Queen Substance: Packaged goods, extradition, #avoid
Week of December 10, 2018
“I’ve made lots of mistakes. Probably the worst one — I would say they tie. It’s either when I didn’t move fast enough on something, or I didn’t take a big enough risk.”
— Ginny Rometty, Chair, President & CEO of IBM. Rometty began her career at IBM in 1981.
HUAWEI IN THE HOT SEAT
On a layover, I usually like to have a glass a wine, peruse magazines and buy an overpriced neck pillow. Getting arrested by international agents, is not usually high on my list. The CFO of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, must have felt the same way. Wanzhou, was detained earlier this month in Vancouver on a layover to Mexico. The U.S. is alleging that the company used a Hong Kong-based subsidiary as a shell company to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran. Bail hearings continue today for Wanzhou, who is a part of China’s inner circle. The company has also come under international criticism for allegations of espionage — a claim which the company strongly denies. Wanzhou faces extradition to the U.S. which would be unprecedented for a Chinese executive of her standing.
⚡In China, 63.4% of women worry that having children will significantly impact their career advancement.
#METOO PLAYBOOK: AVOID WOMEN
You cannot make this shit up. That was the collective sigh women felt after reading this Bloomberg article. The piece highlights how some Wall Street men are dealing with #MeToo: avoid women. In interviews with over 30 senior finance executives, men said things like hiring women has now become an “unknown risk” and that it is best to avoid having “business dinner with a woman 35 or younger.” The article warns that we are moving from sexual harassment to sexual discrimination. In an industry where 85% of executives 74% of senior managers are men, the backlash against women — due to fear, is an indicator that equality in the workforce will not be fixed overnight.
⚡67% of support staff at financial firms are women.
THE RACE TO IPO
IPO is the latest battlefield for ride-hailing giants Lyft and Uber. Both of their ‘confidential’ filings were leaked this week — one after the other. Just like scooping up market share the two are competing for who can get to the IPO alter first. Bankers have estimated Uber’s valuation to be close to $120 billion and Lyft’s to be $30 billion. Uber’s IPO would be the largest since Alibaba’s 2014 public market debut. Silicon Valley darlings Slack and Airbnb are also expected to IPO in 2019.
⚡14% of U.S. Uber drivers are women.
CHECK-UP IN A BOX
Going to the gyno is no woman’s idea of a good time. Cold stirrups, petroleum jelly — enough said. But we got to go. Nurx, just launched a direct to consumer kit that allows women to test for HPV from the comfort of their home. The test is not meant to supplement regular gynecological exams, but provides women another way of testing for the STD (the most common in the U.S. btw) which can cause cervical cancer. The test is free with insurance and costs $69 without. The company, which has been called the “Uber for birth control” has been delivering female-driven telemedicine solutions since 2015. Nurx raised $36 million over the summer led by Kleiner Perkins and added Chelsea Clinton to their board.
⚡ By 2025, the femtech category is estimated to reach a market size of $50 billion.
WHO RUNS THE SEA? GIRLS.
Buffets filled with mystery meat, claustrophobic cubby holes that masquerade as ‘hotel rooms,’ and very off-off-off-Broadway musical revues. This is what comes to mind when I think of cruises (or the cruise I went on with my ex and his fam), I also think of this — but I digress. The first female CEO of a publicly traded cruise operator is looking to change your perception by putting women first. Lisa Lutoff-Perlo’s new $1 billion ship, the Edge, was designed by two women, has a crew that is 30% women (vs. industry average in the teens) and perhaps most notably brought on board 21-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai as the ship’s ‘godmother.’ This week Yousafzai, whose Malala Fund has a two-year partnership with the cruise liner, christened the ship in an equality-themed launch ceremony. The innovative ship left for its first official sail on Sunday.
⚡ 50.9% of cruise ship passengers are women.
Jesse Genet, CEO of Lumi drives a pick-up truck, lives in an airstream and overcame a boatload of debt. Just a shortlist of badassery that makes me want to be her best friend.
Genet and her business partner, Stephen Ango, supply packaging for e-commerce companies. It might not sound sexy, but it is an essential part of your online shopping addiction: no box, no goods. The company, which is profitable (yes, you read that right) works with companies such as Barkbox and MeUndies. Genet and Ango came up with the idea for Lumi when they faced packaging challenges working on their other start-up Inkodye. The company streamlines the process so companies can focus on the contents not the container. This summer Lumi raised a $9 million round led by Spark Capital and Forerunner Ventures. Before taking Venture Capital money they raised money on Shark Tank and Kickstarter.
