The Fight For $15 Backfires

By Alexi Harding

One of the more hotly debated topics in the past few years has been the level of the minimum wage. Since 2009, the minimum wage in the U.S. has been set at $7.25 per hour. Recently, however, there has been general public sentiment that in today’s economy $7.25 per hour cannot possibly be a living wage: thus the Fight for $15 per hour was born.

The Fight For $15 is a community of workers who openly protest the minimum wage. While the movement started out as a small collection of upset New York fast food workers, they now profess to have reached over 300 cities on six continents, officially becoming an international protest group. And while their efforts are valiant, and justifiable, they may have unintentionally made matters worse for themselves.

McDonald’s, the movement’s primary target, seems to have found a way around paying their workers anything at all: by installing self-service kiosks. McDonald’s has finally entered the 21st century, adopting self-service “Create Your Own Taste” touch screen kiosks. These kiosks allow the customer to, as they suggest, create a completely customized burger. Users can choose the type of bun, toppings, sauces and patty that goes into their carefully crafted burger, adding a level of customization that has not been seen before. And from what some reports suggest, the kiosks are working tremendously. The food served is fresh, fashionably and most importantly, fast. While this brand new implementation of technology to enhance the user experience is most certainly welcomed by many, it poses many dangerous implications.

With the introduction of technology and humanity’s growing reliance on robotics and hardware, the need for actual human beings is decreasing; nowhere is this more evident than in the fast food industry. With so many complaints regarding workload and compensation, the fast food industry is eager to find more effective ways to provide customer service while keeping labor costs down. One of the easiest ways to do that is through the use of technology and robotics. Should McDonald’s new kiosk take off, it could potentially cost thousands of workers their jobs.

The announcement comes only two years after then CEO Don Thompson publicly stated that the company would support a minimum wage hike therefore giving workers hope. Under new CEO Steve Easterbrook, however, the company has made some radical changes, mainly in its ingredients and sources of food, as opposed to wage changes.

McDonald’s is not the only fast food company looking into automated customer service. Panera Bread has already implemented self-serve kiosks in about half of their restaurants, with the remaining half to receive kiosks by the end of the year. Wendy’s is poised to follow suit. Unfortunately, the growing push for higher minimum wage could force fast food chains to cut labor costs, and opt for the cost savings of automated kiosks.

Industry leaders are taking note of these changes. In a recent interview with Business Insider, CEO of Carl’s Jr. and Hardees, Andy Puzder stated, “if you’re making labor more expensive, and automation less expensive — this isn’t rocket science.”

The push for higher minimum wage can have other negative impacts as well. While multi-billion dollar companies such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s can afford to install automated kiosks, other, smaller companies will be forced to adapt in other ways. In order to keep up with higher wages, these smaller businesses may need to drastically layoff employees or, in some severe cases, close completely. And while this may sound sensationalized, it is very much a reality. According to Business Insider, after many voted for higher a minimum wage in this year’s election, several local businesses have struggled to cope with the cost increase.

With so many companies prepared to replace human beings with technology, the push for a higher a minimum wage could force these companies’ hands, leaving thousands, potentially even more, without jobs. And with more and more workers from different occupations joining Fight For $15’s ranks, even more industries could follow suit and impact far more people than initially anticipated. This is definitely a serious issue that I will continue to cover as it unfolds.

AUSTIN: ENTREPRENEURIAL BREEDING GROUND?

By Alexi Harding

With every new year comes a Forbes tradition: the “30 Under 30” list. Launched in 2011, the list includes a variety of entrepreneurs across a range of industries who are innovating and becoming successful in their respective fields. Since its inception, the list has become something of a staple for the magazine. This year’s list includes entrepreneurs in industries ranging from consumer tech to venture capital. Of the 600 total honorees, 1 percent  all come from the same place: Austin, Texas. It’s no secret that the U.S. is home to some of the world’s largest contributors to innovative ideas and inventions, with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta and New York City all famous for their entrepreneurial activity. Could Austin be another such city?

Below I provide an overview of these year’s honorees from Austin:

Joshua Dziabiak, 29 & Adam Lyons, 29

The Zebra

Two young entrepreneurs included in Forbes’ list under the consumer tech category. They are both the co-founders of The Zebra, a search engine for auto insurance quotes. The duo’s company is turning heads and has attracted an astounding $23 million in venture funding. The Zebra is definitely a welcome application to anybody who has ever purchased car insurance before. The application allows users to instantly compare insurance quotes from over 200 insurance companies. With 50 employees, a large amount of funding and their names in the spotlight, these two are destined for great success.

Whitney Wolfe, 27

Bumble

The second innovator from Austin is Whitney Wolfe. The founder and CEO of Bumble, Wolfe has created a dating network with a twist. Users can enter relevant information, such as their name, area, photo and interests, and view other users in an effort to make a connection. Although the application supports both men and women, only women can initiate contact. In an effort to give women the advantage of the situation, male users are not allowed to contact female counterparts. This is done to provide women with a safer environment within which to network and socialize. If the application sounds similar to Tinder, that’s because Ms. Wolfe was a co-founder of the insanely popular dating application and worked to market the app. As of this year, Bumble has 11 million registered users. Wolfe clearly has a knack for creating social networking applications that catch on.

Alex Schwartz, 29

Owlchemy Labs

Currently gaming is highest grossing sub-sector of the entertainment industry. From hardware and software sales to online multiplayer services to large gaming expos around the world, video games are no doubt a popular part of today’s world. And, as an ever-changing industry that is still fairly new (compared to other industries), one of gaming’s latest trends is virtual reality. It seems as if every major company involved in the industry is attempting to make their mark in VR, from Sony to HTC to the Valve Corporation. And at least one young Austin resident has his finger on the pulse and is making a name for himself. Alex Schwartz is CEO of Owlchemy Labs, a video game development company specializing in virtual reality video games. They achieved critical acclaim and notoriety with their first game Job Simulator. According to Forbes, Schwartz’s team is currently working on Rick and Morty VR, a virtual reality game based on the popular animated sitcom.

Miguel Garza, 29

Siete Family Foods

Miguel’s story is extremely personal and inspiring. Due to an autoimmune disease, Miguel’s sister is not able to eat grain, which prevented the family from eating any tortillas. Because of this, she was determined to find a way to devise a tasty tortilla that was grain-free. After some testing, Miguel’s sister, Veronica, found the perfect combination in an almond flour tortilla. After realizing the potential, Miguel began to market the new tortilla to a variety of grocery stores. Miguel is now the CEO of Siete Family Foods. Currently, the company makes over $1 million in revenue and has plans to roll out a line of grain-free tortilla chips at Whole Foods stores early this year.

Dominik Stein, 29

VERTS Mediterranean Grill

Not an Austin native, but a current resident, Dominik is the cofounder of VERTS Mediterranean Grill, which specializes in bringing European dishes to the United States. Originally from Germany, Dominik came to Austin to study abroad. After some time in America, he began to miss his favorite native dishes. And from that simple bit of homesickness, he built an incredibly successful restaurant chain. VERTS currently has 36 chains nationwide and a whopping $36 million in investment capital.

Six of America’s finest and most unique entrepreneurs of the year all stem from the same area. While Austin is no stranger to successful citizens, the fact that it is home to so many rising stars is proof alone that the city has the ability to produce talented individuals who are setting the bar for their respective industries.

For the full “30 Under 30” list, click here.

WAYUP: THE FUTURE OF JOB SEARCHING

By Alexi Harding

Searching for a job can be not only intimidating, but difficult. And while job hunting is a challenge at any age, it tends to be a bit worse right out of college. As a young, inexperienced “professional” you are, in most cases, armed only with your education and determination. Admittedly, that can take you far, but the search is still competitive. One startup is looking to change that and help the youth of today find the best possible job.

What is WayUp?

WayUp is an online job listing aggregator. It compiles a list of positions from a variety of businesses and matches them to users based on his or her individual education and experience.

Now, you may be thinking: “Big deal. LinkedIn and plenty of other applications already offer services similar to this.”

 And WayUp and its executives know this. However, they believe that their platform is in a different category. WayUp does not cater to all demographics of job seekers. Instead, they focus solely on college students and recent graduates. The application also heavily focuses on its mobile application. In a recent report from TechCrunch, Liz Wessel, the company’s co-founder and CEO, stated her thoughts on the company’s competition, saying, “LinkedIn is built for a much older generation.”

In a world that is constantly becoming more mobile, it is perfectly reasonable to believe that a company whose focus is on the future will emerge victorious. In fact, one of WayUp’s partners, Karan Mehandru, thinks as much.

“Wayup has the potential to surpass LinkedIn over time as the dominant next generation platform that becomes the online resume for the next generation and connects employers with candidates to get them hired,” Mehandru told TechCrunch.

If you aren’t sold on the company, its investors sure are. The same TechCrunch article claims that the company has earned a whopping $18.5 million in series B funding. WayUp plans on using the money to further build and develop its engineering and product teams. And some of the world’s largest companies have already used the platform to acquire new talent, including Facebook, Google and The New York Times.

Could we be looking at the next generation of job searching?

How To Scam Proof Your Charitable Donations

By Alexi Harding

The holiday season has come and gone once again, and made way for a brand new year. And with a brand new year comes the inevitable and infamous new year resolutions. If you have yet to devise a resolution for 2017, why not look into charitable donations? It is always important to give back to the community and those who are less fortunate. With every new year comes a fresh start, so start the year off right by donating. And if you are looking into becoming more charitable, or are already a veteran in the art of giving back, it is always a great idea to make sure that the charities you are giving to and representing are legitimate and not scamming you out of your money. Here are a few ways to make sure that your donations are scam-proof.

First and foremost: Don’t trust anyone. While this may sound pessimistic and mean spirited, unfortunately in this world, there are many people who are looking to cash in on the kindness of others. So never assume that any charity is legitimate. If you ever receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to work for a charity, and they thank you for your pledge to donate, do not trust it. They are more than likely trying to trick you into giving money.

Research, research, research: On the topic of legitimacy, one of the easiest ways to ensure that a charity is actually doing what they claim is to do some quick research. The advent of the Internet and Google has made fact checking incredibly easy. Make sure to look up the charity that you are giving to. There are a numerous tools at your disposal that can be used to verify a charity’s legitimacy. Two of the more popular sites are Charity Watch and Charity Navigator. Both sites include lists of respectable charities and even breakdown how your donations are being used.

Secure Your Personal Information: While charities do typically require some basic amount of information from you, there is a limit to what they need to know. For example, your name and contact information are reasonable requests that a charity would need to know, but more personal information, such as your social security number are off limits. There is no situation where a charity would need information such as that. Also, make sure to get information from them. Ask questions. Find out how they are using your money or when and how they will provide you with a statement so that you may deduct the donation from your tax return.

File it away: Record keeping when donating to charities is a crucial part to charitable contributions. When donating, it is typically good practice to use a credit card because it will automatically create a paper trail of the amount spent. If you can’t use a credit card, at least keep a physical note of it, whether digitally in your phone or written down on paper. Never assume that you can remember each and every donation. Also, if you make a contribution more than $250, you will typically need a letter from the charity in order to verify their organization’s tax-exempt status.

And scams are not only prevalent in the organized charity industry; there are hundreds of thousands of people begging for money on the streets who don’t really need it. Take for example, Simon Wright, a beggar on the streets of London. According to a report from the Daily Mail, Wright made a whopping £300 a day by pretending to be hungry and homeless, even going so far as to use a dog to get even more sympathy from passersby. Scams and scammers are everywhere, so be wary.

Donating and charitable contributions are an important aspect of human society. Although the holiday season is past us, that does not mean that we need to stop helping one another. Hopefully these handy tips will allow you to be generous and, most importantly, safe.

Alexi Harding Featured in Entrepreneur Magazine

Award-winning financial services executive and Senior Managing Director of the Opes Group, Alexi Harding was recently published in Entrepreneur.

The article, titled “Why Startups Should Look for Opportunity Between the Coasts,” covers the fascinating story of how tech startups should, and are beginning to, look at areas other than Silicon Valley in order to fund their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Here is an excerpt from the article:
“Tech entrepreneurs are the cool kids on the block. Whereas young people once aspired to be rockstars or astronauts, today they dream of being startup founders, flush with venture capital and working out of sleek, open-plan offices in San Francisco’s trendy SoMA district or New York’s bustling Flatiron neighborhood.”

To read the full article, make sure to click here!

Charles F. Feeney: The James Bond of Philanthropy

By Alexi Harding

When one thinks of charitable contributions to society and philanthropic work, the first thing to come to mind is typically not James Bond. The debonaire spy is well known for his high-speed car chases, shootouts, and successful attempts at thwarting villains determined to take over the world, not necessarily for his donations to charity. However, one real-world billionaire has been compared to the famous spy for that very reason.

Charles F. Feeney, 85, is a man of simple taste. According to a report from The New York Times, Feeney never lived a lavish lifestyle. He would eat burgers at his local pub in New York, fly coach and even carry around any and all reading materials in a plastic bag. And while these all sound like fairly normal things that any average citizen would do, Charles is no average citizen. Once having a net worth of just over $8 billion, Feeney was a wealthy investor and businessman. Dedicated to “giving while living”, Feeney set out to donate the entirety of his fortune to charitable organizations and philanthropic efforts by the end of 2016, which he ultimately completed.

In order to achieve that lofty goal, Feeney founded Atlantic Philanthropies in 1982. Atlantic Philanthropies is a private group of foundations that donates to a variety of charities and philanthropic organizations around the world from South Africa to Vietnam. In its efforts, the organization has funded direct medical care, immigration reform, education and criminal justice advocacy, to name a few.

Feeney made most of his fortune through a company he co-founded that sold a variety of items to travelers at duty-free shops. As previously mentioned, he is also an incredibly shrewd investor, particularly in the field of tech startups, having invested early in companies such as Facebook and Alibaba.

While Feeney’s incredible generosity is amazing on its own merit, what makes him even more remarkable is the fact that he has no interest in self-aggrandizement.  He donated a significant fortune of $8 billion and yet almost all of Feeney’s work has been done privately without media attention. This extreme secrecy and lack of publicity lead Forbes  to unofficially dub him the “James Bond of philanthropy.” In fact, Feeney had such a focus on keeping his work secret that, for quite some time, Atlantic had a stipulation requiring that all organizations receiving their support not mention their involvement.

In the aforementioned Forbes article, Feeney was quoted as saying, “People used to ask me how I got my jollies, and I guess I’m happy when what I’m doing is helping people and unhappy when what I’m doing isn’t helping people.” Now, with a personal net worth somewhere around $2 million, Feeney lives in a rented apartment in San Francisco with his wife, Helga.
Charles F. Feeney’s incredibly unselfish attitude and generosity is sorely needed in the world. And while many wealthy people do give to charity extensively, very few come close to the philanthropic strategy that has earned Feeney the title, “the James Bond of philanthropy.” All of us, billionaire or not, should equally strive towards the betterment of the human experience.