WEBVTT - Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend-November 28, 2020 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:05.800 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer from Bloomberg Radio. Hi, 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.440 I'm Carol Masser. Welcome to the weekend edition of Bloomberg 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:11.760 Business Week, Week thirty seven. I'm back working from home. 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.240 That's still the case for many. It was a holiday 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:16.239 short and trading week where we had another dose of 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.800 vaccine news as the world, thanks to rising virus cases 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:23.520 and hospitalizations, was reminded repeatedly that we will be dealing 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:26.320 with COVID for months to come. With that in mind, 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.080 coming up this hour, how to make sure COVID nineteen 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:32.320 never happens again. We're gonna head to the Bloomberg New 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:35.320 Economy Forum check in with the CEO of Maderna, the 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.760 CEO of Welcome Leaf, and the chief epidemiologist at the 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:43.600 Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Also bringing transparency 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:46.360 to the childcare and daycare markets with the co founder 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:49.520 and CEO of Upfront Plus. We are in worse shape 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:51.800 right now than we were in March because we are 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:54.800 now not heading into the summer where everybody was expecting 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.240 that things would get better. The CEO of Travago on 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.200 the travel industry being back where we were in this ring. 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:02.400 We begin though, with what was one of the most 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:05.520 read stories on the Bloomberg reported for Bloomberg Business Week 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:08.000 about something that we were all trying to get back 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:10.280 in this spring. You know, you were trying to do this. 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:13.360 It wasn't easy. And now, even though there's more than 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:16.319 ever before, guess what, there's still not enough out there 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:18.840 for the US. We're talking about lysol and how we 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:21.440 just can't get enough of it. Let's get more from 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.679 Bloomberg News team leader for US Healthcare Drew Armstrong and 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.640 Bloomberg Business Week editor Joe Weber. When you didn't see it, 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.040 you know, immediately hoarded it and it was one of 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:33.280 the great hoarding items. Um And you know, back then, 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.360 there were a couple of stories like that that I 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.360 was really interested in, and you know, one was three 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:39.880 m you know, how do you make how do you 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:43.480 make more? In masks? Yesterday? And we did that one 0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:46.759 as a cover story, and the Lightshol one just stuck 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.440 with me because I was like, boy, I'm really curious 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:53.840 how you make more lysol? And Drew Armstrong actually happened 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.600 to have that same kind of urge and came back 0:01:56.680 --> 0:02:00.000 with a fully realized story that is one of my favorite. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:03.320 It's from sort of pandemic times, Drew, how do you 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:07.640 make more Lisolf? So yeah, I started asking that question 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.799 UM earlier this year, you know, for exactly the same 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.600 reason you guys, because I couldn't find it anywhere. And 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:18.120 you know this company that makes a record UM then 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:21.079 Keyser it's a London company. They're a big consumer conglomerate. 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.320 But one of the things you find from UM reading 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:26.519 about this is that you know, they're in this massive 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.000 company with huge resources, but you know, they have this 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:33.160 relatively thin, delicate supply chain that's stretched all over the 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:36.080 US and all over the world. And when the pandemic 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.240 really you know, did two things. One just put their 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:43.840 demand through the roof for this product, but to you know, 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:47.880 just absolutely upset all of the kind of global trade 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:49.600 and even the U. S trade and you know, all 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:51.960 the kind of things that you need to make stuff 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:54.200 in a factory in the world that we live in. 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:57.240 It it really jumbled their world. And so they were 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.799 they were great about opening the door and telling us, 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.560 you know how they did everything from like flying seven 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:07.560 forty seven full of chemicals from Europe to the US 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:11.120 as they can make more whites and lightsol spray um. 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:13.960 At one point, they were starting to run out of ethanol, 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:16.799 which is one of the main ingredients of lisol. So 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.480 it happened that Americans weren't driving as much because they 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:22.600 were all staying home, and ethanol the important gasoline additive. 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:26.200 So they retooled a ethanol plant in Nebraska and makes 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:29.919 ethanol for gasoline and just shipped plane cars with these, 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:33.000 you know, thirty thousand gallons tanks of ethanol to their 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:36.880 factory in New Jersey. It's just fascinating to hear about 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:39.560 all the things that they did in order to, you know, 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.160 keep this stuff flowing and still have not been at all. 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:43.800 This is one of those stories, man, you know, you 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.080 could just sit down and talk about for a long 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:48.840 time because it's just interesting facets something we take for granted, right, 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:50.720 but you really dug into kind of the nuts and 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:52.880 bolts of it. Tell Us though, and I have to say, 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:54.960 on our planning call this morning, we were all getting 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:59.400 into it. Tell us about Mr Lysol and Flushing Meadows. Sure. 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.840 So there is a guy at a record called Joe Robino. 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.080 He has been he has worked on Lifesol for thirty 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:11.320 five some years through its previous owners. He's a microbiologist. Um, 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:13.800 you know, there's a there's a little red banner on 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:18.880 the lysol can which says kills nine nine percent of germs. 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.400 And you know that's that's comproms. Everyone has to look 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:23.880 at the chloroxy is. Everybody makes the same claim. But 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:26.440 they were actually the first people to do the research 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:29.800 to show that. And one of the things that they did, 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:32.640 um in the early days of this product back in 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:35.200 the in the very early sorry I did really to 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:36.960 the product, but back in kind of his early on 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.080 in his career in the early nineties, they would do 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:44.599 stuff like coat a toy ball with a harmless virus 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:46.359 and put it into a daycare and they go around 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:49.280 swabbing everything to figure out, you know, where did this 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:51.719 virus go. Um, they did the same thing in hotel 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:54.240 rooms with people who had cold. They're really tried to 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:58.280 understand the microbiology aspects of what their products could kill. 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:00.320 And one of the things that they studied was, you know, 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.240 just how you know, if you have basically a plateful 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.200 of you know, germ to microbes, you know, viruses or bacteria, 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.480 how much does it actually kill? And you know, he 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:12.080 was talking to me as he was explaining as one 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:13.720 of many conversations we had, he said, well, we had 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:15.440 a you know, a three log or four log or 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:18.000 even a five log reduction, and what that actually means 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:22.480 is nine point nine. Um. The marketing folks took a 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:23.880 look at that and they said, people love the idea 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:26.800 of we gotta put this on the camp um and 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.000 that's kind of the history of where that number comes 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:32.039 from and disinfecting. UM. If they were the first to 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.640 make it, now everybody, everybody does it actually does a 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:36.600 lot more than that. But you know, there is a 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.839 tremendous amount of research quotes, scientific and consumer that goes 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.719 on behind these products. UM to figure it out. You 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:46.640 mentioned Flushing Meadows, my favorite place in this whole story. 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:50.840 They light Bulb makes a toilet bowl cleaner, and um. 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:52.640 You know, if you make a toilet ball cleaner, you're 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:57.000 always changing and tweaking your product. You're introducing new you know, formulations, 0:05:57.400 --> 0:05:59.440 things like that. You have to test it and if 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:01.640 you sell your toilet bowl cleaner around the world, you 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:04.680 have to test it in toilets around the world. They 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:08.400 have a room. It's Room A one five four in Montvale, 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:11.360 New Jersey, and there's a hundred four toilets brought in 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:13.719 from around the world. There's a UK road, there's a 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:17.360 European Union row, there's an American row of toilets, there's 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:20.120 an Indian row of toilets, and they have a back 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:24.040 room where they actually replicate the water conditions from around 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:26.440 the world to match those places. That was definitely an 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.560 inside look at Lysol from, of course, Bloomberg News team 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:32.720 leader for US Healthcare Drew Armstrong and Bloomberg Business Week 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.080 editor Joel Webber. Check out that story and more in 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:38.839 the current issue of Bloomberg Business Week magazine on newsstands online, 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:42.320 and oh ways, on the Bloomberg terminal coming up. Americans 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.200 clamoring for lysol, you just heard about that, and the 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:48.320 world clamoring for a vaccine and a year that we 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.800 hope we never see again. Some thoughts on how we 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:53.680 get there. That's coming up next on Bloomberg Business Week. 0:06:53.839 --> 0:07:03.080 This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Garrol 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.359 Masser from Bloomberg Radio. We're bringing you some of the 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.279 recent highlights from our daily radio broadcast and podcast. In 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:12.040 a week where we got an update from Astra Zeneca 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:15.040 and the University of Oxford on their vaccine. Now, the 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.080 race for a vaccine was part of a discussion that 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:19.880 I moderated from our recent Bloomberg New Economy form a 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:22.679 panel that really looked at how the world can ensure 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:26.520 that we never ever have another catastrophe like COVID nineteam. 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:30.160 That panel was with Stefan Bonsell's chief executive officer at Maderna, 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:33.920 Regina Dugan, CEO at Welcome Leap, and Dr Woo Zoo, 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:38.080 chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:41.920 We began by hearing from Aderna's CEO on their vaccine. 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:47.480 We announced that the first of face free study as 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:50.480 the study of Fluty Father and Pice fronts so the 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:53.520 most ninety five percent if because see but the piece 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:56.040 that makes me I'm most more excited is the fact 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:59.440 that of the eleven people with severe disease, they were 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.040 all on claus table, were none on the vaccine. And 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:03.760 so if you think about it, what does that mean. 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:06.960 I mean that once we get the final data, we 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:08.800 should be able to see if this is confirmed that 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:11.640 if you get all vaccine we have a ninety five percentation. 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:15.320 So having you know this is and if you get disease, 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.680 you will have mild symptoms, I mean, do not have 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:20.400 severe disease. And as we know, has really been a 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:24.280 big impact in terms of hospitalization for a patient during 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:26.680 the worst I see you for passion during the world's 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:29.000 death and on the impact it has had, but only 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:32.120 a human life, of course, but on the mental health, 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:35.120 on the economy. We think this could be a game changer. 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:38.160 And so what we're doing now is getting the final 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:42.280 data all locked up, submitting these two regulatory agencies around 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:46.200 the world, and hopefully I hope getting the vaccine approven 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.600 the emergency use before the end of a year. We're 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:50.760 making as much product as week and then we said 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:53.319 we will have before the end of twenty million. Does 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:56.440 is ready to ship as soon as we have regulatory report, 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.240 all right, So that's certainly some upbeat news. Dr who 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:01.040 I want to bring you in to this conversation. When 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:03.280 you and I spoke over the weekend, I believe you 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:05.600 were in shin Jong or had been in shin Jong. 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.520 China has done and I think most would argue that 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:12.280 as among the biggest, the most developed country, you guys 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:15.640 have done a good job in terms of containing the virus. 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:19.400 But even so there continues to be breakouts. Where are 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:24.760 we in China when it comes to COVID nineteen. I 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:27.000 just come back from a sin John. Now back to 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:32.199 the Beijing. We are just controlled another outbreak in Kashka 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:37.199 shinjian Wi Autonomous Region. The epidemic has started in the 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:42.319 letter of October and brought under control in the November. 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.439 In the China, I think, what do we did is 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:50.439 to have very stronger civilians and peaked control the epidemic 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:54.640 as a war. So go back to the earlier respond 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.800 to the initial outbreak in Oha. Most of the people 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:02.520 suspected China delayed or does not responded very quickly. Actually, 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:06.280 I give you two examples. We did a very bold decision. 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:11.480 For example, when the outbreak first the notice by doctors, 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:15.800 that's a last December twenty seven, and the national expert 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:20.360 arrived in the Wuhan. They made a decision to close 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:25.120 the seafood market. At that time they were only forty 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:30.400 cases and the seven of them had examposure to a 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:34.120 seafood market. Make that decision is a tough and the 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:38.360 national expert and the local expert as different opening and 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:43.679 the local or expert has gone against to achieve that decision. 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:49.040 Another decision, it's a shut down Wahi's city. The decision 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:52.840 was made in the general at that time, we'll only 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:57.640 have about a five cases that is made had determined 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.920 the scale of the over the ninety out of the 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:04.760 hole China. The twot that he made, I think is 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:09.040 the best of the philosophy. Prepare for the War's the 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:13.600 scenario that's on at the principle. So we are responded 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.120 to the COVID nine team very quickly. We're quite to 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:20.080 remove all the right virus from the community to clean 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:23.840 the up that makes society is say so now, China, 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:26.600 I think it's the best to the zero local transmission. Now, 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:31.520 oh boy, Riggin, I want you to come in on 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:33.560 this too. What are you hearing from your network about 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:35.760 kind of where we are in this process and in 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.720 this cycle in terms of dealing with the virus. Well, 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:41.319 I want to calibrate for a moment, because remember the 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:45.199 normal time to go from an outbreak to a vaccine 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:49.679 is something like five to ten years. So this achievement 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:54.160 here is remarkable, unprecedented. The team at Maderna goes from 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.680 virus sequence to first dosing in humans in sixty three days, 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.240 and as Stefan is fond of saying, that's an advance 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:04.160 a decade in the making. In fact, I remember a 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:08.359 decade ago when m RNA based vaccines were first proposed 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:12.000 and the critics said there was no evidence to suggest 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.240 it would work, and others said, there is no evidence 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.040 to suggest it won't. We should try and if we 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.160 are successful, it would matter. And here we are today, 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:26.120 in fact it matters. So I think what we're hearing 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:30.319 now is how do we begin to work on the 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:34.240 next pieces? So how do we shorten the clinical trial? 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:38.120 How do we begin to get manufacturing underway so that 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:42.000 we can couple the early warning with a rapid response. 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:45.640 And there's still much more to do there. In my view, 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:49.520 this is the spot Nick moment of our generation, right 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:52.719 and in the same way that sput Nick inspired a 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:57.240 space age, so to might this pandemic inspire a health age? 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:01.960 Lots to do. I want to continue this conversation because 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:03.920 now I want to kind of look forward a quick 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:06.320 poll and a reminder to everybody who's watching the pull 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:08.520 that's out there. We'd love to hear your response. The 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.679 question we're asking, what are the lessons from Asia's successful 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:15.400 response to COVID nineteen. Some individual freedom must be sacrificed 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.800 for the public good. That's answer A answer B Early lockdowns, 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:22.840 reduced overall economic impact, answers C more investment in digital 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:27.120 health infrastructure, including contact tracing and d face coverings work. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.000 So having said that, we'll look for those responses. So 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:32.360 let me ask you, how do we make sure this 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:36.079 never ever happens again? Bloomberg New Economy said, there is 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:38.520 no greater challenge for our global leaders and figuring out 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:42.120 how to make sure this never happens again. Stefan, can 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:45.880 we do this? Do we now have the playbook? I 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.400 think we've learned a lot, And as Regina said, I mean, 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:51.360 first what has been done this year by scientists alln 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:54.839 the world and the collaboration we have seen. He's unprecedented 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.760 in some of the spe but we've learned a lot 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:00.800 as well. And I think that too that mentions where 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:05.679 we should invest aggressively across the world in public private 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:09.920 partnership to reduce the time to get to a vacuum, 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:13.360 because as we know, you know, public measures are extremely 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:17.360 important and right now, wearing a mask and social distancing 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:21.040 are critical treatment are very important to take people in 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:23.600 the hospital, but to really get back to normal, we 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:26.000 need to vaccinate people. And as we know, the world 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:30.000 is focusing on that vaccine. That was Stefan Bouncel's CEO 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:33.720 at Maderna, Regina Dugan, chief executive officer at Welcome Leap, 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.520 and Dr who Zoo, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.640 for Disease Control and Prevention at the recent Bloomberg New 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:43.760 Economy Forum. Coming up, the race to a vaccine made 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:47.040 transparent out of necessity. Coming up next, We've got an 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:49.560 entrepreneur and the CEO of Upfront who is looking to 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:53.520 bring transparency to a market that touches many Americans and 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.560 their kids. That's coming up next on Bloomberg Business Week. 0:14:56.720 --> 0:15:04.360 This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Garrol 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:11.120 Masser from Bloomberg Radio. Well, American parents with children under 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:13.040 the age of five check us out there spending more 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:16.360 than forty two billion dollars for early childcare and education 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:19.360 such as preschool programs. Now that from the progressive think 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:23.360 tank Economic Policy Institute. Danta Levin Robinson. She's co founder 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.640 and CEO of Upfront. She's working to bring more transparency 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.760 to the childcare and daycare market and then perhaps many 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.920 more industries in the future. And like so many entrepreneurs, 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:35.880 creating her business, while it came from a personal experience, 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:38.880 I had a baby. F peek of the New York 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:43.680 City Week. Has been quite a year for me, you know, 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.160 between starting the company and having a baby in the 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.000 middle of it, you know, in the pandemic was just 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.520 another extra twist, you know that I did not anticipate. 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:55.600 But if you actually remember hearing the stories about the 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:58.880 hospital separating the couple, we were the first couple separated 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:03.600 by SINAI wow, that that must have been tough. Yeah, 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:06.480 it must have been a little tough though, right, Oh yeah, no, 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:09.720 it was pretty devastating, you know because nobody, especially those 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:11.240 of us who are pregnants that l A you know, 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.960 nobody was expecting this to happen, you know, around March. 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:16.880 But we did the best we can. And if anything, 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.280 you know, the fact that I run a company that 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.640 works with parents so closely, and now that I'm a 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.880 parent myself, it really does you know, I always understood 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:26.920 our users, but now that I actually I am a 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.560 parent myself, it really does regonate. Well, all right, So 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:32.520 talked about about this so many people who create companies, 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:34.920 and I think i've um, you know, said this a 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:37.080 million times. I bet you've told this a million times. 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.400 But it's often when somebody goes out to start a company, 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:42.640 it's often a personal story. We talked to the CEO 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:44.960 of Compass Pathways. It was a company that went public 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:47.920 this year. It was a personal story that got them 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.760 going on their business. What's your story that again, you've 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:53.520 probably told a million times, but what's the story that 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.760 got you to to to create upfront? Yeah, it's a 0:16:56.840 --> 0:17:00.320 personal story. So it actually wasn't with daycare sauce typically, 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.360 but with weddings. So when I was engaged, I met 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:05.800 with the florists, look through all the pretty photos, and 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:07.679 then at the end of the hour got the pricing 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:09.879 sheet and realized that she was never in my budget. 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:12.760 And I remember being so frusted that I just wasted 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:15.760 my time meeting someone that I should have never been considering, 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:19.159 and started the speed got planted of like why didn't 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:22.359 I know that? Why is this pricing hidden? Why is 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:24.520 this information? Why do I get every single piece of 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.400 information except what it costs? You know, And we're talking 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:28.959 about a wedding here. You know, these are some big 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.600 price tags. So really, you know, sort of the second 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:34.040 thought came in of huh, you know, these prices are 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:37.320 up there. People have used these businesses before, but nobody 0:17:37.359 --> 0:17:40.200 has really ever given that data a destination. So that's 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.920 really what Upfront is about, and we really start with 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:46.000 the philosophy the prices should be public information. You know, 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.080 the parents that we talked to, the engage couples that 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:51.720 we talked to. Budget is one of the top variables, 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:53.560 you know, one of the top dimensions of how you 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:57.119 make your decisions. Yet we're acting like it doesn't exist 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:59.399 and it's not part of the conversation to begin with. 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.479 So you know, we're collecting real numbers. Yeah. I think 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:04.480 it's kind of interesting and kind of ironic to some 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:06.359 extent that we kind of kicked off our show talking 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:08.840 about we went to a press conference with President Trump 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:11.800 is about drug pricing and just you know, we've heard, 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:13.920 we've all seen the stories about the lack of transparency 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:16.040 of why one country pays this, why one other country 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:18.920 pays this, you know, for the exact same drug, And 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:20.640 it sounds like you're trying to bring that as well 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:24.840 when it comes to daycare and childcare absolutely and you know, 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:27.320 to us, daycarees is just the beginning, you know, and 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:30.280 eventually we'd like to grow into weddings and funerals and 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:34.400 private education. There's really no shortage of industries that operate 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:36.560 this way, and we see no reason why that's the case. 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:40.359 So is it essentially, um just the idea of no 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:43.960 different from we travago on you know, travel platforms or 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:46.240 you want to do you want to do something, so 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.320 give me the options and I can look at them 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:52.720 all exactly. I mean, consumers these days are so educated 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.520 and anyone you talk to, you know, especially with daycares 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.920 for example, location and costs are the pretty much the 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:02.000 decision factors of how you choose a daycare. Yeah, you 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:05.199 can't search for half of that conversation. So to us 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:07.600 it makes absolutely no sense. You know. That's how you 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:09.680 end up with people like me meeting enough force that 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:12.400 they can't afford. I do wonder, Dana, as you look 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:14.080 into this and you talk about, let's start with the 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:16.879 childcare and daycare market, what have you found out in 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.520 terms of the wide range of pricing and how can 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:25.359 some greater transparency maybe reduce these costs costs for individuals, 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:27.800 because we know for family this is often a big 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:31.160 line item. Oh it's it's not just a big line item. 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:34.280 It's often the second largest line item after housing. And 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:37.280 I think not enough attention is given to that. I mean, 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.800 in New York State alone, you're spending about of your 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:43.200 average house the income. And that's just by the Economic 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:46.880 Policy Institute, and according to our database, it's even higher. 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.000 In New York City, the average cost is around twenty 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:52.280 two d a month for a daycare. So these are 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:56.320 crazy numbers, right, and to us, you know, pricing transparence 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.480 you really represents one. You know, we're actually just saving 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:01.960 you the time, time and a frustration, you know, going 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:04.440 down this path, doing the work, going in these in 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:07.240 person tours, which are now riskier than ever. Um, but 0:20:07.320 --> 0:20:09.639 we're also trying to let you discover some options you 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:12.359 might not have known. We're around you. Thousands of parents 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:16.119 are already searching, comparing, doing exactly what we designed the 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:19.720 company to do. And we're hearing, you know, anecdotally, that 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:23.320 daycares are actually doing just fine because people let the 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:25.760 kids out of the house. So it's actually very funny, 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:28.640 you know, everyone assumed that, Oh, nobody's going to send 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:30.920 their kid back to daycare. That's not what we've heard. 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:34.080 Everyone's working from home. They want the kid out. That's 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:36.719 Dana Levin Robinson. She's got founder and CEO of Upfront, 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:39.760 looking to bring more transparency to the daycare market. What 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:42.560 it's like to create a business in a COVID nineteen world. 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:45.840 You are listening to Bloomberg Business Week. Speaking of transparency, 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:47.240 we got a lot of that once again from the 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:52.160 ce of Travago. We got his expectations for whether two 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.359 will next be the year of travel. This is Bloomberg. 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:07.400 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Garrol Mazer from Bloomberg Radio. 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:09.480 We're bringing you some of our favorite interviews from the 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:12.320 past week on our daily radio show and podcast, and 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:14.480 that includes a friend of the show someone we've reached 0:21:14.520 --> 0:21:17.960