Latest news with #Zip
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
4 Steps Of Pivoting In The Age Of AI
The ability to pivot effectively has become less of an occasional necessity and more of a core leadership competency. Especially as artificial intelligence reshapes entire industries at breakneck speed, start-up leaders are discovering that successful pivots require a unique blend of analytical rigor, emotional intelligence, and strategic courage. My conversations with four leaders—each navigating their own transformational journey—a clear framework emerges for how to orchestrate meaningful change without losing your organizational soul. When Rujul Zaparde, co-founder of procurement platform Zip, saw the emergence of ChatGPT, he didn't rush to slap AI onto existing features. Instead, he took his team back to fundamentals. "We really took a first principles approach to the company and the product to sort of say, okay, how do we, like, if we were to solve this problem, like, you know, the problem we solve for, like, what's the best way to solve it today?" This methodical approach proved transformative. Rather than viewing AI as a trendy add-on—which generally doesn't solve any real problem—Zaparde's team recognized they were uniquely positioned as an "orchestration layer" with access to supplier data, contract information, and financial systems that individual point solutions couldn't match. Their AI capabilities have since been used over four and a half million times. The lesson? Before pivoting, strip away assumptions and return to core problems. 1. What are your customers struggling with? 2. How intense is this problem? 3. How often do they experience this problem? 4. What's left short with your current approach? 5. How might your leverage any accumulated strengths and capabilities to develop a new approach? That requires writing, which brings us to step number two. Perhaps nowhere is the complexity of organizational pivots more apparent than at Chef, the marketplace connecting local cooks with neighbors. CEO Joey Grassia discovered that even when data clearly indicated the need for change, execution required something more nuanced than compelling metrics. "It really did take us 12 to 18 months to change the culture of the company so that people were willing to question what we've always done and willing to acknowledge that we may have to burn the boats on our old business to make the leap into the new one," Grassia reflects. The breakthrough came when Grassia crystallized the company's direction in a comprehensive memo outlining three specific milestones around growth, efficiency, and scale. "It wasn't until I wrote that memo and it was like, these are the three milestones of building a great business. Our existing business has no chance of accomplishing these things, so we have to disrupt ourselves. That was really the turning point." The transformation was dramatic. Writing a memo is one of the best ways to fast-track clarity. Since the pivot, Chef moved from standalone orders to standardized subscriptions, reducing customer cognitive load from 25 minutes per order to under 75 seconds for subsequent weeks. Forty percent of existing users opted into the new recurring model without any marketing push, and user spend tripled. Grassia found that successful pivots require what he calls "the wisdom to know that you need to do it and the courage to actually take the leap." But between wisdom and courage lies the critical work of building organizational conviction through clear, logical communication. While data and strategy provide the rational foundation for pivots, Charlie Greene, founder of memory-preservation platform Remento and recent Shark Tank winner, demonstrates why the most successful transformations also require deep emotional intelligence. Greene learned this lesson through experience: "Pivots are incredibly easy to talk about in retrospect, they're incredibly difficult to navigate as they're unfolding. Because you never wake up one day and realize that today is the day you're going to pivot." For Remento, the pivot from a conversation-structuring tool to a book-creation platform wasn't just about product features—it required reimagining their entire value proposition. The original product had high download rates but low usage. "While we had built a product that aligned perfectly with what users told us they wanted, we quickly learned that our solution didn't remove nearly enough of the friction needed to spur adoption." Greene's approach to managing this uncertainty offers a lesson in communication. "One of our values is clear as kind," he explains. "Being able to say to your team, look, here's where we are right now. Does anyone disagree with where we are right now? You know, like, okay, we can agree this is where we are right now. Can we all agree where we need to be in three months?" Greene emphasizes bringing teams into the decision process while maintaining ultimate accountability—a delicate balance between vulnerability and authority. In the next decade, AI will likely disrupt every company and every industry. If you're not examining how true that's likely to be for your business, you'll get swallowed by a competitor. Bryan Power, Head of People at Nextdoor, shared just how urgent this transformation is. Having navigated multiple organizational turnarounds, Power sees AI as fundamentally different from previous technological shifts. "One of the major disruptions that AI is doing is certain activities now the turnaround is so fast that managers have a mental model of how long something takes in their head because they did it when they were a contributor. But this is now something that takes minutes that used to take days." This speed transformation creates unprecedented management challenges. As Power explains, "What happens to those five days has not really been worked through because as an employee I'm like, you're paying me to do this thing. It doesn't matter. Fifteen minutes, five days. I did what you told me to do." Power's response at Nextdoor has been characteristically direct: comprehensive AI training programs and a cultural mandate that everyone must engage with these tools. "I can actually tell if someone's been using AI for a month or three months or for six months," he notes. "I can see the learning moves that people make in the early going, and by extension I can see when they haven't made them yet." The broader implication is sobering: "I saw people not embrace the Internet. And like, think about that point of view today is just mind boggling to me. But in my time, in my career, my early 20s, I saw the people that embraced it and it just completely made the first five to 10 years of their career because they were out front." Four key insights emerge from these leaders' experiences: Start with your problem. Before implementing any change, return to fundamental questions about the problems you're solving and whether current approaches can scale to meet future demands. Build internal logic through clear communication. Successful pivots require more than good ideas—they need comprehensive strategies with measurable milestones that help teams understand not just what's changing, but why change is inevitable. Balance data with emotional intelligence. While metrics provide direction, the human element of change management—creating psychological safety, maintaining transparency, and holding space for uncertainty—often determines execution success. Move quickly. Rather than viewing artificial intelligence as an optional enhancement, treat it as a fundamental shift that requires organizational learning and adaptation at every level. Finally, the leaders profiled here share one crucial characteristic: they didn't wait for perfect information before acting. Instead, they developed frameworks for making decisions under uncertainty while building organizational capabilities to execute those decisions effectively. In an era where the pace of change continues to accelerate, the question isn't whether your organization will need to pivot—it's whether you're building the cultural and strategic capabilities to do so successfully. The most successful pivots combine analytical rigor with human wisdom, creating organizations that don't just survive change but thrive because of it.
Fashion Network
6 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Newme launches 60 minute delivery service Newme Zip
Fashion-tech label Newme has introduced Newme Zip, a rapid delivery service promising fashion delivery within 60 minutes across Bengaluru. The move follows a successful pilot in Delhi-NCR, where the brand currently operates on a 90-minute fulfilment window. The initiative aims to cater to Gen Z consumers who prioritise both speed and style, Newme announced in a press release. With over 1,500 styles available for near-instant delivery in Bengaluru, the rollout is supported by a network of dark stores positioned across the city. These fulfilment hubs are designed to enable the brand to process orders quickly, even during peak traffic hours. 'Gen Z is clear in what they want- style that's current, access that's instant, and experiences that feel personal,' said Newme's co-founder and CEO Sumit Jasoria in a press release. 'The overwhelming response to our pilot confirmed that. Fast fashion can't afford to be slow. With Newme Zip and a promise of under-60-minute delivery in Bengaluru, we're building on what worked, pushing boundaries, and setting new benchmarks in fashion-tech innovation.' Launched in 2022, Newme has expanded through 14 experience-focused stores across India and a strong digital presence. The Newme Zip service is part of the brand's omni-channel strategy to align with the pace and expectations of its Gen Z audience. Newme plans to extend Zip to Mumbai and Hyderabad in the coming months, positioning itself as a leader in on-demand fashion access in India.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
NEWME launches 60-min fashion delivery in Bengaluru, plans expansion to Mumbai and Hyd
Bengaluru: Fast fashion brand NEWME has launched a 60-minute fashion delivery service in Bengaluru under its new initiative, NEWME Zip, following its 90-minute delivery pilot in Delhi-NCR, which started 6-months back. 'Gen Z is clear in what they want - style that's current, access that's instant, and experiences that feel personal,' said Sumit Jasoria, co-founder and CEO, NEWME in a chat with ETRetail. 'The overwhelming response to our pilot confirmed that fast fashion can't afford to be slow. With NEWMe Zip and a promise of under-60-minute delivery in Bengaluru, we're building on what worked, pushing boundaries, and setting new benchmarks in fashion-tech innovation.' Speaking on the evolution of the initiative, Jasoria shared, 'We are in the business of fashion, where we bring new styles every single week, and that's our prime core value proposition. While fashion delivery is evolving, the market is changing and as a technology-first company, we have to also innovate to stay relevant to the consumers. And this was an initiative which we picked last year.' NEWME is currently operating the Zip model in Bengaluru through a combination of dark stores and its own retail outlets. While the brand works with third party delivery, the company is now testing in-house riders in Bengaluru, Jasoria said. The brand plans to expand its quick delivery offering to Hyderabad and Mumbai over the next quarter, he shared. NEWME is currently operating 14 offline stores and plans to add 10–12 more in this year. Commenting on the brands performance, Jasoria said that the fashion retailer has reported 3x growth in the last fiscal and is targeting similar journey this year. Quick commerce is increasing traction in categories beyond grocery. Earlier on Tuesday, 60-minute fashion delivery startup Slikk announced that it has raised USD 10 million in a funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners and Lightspeed. Last year in December, Myntra forayed into 30-minute delivery with M-Now.
Sky News AU
22-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 dives after poor US Treasury auction causes major indexes on Wall Street to record their worst day in a month
The ASX 200 has dived 0.6 per cent after a wipeout on Wall Street triggered by lacklustre demand for US assets, sparking major concerns over the world's largest economy. The drop follows the ASX 200 climbing more than six per cent over the past month as stocks continue to recover from the shock of Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcement. The index is up about 14 per cent from its six-month low on April 7 but remains about 2.6 per cent off its record high in February. It fell 0.6 per cent in the first 30 minutes of trading with financial service company Zip falling 6.3 per cent, agricultural chemical company Nufarm down 5.3 per cent and tech company Block down 3.3 per cent. The drop follows a wipeout on Wall Street after a poor US Treasury auction sparked concern about the security of American assets. Major US indexes recorded their worst day in a month with the tech heavy Nasdaq diving 1.4 per cent, the S&P 500 plunging 1.6 per cent and the Dow Jones falling 1.9 per cent on Wednesday. It was a mixed bag in Europe as London's FTSE 250 Index sank 0.7 per cent while Germany's DAX rose 0.3 per cent and the EURO STOXX 50 Index finished flat. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index is down about 0.6 per cent since it began trading on Thursday while Japan's Nikkei 225 is down 0.8 per cent.
Finextra
20-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Brex and Zip bid to transform the modern enterprise financial stack
Brex, the modern finance platform, and Zip, the world's leading procurement orchestration platform, today announced Brex for Zip – a groundbreaking solution that seamlessly integrates Brex's global card capabilities directly into Zip's procurement workflows. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. This category defining partnership delivers end-to-end spend orchestration that eliminates the traditional disconnect between procurement requests and payment execution. This enables enterprises to accelerate purchasing, prevent unauthorized spend, and gain complete visibility across their procurement and spend lifecycle. In today's climate of economic uncertainty, companies need more than outdated procurement and spend management tools to control costs—especially for high-volume, one-off purchases that are hard to track. In most organizations, procurement and payment still operate in silos, managed by separate teams using disconnected systems. This creates unnecessary friction (like setting up a new vendor for a single payment), limited controls (as with traditional credit cards), and lightweight tools that break down at scale. These gaps compound quickly, creating blind spots that lead to unexpected costs, missed savings, and increased risk of non-compliance. Brex for Zip solves these challenges by embedding Brex virtual cards directly into Zip's platform, allowing businesses to make secure vendor payments at every stage of the procurement process – from initial request to purchase order to invoice payment – while maintaining rigorous controls and complete traceability and reconciliation throughout the entire procurement lifecycle. Together, Brex and Zip serve more than 30,000 of the world's most forward-thinking companies, including Anthropic, BetterUp, Carta, Coinbase, eToro, Neuralink, Gong, Wiz, Zapier, and more. "As a longtime customer of both Brex and Zip, we've experienced firsthand how each platform has transformed our financial operations and procurement processes respectively," said Adam Dix, Head of Financial Operations at Anthropic. "The integration of these two best-in-class solutions is exactly what we've been waiting for. Bringing together Brex's powerful global card capabilities with Zip's intuitive procurement workflows will eliminate the manual reconciliation work that currently consumes hours of our team's time each week. We're excited to be among the first to implement this game-changing solution." Brex for Zip gives enterprises the ability to: Streamline procurement and payment workflows: Issue Brex virtual cards directly within Zip across intake, PO, and invoices for faster, one-time payments with automated reconciliation. Eliminate unnecessary vendor onboarding for ad-hoc purchases and reduce procurement cycles by cutting out manual payment processes. Prevent unauthorized spend before it happens: Assign unique Brex virtual cards to each request with transaction-level limits, all while enforcing compliance through Zip's procurement controls. Real-time visibility eliminates the risk of duplicate payments, fraud, or policy violations – going far beyond basic card-level controls offered by traditional spend management solutions. Simplify global operations with a single card program: Make payments in over 30+ currencies and time-consuming intercompany transfers. This enterprise-grade global capability scales Zip's global payments product, enabling multinational enterprises to standardize complex procurement and payment processes worldwide. Maximize working capital from procurement spend: Transition vendor payments from ACH to Brex global cards within Zip to gain greater flexibility over payment timing while earning valuable rewards on everyday procurement spend, and save on FX fees. "At Brex, our goal is to empower businesses to spend smarter and move faster. Brex for Zip represents a significant leap forward in achieving that goal by creating a truly unified ecosystem and removing barriers for both finance and procurement leaders—helping them stay more connected than ever," said Pedro Franceschi, CEO of Brex. "By directly integrating Brex's global card into Zip's procurement platform, we're eliminating the friction of outdated systems and giving businesses the visibility, control, and speed they need." "At Zip, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible with procurement technology so that we can empower finance and procurement leaders to mitigate risk, drive growth, and increase control over spend – at a time when doing so has never been more critical," said Rujul Zaparde, Co-Founder and CEO of Zip. "Whether you're a high-growth startup or one of the world's largest companies, Brex for Zip delivers a truly unified experience that brings Brex's powerful global card capabilities directly into Zip's powerful procurement workflows to help businesses of all sizes navigate today's economic challenges with enhanced efficiency and control." "We're proud to see two top Y Combinator companies come together to raise the bar for enterprise finance. At YC, we use both Brex and Zip, and have seen firsthand how they dramatically streamline financial operations and procurement. This integration represents the kind of innovation we encourage at YC — solving real problems for customers," said Dalton Caldwell, Managing Partner at Y Combinator. Brex for Zip is built on Brex Embedded, an API-driven payments solution that enables B2B software vendors to integrate Brex virtual cards directly into their platforms. This integration allows joint customers to make fast, secure global payments in virtually any currency while automating reconciliation and maintaining robust controls.
