SoftBank could walk away from part of its WeWork bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.In a notice to WeWork shareholders, the Japanese investor said regulatory inquiries into WeWork could be justification to back out of a deal to repurchase $3 billion of WeWork shares.If SoftBank didn't execute that part of the bailout, it wouldn't affect the $5 billion debt financing package – but it could mean that founder Adam Neumann wouldn't sell his shares back. The news comes just as WeWork's business will likely be hit hard by the pandemic, which is shuttering office buildings globally. For more WeWork stories, click here.

SoftBank Group could walk away from a significant part of its multi-billion dollar WeWork bailout program, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. 

The Japanese investor sent a notice to WeWork shareholders Tuesday that it could back out of its agreement to purchase up to $3 billion of WeWork shares because of probes from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department. 

Spokespeople for WeWork and SoftBank declined to comment. Neumann's representative, who lives in Israel, could not be immediately reached for comment. 

In November, Bloomberg reported that the SEC was looking at whether WeWork violated financial rules before its attempt at an initial public offering, which was ultimately shelved. In a December hearing with SEC chairman Jay Clayton, Senator Tom Cotton — who had derided WeWork founder Adam Neumann in the past — questioned how the entrepreneur could legally exert so much control over his company and why the SEC didn't step in sooner.

The New York State Attorney General was also investigating WeWork in the late fall, including whether Neumann had been enriching himself through intertwining his personal and corporate investments. 

The stock buyback program was set up in part to allow Neumann, who was ousted in September, to sell $970 million of his stock to SoftBank. Under the plan, SoftBank would own 80% of WeWork after the full tender closed, a date which was set for April 1.

If SoftBank backed out of the tender offer, it would not affect the $5 billion financing deal that was part of the original bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

And SoftBank could still go through with the tender, or use it as a tactic to negotiate or delay.

The notice to WeWork shareholders comes as the embattled office company is likely to face steep economic challenges under new CEO Sandeep Mathrani. The coronavirus pandemic is closing offices and even cities across the world. 

WeWork's business model, which is based largely on short-term rental agreements, has never been tested in a global downturn. Its only publicly-traded peer, IWG, has seen its stock crash 67% in a month. 

Last year, Neumann told Business Insider that WeWork would actually benefit from a downturn, a claim experts then said they doubted. 

In a May story, analyst Andrew Shepherd-Barron at Peel Hunt, who has followed IWG for 17 years, said WeWork's brand loyalty was unlikely to carry the company through a recession.

"If there's any hiccup in the market — watch out."

Have a WeWork tip? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 768-1627 using a non-work phone, email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Twitter DM at @MeghanEMorris. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Original author: Meghan Morris

Amazon announced on Tuesday that it would stop accepting "non-essential" products at its warehouses to make room for more vital products for the next three weeks, as it deals with increased demand amid the coronavirus crisis.The change doesn't mean Amazon will stop shipping those products to consumers.But it could bring some changes to the general shopping experience on Amazon, experts say.It could lead to more out-of-stock items and higher prices of certain products, they say.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon announced on Tuesday that it would stop adding new "non-essential" products to its warehouses for the next three weeks, as the spread of coronavirus has caused a huge increase in demand for more vital products like face masks and toilet paper.

That means Amazon is no longer making space in its warehouses for new shipments of discretionary products like electronics. Instead, the company is stocking up on items it deems more necessary such as medical supplies, household staples, and other high-demand products — or essential products that have seen huge order increases amid the coronavirus crisis.

The move doesn't mean Amazon will stop shipping those non-essential products to consumers. 

But it is expected to change the general shopping experience on Amazon.

The most likely scenario for shoppers is a greater likelihood that the "non-essential" product they want is no longer in stock on the site. While Amazon's existing inventory of products like TVs and cell phone cases will continue to be available, merchants will not be able to restock those items until April 5. Once Amazon's supply runs out, consumers will be out of luck.

"Almost all categories on Amazon are way up [in demand], and if sellers don't restock, items will start to go out of stock pretty quickly," Dan Sugarman, CEO of Zentail, an e-commerce consultancy, told Business Insider.

Another potential change is higher prices of some products. Sellers could lose the "buy box" and certain listing spots on Amazon if they run out of inventory, so some of them have been driving up their prices lately to avoid stock depletion. That trend could continue because merchants won't be able to replenish certain products until April 5.

"Shoppers will notice that some items are out of stock or higher priced," Juozas Kaziukenas told Business Insider. "This should become more common as the April 5 date approaches."

Perhaps the bigger impact for the most loyal Amazon shoppers could be the drop in Prime-eligible products. Amazon said Tuesday's announcement would affect, among others, the third-party sellers who use its fulfillment program, called Fulfillment by Amazon. Products sold by those sellers are eligible for Prime, which makes them available for faster shipping and often better placement on the site. But those products will no longer be Prime-eligible once they go out of stock, if they are deemed "non-essential" by Amazon.

"Consumers will have to default to the normal marketplace experience for these products," Rick Watson, CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting, told Business Insider.

Amazon sellers are responding differently to Tuesday's announcement. 

Those that have enough inventory in stock are less worried about the change. But sellers who are running low on inventory are busy finding other marketplace options to sell their discretionary products, according to James Thomson, Partner of Buy Box Experts, an agency that helps online sellers. 

He said while some merchants have been partnering with third-party logistics options to sell on their own, a lot of them have used Amazon's fulfillment service for most of their shipping and storage needs, making them particularly vulnerable to Tuesday's change.

By switching to other marketplaces, he said sellers will be able to continue re-stocking and selling their products, even if they run out of stock before April 5 — potentially moving buyers to other sites as well.

"They are all scrambling looking for alternative options," Thomson said.

In an email to Business Insider, Amazon's representative said, "We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding as we temporarily prioritize these products for customers."

Original author: Eugene Kim

It's easy to use a Netflix gift card to pay for your Netflix subscription cost. Netflix gift cards can be purchased from retail stores or digitally and can be applied to an existing account or used to create a new accountVisit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Netflix gift cards offer people the opportunity to pay for their subscription. The funds can be applied to new or existing Netflix accounts. 

Gift cards for Netflix are available at many retail locations, or they can be purchased digitally and emailed to the recipient.

Here's how to use a Netflix gift card.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

MacBook Pro (From $1,299.99 at Best Buy)

Lenovo IdeaPad 130 (From $299.99 at Best Buy)

How to redeem and use a Netflix Gift Card

1. If you don't yet have a Netflix account, open your computer's browser and go to netflix.com/redeem.

2. If you have a Netflix Account, access your account by clicking on your profile image in the top right corner. Select "Account" from the drop-down menu. Scroll down and select "Redeem gift card or promo code." 

Original author: Kelly Laffey

Deal activity around ad-supported streaming services like Tubi and Vudu is ramping up in 2020, as media companies look for ways to bolster their emerging streaming offerings.Fox is paying at least $440 million to acquire Tubi, the company said in a filing on March 17.Business Insider compiled a list of other companies that media strategists and advisers say could be acquired this year — though this is speculation and not all these companies are discussing deals.They include companies like Xumo and Vudu, as well as potential targets like MGM, Lions Gate, and Parrot Analytics.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

This post was originally published on March 4, and has been updated to reflect Fox's acquisition of Tubi.

It is three months into 2020, and three ad-supported streaming services have already been snapped up or are in talks for a deal.

Fox sold its stake in streaming-media player Roku to buy Tubi, the company said in a filing on March 17. The legacy-media company is paying $440 million cash and could spend as much as $50 million more in deferred consideration and unvested options due over the next three years, as part of the deal.

Ad-supported streaming companies have become hot since Viacom's 2019 acquisition of Pluto TV. Comcast's NBCUniversal is in talks to acquire Vudu from Walmart, The Wall Street Journal has also reported. Comcast bought Xumo in February. And, a year ago, Sony also sold control of its ad-supported streaming service, Crackle, to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

Ad-supported streaming isn't the only media category where deal activity is ramping up. With every major media outfit pushing into streaming video, companies like Lions Gate, MGM, and Discovery have been named as possible takeover targets for media giants trying to strengthen their streaming plays.

"The sense of urgency right now for anyone who hasn't launched a streaming suite of service is pretty high; it's a little bit of a land grab phase," said John Harrison, leader of EY's media and entertainment sector. "Rather than build organically, bigger companies are looking at some of these emerging players that are organic to the streaming world and that the buyers think can be scaled up."

The last wave of media megamergers, led by the marriages of Disney-Fox, AT&T-Time Warner, and CBS-Viacom, were about scaling and amassing collections of brands assets to fuel streaming platforms. This next wave, while continuing those trends, are also about gaining quick access to new markets or audiences, and to technology.

Business Insider compiled a list of the companies that media strategists and advisers say could be acquired this year — though this is speculation and not all these companies are discussing deals.

Here they are in reverse alphabetical order: 

Original author: Ashley Rodriguez

California's state legislature went into suspension until April 13 to try to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, as first reported by the Associated Press.Before suspending, the body authorized Governor Gavin Newsom to spend up to $1 billion in new emergency funding to combat the virus.Newsom has already declared a state of emergency, banned gatherings of more than 250 people, and on Monday asked dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, and gyms to close."The demands of public health require it," Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon told the Associated Press.This is likely the first time the legislature has had to unexpectedly in its work since 1862, the Associated Press noted.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The California state legislature went into suspension on Monday after approving $1 billion in new funding in an effort to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, as first reported by the Associated Press.

Lawmakers voted to allow Governor Gavin Newsom to make use of $500 million in new funding "for any item for any purpose" related to the state of emergency he declared earlier this month, according to the Associated Press. Newsom can also ask for $50 million increases — up to $1 billion total — provided he notify lawmakers at least three days in advance.

"It is a request to step away from our desks much earlier than we would like. The demands of public health require it," Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon told the Associated Press.

The legislature, which is based in Sacramento, recessed immediately after approving the new funding in what's likely the first time it has had to do so unexpectedly since 1862, Alex Vassar, an unofficial legislative historian at the California State Library, told the Associated Press.

California, which has nearly 600 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 17 confirmed deaths, has been taking increasingly aggressive measures to fight coronavirus.

On Monday, Newsom announced a new directive to gyms, health clubs, movie theaters, and restaurants in California to close down "for the moment," and previously banned gatherings of more than 250 people across the state, implemented social distancing guidelines for smaller events, and urged people over 65 to stay home.

On Tuesday, San Francisco's "shelter in place" order went into effect, which requires residents in the city and surrounding counties to stay home and only leave for essential trips like getting food and receiving healthcare.

Newsom wrote to the legislature Monday asking it to expedite the bill approval process, which typically requires that new legislation first be printed, circulated among lawmakers, and posted online for at least 72 hours.

"We must rise to the challenge facing our state with every tool at our disposal and without a second of delay," Newsrom's letter read.

The legislature voted overwhelmingly to approve Newsom's plea, according to the Associated Press.

Original author: Tyler Sonnemaker

As part of its broader advertising strategy, YouTube curates a lineup of its top channels called "Google Preferred" where it highlights brand-friendly content that advertisers pay a premium to appear alongside. Being included in Google Preferred means more revenue for creators who earn a higher rate than they normally would for videos on the platform. The company is highly secretive about Google Preferred, declining to share even basic information like the list of content categories advertisers can buy against. Business Insider spoke to creators and individuals familiar with how Google Preferred works to learn more about the company's top-tier monetization product. Click here for more BI Prime stories.

For a YouTube creator, joining "Google Preferred" — the company's top-tier monetization category — means you've made it.

"I remember feeling an insane amount of pride," said Remi Cruz, a YouTube star who posts DIYs, cooking tutorials, and makeup and fashion videos for her 2.5 million subscribers. "I think I watched four years or so as a silent viewer and then decided I could make my own videos. A year and a half ago I was admitted into the program."

Cruz said her channel's inclusion in Google Preferred also came at a time when she was assigned a partner manager at YouTube, a service the platform offers to popular creators to help them work with brands and address technical and copyright issues that often emerge when a channel reaches a certain size.

Qualifying for Google Preferred means YouTube has graded a creator's content as engaging, popular, brand-suitable, and produced with a level of "camera work and cinematic technique" worthy of the company's top advertisers, as laid out on its website.

It also means more money.

Google Preferred videos tend to command higher CPMs (cost per thousand views) than its standard AdSense (biddable pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll) monetization, according to multiple sources who spoke to Business Insider.

Having a video removed from the program can cut into monthly income, and being kicked out of the program entirely can potentially lead to millions of dollars in lost revenue at the highest end.

"In the beginning with Google Preferred, it definitely boosted [revenue]," Cruz noted. "But since then I think it's been climbing depending on the quarter that I'm in."

YouTube sells its Google Preferred lineup as an alternative to traditional linear TV advertising. The company drove $15 billion in revenue across its various advertising products in 2019, with the majority of its ad-supported earnings going to creators. That number is around 20% of the $70 billion that went into all of US TV ad spending last year.

But for a program designed to compete with traditional TV advertising, YouTube is highly secretive about Google Preferred. The company doesn't publicly disclose basic information about the program, including the list of content categories available to advertisers who purchase its inventory. YouTube doesn't even necessarily inform creators when their videos or channels have been selected for Google Preferred, and it won't break out Google Preferred revenue in YouTube analytics (though savvy creators have found alternative ways of tracking their Preferred earnings).

To learn more about how Google Preferred works, Business Insider spoke to content creators and individuals who are either enrolled in Google Preferred or familiar with the program. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid backlash from Google.

Here's what we learned:

How does YouTube decide which creators get included in Google Preferred?

Google Preferred's lineup is selected through both an automated and manual review process by YouTube.

One of its mechanisms for choosing channels is assigning them a "P-Score," which is a numerical value determined by an algorithm that Google says it's tested against 5,000 campaigns.

In its 2:32 video describing the P-Score, YouTube used the term "proprietary" five times. Here are the five factors that go into a channel's P-Score:

Popularity: A signal driven by "watch time," a proprietary metric that reveals "repeat engaged viewership."Passion: A signal that examines "how engaged an audience is with a channel," including how often users interact with content.Protection: A signal that focuses on content suitability so that "P-Score outputs are working for your brand."Platform: A signal that highlights content that's frequently watched on large screens, such as televisions.Production: A signal that scans for content with "sophisticated camera work and cinematic technique." 

While Google doesn't release any additional information about P-Scores, last year a group of creators managed to track down the metric for individual channels by looking at the source code of a YouTube page in a web browser. They discovered that P-Score varied based on geography, and that channels tended to fair better in their home countries. Google has since removed access to this data point for external users. 

YouTube declined to share how often its channels are evaluated for inclusion in Google Preferred, but a source familiar with the process told Business Insider the list is updated quarterly. While YouTube currently doesn't post any information about the frequency of its channel review process, an earlier version of the Google Preferred website stated that "Google Preferred lineup channels are refreshed quarterly."

YouTube confirmed that all of its Google Preferred channels are also reviewed by humans to comply "with our advertiser-friendly content guidelines," and the company allows third-party analytics firms like DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science to review the list of videos where ads have appeared in a campaign.

YouTube's partnerships with third-party brand safety companies offer advertisers the opportunity to get independent verification that Google Preferred is meeting their content standards. This verification process happens after ads have already run on Google Preferred. DoubleVerify and IAS don't gain access to the company's channel list prior to campaigns going live.

How can creators track Google Preferred revenue in YouTube Analytics?

While YouTube doesn't break out revenue for Google Preferred in its analytics product for creators, Business Insider heard from multiple platform users who said they tracked earnings from the program by looking at estimated revenue from reserved-sold advertising.

Because these creators know their channels were in the Google Preferred program and were not aware of alternative sources of reserved ad monetization, they interpreted this revenue as coming from Google Preferred campaigns.

YouTube wouldn't confirm whether this approach provides an accurate picture of earnings from Google Preferred, but the company did confirm that Google Preferred ads are sold on a reserved basis. 

Google won't reveal how many content categories are available to advertisers, but at one point it named 13 in the US

When marketers buy ads on Google Preferred, they don't pay for placement on individual channels — as a brand might for a flagship show on a TV network like NBC or CBS. Instead they purchase by content category.

YouTube currently names eight content categories on its Google Preferred website: Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle (one category), Sports, Music, Gaming, Comedy, Parenting, Science, and News. The company declined to share the rest of its categories with Business Insider, but in the past it's advertised a broader array of Google Preferred categories in the US. In 2017, for example, the company listed the following categories on its website, noting that these are just a sampling of all channels available to brands:

Beauty & Fashion (now called Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle)Cars, Trucks & RacingComedyEntertainment & Pop CultureFood & RecipesMusicNewsParenting & FamilyScience & EducationSpanish LanguageSportsTechnologyVideo Gaming

YouTube doesn't always inform a creator that their video or channel has been added to Google Preferred

Because YouTube algorithmically selects videos and channels for inclusion in Google Preferred, a creator may have their content selected for the program without knowing. 

Trevor James, a travel influencer who runs a YouTube channel with 3.9 million subscribers called "The Food Ranger," ended up being featured on Google Preferred's promotional website without knowing that he was part of the program.

James' 2018 video, "Chinese Street Food Tour Of Chengdu, China," is one of 15 videos currently showcased in the "What's On?" section of YouTube's Google Preferred Lineups website. 

The Food Ranger's food tour of Chengdu, China is featured on the Google Preferred webpage. Google

"We've attended some YouTube summits before with other creators, so maybe they know of us, but I've never been told that," he said when Business Insider pointed out that his YouTube channel was featured by Google.

"Our content is mainly monetized through AdSense and we do merch sales through our T-shirts," he said. "For YouTube, that's mainly our income."

While YouTube approves entire channels for Google Preferred monetization, it may exclude an individual video within a channel if it deems its content unsuitable for brands. Business Insider heard from multiple sources who said they had seen this happen for videos within their channels.

For more on the business of influencers, according to YouTube creators, check out these Business Insider Prime posts: 

How much money do YouTubers make a month? A minimalist influencer with 77,000 subscribers shares exactly what she earns and spends: The minimalist influencer Kyra Ann, who has 77,000 subscribers, shared how much money YouTube paid her in February.

8 YouTube stars explain which videos made them the most money, including one that earned $97,000: We spoke to eight creators with vastly different channels, and they shared the most amount of money YouTube paid them for a single video.

A YouTube creator explains why personal-finance videos can make much more money than many other types: Marko Zlatic runs a YouTube channel with 298,000 subscribers, and he posts videos about personal finance, stocks, and real-estate investing.

Original author: Dan Whateley

Donald Trump and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Associated Press/Getty

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday.

Google's parent company Alphabet launched a pilot website through its company Verily to help screen and distribute tests for COVID-19 on Sunday, CNBC reports. The tests are limited to Bay Area cities for now, and users have log in using Google.President Trump addressed the website launch on Sunday, and appeared to chide Google by dropping a company statement onto the floor. Trump caused some media confusion by announcing the website on Friday, claiming Google would build the website and the tests would be distributed nationwide.Many Apple engineers are still having to come into work at its HQ because its systems make it difficult to access sensitive information from home, the Wall Street Journal reports. Apple is conducting daily health screenings of all its on-site staff.Apple announced on Friday it would close all of its stores outside of China until March 27. Apple will continue to fulfill purchases made online or through the Apple phone apps.Airbnb is letting guests around the world cancel their reservations for a full refund and no cancellation fees. Airbnb bookings have taken a hit as the coronavirus pandemic has swept across the worldElon Musk reportedly told SpaceX employees they have a much higher chance of dying in a car crash than from the coronavirus. Musk said the evidence he'd seen showed the virus wasn't among the 100 biggest health risks in the US, according to Buzzfeed.Oracle CEO Safra Catz told all of its workers, except for "critical employees," to work from home because of the coronavirus crisis. "We need each of you to focus on your health and helping to contain the spread of the virus," Catz said in a memo.Activists created a 12.5 million block digital library in "Minecraft" to bypass censorship laws. The virtual building is called "The Uncensored Library," and was created by Reporters Without Borders.Tech billionaire Michael Dell says Dell is donating millions of dollars in cash and tech to fight the coronavirus. Dell does not yet have a mandate for employees to work from home, and employees who must be on site to work are expected to report — but the company has increased the frequency of cleaning its office to three times a day.One of Facebook's board members is leaving after a spot opened on the board of Berkshire Hathaway. Facebook board member Kenneth Chenault is stepping down, the latest in a series of recent big moves on the board of directors.

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.

You can also subscribe to this newsletter here — just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know.

Original author: Isobel Asher Hamilton

Goldman Sachs has announced a partnership with SAP to offer cross-border payments functionality on the German tech giant's Ariba Network, which matches corporate purchasers with their vendors. The partnership is the first to be made public from Goldman's nascent transaction banking business, which it began building just 13 months ago. Goldman can offer one-click functionality and transparent prices thanks to the way it built the business, using APIs, based in the cloud, with a digital-first mentality. Goldman has been looking to build stickier sources of revenue to lessen a reliance on more episodic investment banking fees such as those from its underperforming trading arm.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Goldman Sachs just announced the first partner for its fledgling transaction-banking business, inking a deal to handle cross-border payments for clients of SAP, the German enterprise tech giant.

Goldman will help customers of SAP's Ariba Network to pay bills in 125 currencies, offering them one-click functionality and a transparent fee structure, according to a statement and interviews with senior executives at both firms. 

The tie-up is the latest evidence of Goldman's attempts to redefine itself as a commercial bank. The company has been looking to build stickier sources of revenue to lessen a reliance on more episodic investment banking fees such as those from its underperforming trading arm.

The strategy – which also includes a digital consumer bank, a mass market wealth management offering, and a credit card – has elicited widespread skepticism from investors and analysts who question if the firm can successfully pivot its 150-year old franchise.

In transaction banking, it's going after a business that's been dominated for decades by the likes of Citigroup, HSBC and JPMorgan. 

And yet Goldman CEO David Solomon expects to generate $1 billion from the business by 2025. He wants to have $50 billion in deposits on behalf of clients. 

A new middleman

In partnering with SAP, Goldman is stepping into the middle of an Ariba Network that connects corporate purchase officers with the vendors that supply them goods and services. In doing so, it's significantly simplified the user experience, according to Hari Moorthy, the Goldman partner who runs the business. 

"With the click of a button, we take a direct  integration with Ariba to process the payment and process the FX in one singular transaction," Moorthy said. "The client gets complete transparency on where is the payment and how much they have paid for that service. We do the whole thing in one single process."

Sean Thompson, an executive vice president at SAP, explained how that integration is different than how it's been done in the past. 

"Historically that has meant that treasuries had to do their own system and they've had to do what I call the swivel-chair integration, which is a human being that's sitting in a chair going from one system, swiveling over and entering information into another system," he said. 

And yet, Goldman's competitive advantage is probably its ability to offer its expertise in financial markets to lower prices for converting payments from US dollars into other currencies, according to Thompson.

"The special sauce is their intellectual capital in how to drive down the cost of cross-border payments and foreign currency hedging," said Thompson. "That results in a lower cost of doing cross-border payments."

Goldman joins a growing list of banks offering their services on SAP's network, including Standard Chartered's trade financing, and the ability to use credit card rails through Barclays and Discover, Thompson said. 

Ariba facilitates tens of billions of dollars in cross-border payments each year, a chunk of the more than $3 trillion in transactions that cross the platform. 

Friday meditation sessions spur innovation

Goldman and SAP have a relationship that traces back decades to the firm's founding in the early 1970s, according to the bank. More recently, Goldman represented SAP in its $2.4 billion acquisition of Callidus Software in 2018. Goldman is also a big customer of SAP's technology.

Ryan Limaye, a partner and co-head of global TMT banking, helped make the introduction to SAP's top execs, according to a spokesman. 

While the SAP integration is a bespoke arrangement, Goldman has built the business so it can do many customized solutions for different clients relatively easily, Moorthy said.

That's enabled by some of the very same techniques that Goldman has used elsewhere in the company to gain digital advantage – services built and hosted entirely in the cloud, driven by application programming interfaces, or APIs, and designed to be digital-first and nimble. 

Moorthy has overseen a relatively rapid build out, growing a team of roughly 320 employees within Goldman Sachs' investment banking division just since the end of 2018 when he joined from JPMorgan. He reports to division co-heads Gregg Lemkau and Dan Dees. 

Like some of Goldman's other digital-first efforts, Moorthy has been allowed to foster a culture within a culture. 

Every Friday, he hosts a meditation session for his staff on the 27th floor of the bank's Manhattan headquarters. A practitioner of 27 years, Moorthy credits the meditation sessions with helping his team to come up with ideas. 

Years ago, when Goldman was building its digital consumer bank Marcus, execs credited weekly standing huddles, relaxed dress codes and writing on the walls with bringing a more relaxed vibe to the larger Goldman population, known for its stuffy shirts and white-shoe roots. 

Goldman was the first client of the fledgling operation. Between last July, when it was turned on for Goldman, and today, the firm has processed more than $5 trillion in payments. It's on pace to save the firm something like $100 million by not having to pay fees to other banks. 

The bank disclosed during its investor day in January that it was already working with 20 clients. All told, US large corporations spend about $70 billion each years on these services, Moorthy said. And they're looking for some new service offerings.

"The number one feedback they had given us is make it simple, make it easy, make it operationally less manual and make bank fees and costs transparent," Moorthy said. "Which implies none of those are true today."

Original author: Dakin Campbell

Oracle CEO Safra Catz said the tech giant's workers must work from home starting this week, except for "critical employees" who must maintain Oracle and customer "essential services."As for employees who aren't considered critical, but can't do their jobs remotely, she said that Oracle "will continue to pay you until further notice." "We need each of you to focus on your health and helping to contain the spread of the virus," Catz said in a memo.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Oracle has joined other tech giants in requiring their employees to work remotely due to the coronavirus crisis.

CEO Safra Catz has sent a memo to Oracle's workforce that they must work from home, saying the company's offices will be open "only to critical employees."

"I know this has been a confusing and difficult time for you and your families," Catz said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Business Insider. "We need each of you to focus on your health and helping to contain the spread of the virus."

The "critical employees" are those who are needed "to maintain Oracle and customer essential services," Catz said. All other regular employees and contractors must work from home, she said. For those employees who are considered non-critical, but who can't do their jobs remotely, she said that  "Oracle will continue to pay you until further notice."

Other major tech companies have already asked their workers to work remotely, including Google, Facebook and Amazon.  

The coronavirus crisis has sent technology stocks plunging and caused serious disruptions in productions and tech events. Last week, Catz said Oracle has been "conducting business as usual," adding that it's unclear if the crisis will have an impact on the company's business.

Oracle was also recently in the news when some employees protested founder Larry Ellison's decision to hold a fundraising dinner for President Donald Trump — who has enlisted Silicon Valley tech firms, including Google, to help respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

Got a tip about Oracle or another tech company? Contact this reporter via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., message him on Twitter @benpimentel or send him a secure message through Signal at (510) 731-8429. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Original author: Benjamin Pimentel and Rob Price

Omnicom asked its employees around the world to work remotely as the coronavirus outbreak spreads.The other four major advertising holding companies Publicis, IPG, Dentsu, and WPP made similar policy changes earlier this week.Some Omnicom employees expressed frustration with a perceived delay in the company's response to the pandemic.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Omnicom Group joined the other major advertising holding companies — WPP, Publicis, IPG, and Dentsu — in asking most of its employees to work remotely for the immediate future starting March 16 as the coronavirus disrupts businesses and governments around the world.

In an internal memo sent March 15, chairman and CEO John Wren wrote that all those people except "essential staff" should work outside Omnicom offices, which will remain open.

The full memo is below.

The move came days or hours after the other major advertising holding companies made similar announcements. 

Omnicom is the second biggest ad holding company by revenue and employs about 70,000 worldwide.

Omnicom employees described internal frustration as the outbreak  spread

Three Omnicom employees who are known to Business Insider but spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their jobs expressed frustration with a perceived delay by the company in reacting to the virus.

On Friday, various Omnicom agencies advised employees to stagger commute times to avoid rush hour and adjust schedules so that no more than 50% of staff would be in an office at any given time.

But one employee said this led to some tension between company leadership and heads of local offices. A petition on Change.org, purportedly written by an Omnicom Media Group employee, called on the company to mandate office closings, sick days, and an overall travel ban.

A second employee at another Omnicom agency called the company's response "too incrementally slow."

Other major holding companies have told employees to work remotely

All five major holding companies have now told the majority of their employees to work remotely if possible to minimize the risk of coronavirus infection.

According to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, Publicis Groupe told all staff in North America to come into the office only when absolutely necessary starting Thursday morning; a spokesperson said that policy applied globally. IPG sent out a similar memo on Friday, and WPP did the same on Saturday afternoon.

A senior executive at Dentsu who spoke to Business Insider on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter confirmed that all employees were told on March 13 to begin working remotely. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

John Wren's full memo is below.

A Message from John Wren

March 15, 2020

COVID-19

These are uncertain times and we want to do our part to help limit or slow the transmission of COVID-19 while maintaining business continuity and helping our clients navigate this challenging environment.

At this stage, we feel a work from home policy is the right approach for our people. Starting March 16th, we are asking for the support of our agency leaders to make certain our people work remotely and only essential staff go into the office. If you have not done so already, please ensure in the next day or so that you collect what you need to work from home. In addition, we are encouraging all of you to follow the guidance of national, local and city regulatory authorities.

For those that do go into an office, please maintain the recommended social distance.  We are also working with facilities management to add enhanced cleaning in our offices.

We want to reiterate - please do not come into the office if you are sick or have flu-like symptoms or if a family member you live with or roommate is sick or has symptoms. Also, please do not come into the office if you or someone you live with has a higher risk of becoming very sick from COVID-19. Lastly, if you are an essential employee and don't feel comfortable coming into the office, please speak with your supervisor. We have instructed them to accommodate your needs. And we will continue to keep all travel restrictions in place.

We are very pleased to see marked improvements in China and Singapore with our teams starting to get back to business as usual. Our people there did a great job in keeping their businesses functioning during the past couple of months. I want to thank them and all of you for your efforts now and what we know you will do in the weeks to come.

Most important, please take the necessary precautions to keep yourself, family, friends, and clients healthy and safe.

We will continue to update you on our measures as events evolve in order to support you in every way we can.

John

Original author: Patrick Coffee

More than 450 business leaders, investors, and public figures have signed an open letter committing to "lead boldly" in stopping the spread of the coronavirus pandemic across the United States, as of Sunday afternoon. The letter says that business leaders can be critical to determining the pace at which the coronavirus outbreak spreads throughout the country, and asks that signatories take a series of actions including sending employees to work from home. "CEOs today have enormous influence in creating social influence in a positive way," Guild Education CEO Rachel Carlson told Business Insider, explaining why she co-penned the letter with Ken Chenault, the managing partner of General Catalyst. Read the full letter here.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

More than 450 business CEOs and investors have signed an open letter calling for the US private sector to lead the fight in halting the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The letter asks business executives to take "bold leadership" in fighting COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, by sending employees to work from home, supporting frontline workers who need to work through the crisis, and asking employees to avoid hosting and attending large public events.

Rachel Romer Carlson, who is the CEO of the ed-tech unicorn Guild Education, wrote the letter with Ken Chenault, the chairman and managing director of the VC General Catalyst and published it on Saturday evening. It quickly took off on social media, spreading through the hashtag #StoptheSpread.

Part of what inspired the letter was the millions of Americans who "work at the frontlines, like pharmacies and grocery stores, which can't or won't be able to close. We want to protect that group," Carlson told Business Insider in an interview. "The best thing we can all do for that workforce is to stay home."  

The letter is aimed at the entirety of the US private sector, and has quickly racked up a list of well-known tech executives including Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, Lambda School CEO Austen Allred, and partners at the VC firms Accel and Insight Partners.  NBA star Stephen Curry also signed on to the list and tweeted in support of it. 

Carlson said that she and the letter's co-author Chenault, who is also the former chairman and CEO of American Express, shared a joint belief in "stakeholder rather than shareholder capitalism," which prompted them to pen the letter. 

"CEOs today have enormous influence in creating social influence in a positive way," Carlson explained. "In this particular instance, the opportunity for CEOs to create that social change and galvanize leaders to respond to COVID-19 was huge." 

COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has swept across the world over the past few weeks. As of Sunday, more than 160,000 people have been infected and over 6,000 have died. The US reported  62 coronavirus deaths among over 3,200 cases.  

But, as the letter points out, government actions have not been enough to deter people from going out. 

"In the US, we've sent college kids home but New York bars are packed; we are working from home, but malls and resorts are full; while our health care leaders are encouraging the avoidance of group events, too many are still showing up: 14,000 fans attended a concert at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Thursday," the letter says.  

In addition to the series of commitments that the letter asks business leaders make, the statement also recommends actions like supporting small business owners by purchasing gift cards to be redeemed at a later time, and helping grocery, healthcare and pharmacy workers in whatever way possible (Carlson said that Guild Education was working with its academic partners to come up with training and resource guides for them).  

Carlson and Chenault wrote that the goal of the letter, which they hope will "spread faster than this virus," is to help contain the outbreak so it can be resolved in 1-2 months rather than in the long-term. 

You can read the full letter here. 

Original author: Bani Sapra

President Donald Trump bemoaned the news coverage about the confusion behind his unveiling of what was purportedly a Google-led effort to develop a coronavirus-screening website.Trump held in his hand what appeared to be a Google statement, in tweet form, that he claimed vindicated his prior remarks."As you know this is from Google, they put out a release," Trump said, holding the statement in his left hand before flicking it to the ground."You guys can figure it out yourselves, and how that got out," Trump added. "I'm sure you'll apologize. It'll be great if we can really give the news correctly.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon bemoaned the news coverage about the confusion behind his unveiling of what was purportedly a Google-led effort to develop a nationwide website that screened people for the coronavirus.

"I want to thank the people at Google and Google Communications, because as you know, they substantiated what I said on Friday," Trump said of the remarks he made in the Rose Garden just two days prior.

"The head of Google ... called us and he apologized, I don't know where the press got their fake news, but they got it some place," Trump added.

The White House

Trump held in his hand what appeared to be a Google statement in tweet form on how the company was partnering with the federal government to develop "a nationwide website that includes information about COVID-19 symptoms, risk and testing information."

"As you know this is from Google, they put out a release," Trump said, holding the statement in his left hand. He then flicked the paper onto the floor.

"You guys can figure it out yourselves, and how that got out," Trump added. "I'm sure you'll apologize. It'll be great if we can really give the news correctly.

On Friday, Trump claimed that Google had 1,700 engineers working on a coronavirus-related website, one that would allow people to "to determine if a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location."

"Google is going to develop a website — it's going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past," Trump said on Friday.

The project, however, was being developed by Alphabet-affiliated Verily, which reportedly employs 1,000 employees. The Verge reported that the 1,700 engineers Trump mentioned were Google workers who would volunteer for the project.

Despite Trump's statement that it had made "tremendous progress" in the nationwide effort, a Google communications representative told The Verge that the company was still "in the early stages of development" for the San Francisco area.

A Verily representative reportedly added that the "triage website" was initially expected to go out for health care workers and that after the announcement, it was going to roll out to the entire public.

Google later announced in its statement that the company was "fully aligned" and would "continue to work" with the government to combat the coronavirus.

Trump followed up his press conference by retweeting a statement from Google Communications, which laid out that the company's goals to expand the project "more broadly over time."

President Trump railed against news reports that shed light on his comments on Sunday, alleging that the media "never called Google" to verify his distinct description of the project.

"Even in times such as these, they are not truthful," Trump said on Twitter. "Watch for their apology, it won't happen. More importantly, thank you to Google!"

Read more:

A leaked presentation reveals the document US hospitals are using to prepare for a major coronavirus outbreak. It estimates 96 million US coronavirus cases and 480,000 deaths.

Original author: David Choi

General Motors, Ford Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and the United Auto Workers union have formed a COVID-19/Coronavirus Task Force to protect warehouse and manufacturing employees at the Detroit Big Three.Convened by UAW President Rory Gamble, the task force will be led by Gamble, GM CEO Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Hackett, and FCA CEO Mike Manley.Normally fierce rivals, the CEOs and Gamble issued an unusual joint statement stressing their commitment to workers.GM, Ford, and FCA has restricted domestic and international travel and sent employees into work-from-home mode, but their assembly plants in the US has remained in operation.No COVID-19 case has yet been reported at a manufacturing facility operated by the Big Three.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

On Sunday, General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and the United Auto Workers jointly announced that they would establish a "COVID-19/Coronavirus Task Force to implement enhanced protections for manufacturing and warehouse employees at all three companies," according to a statement released by Ford.

The same statement was simultaneously posted to the media sites of GM, FCA, and the UAW.

At the COVID-19 outbreak intensifies in the US, all three major automakers have restricted domestic and international travel, and they have also told their non-factory employees to work from home. Thus far, however, they have kept their numerous factories operating.

Crosstown rivals have become allies. Fresh off a bruising 50-day strike last year, UAW President Rory Gamble — who according to the statement "convened the leaders of all three companies" — and GM CEO Mary Barra will now work together on the task force. They'll be joined by Ford CEO Jim Hackett FCA CEO Michael Manley.

"They will be supported by Terry Dittes, vice president, UAW-GM Department; Gerald Kariem, vice president, UAW-Ford Department; and Cindy Estrada, vice president, UAW-FCA Department," Ford said in is statement. Also joining are the "medical staffs, and the manufacturing and labor leadership teams at all three companies."

"Workplace health and safety is a priority for us every day, all three companies have been taking steps to keep the COVID-19/coronavirus out of their facilities and during this national emergency, we will do even more working together," Gamble said.

"We are focused on doing the right thing for our people, their families, our communities and the country. All options related to protecting against exposure to the virus are on the table."

In an unusual joint statement, GM, Ford and FCAs CEO said, "This is a fluid and unprecedented situation, and the task force will move quickly to build on the wide-ranging preventive measures we have put in place. We are all coming together to help keep our workforces safe and healthy."

The added, "The joint task force's areas of focus will include vehicle production plans, additional social distancing, break and cleaning schedules, health and safety education, health screening, food service and any other areas that have the potential to improve protections for employees."

"As the joint task force identifies enhancements, each company, together with the UAW, will provide regular updates to the workers in their facilities."

No COVID-19 case has yet been reported at a manufacturing facility operated by the Big Three. However, as schools and colleges close nationally, businesses cut back on activity, and an increasing number of people have been told by employers to work remotely, automakers in the US might have to address the 150,000 hourly workers represented by the UAW at plants throughout the country.

Original author: Matthew DeBord

Original author: Paige Leskin

Hello!

My Insider Inc. colleagues and I are now all working from home, and I expect many of you are too. I will admit that so far that it's been an adjustment. With that in mind, I want to start the newsletter this week with advice from six of our senior editors who have worked remotely for years about how to do it productively. 

8 tips for crushing your job while working from home, from 6 leaders who have worked remotely for years

I hope it's helpful. I should also note that cybersecurity experts are warning that hackers are targeting people now working from home amid the coronavirus outbreak. Be careful online.

Below is a breakdown of how the coronavirus is impacting the healthcare industry, markets, Wall Street and Big Law, Big Tech and Silicon Valley startups, cleantech, the advertising and media industry, and even space exploration.

But before that, I want to highlight some non-coronavirus related features from the past week that are worth your time:

Coming back to coronavirus, here are a couple of bullet points from across our coverage just to highlight how far-ranging of an impact the outbreak is having.

Original author: Matt Turner

Media companies, along with the rest of the economy, are being strained by the coronavirus pandemic.Business Insider breaks down the biggest impact to media businesses so far, including the closures of Disney's parks around the world and the companies most threatened by the spread of the virus.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

TV and film productions are being put on hold, major sporting events are being canceled or postponed, and theme parks are closing their gates as businesses and governments try to slow the spread of the coronavirus globally.

The media industry, along with the rest of the economy, is being strained by the pandemic.

The companies most exposed to the threat are those that generate significant shares of their revenue from theme parks, the box office, or advertising — all of which could be threatened by the coronavirus outbreak or a broader economic downturn.

Wall Street firm UBS forecasted earlier this week that Disney was the media company most threatened by the spread of coronavirus, followed by Discovery, Fox, ViacomCBS, and AMC Networks.

See the breakdown: Analysts say Disney and Discovery are the media giants most threatened by the coronavirus, but Comcast could fare better

New Disney CEO Bob Chapek is already being tested as a leader. The company is being forced to temporarily shutter its parks globally and push theatrical releases and productions. UBS estimated Disney could lose more than $2 billion in revenue if its parks close for 30 days. 

The company's cable networks, including ESPN, could also be hurt by the canceled sporting events, though analysts say it's too soon to estimate how much.

Read more: Analysts lay out the financial damage each of Disney's businesses could face, as it closes parks and postpones films due to the coronavirus 

Netflix, meanwhile, is expected to benefit from the social distancing that's being encouraged by governments around the world. More time at home could mean more opportunities to stream Netflix. 

But there could be downsides for Netflix's business as well.

The streaming company is counting on a boost in subscribers and revenue from international markets this year, including regions like Europe and Asia that are among the worst hit by the pandemic, analysts at Needham said. People in those areas may be less incentivized to subscribe to Netflix if they're worried about their next paychecks.

Read the full story: Why Netflix's business could take a hit from the coronavirus, despite reports that 'stay at home' stocks could benefit

Original author: Ashley Rodriguez

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian has said that he plans to become "at least the No. 2 cloud." To get there, the company will have to surpass Microsoft and close the gap with market-leading Amazon Web Services.Analysts expect making a big cloud acquisition will be the fastest way for Google to grow.Business Insider compiled a list below of 20 potential Google acquisition targets, according to analysts.Some of them are big and unlikely — including companies and businesses like Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud, or Salesforce — while others point to Google Cloud's need to deepen its expertise in AI chips, cloud software, and other markets.Click here to read more BI Prime stories.

As Google Cloud tries to catch up to cloud-market leaders Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, analysts expect Google could make big cloud acquisitions this year to boost the business.

Google is significantly behind Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud computing business. Gartner most recently estimated AWS had a 47.8% market share in 2018, compared with Microsoft's 15.5% and Google's 4%. And Google's G Suite, which includes tools like Gmail and Google Docs, is very popular, with two billion monthly active users — but is far outmatched by Microsoft Office and the cloud-based Office 365 in the workplace.

But CEO Thomas Kurian, who took over Google Cloud in early 2019, has a plan to turn things around. According to a source who spoke with Business Insider in August, Kurian told employees Google Cloud has a five-year goal to become "at least the No. 2 cloud" and present a more serious threat to the leading AWS. It's already made notable progress, showing that it's on track to post $10 billion in revenue this year, with 53% year-over-year growth in the last quarter. 

Part of that plan has involved acquisitions: Google last summer announced plans to buy data-analytics company Looker for $2.6 billion. Google in November also bought CloudSimple, once a crucial part of Microsoft's cloud ecosystem. 

Analysts expect that there are likely more to come. Kurian was known for his aggressive acquisition strategy at Oracle, his previous employer, and they expect that he'll take a similar tactic to bolster Google Cloud and make it more appealing to larger customers — especially amid the current economic tumult, which could drag down startup and public company valuations alike. 

"To catch up to AWS and Azure, the only way for Google to catch up is to make an acquisition. Big ones," Jeb Su, principal analyst at Atherton Technology Research, told Business Insider. "(Kurian) is probably looking now that the market has crashed and looking at much bigger acquisitions."

While Google Cloud is known for its artificial intelligence and data analytics capabilities, it needs to expand its product portfolio to keep pace with its leading cloud rivals, analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush has previously said.

"[Google Cloud Platform] is miles behind Microsoft and Amazon," Ives told Business Insider earlier this year. "Kurian & Co. need to acquire a cloud apps or infrastructure player to gain a toehold into this market."

Through that lens, there are a lot of different ways that Google Cloud could go, and analysts we spoke to have ideas — though some of their ideas would be a stretch, no matter how many zeroes are at the end of Google's bank balance. There's also no indication that any of these companies would even want to sell, or that Google has ever come calling.

Here are the 20 companies Google could consider buying to boosts its cloud business, according to analysts – and some are more likely than others:

Original author: Ashley Stewart and Rosalie Chan

Enhance/The Tetris Company

"Tetris Effect" takes a foundational game ("Tetris"), executes it perfectly, and crucially evolves the concept into something completely fresh.

The foundation of "Tetris Effect" is still focused on creating and clearing lines from the play field as new blocks are randomly generated from the top. There is no major shift or evolution in this respect — "Tetris Effect" is, at its core, a "Tetris" game. 

The game's title sounds like a psychological phenomenon — and it is, in fact, exactly that: where players start "seeing" the patterns of "Tetris" in the world or in their mind as they drift off to sleep. "Tetris Effect," the game, takes that and twists it back on itself. 

During gameplay, a synaesthetic journey takes place in the background. With each twist of the "Tetris" block ("tetronimo") and lateral movement, the game's music responds in turn. While this auditory collaboration occurs, the game's background visuals take players on a journey through space, or the oceans, or across a vast desert.

It's surreal, beautiful, intense — and it's much more than a parlor trick.

Beyond offering an additional audio/visual component, these synaesthetic effects serve to further imprint the game's seemingly simplistic gameplay into consciousness. It deepens an already flow-like experience. 

Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PC

Original author: Ben Gilbert

Tucked in between news of markets in turmoil and growing US coronavirus cases on Thursday was a healthy dose of venture capitalist optimism.

Mamoon Hamid, partner at Silicon Valley venture stalwart Kleiner Perkins, tweeted that he and his team had signed a Series A term sheet for a as of yet undisclosed startup. The deal, he claimed, was the first of its kind since many VC firms have chosen to go entirely remote, ditching the glass-walled conference rooms in Silicon Valley and San Francisco.

"Our first signed term sheet for a Series A investment in our new 'WFH' world," Hamid tweeted. "From partner meeting pitch to investment decision — all done remotely and completely distributed. While we crave in-person interaction, this can and will work. Perhaps 'remote work' is the new platform."

The deal isn't entirely closed yet, according to Kleiner Perkins partner Bucky Moore. He was part of the original deal team that scouted the company in question, and told Business Insider that he had been following the entrepreneur in question for roughly nine months prior to the signed term sheet Thursday. He said he had met the entrepreneur in person before the remotely finalized deal, but several partners had not.

"They didn't have plans to raise a Series A because they were achieving milestones that had been set at the seed round," Moore told Business Insider. "Things started to heat up in that respect at the same time this new way of working became commonplace."

Moore said that the deal team had initially planned to bring the entrepreneur in to meet the firm's partners, a common final step in securing funding, on Monday. But once it was clear the partners would be working remotely, Moore said he was able to get the entrepreneur on board with pitching the firm remotely via Zoom. Just four days and several negotiations over the phone later, the term sheet was signed and the process will begin moving forward with both parties' legal counsels, which also relies on email and phone communication instead of in-person meetings.

"I think it's unchanged, which is why this is interesting," Moore said of the deal's timeline. "When a partner meeting happens, we decide what we want to do from there, communicate that to the team, and then we start negotiations and make an offer. Usually that all happens over a week."

By Friday, several other early-stage investors had gone to Twitter to similarly trumpet term sheets signed and deals closed in Silicon Valley's new reality as a show of confidence to worried founders. Moore said that it is likely that "business will continue" — he said that he has been advising startups that need to fundraise to be cautious and well aware of the financing situation of the entire ecosystem.

"If you have the resources to do so, it's prudent to take a step back," Moore said. "In any seed company's case, they are inherently under-resourced and three are a lot of those companies that need to raise and have to do that now. That's the group of companies that are going to have to bear the brunt of what I expect to be indecisiveness while people are trying to figure out what's going on."

Firms like Kleiner Perkins, however, have plenty of dry powder at their disposal and aren't going to hold back on funding entirely. That won't be true at every VC firm, he said, and desperate founders should think long and hard about taking on unvetted investments or debt financing if they can avoid it. 

"Otherwise, just tighten your belts and keep your heads down building the company," he said.

Original author: Megan Hernbroth

Nomad Kitchen Co has unveiled its first pull-out kitchen unit that can turn a car trunk into a tiny kitchen on wheels.The unit includes a food preparation area, sink, and room for a two-burner stovetop.It can be attached to the trunk of a hatchback or SUV, as well as the bed of a pickup truck using extra hardware.Its maker claims the kitchen unit is good for camping, events, tailgates, and emergency use.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Nomad Kitchen Co has unveiled its first pull-out kitchen unit that can be placed in the trunk of an SUV or hatchback to turn a car into a mini kitchen on wheels, optimal for both camping and emergency use.

The Berkeley, California-based company was founded on the idea that camping food doesn't have to be boring and bland, full of hot dogs and dry cereal. With Nomad Kitchen's two-burner stovetop unit that has a food preparation space and sink, campers are able to prepare more complex meals without having to sit and cook over a fire pit. 

The kitchen unit hides inside a 2.13-foot long box that can be hooked onto the trunk of a car, making the pull-out Nomad Kitchen accessible and easy to use, according to its maker.

Keep scrolling to see the portable Nomad Kitchen perfect for #VanLifers:

Original author: Brittany Chang