• Sergey Brin suggested Google's AI-focused employees work about 60 hours weekly for increased productivity.
• Workplace experts argue longer hours can reduce productivity due to errors and decreased motivation.
• One founder instead looks for "burstable bandwidth" where workers can ramp up when needed.

For Googlers working on AI, 60 could be the new 40.

Sergey Brin sees working about 60 hours a week as "the sweet spot of productivity."

In addition to recommending that workers focusing on Gemini, the company's AI model, go well beyond the 40 hours typical of many workplaces, the Google cofounder advised in a recent memo that they consider being in the office "at least" every weekday, according to The New York Times.

"In my experience, about 60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity," Brin wrote in the memo published in full by The Verge. "Some folks put in a lot more but can burn out or lose creativity. A number of folks work less than 60 hours and a small number put in the bare minimum to get by. This last group is not only unproductive but also can be highly demoralizing to everyone else."

Yet, for many employees, more time at their desks doesn't necessarily mean they'll be more productive — and the extra hours could even hurt output if workers rev their engines for too long, workplace observers told Business Insider.

When people work more hours, there's often a diminishing return, said John P. Trougakos, a professor of management at the University of Toronto. Too much time on the job can lead to an increase in errors and a drop in motivation.

"We see people taking longer to do the same amount of work than they would do when they were fresher," he told BI.

Instead, stronger performance tends to come in shorter, focused bursts, Trougakos said.

It's understandable, he said, given the pressure leaders face, why some might want workers around more, though the prescription isn't necessarily going to yield better results.

Brin seems to be after better outcomes. In the memo, he referenced the fight for AI dominance.

"Competition has accelerated immensely and the final race to AGI is afoot," he wrote, according to the Times, referring to artificial general intelligence. "We have all the ingredients to win this race, but we are going to have to turbocharge our efforts."

Google requires workers to be in the office at least three days a week.

The company didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

Like professional athletes

Longer hours can, in some cases, be an issue of "optics," Trougakos said — a display of how dedicated people are to an organization rather than what they get done.

He said it's hard to put a number on the ideal number of hours for so-called knowledge work because it tends to be different from something like manufacturing, where more time spent assembling widgets would yield more widgets.

By contrast, with desk jobs, "You can spend 60 hours on the clock and be very unproductive," Trougakos said.

Heidi Golledge, the founder and CEO of Jobot, a consulting and recruiting firm that uses artificial intelligence, likens her employees to professional athletes who need to rest between games.

Without time to recover, she told BI, "you can't play at the same level."

As a tech exec, Golledge said, she believes in "burstable bandwidth" for her workers. That means if there's a key deadline, they can expect to put in more time.

"You work a bit harder on those days, but you have to be able to rest and recharge, and then you can come at the problem anew," Golledge said.

A recipe for burnout

Laura Vanderkam, author of "Tranquility by Tuesday" and other books about time management, has studied the time logs of various types of workers.

She told BI that few people consistently work more than 60 hours, partly because doing so can lead to burnout.

Vanderkam also said it's unlikely that a round number like 60 would be the ideal amount of time to work. It's similar to how 10,000 steps is a round number, though not one tied to scientific benchmarks for good health.

She said it can be hard to quantify how much time people need to be working because, for example, a major innovation could come at any time.

"That minute where they got that breakthrough is worth 50 hours of sitting around doing nothing else," Vanderkam said.

She said that in a place like Google, which for years was famous for on-site perks like ping-pong tables, some employees likely would have to be in the office for even more hours to account for times when they weren't working.

"I found very few people working consistently that many hours without some sort of downtime in there," Vanderkam said of workplaces she's studied.

40 to 50 hours is reasonable

Devoting too many hours to the office can cut into workers' ability to do things that can help them succeed in the long run — activities like exercising, spending time with friends and family, and getting enough sleep.

Working too few hours, of course, also reduces productivity.

Vanderkam said many people who have full-time, "intense" jobs end up working between 40 and 50 hours a week. She sees that as reasonable, adding that "45 to 50 hours of work is different from 60."

Trougakos, who has researched employee well-being, productivity, and work trends, said that rather than a specific number of hours, employers should focus on how people use their time, how they can use technology to boost productivity, and how to minimize interruptions during work hours.

Grinding for 60 hours, he said, isn't likely to achieve a big payoff.

"It's contrary to almost all data on high performance and productivity that we have," Trougakos said.

• Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis announced on X that she had welcomed another child with Elon Musk.
• Musk responded to her post with a heart emoji.
• The pair had already welcomed three children together: twins Strider and Azure, and daughter Arcadia.

Billionaire Elon Musk and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis announced the birth of their fourth child on Friday.

Zilis first shared the news in a post on X, writing: "Discussed with Elon and, in light of beautiful Arcadia's birthday, we felt it was better to also just share directly about our wonderful and incredible son Seldon Lycurgus. Built like a juggernaut, with a solid heart of gold. Love him so much."

Musk responded to her post with a heart emoji.

The pair had already welcomed three children together, twins Strider and Azure, and daughter Arcadia.

It comes weeks after influencer Ashley St. Clair said she had also welcomed a child with Musk.

"Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father," she wrote on X in mid-February, adding that she had not previously disclosed the news in an effort to protect the child's privacy and safety.

Musk has not publicly acknowledged St. Clair's claim.

Musk has also welcomed six children with his first wife Justine Wilson: Nevada Alexander (who died at just 10 weeks of age), twins Griffin and Vivian, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian.

The Tesla CEO also has three children with the musician Grimes: two sons, X Æ A-12 and Techno Mechanicus, and a daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl.

Musk has long warned of the risks posed by declining birth rates.

In a post on X in July 2022, he said that "a collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far" and that he was doing his "best to help the underpopulation crisis."

• I was born and raised in Paris and know the best ways for tourists to blend in with locals.
• Wearing a beret is typically a surefire way to spot that someone is a tourist.
• Greeting people in English and waiting for the check at a restaurant make tourists stand out.

It's no secret that Parisians have a reputation for being a little standoffish if you don't know how to properly approach them.

However, as someone who was born and raised in Paris, I know that blending in with the locals is a good way for tourists to have a positive experience while visiting the French capital.

Here are five mistakes I advise against making if you want to experience Paris like a local.

Wearing a beret

I'll admit it — berets are cute. However, if you don't want to stick out like a sore thumb on your visit to Paris, I'm sorry to say you'll need to skip the souvenir-shop beret.

Most Parisians don't wear this stereotypical hat, and sporting one feels like a sure sign that someone is a tourist.

On a similar note, as a general guideline, I recommend avoiding anything the title character in "Emily in Paris" would wear or do.

Eating at restaurants where the staff really try to lure you in

If staff members are posted outside a restaurant with a handful of menus and call out to you as you pass by, you can almost guarantee the food will be overpriced and subpar.

In my experience, the same goes for any restaurant where the menu is offered to you in English before French. That's why I typically recommend steering clear of overly touristy restaurants.

However, I do think some popular tourist spots, like Les Deux Magots and the Café de Flore, are worth visiting. Both are unbeatable for a weekday breakfast of a croissant, coffee, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Waiting patiently for your check at a café or restaurant

Although many Americans are accustomed to being served their bill before deciding whether they want dessert, in Paris, the check is typically only brought to you if you explicitly ask for it.

If you wait patiently to be invited to pay, you could sit there for a long time.

Sticking exclusively to tourist hot spots

One of my favorite things to do in Paris is roam the side streets aimlessly. However, you'll miss out on this experience if you head directly to famous monuments and museums.

Instead, take the long way to your destination, turn off the major avenues, and take in the architecture and charming little shops.

Paris is compact and designed for walking, so you'll never get too far off track, even if you're lost.

Greeting people in English

You definitely don't need to be fluent in French to visit Paris, but it's always polite to learn a few basic phrases and greetings.

Although this is a considerate practice in any non-English-speaking country, I've noticed Parisians particularly resent a lack of effort on this front.

As long as you do your best to initiate the conversation in French, it's often fine to then immediately switch to English — some locals will be eager to practice their language skills with you and appreciate you meeting them halfway.

• Taylor Francis cofounded a carbon-emissions data-tracking startup in 2019.
• The startup said it raised $100M in a Series C funding round in 2024 at a $1.8B valuation.
• He shared how he pitched his climate-change-focused startup to investors during Trump's first term.

As cofounder of Watershed, an emissions data-tracking startup, Taylor Francis's job is to convince companies to spend money on reducing their carbon footprint — even in a political landscape that may be hostile to climate initiatives.

Francis co-founded the software startup in 2019 with two former Stripe colleagues, Avi Itskovich and Christian Anderson, at the tail end of the first Trump administration, which aggressively scaled back climate-oriented incentives and regulations.

At the time, their investor pitch was simple: There's money to be made in climate action.

Six years later, with the onset of a second Trump term, Francis told Business Insider the message remains the same.

"We've been here before," he said.

In February 2024, the startup announced a $100 million Series C funding round at a $1.8 billion valuation. And January 2025 was Watershed's "best month ever as a business" regarding new revenue, Francis said. He did not disclose a figure.

Today, Francis said his biggest competitors are Salesforce and Microsoft which also offer similar emissions-tracking services. He said his clients include 60 of the Fortune 500 companies.

"I feel like that's a problem we've earned our way into recently," he said.

Business Insider visited Francis at Watershed's 23,000-square-foot office in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, where his nearly 400 employees are encouraged to come into work.

He told BI he likes to operate in an "old school" way: in person, where people can freely exchange ideas in front of a whiteboard.

Francis shared how he first pitched his company to investors in 2019 and the challenges he navigates today.

The interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

Was it hard getting companies onboard with Watershed in 2019?

Yeah, I mean, 2019 was in the first Trump administration.

It seemed no one had ever done this before — getting companies to spend money on software for climate. People had spent money on consultants, they'd spent money on [carbon] offsets. And I think that the mega trend that we are both riding and trying to accelerate is that climate is getting more and more in-the-money for companies.

That was the pitch at the time — there's money in pursuing climate initiatives.

Honestly, the first slide of our sales deck was the same in 2019 as it is today. Literally the first slide of the sales deck. It looks better, it's been redesigned, but it still says: "Software to measure, reduce, and report your carbon emissions, because climate action is good for your business."

Here's the thing, I'll say January 2025 was our best month ever as a business.

What do you think is happening there?

I think that we are indexed to companies doing the work on climate, not indexed to companies talking publicly about their work on climate.

We see now that companies are behind the scenes. When you're an enterprise software, you kind of get to see the inside of organizations and whether they're thinking about this in a thoughtful way.

The companies are going about this with more organizational seriousness now than they did three years ago. They're saying much less about it, but the executive leader who's responsible has shifted from chief sustainability officer to the chief financial officer.

Who are your competitors?

Microsoft and Salesforce. They have these modules. It's nice market validation that they think this is a big opportunity, but there's just a difference in product quality when it's the only thing you do.

A Salesforce spokesperson told Business Insider in an email that sustainability management is "fundamentally a data challenge" that requires a unified platform. A Microsoft spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

What's the hardest thing right now?

Honestly, I think it's pretty pedestrian: enterprise software challenges.

How do you make it a no-brainer for companies to buy a nice piece of software rather than a module from someone they've already purchased from?

How do you manage a growing team between San Francisco and London? Two years ago, Watershed was a hundred people, now it's 380 people.

How do you make sure you're delivering well for companies at the scale of Walmart who have enormous expectations about this sort of thing?

How many customers do you have now?

I don't know that we've shared that publicly, but we have more than 500 clients now than the 5 clients we had when John Doerr [the Chair of Kleiner Perkins] joined us in 2021.

What was your reaction when BlackRock — a Watershed client with $11.6 trillion in assets under management — pulled out of the Net Zero Asset Management Initiative?

We work with a pretty broad set of the financial sector and I will say that they are doing the work with more seriousness today than when we started working with them.

And so I think there just is this talk-action ratio thing, where a bunch of companies around the Glasgow climate conference came out with huge press releases with big bold claims and had not really figured out the data yet.

Today, you see the pullback on the pledges, and companies — behind the scenes — know what they're doing. They've got the initiatives that they're prioritizing. So I think the talk-action ratio has flipped.

Is it a good time for climate action in the world right now? No. Obviously the policy pendulum matters and the policy pendulum is not swinging in the right direction. But — behind the scenes with companies — I think people are doing more, even though they're talking less.

• I love to bake and am particularly fond of making my own sourdough bread.
• It isn't the easiest process, but I think there are simple ways for beginners to get started.
• Investing in a mixer and figuring out your favorite seasoning blends can speed up the process.

Baking my own bread has been a great way to save money — I don't have to drop $5 or more on a nice loaf at the store. Plus, spending time in the kitchen is a phenomenal stress reducer for me.

Sourdough is one of my favorite things to bake. However, getting it right can be tricky.

Unlike most breads, sourdough doesn't use the kind of dry yeast you can buy at the store. It rises with the help of a starter, which is a fermented mixture of flour and water that, over time, develops its own wild yeast and bacteria.

The live culture is what gives the loaves their delicious sour flavor.

Here are my best beginner-friendly tips for making your own sourdough at home.

Be patient with your starter.

It can take between one and two weeks for a new sourdough starter to become strong enough to use in a recipe. Luckily, the actual process of making one is pretty easy.

I like to start by mixing ¼ cup warm water and ½ cup whole-wheat flour in a large jar. Cover the mix with plastic wrap and let it rest for one day in an environment between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

On day two, uncover and stir your mix. Cover it for another day.

On day three, discard half of the contents of your jar. Then, "feed" the starter by adding ½ cup of all-purpose flour and ¼ cup of water back and mixing it together.

Cover the mixture, and let it rest for another day.

Repeat this every day until your starter has essentially doubled in size from day one. You can measure this by placing a rubber band around the initial level of the starter.

You'll know it's strong if it's fluffy and full of bubbles with a nice scent.

While feeding your starter, use the discard for other recipes

Every time you feed your sourdough starter, you have to discard some of the mixture to make space in your container.

Some people choose to feed their refrigerated starter once a week, while others will feed it once or even twice a day. It just depends on your needs.

If having to literally throw away this flour and water mix feels too wasteful to you, you can use the discard to make something else.

There are so many great discard recipes out there, from crackers, granola, cinnamon rolls, and cookies to flatbread, biscuits, bagels, and pancakes.

If you don't have time though, you can also compost the discard.

Choose your utensils wisely.

There's much debate in the sourdough community about whether it's safe to use metal bowls and utensils while making the bread. In some instances, like with aluminum, the metal can be corrosive, which doesn't mix well with the acidic starter.

However, for the most part, 100% stainless steel won't impact your dough.

That said, stainless steel can be expensive, especially if you don't already have a good collection in your kitchen. I prefer to bypass metal entirely and use a glass or ceramic bowl, wooden spoon, and silicone spatula to mix my ingredients.

Always sift your flour.

If you're trying to achieve a fluffy, airy texture with many holes throughout your loaf — a big draw of sourdough bread — sift your flour before mixing it with the other ingredients.

This essentially aerates it and helps to create a fluffier texture in your bread. If you don't have a fine mesh strainer or sieve, you can just use a whisk or fork to toss the dry flour around.

I also like to sift the flour I add to my sourdough starter each time I feed it to enhance its texture.

Invest in a mixer.

A stand or handheld mixer can be really helpful while making sourdough. It gets the mixing done without leaving me with messy, sticky hands.

I'm especially grateful for my KitchenAid mixer on high-volume baking days. Mixing everything by hand requires a lot of effort.

I highly recommend looking into investing in one if you're making sourdough as your main source of bread.

Don't forget to season your bread.

I'm not an expert at scoring my loaves or making fancy designs on top. However, I do strongly believe you should season sourdough.

I simply scatter a seasoning blend across the top of the loaf before baking to add style and flavor.

My favorite blend to use right now is an Asiago-flavored everything-bagel seasoning, but sprigs of rosemary and fancy salts are just as attractive, tasty, and fun.

Perfect your egg wash.

If you're adding loose seasonings or herbs to your loaf, you'll want to use an egg wash to make sure everything sticks. It's also a great way to create a beautiful outer crust.

If you want your crust to be more brown, mix an egg with water — the less water you use, the darker your crust will be.

If you'd like a shinier, lighter crust, though, mix your egg with a splash of milk or heavy cream instead.

Water is the secret to a great sourdough loaf.

Water helps to keep the surface of the bread flexible. The more water you add to your recipe, the more porous and fluffy your bread should turn out.

I like to spray my loaf with a good amount of water right before throwing it in the oven to help it rise better.

• When I decided to come out to my dad, I was nervous about his reaction.
• He's a lifelong Catholic, and I wasn't sure he'd be supportive.
• I needn't have worried; he told me he only cared about my happiness.

In the beginning, I'd hoped I wouldn't have to come out to my father, or the rest of my family. The first label I landed on before lesbian was bisexual, and I clung to the possibility that I'd end up with a man, and this part of me could be rendered irrelevant (yes, I know that's not actually how bisexuality works — but my younger self, just barely beginning to work through a lifetime of internalized homophobia, didn't).

Then I fell in love with a woman. I wanted to weave her into just about every aspect of my life, including my family life. It was 2021, and I'd been back in Michigan for over a year after spending that same amount of time living in Denver. That was where I'd come out to myself, away from the small Christian town I grew up in.

My parents raised my siblings and me Catholic, like they had been. When same-sex marriage was legalized, the priest of our church reassured the congregation, "Regardless of the law, we will not be conducting same-sex marriages here," and the congregation, including my dad, gave him a standing ovation.

I was nervous when I came out to my dad

Six years later, I sat in my dad's backyard feeling more nervous than I'd been since middle school cheerleading tryouts. I asked my sister to be there just in case I needed backup. I worried he would say something hurtful or disproving, and our relationship would be irrevocably changed for the worse (not an uncommon reality for queer people — in a 2021 survey, 34% of Americans asked responded they would be either "somewhat unsupportive," "not supportive at all," or "not sure" what they'd do if their child, sibling, or close family member came out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual; that figure jumps to 43% for trans or nonbinary people).

When I finally said it, he paused and nodded. "And you think this is, like, a forever thing?" I steadied myself for the worst.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, it wasn't that long ago that you had a boyfriend?"

"Oh, yeah… I would say I'm bisexual..." I responded.

"Okay." He nodded again. "And you thought your sister had to be here?"

I shrugged, "Just in case…"

Later, he asked if I'd been worried he would have been mad. "I mean, I don't know," I said. "You've been Catholic your whole life…"

He shook his head. "I think what most parents want, myself included, is for their kids to be happy."

He has been nothing but supportive

The next month, my hometown had its first Pride festival. I read a poem onstage and had a vendor booth where I wrote custom, typewritten poems. My sister and father both came for my performance and sat in my booth, and my sister brought a pack of Pride pins. When she asked my dad if he wanted one, he said sure, fastening a "Love Is Love" pin to his T-shirt.

In 2023, for the first time, we attended a non-Catholic service for Christmas Eve; my father suggested the church because of the Pride flag they hung outside. Last summer, when he visited my now-wife and me in Chicago, he set out on Sunday morning to walk to our nearest Catholic church. When he couldn't find it, he went to another Christian church. Their program featured a Progress flag with a statement about how they welcome all members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. When he returned to our apartment, he handed us the program.

"Look at that," he said. "I think it was some kind of fate that I wound up there." Later that summer, he, along with my wife's parents, paid for our wedding. Recently, during our weekly FaceTime coffee date, my dad said, "Oh, there was something I wanted to tell you. Did you know that Eleanor Rosevelt was bisexual, or maybe lesbian?" He's been reading a book about all the presidents.

"No, actually, I don't think I did know that," I said.

My father's strongest ideology, above any religious or political kind, is his love for his children. People are complicated, but he has made this straightforward and obvious. It's meant the world to me to know that his support is a sure thing.

• I grew up in a deeply religious home, was kicked out at 17, and lived in a homeless shelter.
• My relationship with my family has been strained for most of my adult life.
• My mother and brother have cancer; despite mending our relationship, I'm having difficult feelings.

Everything changed after my parents found religion when I was 14 years old.

My brothers, sister, and I had to dedicate our lives to living religious principles. I grew up in a home environment where appearances were everything. We had to "look" godly, or we'd be spanked.

For three years, I tried, but when I told my parents I wasn't going to seminary and didn't want to become a pastor, they kicked me out at 17 years old.

I found myself crying every ounce of liquid out of my body every night at the Pacific Garden Mission. I dropped out of high school and worked three low-paying jobs to survive.

I become so bitter at my parents, especially my mother. I was angry she kicked me out and that I couldn't see my little brother, who's two years younger than me.

Years later, they're both dying, and I'm unsure how to feel.

I didn't talk to my family for years

As I tried to work my way out of the homeless shelter, I met the woman who would become my first wife working at Burger King. We married the day after I turned 18 and got an apartment together. I was able to leave the homeless shelter.

A year later, we had a son. Over the next three years, we had another son and a daughter. I was not talking to my parents or family during this time.

My mother wanted to see her grandchildren, so we talked through some of our grievances. I don't know if I would have ever talked to my mother if I hadn't had children.

But I didn't want my kids not to know their grandparents, so my mother and I talked through things to the point where we could maintain communication.

I wouldn't call it a deep connection, but I decided to move on from the bitter stage and move to a cordial relationship where the main focus was my kids seeing their grandparents.

At this point, I got to talk to my brother again, who had been living with my parents. Having the short calls and being allowed to catch up and reconnect felt good.

Over the next 20 years, I kept a cordial relationship with my parents and didn't spend much time with my brother. They lived their lives, and I lived mine.

My mother and brother got cancer, and things became more complicated

My brother was diagnosed with Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) three years ago, and my mother found out she had stage four lung cancer a year ago.

I got a call earlier this year that the cancer was spreading, and I flew to spend time with them.

I knew it would be hard seeing them battling late-stage cancer, but what I walked into was my brother in the Advanced Cancer Care Center, unable to move, and my mother wanting to hold an "end of life" planning meeting. It was worse than I anticipated.

It was hard to see him not moving and the nurses having to help him do everything. My mother looked like she weighed 50 pounds and had sores on her mouth as a side effect of cancer medication; I couldn't even hug her due to the risk of possible infection.

I'm worried I won't feel anything when they pass away

Spending this time with my mom at the end of her life has made me realize I needed to forgive and let go of the grudge I've been holding onto for 27 years.

I'm not dismissing what happened to me, but I'm choosing to spend these final days getting to know the mother I didn't. I've gotten closer to my brother and made up for all the time we haven't had together.

However, as I watched my mother and brother battling terminal cancer and having what could be their last moments in life, my thoughts have been that I'm not sure I'll feel anything when they die. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that a part of me is still angry and struggling to let go.

I feel bad for them as a person would feel bad for another person who feels bad — but not emotionally, as in a "normal" way you'd feel bad toward a family member getting cancer.

I think it might be just another day when they pass away. I've been thinking — what does that say about me? Am I a bad person for not falling on the ground and losing it for over half of my family dying?

Or is this nothingness an OK feeling due to the complicated relationship we've had most of my life?

I don't know the answers, but these are conversations I'm having with my therapist.

I'm spending as much time with them as possible, not wanting to regret how I handled this opportunity to say goodbye more healthily.

• Left Field, a new dating app, has launched in New York City.
• The app uses location-based notifications to facilitate real-life encounters.
• Left Field aims to use IRL events like parties to grow users, and expand to college campuses in May.

Another new dating app is hoping to appeal to users with swipe fatigue.

Left Field launched in New York City this week and is the latest startup trying to make inroads as industry heavyweights falter.

When Left Field's founders, Samantha Martin and Kate Sieler, moved to New York after graduating from college, they were met with the same qualms that many daters have right now.

Martin told Business Insider that endless swiping, lack of organic interactions, and a barrage of paywalls are just some of the "dating pains" the two felt.

The two began building Left Field in 2024 and have since quit their jobs in finance and consulting after raising a family and friends funding round. Sean Miller, a founding engineer at fintech startup Apollo Card, joined Left Field as its technical cofounder in 2025. The app officially launched on the Apple App Store in February.

Here's how Left Field works: The profile itself is similar to many dating apps (it has photos, biographical details, and some prompts). However, instead of swiping through a stack of nearby singles, the app will send push notifications of a potential match in the area if location services are enabled and a user crosses paths with someone on the app.

"We like to call ourselves the Pokémon Go of dating," Martin said.

The idea is that Left Field is a more passive way to date, where you can toggle location services on and off.

"If you're interested in meeting someone, you just turn on the app, and then you can close it and forget about it," Sieler said.

It's not the first dating app to try to capture the feeling of crossing paths with someone nearby.

Happn, a French dating app, launched a decade ago with a similar premise.

"Singles today are looking to bring back real-life encounters, like going to bars and restaurants," Happn CEO Karima Ben Abdelmalek told BI last year.

As of now, Left Field does not incorporate any paid features.

Growing a dating app with IRL events

Like many new dating apps that have launched recently, Left Field is turning to social media to build an audience. It's working with three comedy creators to make content across Instagram and TikTok.

It's also taking a page from Tinder and Hinge's playbook by throwing parties and focusing on college campuses.

Left Field plans to expand to several college campuses in May and introduce ambassador programs for college students.

In the meantime, to grow the app in New York, Left Field plans to partner with local groups and venues, such as running clubs, bars, and comedy clubs, and host singles dating events.

Left Field hosted its launch party on Thursday night at a crowded bar in Brooklyn, where I spoke with a handful of attendees about the state of dating. The general feeling at the event around dating — particularly in New York — was exhaustion with the apps.

Dating app giants like Bumble and Match Group have seen stock prices decline since reaching all-time highs in 2021.

"It's the prime time to have a dating app startup because people are clearly so frustrated with the current offerings," Martin said. "The Catch-22 is that simultaneously, people don't like dating apps, but it's also harder to meet in real life because people are dependent on them."

• Ukrainian defense company Athlon Avia has been producing drones for more than a decade.
• The company was born in 2014 as a "reaction" to the Russian annexation of Crimea, its CEO said.
• The chief executive spoke with BI about drones, Russia, and the challenges facing his industry.

Ukrainian defense company Athlon Avia has been producing drones for Ukraine's armed forces for more than a decade.

Artem Vyunnyk, Athlon's CEO, told Business Insider that the company was founded as a "reaction" to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the Donbas war in 2014.

Since then, Athlon has developed "very close relations with the ministry of defense and with the government," taking on dozens of state contracts, Vyunnyk said.

Kyiv has ramped up drone production since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying in October that Ukraine was capable of producing 4 million drones a year.

The relatively cheap yet highly effective uncrewed systems are easy to modify and can be used for a range of missions, from surveillance to long-range strikes.

Athlon Avia's two main products — the A1-CM Furia drone and the ST-35 Silent Thunder loitering munition — are used for aerial reconnaissance and precision strikes, respectively.

Athlon says the catapult-launched A1-CM has a range of up to 50 km (around 31 miles) and has been used for reconnaissance and artillery fire adjustment in eastern Ukraine.

It has provided the system to the Ukrainian armed forces, the National Guard of Ukraine, and the Security Service of Ukraine, it says.

The ST-35 weapon system is designed to strike targets in densely built urban areas while minimizing collateral damage.

It can be equipped with a number of different warhead types, including high explosive, thermobaric, incendiary, and cumulative, Athlon says.

The ST-35 can fly for up to 60 minutes and has a range of 30 km (around 19 miles), per Athlon's website.

Vyunnyk told BI that Athlon carries out more than 200 missions per day, which he said helps the company build on its experiences, learn what it does well, and identify areas for improvement.

"It speeds up the development of the product itself, company, and troops because they get much more experience," he added.

Looking ahead, Vyunnyk said Athlon's biggest challenge would be supporting artillery units, which are some of the company's main customers.

Artillery systems and their ranges are growing bigger, Vyunnyk said, "so we have to fly longer and much farther than we used to before that, which demands quite serious changes in the system."

Vyunnyk pointed to a new plane the company is developing, which he said had to be "two times bigger than a standard Furia" to accommodate the need for more batteries.

The CEO said that another issue facing Ukrainian drone developers is electronic warfare systems, which use the electromagnetic spectrum to disrupt certain signals like GPS and video.

These systems are one of the main defenses against drones and have become increasingly important on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Drone makers have tried to adapt by developing frequency-hopping solutions to help evade such defenses, but Vyunnyk said it was like playing a game of cat and mouse.

"They make new jamming systems while we come up with new solutions for frequency-hopping," he said. "It's like a game we are playing with our enemy. Sometimes we are ahead, sometimes we are not. But in general, I would say that we have some kind of balance."

In its efforts to get more drones to the front lines, the Ukrainian government has taken a number of steps to speed up the procurement process for its forces, providing additional funds for brigades to purchase drone equipment directly and launching a new drone supply model aimed at reducing delivery times.

Such efforts will likely have come as welcome news to local drone manufacturers like Athlon Avia.

In its early days, nailing down state contracts was an uphill battle, Vyunnyk said.

But with the demands of the full-scale war, things have changed.

"Legislation changed. It became much simpler, much more open," Vyunnyk told BI. "The procedures right now are maybe 20 times easier than they were when we started out."

However, rising demand has brought its own issues.

The company struggled at the start of the invasion as it had a "lack of components" due to insufficient warehouse stocks, Vyunnyk said.

"Even our suppliers couldn't supply us with the demanded quantity and sometimes quality of these parts. So I think that to be sure that we will be efficient, we have to make big warehouses with big stocks of drones and components," he continued.

"We have to plan, we have to calculate, we have to organize production and warehouses and the supply chain to give us enough UAVs."

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Saturday! If you're headed to Starbucks for your weekend jolt of joe, it might be your last chance to get your fav order. Starting March 4, these 13 items are dropping off the menu.

On the agenda:

• Inside the five-day Bali retreat for followers of the FIRE movement.
• A top nutrition scientist shares the foods he always has on hand that make gut-healthy eating easy.
• Successful men gave us insight into their shoe game.
• A software engineer spent the past year building an at-home gym for his family. Take a look.

But first: Getting ready for Hollywood's biggest night.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

And the winner is… 🏆

Hollywood is ready to celebrate the best movies that graced the big screen last year. Amid the backdrop of the devastating California wildfires, Tinseltown is dusting off to pay homage to the creators who've made us laugh and cry.

This year, a few nominations have already made history, and viewers can also look out for potentially history-making moments on Oscars night on Sunday.

• Two musicals were among the 10 films nominated for the top prize, best picture, for the first time in five decades — "Wicked" and "Emilia Pérez."
• Cynthia Erivo became the first Black British female actor nominated twice: "Harriet" in 2020 and "Wicked" this year.
• "Succession" stars Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin were both nominated for their respective performances in "The Apprentice" and "A Real Pain."
• And if Timothée Chalamet takes home the trophy for best actor for his role in "A Complete Unknown," he'll become the youngest actor to win it.

To prepare for Hollywood's big night, I asked deputy editor Samantha Rollins what we could expect while watching from our couches at home.

"Demi Moore would be a feel-good story if she won her first Oscar for 'The Substance.' Adrien Brody was favored to win for the epic 'The Brutalist,' but Timothée Chalamet's surprise win at the SAGs for playing Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown' signals he's coming for the crown," she said.

"The winner for best picture is a toss-up: Sean Baker's 'Anora' has been an awards-season darling," Rollins added, "but I wouldn't count out the gossiping popes in 'Conclave.'"

5 days on FIRE island

The road to early retirement is paved with loneliness. For those committed to the Financially Independent, Retire Early lifestyle, it can be hard to talk about money with friends on more traditional tracks.

A five-day, $1,800 retreat in Bali has the answer for those who aspire to FIRE and those who have already achieved it. BI's Shubhangi Goel spent a week amid the flowing tears, coconut water, and conversation in the Indonesian island paradise.

The conversation went far beyond money.

What's in a nutrition scientist's kitchen

You may think a top nutrition scientist only opts for fresh foods, but that's not the case for Tim Spector. While the epidemiologist typically has a fruit bowl on his counter for snacking, he keeps his freezer stocked. Jarred and tinned foods also help simplify healthy eating, with Spector commending them as the "unsung heroes of eating well."

Spector likes to get creative, experimenting with fermentation and relying on some tricks to reach his goal of eating 30 plants a week. And he doesn't think healthy meals have to be boring.

Making gut-healthy eating easy.

Walk a mile in their shoes

Ever wonder what it's like to step into a successful person's shoes? Successful men across an array of industries shared with BI their everyday footwear so you can do that, literally.

Sneakers reigned supreme, particularly classic brands like Nike and New Balance. But don't underestimate fun cowboy boots or a luxe loafer.

Stepping into success.

A dream at-home gym

When software engineer Antonio Perez's wife became wheelchair-bound in 2023, he started to feel guilty whenever he left the house to go to the gym. So, he decided to turn his basement into one.

Perez spent the past year on the home improvement project, which included spray painting the ceilings, DIY-ing the lighting, buying gym equipment, and more. In total, he spent $32,000. He said his biggest advice for those looking to build a gym in their home is to understand it will take a lot of time.

Here's how it turned out.

What we're watching this weekend

• The Oscars: Conan O'Brien will host the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, which will stream live on Hulu.
• "Strange Darling": One of 2024's most underrated horror movies is now available on Paramount+.
• "Running Point": Kate Hudson plays a basketball heiress loosely based on LA Lakers owner Jeanie Buss in Netflix's new comedy.

See the full list

What to shop

• More than your average uniform: Ditch the pencil skirt and button-up. Instead, consider pieces from our favorite workwear brands. From sleek trousers to comfortable blazers, these are our tried-and-true stops for daily office wear.
• Social media-worthy luggage: Time and time again, Monos stands out as one of our favorite luggage brands. Learn more about our Monos favorites, and why these stylish carry-ons are worth the money.
• Solutions for combination skin: It can be tricky treating skin that is both oily and dry, as not all skincare is right for it. That's why we've gathered the best moisturizers for combination skin to help provide exactly what it needs.

More of this week's top reads:

• I paid $65 for a giant collection of vintage dishes at a thrift store and then found out it's worth almost $1,000.
• It costs $10 million to dress an A-list actress at the Oscars. These 10 jaw-dropping figures reveal the price tag of Hollywood's biggest night.
• I spent $6,500 on a small luxury cruise around Iceland. It was so good that I wouldn't book a megaship again.
• A busy 59-year-old who can plank for 4 hours straight shared how she finds time to strengthen her core.
• I spent about 3 weeks traveling through Vietnam. Looking back, I could've easily avoided these 4 mistakes.
• 'The White Lotus' star Patrick Schwarzenegger says he sometimes wishes he didn't have his last name.
• Eldest daughters tend to be their parents' favorite kids. Here's why it isn't always a good thing.
• We retired and moved to Cyprus. The Cypriot Mediterranean diet, healthcare, and weather have completely won us over.
• Michelle Trachtenberg's friends and costars react to the 'Buffy' and 'Gossip Girl' star's sudden death at 39: 'I wish I could have helped.'
• I want to build muscle and lose fat. A nutritionist said I can choose between two simple methods to hit my goals.

The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• Mark Zuckerberg met his wife, Priscilla Chan, at Harvard in 2003, and they got married in 2012.
• Their couple style has evolved over the years, especially as Zuckerberg became a billionaire.
• They've gone from wearing business-ready suits and gowns to cool, trendy ensembles.

Through the highs and lows of Mark Zuckerberg's career, Priscilla Chan has been by his side.

The couple met at a college frat party while attending Harvard University in 2003 and married in 2012. They've since had three children together, purchased over 1,200 acres of real estate, and created the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Their collective style as a couple has also changed quite a bit in the two decades they've been together — especially as Zuckerberg's net worth has grown to $232 billion, according to Forbes.

Here's what their fashion transformation has looked like.

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg have always dressed in understated, business-ready looks.

For example, they kept their outfits simple on the red carpet for the 2014 Breakthrough Prize ceremony.

Zuckerberg wore a black tuxedo and satin tie, while Chan sported a sparkling, sleeveless dress in a deep shade of blue.

That was especially true when they visited the White House in 2015.

For a state dinner that year, Zuckerberg sported his usual black suit, tie, and dress shoes.

Chan, on the other hand, looked elegant in a vibrant red dress with a lace overlay. She paired the garment with a black clutch, simple sandals, and an updo hairstyle.

By 2016, the couple developed a uniform of sorts.

Zuckerberg continued attending events like the 2016 Axel Springer Awards in dark suits and white undershirts. Rather than accessorizing, he added only belts and dress shoes.

Chan, on the other hand, began sporting all-black ensembles that year. For the awards ceremony, she donned black leggings underneath a knit tunic and ankle-length boots.

But they elevated their looks around 2018.

For the annual Breakthrough Prize ceremony, Zuckerberg wore a black tuxedo with sharp, satin lapels and his signature tie.

Chan dazzled alongside him, wearing a black sleeveless dress beneath a glitter-covered fishnet overlay with a high neckline and long sleeves.

Chan and Zuckerberg showed the power of suits in 2019.

They both walked the Breakthrough Prize red carpet in black suit jackets, with Chan wearing hers over a solid black gown.

Zuckerberg swapped his usual necktie for a bow tie.

In 2024, the couple started dressing to impress.

The couple attended the 2024 UFC 300 event in April while wearing casual yet cool outfits. Zuckerberg wore a white T-shirt with black jeans, and Chan donned a black blazer as a dress with sunglasses and a gold necklace for accessories.

Then, in May, Zuckerberg celebrated his birthday while wearing a graphic tee and gold chain.

Zuckerberg's fashion changes might have been strategic. Meta announced last summer that it was working to win over Gen Z.

The Facebook founder could have been doing the same by upping his style reputation.

They boosted their White House fashion at Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration.

Zuckerberg, who matched fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos at the event, wore a navy suit, white button-down shirt, and deep red tie.

Chan, however, made a high-fashion statement with a baby-blue Bottega Veneta set. She wore a $2,500 wool cardigan, a matching $2,800 skirt, and chunky pearl necklaces.