Esusu: Save More Money with Your Friends and Family
In cultures around the world families and friends pool their money together into a single pot of money. The process is called esusu, and a new app has adopted the name and making the process easier than ever.
Abbey Wemimo is the co-founder of Esusu. As an immigrant himself, Wemimo's mother practiced esusu and used that financing strategy to send Wemimo to school.
Wemimo explains that the main focus is to create a platform for immigrants and people of color, but of course he would be happy for all Americans to use the platform. Accessibility was a key factor in developing Esusu, which is why Wemimo says the company built a phone-based app.
Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini joined Cheddar's Kristen Scholer to discuss plans for the future even as COVID-19 upended Barstool's sponsorship of the Arizona Bowl featuring the Boise State Broncos and the Central Michigan Chippewas due to the spreading omicron variant. "In our case as a company, coronavirus has been a big boom for us," she noted. "We've been able to create a lot of new programming, launch a lot of different personalities, and frankly take share from traditional media, and that's what we've done the entire pandemic." While she admitted to taking a hit on the canceled Bowl game, live events aren't completely off the table for Barstool in 2022. Nardini also talked about potential sports betting expansion following its partnership with Penn National Gaming.
Interest in the concept of the metaverse is heating up as more companies get on board, and Cathy Hackl, CEO of Futures Intelligence Group, a metaverse-focused consultancy, joined Cheddar to talk about trends to watch out for in 2022 and what it will take for it to be more than just a buzzword. Hackl noted that businesses likely will have to consider big technology upgrades in the upcoming year in order to keep up. "We're going to need new levels of computing power to be able to enable shared virtual experiences, both in VR but also in augmented reality," she said.
Stocks closed near session highs today amid a rebound from sell-offs fueled by fears of the Omicron COVID-19 variant. 1879 Advisors Vice Chairman Jim Bruderman joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the markets' close and new economic data out today.
Small businesses in Washington, DC, are getting a visibility boost through the non-profit Grow Golden. The initiative connects local entrepreneurs with empty storefronts to establish pop-up shops in the heart of the DC business district, called the Golden Triangle. Cheddar's Arielle Hixson spoke with the small business owners about their experience building exposure through the program during the holiday season.
Home flipping is turning into a competitive space and a less profitable one according to the property database ATTOM. Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions, joined Cheddar to break down key findings of the report, why the home-flipping market is raking in fewer returns, and what he thinks may have been behind real estate marketplace Zillow withdrawing from the business.
The metaverse took the world by storm in 2021 and it is just the beginning of the virtual universe. Consumers are jumping on board and companies like Meta and Roblox are already taking advantage. Entrepreneur Andrew Duplessie joined Cheddar to discuss how the metaverse will impact the future of socialization and business. "If I'm doing anything right now, I'm building an app, I'm jumping into that ecosystem, and I'm testing it. I'm seeing what people think," he said.
