Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Fast Company

Using its new total audience measurement tool, Nielsen broke down six ways people consumed a single episode of a network drama after it aired last September. It tracked viewers who watched live, as well as those who used DVRs, video-on-demand services, connected TVs, and computers and mobile devices in the 35 days that followed. Across all demographics, 45% of viewers caught the show live (see chart, below). But when you look at different age groups, that figure varies dramatically, with 15% of 25- to 34-year-olds watching the show as it aired versus 64% of the 50-plus audience set. Surprisingly, the youngest viewers (18 to 24) were more likely to watch the episode live than digitally or via connected TV or VOD. Digital does have a hold on one age group:…

The first thing you notice when you step into the exam room at Kaiser Permanente’s new health center in Manhattan Beach, California, is the roomy leather exam chair. Instead of forcing patients to perch awkwardly—as a standard, papercovered table does—it allows them to sit eye-to-eye with their doctor, who can summon x-rays, lab results, and even real-time specialist consultations on a wall-mounted touch screen, or send prescriptions to an on-site pharmacy via a tablet. Sitting smack in the center of the room, the chair ensures that everything literally revolves around the patient. That’s exactly the point. According to Kaiser chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson, the question driving the redesign of the exam room was: “How do we create a holistic experience where this organization is showing you care, compassion,…

Lip Sheer Typical lipsticks frequently have synthetic flavors made up of any combination of 3,000-plus chemical ingredients, some of which contain hormone disrupters and allergens. Beauty counter uses plant-based ingredients such as jojoba esters and real vanilla instead. Tint Skin Foundation Most foundations use polyethylene glycol compounds, which thicken and emulsify, but sometimes contain 1,4-dioxane, a carcinogen. Instead, Beautycounter employs hyaluronic acid, a natural moisturizer that reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Color Outline Eye Pencil Cosmetics companies often use parabens, a type of preservative, to prevent bacteria growth on eyeliner pencils despite their link to hormonefunction disruption. Beautycounter uses rosemary extract, a natural antimicrobial.…

SoundCloud NOTABLE USERS: Drake (above), Major Lazer, Rihanna Founded in 2007 as a free tool for electronic musicians, SoundCloud has grown into a key platform for musicians of every size and genre. In addition to uploading songs, artists can use a simple Twitter-style interface to connect with followers and reshare other musicians’ songs. Bandcamp NOTABLE USERS: Alex G, Car Seat Headrest, Courtney Barnett (above) The nine-year-old song-sharing platform lets musicians create a storefront for selling albums, T-shirts, and other merch (the company takes a 10% cut). By providing a slick way for bands to connect to fans, Bandcamp has become the digital home for hundreds of thousands of artists. ReverbNation NOTABLE USERS: Alabama Shakes (above), Imagine Dragons, Kacey Musgraves The free, basic tier helps bands build pages to share music…

Kara Goldin Founder HINT WATER As soda giants grapple with plunging sales and consumers hunt for healthier options, beverage companies like Hint Water are finding ways to juice up old-fashioned H2O. Hint offers 23 varieties of fruit-tinged drinks (crisp apple, blackberry, etc.) and uses only fruit oils to add flavor—no sugar or artificial sweeteners. Starting Hint “was really a health initiative versus launching a beverage company,” says Kara Goldin, who is beginning to incorporate health-focused interactive videos and content into Hint’s offerings. Customers are gulping up her products: The company expects to become profitable this year after hitting an estimated $80 million in sales in 2015, which is nearly double its 2014 revenue. The brand’s brightly colored packaging is now a familiar presence at Whole Foods and other major grocery…

Marc Andreessen Cofounder and general partner, Andreessen Horowitz The influential VC made his $60 million investment in Lyft after losing out on investing in Uber. Carmelo Anthony Cofounder and partner, Melo7 Tech Partners The NBA star has dubbed himself “the new digital athlete,” adding Lyft and a handful of other startups to his portfolio within a year of launching his VC firm. Mary Barra CEO, General Motors GM’s $500 million bet on Lyft makes it the first car company to partner with a ride hailer. They plan to codevelop on-demand, self-driving vehicles. Prince al-Waleed bin Talal Chairman, Kingdom Holding Group The Saudi prince participated in Lyft’s latest funding round, adding a $100 million investment to a vast portfolio that includes Apple and Twitter. Carl Icahn Founder, Icahn Enterprises The activist…

A breakfast boost MCDONALD’S What does a fast-food juggernaut do when customers no longer seem to be lovin’ it? It listens to what they really want—which, as it turns out, is hash browns and hotcakes. Since launching an all-day breakfast menu at 15,000 of its 36,000 locations last October, Mickey D’s is the most profitable it’s been in three years, revealing a 6% jump in U.S. sales in Q4 2015. The brighter outlook comes just one year after the burger chain brought in CEO Steve Easterbrook to restore the Golden Arches to relevance amid consumers’ increasingly selective eating habits. But McDonald’s isn’t resting on breakfast. To help sustain the growth, it’s become focused on improving customer experience, experimenting with tech-infused store concepts and unveiling new eco-friendly packaging that sports bold…

When the CBS television series Limitless premiered on a Tuesday night last September, 9.9 million people tuned in to check it out. In today’s TV world, which is nothing if not limitless—given the deluge of programming on everything from Netflix to cable to YouTube and myriad ways to consume it— 10 million pairs of eyeballs for a new show is impressive. And that was only the beginning. After factoring in about a month’s worth of DVR playback and videoon-demand viewing following the show’s premiere, plus streaming data from CBS’s website and app, the network’s total Limitless audience estimate jumped to 16 million. “That’s a big difference,” says David Poltrack, chief research officer for CBS. “That’s the new way that television programs become successful. They don’t become successful just on network…

When a music ad inspires your sense of adventure or a barista asks how you’ve been, you’re likely experiencing the type of interaction designed by Alessandra Ghini. A 20-year marketing veteran, Ghini joined Apple in 2001 and helped craft the iPod’s debut, then spent nearly a year constructing a new brand strategy for Starbucks. After eight years consulting for companies including Vans and Adobe, she recently became chief marketing officer of hightech tea startup Teforia. Here’s her blueprint for telling a brand’s narrative. Be nimble At Starbucks, CEO Howard Schultz and Ghini wanted to emphasize “moments of connection,” like when a barista knows your name. To create that connection around cake pops or scones, food had to be its own attraction. Schultz and his executives decided to separate the food…

It’s rare that a consumer technology is a giant leap forward rather than the next iterative step. Virtual reality represents just that kind of leap. With the spring launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well as the imminent release of Sony’s PlayStation VR, high-end virtual reality has arrived. Add to that lower-end headsets like Samsung’s Gear VR, Google’s Cardboard, and many other players and it’s clear that 2016 is the year the technology goes mainstream. While none of the hardware makers are promising to sell millions of units this year, estimates peg the VR market—hardware and content—at $30 billion by 2020. It’s not just gaming and entertainment that are poised for transformation. Here are some of the most interesting—and potentially lucrative—ways VR is being deployed. 1 Live…

For nearly 20 years, Denmark-based bicycle brand Biomega has worked to export Scandinavia’s alternative-transit culture to the wider world, in part by recruiting acclaimed designers such as Apple’s Marc Newson and Karim Rashid to make bikes that are just as covetable—and recognizable—as luxury automobiles. “If the bike industry wants to compete with cars,” says Biomega cofounder Jens Skibsted, “it needs to be able to assert itself by creating brands.” The company’s latest product—an electric bike dubbed the OKO — was concocted by KiBiSi, a design powerhouse led by Skibsted, world-renowned architect Bjarke Ingels, and industrial designer Lars Holme Larsen. The high-end e-bike is geared toward commuters who are considering a switch from four wheels to two. Forged from carbon-fiber material, the OKO cleverly hides its machinery— battery, motor, wiring— within…

Though Hollywood draws plenty of multi hyphenates, only a few can claim the title “scholar-producer-host.” Reza Aslan first landed in the klieg lights as an academic with his 2013 bestselling book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, aided by a viral video of his exchange with a Fox News host who questioned if a Muslim scholar could credibly write about Jesus. His next move? Step into the interviewer’s chair. His talk show, Rough Draft With Reza Aslan, premiered on Ovation in February, and he’ll soon appear as host of CNN’s six-episode Believer series exploring world religion. Through his Boom-Gen Studios, he’s also the executive producer of the new ABC biblical drama Of Kings and Prophets. “My whole life people have been telling me I have to choose,”…

Is it okay to eat at Chipotle again? It has been okay. When any food company has an outbreak, it ends. [At Chipotle] we added a finished-product testing program for all of the high- and moderate-risk items, like raw produce. Some items will be immersed in boiling water for five seconds, which gives a 99% to 99.9% reduction of microbes. The idea is to have a net in place when one safety measure fails. Chipotle will now prep some veggies in regional central kitchens, an approach taken by many fast-food chains. Does it have to abandon its locally sourced ethos to reduce risk? It’s quite possible to work with local producers and serve safe food. There’s a commitment to bringing local producers to the same level of food safety as…

Make it drool-worthy “People think of vegetarian and vegan food as bland,” says Terry. “I want to prove that a meal without meat can be amazingly satisfying.” His four cookbooks, including the 2014 hit Afro-Vegan, have earned a devoted following via recipes such as creole-spiced plantain chips and tofu po’boys. Get their hands dirty In 2002, Terry founded b-healthy, an after-school program in New York that taught kids how to grow and cook fresh food. “They were trying food they wouldn’t have in any other circumstances, just because they made it,” he says. This spring, Terry will launch similar programs in San Francisco and Oakland. Build a community At the museum, Terry hosts dinners designed to start conversations with people of color about “real-food” diets. “I’m not saying everyone should…

YANCEY STRICKLER Then HEAD OF COMMUNITY, KICKSTARTER Now CEO, KICKSTARTER Yancey Strickler has always wanted Kickstarter to make a positive difference. But last fall, he took the crowdsourcing company’s do-good values a step further, reincorporating the business as a public-benefit corporation—a legal designation that lets shareholders know the company has broader goals than just making money. “That’s the punk-rock way to go: Just go all the way,” says Strickler, a former music journalist. With 32 states now offering PBC incorporation and companies such as Etsy and Warby Parker making the move, the CEO believes the startup world is beginning to embrace the public-benefit concept. “I’m an eternal optimist,” he says. “I believe it can get there.” As part of the transition from “Inc.” to “PBC,” the seven-year-old company has established…

1950 The A.C. Nielsen company buys Hooper’s national radio-and-TV-ratings service and begins measuring TV audiences. Texaco Star Theatre, hosted by Milton Berle, is the most-watched series of the 1950–1951 season and one of TV’s first hit shows. 1953 Forty-four million viewers (or 72% of all TV-owning households in the U.S.) tune in to watch Lucy Ricardo give birth to Little Ricky on CBS’s I Love Lucy. The episode drew 15 million more viewers than the previous day’s big television event: President Eisenhower’s inauguration. 1966 The first season of Star Trek attracts a dedicated fan base but low ratings. NBC nearly cancels the series after season 2, but the torrent of fan letters it receives convinces the network to keep it on air for another season. The Star Trek franchise has…

Charles Duhigg thought he was on top of things. The New York Times reporter won a Pulitzer Prize in 2013, and his first book, The Power of Habit, was a best seller. But looking at some contemporaries, Duhigg realized he wasn’t doing as much as he could. New Yorker writer Atul Gawande, for example, is also a surgeon, medical researcher, and author of four books. “I felt like I was playing in the kiddie pool,” says Duhigg, “while Atul was swimming in an Olympic.” He decided to find out how some people tackle so much. The result is Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business. Here are five things Duhigg found that could expand your view of what you can do. Look at Saturday Night…

Oscar Founded 2012 Serves New York, New Jersey, California, and Texas An early entrant in the insuranceexchange system created under the ACA, Oscar focuses on member benefits, including a rewards program that offers gift cards for regular exercise, and covers the total cost of preventive care. With Oscar’s mobile app, members can access medical records and set up appointments. So far, 125,000 people have joined, 65% of them under the age of 45. Zoom+ Founded 2015 (ZoomCare founded 2006) Serves Washington and Oregon Known for its 34 low-cost health clinics throughout the Pacific Northwest, ZoomCare began offering insurance to patients in Oregon last year. The new Zoom+ membership offers access to clinics, along with free yoga and parenting classes and mental health services. Zoom+ now claims “several thousand” members. Clover…

Gregg Renfrew, founder and CEO of the Santa Monica, California– based skin care company Beautycounter, set out for Washington, D.C., last fall on a mission to push for greater federal regulation of the ingredients used in cosmetics. As she spoke with senators and experts about the hidden dangers of beauty products and urged passage of a bill that would strengthen FDA oversight of the industry, Renfrew brought along some muscle: a dozen of Beautycounter’s consultants— home-based sellers who act as something akin to the Avon ladies of yore, introducing friends and neighbors to the company’s toxinfree products. According to Renfrew, their passion was invaluable. She recalls one meeting where a consultant jokingly warned Senator Lindsey Graham that South Carolina would feel like a very lonely place if his constituents were…

As an 11-year-old living in Ogden, Utah, Sammy Brue wasn’t expecting much when he uploaded some demos to ReverbNation, a site that helps unsigned musicians showcase their tunes on customized web pages, build an audience, and submit music to radio stations and record labels. But three years later, Brue’s career is taking off: The singer-songwriter has signed to prominent music-management company Red Light and is being courted by big labels—all directly due to ReverbNation’s new data-driven incubation program, Connect. When it launched in 2006, the site set out to be a social network and do-it-yourself platform for musicians in the same vein as Myspace, helping artists steer their own careers. Now-famous musicians such as Alabama Shakes, Imagine Dragons, and Kacey Musgraves hosted music on the site early in their careers.…

It’s no surprise that Lena Dunham, Jon Favreau, and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti were spotted at the January 18 opening of L.A.’s newest celebritychef-helmed eatery. But when that restaurant is a fast-food joint in a poor neighborhood with so few culinary options that it’s considered a food desert, something unusual is going on. As residents of Watts are discovering, Locol isn’t a typical burger spot. For one thing, the chefs behind it are two of the country’s most celebrated: Roy Choi, who kicked off the food-truck boom with Kogi BBQ Taco in 2008, and Daniel Patterson, whose San Francisco dining temple Coi has two Michelin stars. (A third partner, Hanson Li, focuses on the business side.) Plus, Locol offers very different fare from its combo-meal-slinging competitors: food made from fresh…