Start-up
China’s grueling ‘996’ work culture is being debated by European startups — 7 founders and VCs on why they are resisting
European startup founders are being pressured to embrace China’s toxic “996” work culture on LinkedIn and they’re pushing back. D3sign | Moment | Getty Images The European startup scene was recently shaken by a LinkedIn debate with some venture capitalists applying pressure on founders to embrace a culture of overwork to compete on a global […]
Read More
This 22-year-old startup founder got his college to pay him $200,000: ‘Sometimes, you just have to ask’
Emil Barr, 22, graduated from Miami University in May 2024. Courtesy of Emil Barr It’s no secret that college in the United States is expensive — about 43 million people live with student debt and the outstanding federal student loan balance stands at about $1.8 trillion, according to the Education Data Initiative. But startup founder […]
Read More
She’s made $10,000 in an hour from her dumpling business—more than what she made a month in corporate
Samantha Mui, 34, is the founder of Thirsty Dumpling, a do-it-yourself dumpling-making startup. Courtesy of Samantha Mui Samantha Mui teaches people how to make dumplings for a living, making as much as $10,000 an hour, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That’s more than what she used to make a month from her corporate job. […]
Read More
She dropped out of culinary school at 21. Today, she teaches dumpling-making for a living
Samantha Mui, 34, is the founder of Thirsty Dumpling. Courtesy of Samantha Mui Samantha Mui has always been a bit of a rebel. Growing up, she knew she hated school but loved being creative and cooking. As a kid, she said, she played hooky by pretending to be sick so she could stay home and […]
Read More
‘Fail fast, learn fast’: She built a property startup from her garage. It’s raised over $75 million
Dayu Dara Permata, 36, is the co-founder and CEO of Indonesian property transaction platform Pinhome. Courtesy of Pinhome It’s no secret that building a successful startup often involves risk, iteration and failure. Dayu Dara Permata knows this well. The 36-year-old is the co-founder and CEO of Indonesian property transaction platform Pinhome. Over the course of […]
Read More
Meet the sustainable fashion startup backed by H&M and Amazon
An H&M store in New York City on Nov. 19, 2024. Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images When Gilberto Loureiro spent summers working in a textile factory as a teenager growing up in Portugal, he discovered that he felt “hate and love” for how clothes were produced. The work was tough: Loureiro’s job was […]
Read More
Millennial entrepreneur raised $2 million for a money-saving app for immigrants
Nina Mohanty, founder of Bloom Money. Bloom Money One millennial entrepreneur raised $2 million to build a financial app catered to traditional money-saving methods used by immigrant communities in the West. Silicon Valley native Nina Mohanty founded Bloom Money in 2021, a fintech app designed to support U.K.-based immigrant communities to save money collaboratively, also […]
Read More
I took a 2-day ‘vibe coding’ class and successfully built a product. Here are my biggest takeaways
I challenged myself to a two-day “vibe coding” bootcamp. Courtesy of Ernestine Siu As someone who chats with startup founders for a living, I’ve always admired the “builders.” I have a lot of respect for their technical ability to dream up an idea and code it into existence, but it’s not something I could ever […]
Read More
From unicorns to brick-and-mortar: VCs in Southeast Asia get cold feet as they switch bets
Funding by VC investors in tech-based companies has declined by about 79% between 2022 and 2024, from around $10.1 billion to approximately $2.2 billion, according to data intelligence platform Tracxn. Koumaru | Istock | Getty Images Venture capitalists typically have a strong appetite for risk, but some investors in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly cautious. […]
Read More
Adobe takes stake in Synthesia, startup behind AI clones for corporate videos
An Adobe sign hangs along Main Street during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 27, 2025 in Park City, Utah. David Becker | Getty Images LONDON — Adobe has invested in Synthesia, a British artificial intelligence startup, in a bet that the technology will transform video production. Synthesia told CNBC that Adobe’s venture capital […]
Read More