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If 2025 had a theme song, it wouldn’t be a pop anthem. It would be the gentle, defeated clatter of a “Store Closing” banner flapping in a half-empty strip mall parking lot, next to a pothole that’s been there since Obama’s first term. The year didn’t just thin the herd of American retail—it ran it through a wood chipper, live-streamed the results, and then asked consumers to “leave a review.” More than 8,100 stores closed across the United States in 2025 , according to Coresight Research—up roughly 12% from 2024 . That’s not a “retail adjustment.” That’s a retail extinction event. And no, this wasn’t just about bad management or outdated brands. This was about a system that expects infinite growth from finite wallets, treats workers like optional software updates, and assumes consumers will forever forgive rising prices, shrinking quality, and checkout lines that feel like moral endurance tests. Let’s take a tour through the wreckage. Not as a eulogy—but as an honest postmortem. Ba...

If you listen closely, you can almost hear it — the collective groan of creators everywhere as Meta pops champagne over Reels becoming a $50 billion-a-year business. Fifty. Billion. Dollars. All built on the backs of people willing to do unpaid digital cartwheels for the algorithm’s fickle affection. Remember when Reels first landed in 2020 and everyone rolled their eyes like, “Sure, Meta, go ahead and photocopy TikTok, see how that goes”? And then Meta went ahead and did exactly that , except instead of producing a sloppy workplace Xerox that smells like hot toner, they managed to clone the parts people actually like — minus the part where creators get paid meaningfully. Flash forward five years: Reels is huge, Meta is ecstatic, Wall Street is blushing, and creators… well, creators are still being fed the same stale promise that keeps the whole digital plantation running: “Exposure.” Because nothing fuels the fire of corporate success like convincing millions of people to hand over...

Why “just build it and they will come” is the business equivalent of microwaving a frozen pizza and calling yourself a Michelin chef. 1. The $1.7 Billion Reality Check There’s something poetic about Shanaz Hemmati calmly explaining, “Go talk to customers before you commit to a business model,” while a million would-be founders are busy maxing out credit cards on servers, swag, and that neon logo sign they think screams unicorn vibes . Hemmati isn’t just an armchair philosopher. She and Ross Buhrdorf co-founded ZenBusiness , an AI-powered platform that helps first-time entrepreneurs navigate the legal labyrinth of incorporation and compliance. Launched in 2017, the company hit a $1.7 billion valuation by 2021 and now serves 850,000+ small businesses . Translation: when she tells you to slow your roll and talk to actual humans, she’s not being quaint—she’s handing you the cheat code. 2. The Cult of the Idea vs. The Boring Power of Research Let’s face it: in the influencer econom...

So, Sarah Choudhary just dropped an article telling us all how she built her empire without investors, co-founders, or even a glorified intern to fetch her oat milk lattes. And let me tell you — the energy here screams, “I didn’t need you then, and I definitely don’t need you now.” In a startup culture where people collect co-founders like Pokémon and investors like they’re trading baseball cards, Sarah decided to say, nah, I’m good . She chose systems over people, clarity over committee meetings, and results over the endless validation circle jerk that most startups call “strategy sessions.” And honestly? She’s not wrong. But she’s also not pulling punches. Let’s break it down, with a healthy dose of snark, because this article practically begs for it. The Startup Myth: You Need a Partner to Hold Your Hand Sarah opens with the “hard truth”: most co-founders slow you down, investors want to boss you around, and half the people starting companies are just doing it to look cute on L...

Let’s face it. Your side hustle is cute. You’re printing Etsy mugs that say “But First, Coffee” in fonts more caffeinated than the average 9-to-5er. You’re “coaching” people on Instagram even though your only actual client is your mom pretending to need confidence advice. You’ve got three active Shopify trials going, and every night you whisper “drop-shipping” like it’s a magic spell that might finally summon profits. Enter stage left: Sellful , the AI-powered ERP platform that swears it’ll transform your little hobby-business Frankenstein into a scalable enterprise that runs smoother than your ex’s excuses. According to Entrepreneur magazine (which at this point feels less like journalism and more like a product placement playground), Sellful is the tool to revolutionize how you manage your “business.” Or, as we lovingly call it, your barely-profitable obsession with hand-poured soy candles. So grab your ring light, fire up your Canva template, and let’s dive into this masterpiec...

Ah, Washington State. Land of rain, coffee, tech bros, and a government that just can't see a cash cow without reaching for the milking stool. Once upon a time, this mossy paradise was the undisputed king of business-friendly climates. No personal income tax, a thriving startup ecosystem, and a permanent Starbucks-per-square-inch advantage. But fast-forward to April 2025, and it seems the state government decided that "best" is a relative term—especially if you redefine "business-friendly" to mean "bring your wallet, and maybe a blood donation too." Washington lawmakers just wrapped up their legislative session by giving the business community a nice little parting gift: the largest tax hike in state history. Cue the champagne — but don't forget the receipt, because it's about to have a 10% tax added. Capital Gains? More Like Capital Pains First up: Senate Bill 5813, lovingly dubbed "Robin Hood's Retirement Plan" by nobody, becaus...

Ah, the world of business, markets, and tech! A dazzling, high-stakes circus where the clowns are CEOs, the trapeze artists are Wall Street traders, and the lion tamers are regulators desperately trying to keep financial beasts from devouring the economy whole. Step right up, dear reader, and witness the spectacle of corporate overreach, algorithmic sorcery, and media mayhem that keeps the world spinning—or crashing, depending on the day. Markets: Where Rationality Takes a Vacation Today’s stock market is a wonderland where logic is optional, and fear and greed are the only governing principles. The Dow? Up 2%. The S&P? Climbing faster than your rent. The NASDAQ? Soaring like a SpaceX rocket before its inevitable explosion. Meanwhile, the Fear & Greed Index sits at 15 , meaning Wall Street is currently experiencing a full-blown existential crisis. Investors wake up every morning with the optimism of a lottery ticket holder and go to bed wondering if they should’ve bought canned...