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.
GM CFO Paul Jacobson joined Cheddar to talk about the automaker's Q3 earnings beat. Despite COVID concerns at some of its plants overseas as well as the ongoing global chip shortage, Jacobson said he expects the average sale price of GM's vehicles — around $50,000 — to remain the same going into 2022, even as inventory remains low. He also talked about plans to open more battery plants in coordination with the efforts to transform GM's fleet fully into electric vehicles.
Kevin Cohee, chairman and CEO of OneUnited Bank, joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to talk about the launch of its Greenwood debit card keeping alive the legacy of Tulsa, Oklahoma's historic Black Wall Street. Cohee also discussed the importance of shopping with Black businesses and investing in Black-led and owned financial institutions. "Our leaders have understood, since the end of slavery, the importance of us being organized in order to be effective in a capitalist society," he said.
Alex Wilhelm, a senior editor at TechCrunch, joined Cheddar to talk about the ups and downs of fashion rental company Rent the Runway as it went public on the Nasdaq. "In the case of Rent the Runway, the economics of its core business are a little bit suspect, I think, and the company's high debt load puts a pretty serious drag on its operations," he said. "And so when you consider it's going to spend a lot of its IPO paying down debt, you wonder what's going to be left over to fund future growth."
Following the 100,000 Tesla Model-3 order by rental car company Hertz, Uber announced its drivers will be able to rent Teslas for work beginning in 2023. Of the Hertz purchased Model 3 cars, 50,000 of those will be available to Uber drivers starting at $344 per week.
A wave of companies spanning several industries is reporting their Q3 earnings reports on Wednesday. Strategic marketing across brands is said to have played a role in what's looking like a successful quarter overall.
