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).
Logitech reported a record quarter, with sales up 82 percent since the same period two years ago. It comes as the company continues to benefit from current market trends including working and learning from anywhere, video everywhere, and the popularity of gaming. Bracken Darrel, CEO, Logitech, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell.
Christie's has announced the sale of Beeple's first ever physical artwork and video NFT called 'Human One.' The hybrid piece is expected to fetch over $15 million at its upcoming auction. Noah Davis, Christie's Head of Digital Art joined Cheddar's Opening Bell.
Later today House Republicans will grill Snap, Tiktok and Youtube on how their products affect the mental health of teenagers. It comes after a report revealed that Facebook's photo sharing platform, Instagram, can be harmful to teen's mental health. Rishi Bharwani, Director of Partnerships and Policy, Accountable Tech joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Facebook is changing its company name to Meta. The social media giant is rebranding itself to focus on building the metaverse, a futuristic, immersive experience that would allow people to interact virtually on a daily basis. Steve Sosnick, Interactive Brokers' Chief Strategist, joined Cheddar to discuss the implications of the metaverse and why Facebook is making the move now.
Mark Sebastian, CIO of Karman Line Capital & Founder of OptionPit.com, discusses the inflation headwinds impacting the market and how scrutiny over Facebook's practices could impact revenue for the social media giant going forward.
Just days after Facebook's Meta announcement, Microsoft announced that it will be launching its own mixed reality platform called Mesh through Teams. Jared Spataro, corporate vice president at Microsoft 365, joined Cheddar to provide some additional insight into this metaverse for businesses and how they can benefit from incorporating the tech. Among the features, Mesh users will be able to use cartoon-like avatars to interact with colleagues in an immersive virtual environment.
Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Ancient Oceans'; Deep-sea biologist Heather Bracken-Grissom sheds light on some of the monsters that we can and cannot explain lurking in the darkness of the ocean's depths; Tim Janssen, CEO of Sofar Ocean, discusses Sofar Ocean's latest round of Series B funding, and how Sofar Ocean is helping connect all five oceans to help everything from climate change to the global shipping industry.
Tim Janssen, CEO of Sofar Ocean, joins 'Cheddar Reveals' to discuss Sofar Ocean's latest round of Series B funding, and how Sofar Ocean is helping connect all five oceans to help everything from climate change to the global shipping industry.
Bob Carter, EVP of sales at Toyota Motor North America, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's first all-electric SUV, the BZ4X, to be available in the United States in spring of 2022. Carter also went into the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage that forced the automaker to slash production by 15 percent in November impacts on production and the other electric vehicle model being offered from its Lexus brand.
Ted Mortonson, Technology Strategist at Baird, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down the factors that led to weaker-than-expected earnings results for the two tech giants, and whether they can find solutions to these issues in the coming months.
