El Salvador, wracked with gang violence, has a reputation for being the deadliest place on the planet that isn’t an actual war zone.
Driving the news: It’s also newly hot in the crypto world, after President Nayib Bukele announced (and swiftly enacted) a law saying his country would accept bitcoin as legal tender.
Most small business stories from the pandemic are about about pivoting or perishing, but there's also been an unexpected surge in new small business creation. One example is Agua Bonita, a canned beverage company that launched last year after both of its co-founders were laid off.
Dan talks with Agua Bonita co-founder Kayla Castañeda and Techstars founder David Cohen about what it was like for startups over the past 14 months and what recovery means for businesses that didn't even exist before COVID-19.
Plus, a conversation with Wall Drug proprietor Rick Hustead.
Buford Highway is a 10-mile stretch near Atlanta that's home to over 1,000 immigrant-owned small businesses. It's a constellation of home-away-from-homes, particularly for Asian and Latino communities.
Dan speaks with Lily Pabian, executive director of the We Love Buford Highway nonprofit, about how the pandemic, the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and the nearby spa murders impacted Buford Highway's small business community.
Plus, Dan is joined by Ryan Reese, a fishmonger at Pike Place Market in Seattle.
As the U.S. economy was staring into the pandemic abyss in March 2020, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that included the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to quickly get forgivable loans to small businesses, so they could keep workers on payrolls.
We dig into the creation and roll out of the PPP, from the multi-day negotiations and late night phone calls to estimations of how many businesses it helped, with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Plus, a conversation with Dayna Frank, CEO of Minneapolis music club First Ave.
George Floyd's murder and the surge of support for Black own-small businesses that followed "had an unprecedented impact," according to Shelly Bell, CEO of Black Girl Ventures.
We speak with Bell about what 2020 meant for Black-owned small businesses and where things stand today.
We also share the first of our conversations with proprietors of some of America's most iconic small businesses, starting with Frank Olivieri of Pat's King of Steaks.
Welcome to a special series of podcasts from Axios Re:Cap, our daily afternoon program hosted by Dan Primack, on how Main Street is rebuilding from a pandemic hurricane that barely glanced Wall Street.
Ubisoft will take a "hybrid" approach as it prepares for developers to return to the office, according to a teamwide message shared by chief people officer Anika Grant.
The big picture: A year of working from home has changed the way we think about offices.
Carolyn Everson, Facebook's longtime head of global ad sales, has left the company, Axios has confirmed.
Why it matters: Everson led Facebook through years of record ad growth, but also through intense scrutiny around Facebook's role in promoting nefarious content.
The acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration issued an internal memo on May 30 warning that 131 of the largest U.S. airports will face staffing shortages as in June, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The state of play: The memo asks TSA office workers to volunteer for up to 45 days to help run queues and perform administrative tasks, with summer travel expected to ramp up, per the Post.
Lordstown Motors had plans to build its first electric pickup trucks this year, but the company revealed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it doesn't have enough cash to begin production. The company's stock dropped more than 16% on the news.
Why it matters: Lordstown is one of several pre-revenue EV companies that public market investors have begun to view more critically after they went through SPAC (special purpose acquisition) mergers last year.
Small business owners' optimism pulled back slightly during May.
Why it matters: Small businesses were hit hard during the pandemic, but optimism had grown in each of the prior three months. The slight pullback last month appears to stem largely from hiring challenges — offering yet another data point on how labor issues are playing out across the country.
Home construction is a deeply inefficient business. But the implosion of Katerra, a startup into which investors plowed some $1.9 billion, proves that disrupting it won't be easy.
Why it matters: The high cost of housing is inextricably linked to the high cost of building new homes. If they could be designed and built using assembly-line technology, that would mean more, cheaper houses in a country that desperately needs them.
Businesses forced to comply with a patchwork of state and global privacy rules have turned what was once a cottage industry focused on data and privacy into a multi-billion-dollar sector.
Why it matters: As COVID-19 pushed consumers online in droves, companies — from Fortune 500 firms to the corner coffee shop — had to grapple with how to legally handle personal data. The privacy-tech companies who know how to do it have been raking in the cash.
As the world grapples with the pandemic's impact on globalization, Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday is unveiling the inaugural members of a new group to focus on solving its biggest problems, Axios is the first to report.
Why it matters: COVID-19 spread globally — in an instant shutting borders, disrupting trade and eventually leaving millions dead or sick. What comes next as emerging economies prepare for recovery, will also impact the rest of the world.
El Salvador's legislature voted early Wednesday to make bitcoin legal tender.
Why it matters: El Salvador will become the first country to formally adopt the digital currency once President Nayib Bukele signs the legislation into law.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a speech Wednesday that the climate crisis was a matter of "life or death," as a blueprint for meeting her government's ambitious green targets was unveiled.
Driving the news: The Climate Commission, an independent body advising the government, outlines in its report what the country needs to do to meet its target for 2050 of producing zero carbon emissions — including reducing biogenic methane emissions by 24% to 47%, with no new household gas connections by 2025.
The U.S. Navy has used a drone to refuel a fighter jet in midair for the "first time ever," according to a statement.
Why it matters: The test shows that drones can now be used for tasks beyond reconnaissance missions or shooting targets, freeing up the Navy's costly crewed fighter jets for other operations.
Washington state marijuana retailers can now offer adult consumers a free joint if they get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the store.
The big picture: The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board announced Monday it was providing a "temporary allowance" to state-licensed cannabis retailers through July 12 for the incentive.
