When Justine Tiu and Adrian Zhang launched their crochet-kit business, The Woobles, in 2020, their product resonated with a newly homebound population that wanted to craft, and wanted it to be easy. Their audience was anyone who suddenly found themselves with free time, for whom learning to crochet a tiny penguin, fox, or bunny provided joy and distraction amid uncertainty.
Tiu, 34, had a background as an education UX designer, and she perfected their kits by watching real people use them to learn to crochet, quickly adjusting the product to remove barriers to entry. She ensured each kit was prestarted to get the hardest part of the crochet experience out of the way, replaced regular yarn with a custom one that doesn't fray, and created step-by-step online tutorials that customers could unlock after a purchase.
This wasn't what the husband-and-wife team expected to do with their careers. Tiu and Zhang, 35, who previously worked as a director on Wall Street, found themselves restless around 2016 and began rejecting the archetype of success they grew up with: get good grades, get into a good school, get a high-paying job, the end. "We did exactly that and still weren't satisfied," Zhang says. Tiu, meanwhile, started crocheting to get her mind off work.
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Karen Dillon Congratulations on Your Company's Big Success. So Now, Let Me Ask- Are You Happy? - Happiness is actually contagious. The Framingham Heart Study-the longest ongoing study of heart health in the world, which has tracked aspects of participants' lives for more than 75 years-found that being in the presence of someone who is happy is likely to spur happiness in yourself.
For Jeremy Kasler, founder and CEO of CaskX, the pandemic offered an unexpected opportunity to reset his life. Having sold his previous company, Hong Kong-based Art Futures Group, which paired midcareer artists with investors, the native Brit planned to spend some time reconnecting with family in Australia as he got his new startup off the ground. The new business, which helps individual investors purchase barrels (or casks) of bourbon and Scotch from distilleries in the U.S. and Scotland, was still in its early days when Kasler arrived in Sydney just a day before the country went into lockdown. I kind of got stuck there, he recalls. But in hindsight, it was one of the best things that could have happened to him-and his new company.
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Chip Conley Human wisdom is more valuable than ever. But true wisdom requires these six skills- When management theorist Peter Drucker coined the term knowledge workers in 1959, most people had no idea what he was talking about.
When management theorist Peter Drucker coined the term knowledge workers in 1959, most people had no idea what he was talking about. Since then, knowledge workers have come to rule the world. Today, seven of the world's 10 most valuable companies are tech companies, the ultimate workplace for knowledge workers.
Managing the Future of Work Isn't an Easy Job
Hirings and firings, layoffs and resignations. The workforce is experiencing never-ending upheaval, and HR professionals are pivoting fast.
Power Players
The future of energy is greenand smells like oil. Whatever the political fights, our demand for juice is rising fast, and Inc. 5000 companies are ready to meet it.
"WE HAD 10 EMPLOYEES, AND 25 LAWSUITS"
Hoan Ton-That, the controversial co-founder and CEO of Clearview Al, is confident that past scrutiny won't stop his company from netting $2 billion a year in revenue.
Marketers Hope the Odds Are Ever in Their Favor
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Yoona Kim, 44, wanted to help people access health care.
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