Latest news with #Kopp
Miami Herald
10-07-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Which Americans are most embarrassed by their feet?
Forty-four percent of Americans are self-conscious about their feet. That's according to a new survey that examined how 2,000 people around the country feel about their feet. The survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Kerasal revealed that Gen X was the most embarrassed by their feet (49%), followed by millennials (45%) and Gen Z (42%). In fact, two-thirds (66%) have avoided wearing open-toed shoes due to concerns about how their toenails look. Almost half (47%) of women, specifically, have felt self-conscious about what their feet look like at the beginning of their pedicure after their polish came off, and an additional 36% said they actually hide their issues with shoes or nail polish. Factors like smell (50%), toenail fungus (42%), toe hair (16%) and toe shape (14%) are the most common reasons keeping people from showing off their feet. Twenty-eight percent of people also shared they've had fungal nail infections. Of those who have, almost two in five (38%) were Gen Z or Millennials. When asked about the biggest challenges they face when caring for their nails or feet, respondents cited several common issues: lack of time (25%), lack of knowledge (22%), financial costs (21%) and difficulty finding products that work (20%). "Feet play a critical role in wellbeing and overall health," said Whitney Kopp, Head of Kerasal. "A lot of people struggle with foot insecurities, like toenail fungus, that prevent them from enjoying simple pleasures such as wearing sandals or visiting a spa. The good news is that these concerns are often easily manageable. Appearance plays a big role in confidence, and with the right care, anyone can feel great about showing off their feet." Foot odor and toenail fungus ranked as the most embarrassing things for someone you're dating to see. In fact, 41% said they'd reconsider dating someone with unkempt feet. And for the opportunity to have 'perfect feet', 30% of respondents said they would give up alcohol, and 20% said they would give up coffee. At the other end of the scale, some people are extremely confident in their feet, so much so that almost one in three (29%) Americans have considered selling pictures of their feet if there were no repercussions. Despite some embarrassment, Americans still proudly show their feet off all year round, with 42% saying it's acceptable to wear sandals no matter the season. This doesn't just ring true for those in warmer regions of the country either. Close to a third of respondents in the Northeast (30%) and the Midwest (31%) say it's perfectly fine to wear sandals no matter how low the temperature drops. Our feet carry us through so much, yet they're often the most overlooked part of self-care," added Kopp. "This research shows just how deeply appearance and confidence are connected. It's a reminder that small acts of care can make a big difference in how we feel day to day." Survey methodology: Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans; the survey was commissioned by Kerasal and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between April 16–24, 2025. We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are: Traditional online access panels - where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentiveProgrammatic - where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan. Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value. Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample. Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes: Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speedersOpen ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant textBots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify botsDuplicates: Survey software has "deduping" based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access. The post Which Americans are most embarrassed by their feet? appeared first on Talker. Copyright Talker News. All Rights Reserved.
New York Post
07-07-2025
- Health
- New York Post
CEO says she ‘figured out jet lag' — her 2-step trick banished ‘severe' side effects
Traveling between time zones can wreak havoc on your sleep and potentially throw a real wrench into your perfect vacation. Luckily, Wendy Kopp — the CEO and co-founder of nonprofit Teach for All — has a super-easy hack that she swears by. 'I've figured out jet lag,' the former CEO of Teach for America, 58, recently told CNBC. Wendy Kopp — the CEO and co-founder of nonprofit Teach for All — has a super-easy hack that she personally swears by. CNBC 'I used to have such severe jet lag,' she said, especially when traveling from east to west, which is unusual since the opposite is typically considered more common because it's easier to delay sleep than it is to wake up earlier. Regardless, someone finally taught her the secret. 'The trick is: You don't eat on the plane, and when you land, you go on a run before you eat anything,' Kopp said. 'For many, many years, I didn't do it, and I finally just resorted to it, and I've not had jet lag since.' Kopp admitted that even though this two-step trick works, it 'seems impossible' — probably because who wants to do any of that? Most of us struggle to go on a run at home, let alone abroad. But her advice makes sense. 'The trick is: You don't eat on the plane and, when you land, you go on a run before you eat anything,' Kopp said. Dragana Gordic – Experts do recommend exercising — especially outdoors — to help banish jet lag, and studies have shown that syncing your meals with the local time can help your body adjust to the new time zone. Skipping in-flight meals can also help reset your circadian rhythm — the body's internal clock — and reduce bloating, gas and other gastrointestinal discomforts. But if any of this sounds unfeasible, we've got a few more tricks up our sleeve. Dr. Rebecca Robbins, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, recommends adjusting your sleep schedule 15 minutes every day into the direction of your destination's time zone in the weeks leading up to your trip. 'Then, once you board the plane, change your phone or wristwatch to your destination time zone and start to live, eat and sleep on this new time,' she previously told The Post. When you arrive, try to get as much natural sunlight and fresh air as you can, as this will help your circadian rhythm adapt to your new sleep/wake schedule. Experts also recommend avoiding alcohol because it dehydrates you, disrupts your sleep quality and interferes with your body's ability to adjust to a new time zone. Other, weirder advice includes doing the Macarena in-flight and standing barefoot in dirt as soon as you land — a technique known as 'earthing' or 'grounding.'
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
OPmobility secures contract for rapid product development in India
OPmobility has secured a new contract from an Indian automotive manufacturer for the development of a full bumper and grille for a light-duty truck model. The product was delivered from prototype to series-ready in under 15 months, significantly shorter than the industry average of 26 months in India. The contract underscores the growing requirement in the Indian automotive sector for shorter development cycles. Production is scheduled to begin by the end of 2026. Christian Kopp, Senior Executive Vice-President and President of the Exterior & Lighting Business Group at OPmobility, said: 'The award of this contract by an Indian automotive manufacturer illustrates the talent of our teams and their agility in a fast-changing market. It also highlights our proximity with OEMs worldwide and allows us to reinforce our partnership with this long-term customer.' Expanding operations in India OPmobility currently equips one out of every two vehicles in India and operates four R&D centres and five manufacturing facilities across the country. The company plans to add four more plants by the end of the decade to strengthen its presence. According to S&P Global Mobility , India's automotive production is expected to grow at an average rate of 4.7 per cent between 2025 and 2030. Kopp added, 'Already a key player in this strategic country, OPmobility keeps investing significantly in India, the world's third largest automotive market and a growing industrial player. Our ambition in India is not just to supply our customers in the country, but also to use its capacities to improve our overall competitiveness in engineering and industrial production in all our countries.'
CNBC
26-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
How to reverse alarming education decline in U.S. and around the world: Teach for All founder Wendy Kopp
Wendy Kopp grew up as a member of "the me generation," during a period of time when she says young, highly educated Americans were "convinced that we all wanted to go to work on Wall Street." But that ideology didn't resonate with Kopp, who graduated from Princeton University in 1989. When firms were trying to recruit graduates who could commit two years to work at their firm, Kopp asked herself, "Why aren't we being as aggressively recruited to commit just two years to teach in our country?" She became heavily invested in answering that question. "It's a big, complex, systemic challenge, and we know that no one thing will solve this problem, that ultimately it will take many things, which means it will take a lot of leadership, at every level of the system, the whole ecosystem around kids," Kopp told CNBC's Julia Boorstin in a recent interview for the CNBC Changemakers Spotlight series. Kopp was named to the 2025 CNBC Changemakers list. "We need what we've come to call collective leadership, meaning enough people who are on a mission to make the system work for kids, who are all working together, exercising leadership in their individual positions, as teachers, as school leaders, as school system leaders in government, as social innovators, as advocates, but who are also stepping up from their individual pursuits and working together." Kopp began making that mission a reality decades ago as founder of Teach for America, but the mission has grown. "There was a particular year when we met 13 people from 13 different countries who were determined that something similar needed to happen in their countries," said Kopp. Teach For All, the newer organization where Kopp is also founder and CEO, oversees a network of 15,000 teachers reaching 1.3 million students around the world, from the U.S. to India, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan. She shared with CNBC her ideas on leadership and what needs to change in the way we educate children, including the role of AI. And she made clear there is still a lot of work left to be done. "We are really in the midst of this very depressing, huge educational decline," Kopp said. "Educational outcomes on average in the developed countries, the OECD countries, have been declining since before Covid, and for something like 30 years-plus, they've been declining in low to middle income countries." Education is not failing students for lack of trying, according to Kopp. "A lot of people are throwing a lot at the issue," she said, but added that a key lesson she has earned is that focusing on the technical practices of education, the curriculum, the technology, and getting the buildings open, is important but not sufficient. "We need to figure out how to foster the sense of purpose throughout a system so that all those things are done with intention, and that's really where we've been lacking," she said. Kopp says AI is a good example of how this lesson can go heeded, or if not heeded, lead to disappointing outcomes. Despite widespread fears about AI, the most important positive from her perspective is that AI has given every teacher a personal assistant. "That's game-changing," she said. "These are some of the most overworked professionals, and now they can do many, many things much more easily. So that is already a revolution," she added. But she stressed that it is only the technology "in the hands of an extraordinary teacher" that is an "incredible accelerant of good things for kids." However, technology in a school "where there's no sense of purpose and where you don't have engaging teachers, becomes the world's biggest distraction." "We need to be really careful about assuming that the technology will solve the problem, because everything we've seen tells us that if we want to have change in education [and] we want to have positive things happening for kids, we need to first think about the people in the puzzle and cultivate what we've come to call collective leadership, cultivate the teachers and the school leaders and the whole system to be on a mission to ensure that all kids learn and to get kids on that same mission." It is only in that context, Kopp says, that technology can be revolutionary. In her early days at Teach for America, Kopp would send handwritten letters to investors and organizations, an era when email did not exist. From 10 letters, she might get one or two positive responses and one meeting with the goal of funding Teach For America. "I just kept telling myself, as long as I get two yesses, or even one yes ... Because then one person connects you to the next person," she said. Kopp said right now there is plenty of evidence of current young generations' commitment to justice, and environmental sustainability, and platforms like social media make the world's challenges more visible than ever. She said the "most valuable asset" these generations have is their time and energy to take on the world's biggest challenges and to be part of collective movements to actually solve them. And she says key to this "boots on the ground" mission will be selling the idea just as she did to the doubters. Back when she was getting Teach for America founded, people in schools and school systems were supportive of the need, but also told her, "this will never work. You will never get college students to do this." That only made Kopp double down on her mission. "That was the feedback, I thought, 'Okay, well, I know we'll get the college students.' I had real confidence in pursuing it." But Kopp also stressed that conviction isn't at its best alone. "We've got to walk the right line between confidence and humility," she said. "We need to act on our convictions, on our values, on our big ideas, but also be open to learning and build the relationships and ask for feedback. I think it's getting that intersection right." As her educational mission has scaled across the globe, Kopp has seen how young graduates from engineers to political science majors can quickly develop a track record of leadership after enlisting for just two years. "Those two years are so important for their students and so important for the leadership trajectories of those teachers. They're completely transformative. They lead to a lifetime of leadership," she said. Dating back to the founding of Teach for America, the organizations have brought in 120,000 people who committed just two years "but have never left the work," Kopp said. "75% of them never leave the work after their two-year commitment to teach. They may leave the classroom, but they become those leaders who are working throughout the system, who have the networks and relationships to work with each other and with many others in the system to affect the changes that we need to see," she said. That has stayed true as the organization's mission expanded globally, and to countries where Kopp worried it would be hard for people to stay long-term. "Yet we saw the same results everywhere, even the same data points. You could be in Chile or Peru or Austria or India, and no matter what, you commit two years, and 75% of you will never leave," she said. If at first young educators came into the mission thinking of it as a "kind of a technical problem and solution," and they would emerge as civic leaders in other segments of society, Kopp says they came out "really understanding the complexity, the systemic nature, the adaptive nature of the solution." "What we saw through that research is they really become the leaders we need, who have such a sense of possibility, such a deep understanding of the issues and their solutions, and we also saw that their career trajectories and priorities completely shift," she said. Kopp says "once you get obsessed with an idea, you can't let it go." "And that's why we need young people tackling big challenges," Kopp said. "They'll ask big questions and dive in without being held back by all the experience." Kopp has traveled the globe as a result of her work, and as a result, she has logged plenty of hours failing to solve a problem unrelated to education: jet lag. But she finally figured it out. "I used to have such severe jet lag when I would go from East to West, back home, and I heard from someone the trick is you don't eat on the plane, and when you land, you go on a run before you eat anything. And for many, many years, I didn't do it. I finally just resorted to it, and I've not had jet lag since." "I travel so much, and it really has solved my problem."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rillet raises $25M from Sequoia to automate general ledger systems using AI
For accounting departments, no software is more important than the general ledger system. It's the central hub that summarizes all financial transactions, providing the essential data needed to create accurate financial statements. "The general ledger is the beating heart of the finance function, and so asking a company to remove it is a kind of open-heart surgery," said Julien Bek, a partner at Sequoia Capital. Until a few years ago, Bek believed that VCs wouldn't dare to invest in startups building new general ledger software. It's not only difficult to get customers to switch from their existing accounting software, but building a new general ledger business is also very challenging, he explained. Bek changed his mind when he discovered Rillet, a three-year-old company leveraging machine learning and generative AI to automate accounting reports. Rillet directly pulls data from their customers' banks and platforms, such as Salesforce, Stripe, Ramp, Brex and Rippling, to generate essential financial statements, including the balance sheet and income statement. Rillet founder Nicolas Kopp (pictured above) says thanks to machine learning and AI, his company's software enables accounting and finance teams at medium-sized companies to close their monthly or quarterly books in hours, a process that previously took weeks. Prior to Rillet, Kopp was U.S. CEO of European neobank N26. Since launching its product last year, Rillet's revenue has grown five-fold, and it has brought on nearly 200 customers, including fast-growing companies like Windsurf, the AI coding assistant reportedly sold to OpenAI for $3 billion, and Decagon, an AI customer support startup reportedly valued at $1.6 billion. In the past, companies of that size would likely have installed NetSuite, general ledger software developed in the late 1990s that is still very popular with middle-sized companies. But NetSuite is slow and clunky. "I think a third of their deals are coming from [customers] replacing NetSuite, or NetSuite-like systems," Bek said about Rillet's customers. It was this statistic that helped Sequoia decide to invest. "What I was watching for is that they start replacing NetSuite. Because [with] many companies, you can get the small customers, but getting the big ones, I think that's really hard," Bek said. On Wednesday, Rillet said it has raised a $25 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from existing investors. The fresh funding comes 10 months after the company raised a $13.5 million seed and pre-seed round from First Round Capital, Creandum and Susa Ventures. Rillet's AI makes the installation process relatively painless. It used to take many months to transfer all the data from one general ledger software to another, Rillet can reduce that time to about four to six weeks, Kopp said. Clients simply continue to use the existing general ledger platform until they are sure that all the data has moved to Rillet. According to Kopp, Rillet competes with NetSuite and other legacy platforms, but currently doesn't have a clear rival that leverages AI and machine learning to replace accounting systems for mid-size companies. Digits, another AI accounting startup, recently launched its autonomously-powered general ledger, but unlike Rillet, it targets small businesses that use QuickBooks and Xero. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
