have a good plan to meet our revenue goals, and are now officially 300 people strong -- our hiring goal for the year.

Right now, SLT is spending time working through our 2020 plans, and as part of that effort we will use Q4 to make sure we get all our new hires settled into their roles. When you grow as much as we have -- we have added 150 people in just over 7 months, doubling in size -- it's important to effectively onboard everyone and make sure that we, as an organization, are working well within and across teams. With this in mind, we're going to pause further hiring with the exception of a few urgent product and engineering hires. In the next few weeks, we'll share a clearer view of what roles we'll open for 2020, how they align with the company roadmap, and how they'll be prioritized. 

Separately, while it's important to generate revenue (as part of delivering a great experience for customers), being diligent in managing our budgets is equally as important. We need to lean into our guiding principle of acting like an owner and are asking everyone to postpone or cancel any travel that is not business critical, as we've already used our full T&E budget for the year. Some of you have asked if we'll be flying folks in for our holiday party this year. We'll be saving that for our annual summer party again and instead have holiday parties in our individual offices. For those who are remote, you'll be receiving a gift certificate to take yourself and a friend or significant other out for dinner. 

This is an exciting time at Leafly. We're growing, and we're going to continue to grow. Q4 is the perfect time for us to plan for the future, reflect on what's working and what we can improve, help our teams settle in, and set ourselves up for a successful 2020 and beyond. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, your SLT member or HR business partner.

Thank you,

Tim

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• Facebook rolled out a new "high quality" news tab on its mobile app, starting with some US users on Friday.
• Among major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, along with regional newspapers like the Dallas Morning News and the Chicago Tribune, Facebook selected Breitbart News to be one of around 200 outlets featured in the tab.
• Breitbart News is highly controversial, as its former executive chairman-turned-campaign mastermind for President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, told a reporter in 2016 that the site is "the platform for the alt-right."
• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the tab should have a "diversity" of views in order to become a trusted source.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Facebook's handling of news content on the platform has previously proved controversial, but the social media giant is taking steps to prioritize "high quality" journalism in a new tab that launched for some US users on Friday.

The news tab allows users to see top stories from across around 200 platforms, which include major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post. It also showcases some local and regional publications like the Dallas Morning News and the Chicago Tribune.

Among the various online platforms rounded up in the tab, Breitbart News stands out as a controversial pick. The site stylizes itself as an objective publication, but it doesn't just lean right – its former executive chairman who went on to run Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Steve Bannon, described it as "the platform for the alt-right."

Breitbart has been described elsewhere as a white supremacist platform, a characterization the platform has disputed and threatened to sue over. Nonetheless, it promotes racist rhetoric and used a category tag called "black crime" for several years. Its stories often push anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim narratives, and heavily promotes Trump.

In addition to its slant, despite Facebook's anti-fake news advertisements, Breitbart has used misleading statistics, graphs, and figures in the past to push false assertions, such as that Trump won the popular vote. To state that "Trump won the heartland," Breitbart outright ignored 52 counties won by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Days ahead of the roll-out, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced critical questions from lawmakers when he defended Facebook's cryptocurrency plan, Libra, along with a host of other issues, including the platform's decision not to remove factually incorrect political advertisements.

"This is a democracy," Zuckerberg replied. "I believe people should be able to see for themselves what politicians they may or may not have voted for are saying and judge their character for themselves."

In addition, The Guardian reports that at a launch event for Facebook News in New York, Zuckerberg declined to answer about the inclusion of Breitbart News specifically, but said "I do think that part of having this be a trusted source is that it needs to have a diversity of … views in there."

SEE ALSO: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he didn't fully understand the divide between news and opinion until a visit to Fox's parent company after Trump was elected

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• Trump ordered former Defense Secretary James Mattis to "screw Amazon" out of a lucrative government cloud contract, former Defense communications director Guy Snodgrass alleges in a new book, according to a preview from Task & Purpose.
• The revelations in Snodgrass's book, "Holding The Line: Inside Trump's Pentagon with Secretary Mattis," come less than a day after the Pentagon announced Microsoft had won a hotly contested $10 billion cloud computing contract that Amazon was favored to win.
• According to Task & Purpose, Snodgrass revealed that Trump called Mattis in the summer of 2018 and directed him to "screw Amazon"out of a chance to bid on the contract.
• Mattis pushed back on the request, Snodgrass said, because he wanted to pursue the contract "by the book, both legally and ethically."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In the summer of 2018, President Trump ordered then-Defense Secretary James Mattis to "screw Amazon" out of the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, according to an upcoming book.

In the Task & Purpose review of "Holding The Line: Inside Trump's Pentagon with Secretary Mattis," a book about Mattis' time in the Trump administration, former Defense communications director Guy Snodgrass lays out the general's conflicts with Trump, including legal and ethical concerns over the Pentagon's lucrative contract.

According to Snodgrass, Mattis pushed back on the request because he wanted to pursue the contract "by the book, both legally and ethically."

On Friday, the Pentagon announced Microsoft had won the contract, a surprise victory over front-runner Amazon Web Services. Previous reports stated that Trump wanted to "scuttle" the bidding process for the deal over concerns that Jeff Bezos, a rival with which Trump has publicly feuded, could benefit from the 10-year cloud computing contract.

The 10-year contract was to help the Department of Defense move sensitive data to the cloud. The bidding process began in July, and Microsoft eventually beat out companies like IBM and Oracle in addition to Amazon for the final deal. Google also participated but dropped out in late 2018 over concerns that it would be unable to fulfill the terms of the contract.

"The National Defense Strategy dictates that we must improve the speed and effectiveness with which we develop and deploy modernized technical capabilities to our women and men in uniform,"DOD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said in a statement Friday. "The DOD Digital Modernization Strategy was created to support this imperative. This award is an important step in the execution of the Digital Modernization Strategy."

Amazon Web Services is "still evaluating options" after the Department of Defense selected Microsoft for a $10 billion contract to move the agency's database to the cloud, a source close to the situation told Business Insider on Friday.

"We're surprised about this conclusion," an AWS spokesperson said in a statement. "AWS is the clear leader in cloud computing, and a detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings clearly lead to a different conclusion. We remain deeply committed to continuing to innovate for the new digital battlefield where security, efficiency, resiliency, and scalability of resources can be the difference between success and failure."

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report here.

The digitization of daily life is making phones and connected devices the preferred payment tools for consumers — preferences that are causing digital payment volume to blossom worldwide.

As noncash payment volume accelerates, the power dynamics of the payments industry are shifting further in favor of digital and omnichannel providers, attracting a wide swath of providers to the space and forcing firms to diversify, collaborate, or consolidate in order to capitalize on a growing revenue opportunity.

More and more, consumers want fast and simple payments — that's opening up opportunities for providers. Rising e- and m-commerce, surges in mobile P2P, and increasing willingness among customers in developed countries to try new transaction channels, like mobile in-store payments, voice and chatbot payments, or connected device payments are all increasing transaction touchpoints for providers.

This growing access is helping payments become seamless, in turn allowing firms to boost adoption, build and strengthen relationships, offer more services, and increase usage.

But payment ubiquity and invisibility also comes with challenges. Gains in volume come with increases in per-transaction fee payouts, which is pushing consumer and merchant clients alike to seek out inexpensive solutions — a shift that limits revenue that providers use to fund critical programs and squeezes margins.

Regulatory changes and geopolitical tensions are forcing players to reevaluate their approach to scale. And fraudsters are more aggressively exploiting vulnerabilities, making data breaches feel almost inevitable and pushing providers to improve their defenses and crisis response capabilities alike.

In the latest annual edition of The Payments Ecosystem Report, Business Insider Intelligence unpacks the current digital payments ecosystem, and explores how changes will impact the industry in both the short- and long-term. The report begins by tracing the path of an in-store card payment from processing to settlement to clarify the role of key stakeholders and assess how the landscape has shifted.

It also uses forecasts, case studies, and product developments from the past year to explain how digital transformation is impacting major industry segments and evaluate the pace of change. Finally, it highlights five trends that should shape payments in the year ahead, looking at how regulatory shifts, emerging technologies, and competition could impact the payments ecosystem.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Behind the scenes, payment processes and stakeholders remain similar. But providers are forced to make payments as frictionless as possible as online shopping surges: E-commerce is poised to exceed $1 trillion — nearly a fifth of total US retail — by 2023.
• The channels and front-end methods that consumers use to make payments are evolving. Mobile in-store payments are huge in developing markets, but approaching an inflection point in developed regions where adoption has been laggy. And the ubiquity of mobile P2P services like Venmo and Square Cash will propel digital P2P to $574 billion by 2023.
• The competitive landscape will shift as companies pursue joint ventures to grow abroad in response to geopolitical tensions, or consolidate to achieve rapid scale amid digitization.
• Fees, bans, steering, or regulation could impact the way consumers pay, pushing them toward emerging methods that bypass card rails, and limit key revenue sources that providers use to fund rewards and marketing initiatives.
• Tokenization will continue to mainstream as a key way providers are preventing and responding to the omnipresent data breach threat.

The companies mentioned in the report are: CCEL, Adyen, Affirm, Afterpay, Amazon, American Express, Ant Financial, Apple, AribaPay, Authorize.Net, Bank of America, Barclays, Beem It, Billtrust, Braintree, Capital One, Cardtronics, Chase Paymentech, Citi, Discover, First Data, Flywire, Fraedom, Gemalto, GM, Google, Green Dot, Huifu, Hyundai, Ingenico, Jaguar, JPMorgan Chase, Klarna, Kroger, LianLian, Lydia, Macy’s, Mastercard, MICROS, MoneyGram, Monzo, NCR, Netflix, P97, PayPal, Paytm, Poynt, QuickBooks, Sainsbury’s, Samsung, Santander, Shell, Square, Starbucks, Stripe, Synchrony Financial, Target, TransferWise, TSYS, UnionPay, Venmo, Verifone, Visa, Vocalink, Walmart, WeChat/Tencent, Weebly, Wells Fargo, Western Union, Worldpay, WorldRemit, Xevo, Zelle, Zesty, and ZipRecruiter, among others

In full, the report:

• Explains the factors contributing to a swell in global noncash payments
• Examines shifts in the roles of major industry stakeholders, including issuers, card networks, acquirer-processors, POS terminal vendors, and gateways
• Presents forecasts and highlights major trends and industry events driving digital payments growth
• Identifies five trends that will shape the payments ecosystem in the year ahead

SEE ALSO: These are the four transformations payments providers must undergo to survive digitization

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