*By Madison Alworth*
In the sharing economy, you don't need a huge dining room to throw a luxurious dinner party. You can just rent one.
That's the idea behind [Splacer](https://www.splacer.co/), a new start-up that aims to be the Airbnb of event spaces.
"Airbnb laid the first foundation stone of understanding we can share space," said Splacer CEO Adi Biran.
Her company, she said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar, wants to take the sharing economy one step further.
"Splacer's offering the rest of the spaces. If we can share our own homes, why wouldn't we share our offices, our churches, galleries, distilleries, barber shops, and so on?" she asked.
Splacer offers space rental either by the hour or per day. The start-up encourages consumers to find the perfect spot for their art, special events, parties, and beyond.
The company first launched in Tel Aviv, Israel, but has since expanded to five U.S. cities: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago.
The once-foreign idea of a gig economy is now growing even within individual industries. Ride-sharing started with Uber and Lyft and now includes bike and scooter companies like Bird and Lime. So perhaps it makes sense that real estate rentals branched into bigger spaces.
"This is something that will be extensively used by everyone who is really looking to access a space as opposed to owning it," Biran said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/finding-the-perfect-splacer-for-your-next-event).
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
Black spending power reached a record $1.6 Trillion in a 2021 report from the University of Georgia Selig Center for Economic Growth. Ayesha Selden, certified financial planner, breaks down why real estate is the key to closing the racial wealth gap and how Black Americans are using social media to improve financial literacy. "If we look at home ownership as being a primary driver of wealth, when you look at the equity that Americans have in their homes, that equity can be used to buy additional assets like other rental properties. That equity can be used to educate our children," Selden said, noting that lower rates of home ownership meant Black Americans tend to incur more debt on average for their student loans.
A new survey from Etoro suggests that talking crypto might actually help Americans on the dating scene find love...or at least land another date. The survey found that 74% of respondents would be more interested in going on a second date with a person that pays the bill in Bitcoin. Callie Cox, Etoro's U.S. investment analyst, joined Cheddar News to discuss.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.