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Posts published in “Retail & Consumer”

Bricks for All: Lego, Not Just a Kid’s Game

I was recently walking around Rockefeller Center, admiring the holiday-dressed stores when one in particular caught my attention: Louis Vuitton. It looked so bright and colorful but, wait – is that Lego brick soil? I took a few steps closer and realized that the display was mostly made of Lego bricks! They even had a Lego Christmas tree. Louis Vuitton collaborated with certified Lego master builders to create the displays for different stores across the world. This campaign coincides with Lego’s 90th anniversary and all bricks used will be reused in special projects for local schools, with the goal to teach kids to build and inspire them through play.…

Interview with Erica Ramos: Cofounder, and Co-CEO of Trousso

Hello Erica! How are you doing today? Can you tell us a little about yourself and your company, Trousso? 

I’m doing great this fall morning! Thank you for asking. 

I’m currently wrapping up my Stern MBA program which I expect to finish this coming May. 

My company, Trousso is a resale platform for upscale bridal fashion. Our goal is to help the next generation of brides dress up for their wedding celebrations in a way that’s financially accessible and environmentally sustainable. 

Wow! That’s cool.  Tell us a little bit about your life before Stern, and your career journey so far. 

I started my career as a management consultant at Deloitte, where I spent five years working in several different roles.…

McDonald’s May be Your Best Investment

We’ve all been to McDonald’s (some of us more than others). There’s something nostalgic about taking a bite of a Big Mac or a chicken nugget or the French fries. We all love it and some of us regret eating it the next morning (again, some of us more than others). But have you ever thought about what a great investment McDonald’s might be?

And I’m not talking about the stock. While yes, McDonald’s stock has been slightly up during the past half year in a down market, it is not the only thing that is proving to be a valuable asset to someone’s portfolio. In…

Bing Chen’s Ideas on Empowering Asian Communities

For this year’s Asian American Pacific Heritage Month, The Oppy wanted to highlight an Asian American leader driving real change in our community. We had the privilege to speak with Bing Chen, the President and Co-founder of Gold House– a collective of influential pan-Asian founders, creative voices, and leaders dedicated to systemically unlocking socioeconomic equity for new majority communities (fastest-growing but traditionally underserved) through unity, investments, and promotion. Chen attended University of Pennsylvania and previously served as YouTube’s Global Head of Creator Development and Management. He was a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, a Hollywood Reporter Next Gen Leader; a Hollywood Reporter Most Influential Agent of Change; ABC News History Maker; ADCOLOR Catalyst Honoree; Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leader; Magic Johnson’s 32 Under 32 Leader; and Asian Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year.

The EV revolution: can Biden take us the last mile?

By Nicolaus Schmandt

113 years after Henry Ford’s first Model T rolled off the assembly line in Michigan, combustion engines remain the dominant means of moving a vehicle. For technology to last more than a century is an impressive run. Compared to phones, computers, and personal electronics, multiple iterations of which are unrecognizable and unusably primitive today, cars have remained surprisingly consistent. 

But, finally, the end seems to be coming with Ford planning to put its last gasoline engine in a car in 2034, after which all vehicles produced by Ford will be electric. That’s around the time several governments, including California and most of Europe, are saying they will ban the sale of gas vehicles.…

Turbulence Amid Changing NYC Rent Laws

By Gianna D’Alessio

New York renters temporarily rejoiced on February 4, when the Department of State clarified language from 2019 housing laws, effectively banning broker’s fees in New York City. Broker’s fees, which are sums of money prospective tenants are asked to pay towards a broker’s commission, are a large expense to new renters and could cost as much as 12 to 15 percent of one year’s rent. This decision was long-anticipated, after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Statewide Housing Security & Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and the Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act of 2019 on June 14, 2019.…

Fashion Week 2020

Full disclosure: I’m writing this article wearing a hard hat in a damp construction shanty in the Meatpacking District. I am not the target market of New York Fashion Week (NYFW), but one thing is for sure: I absolutely love it. For two weeks, NYC is flooded with even more materialism and pretty people than it usually has, and the excuse to party on Tuesday nights (all in the name of networking of course) is never more palpable.

Sure, there are downsides to Fashion Week. Longer lines at restaurants, overcrowded bars and clubs, sleep deprivation. But if those are really dealbreakers, why did you move to New York in the first place?…

Progressive Legislation & Urban Development

New York City recently passed new ordinances and progressive legislation to improve the safety and carbon footprint of more than 1 million buildings in the five boroughs. I have 1200 words. Let’s make them useful.

SAFETY

Unfortunately, building safety legislation in New York is reactive. New York City’s Façade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP) began in 1980 following the death of Grace Gold, a Barnard College student, when a piece of masonry spalled and struck her. Since then, any building over 6 stories requires routine façade (exterior wall) inspections. Updates in 1998 required hands-on inspections, mandated repairs, and staggered filing deadlines.…

Stern Team Takes on BMW’s Electric Vehicles and Its Place in the Circular Economy

Cover photo: The Stern team includes Ben Gottesdiener, Jessica Tou, Leslie Chao and Phil Schroder.

From design to production, BMW’s i3 and i8 models represent today’s standards of sustainable automobiles. The global automobile leader approached the Stern Signature Project team on the commercialization of electric vehicles (EVs) and kicked off their engagement by posing two questions: What are sustainable business models of dismantling electric off-lease vehicles? How can the most valuable component, the released battery capacity, be marketed most efficiently? 

“BMW asked us to help them think through how to most effectively monetize its fleet of off-lease (cars being returned from lease) electric vehicles,” said Ben Gottesdiener (Stern MBA ‘20).…

Introducing A Selection of This Year’s $300K Challenge Finalists

Four finalist teams talk about their passion, sharing how the team came together and their favorite moments.


CariedAway is keeping kids cavity-free through preventive care treatments performed conveniently in school settings rather than at dentists’ offices.

Left to right: Richard Niederman and Pratik Sourav (not pictured: Habib Benzian and Anthony Donadia)
Photo credit: Courtesy of W.R. Berkley Innovation Labs

What idea are you bringing to the $300K Challenge?  

CariedAway brings care to kids in schools. Specifically, we bring cavity prevention to kids. Cavities are a preventable bacterial infection, technically called “caries.” Hence the name CariedAway.

Care through our services takes less than 15 minutes twice per year and reduces cavities by almost 80 percent.…

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