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.
Members-only home swapping network Kindred recently announced its launch alongside a $7.75 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Homeowners and renters can exchange homes on Kindred's platform, which the company says allows members to travel and take advantage of remote-work flexibility at the fraction of the cost of a hotel or rental home. Justin Palefsky and Tas Amina, co-founders of Kindred, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Despite Elon Musk making the deal to buy Twitter, it's still unclear as to what all of his plans might be for it. Tesla’s stock dropped on Tuesday, potentially due to concerns over what the situation might mean for the EV maker going forward. Hatem Dhiab, a managing partner at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, and Bruce Goldfarb, the president and CEO of Okapi Partners, joined Cheddar News to talk about the ramifications of the acquisition for both Tesla and Twitter stockholders. "I think people are scared because the deal has some leverage that's tied to Tesla stock, and people are worried that maybe Elon will sell some of his stock," Dhiab said about the purchase. "But I don't think that that's likely."
Clothing brand PacSun and online thrift retailer thredUP are partnering up for "Pre-Loved Pac," a 360-resale program allowing PacSun customers to clean out their closets for credit and shop for gently used clothing directly through PacSun's website. Pacsun co-CEO Alfred Chang and thredUP CEO James Reinhart joined Cheddar News to talk about their collaboration. "The latest research shows that over 50 percent of this generation has engaged in either selling or purchasing something at resale," Chang said. "It's important to them and it's important obviously to the world in terms of what we can do in terms of recycling clothes."
New Jersey has legalized recreational marijuana. The state missed cannabis holiday 4/20 by just a day. Cannabis giant Curaleaf operates three dispensaries in New Jersey. The company's CEO Joe Bayern joins Cheddar to recap the big day.