*By Michael Teich*
Ethical issues could be the Achilles heel for Juul, the $15 billion company behind the vaping devices infiltrating college and high school campuses.
"The valuation is justified on the math," said Dan Primack, Business Editor at Axios. The real question, though, is, "Does it want to stop kids from getting these?"
The sleek and colorful design of the company's e-cigarettes, paired with appealing flavors such as mango and cool mint, has helped Juul emerge as a leader in the market with a 68 percent share, according to Wells Fargo. The company projects $940 million in revenue this year, but Primack said he's told that "they are blowing through those numbers." Those numbers helped Juul raise a fresh $1.2 billion in new funding last week.
But strong sales growth may not be enough to entice more traditional Silicon Valley investors to overlook the moral complexities of Juul's business, Primack said.
While the device was created as an alternative to cigarettes, he pointed out the product is falling into the hands of first-time smokers and serves as a "gateway smoke."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-ethical-issues-that-may-plague-juuls-future)
Pittsburgh International Airport CEO, Christina Cassotis talks the airport’s upcoming upgrades and why you can’t count out business travel, even in a post-pandemic world.
Fresh off of speaking at the UN, Amalya Yeghoyan, Executive Director of FAR’s Gyumri Information Technology Center, discusses her work to empower women through tech.
Veetahl Eilat-Raichel, Founder and CEO of Sorbet, shares how employees can harness the value of their time off – and how companies can use PTO to employees’ benefit.
Brooke May, Managing Partner at Evans May Wealth, weighs in on how the market is expected to perform through the rest of 2024, plus why she’s still bullish on tech but cautious when it comes to financials.
Pete Nicoletti, Global CISO at Check Point, explains why it’s so difficult to legislate against A.I. disinformation and why it’s a concern going into the 2024 election.
