Most Innovative Companies

On this episode of Lead Through Disruption, Deb Golden rides shotgun with professional race car driver Toni Breidinger. From falling in love with go-karts at nine years old, to making history as the first Arab American female driver in NASCAR, Toni has spent her life leading through disruption. In this conversation, Toni takes us behind the scenes of her journey to the top of her sport, the mental and physical demands of her high stakes profession, and the crucial connection between passion and grit.

On this episode of Lead Through Disruption, Deb Golden meets with serial space entrepreneur, author, and changemaker Jane Poynter, going behind the scenes of her mission to fundamentally change humanity’s perception of Earth. Join us as we discover how Jane has leveraged disruption to challenge the status quo. From her two-year journey inside the world’s first human-made biosphere to the founding of Space Perspective three decades later, Jane continues to advance innovations in sustainable space travel.

In the premiere episode of Lead Through Disruption, Deloitte US Chief Innovation Officer Deb Golden sits down with Stephanie Mehta to discover her journey through journalism, from her earliest days in the newsroom, to her ascendance as Fast Company’s editor-in-chief, to her pivot into executive leadership as CEO and Chief Content Officer for Mansueto Ventures. Join us as Stephanie shares battle-tested principles for finding your voice, empowering your people, building resilience, and shattering glass ceilings.

YouTube paid $14 billion for the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket. For the next seven years, NFL viewers will be able to watch live football games from their living rooms—on YouTube.Fast Company senior writer Ainsley Harris explains the reason behind this purchase: YouTube consumption is heavily fragmented. Everyone is watching YouTube, but very few people are watching together. Sunday Ticket is a cornerstone type of content and NFL games pull in millions of people. This move speaks to the long-term investment that YouTube is making in both live sports and live NFL games.“We’re in an era of reckoning hypocrisies.” When Seth Rogen got into pottery a few years ago, he started sculpting ashtrays. Few people were putting a lot of thought into the lifestyles of people who smoked weed. But now, people are actually celebrating it. So, Rogen decided to create well-designed accessories, like ashtrays and grinders, to address the pent-up desire from weed smokers to decorate their space with nice things. “Crafting products that speak to your personal tastes and lifestyles is validating.” Say goodbye to your old soda cans.And then we look into that rumor regarding The New Yorker article about Tiger Global.Check out our upcoming Innovation Festival: https://events.fastcompany.com/innovationfestival23

Late last year, everyone thought we were headed for a recession. But now we’re doing great. What’s going on? James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds and a Fast Company contributing writer, explains how “Bidenomics” is actually helping boost the economy.Courtney Tracy calls herself the truth doctor on TikTok. This came about after she’d dealt with a serious life event in 2019 and thought she needed to hide her struggle. She realized that if an up-and-coming licensed therapist was going to hide her mental health problems, what does that say about mental health overall? That we should hide it, be embarrassed about it . . . really? She was struggling, and she thought the world needed a therapist who was significantly struggling. So she called herself the truth doctor and, in fact, told the truth about her struggles to encourage other people to be honest with themselves and tell the truth about their struggles.And we’re sorry to hear about Britney’s divorce . . .Don’t forget to check out our upcoming Innovation Festival at: https://events.fastcompany.com/innovationfestival23And apply for MIC! https://www.fastcompany.com/apply/most-innovative-companies

The Women’s World Cup is coming to an end this weekend! The international soccer championship is down to its final week in which Spain and England will be facing off in the final match. Fast Company senior editor Amy Farley and staff editor AJ Hess catch us up on the drama and break down what this tournament means for pro women’s sports.Also, SKIMS cofounder and CEO Jens Grede explains how Kim Kardashian is like the Michael Jordan of the influencer generation and why the pumpkin spice latte is so important.And Broadway’s back, baby! Our personal fave is Spamalot.Don’t forget to sign up for our upcoming Innovation Festival on September 18-21: https://events.fastcompany.com/innovationfestival23

It’s looking like the future won’t be spent in the office. Based on a recent Deloitte study, 66% of mid- to executive-level financial services professionals do not want to come back to the office full-time. Writer and journalist Shalene Gupta breaks down the numbers and explains the impact that this will have on future pathways toward leadership.And historically, financial advice has been “male, pale, and stale,” according to Vivian Tu. The popular FinTok influencer explains why she’s passionate about teaching financial literacy. In addition to her proprietary “STRIP” method for achieving financial independence, she recommends setting up a “money date” with a close friend. Find out how much they make and pay for rent, and what their various expenditures are, she suggests. Tu says we need to ask each other these questions so we can set realistic expectations. “That’s real intimacy. Get financially naked with your friends!”And then we chat about periods, because they’ve been a taboo subject for so long, and . . . mustard Skittles, because that’s a thing.Fast Company Innovation Festival is coming up! Check it out here: https://events.fastcompany.com/innovationfestival23Find out more about Vivian Tu’s forthcoming book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735755/rich-af-by-vivian-tu/

The new visual platform, Spill, is not trying to become the next Twitter—it’s aiming to create an entirely new social media platform. Spill’s cofounder and CEO Alphonzo “Fonz” Terrell said he wants to create a fun, safer, and more rewarding space for its users, especially black, female, and queer folks. In order to create a safer and more inclusive community, Spill is building its algorithms based on specific data sets that will not just flag certain terms, but also look at who’s saying those terms. This will create a context-based model for content moderation. While the app is in its beta phase, it’s still invite-only; but since they’re moving at the “speed of culture,” Terrell said they’re aiming to scale up as soon as possible. There is already a vibrant kaleidoscope of diverse channels where “Spillionaires” are interacting and engaging with one another.Then we talk about the resale industry with Charles Gorra, founder and CEO of Rebag. He explains how the market has shifted and consumers have gotten past the “ick” factor of resale. Now it means you’re a smart shopper and you’re contributing to a circular economy: “It’s not consumption anymore, it’s investment.”And finally, we chatted about 46,000-year-old worms that may give researchers insight into how to “elongate” humans’ lives . . . maybe.Our show today was produced by Mariam Kiparoidze with help from Avery Miles and Blake Odom. And special thanks to Max Ufberg for stepping in to host this week!Mix and sound design by Tad Wadhams and our executive producer is Josh Christensen.

AI is poised to upend the music industry, and Fast Company Associate Editor David Salazar joins us to discuss what AI generative music is and how the music industry is combating it.Antidiabetic medication Ozempic is all over the news these days, but it's not as new as it seems. Beyond the TikTok trends and celebrity shout-outs, it's been used to treat diabetes for years. But now talk of this medication has reached a fever pitch.Found CEO Sarah Jones Simmer talks about how her company prioritizes comprehensive weight care management, the ongoing discussion about Ozempic, and the very complicated history of weight in this country. Basically, how do we thread the needle between self-acceptance and positive body image and the existing health challenges, like the skyrocketing rates of diabetes?Then we discuss Barbenheimer because, well, we have to.

The thing about the Barbie movie is that saying those three words together just seems inherently ridiculous. And one of the best things Mattel has done is really kind of lean into that. Starting with the Technicolor shots of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling on set to the colorful trailers that really churned up the enthusiasm for the movie, Mattel created the momentum that has led to a laundry list of product tie-ins, including the Xbox console that actually looks like a house or a makeup station. Fast Company Senior Staff Editor Jeff Beer explains how this Blockbuster movie's marketing campaign stands out . . . and that having fun is at the core of the global brand's approach.Then to something more serious — Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan talks about how the organization is using technology to push back on misinformation and disinformation, and even how AI can benefit the organization in its investigations.