This week’s highlights: Sorority Rush Consultants, Hot Chicken and the Secret of Online Ad Spending
Fifteen on Friday – 09/29/17 – Issue 255
Food for Thought:
- Eater – Burned Out – Credit SF – Hot chicken was the Prince family legacy — then Nashville transformed it into an icon, and now everybody wants a piece.
- NewYorker – How Everlane Hacked Your Wardrobe. Amidst the retail carnage, startup brand Everlane has slowly taken over the basics.
- MD – Fragile friendships for boys and why they matter so much
- MM – Our Last Season – Credit MW – Chip and Jo seem to time the hype cycle to perfection, announcing the final season of Fixer Upper…either that or they ran out of $75,000 4 bed, 3 bath houses in Waco that they could renovate?
- T&C – The Strange World of Sorority Rush Consultants Would you pay an expert to get your daughter into the sorority of her dreams?
Business/Economics:
- BI – Restoration Hardware CEO reveals a startling reality about online ad spending “[W]e’ve found out that 98% of our online business was coming from 22 words. So, wait, we’re buying 3,200 words and 98% of the business is coming from 22 words. What are the 22 words? And they said, well, it’s the word Restoration Hardware and the 21 ways to spell it wrong”
- Bloomberg – The Massive Hedge Fund Betting on AI. Initially wary of the technology, Man Group was soon persuaded by the returns from algorithm-centric funds.
- Bloomberg – Wall Street’s Best-Kept Secret Is a 72-Year-Old Russian Chess Expert. For over two decades, Lev Alburt has been teaching strategy, patience, and prognostication to the finest in finance.
- TC – Why Restaurants Hate GrubHub Seamless
- FastCo – This 10-Year-Old’s $2 Million Amazon Business Is Leaving Competitors In The Dust. His small family business leverages software, hardware, and geography to stay ahead of Chinese competitors.
Culture/Tech/Science:
- FS – Why You Shouldn’t Slog Through Books
- NYP – Archaeologists solve the mystery of the Great Pyramid
- BBC – New antibody attacks 99% of HIV strains
- AdWeek – These Activists Are Trying to Get a Giant Trash Patch in the Pacific Recognized as a Country. The Trash Isles have their own currency and passport.
- Entrepreneur – The Luxuries People Can’t Live Without (Infographic). A recent study finds that more people would give up Spotify for Netflix.