The future of business is getting active. More and more companies are focused on the customer's experience, rather than just a product. This Changes Things host Brad Smith aims for the bullseye at "Kick Axe," New York City's first axe-throwing venue. He talks to Founder Ginger Flesher about the business of axe throwing.
Flesher explains that giving millennials, or any customer, an experience that they can treasure was one of the main reasons for opening Kick Axe. She talks about how millennials are spending their money on exciting experiences rather than items or products. She says it's not a passive society anymore, everyone wants to be active, and they can do so at Kick Axe.
As for challenges, Flesher says getting permits through New York City was extremely hard! Also ensuring a safe environment for people to have a casual drink and throw some axes was important to her.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
