Author: Christina Comben

  • Bollywood Stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh Just Got Married

    Bollywood Stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh Just Got Married

    Bollywood fans around the world are trembling with emotion as two of their favorite actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh just tied the knot. The newlyweds played the lead roles in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and just revealed their nuptial announcement today.

    However under wraps the wedding ceremony has been until now, it’s certain to be fitting of two of India’s most loved Bollywood stars and they will be celebrating with a two-day reception today and tomorrow.

    While official details have yet to be released, it’s believed that the couple will be spending the celebrations in Lake Como, Italy, with a select group of family, friends, and of course Bollywood movie stars.

    Social Media Is Abuzz with the News

    Fans of both Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh shared their congratulations and well-wishes on social media.

     

     

    While the couple is well-known on the Bollywood circuit, Deepika recently made her very first appearance in Hollywood in a movie with Vin Diesel. The actress is also engaged in many business activities with an estimated net worth of $20 million, while her new husband is worth some $4.4 million.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • 3 Successful Indian Entrepreneurs Who Didn’t Get a College Education

    3 Successful Indian Entrepreneurs Who Didn’t Get a College Education

    There’s an ongoing debate in society about whether it’s worth getting a college education. Most times, the hammer falls on the side of the academics, citing the fact that graduates stand to make more money throughout their careers, get better connections, and access to resources that non-college goers do not. But in India, in particular, successful Indian entrepreneurs are proving this to no longer be the case.

    With the rising trend of emerging technologies and the pace at which new skills are needed, the old academic argument is wearing a little thin. Of course, there will always be the classic careers which need a college education, like medicine, law, or science.

    But if you have a more creative mindset and are happy experimenting putting your smarts into practice rather than hitting the books, an entrepreneurial career might be for you. You may be better off ditching the lecture hall for the investor’s lobby. Check out these three successful Indian entrepreneurs who made it big–without a college education.

    1. Ritesh Agrawal

    ritesh agarwalRitesh finished high school but he didn’t make it through college. He dropped out at just 17 even after traveling from Cuttack to New Delhi to study business administration. It wasn’t the wrong decision though.

    He was a millionaire by 22 and a billionaire two years later. As CEO of OYO Hotels, a company offering affordable hotel accommodation, Ritesh is on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Asia.

    His hotel aggregator startup raised $1 billion (around Rs 7,300 crore) in new funding from existing investors led by SoftBank, and at an estimated value of $5 billion. OYO Hotels is now India’s second most valuable startup after Paytm, a digital-wallet startup.

    And today, Ritesh is one of India’s youngest billionaires and the youngest person on the Hurun India List this year with a net worth of Rs 4,600 crore ($636 million).

    2. Kunal Shah

    kuna shahUnlike the others on this list, Kunal Shah graduated from college, although he dropped just before finishing his MBA to start a digital payment app called Freecharge in 2010, which he would later sell for $400 million.

    Not only a successful entrepreneur and businessman but Kunal also made some intelligent investments and mentored various startups, even working as an adviser to VC firm Sequoia Capital.

    He’s recently raised $30 million from prominent investors including Sequoia–even though he says he has “nothing concrete” in mind right now.

    3. Trishneet Arora

    Trishneet AroraTrishneet is making it big as a tech entrepreneur, but he didn’t have a conventional start. He didn’t even finish high-school in fact. But that didn’t stop him from amassing a fortune and reaching millionaire status by the time he was 23.

    As founder of TAC Security as well as its CEO, Arora provides cybersecurity services to corporations and their networks with clients including Reliance Industries and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

    Self-described as a “friendly hacker,” he’s also on the Forbes Under 30 list for Asia and was named as one of India’s Most Influential Young Indians by GQ Magazine. His net worth is currently estimated at around $1 million.

    Successful Indian Entrepreneurs Without a College Ed

    Do you need a college education to make money? I’ll let you be the judge of that. But based on the stories of these three successful Indian entrepreneurs, they haven’t let it get in their way.

    Images from Forbes and featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Faces Flack Over ‘Potentially Dangerous’ Advice

    Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Faces Flack Over ‘Potentially Dangerous’ Advice

    Gwyneth Paltrow has beauty, fame, and a lifestyle to make anyone envious. But these things may not be enough to save her company’s reputation. The well-loved actress’ firm is facing complaints in the UK and a lawsuit in the US for promoting and selling unproven health products that can potentially harm people, especially women.

    According to the Times, The Good Thinking Society submitted a complaint to both the Advertising Standards Authority and the National Trading Standards, which questioned Goop’s advertising compliance with British law.

    This year, Paltrow’s lifestyle brand raised $50 million in Series C funding, from investors including Lightspeed, NEA, and Felix Capital. The money was meant to expand the star’s business in Europe.

    Is Gweneth Paltrow Selling Potentially Harmful Products?

    The Good Thinking Society is a non-profit organization that promotes scientific thinking. So, its members researched the products that Goop promotes and sells in the UK.

    The charity accused Paltrow and her company of advertising “unproven health products.” The society has brought to the attention of regulators a massive 113 breaches of UK advertising law, used to promote Goop products online and offline.

    Laura Thomason, project manager at the Good Thinking Society, stated for CNBC:

    “It is shocking to see the sheer volume of unproven claims made by Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop about their products, especially given that some of their health advice is potentially dangerous. Just because Gwyneth has an Academy Award, it does not mean that Goop should be given an easy ride compared to other big corporations.”

    The “potentially dangerous” health advice refers to “The Mother Load,” supplements containing high amounts of Vitamin A, which isn’t recommended for pregnant women by the NHS.

    wellness-prod-da
    Source: Goop. 

    $145,000 Settlement to Avoid Lawsuit

    Complaints against Gwyneth Paltrow’s company and its products are also occurring in the US. In September, 10 Californian prosecutors and Goop settled a $145,000 lawsuit, filed for advertising that claimed health benefits without any scientific backup.

    The products that generated the legal issue were a vaginal detox egg sold as a product that could balance hormones and prevent depression. Besides the civil penalty, the lifestyle brand Goop had to refund all buyers who had purchased any of the two products between January and August 2017.

    Goop had to change its marketing as well. According to a statement of the Santa Clara District Attorney, the settlement brought new rules that stopped the company from using:

    “any claims regarding the efficacy or effects of any of its products without possessing competent and reliable scientific evidence that substantiates the claims.”

    Controversy Is Good for Business


    Gwyneth Paltrow disagrees with some of the accusations against her company and the products it sells. In an interview for BBC News, the Oscar-winning actress stated:

    “We really believe that there are healing modalities that have existed for thousands of years, and they challenge maybe a very conventional Western doctor that might not believe necessarily in the healing powers of essential oils or any variety of acupuncture — things that have been tried and tested for hundreds of years. And we find that they are very helpful to people and that there’s an incredible power in the human body to heal itself.”

    Despite the lawsuits, Goop seems to do well with every new accusation of pseudoscience. The company is currently worth $250 million, and its growth seems to be connected to how Paltrow and her team use controversy to generate buzz about products and drive sales.

    Earlier this year, she told Fortune that her company had tripled its revenues since 2015 and she expected the sales to double again in 2018.

    In 2014, Forbes estimated Gwyneth Paltrow’s net worth at $140 million. But the actress’s fortune has been growing ever since, thanks to her company. She’s also a host for wellness conferences, where ticket prices start at $400.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Is Star Rapper Jaden Smith Officially Out of the Closet?

    Is Star Rapper Jaden Smith Officially Out of the Closet?

    The latest celebrity to come out of the closet is Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith–although his fans were left somewhat confused by the announcement. At a performance at the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival on Sunday night, hampered with wildfire smoke, the controversial rapper made the announcement. But the audience wasn’t sure whether it was just the latest in a long line of off-the-wall publicity stunts, or whether the rapper officially has a boyfriend.

    Jaden Smith Is Known for His Bizarre Commentary

    What leaves his followers undecided is the fact that Smith likes to make jokes, and is known for his eccentric style, wearing flowers in his hair and even dresses. The 20-year-old rapper has a net worth of approximately $8 million and has previously made the headlines for holding locks of his own hair on the red carpet and other unusual accessories including his gold-certified album, as well as other unpredictable stunts.

    During his performance, the star started to give thanks and praised his lifelong friend and festival organizer Tyler, the Creator. He started out by calling him his “best friend,” but then was captured on video by fans going on to say:

    “Tyler doesn’t wanna say, but Tyler is my motherf—ing boyfriend… And he’s been my motherf—ing boyfriend my whole f—ing life!”

    Is Jaden Smith Out of the Closet?

    Watching the video, the words are certainly spoken with sincerity and Smith almost appears as if his voice is about to break with emotion as he says the words. However, Tyler in the audience with a smoke mask on starts shaking his head and waving his finger. He then takes off the mask and starts laughing, as if Jaden was making a joke. But Smith carried on insisting and repeated his words.

    Examine the situation a little more deeply and some of Smith’s behavior certainly explains his preference for men, as well as that of Tyler. Moreover, Smith later took to Twitter saying that the news was indeed official.

    “Yup @tylerthecreator,” he wrote. “I Told Everyone You Can’t Deny It Now.”

    Tyler responded without actually denying the tweet but simply saying:

    “haha you a crazy n—a man.”

     

     

    Fans remain divided over whether the news is true or whether they can chalk it up to another one of Smith’s publicity stunts. Some feel that Smith was being honest about their relationship and was letting people know in a lighthearted and fun way.

    Others are more skeptical and even point out the fact that being gay is not something to joke about if the announcement is untrue. Whatever the outcome of the shock announcement, Smith got want he wanted once again: fans will be following his every move for the unforeseeable future.

    Featured image from Genius.com.

  • Has Meghan Markle Fallen from Grace with the Royals Already?

    Has Meghan Markle Fallen from Grace with the Royals Already?

    Everyone loves a good bit of gossip and the latest addition to the British Royal Family certainly provides us with enough of it. From failing to cross her legs correctly to closing her own door and having an opinion on abortion, it seems like Meghan Markle is doing her best to rub the Queen the wrong way. And the latest pictures to come out of Remembrance Sunday to honor the fallen soldiers from World War I speak volumes.

    The Queen’s Club of Three–Without Meghan Markle

    As the royal family posed for photos on the balcony, the first thing crowds noticed was that Meghan Markle was standing away from the other royal females–on a separate balcony, in fact.

    She must have wound Queen Elizabeth up the wrong way one too many times with her sleeveless dresses, bare legs, and outspoken opinions (all strictly against the unspoken Royal code of conduct) to be isolated to a different balcony.

    However, according to sources, the event was not quite as it looked and Markle was not in fact snubbed by the Queen and her favorite royal females–even though she stood on a separate balcony from Kate Middleton, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, and the Queen. How come?

    The Balconies Could Not Fit More than Three

    Ahem. The official explanation given was that the balconies opposite the Cenotaph war memorial in London were small and could not fit more than three women comfortably. Which makes Meghan the fourth most important royal female in the house.

    She wasn’t standing next to an unknown either simply added for the shot. The woman pictured aside Markle is the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s wife, Elke Budenbender.

    Pecking Order

    Like it or not Meghan, you’re pretty far down in the Royal “pecking order.” In fact, you’re right at the bottom despite your celebrity status, beauty, and marriage to the young prince. So, get ready for more photo ops with your head cut out, a taller member placed in front of you or being moved to a separate balcony altogether.

    Featured image from Fox News.

  • The World’s Biggest IPOs – SoftBank to Raise $21 Billion

    The World’s Biggest IPOs – SoftBank to Raise $21 Billion

    Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group Corp. is preparing the country’s largest initial public offering (IPO). Founder Masayoshi Son wants to raise $21.1 billion (2.4 trillion yen) by selling 1.6 billion shares of a new mobile division at 1,500 yen apiece. The company is ready for an overallotment with an additional 160 million shares, valued at $2.1 billion.

    SoftBank Group Corp. announced the approval of listing on November 12:

    “SBG [SoftBank Group Corp.] announces that it has decided on the disposal of a portion of SB [SoftBank Corp.] shares held by SoftBank Group Japan Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBG.”

    The IPO price range will be announced at the end of November. However, investors will know the final price on December 10. The new entity is expected to start trading on December 19.

    Building a Global Investment Company

    The IPO will mark a new era for SoftBank, a company that aims to reposition itself in the market. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son is ready to transform its mobile phone network service into one of the world’s biggest players.

    SoftBank has already invested in a significant number of small startups, as well as in giants like Uber Technologies, Didi Chuxing, and Alibaba Group.

    Masayoshi Son has the reputation of being a tech visionary. The SoftBank founder and CEO is the creator of the $100 Billion Vision Fund, which has been buying large stakes in fast-growing tech companies. The entrepreneur also plans to raise similar funds every few years that invest around $50 billion a year in tech startups.

    SoftBank hopes to lure investors with a dividend payout ratio of about 85 percent of net income.

    A Challenging Year for SoftBank

    SoftBank’s reposition comes at a time when the company has to rethink its strategy both in the Japanese and international markets.

    Masayoshi Son’s connections with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman have generated contradictory feelings among investors. Bin Salman also invested almost $45 billion in the Vision Fund, which has lead to speculation about how many investors would pull back after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

    Besides its diplomatic problems, the Japanese tech giant is also handling challenges at home. The company needs to cut down mobile bills to comply with new government requests. The authorities expect mobile carriers to lower prices by 40%.

    SoftBank has almost 34 million wireless subscribers in Japan. The company forecasts 700 billion yen ($6.1 billion) in annual operating profit across all its telecom operations.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Sir Richard Branson Launches Global Cooling Competition

    Sir Richard Branson Launches Global Cooling Competition

    We all know that British billionaire and serial entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson likes to back innovation. Just last month, the winners of the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) held by Sir Richard Branson on his own private island in the Caribbean were announced. Now he’s upping the stakes and backing the Global Cooling competition jointly with the Indian government to find a breakthrough in air-conditioning technology.

    Cooling Systems Demand Is Rising

    As the planet population swells and the median income rises, there’s a higher demand for air cooling systems than ever before. And that’s a problem for the climate. That means more pollution, greater energy spend, and a higher use of refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons which are harmful to the environment.

    Contestants of the Global Cooling competition will be expected to come up with a more economic and less harmful way of providing indoor cooling systems to meet the growing demand.

    There are approximately 1.2 billion air conditioning systems installed around the world today. As living standards improve across developing continents, that number is expected to rise to 4.5 billion by 2050.

    Air conditioning systems in India
    Air conditioning systems in India

    If we carry on using the same technologies for a/c systems we could raise the global temperature by 0.5% according to the Rocky Mountain Institute. Air conditioning has been flagged up by the International Energy Agency for being one of the largest yet most overlooked threats on climate change moving forward.

    Inspiring a Solution through the Global Cooling Competition

    The competition for innovative cooling systems initiated by Sir. Branson and the Indian government will hand out $3 million in prizes. $2 million will be shared among the top 10 participants with the most innovative and practical ideas, with at least $1 million reserved for the winner. Although, participants stand to win much more than that if their system becomes licensed and commercially successful.

    The problem is not an easy one to solve, however, and the infamous entrepreneur recognized that it may not bring about a solution. However, the competition should at least start to encourage people to look for a solution and raise awareness about the issue. He said:

    “If we don’t do something about the growing global impact of air conditioning on our climate today, it will derail our best attempts to meet the Paris Agreement goal on emissions.”

    Since some 3.5 billion of the new air conditioning units are expected to be installed in India, the government felt its responsibility to take part. While competitions like this have had some success in the past, others are still trying to overcome a problem.

    In 2011, Bill Gates launched his Reinvent the Toilet challenge and is still trying to scale up a suitable solution today. Let’s hope Branson has more luck with this one.

    Featured image by Shutterstock.

  • SAP Spends a Massive $8 Billion on Qualtrics Before It Goes Public

    SAP Spends a Massive $8 Billion on Qualtrics Before It Goes Public

    Even if you don’t use it, you’ve probably heard of SAP, the enterprise software company that allows businesses to track customer interactions. Now the German-based SAP becomes the next large name in legacy enterprise software to acquire a more agile business to help adjust their market offering.

    SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) is best-known for its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and data management programs and is Germany’s largest company in terms of market value. As it migrates its traditional on-premises services to the cloud, the acquisition of Qualtrics should help them achieve their goal of being the number one-stop solution for businesses.

    US Company Qualtrics Was About to Go Public

    SAP snatched up the US-based company Qualtrics just as it was about to go public for a seemingly inflated total of $8 billion, a decision that has been approved by both company shareholders and boards of directors.

    SAP Chief Executive Bill McDermott said that the acquisition would allow the company to combine its operational data with Qualtrics’ customer experience data to allow customers to get insights and feedback in real time.

    SAP is just the latest in a growing group of legacy software providers buying up younger companies in the hopes of adapting their product to a changing market. Just two weeks ago, IBM bought Red Hat for an eye-watering $34 billion, the biggest acquisition in the tech industry this year. And Microsoft also snatched up GitHub for $7.5 billion.

    What Does SAP Want with Qualtrics Anyway?

    Qualtrics sells experience management (otherwise known as customer research and surveys) to large companies such as Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, and BMW. One of its main competitors is SurveyMonkey which went public in September for a lower-than-expected valuation of $1.25 billion.

    In fact, Qualtrics was valued at just $2.5 billion in its last private funding round in April 2017. The all-cash offer from SAP is also well above the $4.5 billion that Qualtrics was expected to reach for its upcoming IPO. So, why is SAP paying such an exorbitant amount for a company with half its value?

    It could be that the company is looking to mask slower organic growth or their own cloud model that’s failing to scale. Either way, analyst at Mirabaud, Neil Campling told the FT:

    “It’s an extremely high multiple whichever way you look at it.”

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Ryanair Forced to Pay the French €525,000 for Impounded Jet

    Ryanair Forced to Pay the French €525,000 for Impounded Jet

    Things have gone from bad to worse for Europe’s most hated low-cost airline Ryanair and chief executive Michael O’Leary. The tight-fisted Irish man is known for pioneering the low-cost airline movement. But also for making passengers travel like sardines with minimal luggage and maximum discomfort. He even proposed a move to make them pay for using the restroom onboard (which turned out to be illegal).

    Now O’Leary is left positively fuming after the company’s latest gaffe which sees them pay the French airport of Bordeaux some €525,000 ($595 million) in return for an impounded jet.

    Low-Cost and High Penalties

    Yet over the years, it isn’t just Ryanair’s passengers who have suffered at the hands of O’Leary and his cost-cutting policies. The ruling by the European Commission to pay the funds to recover the jet (in which 150 London-bound passengers were forced off as the airport seized it) was just one of seven rulings over illegal operations by Ryanair. over illegal arrangements at local airports including Cagliari, Altenburg, and Klagenfurt.

    The airline was forced to pay some €23.7 million ($26.9 million) over the unfair competitive advantage it had arranged with airports across Europe.

    Ryanair employees have been having a bad time lately as well, staging strikes over pay and working conditions. Six employees were also recently fired after being pictured sleeping on the floor in a Ryanair office in Spain.

    Ryanair crew
    Ryanair Crew image from BBC

    The Cases Against Ryanair Just Keep Piling Up

    As if a €23.7-million fine, half a million for an impounded jet, dissatisfied staff and customers weren’t enough, Ryanair’s woes are just getting started. Italy’s antitrust agency has opened up a probe against the airline’s new hand luggage policy. The policy means that if you don’t pay for a premium service you can pretty much carry nothing on board, not even a laptop.

    Moreover, the airline and chief exec O’Learly are being sued by a New York shareholder who claims that the share price was inflated by O’Leary and his promise of managing labor relations and keeping costs down.

    Ryanair has also recently been the subject of a high-profile racial case against an elderly passenger in which a customer was filmed hurling abuse.

    The company reported a 9% drop in pre-tax profit to €1.3 billion last month.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Raising the Stakes – Jimmy Butler Is Traded to the Philadelphia 76ers

    Raising the Stakes – Jimmy Butler Is Traded to the Philadelphia 76ers

    The speculation is over and fans of the Philadelphia 76ers had the rumors confirmed yesterday afternoon as the blockbuster deal was announced. The Minnesota Timberwolves will give up their star player Jimmy Butler in exchange for the Sixers forwards Dario Saric, and Robert Covington.

    But Jimmy is worth more than two players it seems since the Timberwolves will also be receiving a 2020 second-round draft pick and guard Jerryd Bayless in the deal, although this is unconfirmed.

    LeBron James Says Trade Will Be Good for Both Sides

    Lakers power forward and legendary Lakers player Lebron James said that the trade will be good for both sides. The Sixers have been coveting Jimmy Butler for some time now after his shining performance with the Timberwolves. Butler was traded in June 2017 to the Minnesota side from the Chicago Bulls.

    The talented baller averaged 22.2 points per game last season, helping propel the Timberwolves to their first playoffs since 2005. But not everyone was happy with the deal and Butler had expressed his malaise with his contract status and also turned down a four-year extension in July.

    Jimmy Butler Demanded a Trade

    It seems that the lonely swamps of Minnesota didn’t suit the Texas-born shooting guard and he demanded a trade in the preseason. There were also mounting tensions between the star player and Coach Tom Thibodeau.

    He didn’t let this show on the court however and joins the Sixers averaging 21.3 points over the last 10 games. Minnesota will also be sending teammate forward Justin Patton to Philadelphia.

    The Sixers for the Finals?

    Butler’s move to Philadelphia will certainly raise the stakes–and the hopes–of a spot in the conference finals along with the Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics, and the Milwaukee Bucks. The deal is set to finalize on Monday with Butler’s debut game likely to be on Wednesday against Orlando Magic.

    While it’s likely that the Sixers will offer Butler a long-term contract, formal negotiations can’t begin until the star opts out of the final year of his $92-million contract with the Chicago Bulls initiated in 2015. As it stands, Butler is set to make $18.7 million this season.

    Featured image by Catherine Salaün.