CEO Says Soothe Has 'Zero Tolerance Policy' for Harassment
*By Jacqueline Corba*
The massage on-demand app Soothe recently raised $31 million in a Series C round of funding, the company's new CEO Simon Heyrick announced Wednesday in an interview with Cheddar.
The new funding comes even as the company has faced scrutiny after a [Kentucky woman told police last month](http://www.wdrb.com/story/38048901/woman-says-massage-appointment-in-louisville-hotel-room-turned-into-sexual-assault) that she was sexually assaulted by a licensed massage therapist she booked with Soothe's on-demand service.
Heyrick said the company has recently introduced additional trust and safety features.
"Soothe has a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of harassment," said Heyrick. "Trust and safety we take very seriously, and we will continue to invest in that going forward."
Heyrick said Soothe's process of screening therapists differs from competitors. It conducts background checks and in-person interviews and administers practical exams. Soothe rejects 30 percent of applicants because they do not pass its screening process, Heyrick said.
Soothe therapists can earn up to three times what they'd make at traditional spas, and Heyrick said some therapists in the network earn $100,000 a year through the app.
Soothe is currently available in 60 cities in the U.S., Britain, and Australia.
On which country is the most stressed out across the globe, Heyrick says it is definitely the United States.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/soothe-ceo-on-restoring-consumer-trust).
As the Leonardo DiCaprio-backed, pure-play electric vehicle company Polestar plans to close a SPAC IPO with Gores Guggenheim, CEO Thomas Ingenlath talked to Cheddar about how the company positioned itself to be able to go public. With competition tightening in the electric vehicle sector, Ingenlath noted what differentiates his cars from the competitors. "Scandinavian cool design and of course the road to zero emissions is something that we take very, very seriously," he said.
Bitcoin is slowly coming back to life after plunging recently, but everyone's favorite cryptocurrency needs to chart a 77% rally in the next four weeks to reach the widely forecast year-end value of $100,000. Bitcoin was trading more than 0.8% percent lower on Thursday morning, Ethereum was also declining. David Nage, portfolio manager at Arca, joins Cheddar News to talk discuss the market.
Jack Dorsey is stepping down as CEO of Twitter. In a statement, he says he is leaving because the company is ready to move on from its founders. Twitter's chief technology office Parag Agrawal will take over as CEO. Ian Sherr, editor at large at CNET, joins Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
Visitors in Santa Monica are now getting a whole new look into the new metaverse world. Starting on December 1st, the Downtown Santa Monica District Is Getting Fully Immersed in AR and VR. It's All in Partnership with 'Flick Play' which is the first-ever 'Play to Earn' Metaverse App that Basically Takes the Gamification of 'Pokemon Go' and combines It with more social aspects of an App like Tiktok. Founder of the FlickPlay App Pierina Merino, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
On a platform as massive as TikTok, there are bound to be some negative implications. While we know that social media sites can have harmful health effects for teens and adolescents, the research on TikTok's health effects is slim to none. Skye Barbic, assistant professor at the University of British Columbia joins Cheddar News.
If your kid was on Santa's "nice list" this year, maybe you're willing to shell out $1,900 for Tesla's new Cyberquad. The automaker's all-electric ATV for children 8 years old and up is available to order now and is expected to begin shipping in two to four weeks.
Grab, a Southeast Asia-based ride sharing, e-wallet, and delivery service, made its public debut on the Nasdaq via SPAC merger. CFO Peter Oey joined Cheddar's Brad Smith to talk about the IPO and why it was an ideal time for the company to go public. Oey noted that while Grab operates in 465 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries, there is still more opportunity to grow and expand while balancing profitability and growth.
Voltus is going public by combining with a special purpose acquisition company, Broadscale Acquisition Corp., in a deal that values the electricity market technology startup at about $1.3 billion dollars. The company aims to deliver less expensive, more reliable, and more sustainable electricity to its more than 600 customers, including Home Depot, Coca-Cola, and Simon Property Group. Gregg Dixon, co-founder and CEO of Voltus and Andrew Shapiro, chairman and CEO of Broadscale Acquisition Corp., joined Cheddar News to discuss the deal.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Kemtai Co-Founder breaks down how computer vision and artificial intelligence can improve your workout form; Wove Co-Founder explains how it's creating a one-of-a-kind engagement ring design process; A look at Curiosity Stream's 'History By The Numbers.'
Mike Telem, Co-Founder at Kemtai, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how the platform is using computer vision and artificial intelligence as a virtual personal trainer through a laptop's camera, and how this technology can be adapted for physical therapy.
