You can get just about anything delivered to your front door on a monthly basis — and clothing subscriptions are one of the most useful online services available.

For most guys, shopping is a hassle. Whether you need some assistance in the style department or you just don't have the time to scour the web for good deals on clothes, subscription boxes are an easy way to be fashionable, while saving money and time. 

As online clothing subscriptions become increasingly popular, they're getting even better at accurately meeting your needs and wants. From full outfits and shoes, to essentials like socks and underwear, there are some really great options out there. 

If you're looking to revamp your wardrobe, sock drawer, or simply need a few stylish accessories to improve your look, you're in the right place. 

We rounded up the 5 best clothing subscription services for men. Check them out below.

Frank and Oak

Style Plan Subscription Service (small)

Founded in 2012 by childhood friends Ethan Song and Hicham Ratnani, Frank And Oak is a sustainable clothing startup that makes stylish wardrobe essentials more affordable for men. While the brand does have a traditional online shop, the Style Plan allows you to get clothing on a monthly basis. Unlike other subscriptions that pull products from a pool of brands, Frank And Oak's Style Plan only uses its own designs.

If you're a fan of a minimal aesthetic or interested in building a wardrobe filled with basics — not weird graphic tees and funky sweaters you would have never bought in a store — then Frank and Oak is leaps and bounds better than most other subscription boxes.

After taking the quick quiz on your style preferences, you can set a budget for each category of clothing that will arrive in your future boxes. This is a great feature because you can save on items you don't need or want, while still splurging on categories you like.

Every box includes four on-trend items ranging from $29-$149. When I gave the service a try, all of the pieces were $70 or less, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well made they were. In addition to having control over the subscription items you keep, you can also buy individual items from the Frank And Oak Collection— and Style Plan members receive exclusive discounted prices.

Read our full review on the Frank And Oak Style Plan here.

Stitch Fix

Men's Personal Styling Subscription (small)

Stitch Fix also uses a personal stylist to help you step up your fashion game. Take the style quiz to tell the company about your usual aesthetic, fit, and price preferences, and a stylist will curate five pieces for you to try on at home. You get to keep what you like and send the rest back in a prepaid return envelope. You won't be charged until your returned items are received.

The best part about Stitch Fix is that you can create orders on-demand or set up automatic deliveries. That way, clothes won't come too infrequently or too often. Additionally, you can change your styles depending on the season. If you're looking for tropical floral prints for an upcoming vacation, just let your stylist know.

MeUndies

Men's Membership (small)

Underwear is one piece of clothing you probably wear every single day so it's important to invest in good pairs. MeUndies is the perfect way to get new underwear without having to run to the store regularly. Every month, you'll receive a pair of underwear in your style of choice — users will get to choose between adventurous, bold, and classic memberships. Adventurous features everything from smiley faces to pandas, bold uses bright solid colors, and classic sticks to simple colors like black and grey.

MeUndies offers underwear for everyone, so matching pairs are a possibility, too. Simply choose your and your partner's or friend's preferences and get matching pairs monthly. 

You can also set up monthly subscriptions for socks to build a fun collection. In addition to socks and underwear, members can save on other cozy clothing like sweatshirts, T-shirts, lounge pants, and joggers.

Read our full review on MeUndies here.

Nice Laundry

Socks Subscription (small)

Socks and underwear are often overlooked until you're left with a drawer full of mismatches with holes in them. Nice Laundry is a super easy way to stock up on these essential items while adding a lot of variety. You can choose between the Sock of the Month, which delivers one pair every month for $11, the quarterly subscription, which delivers 7 pairs every three months for $49, and the annual subscription, which includes 19 pairs in one annual delivery for $99.

With everything from no-show and athletic socks to crazy designs and traditional dress socks, the choices are endless. Fill your box with all socks, all underwear, or a combination of both; it's completely up to you.

Gentleman's Box

Classic Subscription (small)

Unlike subscriptions that include full outfits, Gentleman's Box sends 4-6 accessories like socks, ties, sunglasses, watches, tie clips, pocket squares, and grooming products. By including coordinated accessories, the startup helps you find a new look without buying an entire outfit, and at just $29 a month, the cost is kept low. Single item "Sock of the Month" and "Tie of the Month" subscriptions are also available for $12 and $15, respectively.

Even if you already own items similar to what was included, Gentleman's Box allows you to try combinations you may not have put together on your own. Since the items are packaged together it makes conceptualizing a new outfit extremely easy.

Read our full review on Gentleman's Box here.

• Visitors flock to DC for its history, iconic landmarks, top-notch restaurants, and world-class museums.
• Airbnbs are a safer option than hotels, and range from Victorian rowhouses to penthouses with views. 
• We rounded up the best Airbnbs in Washington, DC, ranging from $98 to $500 per night.

There's far more to Washington, DC than politics and the National Mall. Whether you're in town to see the iconic landmarks, experience thousands of cherry blossom trees achieve peak bloom, explore the historic sights of DC's Black Broadway (now the U Street corridor), dine at one of the city's many Michelin-starred restaurants, or enjoy the world-class museums, the nation's capital has something to suit a wide range of traveler interests.

And from the historic façades of Capitol Hill to the salty air promenades along the Southwest Waterfront, DC is a culmination of its distinct neighborhoods.

While there are many great hotels and B&Bs in Washington, DC, to choose from, both experts and the CDC advise picking private home rentals like Airbnbs over hotels amidst the pandemic. Not only do you come into contact with fewer people, but Airbnb has also implemented strict Enhanced Clean protocols that all hosts must adhere to while renting out their properties.

Despite these enhanced safety measures, there are still risks associated with traveling for leisure right now, especially to cities. We always recommend following CDC and WHO guidelines when it comes to protecting yourself, such as double masking in public spaces, frequent hand washing, and practicing social distancing. Be sure to read up on local DC guidelines and check to see what monuments, memorials, and museums are open to the public before traveling.

With all that in mind, if you are planning a getaway to the District of Columbia, the city's expansive Airbnb inventory ranges from penthouses with rooftop views to Victorian-era rowhouses in historic neighborhoods.

We selected the best Airbnbs in Washington, DC based on the following criteria:

1. All listings selected are exclusively for the private home or apartment, per current expert recommendations.
2. While affordability was a priority, so was location and walkability to DC's most famous memorials and sights. These rentals have starting rates between $98 to $500 per night and range from sleeping two guests to eight.
3. All are top-rated properties, with a review score of 4.8 or higher, and several are coveted Plus listings.
4. Each property has several unique features and amenities, from Victorian-era turrets and antique furnishings to coveted private rooftop patios and original pieces of art.

Here are the best Washington, DC Airbnbs, sorted by price from low to high.

A private English basement near the historic Eastern Market, $98

Book this private English basement starting from $98 per night

Just four blocks from the historic Eastern Market, the city's oldest public market, staying at this modern listing means being a casual 20-minute stroll away from the US Capitol, Library of Congress, and Supreme Court.

Despite being on the lowest level, this airy English basement apartment is surprisingly well lit. And, it's anything but old; the decor inside this quintessential Capitol Hill rowhouse is clean with a monochromatic color scheme throughout. Pops of pastel pink, along with contemporary works of art, add color to the space, even in the all-white bathroom. There's a full bathroom, including a soaking tub, as well as a washer and dryer, which are ideal for extended stays.

With easy access to some of Washington, DC's best bars and restaurants on Barracks Row, a kitchenette complete with a Keurig and microwave —to reheat leftovers!— is really all you need. Though this is a basement unit, it completely private with its own entrance.

This rental has plenty of availability over the next six months.

Penthouse with a private rooftop patio in the Penn Quarter, $140

Book this penthouse starting from $140 per night

Within walking distance to the National Mall memorials and monuments, as well as the White House, this chic penthouse serves as an ideal base for exploring DC.

In addition to being the former residence of Ulysses S. Grant III, the notable DC building once also served as the location for The Gaslight Club, a prohibition-era chain of men's clubs and password-only speakeasies. A private elevator brings you straight up to the eighth floor, where an open floor plan awaits. Natural lighting through the rental's many windows highlights the space's clean, minimalist design, including its cool concrete floors.

Built-in bookshelves flank a gas-fireplace — ideal for warmth during the chilly Northeastern winters — while the open kitchen features modern appliances and a spacious wooden-top island.

A sofabed in the living room and a Queen bed in the master means up to four guests can stay here. The real draw, however, is the private rooftop patio with sweeping, uninhibited views of downtown Washington DC.

This rental has availability from May onward.

Chic, art-filled apartment in Mount Vernon Square, $145

Book this art-filled apartment starting from $145 per night

Walkability is key when it comes to exploring DC, and this artsy rental in the heart of the district offers travelers just that. Not only is it two blocks from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, but this carefully curated space is also within walking distance to the historic sights of Shaw, as well as the upscale shops and dining at CityCenter, the city's newest downtown development.

Set inside a classic DC rowhouse, this rental features a wide range of eclectic art, from wooden shiplap walls and Portuguese azulejos-tiling in the bathroom to sleek Danish furnishings in the bright living room. There's even a tower of vintage Oshkosh luggage and 20th-century Eastlake door hardware throughout. A cozy nook by the white shuttered windows in the bright, open-plan kitchen serves as the charming respite for a cup of coffee after a day spent exploring the city on foot.

A private outdoor patio serves as a prime people-watching spot during the day, or an al fresco dining area during the idyllic spring or autumn nights.

This rental has limited availability in April, but booking opens up from May to August.

Sleek renovated English basement in Adams Morgan, $168

Book this sleek English basement starting from $168 per night

In the heart of Adams Morgan, just a few blocks north of the main 18th Street drag, you'll find this recently renovated, bright rental. Its multiple windows — an unusual feature for most English basement — mean plenty of natural light illuminates the living and dining areas.

The apartment's blue and gold theme is most evident by a navy and gold star accented wall, though it also continues into the kitchen with the sputnik chandeliers that hang over the kitchen peninsula's white marble countertop. Despite being on the smaller side, the kitchen is fully equipped and includes a Keurig, blender, double-door refrigerator, kettle, and slow cooker. In addition to the two bedrooms, the living room sofa doubles as a sofabed with a plush, memory foam mattress.

This rental has plenty of open dates from mid-March through April.

Charming redbrick Victorian home in Capitol Hill, $275

Book this Victorian home starting from $275 per night

Primely situated in Capitol Hill, one of Washington, DC's oldest neighborhoods, this apartment exudes Old World charm, from its classic redbrick Victorian exterior and turret to hardwood floors and antique furnishings.

The home has been fully modernized to include all the comforts travelers would need during short or long-term visits to the nation's capital. Artwork by local artists adds splashes of color to the whitewashed walls and while floral accents, while verdant potted plants brighten up the space. Heated floors in both the full and half bath are the ultimate source of comfort, especially after stepping out of the subway-tiled, glass walk-in shower.

You can dine under glistening pendant lights at the marble-top kitchen island or have breakfast in the dining area where the sunny bay windows, attached to the apartment's unique turret, are located.

This rental has plenty of availability for the next several months.

Renovated rowhome in the heart of U Street, $275

Book this renovated rowhouse starting from $275 per night

Set in the heart of U Street, this spacious rowhouse is ideal for travelers looking to experience DC's nightlife scene. The exposed redbrick accented walls allude to the area's rich past. Originally built in the latter half of the 19th century, this rental is within walking distance from what now remains of what was once Black Broadway, namely the historic Howard Theatre and Lincoln Theatre, where Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington all performed.

The quaint space comes with everything you need for a comfortable stay, including laundry facilities for extended getaways. The kitchenette's most important asset is its stainless steel, double-door fridge, perfect for leftovers of Washington, DC's signature dish, the chili half-smoke sausage from Ben's Chili Bowl, which is conveniently located right down the street.

This rental has full availability beginning in May.

Airy brownstone in Logan Circle, $319

Book this large brownstone starting from $319 per night

With over 2,000 square feet of space, including a private back patio, this classic brownstone is ideal for a getaway for larger families or pods of friends. Its prime location at the southern end of Logan Circle puts the spacious rental within easy walking distance of grocery stores, trendy restaurants, bars, and cafes that line 14th Street, the neighborhood's main drag.

The first floor features an open-plan living area with high ceilings, three wrought-iron fireplaces, and a wooden dining table that comfortably seats six. Exposed red brick walls and hardwood floors are accented by vibrant pieces of original artwork, while both full bathrooms offer luxurious soaking tubs. Black-out shades feature in each of the bedrooms; there's also a washer and dryer on the second floor.

This house has plenty of availability for bookings.

Spacious rowhouse with a backyard in Dupont Circle, $500

Book this rowhouse with backyard starting from $500 per night

Located on a quiet residential street in Northwest Washington, DC, this vibrant rowhouse retains much of its 1912 charm, including its white shuttered windows, Victorian-era fireplace, and original hardwood floors in the front entryway. But there's plenty of contemporary upgrades, too. A fully furnished basement includes a full bathroom with a walk-in shower, living area, and in-house laundry facilities.

The big, double-door fridge fits plenty of groceries for those who want to stay in and cook, while the plethora of dining options await within walking distance along both 18th and U Streets for those who prefer going out. Large bedrooms, a front porch, and two back decks mean plenty of room for spreading out, making it an ideal choice for families and groups. 

This rental has plenty of open dates over the next few months.

More great Airbnb getaways

• The best Airbnbs in Savannah
• The best cabins in the Catskills
• The best Airbnbs in New England
• The best Airbnbs in Cape Cod
• The best Airbnbs in Maine
• The best Airbnbs in Connecticut  
• The best Airbnbs in Vermont

• Yoga blocks can help you get into difficult poses and deepen your flexibility, or simply provide added support.
• They're not just intended for beginners, either, and can even helped experienced yogis improve their practice.
• Our top pick, Hugger Mugger's Cork Yoga Block is a sturdy, durable block made of eco-friendly material perfect for anyone.

Yoga blocks are an important tool for yogis at any level. Whether you're looking to deepen your flexibility, venturing into new pose territory, or just trying to go easy on your joints and muscles, yoga blocks are key.

They help extend and lengthen your alignment when your flexibility doesn't allow you to reach the floor or touch your toes, and they're great modifiers when you're not quite ready for a full pose. If yoga isn't quite your thing, any kind of dynamic exercise routine can be customized for better strength, flexibility, or even injury prevention with a couple of yoga blocks on hand.

But not all yoga blocks are necessarily the same. In my experience practicing yoga, I've found a variety of yoga blocks designed to help yogis accomplish different things. Some are for basic form assistance while others are perfect for anyone who takes their yoga with them on the road.

One thing is the same for each block featured in this guide, though: No matter what you're using them for and no matter what your goals are, there's a yoga block on this list for you. At the bottom of this guide, I've also included some insight into how to shop for yoga blocks and provided answers to some frequently asked questions.

Here are the best yoga blocks:

• Best yoga block overall: Hugger Mugger Cork Yoga Block
• Best basic yoga block: Gaiam Yoga Block
• Best yoga block and strap set: YogaRat Block and Strap Set
• Best eco-friendly yoga block: Manduka Recycled Foam Yoga Block

Best overall

The Hugger Mugger Cork Yoga Block is made from an eco-friendly cork material with a slip-resistant surface layer to help you keep your pose in place.

Pros: Durable, eco-friendly cork block, non-slip surface

Cons: Cork blocks are heavier, not sold in pairs

One of the main reasons the Hugger Mugger Cork Yoga Block is at the top of our list is because of the material used to make it. Cork is one of the most durable, longest-lasting options when it comes to yoga block materials.

It can withstand frequent use and the typical wear and tear that comes with a good long yogi sweat, and the material is 100% natural. And, the non-slip surface means no awkward sliding around when you kick up into that standing split.

Each 9 x 5.5 x 3.5-inch block weighs nearly 2 pounds, so it isn't as light as some of its foam and cork counterparts. But cork is less malleable than foam, which sometimes provides a more tactile sense of stability. Whereas foam blocks can be squishy or soft to grab and hold on to for balance, cork blocks are sturdy, firm, and weighted, no matter how hard you press on them. With that said, the molded cork is still a soft, finished surface that's comfortable to hold on to and lean on.

If you want something lighter, particularly blocks you can travel with, this cork version may not be appropriate. Instead, we steer you to our other foam-based recommendations.

The Hugger Mugger block is sold individually, which is a bummer since our previous favorite, the HemingWeigh Cork Yoga Blocks, came as a set of two. So, you'll need to get two at the same time to ensure a uniform assist that doesn't distract from your yoga practice. Piecing together a kit one block at a time starts to feel uneven by contrast.

For the more visually sensitive, these cork blocks are just plain attractive. Instead of funky colored foam blocks lying around your apartment or screaming for attention in your yoga class, Hugger Mugger lets you take a more minimalist, subtle approach to your yogi style. If you're more used to practicing or working out at home, it's not an eyesore in your living room or wherever you like to exercise.

Best basic yoga block

The Gaiam Yoga Block is comfortable to grab, soft to the touch, and heavier than most lightweight foam blocks for increased stability.

Pros: Combining a little more heft and stability with the soft surface layer of a foam block will surely make a lot of yogis happy

Cons: If you're looking specifically for a lightweight foam yoga block, this heavier foam version isn't going to do the trick

Gaiam is a respected name in the yoga world, so it's no surprise that its basic yoga block is a popular choice. Simple as it may be, the Gaiam yoga block offers a ton of color options ranging from solid hues to printed and engraved designs, and even stacked color patterns. The foam surface can be washed with light detergents or your favorite yoga spray cleanser and can either be air-dried or towel-dried.

One of the common downsides to foam yoga blocks is their lack of long-term durability. Over time, the sweat and oils from your skin tend to build up on the surface of the foam, making them more slippery and less attractive to look at. Regular washing can usually help protect the surface for longer periods.

A lot of the appeal of foam yoga blocks is the soft, smooth surface that gives a little bit when you're reaching for comfort or support in the middle of a stretch. But sometimes, foam blocks can feel flimsy when they're super lightweight and portable.

Gaiam yoga blocks combine that squishy foam surface with a weightier overall block. Each one weighs 1.5 pounds and measures 9 x 6 x 4-inches so you won't have to deal with your blocks wobbling when you need them most.

Best for travel

The YogaRat Block and Strap Set also includes a cotton yoga strap so you can practice with your own equipment no matter where you are.

Pros: Budget-smart option includes both a block and a strap for beginner yogis or anyone squeamish about sharing studio equipment

Cons: Lightweight foam is typically soft to the touch, so this isn't a great choice for yogis that prefer a more sturdy block to hold on to

YogaRat's block and strap set is a great start for beginner yogis, or anyone looking to personalize their yoga equipment instead of borrowing shared studio items. The YogaRat yoga block is lightweight and portable, and the surface is soft and squishy like many popular foam blocks. 

The 9 x 6 x 4-inch block is made of eco-friendly, non-toxic EVA foam, and the closed cell antimicrobial surface wicks away moisture instead of absorbing sweat. The block is easy to clean and it comes in a variety of different color options.

The YogaRat strap is woven from thick 100% cotton material and comes in as many colors as the block, so you can rock a matching set. At 1.5 inches wide and 8 feet long, the strap is a great addition to a block for yogis who are either just beginning or looking to deepen their practice. Straps can increase flexibility and help you reach into deeper stretching poses, and of course, you'll have also have the block beside you for balance and stability.

Even in the most pristine yoga studios, sharing equipment can get a little gnarly. Instead of trying to block out the germy thoughts, taking a class with your own block and strap set is a great solution for the extra hygienic yogis out there.

Best eco-friendly

The Manduka Recycled Foam Yoga Block combines the eco-friendly benefits of recycled foam material with the look and feel of a sturdy cork block.

Pros: Eco-friendly recycled foam is lightweight and portable but still sturdy and firm in the style of most cork blocks

Cons: This is one of the more expensive yoga blocks out there, so if you're looking for a no-frills stability block this price tag may not be worth it

Manduka's Recycled Foam Yoga Block is one of the lightest options out there, at 0.6 pounds, which is impressive for a 9 x 6 x 4-inch block. The cork-like surface is made from 50% recycled foam material, and its sturdy, firm structure allows you to grip and hold on for balance during challenging poses.

Turning recycled foam into a cork-style block gives the best of both worlds — softness to the touch and lightweight portability packed into a stable block that isn't going anywhere during inversions.

The block's rounded edges make it comfortable to use in any position, without bumping up against the awkward angles of a straight or beveled edge yoga block. And of course, Manduka products carry the brand name trust of one of the yoga world's leading companies. High-quality production standards mean that these blocks are sure to last a long time, and the eco-friendly, recycled materials give a natural look.

This Manduka block is more expensive than some of the other options on our list, but for yogis committed to the environment, a higher price tag is often par for the course. Yogi reviews claim that this block is a long-lasting, durable option thanks to both the recycled material structure and the easily washable surface.

How to shop for yoga blocks

Picking out the perfect yoga block may seem like a fairly straightforward decision, but there are a number of factors to consider. The most important things to consider are your goals, your preferred yoga block material, and how much space you have to transport or store the block. 

What are your goals?

If you're looking to begin or deepen your yoga practice, you may benefit more from a yoga equipment bundle than a single yoga block. Or if your priority is working your way up to a specific pose, maybe your needs are better suited to a single basic block that will help extend your reach until your flexibility is more developed.

Cork or foam? 

Material is another consideration when it comes to choosing your yoga block. Many yoga teachers and educators sing the praises of cork yoga blocks, but other blocks are made from molded foam or recycled eco-friendly options.

Depending on your personal preference, some yoga block materials may feel better to you than others. For example, foam blocks tend to be more malleable and even squishy, while cork yoga blocks are more sturdy and offer more stable surfaces.

How much do you want to carry? 

The material construction of a yoga block directly impacts its weight, as well. If you plan on traveling with your yoga blocks to and from the studio or the gym, the portability of a lightweight foam block may outweigh the squishy soft surfaces.

• CBS All Access will become Paramount Plus on March 4.
• The expanded service will feature new original shows and movies.
• Brand-new Paramount films will also be available to stream as little as one month after they hit theaters.

From revivals of hit '90s shows to original movies based on popular franchises, Paramount Plus is entering the streaming game with dozens of upcoming projects.

The streaming service, a rebranding of CBS All Access, launches on March 4 and will include live sports along with exclusive series and films. In total, Paramount Plus will host a catalog of over 2,500 movies and 30,000 TV episodes, including content based on popular franchises, like "Spongebob,""Star Trek,""Halo," and more. 

If you sign up before March 4, you can get one year of Paramount Plus' limited commercial plan for $30, or one year of its commercial-free plan for $50. That's 50% off the regular price of each annual plan. You can learn more about the service in our full Paramount Plus guide.

Here's a preview of all the original shows and movies announced for Paramount Plus:

Original shows coming in March

When Paramount Plus launches on March 4, several original series will be ready for subscribers to stream. 

Most notably, fans of the lovable sea creatures from Bikini Bottom will immediately get to watch a new "SpongeBob" show. "Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years," a prequel to "SpongeBob Squarepants," will premiere on day one. The 3D-animated show follows a young SpongeBob and other Bikini Bottom friends as they make their way around a camp at Lake Yuckymuck.

In addition to brand-new series, the service will also continue to stream existing CBS All Access originals, like "Star Trek: Picard."

Here's a list of original titles that will be available on Paramount Plus when the service launches:

• "Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years" 
• "60 Minutes Plus"
• "The Real World: Homecoming: New York"
• "Star Trek: Discovery"
• "Star Trek: Lower Decks"
• "Star Trek: Picard"
•  "No Activity" 
•  "Tooning Out the News"
• "The Twilight Zone"
• "The Good Fight"
• "Why Women Kill"

Original movies coming in March

Paramount Plus will also be home to a couple new movies when it launches, including "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run." The film was originally set for a global release in 2020, but the pandemic delayed its US premiere.

Here's a list of new Paramount Plus movies set to debut when the service launches:

• "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run"
• "76 Days"

Original shows without a release date

ViacomCBS has teased a number of upcoming Paramount Plus shows without confirmed release dates. 

The lineup includes live-action remakes of popular series from the past, such as kids programs like "The Fairly OddParents" and "Dora The Explorer." 

Paramount Plus also plans to revisit other existing series and franchises with new "Star Trek" shows, a "Criminal Minds" revival, a prequel to "Yellowstone" called "Y:1883," a drama based on "Flashdance," a reboot of the '90s sitcom "Frasier," and more.

Video game fans can also rejoice that a "Halo" series will come to the streaming service in early 2022.

Here's a list of all the shows announced for Paramount Plus without a release date:

• "Y:1883"
• "Guilty Party"
• "The Man Who Fell To Earth" 
• "iCarly"
• "Rugrats"
• "Star Trek: Prodigy" 
• "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"
• "The Harper House" 
• "Halo"
• "Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies"
• "Frasier" (reboot) 
• "Flashdance"
• "The Fairly OddParents" (live-action)
• "Dora The Explorer" (live-action)
• "Yellowstone: 6666"
• "Land Man" 
• "The Italian Job"
• "Love Story"
• "Mayor of Kingstown"
• "The Offer" 
• "The Parallax View"
• "The Game"
• "Unplugged"
• "Yo! MTV Raps"
• "The Weekly Show with Trevor Noah"
• "For Heaven's Sake"
• "Love Island on Paramount Plus"
• "Ink Masters" 
• "Queen of the Universe" 
• "Road Rules" 
• "Big Brother Live Feeds"
• "The Challenge: All Stars" 
• "Dating Naked"
• "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars"
• "Inside Amy Schumer Specials" 
• "Stories from the Beautiful Game"
• "48 Hours Original: The Lie Detector"
• "Behind the Music"
• "Black Gold"
• "From Cradle to Stage"
• "Watergate"
• "The Real Criminal Minds"
• "Insta Docs"
• "Younger" 

Original movies without a release date

More exclusive movies are also in the works for Paramount Plus.

The popular Nickelodeon franchise "Avatar: The Last Airbender" will see more stories on the streaming service, including a new animated film.

The film will come from Avatar Studios, a collaboration between Nickelodeon Animation Studio as well as "Avatar" creators Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartino.

New horror flicks, including entries in the "Paranormal Activity" and "Pet Sematary" franchises, are also in development for the streaming service.

Here's a rundown of upcoming exclusive movies expected to debut on Paramount Plus:

• "Avatar: The Last Airbender"
• "Paranormal Activity 7"
• "The In-Between"
• "Workaholics"
• "Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon" 
• "Beavis and Butt-Head"
• "Pet Sematary Prequel" 

Brand-new movies coming to Paramount Plus

In addition to all the new original series and films, Paramount Plus will also be the streaming home of upcoming Paramount theatrical releases as little as one month after they hit the big screen.

Some titles will arrive on the service just 30 to 45 days after they premiere in theaters, while others will be added after a longer period of time. Some new MGM movies will also make their way to Paramount Plus.

Here's a list of some upcoming big-screen releases that are scheduled to stream on Paramount Plus in the months following their theatrical releases:

• "A Quiet Place 2" 
• "Mission: Impossible 7" 
• "Top Gun: Maverick"
• "James Bond: No Time to Die" 
• "Creed III" 
• "Transformers 7"
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2"
• "Dungeons and Dragons"
• "Snake Eyes" 

• Sleep trackers can give you more insight into your nightly sleep patterns.
• Some wearables track sleep in addition to other fitness metrics.
• You can also find smart mattress pads that track sleep, if you'd rather not wear a watch or band.

There are many devices that use a variety of sensors to track sleep, including fitness bands, smartwatches, and under-mattress products. All will track your sleep effectively and provide you with in-depth data. Which one you choose will depend on the depth of data you want and whether you want more than just sleep tracking from your device. 

Price also varies considerably, but even if your budget is less than $100 there are still good options available. Often, the sleep-tracking feature works on older, cheaper versions too, so there's no need to buy one of the latest and most expensive Apple Watch Series 6 models.

I've been testing and writing about wearable and mobile technology for more than a decade and have direct experience with most of the devices on this list. I've tried out the sleep- and activity-tracking features for long periods of time, to help you make the best informed choice before you buy. 

Here are the best sleep trackers you can buy:

• Withings Sleep Tracking Mat
• Withings Steel HR
• Apple Watch Series 6
• Fitbit Versa 3
• Samsung Galaxy Fit2

SEE ALSO: The best mattress toppers you can buy

Withings Sleep Pad

The Withings Sleep Tracking Mat goes under your mattress, so you don't have to wear a device to track your sleep. 

This is an under-mattress sleep tracker, meaning there is nothing to wear and also nothing you have to activate. You just get into bed and go to sleep, and the Withings Sleep Tracking Mat does the rest. The pad is placed between the mattress and the bed frame, rather than under the sheets, so you can't feel it's there at all. 

A generous length of cable is attached to the pad and it ends in a USB Type-A connector, which you plug into a power block. There's an app for Android and iOS, and it guides you through the easy setup process. The simplicity of living with the Withings Sleep Tracking Mat is one of its biggest selling points. 

Overnight the pad will record your sleep stages — awake, light, REM, and deep sleep — the duration, how long it takes to get to sleep, your heart rate, any interruptions, and snoring. It assigns a Sleep Score to give you an idea of your overall sleep quality. Data is presented in an easy-to-follow, comprehensive, and attractive way. It logs it all over time to build up a picture of your sleep habits.

The Health Mate app connects to other services, including Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, and Strava. You can also share your data with others as a PDF file. It provides trends and advice on how to improve sleep, too. It does not give you an overview of your night's sleep automatically as a notification, so you'll need to remember to open the app regularly. Unlike a wearable, it's only suitable for sleep tracking. Otherwise, the Withings Sleep is an excellent sleep tracking system.

Withings Steel HR

The Withings Steel HR is best suited to someone interested in general daily activity and sleep tracking instead of more comprehensive fitness and workout tracking.

The Withings Steel HR is an excellent sleep and activity tracker, and a stylish hybrid  smartwatch, too. The design is subtle and classy, with an analogue dial and hands. A small digital screen shows data and notifications from your phone. It's light and comfortable to wear, and not too big either, so it's suitable for most wrists. This is important if you're going to wear it overnight.

Like the Sleep pad, the Steel HR provides a breakdown of your sleep stages, heart rate, and duration, plus data trends over time. It's a daily activity tracker, too. It monitors movement and calorie burn, plus workout tracking. The app assigns a Sleep Score each morning, helping you understand how well you're sleeping. 

Additionally, if you decide to use the Steel HR for activity tracking and purchase the Withings Sleep for sleep tracking, all the data is collected in the same app. It also connects with Apple Health, Google Fit, Strava, and several other platforms. 

Apple Watch Series 6

The Apple Watch provides helpful though not robust sleep tracking along with its many other features.

Apple added sleep tracking to the most recent version of Apple Watch's operating system, WatchOS 7. Sleep tracking is available on any Apple Watch with WatchOS 7 software, including the Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE. Previously, you needed to download third-party apps to monitor sleep. The standard sleep-tracking feature is very easy to use but not especially detailed. It's best suited to someone who doesn't feel they have sleep problems and simply wants to add basic sleep data to Apple Health. 

The Apple Watch's sleep tracking doesn't provide in-depth data like sleep stages, but does help you keep track of the duration and observe those trends over time. It can also be used in conjunction with other sleep apps on the Apple Watch, which will increase the amount of data available. Outside of this, it's an effective alarm; the Watch's excellent haptics wake you up with a vibration. It also allows you to set a sleep scheduler to help you stay on track. 

Because the tracking is relatively basic, wearing the Apple Watch overnight doesn't drain much additional battery, but you'll still have to charge it each day. Wearing it overnight means you'll have to find a new time of the day to do so. 

Despite its basic sleep tracking, the Apple Watch is an excellent overall fitness tracker and smartwatch. It's a great choice for someone wanting more than a wearable that only tracks sleep. Plus, should you want more data, there are additional apps available. Just remember, you must use an iPhone to use the Apple Watch.

Fitbit Versa 3

The Fitbit Versa 3 is a reliable fitness tracker that also monitors sleep. 

The Fitbit Versa 3 is part smartwatch, part fitness tracker. With GPS, a heart-rate sensor, blood-oxygen sensor, and water resistance, it does much more than track sleep. It's relatively affordable, and Fitbit's software platform is well regarded.

Fitbit's sleep tracking works in a similar way across all its devices but varies depending on the sensors inside. The Versa 3 has a heart-rate sensor enabling it to monitor sleep stages, in addition to periods where you're asleep or awake. It also tracks movement related to disturbed sleep. You need the Fitbit app on your phone to view the data, and it's available for iOS and Android.

However, one thing to be aware of is that to view some of Fitbit's deeper sleep statistics you will need a Fitbit Premium subscription. For example, Premium shows average heart rate overnight, how your movement affected your sleep, and further breakdown of the data that makes up your Sleep Score. The subscription also unlocks other features and data sets for daily activity and workouts. 

Samsung Galaxy Fit2

One of the more affordable fitness trackers, Samsung's Galaxy Fit 2 shows you a fair amount of sleep data.

Samsung's Galaxy Fit 2 fitness band is reasonably priced at $60. It tracks your sleep and daily activity and delivers notifications from your phone. It's ideal for anyone who doesn't want to spring for an Apple Watch or one of the Withings devices but still wants a comprehensive amount of data. 

It shows the duration of your sleep and sleep stages, and it will provide a Sleep Efficiency score in the morning. This data is collated in Samsung's Health app, which is available for Android and iOS. For daily activities, it counts steps and calories burned, plus has a long list of workouts it can track. There's a heart-rate sensor on the back, but it does not have sensors for an electrocardiogram or Sp02 (blood oxygen) reading.

The band itself is comfortable and light enough to wear all day and night, and it comes in a variety of colors. The 1.1-inch screen is bright and colorful and reacts quickly and reliably to your touch. 

The Galaxy Fit 2 may not have the functionality of the Withings Steel HR, but it's considerably cheaper and still provides most of the data anyone interested in knowing more about their sleep will need. 

What about smart mattresses?

Smart mattresses are a growing trend, and most contain sleep-tracking systems. They're similar to the Withings Sleep Pad and Emfit QS, just without any additional hardware. 

Often smart mattresses have other features, including heating and cooling, plus motorized adjustability, but are much more expensive than any of the products we've recommended. Expect to pay well in excess of $2,000 for a large, fully featured one, such as Eight Sleep's Pod Pro or Sleep Number's 360 C2 smart bed.

Do you need a sleep tracker?

Sleep tracking is most beneficial for those who have problems related to sleep, including snoring, insomnia, or sleep apnea. Those bothered by noise or other interruptions may also benefit.

Data collected by a sleep tracker may help your doctor make better recommendations. It's also a helpful metric for athletes as part of a training and recovery plan. 

However, it's important to note that these trackers are not medical devices. Though some have Food and Drug Administration clearance for certain aspects, like assessing heart rhythm, they cannot diagnose sleep apnea or other sleep-related conditions. If you're worried about your sleep patterns, you should talk to your doctor. 

What else we considered

If the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 is more money than you want to pay, consider looking at importing a fitness band, like the Honor Band 5 or Xiaomi Mi Band 5. These should cost about $40 but track sleep very effectively. Honor's TruSleep system is particularly good, providing lots of data and comprehensive advice on how to improve your sleep. Neither are officially available in the US but are sold in the UK and are often available through Amazon.

What we're looking forward to testing

Withings ScanWatch ($279.95): Withings' other hybrid smartwatch, the ScanWatch, is waiting for FDA approval in the US but has already gained similar CE approval in Europe. In addition to the same heart-rate sensor as the Steel HR, the ScanWatch has an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood-oxygen sensor (Sp02). 

Check out more great buying guides for bedtime

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The best duvet covers you can buy

Your cozy down-filled duvet needs a stylish cover to keep it clean and add some spice to your bedroom's décor.

The best sheets you can buy

After reviewing dozens of contenders, our top pick for bed sheets are the 280-thread-count Pima Cotton Percale Sheets from L.L. Bean. Crisp, cool, and comfortable against your skin, these sheets make bedtime a treat.

The best bed frames you can buy on Amazon

Your bed is not only the highlight of your bedroom, it's the only furniture you spend 33% of your life on.

• Popcorn makers are simple to use and produce movie-theater-level popcorn within minutes. 
• We rounded up makers and machines from microwave to electric to freestanding.
• We also included a how-to guide for making premium popcorn at home.

Whether you're hosting a movie night with friends or simply want to enhance your snacking experience, a quality popcorn maker is essential. Microwave poppers usually cost less than $20, are made of silicone, are incredibly easy to use, and might even fold up for compact storage. Stovetop and electric popcorn makers both use metal stirrers and oil to evenly heat kernels. With stovetop models, you control the stirrers with a crank, while it's automated with the electric version. These poppers tend to cost a bit more, but they also produce more popcorn per batch.

Alternatively, air poppers continue to be a favorite option because they don't use oil. However, we didn't include any of these in our guide because it's hard to create a flavor-packed snack without oil. And, seasoning tends not to stick after popping. 

We researched dozens of models to round up poppers with demonstrated user-friendliness, durability, and ability to pop fluffy, delicious popcorn.

Here are the best popcorn makers and machines of 2021

• Best microwave popcorn maker: Lekue Microwave Popcorn Popper
• Best stovetop popcorn maker: Whirley Pop Stainless Steel Stovetop Popcorn Popper
• Best electric popcorn machine: West Bend Stir Crazy Electric Popcorn Popper Machine
• Best high-end popcorn maker: Great Northern Little Bambino Table Top Popcorn Popper
• Best freestanding popcorn machine: Nostalgia Popcorn & Concession Cart

The best microwave popcorn maker

The Lekue Microwave Popcorn Popper is compact and produces small batches of popcorn with minimal unpopped kernels. 

Pros: Easy to use, compact storage, effortless cleanup, minimal unpopped kernels, affordable, 10-year warranty on manufacturing defects

Cons: Small, potential for burnt popcorn

The Lekue Microwave Popcorn Popper is the most compact option in our guide, about the size of a cake pan when collapsed upon itself, which makes it ideal for apartments and small spaces. 

It's easy to use and the lid prevents the popcorn from spilling out and into your microwave. The bowl can go directly from the microwave to the couch, too, so you don't have to clean another dish. 

The bowl is made of BPA-free platinum silicone, which is known for its nonstick properties that make cleanup a breeze. . Be sure to take it out of the microwave once the popping slows to avoid burning. And, for whipping up professional-tier popcorn, the maker comes with a variety of recipes developed by the Alicia Foundation and inspired by various film genres.

Lekue also offers a 10-year warranty on manufacturing defects if the item fails during use.

The best stovetop popcorn maker

For whipping up fast, delicious batches of evenly popped popcorn, the Whirley Pop Stainless Steel Stovetop Popcorn Popper is our favorite stovetop option. 

Pros: Produces high-quality popcorn, doesn't require electricity, durable construction, steam vents allow moisture to escape, 25-year warranty on mechanical parts

Cons: Requires a stove and cranking, reports of the gears catching

The Whirley Pop Stainless Steel Stovetop Popcorn Popper uses a combination of your stove and physical cranking to produce excellent popcorn.

The durable aluminum pan produces crispy and fluffy kernels. With built-in steam vents, moisture will escape, while the hand-crank feature manually stirs the popcorn to evenly distribute oil so it won't burn.

The stovetop popper is easy to clean, too: simply remove the lid and wipe the inside of the pan with a paper or dish towel. Wabash Farms offers a 25-year warranty on all mechanical parts if you run into any mishaps.

The best electric popcorn machine

TheWest Bend Stir Crazy Electric Hot Oil Popcorn Popper Machine is an easy plug-and-pop option for large, savory, and premium-style kernels.

Pros: High yield, minimal waste, excellent flavor, doesn't require the use of other appliances, one-year limited warranty on manufacturing defects

Cons: Requires more oil than other picks

The West Bend Stir Crazy Electric Hot Oil Popcorn Popper Machine doesn't require another appliance, like a microwave or stove, to use. You just plug it into your wall outlet and let it do the work.

It stirs the unpopped kernels with a built-in agitator at the base to prevent burning. When it's done popping, you can flip the unit over and use the top as a bowl, which also fits inside the top for easy storage.

Though efficient and easy to use, it requires a bit more oil than some other models to produce flavorful popcorn and ensure the unpopped kernels are well lubricated when they roll around the machine. Be sure to use an oil that can withstand high heat — like coconut oil or sunflower oil —and avoid oils that burn easily, like olive oil.

West Bend offers a one-year limited warranty on manufacturing defects, too.

The best high-end popcorn maker

To most accurately create a movie theater-like experience, the Great Northern Little Bambino Table Top Popcorn Popper produces your go-to snack for watching action films and rom-coms.

Pros: Easy to use, cooks batches quickly, fits on most countertops, dishwasher-safe parts, one-year limited warranty on manufacturing defects

Cons: Difficult to clean

The Great Northern Little Bambino Table Top Popcorn Popper gives you the commercial experience at a relatively affordable price, without taking up a lot of space.

Once the vintage-style machine finishes its first round of popcorn, use its exterior handle to tip the kettle over into the larger reservoir so you can pop another batch. The machine comes with two popping kettle hangers, a removable popcorn tray (to slide out and eat directly from), a measuring spoon, and a cup. The popcorn maker also has a 10-watt bulb that keeps the popcorn somewhat warm.

A downside to this machine is its difficulty to clean, despite dishwasher-safe parts. Pouring ingredients can also be cumbersome. But, these things are typical with a larger machine, and the nostalgic experience it provides is unmatched.

If anything goes awry, Great Northern has you covered with a one-year limited warranty on manufacturing defects.

The best freestanding popcorn machine

If you want a movie theater popcorn machine in-house, the Nostalgia Concession Vintage Popcorn Cart is the most accurate, freestanding replica.

Pros: Built-in stirring system to pop kernels, heat- and scratch-resistant tempered safety glass, interior light, tilt serving door for easy scooping, storage compartment for popcorn accessories, transportable with bicycle-style wheels, affixed tabletop for tubs 

Cons: May be difficult to clean, no warranty

Sure, a larger-than-life projector and plush movie seats are essential for an at-home movie theater, but the Nostalgia Concession Vintage Popcorn Cart is what will complete your room. With a vintage-style look, it provides a lovely touch, allows you to see your popcorn shooting up with its tempered glass design, and will certainly have people ask where you scored such an item.

The two oversized bicycle wheels make this '50s-style machine an all-in-one snack essential. The stainless steel kettle holds eight ounces of kernels and circulates them as they pop using a built-in stirring system. When lights are dim or off for movie watching, the machine will light up the room to create the perfect theater ambiance, too.

Nostalgia also hooks you up with a side shelf that's perfect for storing seasonings, oils, and bags. The affixed side tray is great for lining up red-and-white-striped tubs to fill white and aged-cheddar flavors. 

Though Nostalgia doesn't offer a warranty, it's built to last so it's not a deal-breaker. 

How to make delicious, professional-style popcorn at home

When making popcorn at home, it's all about the seasoning and oils. Coconut oil is your best bet for tasty popcorn, but you might also consider canola oil if you are looking for a cheaper alternative. Avoid olive oil, which burns quickly, and vegetable oil, which can increase your levels of bad cholesterol.

In our research, we found the best seasoning for your popcorn is Flavacol. It's what movie theaters use for that perfectly artificial buttery flavor. Just be cautious when adding because Flavacol tends to be a bit strong.

If you want to spice things up, buy a good Cajun seasoning at your local market. My favorite combination in my microwave popper is coconut oil, Cajun seasoning, and a little salt. 

Check out our other guides to the best small kitchen appliances

• The best coffee makers
• The best cold-brew coffee makers
• The 4 best ice makers
• The best ice cream makers
• The 4 best soda makers
• The best stovetop espresso makers and moka pots
• The 4 best waffle makers

Countingup has raised a £9.1 million ($12.7 million) Series A investment round, led by Framework Venture Partners.

The company, which provides a business account that automates your accounting, also raised from Gresham House Ventures, Sage, and existing investors.

Founded in 2017, Countingup has processed over £1.7 billion ($2.4 billion) in transactions and has more than 34,000 customers, according to CEO and cofounder Tim Fouracre.

"There was no doubt that our business was affected during March and April last year with lockdowns but since then revenues have bounced back," Fouracre told Insider. "We're now seeing record numbers of businesses incorporate in the UK, up 30-40% on the same period in the year before."

The funding will be used to go towards expanding the range of financial services the company can offer with multi-currency invoicing, lending, and insurance next on the list. 

The startup previously raised bridge funding from ING, Triple Point, CVentures and BiG Start Ventures.

Fouracre was formerly founder and CEO of Clearbooks, an accounting software company from 2008 onwards. Countingup has now raised $21.4 million in total. Fundraising began before Christmas 2020 and was remote, a "more efficient process" according to Fouracre. 

Check out Countingup's Series A pitch deck below:

SEE ALSO: UK fintech startup Countingup used this pitch deck to raise $5 million bridge funding from ING Ventures in the middle of the pandemic

After years of levying fines against the big platforms for antitrust and data-privacy violations, regulators in Europe are looking at whether to implement landmark reforms to help it tame the most powerful companies in tech.

European Union competition policy chief Margrethe Vestager is pushing ahead with investigations into the tech giants as proposals for new Europe-wide rules governing all social media sites and online platforms edge closer to becoming law. Meanwhile, data and competition authorities in countries including the UK, Italy, France, Germany and Ireland are currently assessing a flurry of cases concerning the world's biggest tech companies.

The regulatory landscape is also increasingly busy in the US, too. Google and Facebook in particular are up against several major lawsuits, some of which are calling for the companies to be broken up.

Insider breaks down some of the biggest regulatory cases and lawsuits facing Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google in Europe as legislators try to level with the Big Four's dominance.

Note: This article was originally published on February 24, 2021. It was updated on March 4, 2021 to include details of the UK Competition and Markets Authority's investigation into Apple's App Store.

The EU Commission wants to empower itself to impose bigger fines and stricter enforcement action with the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act

The EU Commission's proposals for the Digital Markets Act will see the body take a broader approach to regulation of Big Tech — preventing companies from undertaking practices that exploit a dominant position. 

The DMA would allow the Commission to deem giant tech platforms to be "gatekeepers" and impose higher fines or stricter action against them for any anti-competitive activity.

Elsewhere, the Digital Services Act aims to provide better safeguards and protection for online users by tackling harmful content and hate speech and sales of illegal goods. 

For a company like Amazon, this could mean facing tougher restrictions on products sold on its giant marketplace with new rules prohibiting the sale of products that could promote hate speech or extremist material.  Amazon sellers themselves could also be subject to new rules like enhanced traceability mechanisms to track those selling illegal goods. 

The proposals were submitted to the European Parliament and European Council in December 2020 and aren't expected to come into force until 2022.

The EU Commission is focusing on Amazon's 'buy box' that promotes the fast, free delivery available to Prime customers

Last November, the EU Commission announced findings of an initial investigation into Amazon's marketplace practices, accusing the company of misusing third-party seller data to distort competition. 

Amazon denied this and said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal in November that "no company cares more about small businesses or has done more to support them over the past two decades than Amazon."

The Commission is now zoning in on Amazon's Buy Box — the box on the right of its product pages that promotes individual products with fast, free delivery and availability to "buy now."

"A big question with this case will be: How does the Commission figure out a remedy to make sure that there is equal access to the Buy Box, whilst also preserving what consumers like about Prime?," said Dr. Magali Eben, lecturer in competition law at Glasgow University and co-director of the Academic Society of Competition Law UK.

Investigations brought by the EU Commission under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which explicitly prohibits the abuse of a dominant position, are significant because there are so few of them, added Dr Eben.

"Each one that is usually brought to the Commission often displays a strong motive," said Dr Eben.

"That is quite obvious with Amazon's Buy Box, but also with the other part of the investigation looking at Amazon's use of data, because it ties into some aspects that the Commission has proposed to address through the Digital Markets Act — I think that the DMA was actually written with this investigation in mind."

Spotify and the makers of Fortnite have lodged complaints in Europe about the alleged dominance of Apple's App Store

The EU Commission launched two investigations into elements of Apple's empire last year — one looking into App Store policies and the other looking at whether Apple Pay's functionality restricts other financial service providers from offering something similar on iPhones.  

The European Commission's Margrethe Vestager cites Apple's "gatekeeper' role" as justification to probe whether App Store rules allow Apple to distort competition and strengthen its own position when competing with rival app developers.

Spotify in 2019 filed an antitrust complaint to the EU over the impact of Apple's in-app purchase system, which levies a 30% fee on purchases made within App Store apps.

An Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Insider in June: "It's disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don't want to play by the same rules as everyone else.

"We don't think that's right — we want to maintain a level playing field where anyone with determination and a great idea can succeed."

Epic — whose wildly popular game Fortnite was kicked out of the App Store last August after the software developer created its own in-app purchasing system — filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission this month.

In it, Epic claims, "Apple has not just harmed but completely eliminated competition in app distribution and payment processes." Epic also filed a lawsuit in the US last year, which accuses Apple of engaging in anticompetitive behavior in its App Store. 

In a statement to Insider, an Apple spokesman said, "In ways a judge has described as deceptive and clandestine, Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that apply equally to every developer and protect customers.

"Their reckless behavior made pawns of customers, and we look forward to making this clear to the European Commission."

The App Store is also facing scrutiny in the UK. The country's competition regulator said on March 4 it had launched an investigation into whether Apple imposes unfair terms on developers using the App Store that could restrict competition and choice for consumers when buying and using apps. Insider has contacted Apple for comment.

Apple is to require that apps obtain people's consent before tracking and sharing their data – but faces lawsuits over whether the policy properly applies to its own apps

The EU Commission launched two investigations into elements of Apple's empire last year — one looking into App Store policies and the other looking at whether Apple Pay's functionality restricts other financial service providers from offering something similar on iPhones.  

The European Commission's Margrethe Vestager cites Apple's "gatekeeper' role" as justification to probe whether App Store rules allow Apple to distort competition and strengthen its own position when competing with rival app developers.

Spotify in 2019 filed an antitrust complaint to the EU over the impact of Apple's in-app purchase system, which levies a 30% fee on purchases made within App Store apps.

An Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Insider in June: "It's disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don't want to play by the same rules as everyone else.

"We don't think that's right — we want to maintain a level playing field where anyone with determination and a great idea can succeed."

Epic — whose wildly popular game Fortnite was kicked out of the App Store last August after the software developer created its own in-app purchasing system — filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission this month.

In it, Epic claims, "Apple has not just harmed but completely eliminated competition in app distribution and payment processes." Epic also filed a lawsuit in the US last year, which accuses Apple of engaging in anticompetitive behavior in its App Store. 

In a statement to Insider, an Apple spokesman said, "In ways a judge has described as deceptive and clandestine, Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that apply equally to every developer and protect customers.

"Their reckless behavior made pawns of customers, and we look forward to making this clear to the European Commission."

Dr Rupprecht Podszun, chair for civil law, German and European competition law at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, said that while no individual case is "one big game-changer", "the continuous stream of cases" was a significant challenge to the power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google.

Germany is looking into the new requirement for people to register with Facebook before using Oculus VR products

Germany's competition authority the Bundeskartellamt is investigating Facebook's move to require users of new Oculus VR glasses to register with a Facebook account — phasing out existing Oculus accounts for its latest hardware. Facebook acquired the virtual reality tech firm in 2014.

Germany recently strengthened its commitment to regulate Big Tech by passing an amendment to the German Competition Act (GWB), empowering it to take preventative action when competition looks to be under threat.

In January, the Bundeskartellamt announced plans to extend the scope of its Facebook investigation to see whether it might fall under the remit of the GWB's new amendment.

Dr Podszun, the chair for civil law, German and European competition law at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, said that the investigation went to "the very heart of the data policy of Facebook, and is a really powerful case."

Facebook told AP in December that it had already paused sales of Oculus products in Germany this year, a move it said was unrelated to the Bundeskartellamt investigation.

"While Oculus devices are not currently available for sale in Germany, we will cooperate fully with the Bundeskartellamt and are confident we can demonstrate that there is no basis to the investigation," a Facebook spokesperson said.

Facebook in Ireland is battling Europe's decision to invalidate the 'Privacy Shield' data-sharing agreement between the EU and US.

Austrian lawyer and privacy campaigner Max Schrems, founder of the None of Your Business (noyb) organization, has led a yearslong effort to demand better protection of European citizens' data, particularly when their data is accessed by US tech giants.

Following Schrems' efforts, the EU's judiciary ruled to invalidate the "privacy shield" that had allowed tech companies to transfer personal data from the European Union and Switzerland to the US.

But after Facebook launched its own suit to challenge the ruling with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) the proceedings to unravel the Privacy Shield stagnated.

"If our highest court basically decides on something, then we need the authorities to act  — and they actually have a duty to act," says Alan Dahi, program director at Noyb. 

Schrems sued Ireland's DPC last year over its "own volition" case – delaying enforcement of the initial ruling – but has since dropped his suit after the regulator agreed to reach a final decision on Facebook's EU-US data flows in the coming months.

The UK's competition watchdog is probing whether Facebook's acquisition of Giphy gives it a monopoly on gifs

An investigation into Facebook's proposed $400 million acquisition of gif-giant Giphy, announced by the UK's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) last spring, is now well underway.  

Following several appeals and requests for derogations by Facebook over the last few months, with the Competition Appeal Tribunal dismissing one of these in November on all grounds, the CMA has begun its initial 40-day probe (Phase 1) into the merger. 

This will determine whether the acquisition would result in less competition within the gifs and social media marketplace. The probe's decision is expected by March 25.

A Facebook spokesperson told CNBC in January, "This merger is pro-competitive and in the interests of everyone in the U.K. who uses Giphy and our services."

The UK is probing whether Google's Chrome plans to freeze out third-party tracking cookies and replace them with new technologies would freeze out other ad companies

The EU has levied almost $10 billion in total in antitrust fines on Google over the years. The EU Commission said in January it was investigating all the search giant's services  "including digital advertising and the ad tech chain."

Google said it is cooperating with the investigation and that it offers users "granular controls" over how their information is used to personalize ads.

In the UK, regulators are zoning in on Google's announcement last year that its popular browser Chrome will drop support for third-party ad-tracking cookies by 2022. Google has been experimenting with tools in its "Privacy Sandbox" that are designed to allow advertising to continue to work with less encroachment on people's privacy. 

Marketers for an Open Web, a group that says it represents publishers and advertisers, has called on the UK's Competition and Markets Authority to block the move – claiming Google will effectively create a "walled garden" in the advertising industry at the expense of competitors.

Following that complaint, the CMA launched an investigation into Google's Chrome plans, as well as its Privacy Sandbox technologies.

"It will be a very interesting test case for the intersection between data protection and privacy laws and competition law," said Dr Pinar Akman, director at the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in Digital Governance and a professor of law at Leeds University.

A Google spokesperson said its ambitions to create a more private web "while also enabling the publishers and advertisers who support the free and open internet" require the industry to make "major changes" to the way digital advertising currently works.

Elsewhere, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is resuming its investigation into the entire adtech space in 2021. The regulator paused the probe in May last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The investigation involves the examination of real-time bidding within online advertising auctions. It is also looking at the role of data brokers within the adtech sector.

The ICO said it would also continue to support the CMA in its probe into Google's Privacy Sandbox proposals.

Google's lawyers are also being kept busy in Italy where the competition authority, the AGCM, is investigating whether Google's advertising practices abuse its dominant position in the market.  

The AGCM said it would look into "the discriminatory use of the huge amount of data collected through its various applications, preventing rivals from competing effectively as well as adversely affecting consumers."

A Google spokesperson told Reuters it was working constructively with the Italian authorities.

The energy transition trade is heating up, and investors are looking tap into those companies and technologies that will power  the homes and cities of the future.

Across the board, this has meant significant gains for companies that are focussed on sustainability. For example, shares in Danish wind power provider Orsted have rallied around 300% in the last five years, and Chinese Tesla rival NIO gained over 960% in the last 12 months alone.

Now, with tailwinds from President Joe Biden's supportive green agenda, as well as rapidly declining costs, Goldman Sachs believes solar power is going to be a major beneficiary, thanks to rapid growth in installations of rooftop panels, according to a note on Wednesday.

"We now see solar power entering a secular growth phase," analyst Brian Lee wrote. Biden's plan aims to get 500 million panels installed over the coming five years. But Goldman thinks this is conservative and expects 60% more installations in that time. 

After flat growth in 2020, residential solar power is poised to rebound into the double digits, by around 15% year-on-year, as its economics become more attractive and the expansion of its total addressable market, the report said.

"We expect US resi[dential] solar to grow at a three-year CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 14% through 2023," Lee said.

A primary driver of growth will be the increasing affordability of the technology, together with consumers' greater demand for electricity as they work from home, Goldman Sachs said.

With the battery price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) falling in the high-single to low-double digit range annually, Goldman Sachs says home energy storage should also become more affordable for consumers.

The Biden administration also offers substantial tailwinds, notably with a extension of the 30% solar income tax credit (ITC) through 2025 that was reintroduced in the House of Representatives in February, and would allow owners of qualifying energy projects up to a tax credit of up to 30% of their project's capital costs.

If the ITC extension is passed, this could boost the pace of solar-panel installations even more through 2023, Lee said.

Tesla's play in the solar market

Tesla, the US-based electric carmaker, has been one of the biggest stories of the last year, largely due to its headline-making CEO Elon Musk, but also the stock's 360% rally.

Around 6% of Tesla's revenue in 2020 came from its energy business, with solar power applications accounting for half of that, Goldman Sachs said.

Tesla's products include solar roof installations, and "Powerwalls" - a lithium-ion battery pack to store energy from solar roof panels.

Falling battery costs and the already significant costs of roof replacement, Tesla has said that its 'Solar roof' is financially optimal for the roughly 4 million homes that replace their roofs each year, and for around one million new homes, the report said.

However, this number will take time to materialize, the note said. The annual rate of solar rooftop installations is around 500,00 at present. But if this figure is accurate in the longer-term, Goldman Sachs estimates this could translate into a combined solar roof and storage market worth about $250 billion a year.

These are the three stocks that Goldman Sachs believes offer an effective way to leverage the expansion in the solar-power sector:

Sunnova Energy International

Ticker:NYSE:NOVA

Sector: Solar and installers

Market cap: $4.72 bln

Goldman Sachs recommendation: Buy, on conviction list

Analyst commentary:

"We see NOVA positioned to gain share and maintain its status as the fastest-growing resi solar play in the space through the next several years, including ongoing momentum in battery storage deployment. At the same time, shares are attractively priced at ~24X 2022E EBITDA (incl. P&I), in our view, considering EBITDA growth is averaging 50%-60% through 2022."

SunPower Corporation

Ticker:NASDAQ: SPWR

Sector: Solar and installers

Market cap: $6.00 bln

Goldman Sachs recommendation: Buy

Analyst commentary:

"In a similar vein, we expect SPWR to benefit from the secular growth tailwind of the residential market as well as the strong demand in battery storage. The company appears to be executing well on its medium-to-long term growth and margin initiatives with 2021 guidance moving up on key metrics such as revenue growth (~35% yoy vs. >30% prior) and gross margin per watt."

Enphase Energy

Ticker:NASDAQ:ENPH

Sector: Solar and installers

Market cap: $22.15 bln

Goldman Sachs recommendation: Buy

Analyst commentary:

"ENPH remains a relatively early-stage secular growth story given its multi-year, multi-faceted growth potential on the back of (1) share gain, (2) new product growth (e.g., battery), (3) international expansion and (4) new end market growth (e.g., commercial). We see ENPH's TAM growing from $2bn to ~$14bn over the next several years, underpinning a 45%/130% revenue CAGR in its solar/storage segments and EPS CAGR of 51% over the same period."

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin launched Wednesday its first Formula One racing car in more than 60 years, as it prepares to compete in the world's most popular motor-racing circuit.

The British luxury carmaker unveiled the "AMR21" car during a virtual event broadcast live from London. Celebrities such as James Bond actor Daniel Craig and NFL star Tom Brady attended the online launch.

The AMR21 will race against the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren in the 2021 Formula One World Championship, which kicks off on March 28 in Bahrain.

"Today is a truly historic moment for Aston Martin, as we return to the pinnacle of motorsport for the first time in more than 60 years," said Tobias Moers, Aston Martin CEO, in a statement.

Here's what the team's new racing car looks like:

Aston Martin's brand new AMR21 will debut in the Bahrain Grand Prix later this month.

The car will have its first run at Silverstone in a promotional day on March 4, before it races properly at Bahrain between 12 and 14 March.

The last time Aston Martin raced in the Grand Prix was in 1960 with the DBR5.

Aston Martin's last Grand Prix car was the DBR5 more than 60 years ago.

It was driven by Roy Salvadori and Maurice Trintignant in the 1960 British Grand Prix.

This year, four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will be racing the new AMR21.

"Even though I have raced for four Formula One teams and for many years, starting a new season with a new team still gives me a sense of excitement," said Vettel in a statement per CNBC.

"I have always kept my eye on the competition and this team has consistently impressed me with what they have been able to do without the biggest of budgets."

It will also be driven by Canada's Lance Stroll, son of billionaire businessman and Aston Martin's executive chairman Lawrence Stroll.

"The potential is there to fight up at the front, perhaps even challenge Red Bull. Mercedes are going to be very difficult because they are a bit further up the road and hopefully we can increase the gap over the teams we were fighting last year," Stroll said in an interview with the BBC.

The AMR21 boasts the traditional racing car colours of Aston Martin.

The car is powered by a turbo-charged Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance engine with hybrid energy recovery, Aston Martin said.

American IT giant Cognizant will be the main sponsor of Aston Martin.

The team's other sponsors include beer maker Peroni, cryptocurrency website Crypto.com, and cybersecurity company SentinelOne.

The team was created out of a rebrand of the Racing Point F1 team by Lawrence Stroll.

Lawrence Stroll dropped more than $240 million on a 16.7% stake in Aston Martin in January 2020 when the company was financially struggling.

Stroll took the position of executive chairman in April. 

"The first step was to raise the financing to see our business plan through for the next five years,"he told CNBC. "We raised $800 million in equity, with the majority of that coming from myself and my consortium. That was for a business plan that brings us to 10,000 cars, $2 billion of volume and $500 million EBITDA in the next four years."

Increasingly, it looks like the end of the pandemic is in sight.

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the US will have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to vaccinate every American adult by the end of May. Governors are also starting to ease or fully rescind restrictions as vaccinations increase.

When the economy fully reopens, consumers will be well-equipped. 

The share of their savings compared to post-tax incomes — the personal saving rate — was 20.5% in January, the highest level since May 2020 and World War II before then. That's thanks to muted economic activity and strong fiscal stimulus efforts, with another $1.9 trillion package expected to come in the weeks ahead, having already been passed by the House of Representatives. Also, consumer spending jumped to a seven-month high in January as personal incomes rose.

"The capacity for US consumers to spend is massive and growing," UBS Chief US Equity Strategist Keith Parker said in a February 25 note.

To help investors capitalize on the "sharp acceleration" in spending that the bank expects, its analysts pulled out 14 stocks tied to consumer spending and which they assign a "buy" rating.

The stocks come from the transportation, retail, real estate, healthcare, food and beverage, consumer services, and media and entertainment industries. Parker said that services industries and the healthcare industry haven't yet enjoyed the upside other sectors have, and their forward earnings expectations are lower.

But he said there's a chance these industries recover more quickly than the market expects, leaving investors with a potential opportunity.

"Compared to consensus forecasts the market has baked in higher earnings for manufacturing sectors relative to services," Parker said in the note. "We estimate that there could be 30% and 14% upside for Airlines and Hotel and Leisure respectively if earnings return to 2019 levels by 2023."

The 14 stocks buy-rated are listed below in descending order of their market caps.

SEE ALSO: Chris Armbruster co-manages a growth fund that's outperformed 96% of its peers over the last 5 years. He details 2 disruptive software stock picks with 'mission critical' importance to their clients, including the major banks adopting them.

1. Walt Disney

Ticker: DIS

Sector: Communication Services

Market cap: $358 billion

Source: UBS

2. Uber

Ticker: UBER

Sector: Industrials

Market cap: $104 billion

Source: UBS

3. HCA Healthcare

Ticker: HCA

Sector: Healthcare

Market cap: $60 billion

Source: UBS

4. Boston Scientific

Ticker: BSX

Sector: Healthcare

Market cap: $55 billion

Source: UBS

5. Constellation Brands

Ticker: STZ

Sector: Consumer Staples

Market cap: $38 billion

Source: UBS

6. Hilton Worldwide Holdings

Ticker: HLT

Sector: Consumer Discretionary

Market cap: $34 billion

Source: UBS

7. Southwest Airlines

Ticker: LUV

Sector: Industrials

Market cap: $34 billion

Source: UBS

8. Equity Residential

Ticker: EQR 

Sector: Real Estate

Market cap: $26 billion

Source: UBS

9. Darden Restaurants

Ticker: DRI

Sector: Consumer Discretionary

Market cap: $18 billion

Source: UBS

10. Ulta Beauty

Ticker: ULTA

Sector: Consumer Discretionary

Market cap: $18 billion

Source: UBS

11. Lyft

Ticker: LYFT

Sector: Industrials

Market cap: $18 billion

Source: UBS

12. Teleflex

Ticker: TFX

Sector: Healthcare 

Market cap: $18 billion

Source: UBS

13. Alaska Air

Ticker: ALK

Sector: Industrials

Market cap: $8 billion

Source: UBS

14. Tenet Healthcare

Ticker: THC

Sector: Healthcare

Market cap: $5 billion

Source: UBS

In 2014 when longtime friends Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon starting thinking about building a business together, they kept coming back to one enterprise that meant a lot to them both: barbershops. 

The pair reminisced about visiting barbershops nearly every week of their lives and observed that while their hairstyles may have changed over the years, barbershop's operations hadn't: Customers typically called for an appointment and paid in cash. 

"There were a lot of pain points for professionals and we figured there was a real opportunity that no other tech companies were addressing," Salvant said. In 2015, the cofounders launched Squire, a platform that handles bookings, payment, analytics, and other business services, for barbershops.

When the pandemic hit, the New York City-based company waived subscription fees and started offering gift card services so customers could still support their local barbers — the business sold about $30,000 in gift cards, the cofounders said. 

"I think we fostered a lot of goodwill for Squire and that helped increase our sales and demand," Salvant said. Squire grew 400% last year and of the 150 current employees, about 80% were hired during the pandemic to facilitate the company's growth. 

In December, Squire raised $59 million in a Series C, led by Iconiq Capital, bringing its valuation to $250 million. So far, the company has raised $105 million in total funding. 

Salvant and LaRon shared Squire's pitch deck and explained how they organized the presentation, including how they responded to the pandemic. Sensitive information has been redacted.

SEE ALSO: Read the pitch deck Alexis Ohanian-backed elder care startup Papa used to raise $18 million for an app that provides 'grandkids on demand'

DONT MISS: How to build a pitch deck that will wow investors, featuring a slide-by-slide breakdown of the decks a founder used to raise $448 million

The first three slides set up the problem and how Squire solves it

Salvant and LaRon based the first several slides of their deck on the Y Combinator layout, which encourages entrepreneurs to state the problem they're trying to solve. In Squire's case, the cofounders saw that most barbershops hadn't modernized their business management systems. 

"The barbershop is something we went to weekly and the process hadn't changed since we were children," said Salvant, adding that they had to call for an appointment and pay in cash. "Meanwhile all these other services, like Uber and OpenTable, were popping up and becoming part of daily life." 

Next, explain how your solution works

Squire sought to improve the process by creating a one-stop service for barbershops and men's salons. Their startup provides customer relationship management, point-of-sale, analytics, booking, payment and discovery — eliminating the need for multiple apps that perform each of those services. 

"Squire replaces the multiple softwares that shops often use," said LaRon, noting that the startup sells both hardware and software. "We thought this was a cool and easy way to show that visually." 

Lastly, the startup offers a white label app for customers. Barbershops can design their app, name it, and put it in the app store while Squire powers it behind the scenes.

Then, introduce your team

While many pitch decks include slides about the founders or initial team, LaRon and Salvant added something more: They included their cover of BarberEVO Magazine, a 4-year-old publication devoted to the barbering movement and culture. 

"It demonstrated that we're here to stay and that we have significant weight in the industry," Salvant said. Not every investor recognized the publication, but LaRon and Salvant believed it showed their connection to the community.

What's more, they added details about their education, prior jobs, and participation in Y Combinator to highlight their experience and qualifications. Entrepreneurs should use this space to brag about accomplishments and show investors why they're the well-positioned to grow their startup. 

Don't ignore the pandemic

Since LaRon and Salvant closed their funding round in December, they couldn't ignore the pandemic's effect on their business. To show investors how they were weathering the crisis, the cofounders touted their company's growth between August 2019 and July 2020. 

The first chart measures new shops acquired and the second shows new annual recurring revenue. The duo didn't shy away from the dips they saw in March and April, when COVID-19 reached the US, but they also showed how business skyrocketed as barbershops adapted. That growth is what investors want to see, the cofounders said. 

A second slide shows how they both supported customers and created tools in response to the pandemic. For instance, they sold gift cards as another means of supporting barbershops and created virtual waiting rooms so clients wouldn't crowd inside a salon.

"We acted quickly and aggressively to help our customers," LaRon said. "That goodwill reverberated and led us to acquire more shops."

Always highlight your progress and growth

While the numbers are redacted, the cofounders wanted to show investors how their business has grown. They did this by focusing on the net retention of shops using Squire and monthly average revenue per unit — factors that show the company's strength in the market. 

"It's all about the numbers at this stage," Salvant said. "You really need to have numbers to prove your thesis and the trajectory you're on."

Lastly, show your edge in the market

Squire doesn't want to give their competitors' any honorable mentions, so they redacted their names, the cofounders said. This slide is meant to show investors that while other companies offer similar services, none are positioned to be a one-stop solution like Squire. 

That leverage allows them to edge out other companies, like Square, that offer just one of their services, Salvant said. Entrepreneurs should consider how they can tout their stance in the market when facing giants like Square. 

Toronto-based messenger commerce startup Snapcommerce has raised a fresh funding round of $85 million. 

The company is the parent of travel bookings startup Snaptravel. Users can message requests for travel deals through SMS, Facebook messenger and WhatsApp to get better deals and prices on flights and hotels.

The company, backed by Golden State Warriors NBA player Steph Curry, claims to have saved customers more than $75 million in costs. It estimates that more than 100 million messages have been sent by some 10 million customers since it was founded in 2016. 

"Most young people are on their phones all the time, it's like an extension of their arms," Snapcommerce CEO and cofounder Hussein Fazal told Insider in an interview. "Previously you would need to fire up a laptop or desktop, open multiple tabs to apply coupons or deals to get a great price, now you can do it through our chat app."

The startup's growth round was co-led by Inovia Capital and Lion Capital with participation from Acrew DCF, Thayer Ventures and Full In Partners, and included existing investors Telstra Ventures and Bee Partners.

"We saw an impact from the coronavirus pandemic on travel but ended up reaching profitability by Q3 last year," Fazal added. The company had started its fundraising process pre-pandemic but froze things after the inital scare of the virus. Investor sentiment changed amid Snapcommerce's promising results and improved confidence around vaccinations, Fazal said. 

Young Americans are increasingly likely to shop exclusively through their phones. A recent survey by App Annie found that 59% of Americans prefer shopping on their smartphones, but that number is at a staggering 90% for 25-34 year olds and 78% for 19-24 year olds. 

"Snaptravel is at the intersection of young people's customer behaviour," Fazal added. "We want to be the number one platform for messenger commerce and however you shop on your phone."

Funding will be used to triple the company's roughly 75-person headcount while accelerating its move towards other verticals besides travel.

Fazal said that the company had attracted interest from special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, but it wasn't currently the right time to list.

Check out Snapcommerce's pitch deck below:

SEE ALSO: VC investors are making big moves into Nigeria. Here's why the African giant could be the next fintech frontier.

Snapcommerce

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Working women have come a long way in the last 100 years. 

In the 1920s, women entered the workforce in astonishing numbers as a result of the industrial revolution. 

Then, as men were sent off to war, more women got involved in the wartime effort in factories and other professions previously dominated by men.

Women's equality movements throughout the 1960s and 1970s gave even more opportunities to working women, and in recent years, more women were in the US workforce than men. However, the coronavirus pandemic has caused the women's labor force participation rate to hit a 33-year low.

Here are 28 vintage photos that show how the role of women in the workforce has evolved in the last 100 years.

SEE ALSO: 50 women who made history as the first to do these extraordinary things

In the wake of the industrial revolution, more women than ever began to leave the household and go out to work.

Women held jobs as postal clerks, sorting letters and packages. While it wasn't uncommon for women to work in post offices, very few women actually delivered mail. According to USPS, in 1920, only 5% of the nation's 943 village carriers were women. 

As village delivery was gradually phased out in favor of city delivery, a majority of the remaining women village carriers either resigned from their positions or were transferred to clerk positions.

Many women also began working in factories.

In 1920, women made up about 20% of the labor force, and many of them were involved in the manufacturing of apparel, food, and tobacco products.

Women of color, on the other hand, were largely employed in agriculture and domestic service work for much of the early 20th century.

During World War I, women held occupations in domestic and personal service, clerical occupations, and factory work.

Many women learned to type in order to secure higher-paying jobs in an office as a secretary or a typist in a clerical office, rather than having to work in a factory. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, working conditions, wages, and hours in clerical work were seen as the best at the time.

Clerical work attracted young, literate, mostly white women who would work as typists until they were married, only to be replaced by another young unmarried woman.

After the Women's Bureau was established in the US Department of Labor on June 5, 1920, women had even more opportunities in the labor force.

As the popularity of silent films began to rise, women also found work creating movies for the silver screen.

In 1923, "Business Woman" published a list of 29 different jobs that women held in the film industry, apart from actresses. Job positions included that of a typist, secretary to the stars and executive secretary, costume designer, seamstress, telephone operator, hairdresser, script girl, film retoucher, title writer, publicity writer, musician, film editor, director, and producer, among others.

Women also held jobs as blacksmiths and worked on vehicles.

However, most occupations were seen solely as a precursor to marriage. Among married white women of both native and immigrant backgrounds, only around 10% held jobs. It was more common for married women of color to hold jobs, however, out of pure financial necessity. 

Unemployed women during the Great Depression could join "SheSheShe" camps.

Inspired by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which only allowed men to join in exchange for free room and board, Eleanor Roosevelt started "SheSheShe" camps as a way for women to gain employment in environmental conservation as well.

Many families during the Great Depression were able to achieve middle-class status by adding another working member to the household — in many cases, a woman.

Many women during the Great Depression found work as secretaries, teachers, telephone operators, and nurses. Women also made an income by sewing clothes in Works Progress Administration (WPA) sewing rooms, which manufactured men's trousers, boys' coveralls, baby clothes, dresses, and diapers. 

During World War II, women assisted in manufacturing wartime necessities like gas masks. By 1945, one in every four married women worked in jobs outside the home.

According to Forbes, between 1940 and 1945, female participation in the US workforce increased from 27% to nearly 37%. 

Before the war, women were in traditionally "female" fields such as nursing and teaching. By 1943, women made up 65% of the US aircraft industry's workforce.

After Pearl Harbor, many women entered the armed forces at astonishing rates. In 1943, more than 310,000 women worked in the US aircraft industry, making up 65% of the industry's total workforce. Before the war began, women made up just 1% of the industry.

In 1935, women made 25% less than men for government jobs. In 1942, even though the War Labor Board required these women to be paid the same as men, the war ended before they could receive equal pay.

In 1935, a law titled the National Recovery Act required women who held jobs within the government to receive 25% less pay than men in the same jobs, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity. During wartime in 1942, the War Labor Board ruled that women would be paid the same as male workers who were now away at war.

However, the war ended before the rule could be implemented. With no laws to protect female workers from pay inequality, female workers in the 1940s earned around 60% of what their male counterparts made.

Women were largely seen as "supplemental" workers in the 1950s, meaning their income was secondary to their husband's.

Even though there were technically more women in the workforce in 1952 than during the war, women were not taken seriously in regards to their careers.

Women returned to stereotypically "feminine" jobs — in some cases, jobs were advertised as for women only.

Many women were forced to give up the jobs they had worked in during wartime to male soldiers returning home. The most popular jobs for women during the 1950s were secretaries, bank tellers or clerical workers, sales clerks, private household workers, and teachers, according to The Week.

Female secretaries in the 1950s gained a reputation for being young and attractive. In fact, a 1959 quiz from a secretarial training program in Waco, Texas, asking women if they have what it takes to be a secretary includes "smiling readily and naturally" and being "usually cheerful" among its requirements. 

The 1950s marked the beginning of the "jet age," and many young women found work as flight attendants, then called "stewardesses."

Flight attendants during the 195os became symbols of the golden age of flying — when traveling by air was seen as the height of sophistication and glamour. However, with this "glamorous" career also came a host of sexist protocols.

According to Conde Nast Traveler, women were not allowed to work as flight attendants after they reached the ages of 32 to 35, while male flight attendants could work well into their 60s. In 1957, Trans World Airlines dropped its no-marriage rule for female flight attendants. However, many airlines continued to only hire non-married female flight attendants.

While many women joined the workforce, they were nevertheless expected to fulfill their duties at home, in what would be coined "the second shift."

After women returned home from their secretarial or office jobs, they had another job to do — caring for the children, doing the housekeeping, and, of course, putting a hot dinner in front of their husband. 

This became known as the "second shift." If women didn't hold office or other jobs during the day, they were relegated to being "housewives."

In the 1950s and 1960s, women found creative ways to make their own incomes from their homes.

Many suburban women began selling Tupperware out of their own homes in what became known as "Tupperware parties." 

"Tupperware ... took those moms out of the kitchen where they were 'supposed to be' and let them enter the workforce, and let them have something outside the home," Lorna Boyd, whose mother Sylvia was an at-home Tupperware seller in the 1960s, told the Smithsonian Institution.

Women were also making history in their careers.

In the 1960s, Barbara Walters was a broadcast journalist working in New York City. In 1976, she would become the first woman to anchor a nightly newscast. Many other women were also joining the journalism field as coverage of the Vietnam War became increasingly widespread.

While technology-based and other computer programming jobs may now be dominated by men, the same jobs were considered "women's work" in the 1960s.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, "computer girls" became a term for "savvy young women" pursuing careers in computer programming. Computer programming was seen as "easy work" similar to typing or filing, so many women ended up building the field that would come to be known as software development. 

Women soon made up a majority of the trained workforce in the computing industry.

However, the work was seen as "unskilled."

"Women were seen as an easy, tractable labor force for jobs that were critical and yet simultaneously devalued," technology historian Marie Hicks said in her book "Programmed Inequality," according to The Guardian. 

In the 1960s, multiple pieces of legislation were passed to protect women in the workplace from discrimination.

Title VII was added to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protecting workers from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

In 1963, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed in order to protect men and women who perform "substantially equal work in the same establishment" from sex-based wage discrimination.

These measures were especially beneficial to women of color. Up until the 1970s, women of color could be openly discriminated against in the hiring process and were often relegated to providing domestic service work to white families. 

During the 1970s, computing work gained more prestige as the industry realized how valuable computers would become.

It meant women were no longer welcome in many computer programming offices. 

"They weren't going to put women workers – seen as low-level drones – in charge of computers," Hicks explains.

According to The Guardian, female computer workers, or "computer girls," were gradually phased out and replaced with men, who received higher salaries and more prestigious job titles.

By the 1970s, many women were still fighting for better workplace conditions, equal pay, and more job opportunities.

From 1972 to 1985, the number of women working "professional" jobs increased from 44% to 49%. The number of women working "management" jobs nearly doubled, rising from 20% to 36%. 

However, in 1970, women still did not earn "equal" wages to men. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, women earned 59.4% of what men earned.

In the 1970s, education became more important than ever for securing a well-paying job.

After measures were passed that prevented universities and institutions from discriminating against students on the basis of sex, more women were admitted into medical school than in past generations.

Other strides were made for women in the late 1970s. In 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed as an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This meant that women could start building families without fearing how it would affect their careers.

Women in the workforce in the 1980s continued to make strides, but there was still a ways to go.

According to The Atlantic, in 1985, half of all college graduates were women. However, only 41% of women between the ages of 25 and 44 held full-time year-round jobs.

Even in the mid-1980s, women themselves saw their own careers as inferior to their husbands'. According to The Atlantic, which cited a 1985 Roper survey, only 10% of women said that a husband should turn down a "very good job" in another city "so the wife can continue her job."

However, women of the 1980s made history in their fields. Dr. Mae Jemison was among 15 new astronauts named by NASA and became the first black female shuttle flyer.

In 1984, at the Democratic National Convention held in San Francisco's Moscone Center, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman nominated as vice president by a major political party.

Women were encouraged to "do it all"— meaning, hold a successful job as well as maintain a happy and healthy marriage and raise children.

The New York Times has referred to the 1990s as the "best era for working women."

Computers became more and more prevalent, reducing the need for secretaries, bank tellers, and retail workers. Women overwhelmingly began to be employed in offices and earned higher salaries.

According to Time, women were also postponing marriage and children until later in life.

For most earlier decades, women would be married between the ages of 20 and 22. In 1990, the age jumped to 24, and by 1997, the average age for women to get married was 25.

In 1995, nearly half of all women surveyed reported earning half or more of their total family income. 

In recent years, women held more jobs than men in the US workforce.

At the start of 2020, there are now 109,000 more women working than men, and women in the US made up 50.4% of the labor force. 

Sectors that traditionally hire women, like healthcare and education, were growing, and other industries previously dominated by men were also hiring more women than ever before.

According to Forbes, 13.8% of mining and logging jobs were currently held by women, and more women were employed in manufacturing and transportation than in years past as well.

The coronavirus pandemic caused the women's labor force participation rate to hit a 33-year low in January 2021.

According to CNBC, more than 2.3 million women in the US have left the labor force since February 2020, compared to about 1.8 million men who have registered as unemployed. This places the women's labor force participation rate at 57%, the lowest rate since 1988, according to the National Women's Law Center.

However, the actual number of women who are currently unemployed may be much higher due to those who may have left the labor force but are not actively looking for work. Instead, many women may be staying home due to mass closures of schools and daycare facilities. 

The data is undeniably dire, despite more jobs being added to the workforce in recent months. In January 2021, 275,000 women left the labor force, accounting for 80% of all unemployed workers over the age of 20 that month.

The situation is even worse for women of color, Insider's Juliana Kaplan previously reported. According to the NWLC, 8.5% of Black women age 20 and over were unemployed in January 2021, compared to 8.4% in December 2020 and 4.9% in February 2020.

Adversely, the unemployment rate for white men age 20 and over was 5.5% in January 2021, compared to 5.8% in December 2020 and 2.7% in February 2020. 

"WandaVision" remained the most in-demand streaming series in the US this week after finally taking the top spot last week.

But Netflix's "Cobra Kai" surged head of "The Mandalorian" this week for the No. 2 spot.

Every week, Parrot Analytics provides Insider with a list of the nine most in-demand TV shows on streaming services in the US.

The data is based on "demand expressions," Parrot Analytics' globally standardized TV-demand measurement unit. Audience demand reflects the desire, engagement, and viewership weighted by importance. The list is ranked by how much more in demand the top series are than the average TV show in the US.

"The Crown" also got a slight bump in audience demand this week after it won several awards at the Golden Globes over the weekend, including best drama series. 

9. "The Expanse" (Amazon Prime Video)

Times more in demand than average show: 26.8

Description: "In different parts of the Solar System, the crew of the Rocinante and their allies confront the sins of their past, while Marco Inaros unleashes an attack that will alter the future of Earth, Mars, the Belt, and the worlds beyond the Ring."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 5): 100%

What critics said:"Even with the protomolecule saga relatively sidelined this season, 'The Expanse' draws so much strength from exposing how fragile an expansive society like this is."— Indiewire (Season 5)

Season 5 premiered on Prime Video on December 16. See more insights for "The Expanse."

8. "Lucifer" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 28.2

Description: "Bored with being the Lord of Hell, the devil relocates to Los Angeles, where he opens a nightclub and forms a connection with a homicide detective."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 5): 82%

What critics said:"As fun as the show continues to be, it's marred by character arcs that refuse to go anywhere. None of its flashy musical numbers or talented cast members can save those damnable filler scenes from feeling like a chore."— CBR (Season 5)

Season 5 premiered on Netflix on August 21. See more insights for "Lucifer."

7. "The Crown" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 30.9

Description: "This drama follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 4): 97%

What critics said:"The Crown's fourth outing is the show back at its best. You may well come to it for the visual feast of Diana and Thatcher, but you'll leave with lots of food for thought - the mark of great telly."— Digital Spy (season 4)

Season four premiered on November 15 on Netflix. See more insights for "The Crown."

6. "Titans" (HBO Max)

Times more in demand than average show: 31.8

Description: "'Titans' follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging in a gritty take on the classic Teen Titans franchise. Dick Grayson and Rachel Roth, a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness, get embroiled in a conspiracy that could bring Hell on Earth. Joining them along the way are the hot-headed Starfire and lovable Beast Boy. Together they become a surrogate family and team of heroes."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 81%

What critics said:"Superheroes, mysteries and brawls, Titans has it all."— CinemaBlend (Season 2)

Season 2 premiered on DC Universe in September, 2019. See more insights for "Titans."

5. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (Disney Plus)

Times more in demand than average show:40.2

Description: "From Dave Filoni, director and executive producer of 'The Mandalorian,' the new 'Clone Wars' episodes will continue the storylines introduced in the original series, exploring the events leading up to 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.'"

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 7): 100%

What critics said:"All the major names that returned to the Star Wars movies over the past half-decade were certainly exciting, and hearing animation stalwart Dee Bradley Baker's voice in new episodes of The Clone Wars is in many ways equally thrilling."— Syfy Wire (season 7)

Season 7 premiered on February 21 on Disney Plus. See more insights for "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

4. "Stranger Things" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 48.3

Description: "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 3): 89%

What critics said:"Even while some things go a bit too predictably, the last two episodes tie everything and everyone together in spectacular, emotional fashion."— Dallas Morning News (Season 3)

3. "The Mandalorian" (Disney Plus)

Times more in demand than average show: 50.0

Description: "After the fall of the Empire, a lone gunfighter makes his way through the lawless galaxy."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 94%

What critics said:"It's no small feat to create a character who is well-rounded and sympathetic, while mostly hidden behind an expressionless mask. But all the credit goes to Pascal for imbuing the man, also known as Din Djarin, with layers of ever-present depth."— San Francisco Chronicle (Season 2)

Season 2 premiered on Disney Plus on October 30. See more insights for "The Mandalorian."

2. "Cobra Kai" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 52.2

Description: "Decades after the tournament that changed their lives, the rivalry between Johnny and Daniel reignites in this sequel to the 'Karate Kid' films."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 3): 90%

What critics said:"Cobra Kai goes out of its way to show us everybody's sides. But it's tough to gauge exactly what it thinks the truth is."— Vulture (season 3)

Season 3 premiered on January 1 on Netflix. See more insights for "Cobra Kai."

1. "WandaVision" (Disney Plus)

Times more in demand than average show: 64.8

Description: "Marvel Studios' captivating new series 'WandaVision' stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, and marks the first series from Marvel Studios streaming exclusively on Disney+. The series is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision — two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives — begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 1): 92%

What critics said: "Personally speaking, the eighth episode of WandaVision is my favorite type of chapter in a story like this."— Entertainment Weekly (Season 1)

Season 1 premiered on Disney Plus January 15. See more insights for "WandaVision."

The pandemic is redefining what what health and wellness means for Americans.

After nearly a year of extended isolation and more than 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, many corporate retailers have seen their attempts to take on the $3.8 trillion healthcare industry go sideways. 

During the pandemic, established industry leaders have struggled to adapt, while newcomers hoping to get a piece of the pie had their hopes dashed by shifted priorities. In February, a preliminary analysis from the nonprofit Altarum estimated that in 2020, US healthcare spending may decline for the first time in 60 years.

In January, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger were gearing up to participate in the vaccine rollout, after 10 months of catering to pandemic era consumer's fears and anxieties by adding curbside pickup, expanding telemedicine, and offering COVID-19 testing.

Much like how tech giants have struggled with their push into healthcare, retailers' sky-high expectations for growth combined with the pandemic's upheaval have also been a stumbling block as they push deeper into healthcare. For all the influence massive companies hold, America's health is still the toughest nut to crack.

Here's how the country's largest retailers are doing in their efforts to shake up healthcare.

This article was initially published on March 1 and has been updated with additional healthcare plans from retailers.

Walmart's once-ambitious plan to disrupt healthcare is in flux, with clinic expansion plans slowing since the pandemic hit.

Less than two years after Walmart announced plans to roll out low-cost primary care Walmart Health centers, the retail giant has already begun pulling back from healthcare expansion. Via conversations with eight current and future employees, Insider learned that the company is not on track on earlier projections for clinic expansions. 

In November 2018, Walmart's board of directors approved a plan to build 4,000 clinics by 2029, but those plans have since changed. Three current employees and one former employee confirmed in 2021 there are now no set numerical goals for the clinics.

The goal once publicly announced in 2019, was to do for healthcare what its supercenters did for retail: offer a breadth of services at a much cheaper price point than rivals.

The big box company provided a response to Insider's reporting, saying it continues to "experiment" with Walmart Health centers. Pointing to its pharmacy curbside delivery, COVID-19 testing, and participation in the US's nationwide vaccine rollout, Walmart said the pandemic had reaffirmed its commitment to healthcare. 

Despite early clinics exceeding expectations, Slovenski's departure in August and the pandemic have stifled once aggressive expansion efforts.

CVS Health is connecting the dots between retail pharmacy and primary care.

CVS Health wants to reinvented itself as a place where consumers can combine their healthcare and retail needs.

To kick it off, CVS acquired health insurer Aetna in 2018. The company has since rolled out 650 in-store clinics, known as "Health Hubs" where consumers can get health screenings, COVID-19 tests, and vaccinations. The goal is to have 1,500 Health Hubs across its more than 9,900 stores by the end of this year. 

In February, former Aetna president Karen Lynch took over for Larry Merlo as CVS's CEO. Lynch told Insider she is making it her mission to integrate Aetna and CVS experiences. For instance, in the company's February earnings call, Lynch said CVS had enrolled 6 million people in health plans that offer low or no-cost visits to CVS's MinuteClinics for care. 

The company has also expanded its efforts to include virtual care, a technology-enabled care option made more attractive by the pandemic. Across 33 states, MinuteClinic nurse practitioners are doing virtual visits, Lynch said. The company is currently testing a virtual primary care program with hopes of offering it widely next year.

In November, Bernstein analysts said CVS was "well positioned to reimagine primary care," though they estimated the company generates just $1 billion from care delivery, compared to the estimated $20 billion from healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group.

CVS is also re-entering the ACA individual marketplace via co-branded CVS-Aetna plans in 2022, which could serve as a key source of business.

The coronavirus vaccine rollout has accelerated Kroger's push into healthcare.

In February 2019, Insider spoke to Colleen Lindholz, the head of Kroger Heath, the grocery giant's restructured health and wellness division. Back then, Lindholz laid out a vision of Kroger keeping customers healthy through "food as medicine."

By tracking customer data on the groceries they bought and their Kroger clinic-filled prescriptions, the company wanted to offer customers lifestyle counseling services to nudge customers towards healthier habits.   

Then US healthcare priorities shifted as the pandemic hit. Along with CVS and Walgreens, Kroger's 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics have contributed to nationwide COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts. In February, Kroger announced a partnership with biotech company Gauss for an app-enabled rapid antigen COVID-19 test, pending emergency FDA approval.

Making good on Lindholz's promise to pursue a "food as medicine" approach, Kroger also launched a free virtual nutrition service last May, Supermarket News reported. In October, Progressive Grocer also reported on Kroger's renewal of its GoodRx partnership, signaling the grocery giant's commitment to sway consumers from other prescription drug and healthcare rivals. Through GoodRx, customers can lower their prescription costs through Kroger Rx Savings Club-branded discounts on generic drugs.

Amazon is pushing ahead in healthcare through its pharmacy and virtual care services.

Amazon went through the ringer with Haven, its joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan, that struggled since its 2018 inception in its mission to bring down healthcare costs,

The company's acquisition of PillPack that same year, however, is a different story.

From Amazon's initial move into the prescription drug business to now, the company has managed to launch its long-anticipated Amazon Pharmacy service. Its November 2020 launch sent retail pharmacy stocks tumbling as the possibility of Amazon encroaching on yet another segment of American life became real.

On top of taking customers from CVS and Walgreens, Wall Street analysts predicted Amazon could snatch business from pharmacy benefit managers, the hidden middlemen that distribute prescriptions, rebates, and discounts for health insurers and large employers.

Amazon Care, the company's primary care option currently in use by its own employees, is set to grow beyond Amazon employees in 2021. In December, Insider learned the company is plotting a national Amazon Care expansion, and plans to roll out its in-house suite of home visits, remote care, and prescription deliveries to other employers. 

Amazon, like other tech companies hoping to enter healthcare, faces pressures from its corporate division to scale quickly. Even so, Amazon's healthcare ventures can serve other purposes, like its pharmaceutical drugs expansion getting more people to sign up for Prime.

"As long as Amazon is improving their offering, they're happy to not make money elsewhere as long as it feeds into Amazon Prime," Josh Mark, a director at AposHealth and former healthcare analyst at CB Insights, previously told Insider.

Walgreens has doubled down on partnerships to counter pharmacy rival CVS Health.

Walgreens is betting its work with partners can help it build a healthcare strategy that goes beyond retail pharmacies.

In 2019, Walgreens closed 150 of its in-store clinics, but kept those that partnered with healthcare providers. Since then, the company has only continued to add to its list of partnerships, announcing plans last July to invest $1 billion into primary care startup VillageMD over a three year time frame.

Walgreens also has an internal healthcare platform project in the works. Details are sparse, but the in-house startup run by a 200-person team is not trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, Walgreens plans to combine services offered by its partners into a singular Walgreens experience. 

"Our role will be an integrator of the best that exists and surrounds the consumer," Walgreens' global CFO James Kehoe said at JPMorgan's annual healthcare conference. 

In the past, Walgreens has struck up partnerships with companies like Microsoft, Kroger, Humana, Verily, and UnitedHealth Group.

Despite collaborating with big names, the company has struggled to define a long-term growth strategy while competitors like CVS Health and Walmart ramp up their efforts in pharmacy and prescription drug delivery, Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut told Insider in January.

New leadership could impact what Walgreens does next in healthcare. On March 15, incoming CEO Roz Brewer will begin her tenure. Analysts were split on whether Brewer's retail industry experience at Starbucks would turn the Walgreens ship around, or sink it entirely.

Best Buy has continued to home in on aging customers, rolling out its Lively emergency response app to Apple Watch and adding an Alexa-enabled flip phone for seniors.

Since buying emergency device GreatCall for $800 million in 2018, Best Buy has tailored its healthcare technology offerings to elderly consumers hoping to maintain independence in their later years. On its website Best Buy states that its goal is to "make home the center of better health." 

Though Best Buy saw its overall sales grow in the initial months of the pandemic as people facing extended isolation sought out home electronics, the company has laid off workers and cut off hours in recent weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported in February.

On the healthcare front, the company has stayed relatively quiet throughout 2020. Its healthcare leader, Best Buy Health's head Asheesh Saksena stepped down in August, CNBC reported. Best Buy hired IBM Watson Health veteran Deborah DiSanzo to replace Saksena. 

It debuted a new Amazon Alexa-connected flip phone for seniors in September. In October, it launched Lively Mobile Plus, a Kaiser Permanente-partnered pilot remote monitoring tool that's available to Kaiser's 1.7 million Medicare customers.

In March, the company announced a new partnership with Apple, rolling out its Lively Services app for seniors to the Apple Watch.

Joby Aviation is among the most promising startups in the electric aviation field, boasting plans for zero-emission intra-city transportation with a fleet of four-seat electric vertical takeoff and land aircraft.

Valuable partnerships with Uber and Toyota gave the firm steady funding in recent years and solidified its reputation in the field. Industry consultants and venture capitalists all gave the 11-year-old company a vote of confidence when asked to name the best electric aviation startups by Insider in January.  

Joby most recently secured a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that will bring the company public. The deal values the company at $6.6 billion and provides $910 million in private investment in public equity funding from the likes of Uber Technologies and BlackRock.

Electric aviation is an industry with no shortage of competitors as startups work to unlock the secret behind electric urban air mobility. One of its main rivals, Archer Aviation, just inked a deal with United Airlines for $1 billion in orders, for example.

And time is quickly coming for these aircraft to become a reality as Joby expects to launch commercial operations in 2024. 

Here's what we know about Joby Aviation.

Joby was founded in 2009 in Santa Cruz, California with just seven employees and by 2012, the company was already working with NASA on projects to advance electric flight.

Source: Joby Aviation

Its flagship product is an eVTOL that promises to fly four passengers up to 150 miles. Joby says the top cruising speed will be 200 miles per hour and the aircraft can fly up to 15,000 feet above sea level.

Source: Joby Aviation 

An example given by the company is that a 44-mile flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newport Beach, California will only take 15 minutes.

Source: Joby Aviation 

Unlike some competitors, the aircraft will be piloted and not flown autonomously or via a remote pilot. Inside the aircraft's cockpit will be the Garmin G3000 avionics suite.

The glass cockpit will be similar to those found on modern conventional aircraft, offering pilots high-definition displays that provide flight data.

Pilots can view navigation charts and navigate around bad weather using the system.

Joby's first sub-scale prototype flew in 2015, just six years after the startup was founded.

Source: Joby Aviation 

Three years later, the process to certify its aircraft began with the Federal Aviation Administration. Joby is on track to receive certification in 2023 and start commercial operations the following year.

Source: Joby Aviation 

The US Air Force has already given Joby an eVTOL airworthiness certificate, the first of its kind, under the Agility Prime program.

Source: Joby Aviation 

Joby boasts numerous high-profile investors, including Toyota. The automotive giant became a lead investor in Joby's Series C financing with a $394 million investment.

Source: Joby Aviation 

Toyota also pledged to share its manufacturing know-how with Joby as part of the deal.

Source: Joby Aviation 

Uber also invested $50 million in a previously-undisclosed January 2020 deal.

Source: Insider

Joby then acquired Uber Elevate in December as the ride-hailing giant had been forced to shed divisions during the pandemic. But Uber stayed on as an investor to the tune of an additional $75 million.

Read More: Joby Aviation is acquiring Uber's Elevate as the ride-hailing giant continues to shed divisions during the pandemic

The duo also pledged to work together and integrate each other's services in their mobile applications once Joby is up and running. Joby acquired Uber Elevate's engineers and technology staff as part of the deal.

Read More: Joby Aviation is acquiring Uber's Elevate as the ride-hailing giant continues to shed divisions during the pandemic

Source: Insider

Joby aims to go public by merging with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that values the company at $6.6 billion.

Read More: SPAC Reinvent Technology Partners surges after merger deal to list Joby Aviation on NYSE

Source: Joby Aviation

That also includes $910 million in private investment in public equity, or PIPE funding, from the likes of Uber Technologies, BlackRock, and Fidelity Management & Research.

Source: Markets Insider and Joby Aviation

"I think of Joby as Tesla meets Uber in the air," Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder and Reinvest Technology Partners backer, told Reuters.

Source: Reuters

For those looking to score a job at Joby, most engineering jobs come with six-figure salaries, according to an Insider analysis.

Read More: REVEALED: How much Joby, the flying car startup going public through a Reid Hoffman-run SPAC, pays engineers

Joby is striving for eVTOL flights accessible to all and not just the wealthy. "We're trying to price this accessibility in a way that everyone can use it several times a week," Greg Bowles, Joby's head of government affairs, said at a January 2020 mobility forum.

Read More: 3 executives at top flying-car startups reveal their visions for the future of 'urban air mobility'

Bowles also envisions inter-city transport for the price of an Uber Black car, he said while speaking at the forum. "You might say 'We should have dinner in Baltimore tonight, it's a 30-minute flight and it's going to cost us similarly to Uber black, should we go?'"

Source: Insider

Joby says it's flown more than 1,000 test flights and plans to start construction on a scaled manufacturing facility in 2021.

Source: Joby Aviation

It's something you use every day and probably don't think twice about: your bath towel. But dry off with a thin and scratchy towel, and you'll definitely notice. When shopping for a new towel, always keep comfort and durability in mind. 

"A towel is a deeply personal decision," said Emily Forrest, the director of communications and resident towel expert at wedding registry site Zola. "The main factors to consider are size, material or type of cotton (Egyptian, Pima, and Supima cotton are all very fluffy), and also GSM [a measurement of the towel's weight], which will define how luxurious and also durable the towel is. Price and color are of course other factors to consider." 

For more on different materials and towel terms — including a deeper explanation of GSM — check out our FAQ slide. 

Since not everyone wants a heavy, plush towel, our final selection represents a variety of textures, weights, and budgets. To test the best towels, we evaluated the durability, feel, and absorption of each of the 12 contenders in this guide. Read more about our methodology here. 

Here are the best bath towels in 2021

• Best towel overall: Kassatex Atelier Bath Towel
• Best quick-dry towel: Pottery Barn Hydrocotton Organic Bath Towel
• Best waffle towel: Onsen Bath Towel
• Best towel on a budget: JCPenney Home Quick Dri Textured Solid Bath Towel
• Best Turkish towel: Coyuchi Mediterranean Organic Towel

SEE ALSO: The best bathroom cleaning products

The best towel overall

Kassatex's Atelier Towels are the most dense and absorbent of all the towels we tried. They remain soft after several washes, and the hanging loops are a thoughtful touch. 

Pros: Soft, heavyweight, absorbent, durable, has a hanging loop, monogramming is available

Cons: Dries slowly, limited color selection 

This thick towel made me look forward to getting out of a long, hot shower, and that's not an easy feat. It's heavy and absorbent, with an 800 GSM (a measurement of a towel's weight), and takes a while to dry (about four to six hours in my experience) but it's all worth it if you want to wrap yourself in the equivalent of a comforting hug. 

Made from combed cotton, which is cotton that goes through an additional process that combs out shorter fibers and impurities, the towel feels soft and sumptuous. While other towels I tested tended to get rougher after multiple washes, the Kassatex towel remained as soft as it was at first use. Even though it wasn't as plush as a close contender from Frontgate, I loved Kassatex's towel the most because of its long-term softness potential. 

It has an attractive dobby border — the decorative weave above the edge of the towel — that's not too big or small. If you don't like to hang your towels on a bar, you have options: each towel has a sturdy sewn-in hanging loop. 

I tested the towel in the color Chalk, which was a little lighter in person than the photo on the brand's website indicated, so if you're choosing a specific shade to go with your bathroom style, keep this discrepancy in mind. The good news is that Kassatex offers 60-day free returns on non-monogrammed towels.

The best quick-dry towel

The Hydrocotton Organic Bath Towel from Pottery Barn has a soft, extra fluffy, and substantial feel and it dries surprisingly quickly despite its weight. 

Pros: Fluffy, made from organic cotton, dries quickly, comes in many colors, monogramming is available

Cons: Loose threads may emerge after multiple washes 

I usually associate quick-drying towels with thin or textured construction, but this towel from Pottery Barn proves you can enjoy a fluffy, moderately thick feel without compromising drying ability. The towel is not so heavy and plush as the Kassatex, but it has enough weight to convince you it won't fall apart after a few uses. 

It retains its softness after multiple washes because it's made from 100% Turkish, GOTS-certified cotton and with untwisted yarns. Forrest said, "To make a towel, the yarns are twisted together, and the more the yarn is twisted the harder and less absorbent the towel becomes. But, if the towel is constructed with very little twist or with no twist, the outcome is a fluffier towel that will dry more efficiently because there is simply space between the yarn so each strand can dry."

That being said, I did notice a few loose threads emerge after I took it out of the dryer. We'll continue to do more washing and drying tests and monitor whether more threads come out. 

On average, the towel took between 3 and 3.5 hours to air dry. Our picks for best waffle towel and best Turkish towel below actually dried faster. However, we're designating the Pottery Barn our best quick-dry pick because it also has the traditionally soft and fluffy cotton terry feel that most people are looking for. Based on our testing, the towel was the most well-rounded quick-drying towel. 

The best waffle towel

The Onsen Bath Towel is a lightweight and resilient waffle-weave option that absorbs water well but doesn't drag or hang heavy like other waffle towels. 

Pros: Light, dries quickly, comfortable texture, durable

Cons: Thinner and less soft than traditional towels

Fluffy, thick terry towels can sometimes feel stifling, especially if your body temperature naturally runs hot or you live in a warm climate. Onsen's bath towel is a great alternative because it's thin, light, and quick-drying, but still highly absorbent and comfortable. 

It's made from 100% Supima cotton, which is a fiber that's strong yet soft. Adding to the towel's durability is a relaxed waffle weave construction that seems to stretch and adapt to however you handle the towel. Though I could see the thin, individual fibers, I was impressed with how the towel never came out of the wash with frayed or loose threads. It also never snagged on my jewelry, which was a joyous revelation since I keep my earrings and nose ring on in the shower and they can catch even on terry towels. Meanwhile, the bonded 2-inch edges provide structure to the flexible fabric.

Though it has the measurements of an average-sized bath towel, it dries quickly and takes up much less space, making it a good travel towel. And unlike other waffle weave products we've tried, the Onsen towel doesn't shrink in the wash. 

The lattice texture can take some getting used to, but overall the material feels pleasant and springy. The towel also absorbed water off of my skin without clinging to it, a combination that's especially welcome in humid weather. 

The best towel on a budget

The JCPenney Home Bath Towel is light and thin (but not too thin), and it's much softer than typical towels in this price range.

Pros: Soft, mid-weight, absorbent, frequently on sale 

Cons: Traps lint, may not hold up long term

I didn't have high expectations for an $8 towel (and it's usually even cheaper due to frequent sales) — I thought it'd be rough, threadbare, and mildew-prone. Instead, I found this popular towel from JCPenney was soft, comfortable, durable, and quick-drying. It's a good middle-of-the-spectrum option for thickness and absorption, and it won't cling to wet skin. It dries quickly, within a couple of hours.

The towel has a textured pattern, which helps make it feel more substantial. However, little specks of dust or lint get stuck easily in the nooks and crannies, and since my towel sample was a dark gray color, these random bits and pieces were noticeable. You may have to pat down your towel periodically. 

The long-term durability may be questionable; after the first wash, there were already a few loose threads, especially around the edges. Although the next few washes didn't result in more loose threads, I don't see the towel being one you hold on to for years and years. 

However, as a towel for frequent hosts, or those on a budget, this one is still your best bet thanks to its softness and absorbency. It's also Made in Green by Oeko Tex-certified, so it's been tested for harmful chemical substances and was created using sustainable processes, with responsible working conditions. 

The best Turkish towel

The Coyuchi Mediterranean Organic Towel is a lightweight, tightly woven towel made from organic Turkish cotton that not only looks great but also ticks all the boxes for comfort, absorption, and thoughtful production standards. 

Pros: Lightweight, absorbent, durable, stylish, sustainably made, doubles as beach towel

Cons: Thin, fringed edges can tangle or unravel 

Turkish (also known as Hammam or Fouta) towels are characterized by their traditional flat weave and knotted fringes. Coyuchi's Mediterranean towel is a thoughtful and beautiful interpretation, made from Turkish-grown and woven organic cotton and available in five coastal-inspired colors. Its fringes are soft, thick, and hand-knotted. 

While thin, the towel is tightly woven and sturdy. It's not soft or fluffy like a cotton terry towel, which means it can also double as an effective beach towel, since sand slides right off the woven surface.

Turkish towels aren't for everyone, but they dry quickly and are very lightweight and packable, making them ideal for vacations. I brought along this towel on many recent road trips, and it barely took up any space. 

The main con I discovered is that the fringed edges, though eye-catching, can get tangled in the wash or unravel. Compared to other towels, this one may require a little more maintenance to keep its decorative appearance. It also seems to bleach more easily than the other towels I tested; if I could go back, I'd probably choose the white color to hide any potential bleach stains. 

Coyuchi only uses GOTS-certified organic cotton, which certifies that every part of the supply chain is free of toxic chemicals and meets social standards for worker conditions. It also takes back products to be mended, cleaned, and resold, in order to reduce textile waste. Thanks to practices like this, the towel is sold at a premium price, but you'll know exactly what your money is going towards.  

What else we tested

What else we recommend and why 

Boll & Branch Plush Bath Towel: This towel has all the certifications that matter: Fair Trade, GOTS, and Oeko-Tex. It's on the more dense side at 700 GSM and comes in nine versatile, earthy colors. We also liked that it was quite fluffy for its weight. The only potential problem you may run into is loose threads after multiple washes and uses. 

Brooklinen Ultralight Bath Towel: These super light 320-GSM towels only come in a set of two and are made from 100% Turkish cotton. Consistent with our experience with Brooklinen's sheets, these towels delivered strong performance for great value. Unlike other thin and light towels, these are strong, durable, and very soft — a nice change from the usual scratchy, threadbare towels you'll encounter at the same GSM. 

Riley Spa Bath Towel: This 700-GSM towel is made with combed, long-staple cotton and has a hanging loop for convenient drying and storage. It can also be personalized for an extra $10. It's heavy, thick, and durable; however, it's pricier and less dense than the Kassatex, our top pick. 

Frontgate Resort Cotton Bath Towel: This towel is soft, thick, and plush, with a luxurious and almost spongy feel. It's absorbent and doesn't cling to the skin, and there are a ton of colors to choose from. After a few washes, it started to feel less fluffy, although it was still comfortable. The dobby border may be too big for some people's tastes. 

Sand Cloud Towel: I've used this durable Turkish-style towel for a couple of years now, and I love its versatility as a regular bath towel or beach towel. Its price and GSM are pretty close to Coyuchi's, it comes in various sizes, and it has a social initiative too, with 10% of profits going towards marine conservation efforts. Ultimately, Coyuchi's towel and fringed edges felt a bit more substantial, though.  

What we don't recommend and why 

Weezie Piped Edge Bath Towel: Weezie's towel is soft and fluffy, but it's expensive for what you get. However, it's a nice option for gifts or special occasions because Weezie offers a large variety of custom embroidery styles. 

Wamsutta Micro Cotton Bath Towel: Though the price and large color selection are tempting, these towels weren't that soft or comfortable. However, they are absorbent. 

Methodology

Here's how we tested the towels over a period of three months. Knowing that this is a fairly short amount of time, we'll continue to follow these steps in the upcoming months and note any changes.

1. Washed each towel three times and evaluated it for shrinkage, fraying, color loss, and roughness. 
2. Dried my entire body after a shower. 
3. Used each towel to wring out water from my wet hair (I have thick, medium-coarse hair).
4. Timed how long each towel took to dry completely when hung normally on a towel bar. 
5. Noted softness, fluffiness, thickness, and how the towel clung to or wicked water off damp skin. 

What we're testing next

Room Essentials Everyday Bath Towel: For just $4, you can pick up this soft, mid-weight towel from Target. It's 100% cotton terry, with a woven trim and eight color options. 

Salt Quick Dry Bath Towel: This towel is a contender for either best budget or best quick-drying towel. It has zero-twist loops and looks to be highly absorbent. A potential concern that some reviewers point out is that it produces a lot of dryer lint. 

Towels FAQs

What is GSM? 

GSM stands for grams per square meter and is a measure of towel density. The higher the GSM, the heavier and more absorbent the towel is, and the longer it will take to dry. "Typically, the higher the GSM (900 is considered very high), the more luxe and plush the towel. A lower GSM (300 would be pretty low) indicates a lighter weight and more quick-drying towel," said Emily Forrest, an expert on towels at the wedding registry site Zola. "A safe bet is a towel with a GSM that is between 400-600 for a towel that's not on either end of the sumptuous to thin spectrum."

Why do my towels smell? 

If a wet towel is left bunched up in the hamper or on the ground, mildew starts to grow, and no one likes a germy, musty-smelling towel. To avoid mildew, hang your towel right after use so it has the space and time to dry completely. If it still smells, wash it in a hot cycle with a cup of white vinegar, and then run it in a second wash cycle with half a cup of baking soda. Dry it in a machine or hang it up to line-dry. 

Why do my towels stain or become discolored? 

There are a couple of possible culprits for stains and discoloration:

• Skincare products that contain benzoyl peroxide. People who regularly use benzoyl peroxide products may want to consider sticking to white or light-colored towels.
• Using fabric softener or bleach in the washing machine. Even if you don't actively add bleach, leftover bleach in the dispenser can sometimes leak into the current load, so check that your dispenser is working properly. 

Bath sheets vs. bath towels 

The towels we test and review here are bath towels and typically measure around 28 to 31-inches wide and 54 to 58-inches long. Bath towels are designed to drape around your shoulders or wrap around your body comfortably, but if you find you want even more coverage, you'll want the much larger bath sheet. Bath sheets typically measure around 35 to 40-inches wide and 68 to 72-inches long. Keep in mind that the increase in size also means bath sheets are more expensive and take longer to dry than bath towels. 

Glossary

Long-staple cotton: Cotton with longer-staple fibers that result in smoother and stronger yarn. Short-staple cotton, on the other hand, has fiber ends that stick out and cause the towel to be rougher and less abrasion-resistant.

Egyptian cotton: Cotton grown in Egypt. It's often assumed that Egyptian cotton is long-staple, but it could also be lower-quality, short-staple cotton that just happens to be from Egypt, so be careful of this labeling, and look specifically for "long-staple cotton." 

Pima cotton: Also known by its trademark name, Supima cotton. Extra long-staple cotton that is grown only in the US and has a fiber length of at least 1.5 inches. Extra long-staple cotton is even smoother, more flexible, and more resistant to pilling than long-staple cotton.

Turkish cotton: Extra long-staple cotton that is grown in Turkey, usually in the Aegean region.

Combed cotton: Cotton that has been combed through to remove impurities and shorter fibers. The fibers left over are the longest, resulting in an ultra-soft yarn once woven. 

Ringspun cotton: While regular cotton fibers are twisted together into yarn and then woven, ringspun cotton is continuously twisted and thinned to make a smoother yarn. 

Zero twist cotton: Cotton made with yarns that are not twisted together and are instead held by a wrapping thread, which lets them be woven without breaking. The thread is removed after weaving and the final cotton is softer than twisted cotton. 

Microfiber: A thin, synthetic fiber usually made from polyester. It's gentle and highly absorbent. 

Dobby border: The decorative weave near the edge of a towel. 

Towel safety and standards

You may notice that some of our best picks have an Oeko Tex certification. This label means the final product has been independently tested for more than 100 harmful chemical substances and is safe for human use. While it's not the only certification out there, it's widely used and known in the textile industry. Our experts say you should look for the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification for basic safety, but if you also care about manufacturing, look for STeP by Oeko Tex. It checks for environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and safe practices all along the production process.

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is another certification, used specifically for organic textiles. GOTS-certified sheets contain at least 95% certified organic fibers and meet environmental and social standards at every stage of processing and manufacturing. 

Taking care of your towels

Wash your towels before you use them for the first time. Manufacturers often add finishes or softeners to the towel and this buildup can make the towel less effective and absorbent. 

"Go easy on the detergent," Forrest said. "Because too much can lead to residue buildup, which diminishes the fluff factor." 

Wash your towels frequently."Think about when you dry yourself off with your towel — you are collecting oils and skin, and so you want to wash your towels every few uses. [That's also] why it's important to have a stocked linen closet," Forrest said.

Check out our other bathroom accessory guides

• The best shower heads
• The best bath mats
• The best shower curtains
• The best shower curtain liners

This is the latest installment of Business Insider's YouTube money logs, where creators break down how much they earn.

How much money YouTube pays creators for a single video depends on a number of factors, but the number of views it gets is a big one.

Creators with 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours are eligible to have their videos monetized with ads by joining YouTube's Partner Program. These ads are filtered by Google, and how much money a creator earns depends on the video's watch time, length, video type, and viewer demographics — among other factors.

Some top creators have ad-placement strategies to maximize their earnings.

For instance, Andrei Jikh, a personal-finance influencer, told Insider that he earns more money by including midroll ads, which can run in videos lasting over 8 minutes. They can be skippable or non skippable, and creators can place them manually or have them automatically placed by YouTube.

There are also things creators can avoid to try and boost earnings.

Some videos that contain swearing or copyrighted music are flagged by YouTube and demonetized, earning hardly any money for the creator (or none at all). One of YouTube's biggest stars, David Dobrik, said in an interview that he earned about $2,000 a month from YouTube directly, despite his weekly videos gaining an average 10 million views. He earns most of his money through brand sponsorships instead, like his partnership with SeatGeek.

Here's how much money YouTube paid creators for a video with 100,000, 1 million, and 150 million views, according to top YouTube creators.

This article has been updated to reflect new YouTuber earnings. 

100,000 views — between $500 to $2,500 (5 creators)

How much money a single YouTube video with 100,000 views makes from Google-placed ads depends on the content of the video and the audience who watches. But even some YouTube stars don't realize this.

Natalie Barbu started her YouTube channel while she was in high school about eight years ago.

She'd post videos about fashion and beauty as an after-school hobby, long before she knew she could be earning any money from the platform, she told Insider. 

Now she runs a channel with 292,000 subscribers and posts weekly videos about her day-to-day life experiences.

Barbu has more than 20 videos with over 100,000 views uploaded to her YouTube channel. On average, her videos earn between $200 and $500, she told Insider in February 2020. 

YouTube pays Barbu through direct deposit once a month. After she receives the money, she will save a portion for taxes and she has a separate bank account where she keeps her tax money.

We spoke to five YouTube creators — Natalie Barbu (lifestyle), Marko Zlatic (personal finance), Ruby Asabor (business), Erica Boucher (business), and Roberto Blake (tech) — who broke down what they generally earn from a video with around 100,000 views. 

• Barbu — between $500 to $1,000, she told Insider in February 2020. 

• Blake — between $800 and $1,500, he told Insider in February 2020.

• Boucher — $1,300, she told Insider in November 2020.

• Zlatic — between $1,300 and $1,500, he told Insider in February 2020.

• Asabor — between $2,200 and $2,500, she told Insider in February 2020. 

When Asabor was first starting out, she thought everyone made the same rate.

But then she found out she was making more money from YouTube than a friend of hers who had more subscribers. Asabor realized that her finance- and business-related videos, which target an older audience, were more favorable to Google's advertisers. These advertisers pay more than others because there are fewer videos on YouTube that attract their target audience.

Read the full post: 

How much money a YouTube video with 100,000 views makes, according to 5 creators

1 million views — between $3,400 and $40,000 (6 creators)

A video with 1 million YouTube views doesn't always make the same amount of money and can vary considerably depending on the creator.

Insider spoke with six YouTube influencers with very different channels — SemideCoco, Jade Darmawangsa, Marina Mogilko, Kevin David, Austen Alexander, and Shelby Church — on how much they earned from videos with over 1 million views (and below 1.5 million views).

• SemideCoco (1.1 million views) — $3,400, she told Insider in December 2020. 

• Darmawangsa (1.2 million views) – $3,600, she told Insider in May 2020.

• Church (1.4 million subscribers) — between $2,000 and $5,000, she told Insider in January 2020.

• Alexander (165,000 subscribers) — $6,000, he told Insider in November 2020. 

• Mogilko (1.7 million subscribers) — $10,000, she told Insider in August 2019.

• David (844,000 subscribers) — $40,000, he told Insider in August 2019.

These creators all said that enabling every ad option, which includes banner, preroll, and midroll ads, had helped with their earnings. 

Read the full post: 

How much money a YouTube video with 1 million views makes, according to 6 creators

150 million views — $97,000 (Paul Kousky)

Paul Kousky films videos about Nerf guns for YouTube and has 14 million subscribers. 

He told Insider that he earns a majority of his revenue through ads on his YouTube channel, PDK Films.

Kousky's highest-earning video is one he posted in February 2018 titled "Nerf War: Tank Battle," which went viral worldwide six months later, he said. 

By the time the video had hit 150 million views (it continues to rack up views), he earned $97,000 in AdSense revenue, according to screenshots of his creator dashboard viewed by Insider in December 2019. 

When Kousky first uploaded the video, he said it had about 50% US viewers, which is his target demographic. After it went viral, the US audience dropped and was about 5% as of December.

On average, the view duration for this video was around four to five minutes. That put the video at about a 45% average watch time, which is considered high for YouTube. This is an important metric because a high view duration lets YouTube's automated algorithm know that a video is performing well, and that can help a video get picked up and recommended to viewers.

Read the full post here:

How much money a YouTube video with 150 million views makes, according to a top creator

While big firms and holding companies make headlines, smaller firms form the backbone of the public-relations business.  

Boutique agencies can specialize in categories like travel, fashion, or technology or take a generalist approach with clients across segments.  

For agency owners, staying small offers benefits like manageable overhead, personal involvement in client work, and ability to choose who to represent.  

For clients, boutique firms pitch closer attention from senior leadership, more agile execution of campaigns, and lower fees than larger agencies.

And while the pandemic devastated the PR industry in general, lean and nimble operations helped many small firms through the turbulence.

Insider identified 18 top boutique PR firms across the US, based on their clients, influence, and impact.  To choose the firms on this list, we spoke with journalists, clients, in-house PR pros, and owners of larger agencies who often work with boutique firms.

The PR industry's professional associations do not have an official definition of "boutique" or a tally of smaller firms. We limited our selection to independent firms that are still led by their founders, have 25 or fewer employees, and up to $10 million in revenue. 

Scroll down to read the list, in alphabetical order.

APC Collective

A veteran of mega agencies Edelman and Fleischman, Audrey Ponzio founded APC Collective in 2013 with Sprint as her first client. Since then, the eight-person firm has added clients like T-Mobile, Bumble, quick-service brand Whataburger, VotoLatino, and conservation nonprofit Texan by Nature.

"It's been exciting to see the success we've had as a small shop trusted by big brands."

The strategy and communications advisory firm specializes in community and employee engagement, DEI consulting, and brand positioning, said Ponzio, who described the agency's staff as primarily Latina.

The Austin, Texas, firm brings on expert partners as needed, rather than hiring full-time staff. "When we launched, I didn't have ambitions for a certain size, but for a certain model," Ponzio said.  

Bold PR

Jodi Balkan's 22-person New York agency focuses solely on beauty. Along with celebrity-backed brands like Rihanna's Fenty Beauty and Jennifer Lopez's JLo Beauty, the firm reps industry names like Pat McGrath, whose face on Allure's February cover marked a first for a makeup artist.

Staying small lets the firm choose its clients, Balkan told Insider. "If a product doesn't have the stuff to back it up, I don't want to be a part of it. We represent these brands, but they represent us as well."

A former beauty editor, Balkan represents St. Tropez Tan – a client since she launched Bold PR in June 2008 – and keeps winning megabrand accounts like Lancôme, the firm's newest client.

Bow Bridge Communications

With a roster of museums, foundations, and arts events in the US and Canada, this four-person firm punches above its weight. 

Before co-founding the firm in 2012, managing partner Libby Mark led communications for the Museum of Natural History, MoMA, and others. Partner Heather Meltzer served as the City of Toronto's curator of art, and consulted to museums and arts organizations.  

As Bow Bridge – named for the cast-iron crossing in Central Park – the pair has amassed an elegant client list including Nashville's Frist Art Museum, the New York Botanical Garden, the Austrian Cultural Forum; Toronto's Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto, where Meltzer now resides.  

In a plum assignment for an arts-focused firm, Mark and Meltzer in 2020 handled messaging for Common Field, a 650-member network of independent arts organizations.

Forefront Communications

Along with media relations, Mark Dowd and Eric Soderberg's 12-person shop specializes in messaging and brand identity for its 24 financial-technology clients like Toronto Stock Exchange, Eventus, Confluence, Dash Financial, and Xignite.

Forefront's focus has paid off with 25% growth in consecutive annual billings since its 2016 debut. The category has also remained bulletproof through the pandemic, and it's hiring. 

Forefront's size "enables us to provide a level of account coverage that we struggled to find when we worked on the client side," Dowd told Insider. "A day-to-day contact who has sat in the CMO seat would be hard to get from a larger agency, but that's exactly what we offer."

Gasthalter & Co.

In December, Bloomberg ranked Gasthalter the No. 1 PR/IR adviser for activist investors in the US and globally. Considering the size of Gasthalter's competitors, like Sard Verbinnen & Co. and Publicis' Kekst CNC, it was a huge win for the 15-person New York firm, whose clients include hedge funds, private equity, real estate, venture capital, and trading platforms.

Managing partner Jonathan Gasthalter said the boutique model lets the firm provide high sector expertise. "We focus on quality control by ensuring a partner is on every account," he said.

Gasthalter handled a slew of headline-making situations in 2020, including the One Rock & Metropoulos acquisition of Nestlé Waters North America; Libby Wadle's appointment as J. Crew Group's CEO; and Collectors Universe going private by an investor group

Great Ink Communications

For nearly three decades, Roxanne Donovan's 10-person New York firm has focused on commercial real estate, with clients that include CBRE, Hines, Mack, Thornton Tomasetti, and the real estate practice of global legal giant Fried Frank. Even her longtime office landlord, developer Jeffrey Gural, is a former client.

"Commercial real estate involves deals, developers, and design," Donovan tells Insider. "These are terrific characters with great stories, and I still get excited by it."  

Maintaining the boutique scale lets her be choosy about the clients she takes, said Donovan, a former journalist. "It means I don't feel pressure to sell all the time. And it means I can fire clients if I don't like them or they don't pay." 

Hiltzik Strategies

Matthew Hiltzik's firm home page reveals nothing but its contact information, reflecting a discretion that's helped build a 25-person firm with clients in media, finance, tech, sports, and education. 

Known for its high-level strategy and crisis communications, the firm recently expanded its content-creation arm, generating research, social/digital pieces, and even paid media for clients like XFL and &vest, the SPAC pioneers. Celebrities like Drake and Brad Pitt — and, until 2016, Ivanka Trump — have long relied on Hiltzik's counsel as well. 

A few Hiltzik alums have made headlines on their own, like Hope Hicks and Josh Raffel, who went on to work in the Trump administration.

Hiltzik said the firm applies its "skills, experiences, and capabilities to complex situations across increasingly intersecting industries, applying lessons we learn from one area to another."

The Hinton Group

An agency can wield influence inversely proportional to its size. 

Nate Hinton's 10-person New York firm has changed cultural conversations around fashion and design, catapulting creators like Pyer Moss and Public School New York to stardom and brokering partnerships with big brands like Calvin Klein, Burberry, and MAC.

The shop's area of work spans PR, strategic partnerships, virtual event production, brand development, and business strategy, said Hinton, who launched as a one-man shop in 2017.

Hinton also said being small empowers his team. "Some of the best ideas come from people who'd be seen as the 'assistant' or 'coordinator' at a traditional company," he told Insider. "We purposely don't have titles, and everyone feels they can contribute."

Jennifer Bett Communications

Venture-backed startups and direct-to-consumer brands take center stage at this fast-growing New York firm, which has spotlighted female founders and digitally native brands since its 2014 launch.

The firm prides itself on promoting "the most disruptive brands" including Parachute, Hatch, Marie Kondo, StockX, Recess, and the Female Founders Fund, co-founder Jennifer Bett Meyer said. Its generalist approach has helped the firm grow more than 30% since last March.  

Meyer said the firm's small size means clients get personal attention at all levels.

"Large agencies tend to have a lot more red tape. When we have an idea and our client's on board, we're able to move quickly," she said.

Landis Communications

Since they don't depend on a single category, many generalist firms weathered 2020 better than specialist agencies.

Take David Landis' 30-year-old shop, a 10-person firm that generated about $2 million in 2020 from clients like Walmart, Sutter Health, Graton Casino & Trust, and tech firm Velodyne Lidar.

"We're actually doing better than last year, which was already a good year," Landis told Insider.

He credited the firm's wide expertise in technology, healthcare, consumer products, nonprofits, and the environment with keeping business humming during the pandemic.

Over the years, clients have included the American Red Cross, Baby Gap, United Healthcare, and Benefit Cosmetics.

Meg Connolly Communications

"Curate" might be the most overused word in PR, but that's what Meg Connolly's accomplished with her select roster of luxury, lifestyle, and hospitality brands.  

The six-person New York firm's clients include Hermes, Faena, Vik Retreats, and Marriott International's Luxury Brands Group. 

Connolly launched the firm in 2006 after years heading St. Regis' global PR. "You'd meet with the head of an agency, but you'd never see them again once they left you with an account person," she said. "The approach we take is hands-on, senior leadership."

Mighty PR

Before launching Mighty, founders Candace Locklear and Rebecca Fuller spent a combined 25 years in Silicon Valley tech PR.

In the decade since, clients have included Google, Samsung, Twitter, Patreon, and SoundCloud. Indiegogo, Travelbank, Caffeine, Speck Products, and VCs DCM and Initialized Capital round out the roster now. 

"We deploy top-heavy teams that are capped at three clients per person, so we offer a deeper level of counsel," Locklear told Insider of her 14-person shop. "No one has left us to work for another agency; we grow people, and they ultimately take sexy, in-house comms roles at places like Google, Twitter, and Yelp."

Before COVID, Mighty was known for throwing crowded, speakeasy parties at CES and Mobile World Congress every year.

Montieth & Co.

Montieth Illingworth's 13-year-old firm subverts the traditional structure of a global agency. With 20 full-time, multilingual staff on three continents, the firm works with clients everywhere from Brazil to Greece to Israel.

"We work on high-stakes stuff with high-value outcomes," New York-based Illingworth told Insider.  "If we're really smart and can deliver, it doesn't matter how small we are."

The firm's cross-border model lets the firm pitch media globally, said Illingworth, a onetime journalist. In February, Illingworth launched a new Hong Kong agency, Montieth SPRG, with Asia's huge Strategic Public Relations Group.

While Montieth & Co.'s bread and butter is complex assignments in media relations and reputation management, its most recent client win came with a mission: VoteMama supports Democratic mothers who have young children and are running for office.

Nasty Little Man

A small shop with huge music stars on its roster, Steve Martin's five-person New York firm counts Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Metallica, Gorillaz, Sir Paul McCartney, and LCD Soundsystem as clients.  

Nasty Little Man handles ongoing media relations, album releases, and – before the pandemic – tours. The firm has hung in there thanks to a roster of stable, long-term clients, though.

Martin launched Nasty Little Man in 1992. By 2001, he ran a bicoastal, 15-person agency with more than 100 clients "and hated it," he said. "Now, having a stealthy-sized staff, and only working with what we love, has been a blessing." 

The Beastie Boys, Martin's first client, are still aboard after 28 years. The band even titled its 1998 release "Hello Nasty" as a shout-out to the firm.

NisonCo

At 31, Evan Nison has built the pre-eminent firm in the cannabis sector, one of PR's hottest categories. Since its 2013 debut, NisonCo's handled companies and causes from billion-dollar IPOs like Ontario's Green Organic Dutchman to cannabis data company Brightfield and national dispensary brand Ascend Wellness.

The 15-person New Jersey agency has been a primary force in "changing the conversation" around cannabis, Nison told Insider. "When I was a volunteer lobbyist, I was one of the only advocates to show up in a suit," he said. "With NisonCo, I realized I could continue that mission of making sure cannabis is an example for other industries."

While earned media remains the firm's focus, it operates a fast-growing SEO arm, and Nison personally advocates for the industry as the youngest board member of venerable marijuana-reform organization NORML.

Scott Circle Communications

"Mission-driven" clients are the core of DC-based Scott Circle Communications, a 10-person firm whose roster includes big non-profits like the National Organization for Women, the Aspen Institute, and the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies.  

Founder Laura Gross bolsters the 14-year-old firm's media strategy with political savviness as a veteran of press offices at the US Agency for International Development and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's Democracy for America PAC, among others.

"We have people with experience on Capitol Hill, in political campaigns, in non-profits, at associations," Gross told Insider. "We're not big, there's a personal culture, and the owner knows what's going on."

Source Code Communications

Becky Honeyman and Greg Mondshein launched Source Code in 2017, finishing that year with three clients and $250,000 in revenue. Now, the 25-person New York tech PR firm is on track to exceed the $5.2 million it booked in 2020.  

Source Code describes itself as combining research and data with storytelling to come up with creative campaigns, an approach that's helped attract clients like Handshake, MakeSpace, Jane.com, Pindrop, Gympass, Accedian, and Everlast. "Our consumer business is growing like crazy," Mondshein said.

UpSpring PR

Design takes center stage at Tiffany Rafii and Sarah Terzic's 25-person firm, whose clients include architects, real-estate projects, home-design products, developers, and hotels.  

In addition to media relations, UpSpring uses everything from focus groups, influencer marketing, awards submissions, and trade shows to get attention for clients like Ethan Allen, Perkins Will, and Native Trails.

Rafii said the firm builds teams to suit each client's needs, and the founders are involved in every account.

"We get many opportunities to scale the business, but we always ask, 'Hey, what do we lose if we grow this way?" she said.