Big Investors Are Betting on This ‘Unlisted’ Stock | Entrepreneur

September 12, 2025September 11, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Three of the same VC firms that backed Uber, Venmo, and eBay, respectively, are all investing in Pacaso.

Venture backing in companies like Pacaso is nothing new. After all, early-stage companies often have the potential to deliver the most outsized returns.

But recent regulatory updates have opened the door for individual investors to invest alongside these venture capitalists. Normally, everyday investors have to wait for a company to go public before they can invest, missing out on that early gain potential. Now, some companies are opening up investment opportunities to the public.

This type of investing has already seen some great success stories. For example, in 2016, 433 people invested an average of $2,730 in a private startup named Revolut. Fast-forward to today, those $2,730 stakes are worth more than $1 million, up 89,900%.

Source: Big Investors Are Betting on This ‘Unlisted’ Stock | Entrepreneur

How a Mom’s Garage Side Hustle Hit $1 Billion Revenue | Entrepreneur

September 12, 2025September 11, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?

I had just stepped away from seven years at eBay Inc., where I had launched PayPal Mobile and led the eBay fashion business. I was working on a new fashion-related startup idea before I ended up starting KiwiCo in 2011.

Where did you find the inspiration for the side hustle?

When my kids were younger, I tried to find ways for them to exercise their creativity and put their problem-solving skills to work. I wanted them to grow up to feel like they could envision and better the world around them. As an engineer by training, I saw creating and building through hands-on activities as a way to explore, discover, and build creative confidence. At the same time, I was drawing on my own childhood — I have such fond memories of making and building things with my mom while I was growing up.

Why I replaced my $249 AirPods Pro with $19 wired EarPods | Mashable

September 11, 2025September 10, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Google came for the wired it girls at its Made by Google showcase last month. The tech giant played a sponsored episode of Kareem Rahma’s SubwayTakes talk show during the event, in which Rahma and his fellow comedian Amber Singletary ripped on wired earbuds for looking “sloppy,” “dumb,” and “not cool.”

“The only thing they [wired earbuds] do is get tangled,” Rahma said, speaking into a corded mic, to which Singletary replied, also into a corded mic, “Yeah, they get tangled and now you look stupid.”

Someone in SubwayTakes’ Instagram comments section said it best: “Wow, this is the easiest disagree ever.” I firmly believe that wired earphones are actually good and worth using in 2025, at least when it comes to Apple’s iconic EarPods.

A whopper of a Nintendo Direct is coming this week: When is it and how to watch | Mashable

September 11, 2025September 10, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Who cares about Apple? There’s a Nintendo Direct this week!

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Nintendo confirmed that there will be a Nintendo Direct livestream on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6am PT/9am ET. As per usual, Nintendo gave next to no indication of what will actually be shown in the stream, other than “roughly 60 minutes of information on upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games.” You can watch it on Nintendo’s YouTube channel.

Cracker Barrel ‘suspends’ restaurant renovations following logo flop | CNN Business

September 10, 2025September 9, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Cracker Barrel announced that it’s suspending the renovations of its restaurants following a disastrous logo rollout that sent shares lower.

“You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants,” the chain said on X. “If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to worry, it won’t be.”

Cracker Barrel said that its minimalist and lighter design, which removed its dark woods and many of the trademark tchotchkes that lined the walls, was tested at only four out of 660 restaurants.

Everything Apple announced at its big event: iPhone Air, iPhone 17, new Apple Watches and more | CNN Business

September 10, 2025September 9, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Apple announced the first major redesign of the iPhone in years on Tuesday when it confirmed the launch of a new, thinner model called the iPhone Air. CEO Tim Cook called it the “biggest leap ever for iPhone.”

That was one of a number of product upgrades that came during Apple’s annual hardware event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters, which also included improvements to the Apple Watch and AirPods Pro.

A scalding hot ‘sand battery’ is now heating a small Finnish town | Live Science

September 9, 2025September 8, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A small municipality in southern Finland recently installed the world’s largest “sand battery” to supply the town’s heating.

The new sand battery, designed by Polar Night Energy, is effectively a giant sandpit encased in a roughly 100 by 40 foot (30 by 12 meter) steel container.

The sand is heated using closed-loop heat transfer pipes, and this heat is trapped by two layers of steel sandwiching an insulation layer. The energy is then extracted by blowing cool air through the pipes, capturing the heat to generate hot water, steam, or hot air.

Cognitive Overload Symptoms: 15 Warning Signs & Solutions

September 8, 2025September 7, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Picture this: You’re on a video call, nodding along while secretly checking emails, mentally calculating if you have enough pasta for dinner, and half-listening to your kids arguing about whose turn it is on the iPad. Sound familiar? You’re not alone and you’re not imagining that life feels more overwhelming than ever. These are classic cognitive overload symptoms that millions experience daily.

Here’s why: Back in 2008, researchers found Americans were already processing 34GB of information daily. Today? We’re swimming in an estimated 75-100GB of data every single day. That’s like downloading your entire brain’s storage capacity, twice. Our digital interactions have exploded from 298 daily touches in 2010 to a mind-boggling 4,909 expected by 2025. We’re consuming 105,000 words daily, roughly 23 words per second during every waking hour.

Your brain wasn’t designed for this. It’s like running fifty browser tabs on a computer built for dial-up internet. The result? Cognitive overload and it’s wreaking havoc on your focus, health, and happiness. In this article, I’ll walk you through the 15 warning signs of cognitive overload your brain is experiencing and share science-backed solutions to reclaim your mental clarity.

Motivation vs Discipline: Why One Always Beats the Other (And It’s Not What You Think) | LifeHack

September 8, 2025September 7, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The alarm goes off at 5 AM. My hand hovers over the snooze button, and for a split second, I’m back to that old familiar battle. The bed feels impossibly warm, especially on these cold mornings. My two sons won’t be up for another two hours. Every fiber of my being whispers, “Just ten more minutes.” But here’s the thing—I don’t wait for motivation to strike anymore. I swing my legs out of bed anyway.

This morning ritual has taught me something profound about success, both as a CEO and as a father. We’ve all been sold this idea that we need to feel motivated before we act. That we should wait for that surge of inspiration, that perfect moment when everything clicks. Meanwhile, life passes by while we’re still hitting snooze, waiting for a feeling that might never come. This is the fundamental flaw in the motivation vs discipline debate.