Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. Hi, I'm
Speaker 1: Jason Kelly and I'm Carol Masser. Welcome to the weekend
Speaker 1: edition up Bloomberg Business Week. It is week twenty four,
Speaker 1: working from home and Jason, once again a lot of
Speaker 1: old struggles brought to light again of course the virus.
Speaker 1: We saw some progress. We saw obviously continued stresses. Racism
Speaker 1: once again front and center following the shooting of another
Speaker 1: black man, Jacob Blake, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. That
Speaker 1: was followed by protests who were confronted and shot at
Speaker 1: by an armed counter protester. It was a difficult week.
Speaker 1: It was a difficult week, and it came amidst the
Speaker 1: Republican National Convention following the Democratic National Convention last week.
Speaker 1: It also came at a time when sports once again
Speaker 1: came to the four not as entertainment, but as a
Speaker 1: realm in which athletes are standing up increasingly for social justice.
Speaker 1: We saw sports come to a halt or lear this week, Carol,
Speaker 1: at least momentarily, as athletes and the rest of us
Speaker 1: wrestle with what goes on from here. You no doubt
Speaker 1: about it, Jason, sports struggling with racism and what's going
Speaker 1: on with society, so too our two other industries. We're
Speaker 1: talking about Silicon Valley and film. We're gonna hear from
Speaker 1: two voices where blacks and minorities are finding it hard
Speaker 1: to have a presence there. We're also going to hear
Speaker 1: from Louis Vuitton's Virgil Ablow about the importance to give
Speaker 1: opportunities to young black designers and his mission to eradicate
Speaker 1: systemic racism. We begin this hour, though, with a story
Speaker 1: inside the magazine on other news this week, and that
Speaker 1: was J Powell, who was at the fed's annual Jackson
Speaker 1: Whole Symposium. He unveiled a new approach to setting US
Speaker 1: monetary policy. You can get full analysis of that at
Speaker 1: Bloomberg dot com and of course on the Bloomberg. But meantime,
Speaker 1: Mike Reagan, he's senior editor of Bloomberg Markets Live blog.
Speaker 1: He writes a love letter to FED chief J. Powell
Speaker 1: from its Loving stock Market, and we talked with Michae
Speaker 1: along with Bloomberg Business Week editor Joe Weber. And yes,
Speaker 1: it's satire, you know, I just thought it was a
Speaker 1: clever idea. I mean, how much can you write sort
Speaker 1: of the same old story about the new record high
Speaker 1: and you know, credited with at least in large parts
Speaker 1: the low rates from the set, and we'll take on
Speaker 1: to sort of shore up the corporate bond market. So
Speaker 1: I thought you all had a really clever idea to
Speaker 1: kind of approach you from a different angle. So of
Speaker 1: course I was, I was on board, and I was
Speaker 1: trying to figure out, you know, what, what sort of
Speaker 1: voice would the stock market have if it you know,
Speaker 1: we're personified, and I just assumed it would be a
Speaker 1: real smart alec, you know, a real or real wise guy.
Speaker 1: So that's that's that's kind of the tone. That's the
Speaker 1: tone I went with. Well, but you also unveil some
Speaker 1: really thoughtful questions that I think some market watchers Mike
Speaker 1: are kind of wondering about at this point, right when
Speaker 1: it comes to future FED policy, right, and you know,
Speaker 1: obviously that's the question I think on everyone's mind is
Speaker 1: what more can the SET do? I mean, obviously, uh,
Speaker 1: they really uh innoculate the corporate bond market. I think
Speaker 1: that's the most important thing is that in economic downturn
Speaker 1: like this, what really freaks out the stock market more
Speaker 1: than anything, is it that credit market starts to wobble.
Speaker 1: So the Fed, by cuip BYD corporate bonds and even
Speaker 1: the corporate bond ets I think sort of took away
Speaker 1: a lot of uh, the sort of background risk that
Speaker 1: stock investors would have worried about. UM. But you know,
Speaker 1: the question is, well, once the Fed starts doing anything,
Speaker 1: I think people get greedy and expect more and more
Speaker 1: uh types of of unconventional policies to to keep the
Speaker 1: party going. Um and especially because you know, the stock
Speaker 1: markets roaring, but the economy is still a big question mark.
Speaker 1: I mean, the numbers aren't as bad as they were
Speaker 1: in say, March and April, uh and and May, but
Speaker 1: we're certainly not back to where we were. Uh. You
Speaker 1: know what Lord could defend possibly do. A lot of
Speaker 1: people are sort of wishful thinking and hoping that it'll
Speaker 1: Bill hint at some sort of yield curve control down
Speaker 1: the road where they'll keep those longer and you know
Speaker 1: ten a thirty year yields in check um, which would
Speaker 1: influence obviously mortgage rates and that sort of things. But
Speaker 1: I don't know, I don't know what more you can
Speaker 1: expect from the Fed. They've kind of pushed back on
Speaker 1: that sense of yield curve control, that that it's really imminent.
Speaker 1: A lot of the speakers from the side of have
Speaker 1: just said they're not sure it really does as much
Speaker 1: as good as people are hoping, you would. What are
Speaker 1: the odds that you know, if the if the FED
Speaker 1: really needed to do more at some point, if things
Speaker 1: really did, say there's a second uh, a wave of sorts,
Speaker 1: and you know that is the fear, as we had
Speaker 1: into in the colder months here, that you know that
Speaker 1: maybe there's a second wave that sort of get mixed
Speaker 1: gets a little mixed up around with the with the
Speaker 1: flu like in a common cold. You know, like we're
Speaker 1: looking at some stuff that might get crazy again. And
Speaker 1: like what what kind of amma would would the FED
Speaker 1: potentially have if that, if that scenario ever happened. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I would guess that that gave power anyone
Speaker 1: has the sense first reaction to that would be you
Speaker 1: really got to get the ciscal policy staked out, because
Speaker 1: that's really where you can get focused to help to individuals,
Speaker 1: unemployed people and struggling business owners that needed a lot more.
Speaker 1: So I think that would be their first pushback and say, look,
Speaker 1: we can't solve anything that the concress has to get
Speaker 1: sort of uh together and past something to get that
Speaker 1: fiscal support. Um after that, I mean it's a good question.
Speaker 1: I'm sure goll consider buying more assets, buying more treasuries,
Speaker 1: more corporate brons to keep those liquidity and those markets functioning.
Speaker 1: But um, I think ultimately their pushback would be, look,
Speaker 1: it's time for the system side to take over. And really,
Speaker 1: you know, Ulster that safety net for everyone. It's it's
Speaker 1: what you're talking about. Uh it turns out to be
Speaker 1: the case, which I think there's a pretty good chance
Speaker 1: it could be. And that's Mike Regan from Bloomberg Markets
Speaker 1: and of course Bloomberg Business Week ed or Joel Weber.
Speaker 1: You know, this was in some ways a lighthearted look,
Speaker 1: but also something pretty serious underneath this, which is this
Speaker 1: disconnect that we're seeing, and it reminded me a bit Carol.
Speaker 1: Another conversation we had this week. You'll have to check
Speaker 1: it out on our podcast feed to hear it about
Speaker 1: the K shaped recovery, and it is something that we're
Speaker 1: spending a lot of time on because it is a way,
Speaker 1: it's a lens in many ways to look at what's
Speaker 1: going on in the world when it comes to stock
Speaker 1: market success, but also this backdrop of vast vast inequality. Yeah, reminder,
Speaker 1: some are coming back after the economic downturn, some are
Speaker 1: not alright. Coming up our regular check in with the
Speaker 1: team at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health about
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen and the headlines this week that you need
Speaker 1: to know that's coming up next on Bloomberg Business Week,
Speaker 1: And this is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business Week with
Speaker 1: Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. Well, Carol,
Speaker 1: underneath everything that's going on, a society that is wrestling
Speaker 1: with its past and what it ultimately wants to be.
Speaker 1: Amid all of that, we are still in the midst
Speaker 1: of a global health crisis tied to the spread of
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen. We dug into that this week with one
Speaker 1: of our experts from Johns Hopkins. That's right, Jason, And
Speaker 1: it was a week where we saw global virus cases
Speaker 1: top twenty four million. We cut up with Dr Tangela
Speaker 1: Pernell Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health about the
Speaker 1: latest headlines on the virus and also about the concept
Speaker 1: of health disparities that have really been brought to light
Speaker 1: as a result of COVID nineteen. At first, like would
Speaker 1: like to thank both of you for having you here.
Speaker 1: It is indeed an honor to be able to talk about,
Speaker 1: you know, some of our work and so, as you
Speaker 1: correctly alluded to, this is a problem worldwide, but in particularly,
Speaker 1: this is a problem for the exact same disadvantaged populations
Speaker 1: that are typically the same population that you see experiencing
Speaker 1: health disparities and health inequities from a variety of different causes.
Speaker 1: So UM, you know, we at the Johns Hopkins that
Speaker 1: have been Health Institute and also at the Center for
Speaker 1: Health Equity, we UM have a series of different approaches
Speaker 1: to try and tackle this problem. So obviously we do
Speaker 1: research that involves vulnerable populations. We do this work in
Speaker 1: conjunction with our community and the patient stakeholder partners who
Speaker 1: actually have a voice at the table and helping to
Speaker 1: really help us design, implement, and also disseminate our finding.
Speaker 1: Another approach is really our education and training. Unfortunately, we
Speaker 1: know that all of these problems in these disparities are
Speaker 1: truly just rooted in generational inequities and it won't be
Speaker 1: all fixed Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that it will all
Speaker 1: be fixed in one generation. And so another thing that
Speaker 1: we really focus on is really training the next generation
Speaker 1: of health equity researchers or public health practitioners so that
Speaker 1: we can make sure that this work continues, so that
Speaker 1: the gains that we achieve, you know, we'll also be
Speaker 1: able to keep those games. Dr Purnell, I think we
Speaker 1: wonder too, Like it's interesting one of the stories we're
Speaker 1: focusing on. Jason and I were just talking about it
Speaker 1: that you know, Abbot coming out and saying they've got,
Speaker 1: you know, a fifteen minute test for the virus and
Speaker 1: getting ready to ramp it up right, And we've talked
Speaker 1: about how we need to have systems in place that
Speaker 1: help us get control of the virus for everyone. And
Speaker 1: I do wonder we've had lots of conversations, certainly because
Speaker 1: of this pandemic, about the inequalities uh, in terms of
Speaker 1: access to health care and good health care among different communities.
Speaker 1: So what things, as you say, you talk with people
Speaker 1: in these communities, UH, they've got a place at the
Speaker 1: table what needs to be done. And I do wonder
Speaker 1: if there are things coming out of this crisis, whether
Speaker 1: it's telemedicine or other things that will make a difference. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: So I think that you know there this answer is twofold.
Speaker 1: So first of all, in terms of access to testing,
Speaker 1: you're absolutely right, you know and saying that we know
Speaker 1: that there's not equal access, and in particular, even as
Speaker 1: we get these advances in technology, for example, rapid testing,
Speaker 1: we also know that, um the dissemination of this is
Speaker 1: not equal among different communities, in particularly the communities that
Speaker 1: were already disadvantaged. So I think that one of the
Speaker 1: things that we need to keep in mind is that
Speaker 1: as we are trying novel approaches to really get this
Speaker 1: virus under control, we have to think about, well, what
Speaker 1: are the structural barriers to people who are living, for example,
Speaker 1: and neighborhoods that don't have easy access to testing. We
Speaker 1: need to think about things like not necessarily requiring cars.
Speaker 1: Think about at the beginning of this, many people have
Speaker 1: to have a car to drive up to get tested.
Speaker 1: We need to think about things like are people able
Speaker 1: to get tested as they are asymptomatic? Are people able
Speaker 1: to get tested without a physician prescription? So all of
Speaker 1: these things could really be a barrier to people who
Speaker 1: are already disadvantaged by this system. And then, you know,
Speaker 1: in terms of thinking about longer term what we need
Speaker 1: to do within these communities, I really really need to
Speaker 1: take a look at this and realize that COVID nineteen
Speaker 1: is not some magical unicorns that just came out of
Speaker 1: nowhere and then all of a sudden um disproportionately impacted
Speaker 1: certain groups of people. What it did was really open
Speaker 1: our eyes to the facts, you know, more mainstreams that
Speaker 1: there are pockets of society who have not been properly
Speaker 1: taken care of by society, and we need to be
Speaker 1: committed to the long term work of addressing these structural
Speaker 1: barriers so that the next virus or the next whatever
Speaker 1: don't continue to be the things that keeps happening. You know,
Speaker 1: enough is enough with this. That's Tandela per Now from
Speaker 1: the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School up Public Health and of
Speaker 1: course the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health supported
Speaker 1: by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Speaker 1: They are really our go to voice to really understand
Speaker 1: all of the headlines that are coming out on a
Speaker 1: daily basis. Jason and give us some perspective on where
Speaker 1: we are in this fight against COVID nineteen. Well, and
Speaker 1: it was an interesting week two because we started by
Speaker 1: talking about convalescent plasma. We ended up, you know, maybe
Speaker 1: taking a slightly different view of the world, especially as
Speaker 1: we think about getting back to school, talking about testing,
Speaker 1: but also underneath it all, as you pointed out, inequality.
Speaker 1: It has come to the four Yeah. Absolutely. I mean
Speaker 1: she talks so much about health disparities and she says,
Speaker 1: you know, Americans are just starting to learn about this
Speaker 1: um but it has definitely been a conversation that we
Speaker 1: have talked about a lot these inequalities when it comes
Speaker 1: to healthcare. And speaking of inequalities, we are seeing that
Speaker 1: a lot big time in Silicon Valley. Coming up Bloomberg
Speaker 1: News Enterprise technology reporter Nico Grant, he digs deep into
Speaker 1: the race sism in Silicon Valley. It's unbelievable stories, right.
Speaker 1: Sydney Sykes is a young woman who came out of
Speaker 1: Harvard had so much potential in her career in venture
Speaker 1: capital after working at a consulting firm, and she worked
Speaker 1: at New Enterprise Associates ANYA, which is pretty prominent in
Speaker 1: Silicon Valley, and when she introduced talented black entrepreneurs to
Speaker 1: some of her white colleagues, she said she'd feel the
Speaker 1: chemistry in the room, sour um, the wet entrepreneurs, the
Speaker 1: white investors pardon me, always said the same thing afterwards,
Speaker 1: that they just couldn't get excited about the idea or
Speaker 1: the person. She said, the same thing happened when there
Speaker 1: was a referral for a black candidate for a job
Speaker 1: in vc UM and she had to leave the industry.
Speaker 1: More from Blueberg's Nico Grant. That's coming up next. Stay tuned.
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with
Speaker 1: Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. Jason, this
Speaker 1: next half hour, we're gonna look at two industries where
Speaker 1: blacks and minorities are finding it difficult to have a presence.
Speaker 1: And first up, this is a story that's on the
Speaker 1: Bloomberg and at Bloomberg dot com that caught our attention
Speaker 1: and it really should. That's right. Niko Grant, he's one
Speaker 1: of our top reporters out on the West Coast, has
Speaker 1: written some terrific stuff about Silicon Valleys. Some of the
Speaker 1: big players there This week he tackles Silicon Valleys quiet racism.
Speaker 1: We caught up with Nico and here's what he had
Speaker 1: to say. When the national conversation about race and inequality
Speaker 1: got under way earlier this year, I realized speaking with
Speaker 1: um you know, people who work in tech and and
Speaker 1: work in venture capital, that there was this strain um
Speaker 1: of you know, guilt and reflection that was happening among
Speaker 1: some of the people who had been most successful in
Speaker 1: in this system as black individuals, and so specifically, the
Speaker 1: story delves into how people are coming to terms with
Speaker 1: feeling like their colleagues haven't seen or acknowledged the problem
Speaker 1: of racism in the valley, and also grappling with you know,
Speaker 1: one's own decisions, UM one's you know, complicity in in
Speaker 1: this system that has prevented other people from entering the
Speaker 1: tech industry. And you know, the VC industry is so
Speaker 1: crucial because they make decisions that have disproportionate impact on
Speaker 1: what the tech industry looks like UM for you know,
Speaker 1: in corporate terms, generations to come, and so preventing black
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs from succeeding then has knocked on effects of the
Speaker 1: diversity of the company that are being built and being
Speaker 1: funded and are successful and so forth. Man the first
Speaker 1: person accounts that you have um niko from some of
Speaker 1: the individuals, the black um venture capitalist viel or those
Speaker 1: within Silicon Valley and the stories that they had to tell.
Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit about that, share that with
Speaker 1: our our our listeners. You you talk about um, Sydney
Speaker 1: Sykes and also Tyson Clark um tell us a little
Speaker 1: bit about who they are and some of their experiences. Right.
Speaker 1: Sydney Sykes is a young woman who came out of Harvard,
Speaker 1: had so much potential in her career in venture capital
Speaker 1: after working at a consulting firm, and she worked at
Speaker 1: New Enterprise Associates ANYA, which is pretty prominent in Silicon Valley,
Speaker 1: and when she introduced talented black entrepreneurs to some of
Speaker 1: her white colleagues, she said she'd feel the chemistry in
Speaker 1: the room sour um. The white entrepreneurs, the white investors
Speaker 1: pardon me, always said the same thing afterwards, that they
Speaker 1: just couldn't get excited about the idea or the person.
Speaker 1: She said. The same thing happened when there was a
Speaker 1: referral for a black candidate for a job in vc
Speaker 1: UM and she had to leave the industry um in
Speaker 1: the end in because of the stress of being the
Speaker 1: only black person in the room. You know, Tyson Clark
Speaker 1: is one of the most prominent black vcs in Silicon
Speaker 1: Valley by dent of working at g V formerly Google
Speaker 1: Ventures at alphabet UM and he, you know, said that
Speaker 1: he just felt so guilty about what he had done
Speaker 1: and what he hadn't done. He said, have I been
Speaker 1: so complicit um to have traded success for not making
Speaker 1: a difference? And really was facing this incredibly poignant personal
Speaker 1: reckoning about his role in the industry and the ways
Speaker 1: that he felt he had to contort himself over the
Speaker 1: course of his career to be acceptable in white institutions. Well,
Speaker 1: and the quotes in this story are are really I'll
Speaker 1: just sit there jarring in in many ways. And one
Speaker 1: of the things, and and sort of building on what
Speaker 1: you were just talking about, Nico, is this quote from
Speaker 1: from Psychs when she says, you feel have to and
Speaker 1: I'm quoting here, you feel you have to be a
Speaker 1: model minority, the best black person. If you mess it up,
Speaker 1: you ruin it not just for you, but for everyone
Speaker 1: who looks like you. And so you talked about the
Speaker 1: contortion the that he talked about, but in this case,
Speaker 1: she's talking about the pressure on her and a lot
Speaker 1: of those very very few people who happen to be
Speaker 1: black and successful in Silicon Valley. Absolutely, And you know
Speaker 1: what's interesting is that these are all very ambitious people.
Speaker 1: These are very well educated people. They are um, you know,
Speaker 1: just absolutely brilliant, and yet they feel, in some instances
Speaker 1: is imposter syndrome. Um about you know, having to say
Speaker 1: what they think about a business when they don't feel um,
Speaker 1: you know, fully accepted in a room, or you know,
Speaker 1: they're certainly the only ones there. And that's Nico Grant.
Speaker 1: He looks after enterprise technology, but so much more for
Speaker 1: us out in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, it is really
Speaker 1: in the midst of an existential crisis. It's not about
Speaker 1: the virus so much anymore. The Northern California area. While
Speaker 1: it's certainly wrestled with that early on, now it's wrestling
Speaker 1: with something even bigger. It's wrestling with really its own soul.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg business Week coming up, the founder
Speaker 1: and CEO of Harlem Film talks about supporting independent and
Speaker 1: marginalized filmmakers in New York City, and just like black
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, black filmmakers are also having trouble
Speaker 1: finding funding. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business
Speaker 1: Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. Carol,
Speaker 1: We're going to keep the focus on race this half
Speaker 1: hour and look at another industry where blacks minorities are
Speaker 1: finding it difficult to thrive. This isn't new, but we're
Speaker 1: bringing more attention to it and maybe just maybe a
Speaker 1: little bit of optimism. Well, it was the favorite interview,
Speaker 1: no doubt about it, Jason for us over the last week,
Speaker 1: and it was with the founder of the Harlem Filmhouse.
Speaker 1: They do workshops, film festivals, but they're also about finding
Speaker 1: the support for independent and marginalized filmmakers in New York City.
Speaker 1: We caught up with the amazing cr Caper. She's the
Speaker 1: founder and CEO of Harlem Filmhouse. Check it out. I
Speaker 1: am a huge fan. It is super dope to be here.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you guy. I really appreciate you guys, particularly
Speaker 1: on being on Bloomberg and being on Bloomberg Business and
Speaker 1: allowing people to understand that you know, this is a business,
Speaker 1: even though it is in the arts, still a business,
Speaker 1: and we still need to support marginalized filmmakers with the
Speaker 1: business of films. So right, well, well, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: It's very nice of you to say, and uh, we're
Speaker 1: excited about the work you're doing. Tell us about it.
Speaker 1: Tell us what Harlem Filmhouses just like from the ground up. Well,
Speaker 1: from the ground up. We are a five oh one
Speaker 1: c corporation. We produce film and music festivals. We operate
Speaker 1: year round workshops, theater productions, and live events, while also
Speaker 1: offering business consulting to filmmakers and content creators and underserved
Speaker 1: communities around the world. So what we're really talking about
Speaker 1: is creating an economic ecosystem by providing filmmakers services and
Speaker 1: resources to ensure the longevity of their careers and film,
Speaker 1: theater and related entrepreneurial pursuits such as producing learning what
Speaker 1: the other jobs are in the industry that actually create economy,
Speaker 1: jobs and sustenance for families. I gotta say, c R.
Speaker 1: You know, we have talked to some different folks, Jane
Speaker 1: Rosenthal of Tribeca and some other you know, uh, individuals,
Speaker 1: producers who are writing series for some of the streaming folks.
Speaker 1: I mean, content has had such a tough time in
Speaker 1: the pandemic, right because you just couldn't go around like
Speaker 1: most of us, You couldn't go about, you know, doing
Speaker 1: what you do normally. But in particular content creation. It's
Speaker 1: a lot of people, often in a close case, very
Speaker 1: close to one another, tell us how the pandemic has
Speaker 1: impacted you, guys, and really the communities that you serve
Speaker 1: well for us, because we're often overlooked, you will find
Speaker 1: that there is more than enough content to service the
Speaker 1: world for at least three to five years without repeat.
Speaker 1: And that's the thing. It really draws to attention the
Speaker 1: people that were overlooked, because now you have all this
Speaker 1: amazing content that's been overlooked for years, is from these
Speaker 1: marginalized communities, but who are actually creating and have created
Speaker 1: the content that drives culture forward, that drives box office
Speaker 1: numbers and apps and all of these things. If you
Speaker 1: look at any of the apps and particularly in the
Speaker 1: business models that created, they reside on content. And the
Speaker 1: creators of that content are the young people, are folks
Speaker 1: who embrace the culture of hip hop globally. They're the
Speaker 1: ones creating the content that people are actually wanting to see.
Speaker 1: So then when you take that and you look at
Speaker 1: it and say, well, what are these people creating Beyond
Speaker 1: these clips, They're actually creating shorts, movies and things that
Speaker 1: are in that same vein. So what the pandemic has
Speaker 1: taught us is number one, this is the perfect opportunity
Speaker 1: to introduce the world too, uh content creators from around
Speaker 1: the world, regardless of color, who embrace this culture and
Speaker 1: the spirit of entrepreneurism and give in the world something
Speaker 1: fresh and new. Second, it allows us to really hone
Speaker 1: in on the fact that while people are getting back
Speaker 1: to work in productions, that they do need to do
Speaker 1: it safely, and how do we provide that by offering
Speaker 1: workshops and classes around the compliance with COVID, letting them
Speaker 1: understand what you know, distance means, cleaning equipment and keeping
Speaker 1: those sets safe. We combined and created a unique collective
Speaker 1: called black Bill, where it's not just about black creatives
Speaker 1: and you know, creating opportunities, but it's also about keeping
Speaker 1: smaller production safe. We're gonna launch an initiative to make
Speaker 1: sure that we have people on every set, get them
Speaker 1: COVID compliance so that they can earn money and keep
Speaker 1: production small productions safe because as you know, we're not
Speaker 1: protected like the big studios. We're overlooked, um, so it's
Speaker 1: up to us to make sure that everyone is say
Speaker 1: regardless of color, but according to economic income and so
Speaker 1: cr You know, one of the things I'm so interested
Speaker 1: in your background is instead of going to film school,
Speaker 1: as I understand it, you just like went out and
Speaker 1: got a camera. You started making films. That's how you
Speaker 1: got into this. So you understand it literally from as
Speaker 1: we sort of said, getting from from the ground up,
Speaker 1: I would imagine this new world order that we're living
Speaker 1: in actually in some ways plays to the strengths of
Speaker 1: being sort of small and nimble, right, And you got
Speaker 1: it right. So you guys have heard of the phrase
Speaker 1: too big to fail, which is small to fail, right,
Speaker 1: which is it's important. So it's like, you know, all
Speaker 1: the big guys, Oh my god, there you know this
Speaker 1: big behe miss film festivals and they're great, trust me.
Speaker 1: We work with sun Dance, awesome organization. But you know
Speaker 1: it does it is too it is too big to
Speaker 1: operate and too big to be swift and nimble, which
Speaker 1: is what is needed right now. But I just can
Speaker 1: I just say that is such a really important point.
Speaker 1: Too small to fail, Jason, I talked about it kind
Speaker 1: of more broadly um CR and just the importance of
Speaker 1: saving small business, and many of our guests do as well,
Speaker 1: that it is so important to the economy. It's not
Speaker 1: just about the big guys out there, especially getting through
Speaker 1: this pandemic. So we're going to come back and talk
Speaker 1: some more because I think that is um a really
Speaker 1: interesting part of this conversation and a really important one, Jason.
Speaker 1: You know, CR. Sometimes the stars just a line and
Speaker 1: other people are thinking about the same things we are,
Speaker 1: And that was the case this week with the New
Speaker 1: York Times, because they have a terrific piece and kindily
Speaker 1: a troubling one about the Criterion Collection. Anyone who cares
Speaker 1: about movies knows the Criterion Collection that's studied in film schools.
Speaker 1: You know, I love the Criterion Collection as someone who
Speaker 1: loves movies, and yet its own president coming out and
Speaker 1: based they're saying, we've done a really crummy job with
Speaker 1: featuring black directors and films made by black people. How
Speaker 1: do we fix it? Well, Number one is for you
Speaker 1: to give them my direct number and we can start
Speaker 1: that conversation there number two. Um. I think sometimes we
Speaker 1: do get caught up in the word black and Medalin.
Speaker 1: It's about telling everyone's story, not just black, or asia
Speaker 1: or or white. We are a plethora of communities and cultures.
Speaker 1: Like you can say black, but does that also include
Speaker 1: West Indian community? Does that also include people with a
Speaker 1: more Southern twang to their culture but have an excess
Speaker 1: of melanin in their skin? So we really have to
Speaker 1: think about not just assigning a color to our human experience,
Speaker 1: but then also being inclusive of everyone's story. So go
Speaker 1: ahead and give him my number. We have a lot
Speaker 1: to talk about. For instance, does he understand the complex
Speaker 1: uh social narrative that's embedded in a very old school
Speaker 1: movie called Hollywood Shuffle that was directed by Robert Townsend.
Speaker 1: Does he understand the complexity in old seventies movie called
Speaker 1: A five on the black hand side? Movies that aren't
Speaker 1: typically seen as you know important, are super important to
Speaker 1: the culture and have taught people how to live or
Speaker 1: to be accepting of another human being, whether it be
Speaker 1: in a humorous way or funny way. The cultural significance
Speaker 1: of Blazing Saddle alone, why is that not? You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying so definitely lend to a conversation of
Speaker 1: who's making a decision and why does only their opinion count? Right? Well,
Speaker 1: we keep talking about is that you don't have black
Speaker 1: and minorities represented well in the higher echelons of pick
Speaker 1: your industry, and as a result, old projects don't get
Speaker 1: brought along, You don't have a seat at the table
Speaker 1: that helps to cultivate filmmakers and give them these opportunities.
Speaker 1: But but tell me you're seeing it firsthand. What's going on?
Speaker 1: Why aren't we seeing a bigger presence of black smnority,
Speaker 1: especially when it comes to making films, because no one
Speaker 1: cares about our voice. It's that simple. Can you imagine
Speaker 1: what it's like to be locked in a room and
Speaker 1: constantly screaming and screaming and people just walking by, just
Speaker 1: completely oblivious to you. That's what it is. I can
Speaker 1: tell you from personal experience myself, how often I have
Speaker 1: reached out to distributors and said, listen, we're not asking
Speaker 1: for a hand out, we just want equitable opportunity. Why
Speaker 1: can't we get someone from Netflix to attend our festival.
Speaker 1: I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it is,
Speaker 1: how horrible and how hurtful it is to be on
Speaker 1: the phone with these people and for them to basically
Speaker 1: either ghost you or tell you that you know, basically
Speaker 1: we don't think you're importantly now. That's ther Caper is
Speaker 1: the futer and CEO of Harlem Filmhouse, and Jason, I
Speaker 1: gotta say one of the things that stayed with me
Speaker 1: from our discussion with her. First of all, I loved
Speaker 1: her energy and what she's trying to do. But you
Speaker 1: mentioned how these independent, often minority filmmakers are too small
Speaker 1: to fail. She says, so easy to keep them going
Speaker 1: with just a little bit of support, and how they
Speaker 1: are necessary voices to have in today's filmmaking industry. Well,
Speaker 1: and the other thing I took away from it is
Speaker 1: there are a lot of movies to watch that maybe
Speaker 1: don't get as much attention. And uh, looking forward to
Speaker 1: getting that list from her, that homework assignment, and to
Speaker 1: check back in down the line with cr Capers. Well,
Speaker 1: that wraps up the first hour of the weekend edition
Speaker 1: of Bloomberg Business Week right here on Bloomberg Radio. I'm
Speaker 1: Jason Kelly and I'm Carol Mass. Are plenty coming up
Speaker 1: in our next hour, including a special interview in Pursuits.
Speaker 1: It's with Louis Vutan's menswear artistic director. He talks about diversity,
Speaker 1: he talks about the virus. He talks about the fashion
Speaker 1: world and what's next, especially when it comes to digital plus.
Speaker 1: It wouldn't be you and me, it wouldn't be Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Business Week if we didn't talk a little bit about fitness.
Speaker 1: And we don't use this word lightly icon Jake Steinfeldt.
Speaker 1: We're talking about body by Jake. We caught up with
Speaker 1: him in Los Angeles. He's got some tips for staying
Speaker 1: healthy in the pandemic. I just want a little bit
Speaker 1: of his energy. This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business
Speaker 1: Week from Bloomberg Radio. Hi am Carol Masser and I'm
Speaker 1: Jason Kelly. Welcome back to Bloomberg Business Week. Well it's
Speaker 1: week twenty four. As you pointed out at the top
Speaker 1: of the show, Carol from working from home, and we
Speaker 1: get to the end of the week and we sigh
Speaker 1: a bit every week because our world hasn't changed that much.
Speaker 1: This week, I have to say, though, felt even heavier.
Speaker 1: We talked a lot in the last hour about different
Speaker 1: industries facing structural racism, but this week we were reminded
Speaker 1: in some ways just how far we have to go.
Speaker 1: Another black man shot by police in Wisconsin. The protests
Speaker 1: that ensued not just there in Kenosha, but even into
Speaker 1: the world of sports, professional athletes boycotting games, trying to
Speaker 1: send a message that this will not stand. It really
Speaker 1: rippled even deeper into society. That's right, Jason, And as
Speaker 1: you said, a really heavy week. I mean, at on
Speaker 1: top of that, millions of Americans having to abandon their
Speaker 1: home as a result of Hurricane Laura, so that devastation,
Speaker 1: and then let's not forget, I mean, on the political front,
Speaker 1: we were also wrapping out the Republican National Convention, so
Speaker 1: safe to say, so much going on, and then we
Speaker 1: constantly are watching what's going on, the latest headlines when
Speaker 1: it comes to COVID nineteen and also how the economy
Speaker 1: comes back. One of the voices that we looked forward
Speaker 1: to talking with, and this has to do with the
Speaker 1: small business world, is Rob for a Wine. He's the
Speaker 1: founder and ce of Cave Age, so he caught up
Speaker 1: with him about small business lending. And also he's been
Speaker 1: pretty busy because he's got a new deal with American
Speaker 1: Express It was great to catch up with him because
Speaker 1: he provided some real insights into what this looks like
Speaker 1: on the ground, the virus and the economic impact it
Speaker 1: is having on real people. We also know that it's
Speaker 1: having an effect on all of our bodies. Candidly, we're
Speaker 1: trying to figure out how to cope with this emotionally
Speaker 1: and physically. We were really excited and I think energized
Speaker 1: to talk to the man himself, Jake Steinfeld. We're talking
Speaker 1: about Body by Jake. He invented the fitness business in
Speaker 1: many ways forty years ago. He gave us a little
Speaker 1: dose of optimism, Yeah, some optimism, and he had a pivot.
Speaker 1: He had to learn about digital from his son, So
Speaker 1: that was kind of fun to hear. Speaking of pivoting.
Speaker 1: That's what everyone has had to do during the pandemic,
Speaker 1: and that includes one of the voices in this week's magazine.
Speaker 1: In Pursuits, Louis Vatan's menswear artistic director. We're talking about
Speaker 1: Virgil Ablow. He's also CEO of the Milan based label
Speaker 1: Off White. He caught up with Bloomberg's and Marie Horden
Speaker 1: and they talked about many things. The viruses impact on
Speaker 1: fashion transition to digital and also diversity. A lot of
Speaker 1: it is how I approach my advocacy. You know, I
Speaker 1: found that. You know, being me, being one of the
Speaker 1: few black designers at the head of a Parisian fashion
Speaker 1: house gives me a unique opportunity to sort of lead
Speaker 1: in that space. You know, I've started my Postmodern Scholarship Fund,
Speaker 1: which works at the education level to make sure that
Speaker 1: there's inroads kept for young black designers to work in
Speaker 1: the fashion space. All the way to my show in
Speaker 1: Shanghai was largely created by an all black creative team,
Speaker 1: just to showcase the state of the art and how
Speaker 1: diversity and inclusivity can lead to great results. Your website
Speaker 1: also talks about how your advocacy looks different. What does
Speaker 1: it actually look like? Walk us through that? Yeah, indeed,
Speaker 1: you know, part of my advocacy is fundraising, you putting
Speaker 1: dollars where it matters to sort of make sure students
Speaker 1: are entering the road to having a career in design,
Speaker 1: fashion creativity. But that's not all that it encompasses. You know,
Speaker 1: A lot of that is leading by example. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm the head of a house, so how I build
Speaker 1: my collections, how I represent black culture. How I represent
Speaker 1: black d NA is important, you know, and then as well,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm supremely focused on mentorship. You know, I
Speaker 1: think that there's this this is critical point in everyone's
Speaker 1: career in order to sort of receive the right advice
Speaker 1: to sort of work in the right position. And all
Speaker 1: those sort of different spheres are important to how I
Speaker 1: approach my advocacy. Talking about looking internally, especially big big
Speaker 1: corporations are thinking, or you know, we asked them on
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Television. You know, is it time to start implementing metrics?
Speaker 1: Do you think a system like metrics would work for diversity?
Speaker 1: For this system to change, to eradicate systemic racism, all
Speaker 1: tools need to be used, you know. I think that
Speaker 1: we want to see this at the grassroots level all
Speaker 1: the way to the level that the consumer can feel it,
Speaker 1: to show that we're committed to it. So for me,
Speaker 1: on my hand, I advocate all tools to sort of
Speaker 1: root out as systemic racism. Has your leadership changed, I
Speaker 1: think my leadership has changed. You know, I would agree
Speaker 1: with that statement of uh me being the one of
Speaker 1: the foremost figures in design as well as being a
Speaker 1: black male. There's a unique opportunity for me to seize
Speaker 1: to to be a leading voice, to sort of lead
Speaker 1: by example. My post Modern Scholarship Fund was announced as
Speaker 1: my wide sweeping effort um to tackle that and also
Speaker 1: roll up my sleeves and showcase the work that I've
Speaker 1: believed in since I started UM. So you know, I
Speaker 1: welcome the challenge and I'm taking it to heart. Virgil,
Speaker 1: You've collaborated with I mean, the list is just ongoing. Yeah, Nike, Evian, Ikea.
Speaker 1: Then you have the personalities Kanye West, Serena Williams. You've
Speaker 1: showed at our institutes in Chicago, in Atlanta. You DJ.
Speaker 1: I don't know when you find the time for it,
Speaker 1: but you also DJ with a resume like that. What
Speaker 1: is next for Virgil Outblow? You know, you know what's
Speaker 1: next for me is eradicating systemic racism and showing how
Speaker 1: like inclusivity and a positive mind can be the forefront
Speaker 1: of creative business. You know, I think if I look
Speaker 1: at a bird's eye view of my career, I started
Speaker 1: from humble beginnings, you know. I started UM an architecture
Speaker 1: that wasn't so adjacent to fashion, and by hard work,
Speaker 1: a lot of traveling, a lot of persistence. I've been
Speaker 1: able to achieve great things. But for me, it's not
Speaker 1: about achieving great things for myself. It's opening doors for
Speaker 1: those just like me behind me and making sure that
Speaker 1: they can follow my path. That's in this week's pursuit,
Speaker 1: so check it out. Louis Vutan's men's wear artistic director
Speaker 1: of Virgil Alblow catching up with Bloomberg's and Marie Horden.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a business that's learned to pivot. So
Speaker 1: many businesses having to figure out how to operate Jason
Speaker 1: in this environment or to just survive, and that's going
Speaker 1: to be the subject of our next conversation coming up
Speaker 1: with the CEO of Cabbage. This is Bloomberg. You're listening
Speaker 1: to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly
Speaker 1: from Bloomberg Radio. The elle small business lender Cabbage. Jason,
Speaker 1: we know they have been so busy. They shared with
Speaker 1: us that they process some seven billion in Paycheck Protection
Speaker 1: Program or p p P loans. They provided support as
Speaker 1: a result about three hundred thousand small businesses and they've
Speaker 1: done a deal with American Express. So we had to
Speaker 1: catch up with someone who was a friend to the show.
Speaker 1: We're talking about the CEO and founder of Cabbage, Rob Froein,
Speaker 1: and you know, he gave us a real detailed picture
Speaker 1: of what he calls the real lifeblood of the US economy.
Speaker 1: We're talking about small business. As for that m X deal,
Speaker 1: well he couldn't say too much, but check it out.
Speaker 1: We're obviously in a in a phase where we're between
Speaker 1: sign and close, So right there's not a lot I
Speaker 1: can talk about right now other than obviously we have
Speaker 1: executed the relationship and working towards closed, which we expect
Speaker 1: to be later on this year. That's huge and in
Speaker 1: a real tribute to I know the hard work you
Speaker 1: and the team have been doing and and truly how
Speaker 1: deeply you have integrated to yourself into the small business world.
Speaker 1: So let's talk about that, because when you were last here,
Speaker 1: I think it was back in March, this was sort
Speaker 1: of all getting underway and this relief was starting to
Speaker 1: come through and we didn't know exactly how it was
Speaker 1: going to work, and you helped walk us through that.
Speaker 1: What have you learned. What's the biggest thing we need
Speaker 1: to understand about P P P H and how it
Speaker 1: all played out? The uh wow, would a big question.
Speaker 1: It was, without a doubt, the craziest period of my
Speaker 1: life and my my colleagues lives. Um, there was information
Speaker 1: that was coming in NonStop. Rules changing, uh quite, you know,
Speaker 1: application changing constantly. You just had to really be prepared
Speaker 1: for anything. Uh. And you also, it was a great
Speaker 1: lesson in business for me. None of us have a
Speaker 1: playbook for for the crisis, but a great lesson that
Speaker 1: you have to really work multiple options on every path
Speaker 1: of your business in order to make sure you're prepared
Speaker 1: for for something this enormous. Yeah, right, exactly. Well, that's interesting.
Speaker 1: I got it. There's a couple different places I want
Speaker 1: to go. First, I want to ask you there that Rob,
Speaker 1: because of your experience, exposure and role in the p
Speaker 1: p P program, do you think it works? So, you know,
Speaker 1: I think what it what it did, was it it helped,
Speaker 1: It has helped businesses get through a period of time.
Speaker 1: But uh, you know, it's one of those situations where
Speaker 1: we can't stop there. You know, this is something that
Speaker 1: would help small businesses get over a really challenging period.
Speaker 1: Now they have to rebuild and then they have to grow.
Speaker 1: So I feel like we're a third of the way there.
Speaker 1: In terms of helping small businesses, and we can't stop
Speaker 1: now or else we you know, in my opinion, we
Speaker 1: lose all the benefit of everything that we've worked so
Speaker 1: hard to do, which has helped these businesses get through
Speaker 1: this period. We have to we have to figure out
Speaker 1: how to help them get through the next period of time.
Speaker 1: So more money is what you're saying from the government. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it's more. Yeah, more, I think more aid
Speaker 1: without a doubt needs needs to happen. Uh, there are
Speaker 1: a lot of businesses that you have suffered very significantly.
Speaker 1: We're gonna have to look at other ways to help
Speaker 1: them sort of manage their expenses on a go forward
Speaker 1: basis and allow them to to rebuild. We all still
Speaker 1: need the services of all these small businesses, and allowing
Speaker 1: millions of these businesses to go out of this nous
Speaker 1: is not the answer. It's just not the answer. So, Rob,
Speaker 1: what did you learn about the process in terms of
Speaker 1: how something like this can and should be executed in
Speaker 1: terms of just the sheer process, I guess, uh, and
Speaker 1: the logistics of sort of getting the money from the
Speaker 1: government to the businesses. You were right in the middle
Speaker 1: of that. What did we learn about staying positive, like
Speaker 1: what works in terms of how to fell out forms,
Speaker 1: or what sorts of information or or what what were
Speaker 1: the things that you picked up along the way. Well,
Speaker 1: one thing I sort of came to realize that if
Speaker 1: this pandemic had happened fifteen years ago, first of all,
Speaker 1: we wouldn't have zoom uh and the and the ability
Speaker 1: to do the kind of conference thing we did, so
Speaker 1: that that was not lost on me. But also a
Speaker 1: company like Cabbage would not have been around to serve
Speaker 1: a very long tail of small business So whatever we
Speaker 1: can do to further automate the process. Remember, there's been
Speaker 1: maybe four and a half or five million businesses serve
Speaker 1: there are actually thirty million small businesses in the US.
Speaker 1: And even if you take out some of the extraneous
Speaker 1: you know, ll c s and other businesses that don't
Speaker 1: have any employees, UM, you're still talking about well over
Speaker 1: ten million small businesses. So what's happening with them? You know?
Speaker 1: So figuring out a process where you can you know,
Speaker 1: allow companies like Cabbage to serve large numbers of small
Speaker 1: businesses is really important. Getting access to government data, allowing
Speaker 1: you know, tax information, you know, more access to data, UM,
Speaker 1: easier and quicker ways for small businesses to fill out forms,
Speaker 1: keeping things really simple. Again, a lot of these small
Speaker 1: business owners are doing what they're doing because they're amazing
Speaker 1: at that craft or skill or trade. They're not accountants,
Speaker 1: they're not sophisticated financial experts, so trying to figure out
Speaker 1: how to make it easier for them to be able
Speaker 1: to get through the process is really hyper So Rob,
Speaker 1: I just want to go back to you know, I
Speaker 1: said before the break about what your average loan is.
Speaker 1: At least the p p P loan was about a
Speaker 1: little bit over twenty three and then the average I
Speaker 1: guess of all loans are under I mean, when we
Speaker 1: talk about small business owners, they're really small business. They
Speaker 1: don't necessarily need a ton of money to survive, but
Speaker 1: a little money goes a long way to keeping their
Speaker 1: business alive. Yeah, for sure. And look, you know, you know,
Speaker 1: I think a lot of people look at them and
Speaker 1: think these just you know, small loans or micro loans.
Speaker 1: But for a lot of these people, these are these
Speaker 1: are important loans represent a month or two months of
Speaker 1: income or or wages that they're paying others hyper critical funds,
Speaker 1: and I think a lot of times everybody wants to
Speaker 1: think of the definition that you know, the I. R.
Speaker 1: S or large bank might use for a small business,
Speaker 1: which is, hey, any business generating only between ten and
Speaker 1: fifty million dollars. The real lifeblood of our community, of
Speaker 1: our economy are these really small businesses that are coming
Speaker 1: in and fixing things in your home, you know, running
Speaker 1: the local retail store, the local dry cleaner. These are
Speaker 1: the real heroes of our economy and are really and
Speaker 1: really fuel a lot of the jobs in the economy.
Speaker 1: Are people able to hang on? Are they starting to
Speaker 1: see any sort of return to normal? We get so
Speaker 1: much political rhetoric around this, especially around small businesses, and
Speaker 1: I know it varies from place to place where you
Speaker 1: are in the country, but even where you are, what,
Speaker 1: what's the sense that you get of how small businesses
Speaker 1: are doing overall? Yeah, I would say overall. You know,
Speaker 1: there's there's kind of a feast or famine mentality out
Speaker 1: there right now. Some businesses are doing as well or
Speaker 1: even a little bit better than they were doing before,
Speaker 1: depending on the you know, on the area of business
Speaker 1: they focus on, and some are still devastated. Uh, and
Speaker 1: those businesses will never recover. And that's Rob for a one,
Speaker 1: the founder and CEO of Cabbage. Great to have him
Speaker 1: back with us, a real check in in terms of
Speaker 1: where small businesses are. We I think Carol understood sort
Speaker 1: of intellectually how important small businesses were before the pandemic.
Speaker 1: During the pandemic, it's become much more visceral in a
Speaker 1: lot of ways, and so to hear the numbers from him,
Speaker 1: the stories of how small businesses have coped or not
Speaker 1: through all of this was really an eye opener. Coming up,
Speaker 1: we've got a small business owner, she's just launched a
Speaker 1: platform for female athletes. Will catch up with her. And
Speaker 1: then someone who's been around for forty years. It's a name,
Speaker 1: you know, when it comes to the world of fitness,
Speaker 1: an icon to say the least. This is Bloomberg. You're
Speaker 1: listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason
Speaker 1: Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. This half hour, Jason, We've got
Speaker 1: two interviews to perspectives in the sports and fitness space.
Speaker 1: One who has had to empower women and female athletes.
Speaker 1: The other started empowering others decades ago to take control
Speaker 1: of the physical well being. He's an undisputed legend in
Speaker 1: the fitness world. Both entrepreneurs. But first up, let's talk
Speaker 1: about the newbie. Absolutely, staph Strack is her name. She
Speaker 1: was the CEO of Rag and Bone. That's a familiar
Speaker 1: name in your closet. Now she's the founder and CEO
Speaker 1: of Voice in Sport. They call it VIZ. They just launched.
Speaker 1: It's a platform for young female athletes. Check it out
Speaker 1: Voice in Sport or ZIZ as we like to call it.
Speaker 1: In our community. Um, first and foremost, we are a
Speaker 1: community and at the heart of our community is the
Speaker 1: voice of female athletes. That's at the center of everything
Speaker 1: we do. So we're really bringing this new platform to life.
Speaker 1: We call it a sports advocacy platform, and our goal
Speaker 1: is to provide girls with access to content, mentorship, and
Speaker 1: ultimately advocacy tools. So why now, Well, you know it's
Speaker 1: I've been an athlete my whole life and I went
Speaker 1: growing up here in Alaska and then also into Division
Speaker 1: one soccer, and during my journey and sports I had
Speaker 1: so many challenges and I think now having a daughter
Speaker 1: who's seven years old and fourteen years of experience in
Speaker 1: the sports industry at Nike, I felt like not enough
Speaker 1: has changed and for this next generation that's coming up
Speaker 1: behind us, I think they deserve something better. So ultimately,
Speaker 1: about a year ago, I decided to break off from
Speaker 1: kind of the corporate world and start Z and I
Speaker 1: think now more than ever, especially with what's happening around
Speaker 1: the world, these girls in sport really do need a
Speaker 1: community um to keep inspired and to support each other
Speaker 1: in their journey. And the word community stuff is something
Speaker 1: that so resonates with me in terms of what you're
Speaker 1: doing right. It's not just about Okay, here's a place
Speaker 1: where you can go for information, but Jason and I
Speaker 1: both like working with the younger generation and rite helping
Speaker 1: other journalists, you know, younger journalists come along. And I
Speaker 1: feel like that's what you are reaching out to do,
Speaker 1: especially when I think when you're young and you're you know,
Speaker 1: building up your sport or you know whatever, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of different forces kind of pulling on you. And
Speaker 1: so it sounds like you're creating that community to kind
Speaker 1: of here's how you do it, here's what you need
Speaker 1: to watch out for. Yeah, that's right. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think we all know that one of the biggest reasons
Speaker 1: why girl fall to sport is just lack of support
Speaker 1: or lack of visibility to each other, or lack of
Speaker 1: visibility to resources. So I know, certainly growing up in
Speaker 1: Alaska and not having access to some of you know,
Speaker 1: the pros and some of the content or coaches or
Speaker 1: you know, even nutritionists, that I really could have used
Speaker 1: a community to help me in my journey. And so ultimately,
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be one of the biggest
Speaker 1: missing pieces in the sports industry right now, is that
Speaker 1: community at the center of a new company that ultimately
Speaker 1: has you know, the best interests of these young girls
Speaker 1: at heart well. And the timing is so interesting to
Speaker 1: Steff just given the focus in a very positive way
Speaker 1: that it feels like the last couple of years has
Speaker 1: come to female athletes, especially young female athletes, a lot
Speaker 1: of new role models, uh, in a great way. What
Speaker 1: has happened that has sort of brought that to the
Speaker 1: four It feels like it was something that was waiting
Speaker 1: to happen and now hopefully and maybe I'm being overly optimistic,
Speaker 1: is happening in a bigger way here. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1: I think it's interesting. There was like this really strong
Speaker 1: movement that I felt happening right after the Women's World
Speaker 1: Cup um when the US one, and I think that
Speaker 1: right at that moment, I started to feel like, wow,
Speaker 1: there's this moment and and really I think these girls
Speaker 1: really propelled that and started to accelerate that for all
Speaker 1: of us across the world. And at that moment, that's
Speaker 1: actually when I decided to leave my my job at
Speaker 1: Rag and Bone and start this company. But the interesting
Speaker 1: thing is is when when you really dig into it, um,
Speaker 1: what is missing is community. And I think that products
Speaker 1: and materialistic things are are important and they bring joy,
Speaker 1: but when you go through a pandemic and you go
Speaker 1: through you know, kind of what we're all going through together,
Speaker 1: you start realizing that those connections to each other is
Speaker 1: what really matters. And so I'm you know, I'm so
Speaker 1: proud of building this with all of these young female
Speaker 1: athletes because you see the power of how those connections
Speaker 1: can create, you know, long term effects for these girls.
Speaker 1: You talked a little bit to us about sort of
Speaker 1: the community that you're building, but part of the community
Speaker 1: that's so interesting to me is this group that you've
Speaker 1: brought together across all sorts of sports, both collegiate and
Speaker 1: um Olympic sports to kind of create the community We're
Speaker 1: talking about Mary Kane, well known runner. We're talking about
Speaker 1: Elena Smith and like so many people, Uh tell us
Speaker 1: who who you've been talking to and what they've been contributing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: thank you. I mean, I'm I'm so proud to have
Speaker 1: built this this platform with all these amazing female athletes.
Speaker 1: It's been like like sports a true like team efforts.
Speaker 1: So we have sort of these three key roles within
Speaker 1: our community that we're launching with and one of them
Speaker 1: is called the VIZ League, and that's a group of
Speaker 1: ninety professional and collegiate athletes, some of which are Olympic
Speaker 1: athletes also from Alaska. Kegan Randall is part of this group.
Speaker 1: It's um has to give a shout out to her um.
Speaker 1: But those those nine pro and collegiate athletes are female
Speaker 1: athletes that are dedicated to mentor the younger generation and
Speaker 1: that steps track of VIZ. They're building an independent, community
Speaker 1: based platform. It's for female athletes. We're talking about young
Speaker 1: folks aged twelve to twenty two. And I love it, Jason,
Speaker 1: because it's content, it's mentoring, its advocacy, it's really giving
Speaker 1: female athletes a way to elevate their voice. So cool.
Speaker 1: Absolutely you're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. When you think
Speaker 1: about entrepreneurs in the fitness and athletic world like stuff Strack,
Speaker 1: they might be taking some inspiration from our next guests.
Speaker 1: We're talking about Jake Steinfeld Body. Bye, Jake, that's coming up.
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with
Speaker 1: Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. So, Jason,
Speaker 1: what I love about our show is you never really
Speaker 1: know who might show up, but one thing you can
Speaker 1: count on, and that is that we are going to
Speaker 1: be talking about fitness, including with someone who is an
Speaker 1: undisputed legend in the fitness world. You know him as
Speaker 1: Body By Jake. We're talking about Jake Steinfeld and man
Speaker 1: a dose of positivity. We needed to wrap up this
Speaker 1: week's show. We caught up with him in l A
Speaker 1: and we set some ground rules. We were going to
Speaker 1: be positive. And it has been very challenging for for
Speaker 1: all Americans, right, I mean, you know, uh, since the
Speaker 1: pandemic hit in March. Uh, people have been locked in,
Speaker 1: locked down. You know you look at businesses and people
Speaker 1: and families. Uh. I have my wife and we have
Speaker 1: four kids. Uh, spread around the country and around the world,
Speaker 1: and it's it has been very challenging. But interestingly enough,
Speaker 1: when this pandemic hit, guys, um I got vocals immediately
Speaker 1: from from folks like yourselves and CNN and Fox and
Speaker 1: ESPN saying, Jake, people are locked in their homes. Uh,
Speaker 1: gyms are closed, they're putting on weight, stress levels are high.
Speaker 1: You are the guy that created personal fitness training and
Speaker 1: made it a knocked patient and that's what I did.
Speaker 1: You know. I went to people like Steven Spielberg and
Speaker 1: Harrison Ford's homes with a broomstick, a towel and a
Speaker 1: chair and sort of created a thirty minute workout that
Speaker 1: you could do in your home. And it's really interesting, guys,
Speaker 1: when you're able to just get a little creative. You know,
Speaker 1: when you're locked up, and whether it's an apartment or
Speaker 1: a condo or your house, you need to take a
Speaker 1: few minutes, just a few minutes you stand up and
Speaker 1: get your blood flowing. Whether it's two kinds of MoMA's
Speaker 1: tomato paste or a broomstick that you could do some stretching,
Speaker 1: some squats, some lunges and just believe is stought to
Speaker 1: you know, I'm a big believer in positive thinking. I
Speaker 1: was given a poem when I was cut from my
Speaker 1: eighth grade basketball team true story, UH called don't quit
Speaker 1: and Uh. The last two lines of the poem are
Speaker 1: stick to the fight when your hottest hit. It's when
Speaker 1: things seem worse that you must not quit. And it's
Speaker 1: it's a matter of changing those negative thoughts I can't do.
Speaker 1: I can so if you're obviously, if you're driving right now,
Speaker 1: you can squeeze your hands on the steering wheel and
Speaker 1: go do some isometrics. But if you're listening at home,
Speaker 1: you know, all you have to be doing, guys is
Speaker 1: and you can be doing right now in the studio
Speaker 1: Jason and Carroll um some isometric exercises that we have
Speaker 1: an official body by Jake. I've been antisocial media for
Speaker 1: a very long time, kind of silly. Yes, it's been silly,
Speaker 1: and you know, but my two young sons were home
Speaker 1: from school and they got me engaged with it and
Speaker 1: we started posting up a little sixty second vignettes. Um,
Speaker 1: kind of like I did with Ted Turner, me my
Speaker 1: start doing the fitness break on Cable News network back.
Speaker 1: Uh and uh, just simple exercises that you can do. Look,
Speaker 1: exercise is very boring, if you admit we all admit it. Right,
Speaker 1: If it was easy, everybody would be in great shape. Uh.
Speaker 1: But what you need to do is find something works
Speaker 1: for you that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. And
Speaker 1: now more than ever, especially because look, I've talked to
Speaker 1: so many gym owners, so many fitness studio owners who
Speaker 1: are working diligently to keep their places clean so they
Speaker 1: can open them. But people listen over the age of
Speaker 1: fifty years old. I'm sixty two now, Um, you know
Speaker 1: you you need to be gautious to be saying so, Jake,
Speaker 1: tell us about this partnership with Curing Dr Pepper and
Speaker 1: the new nutrition shape that you guys have created called
Speaker 1: Don't Quit. Yes, yes, indeed, I will say this the
Speaker 1: folks secure Dr Pepper. The CEO Bob Game Court is
Speaker 1: you know. I'm sure you guys talked to lots and
Speaker 1: lots of business people. Um. I've been very blessed in
Speaker 1: my career to to to deal with CEOs, whether it's
Speaker 1: fortune fifty entrepreneurs at all levels. Bob Game Corps is
Speaker 1: one of those kind of entrepreneurs at the at the
Speaker 1: corporate level that you don't rarely mind. Um, we got together. Uh,
Speaker 1: we saw an opportunity give the adult nutrition section where
Speaker 1: there are a couple of brands there right now, and
Speaker 1: I've got to tell you they're they're not very good
Speaker 1: for you, very honestly, guys. There's a lot of chemicals
Speaker 1: and we wanted to create something that had a clean
Speaker 1: label that we have twenty six vitamins and minerals, no soy,
Speaker 1: no corn, no we no added added additives, Uh, gluten free,
Speaker 1: it's kosher or wait a second, it tastes delicious. I've
Speaker 1: been a protein drake guy since I'm thirteen years old.
Speaker 1: I was an overweight kid at a bad started growing up.
Speaker 1: My dad bought me a set of weights when I
Speaker 1: was thirteen and to change my life. And I'm I'm
Speaker 1: a connoisseur on protein shakes. And I finally had an
Speaker 1: opportunity to work with a gentleman like Bob gam Court
Speaker 1: and the folks at l A Life Nations in California.
Speaker 1: Here we've come up with this is one of those
Speaker 1: things where the world is not looking for another nutrition shake,
Speaker 1: it just needs the best one, and we have it
Speaker 1: and we want everyone to try. Check it out at
Speaker 1: Don't Quit dot com. It just don't Quit dot com.
Speaker 1: There are four original flavors chocolate, vanilla, y t and
Speaker 1: our insacle like creamsicle, which my favorite of all time.
Speaker 1: Uh and we have to max versions where the thirty
Speaker 1: grams of protein and one gram of sugar, chocolate and
Speaker 1: vanilla online right now, we've already sold out we we
Speaker 1: launched last week. You want to talk about how passionate
Speaker 1: people are, especially fifty plus where especially now more than ever,
Speaker 1: Carol and Jayson, where we're desperate for hope and our
Speaker 1: health and we want to make sure that what we're
Speaker 1: doing and putting in our bodies is really good for us.
Speaker 1: So you know, when you're exercising and nutrition they go
Speaker 1: hand in hand well, And it feels like that, I
Speaker 1: know it's not a revelation to you, but two more
Speaker 1: and more people, it feels like one of the things
Speaker 1: that folks have discovered when they are cooking at home more,
Speaker 1: spending more time at home, they are a little bit
Speaker 1: more focused on their bodies and what they're putting into
Speaker 1: it and seeing those things. I mean, I would add
Speaker 1: in the idea and Caroline, I've talked a lot about
Speaker 1: this on this show that she and I notice, uh
Speaker 1: that because we're not commuting, we're getting more sleep. And
Speaker 1: you know, it all is sort of like this, this
Speaker 1: machine that we all have that is our bodies, Uh,
Speaker 1: does respond differently when you treat it well. And I
Speaker 1: love that you're taking I talk about the upwich spiral
Speaker 1: of success and looking at the positives as opposed to
Speaker 1: the challenges. And I was never a big supplement taker,
Speaker 1: never a big vitamin taker, and I wanted to make
Speaker 1: sure a because it's expensive, and b because the more
Speaker 1: you take in, the more you you know, when you
Speaker 1: go to the bathroom you get rid of a lot
Speaker 1: of those by And here's an opportunity where I want
Speaker 1: to make sure that you are healthy. That especially you
Speaker 1: open the fridge in the morning and you see the
Speaker 1: words don't quit. What is that? I mean? You want
Speaker 1: to you want to talk about positive and mid day.
Speaker 1: This is meant as a meal supplement, but people are
Speaker 1: already using it as a meal replacement. A lot of
Speaker 1: great recipes. Uh. Someone just sent in something to do
Speaker 1: vanilla don't quit pancakes. Unbelievable and it's that's actually brilliant.
Speaker 1: Great could cook it and we've I love the orange
Speaker 1: cicle with a banana, a couple of dates, some ice.
Speaker 1: We called it. Don't quit freeze there. If you you
Speaker 1: know I have a bad sweet tooth. You know I
Speaker 1: I eat so I trained so I could eat. I
Speaker 1: tell people we if you if we go to dinner sometime,
Speaker 1: I like to eat like we're going to the electric chair.
Speaker 1: That's what I say. Because you know, you want to
Speaker 1: live your life, and as I said, what's super important
Speaker 1: is how you are mentally right. A lot of people
Speaker 1: right now, especially struggling, and it's all about taking that
Speaker 1: first step, at first moment of just moving your body
Speaker 1: and doing something positive for yourself. And there are lots
Speaker 1: and lots of people, millions of folks who listen to
Speaker 1: you guys every day, and this is an unbelievable opportunity
Speaker 1: for me to spend some time with you all, but
Speaker 1: especially people in the Tri State areas where I grew
Speaker 1: up to do something positive and at this moment in
Speaker 1: time especially, don't quit. Don't quit on you, on your families,
Speaker 1: on who you are and how you're going to be
Speaker 1: because as I said, right stick to the fight. When
Speaker 1: your hottest hit, it's when things seem worse that you
Speaker 1: must not quit. Listen, this is so important and this
Speaker 1: is why you know, Jason, I do talk to a
Speaker 1: lot of folks in the fitness industry because I think
Speaker 1: you know, we've seen in this virus, Jake. You know
Speaker 1: that for those who are unhealthy, this virus says hurt
Speaker 1: them that much more. And I do think about how
Speaker 1: we can make fitness much more available to more people,
Speaker 1: make it accessible, make it cheaper. You just said it,
Speaker 1: and and it and it is and listen, it's important
Speaker 1: to you. People love. I love to go into a gym.
Speaker 1: It's great to see friends and people, but you have
Speaker 1: to make good decisions. And like I said in the
Speaker 1: earlier UH segment that we had spoke two lots of
Speaker 1: gym owners who are doing great things to keep their
Speaker 1: places clean and open. And I'm so proud of everybody
Speaker 1: in Jersey and New York open again. It's doing in
Speaker 1: a smart way. That's the way. We'll do it. Nice
Speaker 1: and slow, nice and smooth. But especially folks over the
Speaker 1: age of fifty years old who are being smart. You
Speaker 1: gotta be careful, right, go out there and live your life,
Speaker 1: but do it in a positive way. And nutrition being
Speaker 1: healthy that. You know, I would never want to say
Speaker 1: that don't quit as a vaccine. But did I just
Speaker 1: say don't quit the vaccine? And that's Jake Steinfeld, you know,
Speaker 1: and better as body by Jake catching up with him.
Speaker 1: I have to say it just sort of set me
Speaker 1: in a new direction, made me think about what I do,
Speaker 1: what I eat, but in a very positive way. Carol,
Speaker 1: and that wraps up the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business
Speaker 1: Week from Bloomberg Radio. Thanks for joining us. I'm Carol
Speaker 1: Masser and I'm Jason Kelly. Be sure to tune into
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business Week Radio, our daily show live Monday through Friday,
Speaker 1: starting at two pm Wall Street Time. You can also
Speaker 1: watch the show live on YouTube. Just search for Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Global News and catch everything we do via podcast every day,
Speaker 1: but also special editions like our Business Week Extra. Right.
Speaker 1: It's a really cool conversation, Jason. It's with Peter Atwater.
Speaker 1: He's a listener of the show. He's also an adjunct
Speaker 1: lecturer in the economics department at William and Mary. And
Speaker 1: as we all try to figure out what kind of
Speaker 1: economic recovery we are having, we've all seen different letters
Speaker 1: to describe it. He has talked about a K shape
Speaker 1: recovery and the whole point of this is that for
Speaker 1: some the pandemic really hasn't impacted them that much. For others,
Speaker 1: as we know, it's been really tough times. I love
Speaker 1: this conversation. We'll be back right here next week at
Speaker 1: the same time. Stay safe everyone. This is Bloomberg. H