Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Ride-sharing apps vie to replace private car ownership in Vietnam
A young, tech-savvy population short on cars but big on smartphones is driving double-digit growth for ride-hailing apps Uber and GrabTaxi in Vietnam, and inspiring some executives to dream of replacing private car ownership altogether. Uber launched its service in Vietnam last year and says Ho Chi Read More...
The evolution of the sharing economy
With the rise of services such as TaskRabbit and WeSwap, alongside market leaders such as Airnnn and Uber, we have entered the age of the ‘trust economy’. Also known as the sharing or peer-to-peer economy, the trust economy allows individuals to provide a service, often at a cheaper rate than Read More...
Why office meditation is about to get easier
Headspace is carving out a place for itself in the corporate world. The meditation service, which closed a $30 million funding deal on Wednesday, plans to release an enterprise product next year for companies that want to provide mindfulness training to their employees, CEO Sean Brecker told The Read More...
Want to really change politics? Look to cooperatives
Traditional politics is being superceded in the modern world. It's time for the left to put people power into practice. Traditional politics is struggling to keep up with modernity. In a world where both opportunity and insecurity can be transmitted by the touch of a trader’s button, lack of Read More...
Five tips on starting your own venture that uses business as a force for good
For The Venture's global report, Redefining Success in a Changing World, we surveyed more than 550 social entrepreneurs from around the world and talked to some of the most successful to get their personal learnings and tips to help you get your business off the ground. Your business idea stands a Read More...
Social enterprise start-up rates boom in the UK
UK social enterprises are outperforming mainstream businesses on a number of accounts including start-up rates, job creation and in the promotion of diversity in the workforce, finds a new report by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK). The State of Social Enterprise Survey 2015, which was launched Read More...
Lyft is partnering with Didi Kuaidi, Uber's biggest mompetitor in China
Bad news for Uber: Didi Kuaidi, China's top ride-sharing service, has joined forces with Lyft and invested $100 million in the company. Less than a day after Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Kuaidi made public a $100 million investment in Lyft, the two companies held a press conference announcing a Read More...
In Boston, a mobile food truck serves food deserts
Low-income communities can’t derive a lot of benefits from nutrition education if there aren’t any grocery stores in the area selling healthy food. But starting and running a supermarket is a capital intensive, low-margin business. The solution: mobile food markets that travel to Read More...
Mercedes eyes driverless on-demand limousine service as potential market
German carmaker Mercedes-Benz sees business potential in offering on-demand limousine services using driverless cars, Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said, in what amounts to a direct challenge to Uber. Germany's oldest carmaker is considering setting up large fleets of autonomous cars to Read More...
An Uber for bicycles? The grand ambitions of Danish startup AirDonkey
When you’re launching a new business, having big aspirations is usually the done thing. For the distinctively-named AirDonkey the ambitions are bigger than most: to be something of a combination of Uber and Airbnb, but for bicycles. If that wasn’t enough, the Copenhagen-based startup, which is Read More...