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Here are 10 hot car deals you should check out on Black Friday (F, GM, FCAU)

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jeep grand cherokee

  • Car buyers are always looking for a good deal, especially during Black Friday.
  • Kelley Blue Book, the vehicle valuation and automotive research company, recently released a list of attractive SUV and car deals that are available through November 30, 2018.
  • Many of these deals offer more than $4,000 cash back or leases that cost less than $200 per month.
  • Brands such as Jeep, Ford, Acura, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru, Hyundai, and Toyota are featured on the list.

Everyone loves a great deal. Especially on a new car. Which is why this time of year is a good time to go hunting for a good bargain. After all, Black Friday is just around the corner. 

Kelley Blue Book, the vehicle valuation and automotive research company, recently released a list of attractive deals on new cars and SUVs that are available through November 30. Some of these deals stand out for the thousands of dollars in cash back available from manufacturers while others offer shoppers great terms of on a lease.

Read More:The 10 best SUVs on the market for under $25,000

"If you're in the market for an SUV, November is a great time to buy or lease with cash back and lease deals on top models," said Allyson Harwood, associate editor for Kelley Blue Book, in a statement."The Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, and Hyundai Tucson offer great value and practicality in a small SUV package."

"The Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee offer more room at a higher price point, but the savings this month could make them more affordable and worth a closer look," Harwood added.

Five of the 10 models listed are SUVs, which have grown quite popular with the market as of late, while the other vehicles are traditional passenger cars. 

So if you're car shopping during Black Friday, keep in mind Kelley Blue Book's best deals this November:

SEE ALSO: The 11 new cars people most regularly ditch after just one year of ownership

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!

10. 2018 Subaru Impreza: $145 a month/36 months and $1,975 due at signing—$19,355 (MSRP).



9. 2019 Hyundai Veloster: $189 a month/36 months and $2,299 due at signing—$26,285 (MSRP).



8. 2018 Mazda CX-5: $215 a month/36 months and $2,489 due at signing—$25,125 (MSRP).



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Apple doesn't have Black Friday deals for iPhones — but here are the stores that do

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iPhone XS

Apple doesn't usually have its own Black Friday deals for iPhones, but stores that sell iPhones do.

For the most part, Black Friday iPhone "discounts" from stores like Target and Walmart come in the form of a gift card that you can use at that store. Meanwhile, Best Buy offers a direct discount for certain iPhones, but it isn't as much as the gift cards you'd get at other stores.

You'll have to figure out for yourself whether you shop often enough at certain stores to make gift cards worth it, or whether you'd rather take the smaller direct discount.

Alternatively, there's always Apple's Refurbished iPhone Store, where you can get discounted used iPhones that Apple has refurbished.

Check out the 2018 Black Friday deals for the iPhone:

SEE ALSO: Bose's $350 noise-cancelling headphones are a must-have if you want to live in a quieter world – and they sound great, too

iPhone XS

Target: Get a $250 Target gift card when you activate with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint, from 7 a.m. on Friday to Sunday. Target REDcard holders can get early access starting on November 11.

Walmart: $0 down and get a $300 gift card when purchased with AT&T Next, Sprint, or Verizon device-payment plans. Begins 6 p.m. on Thursday for in-store purchases or Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET for online purchases.

Best Buy: Up to $150 off with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint activation. Doors open at 5 p.m. on Thursday.



iPhone XS Max

Target: Get a $250 Target gift card when you activate with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint, from 7 a.m. Friday to Sunday.

Walmart: $0 down and get a $300 gift card when purchased with AT&T Next, Sprint, or Verizon device-payment plans. Begins 6 p.m. on Thursday for in-store purchases or Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET for online purchases.

Best Buy: Up to $150 off with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint activation. Doors open at 5 p.m. Thursday.



iPhone XR

Walmart: $0 down and get a $300 gift card when purchased with AT&T Next, Sprint, or Verizon device-payment plans. Begins 6 p.m. on Thursday for in-store purchases or Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET for online purchases.

Best Buy: Up to $150 off with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint activation. Doors open at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

T-Mobile: Free iPhone XR when you add another line to your T-Mobile account and trade in an eligible device, including iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X. New T-Mobile customers need to activate two lines as well as trade in an eligible device.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the 7 best Black Friday gaming deals you'll find

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best buy black friday

Black Friday is fast approaching and it's the season for holiday deals on video games.

As the current generation of consoles reaches the end of its life span, now is a great time to invest in an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 for cheap and start building a library of great games.

This year seems to have surprisingly few exclusive deals, with gaming products from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo carrying nearly identical discounts across major retailers. We scrubbed early Black Friday ads from Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Newegg and more to find the most essential video game deals for the holiday.

SEE ALSO: The 3 biggest games on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch this holiday season

PlayStation 4 Slim with "Marvel's Spider-Man" - $200

The PlayStation 4 is the most popular video game console on the market and Sony is offering the slim redesigned model with the year's most popular PS4 exclusive. "Marvel's Spider-Man" broke sales records with a massive launch in September and the PlayStation 4 recently reached 86 million unites sold worldwide.



$100 off PlayStation VR Bundles

The PlayStation VR is one of the most well-received virtual reality headsets, and it's reached its lowest price point so far. There are a few PSVR bundles out there offering different games, but I'd recommend the "Astrobot: Rescue Mission" and Moss" bundle pictured above. Both games came out this year and offer a wonderfully immersive VR experience. Keep in mind that the headset must be hooked up to a PlayStation 4 to work.



Xbox One S Minecraft Creators Bundle - $200

While the Xbox One is a bit behind the PlayStation 4 in sales, it's still one of the best home-theater devices on the market. Unlike the standard PS4, the Xbox One S offers 4K playback and added compatibility with smart home devices and cable boxes.

If you're looking for added power, the Xbox One X is actually stronger than the premium PlayStation 4 Pro, and will also be on sale for $399, a $100 discount.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The most bizarre, outlandish documents from the CIA's files on JFK's assassination

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JFK on dealey plaza

  • Thousands of previously classified files related to President John F. Kennedy's assassination have been released.
  • They detail things like Lee Harvey Oswald's activities leading up to the shooting, bizarre tip-offs before Kennedy's and Oswald's deaths, and the CIA's efforts to overthrow Fidel Castro.


President Donald Trump on Thursday approved the release of more than 2,800 previously classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.

The trove of documents, released late on Thursday by the National Archives, offer up an array of details around the assassination itself, the ensuing investigation, and the government's foreign-policy endeavors.

Here are some highlights:

SEE ALSO: The US government planned to drop leaflets in Cuba encouraging people to kill Fidel Castro for just 2 cents

US officials wanted to offer just $0.02 for the killing of Fidel Castro.

One document details a plot orchestrated by Kennedy Administration officials— called Operation Bounty — which sought to offer various financial rewards to Cubans for "killing or delivering alive known Communists."

The main objectives for Operation Bounty were to overthrow the Cuban government and "to put pressure on Cuban Communists by creating distrust and disunity," according to the document.

The US planned to drop a series of leaflets throughout Cuba informing citizens of the rewards and explaining the terms. The proposed payments ranged from $100,000 for government officials and $57,700 for "department heads." Castro, however, appeared to merit a different reward.

"One final leaflet may be deemed advisable and that one announcing a .02¢ reward for the delivery of Castro," the document said.



Oswald met with a Soviet official affiliated with the KGB's 'Assassination Department' just weeks before shooting Kennedy.

Just weeks before Kennedy's assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald met with a known KGB officer at the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City, according to a CIA document.

The CIA learned of the meeting — which occurred on September 28, 1963 — through an October 1 phone call it intercepted between Oswald and an embassy guard.

The call revealed that Oswald had met with the consul, Valeriy Vladimirovich Kostikov, whom the CIA referred to as "an identified KGB officer" who was affiliated with the KGB's 13th Department, "responsible for sabotage and assassination."

During the call, Oswald spoke in broken Russian, identified himself by name, and asked the guard who answered the phone if there was "anything new concerning the telegram to Washington." According to the document describing the call, the guard checked and told Oswald that a request had been sent, but nothing had yet been received.

One FBI liaison officer speculated that Oswald's meeting with Kostikov at the embassy had been to "get Soviet support for a US passport or visa matter," the document said.

The document does not speculate or conclude that Oswald acted against Kennedy on Russian instructions or with KGB assistance.



A local newspaper in England got a bizarre tip-off just minutes before the assassination.

A British reporter for the Cambridge News received a phone call just 25 minutes before Kennedy was shot, and was instructed to "call the American Embassy in London for some big news" before the anonymous tipster hung up, according to an FBI document.

After the reporter learned of the assassination, he informed local police about the call, who passed the information along to MI5, Britain's domestic security agency. MI5 then informed the FBI of the call, and described the Cambridge News reporter as "a sound and loyal person with no security record."

The FBI appeared to take the information seriously — it was sent through to the highest levels of the agency, including then-Director J. Edgar Hoover.

The current staff of the Cambridge News appeared shocked on Friday after the document was released. The paper's political correspondent Josh Thomas tweeted that staff will "get to the bottom of this."

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 11 best smartphones made this year that are worth your money

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oneplus 6t purple

It's 2018, and there are simply too many great smartphones to choose from.

Smartphones have been around for a full decade now, with the first iPhone kicking things off back in 2007. But over the past few years, smartphone makers have really upped their game. The gulf in quality between the most expensive smartphones you can buy, and the least expensive ones, is shrinking all the time.

So if you're looking to buy a brand-new smartphone that was made in 2018, here are your 11 best options:

SEE ALSO: The 15 most useful features coming to your iPhone later this year

1. OnePlus 6

OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus 6 back in May, and it's still one of the best smartphones you can buy. In general, there's no better Android phone at its price tag: $530.

The OnePlus 6 doesn't have some of the features you'd find on more premium smartphones, like wireless charging, an OLED screen, or a killer camera, but it doesn't need those things. The OnePlus 6 features a very good camera, but more importantly it offers plenty of power, with a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and a whopping 6 GB of RAM, which is ideal for multitasking. It also features a great fast-charging system. It also runs a clean, near-stock version of Android, called Oxygen OS.

OnePlus does have a new phone coming at the end of the year — the OnePlus 6T — but the OnePlus 6 is still an excellent phone worth your consideration.

Learn more about the OnePlus 6.



2. Samsung Galaxy Note 9

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the latest smartphone from Samsung. It has a gorgeous 6.4-inch OLED display, a massive battery, a great camera, tons of storage (128 GB to start!), a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition, and the S Pen, which lets you take notes or control the Note 9's camera remotely, among other things.

The Galaxy Note 9 also has some high-end features, like wireless charging, water resistance, and even a headphone jack — whoa! — and Samsung includes a fast-charger with the phone, which is a nice touch.

Of course, all of these premium features demand a premium cost: The Galaxy Note 9 starts at $1,000. Still, you're getting a whole lot of phone for that price.

Learn more about the Galaxy Note 9.



3. Samsung Galaxy S9

Samsung's flagship phone of 2018, the Galaxy S9, has it all.

The phone features a large OLED display, a great camera, a built-in heart rate monitor, a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition, fast charging and wireless charging, and yes, even a headphone jack.

The phone's design is very similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy S8, but that's not a bad thing. The Galaxy S9 is one of the best-looking smartphones you can buy, and it starts at just $720.

Learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S9.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

This entrepreneur made flashcards to help her keep Silicon Valley investors straight. Now, she turned them into trading cards that she prints from a garage

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VC cards

  • Danielle Baskin, the founder of a startup called Your Boss, made flashcards to keep Silicon Valley investors straight in her head.
  • Those flashcards evolved into TouchBase — a line of VC trading cards that she prints from a garage.
  • Each $60 pack contains five cards. 
  • She's received about 50 orders so far, and many VCs have got in touch to request that they be added to the lineup. 
  • Like 'real' trading cards, some VCs are harder to find in a pack than others. 

When Danielle Baskin needed to raise money for her startup, called Your Boss, she started making flash cards to keep straight all the various investors she was planning to pitch.

"I realized venture capital is kind of like a sport," Baskin told Business Insider in a recent interview. 

Though she wasn't much of a collector growing up, the connection between venture capitalists and the world of sport sparked an idea  — what if she turned the detailed notes on her flashcards into actual trading cards for the venture capital industry? 

TouchBase VC trading cards were born. Baskin tells us that the first packs will be shipped in the coming weeks. Each pack contains five cards and retails for $59.99.

We had first learned of Baskin's project a couple of weeks back but recently visited her San Francisco studio to learn more about the TouchBase project.

Here's what we found:

Like many storied startups that have come before it, TouchBase's studio is in a garage. It's located in San Francisco's Mission District.

Those interested in a private viewing of TouchBase's collection can book an in-person appointment here

Or you can simply read on. 



Inside, TouchBase founder Danielle Baskin works on fulfilling the 50-plus orders she's received thus far. Each pack contains five cards and retails for $59.99.



Cards are printed on-site, using this machine.

Baskin already had the printer for another side-hustle of hers — a bike helmet company called Inkwell Helmets.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 29 best TV deals for Black Friday 2018

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black friday shopping target tvs

  • Black Friday is one of the best times to buy a TV.
  • BestBuy, Walmart, and Target all have a lineup of deals this year.
  • We've rounded up the best deals, sorted by size and screen type.

The best time to realize you need a new TV is in early November, when Black Friday is right around the corner. 

Indeed, stores like BestBuy, Walmart, and Target have offered up some pretty tempting deals for Black Friday. (You have no idea how difficult it is to resist temptation when compiling a list like this.) 

Below you'll find TVs sorted by size, premium, ultra-premium, and the holy grail of TV tech — OLED, a type of screen that offers superior color.

Some models with the same screen may cost a little more than others. That's usually attributed to a better design and sometimes a slightly better quality of TV panel, even though all these TVs have 4K resolution, and many have HDR capabilities (technology that offers better colors and detail in darker scenes).

Either way, sift through here to check out the most tempting TV deals:

SEE ALSO: 11 insider facts most Black Friday workers know — and you probably don't

DON'T MISS: All of Business Insider's holiday gift guides, in one place

READ MORE: Black Friday 2018: Business Insider's guide to the best tech deals so far

43-inch TVs

LG 4K HDR (UK6090) — $270 at BestBuy. Usually $400.

Samsung 4K HDR (NU6900)$280 at BestBuy, Target, Walmart, and B&H Photo. Usually $380.



50-inch TVs

Samsung 4K HDR (NU6900)$330 at BestBuy, Target, and Walmart. Usually $450.

LG 4K HDR (UK6090) — $330 at BestBuy. Usually $500.



55-inch TVs

Sharp 4K HDR (LC-55Q7030U)$320 at Walmart. Usually $500.

TCL 4K HDR 4-series Roku TV — $350 at BestBuy, Target, and Walmart. Usually around $450-$500.

Samsung 4K HDR (NU6900)$400 at BestBuy, Target, and Walmart. Usually $500.

LG 4K HDR (UK6090) — $400 at BestBuy. Usually $550.

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

17 things successful people do over long weekends

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holiday meal thanksgiving

  • Make the most of your long weekend — whether you plan to relax or get active.
  • Business Insider reached out to some experts for tips on how to set yourself up for success when you have an extra day off.
  • Their suggestions focused on prioritizing tasks, setting technology guidelines, and spending time with loved ones.


It's always great to stretch out the weekend for an extra day or two. Long weekends can provide a much-needed breather amidst our busy schedules. 

But how should you spend your long weekend?

If you're not sure how to make the most of the next few days, we've got some ideas. Here are 17 things successful people do before and over long weekends:

SEE ALSO: 11 things unsuccessful people do over long weekends

DON'T MISS: 14 sleeping habits of unsuccessful people

They plan their long weekend before it begins

Many successful people plan out their activities for the holiday weekend well in advance so that they are not drawn into the temptation of working, said Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of "The Humor Advantage." They make reservations, book tee times, or schedule activities with their kids.

"They're strategic enough to have an action plan for the three-day weekend, but flexible enough to tackle any urgent work issues that may arise," Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job," told Business Insider.



They prepare at work

"Most of what they do happens before they leave for a long weekend so that they are psychologically free to relax and enjoy it," Kerr told Business Insider.

This includes saying proper goodbyes to colleagues, cleaning up their office, finishing any pressing tasks, and creating a clear plan of action for when they return to the office so they can hit the ground running.



They set technology guidelines

Successful people set email and phone rules for themselves and the people they work with, so that people understand when, if at all, they will be available to respond or pick up.

"This can communicate to employees how critical it is for everyone to take a complete break, and that any and all work can wait," Kerr said. "Although employees may assume this, they often need to hear it from their leader to be able to completely relax over a long weekend."

Read more:Our addiction to technology is like a drug high — but we can fix it



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Brooklinen's only sale of the year has already started — here's how to save up to 20% on sheets and bedding

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Brooklinen, $225

  • Brooklinen is having its biggest and only sale of the year right now.
  • Now through November 26, the more you spend, the more you'll save — up to 20% off orders of $450 or more.
  • We ranked Brooklinen as the makers of the best luxury sheets, the best sateen sheets, and the best duvet cover on the internet. Find the startup's seven best-sellers below.
  • To potentially save more on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can visit Business Insider Coupons to find up-to-date promo codes for a range of online stores.

Brooklinen is one of our favorite brands to cover — from its core and luxe bedsheets to its latest Brooklittles line for babies and toddlers. However, it's not known for holding sales. Prices are usually low enough to warrant what is essentially a year-round sale in itself.

But Black Friday and Cyber Monday are exceptions; Cyber Week is its biggest and only sale of the year.

This year, the popular startup is offering steep discounts. Now through November 26, you can take advantage of the following deals:

If you're looking for a new pair of sheets, or you've been waiting for an additional discount as an excuse to try out luxury bedding, this is probably the best time of the year to invest. And in terms of value per dollar, Brooklinen is a particularly great deal.

They look great, feel even better, and can vastly improve your quality of sleep — which, in turn, improves quite a few other areas of your life. When six hours feels like eight, it's easier to operate in the way that you want in your day-to-day.

You can check out its full range of options here, but we're fans of the Luxe Hardcore Sheet Bundle for every day (with a duvet cover, a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and four pillowcases for $228 if you're buying for a queen). Insider Picks editor Ellen Hoffman described them as one of the best purchases she's ever made.

In our comprehensive Buying Guides, we ranked Brooklinen sheets the #1 best luxurious sheets and the best sateen sheets you can buy. Its Down Comforter (queen, $349) is the best we found from a startup, and its Classic Duvet Cover (queen, $109) is another best-in-its-category on the internet. It also makes great, blanket-sized towels (Bath Sheets, two for $89). 

If you're looking for something that adds some warmth and softness for the designated "cozy" winter season, I can't recommend the Twill Hardcore Sheet Bundle (queen, $189) enough. It's made to feel like your favorite worn-in flannel, and the twill fabrication allows the yarns to move more freely, creating an overall more forgiving, softer experience. As I've mentioned in my review of them, they'll make you wake up and wish you were working from home every day.

When it comes to Brooklinen, our experience is that it's pretty difficult to go wrong.

Take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday Brooklinen discounts here.

Looking for more deals? We've rounded up the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on the internet.

Below are some of Brooklinen's best-sellers:

Luxe Hardcore Sheet Bundle

The queen-size Luxe Hardcore Sheet Bundle is $213 before a discount is applied

Available in 15 colors. 

  • Luxe Core Sheet Set (one flat sheet, one fitted sheet, two pillowcases)
  • Luxe Duvet Cover
  • Luxe Pillowcases (an extra pair)

Find a full review of the sheets here. We also ranked them the #1 best luxury sheets and the #1 best sateen sheets in the Insider Picks Buying Guides. 



Classic Hardcore Sheet Bundle

The queen-size Classic Hardcore Sheet Bundle is $129 before a discount is applied

Available in 15 colors.

  • Classic Core Sheet Set (one flat sheet, one fitted sheet, two pillowcases)
  • Classic Duvet Cover
  • Classic Pillowcases (an extra pair)


Super-Plush Complete Towel Set

The Super-Plush Complete Towel Set is $189 before a discount is applied

Available in four colors. 

  • Two "Bath Sheets"
  • Two bath towels
  • Two hand towels
  • Two washcloths
  • Bath mat

Find a full review here.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I drove an electric car for the first time under intense conditions — and it performed better than I expected (GM)

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chevy bolt autocross

  • I drove an electric vehicle, a Chevrolet Bolt EV, for the first time on an autocross course.
  • The Bolt's acceleration wasn't remarkable, but it handled well. I felt like it was always under control, even when I pushed it into a series of hard turns.
  • I came away with a positive impression of the Bolt. Almost none of the maneuvers required by the course would apply to everyday driving, but the course demonstrated how the Bolt could hold up in unusual circumstances.

 

A Chevrolet Bolt EV is not the first car you might think to use on an autocross track.

Autocross is a timed competition in which cones are arranged, often in a flat and spacious environment like a parking lot, to create a course that tests a driver's ability to make a number of tight turns with precision. A modestly-priced car might not seem like the most logical choice for this sort of event, but on a 2017 list of the cars best suited for autocross, the automotive publication Road & Track included affordable vehicles like the Ford Fiesta and Honda Civic alongside the Porsche Cayman and Chevrolet Corvette.

Like the Fiesta, the Bolt is light and compact, which helps with agility and tight turns. And its 266 pound-feet of torque tops competitors like the Nissan Leaf (236 pound-feet) and the BMW i3 (184 pound-feet). While it won't provide blistering acceleration (it takes 6.2 seconds to go from 0-60 mph) or race car-level handling, the Bolt can navigate tight turns and frequent changes in speed without spinning out of control. 

The Bolt was also the first fully-electric vehicle I'd driven. First released in late 2016, the Bolt is General Motors' mass-market electric car, beating Tesla's mass-market vehicle, the Model 3, to market by a year. With 238 miles of range, the Bolt set out to ease range anxiety without breaking the bank. 

While my first experience with the Bolt  — and electric cars in general — in May came under unusual circumstances, it demonstrated how electric vehicle technology has progressed to a point where early stereotypes about electric vehicles being flimsy and impractical no longer apply.

Here's how the Bolt held up over three hours of runs on an autocross track.

SEE ALSO: I drove a $44,000 Chevy Bolt for a weekend and saw just how far electric cars have come — but I also discovered a glaring problem

The autocross course was set up in the parking lot of Citi Field, the New York Mets' baseball stadium, near the end of May.



Five total cars were available to drive — four Chevy Bolts and a gas-powered Volkswagen Golf GTI.



Two of the Bolts had all-season tires, like the one in this photo.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We drove a $65,000 Audi Q7 and a $60,000 Volvo XC90 to find out which one is a better luxury SUV — here's the verdict

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Audi Q7 Thumb

  • The Audi Q7 and the Volvo XC90 are two of the best luxury crossover SUVs in the world.
  • The Audi Q7 and the Volvo XC90 offer its occupants luxury car comfort and minivan-like utility with the off-road capability of an SUV.
  • The Audi Q7 starts $49,900 while the Volvo XC90 starts at $46,900.
  • The Audi Q7's superior driving dynamics and infotainment system edges out the Volvo XC90 which has greater cargo room and more attractive styling. 

The large crossover SUV makes a whole lot of sense.

It combines the user-friendly nature of passenger cars with the utility of a minivan and much of the off-road prowess of a traditional SUV.

And for those looking for a more plush crossover experience, the luxury brands have that covered. Two of the best large luxury crossovers we've ever tested are the Audi Q7 and the Volvo XC90.

The Volvo arrived in 2015 just in time for the 2016 model year while the Audi debuted in 2016 as a 2017 model. 

The Volvo XC90 was a revelation for us when we first tested the car in late 2015. It was the first new model to arrive in showrooms following the Swedish automaker's acquisition by China's Geely Group. 

We loved the second generation XC90 so much that we gave it our 2015 Car of the Year award over some stiff competition like the BMW 7-Series and the Lamborghini Huracan. Amazingly, with the impending arrival of the new S60 sedan, the XC90 will soon become the oldest model in Volvo's lineup.

Read more: We drove a $64,000 BMW X5 and a $65,000 Audi Q7 to find the winner in our battle of luxury SUVs — here's the verdict.

And then there's the Audi Q7. In our review of the second generation Q7, Matt DeBord referred to the Audi as the luxury SUV perfected.  

In spite of the presence of the A8 luxury sedan, the Q7 is effectively Audi's luxury halo product. The original Q7 debuted back in 2007. In spite of early criticism of its aesthetics, the big Audi eventually developed into a fan favorite.

Both crossovers are built on modular platforms and share their underpinnings with passengers cars. The Q7 is built on VW Group's MLB Evo platform that's shared with the Audi A4 sedan and Bentley Bentayga SUV. While the XC90 is built on Volvo's SPA platform that underpins the company's entire passenger car lineup. 

Here's a closer look at how the Audi Q7 3.0T Prestige and the Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription matches up: 

SEE ALSO: We drove a $40,000 Jeep Cherokee SUV to see if the American icon is still one of the best money can buy — here's the verdict

FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content!

First up is the Volvo XC90.

The Volvo XC90 starts at $46,900 for a base, front-wheel-drive T5 Momentum while our luxury spec T6 Inscription test car starts at $59,450.  

Volvo also offers the XC90 as a plug-in hybrid with a starting price of $64,950. 

While those looking for a luxury limousine feel can opt for the Volvo XC90 Excellence which starts $104,900. 



Aesthetically, the XC90 is simply stunning. It exudes effortless style and elegance. Volvo's "Thor's Hammer" headlight is a stand out design feature.



The XC90's rear end is punctuated by dual exhausts and vertical taillights —a feature carried from the first generation model.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I drove a $53,000 Toyota Tundra pickup to see if it's on par with Chevy and Ford trucks — here's the verdict

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Toyota Tundra

  • The Toyota Tundra is typically the fourth-best-selling full-size pickup truck in the US.
  • The Tundra is aging, but it has a reliable design that's up against new pickups from the Detroit Big 3: Chevy, Ford, and Ram.
  • Despite its age, the Tundra is a great pickup that is notably easy to drive and, in an upscale trim package, comes with a lot of luxurious features.

In the world of the full-size pickup truck, the Ford F-150 rules the realm. Its perennial challengers are the Chevy Silverado and the Ram 1500.

You could be forgiven if you thought this massive US market was a trifecta, full stop. But there are other large pickups in the land. And they are worthy.

The worthiest is the Toyota Tundra. While Toyota sells just about 115,000 of these every year and Ford moves close to 1 million F-150s, the Tundra is no slouch when it comes to pickups. Among those in the pickup-truck know, Toyotas are considered more or less indestructible.

You buy the F-150 because it's ... well, because it's an F-150. You might own a dozen in a lifetime.

You buy the Tundra if you think you might want to go to your final reward having owned just one truck.

That's an exaggeration, but not far off. You do have to make some trades. Trucks from Detroit's big three automakers can be lavishly luxurious these days, while most Toyota pickups we've sampled at Business Insider have been sort of bare-bones.

And then a tasty Toyota Tundra 1794 Crewmax, tipping the cost scales at about $53,000, landed at our test center in suburban New Jersey. It was different. Very different.

The Tundra has been around since 2000 and has amassed a loyal following, even as it fails to seriously compete with the big three. (The current generation arrived in 2007 and was updated in 2014, making it a pretty old platform.) That certainly doesn't mean Toyota doesn't take the Tundra seriously. In a week of driving it around — with a nice long run to the Catskills in upstate New York thrown in — I found out why.

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Behold, the Toyota Tundra, Crewmax configuration — rather out of its element in the leafy suburbs of northern New Jersey.



The competition among full-size pickups is brutal. Here's the Raptor high-performance version of the Ford F-150.

Read the review »



And here's a similar high-performance Chevy Silverado Z71.

Read the review »



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the 25 most powerful militaries in the world in 2018

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With its National Defense Strategy released earlier this year, the US detailed its shift from small-scale operations like counterinsurgency and toward a potential fight with a rival like Russia or China.

Countries around the world have made similar moves, refocusing on large-scale conflict.

Amid those changes, head-to-head comparisons of military strength are hard to come by. Global Firepower's 2018 Military Strength Ranking tries to fill that void by drawing on more than 55 factors to assign a Power Index score to 136 countries — adding Ireland, Montenegro, and Liberia to last year's list.

The ranking assesses the diversity of each country's weapons and pays particular attention to their available manpower. Geography, logistical capacity, available natural resources, and the status of local industry are also taken into account.

While recognized nuclear powers receive a bonus, their nuclear stockpiles are not factored into the score. Landlocked countries are not docked for lacking a navy, but countries with navies are penalized if there is a lack of diversity in their fleets.

NATO countries get a slight bonus because the alliance theoretically shares resources, but in general, a country's current political and military leadership was not considered (though financial health and stability are).

The top power index score is 0.0000, which is "realistically unattainable" for any military according to Global Firepower. The closer they are to this number, the more powerful their military is.

Per these criteria, these are the 25 most powerful militaries in the world:

SEE ALSO: Step aboard the USS Kearsarge, the US Navy workhorse that takes Marines to war

25. Canada

Power Index rating: 0.4356 (NATO member)

Total population: 35,623,680

Total military personnel: 88,000

Total aircraft strength: 413

Fighter aircraft: 60

Combat tanks: 80

Total naval assets: 63

Defense budget: $16.4 billion



24. Taiwan

Power Index rating: 0.4331

Total population: 23,508,428

Total military personnel: 1,932,500

Total aircraft strength: 843

Fighter aircraft: 286

Combat tanks: 2,005

Total naval assets: 87

Defense budget: $10.725 billion



23. Algeria

Power Index rating: 0.4296

Total population: 40,969,443

Total military personnel: 792,350

Total aircraft strength: 528

Fighter aircraft: 97

Combat tanks: 2,405

Total naval assets: 85

Defense budget: $10.57 billion



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We ranked the 9 teams still alive for the College Football Playoff based on which have the best shot to make it

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Notre Dame

  • Only nine teams still have a shot to make the College Football Playoff.
  • We have ranked the nine teams based on which have the best shot to make the playoff.
  • This week we have a new No. 1 team as Notre Dame now has the easiest path to the playoff.


Even though the College Football Playoff committee ranks 25 teams each week, there are only nine schools that still have a legit shot to be in college football's final four.

While the committee looked at what teams have done so far, we looked ahead at which teams have the easiest and most likely paths to making the final four.

Below, we ranked the nine remaining contenders based on who has the best chances to make the playoff.

9. UCF

Record: 10-0

Last week's result: Beat Cincinnati, 38-13

Playoff ranking: 9

Key games remaining: USF on the road and The American title game.

One thing to know: There is a path to the playoff for UCF, but here is what they need to happen: 1) Notre Dame loses to USC; 2) the winner of Michigan-Ohio State loses to Northwestern; 3) Georgia loses to Alabama; 4) Oklahoma loses to West Virginia or Texas; 5) Washington State loses to Washington or in the Pac-12 title game. That would leave Alabama and Clemson as playoff locks with UCF in the conversation for the final spots. Piece o' cake.



8. Washington State

Record: 10-1

Last week's result: Beat Arizona, 69-28

Playoff ranking: 8

Key games remaining: Washington at home and (if they beat the Huskies) a 3- or 4-loss team in the Pac-12 title game.

One thing to know: Wazzu deserves a better shot at the playoff than they have. Their issue is that they got on the radar too late in the season and now they don't have a chance to add any signature wins under the spotlight.



7. Ohio State

Record: 10-1

Last week's result: Beat Maryland, 52-51

Playoff ranking: 10

Key games remaining: Michigan at home and (if they beat the Wolverines) Northwestern in the Big Ten title game.

One thing to know: Ohio State is still behind Washington State and UCF in the ranking, but if they win out they would be adding two wins over ranked teams, including one currently in the playoff picture. That might not be enough to get them all the way into the top four, but they have a better path to getting into the conversation.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I'm a Brit who just tried Taco Bell for the first time, and these 7 things surprised me

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Taco Bell opening Hammersmith, London

  • Taco Bell has arrived in London.
  • The Tex-Mex franchise's first restaurant opened in the English capital on Friday.
  • INSIDER's London bureau went along to see what all the fuss was about.
  • While fast food restaurants are, of course, omnipresent in the city — several things surprised us about the experience.

Taco Bell has landed in London, England.

The Tex-Mex franchise has opened its first restaurant in the capital with three more to follow in the coming months.

Given the restaurant's overwhelming popularity in the states, INSIDER's London bureau had to go along to see what all the fuss was about.

"We've had our sights set on London for quite some time, and as we continue growing internationally, we're excited to bring Taco Bell to one of the world’s largest cities – and one of our most-requested markets," said Liz Williams, President, Taco Bell International.

The fast-food chain has some pretty aggressive expansion plans in the UK and across Europe, so it may not be long till Taco Bells are as omnipresent across the pond as they are stateside.

"We've seen an overwhelmingly positive response to our U.K. restaurants, and have ambitious plans for growth in London and the broader U.K., targeting more than 30 U.K. restaurants by the end of the year."

Scroll down to see what surprised us most about the experience.

1. Taco Bell in the UK looks a lot different to Taco Bell in the US...

Whenever I've seen Taco Bells in the US they always seem to be large, detached properties in a kind of Spanish colonial Mexican heritage style build.

In London, however, where the roads are not so wide and the sky is not always so blue, Taco Bell blended in quite seamlessly in its typical British high street in west London.



... Inside and out

In the US (right), Taco Bells seem to be quite light and airy with plenty of windows, whereas in the UK the interiors are a little more dark and oaky.

It wasn't unpleasant, per se, but there wasn't a lot of natural light.



2. It wasn't just tacos

Who would've thought it?

The Taco Bell menu was extensive, ranging from this Crunchwrap Supreme (pictured) to burritos to nachos to loaded fries.

There was also a number of combo meals like the Big Bell Box, which we were told is one of the only menu options that is carried across all of the chain's territories.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

13 of the best looks from 'Set It Up'

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Netflix's rom-com game seriously came to play in 2018, and one of the standout original features was "Set it Up."

The film stars Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell as Harper and Charlie, two overworked assistants. In an effort to get their bosses out of the office and away from micromanaging their lives, they conspire to help them fall in love — and find each other along the way.

The movie was a big hit for viewers, and it delivers on much more than just a charming storyline front.

Between Harper's effortlessly casual, yet professional wear and co-star Lucy Liu's power dresses and suits, it's a fashion feast.

Here are the 13 best looks from the movie.

Harper's first work outfit sets the tone for her character.

Harper has an amazing collection of sweaters and button-ups, but she knows how to tone down a look with some frayed-hem jeans and sneakers.

Add in her perfectly messy bun and she's just disheveled enough for me to believe she's actually a struggling assistant getting practically no sleep.



Then there's Lucy Liu, who knows how to power dress.

An all-red pantsuit is quite a bold outfit, but Liu's character Kirsten is definitely confident enough to pull it off.



Harper made baseball hats look chic.

Harper has so many Yankees clothes that she actually changed into a second outfit mid-game.

Oh, and it's not enough to just have a Yankees T-shirt, hat, bomber jacket, and sweatshirt. She even has the foam finger.



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9 ways to write an irresistible email subject line no one will be able to ignore

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  • You might be wondering how to write an effective email subject line.
  • There are several ways to take a subject line from so-so to excellent.
  • Experts told Business Insider that getting specific, like including a deadline or how you know the person you're emailing, is important. 

 

A boring email subject line might mean that your email will never be read. 

"You do have to grab enough attention with the subject line to make it worth your reader's time," Marc Cenedella, CEO of Ladders, told Business Insider.

You might already know to avoid writing your emails in all caps or otherwise sounding like spam. But, what should you include instead?

Business Insider asked experts to understand the key components of any email subject line — whether you're emailing a coworker or a potential mentor. Here's what they told us to include: 

SEE ALSO: 7 common mistakes people make when writing email subject lines

A verb

If you're getting a request from a potential connection to get lunch, you're more likely to be interested in "Let's grab Thai food" than "Networking lunch request." Begin your subject lines with a verb rather than a bland summary of your request.

"Subject lines that begin with action verbs tend to be a lot more enticing, and your emails could be drastically more clickable by adding a vibrant verb at the beginning,"suggests HubSpot

"Your subject line should always state exactly what you want as a way to grab attention," career coach Judge Graham told Business Insider. 



Tags

Dmitri Leonov, cofounder of email assistant tool SaneBox, suggested adding tags like [Time Sensitive], [Urgent], or [Action Item] at the beginning of your subject so your recipient knows just what the message entails — and how urgent it is to reply.

As a caveat, don't tag all your emails with these, especially if you don't know the person you're messaging. The 13th "urgent" email that week about, say, the office's new dishwasher brand is going to be ignored.



NNTO or EOM

NNTO means "no need to open," while EOM means "end of message."

If you just need to send a quick, casual update to your team or a connection, Leonov said this tag is a great addition to a email subject line. Just write what's important in the subject and leave it at that.

Some workplaces might prefer to send this sort of note over a messaging app, like Slack, instead of fill up people's inboxes. But if your workplace is email-reliant, this might be a useful tip for you. 



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I stopped drinking for six weeks — here are 10 surprising things I learned from my period of sobriety

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  • If you stop drinking, even for a brief period, it can alter your perspective of alcohol consumption.
  • Here, author Bob Curley details 10 lessons he learned from being sober for six weeks.

Nearly everyone who enjoys a good drink has joked at some point about giving their liver a break. After a recent medical procedure, I did it in real life for health reasons.

I didn't touch an alcoholic drink for a month and a half — or, as I like to say, my longest period of stone-cold sobriety since I started drinking as a teenager.

I'm back to moderate drinking now, but some of the lessons I learned during those six weeks have stuck with me.

Here are 10 things that surprised me when I temporarily quit drinking:

SEE ALSO: I just turned 50 — here are 10 life lessons I wish I'd learned a decade ago

1. Nearly all social interactions involve some sort of alcohol.

The first thing I did when I decided to lay off the booze was look at my calendar. It was pretty daunting: Over the course of the upcoming six weeks was a vacation to Las Vegas, a business trip to Florida, a dinner date with my wife, various pickup hockey games, a guys' trip to Boston for a ski show, and an overnight in New York City.

Under normal circumstances, I'd be drinking during every one. My first lesson: don't underestimate how hard it is to avoid alcohol.



2. Few restaurants and bars offer decent alternatives to alcohol.

Nonalcoholic beer and wine exist, but you'd be hard-pressed to find either at a bar or restaurant. One New York eatery was kind enough to list a couple of nonalcoholic drinks on their cocktail menu, but I was mostly limited to sipping water or various mixers, like cola, ginger beer, and cranberry juice.

 



3. Nobody really cares whether you drink or not.

It definitely feels awkward the first few times you're out and someone asks for your drink order. But I found that if you don't offer an explanation of why you don't want beer, wine, or a cocktail, nobody actually asks why. Your friends will happily sip their own drinks in blissful disregard of your profound exercise in self-control.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's what Thanksgiving looked like for US troops at the southern border

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U.S. Army soldiers deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border serve a Thanksgiving meal to fellow troops at a base near the Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge on November 22, 2018 in Donna, Texas. Culinary specialists prepared 34 Turkeys along with a full Thanksgiving buffet for the hundreds of troops stationed between Donna and Weslaco, Texas.

  • The Department of Defense delivered thousands of pounds of traditional Thanksgiving food to deployed units.
  • Thanksgiving was a "light-duty day" for US troops at the US-Mexico border, a reprieve after weeks of running razor wire and erecting barriers.
  • The US military personnel deployed to the border are at the center of a heated debate over immigration, as they were sent to help Customs and Border Protection secure the southern border against migrant caravans.

Thousands of US troops spent the Thanksgiving holiday not with their families but at the US-Mexico border, where they are awaiting the arrival of migrant caravans alongside the border-patrol personnel they were deployed to support and defend from harm.

The Pentagon provided traditional Thanksgiving meals to American troops at the border as well as those abroad in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of the world.

These photos show what the holiday looked like for some of the US troops at the border.

The Department of Defense sent more than 300,000 pounds of traditional Thanksgiving food to American troops serving overseas and at the southern US border, the Pentagon said Monday.



"Many of America's military men and women are away from home this Thanksgiving, making sacrifices to secure our freedom and to protect our southern border," Army Brig. Gen. Mark Simerly, the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support commander, said in a statement.

"The DLA Troop Support staff and I are excited about this amazing opportunity to provide them the very best Thanksgiving meal our country has to offer," he said.

Source: CNN



51,234 pounds of roasted turkey, 16,284 pounds of sweet potatoes, 81,360 pies, 19,284 cakes, and 7,836 gallons of eggnog were sent to 270 dining facilities serving US military personnel.

Source: The Washington Post, The Hill



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The founders of successful companies like Lyft, Harry's, and Drybar share their best advice on making business partnerships work

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  • Choosing a business partner (or choosing not to have one) is one of the most important decisions an entrepreneur makes.
  • On Business Insider's podcast, "This Is Success," we've discussed navigating partnerships with the founders of Lyft, Harry's, Drybar, and GOAT, as well as a promoter working with clients like Drake and Mary J. Blige.
  • Common lessons concern defining clear responsibilities, sharing a vision, and setting personal boundaries — lessons that also apply to leading teams.

One of the most popular cliches about business partnerships is that they're like marriages. And while that might sound corny, it's true in many ways.

Building your business is like building a family. You'll share joyous occasions, and you'll have fights that threaten to tear everything apart. But when you agree to a partnership, you're deciding to go through all of this, the good and the bad, together, because you believe that it's better for both of you than going it alone.

You can listen to the full "Master Class" episode here »

We've interviewed many cofounders on Business Insider's podcast "This Is Success," and we've collected the best advice on navigating the ups and downs of working with a partner, from the founders of ride-sharing company Lyft, personal care company Harry's, blowout salon chain Drybar, high-end sneaker retailer GOAT, and one of New Orleans' premier event businesses.

SEE ALSO: The fast-food CEO who took over Burger King when he was 32 explains how to find and develop young talent, and how to rise in your own career

Lyft cofounders John Zimmer and Logan Green met by chance, but Zimmer learned that shared enthusiasm is worth taking a risk.

John Zimmer: In 2007, I was on Facebook one night and Logan Green, my co-founder, who I didn't know at the time, posted on a mutual friend's Facebook page that he was launching a website called Zimride. And what I came to realize is that he named Zimride after a trip he took to Zimbabwe, where he saw people sharing rides out of necessity, which happens in many developing countries, and he had built it himself and was obsessed with providing an alternative to car ownership. And I reached out to our mutual friend and I said, "How well do you know Logan and why the hell did he call his company Zimride?"

And so I reached out to the mutual friend, Logan flew to New York, and we met each other and this was 10 years ago and we started working together.

Alyson Shontell: How does that happen? You find someone who eventually becomes your cofounder, who you've never met. You live on opposite coasts. This is like long distance dating to the extreme. Plus you've got this other full time, I would assume, demanding job at Lehman.

Zimmer: Yeah I wasn't sleeping much, I was really excited. But I just was way more passionate about working on Zimride and felt like that was really important to be doing and so I decided I was going to leave after my two-year analyst program. I was told that I was crazy to leave a sure thing like Lehman Brothers for a silly carpool startup. And again, Lehman wasn't around three months later. And then I used Zimride to carpool across the country to meet Logan and we both moved to Silicon Valley.

Shontell: Wow. And you guys just hit it off and you're like, "I could do this with you, this could be great."

Zimmer: Yeah I mean at that point it was a side project and so it felt like a school project where there was a lot of interest, passion, and we had a big vision but we didn't know what it was going to be and so we just wanted to see it work. We wanted to see if we could flip a student population at a university. We were mostly focused on college campuses and making the majority carpool to get home for spring break. That was the main challenge and that's what we were trying to solve. So we moved to Palo Alto and Menlo Park. For the first three years we didn't take a salary.

Shontell: Three years, no salary?

Zimmer: Yeah. I think, at least.

Shontell: Good thing you saved a lot of money.

Zimmer: Yeah so it was helpful that I had saved some money. And we basically lived in an apartment that was also our office, we called it the apart-fice. And actually I slept on the couch for at least six months before upgrading to my best friend's parent's house, which was a major upgrade, got a full bed. And then not until my now-wife came out and said, "This is ridiculous, we need a little bit of space," and then moved out of that situation.

Listen to the full episode »



Before starting Harry's with Andy Katz-Mayfield, Jeff Raider was a cofounder of eyeglasses brand Warby Parker, where he learned partnerships thrive when cofounders have clearly defined responsibilities and set aside their egos.

Jeff Raider: So I mean, I think having cofounders and co-CEOs in a company is great if you feel like you've got a great relationship with that other person, and your skills complement each other well. You know, when you're starting a company, early on, you've got so many things you've got to do. I mean, there's all these different functional buckets, and then there's 100 items under each of those that you have to think about, you know? Just to ship product, you have to find a distribution partner. You have to negotiate the right rates. You have to figure out the right protocols and processes. And so, there's just way too much for any one person to do. You've got to build a team that can help. And if you want to be excellent at a lot of those things early on, having amazing people who can, I think, drive different pieces of that is really valuable. And I think, you know, it was helpful for us to be able to kind of divide and conquer in that way; trust each other, in an implicit way, that we were going to execute well on our individual pieces; and then obviously, align on the areas of intersection on sort of the general vision for the business.

Richard Feloni: So, how would the co-CEO model be different from, say, one of you being a CEO, and one being the COO?

Raider: Yeah. I think, you know, for us, we always felt like we were equal partners in this business. That's how we structured the business, economically. That's how we structured our sort of engagement with the team. It's us, doing this together. And so, we felt like creating unnecessary hierarchy would just complicate that dynamic. And it's always been that dynamic. You know, Andy and I kind of joke that we finish each other's sentences. We now, we've known each other for 15 years. We've spent so much time together, and that, sometimes, our email should just be Jeff and Andy at Harrys.com, instead of Jeff at Harry's, or Andy at Harry's. You know, like your grandparents have an email, you know, whatever-

Feloni: Like a shared email, yeah.

Raider: Yeah. And so, you know, we feel like it is a partnership, and that our titles just reflect that partnership. We're also not precious about titles. I've never been like, you know, "Oh, I'm," this title or that tile.

Feloni: If you have equal footing, has there ever been moments where you've butt heads?

Raider: I mean, I think there are times when we disagree, but I think we have a tremendous amount of mutual respect for each other. And so, our disagreements are never personal. It's always just sort of objective, like what is the right answer to this specific question. And then, we usually use logic and reasoning to sort of solve it. The other thing that we've done a lot is, if we have really hard problems that we're not sure of, we talk a lot about the fact that there's not always necessarily a right answer. And so, what we then, often times, do is just get amazing advisors around us, and present those questions as a unified front; together, say, "Listen, we're thinking about this. We're actually not sure. Here are the benefits. Here are the drawbacks. Can you just help us think through this?" And I think, oftentimes, their input is really valuable to our decision making process as well.

Feloni: So, it sounds like the way that you guys have figured it out is a matter of like, setting aside your egos, and just letting someone choose?

Raider: I think that's right. And I think we respected each other's perspectives and ability to sort of drive our parts of the business together. When it came to strategy, where are we taking the company, what do we want to build in the longterm, I think that's where we spent more time together. And I think, you know, one of the things that we always talk about is that strategy is what you don't do, as opposed to what you decide to do, because we have all these opportunities. And so for us, it was about thinking about, "Okay, what are the things that we really want to do, and the things that we're not sure about," and then getting input from our team, and board, and advisors, and other people at the right points in time, to help us where those answers may not be as clear.

Listen to the full episode »



Alli Webb started Drybar with her brother Michael Landau and her husband Cameron Webb, and the experience taught her it's necessary to draw a line between personal and professional lives.

Alli Webb: I think when you run and operate your own business, it's really hard to draw that line between personal and business.  We're always all talking about the business. It's just the fabric of our lives, really. There's definitely been fights and disagreements, but I think it goes back to that level of respect we have for each other, that we trust, and that there's an innate trust that's there. I think you don't always have to be just with your family, and a partnership with your family to have that, but having somebody you really trust that feels like family is crucial.

Feloni: Is there a moment that you could point to, either in the early days, or even as it was scaling, where one of those were, it was maybe threatening a personal relationship, but you figured it out?

Webb: Yeah, I mean in the very early days I was kind of the conduit between Cameron and Michael I would be sending, this is very early days, I would send Michael something that Cameron had designed, and been like, "Hey, what do you think of this?" Then Michael would be like, "Well, I don't really like blah, blah, blah, blah." I'd say, "Well, Michael doesn't like this." And Cameron would be like "What the f---? Why doesn't he like that? It's so stupid." And I would be like, "I don't know, I'm just the in-between here." It was a bad place to be. Finally, it sounds so simple in retrospect, but finally I was like, "You guys just talk to each other. I don't want to be in the middle of this anymore."

It forced them to stop using me as this go-between of this back and forth, because that's never a good idea. For them to talk directly, there was a much greater level, they're not technically related, so there was a little more respect, I guess, between them, versus just saying whatever they wanted to me, because I was the sister and the wife. So, that was a lesson we learned really early.

Then what happened, it was kind of magical, because Cameron's such a great designer, and marketer, and my brother is such an amazing marketer. So, when the two of them would get together and talk about things, it would get even better. It was like a blessing to actually get them to talk to one another versus talking through me, which was not a good idea. Which we learned the hard way. I think that's why the partnership works so well.

Feloni: Staying in different lanes.

Webb: Yeah. Having strengths, and knowing your strengths, and your weaknesses. What you're good at, and what you're not, I think, is incredibly important for any business, no matter what it is. I feel like just how Drybar is built on this premise of doing one thing and doing it really well. I think that I have a lot of different skill sets, but I think my main skill, and best, and highest use with this brand is making sure the hair looks and feels a certain way in the training of the hair, the customer service, how the shop's run. That's all my stuff. That's the stuff I know and understand. Michael is dealing with finding leases, and negotiating terms and all the sh-- I hate. And Cameron, I didn't really understand branding until we started building Drybar, and Cameron was so adamant about everything being yellow. I always tell the story our first Valentine's Day, the shop was open, I wanted to bring in pink flowers, because it's Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day, it's pink and red. He was like, "No the flowers have to be yellow."

Feloni: Go against branding.

Webb: Yeah. Everything has to be yellow, and gray and white. I slowly, but surely, learned that from him. And I learned so much from my brother about figuring out spaces, and learning how to raise money, and all those things. So, we've all taught each other so much about each other's areas, but there is still that level of respect of like, "This is what you do. This is what I do." So, we divide and conquer.

Listen to the full episode »



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