Trump appoints ‘AI and crypto czar’New Delhi, November 24: On the eve of the Winter Session of Parliament, the government on Sunday appealed to all the parties to ensure smooth conduct of business in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, even as representatives of 30 parties highlighted several issues for inclusion in the agenda. Amid expectations of a stormy session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju described as “fruitful” the all-party meeting with 42 leaders and floor managers from all parties that was chaired by veteran BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The Winter Session is scheduled to be held from November 25 to December 20. Parliament Session 2024: All-Party Meet Ahead of Winter Session Underway, Congress Demands Discussion on Bribery Charges Against Adani Group. "The government is open to discussing all issues, but our only request is to ensure a smooth conduct of proceedings. Raising issues peacefully would ensure that members looking forward to taking part in proceedings are not denied an opportunity to do so," Kiren Rijiju said. "We have taken note of the suggestions regarding issues for discussion made by floor managers of parties and would share them with the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman," the Union Minister said. Seeking cooperation from all parties, Kiren Rijiju said the business advisory committees of the two Houses would finalise the agenda with the consent of the presiding officers. Winter Session 2024: All-Party Meeting Today at 11 AM in Main Committee Room of Parliament House. The legislative agenda of the session will include the celebration of 75 years of the Constitution on November 26, said Kiren Rijiju, adding that key documents related to the making of the statute would also be released in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu. "A year-long celebration is planned across the country as part of the 75 years of the Constitution," he said, hinting that at least 17 bills are likely to come up for discussion during the session. According to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, 19 sittings of the House are scheduled during the session. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, pending in Lok Sabha, has also been listed for consideration and passage after a report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is submitted in the Lower House. In all, eight bills are pending in Lok Sabha and two in Rajya Sabha. The developments during the Winter Session, beginning within two days of the declaration of Assembly election results in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, are also likely to reflect the contrasting moods in the ruling NDA and the INDIA bloc after the former won in the western state and the latter retained power in the tribal-majority eastern state. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 24, 2024 07:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com ).
BRIDGEWATER, NEW JERSEY / ACCESSWIRE / December 6, 2024 / Tharimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq:THAR) ("Tharimmune" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to pioneering therapies in immunology and inflammation, today announced it has entered into a securities purchase agreement to raise gross proceeds of approximately $2.02 million through a private placement. The agreement includes the issuance of 961,446 shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents) and warrants to purchase up to an additional 480,723 shares of common stock. Each share (or common stock equivalent) is priced at $2.10 and is accompanied by a warrant. The warrants will have an exercise price of $2.031 per share, becoming exercisable six months after issuance and expiring five and one-half years from the date of issuance. The closing of this transaction is expected on or about December 9, 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Strategic Investors and Placement Details The financing was led by Gravitas Capital and SDS Capital Group, alongside other biotechnology-focused private investors. President Street Global served as the exclusive placement agent for the offering, ensuring seamless execution of the transaction. After deducting placement agent fees and other offering-related expenses, the Company intends to allocate the net proceeds toward clinical development, including advancing its flagship TH104 development program, as well as general working capital. Advancing Innovation in Biotechnology This financing reinforces Tharimmune's commitment to advancing its portfolio of therapeutic candidates. TH104, the Company's lead clinical asset, is designed to address chronic pruritus associated with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a rare and challenging autoimmune liver disease. Regulatory Details The securities in this private placement were offered under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Regulation D thereunder. The shares of common stock and underlying warrants are not registered under the Securities Act or state securities laws. The Company has agreed to file a resale registration statement covering these securities to enable their future trading upon registration or qualification under applicable laws. About Tharimmune Tharimmune, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies in immunology, inflammation, and oncology. The Company's lead product candidate, TH104, leverages a unique transdermal buccal film technology designed to address inflammatory conditions, including pruritus associated with PBC. Tharimmune is also advancing TH023, an oral TNF-alpha inhibitor, and exploring novel multi-specific biologics targeting solid tumors. Through a licensing agreement with OmniAb, Inc., the Company harnesses cutting-edge antibody discovery platforms to target specified disease markers. Learn more at www.tharimmune.com . Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release, including statements regarding the timing and design of Tharimmune's future Phase 2 trial, Tharimmune's strategy, future operations, future financial position, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "depends," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "target," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences, include, but are not limited to, those discussed under Risk Factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and other periodic reports filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this release. Subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's views to change; however, the Company does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrences of unanticipated events, except as may be required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release. Contact Information Tharimmune, Inc. ir@tharimmune.com Alliance Advisors IR Tirth T. Patel tpatel@allianceadvisors.com 212-201-6614 SOURCE: Tharimmune, Inc. View the original on accesswire.comTrump taps Rollins as agriculture chief, completing proposed slate of Cabinet secretaries
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, now leader of the opposition European Solidarity Party, sat down with Voice of America during a visit to Washington to attend the annual forum of the International Democracy Union, an alliance of center-right political parties. While in the U.S. capital, Poroshenko met with Biden administration officials and members of the incoming Trump administration to share his assessment of the situation Ukraine is facing more than two and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and his vision of how to end the conflict. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: How would you describe the situation on the front lines in Ukraine? Petro Poroshenko, former Ukrainian president: Every week, I travel to the front lines to deliver needed equipment and armaments. Russia is increasing its pressure. Russia has more sophisticated weapons than even half a year [ago]. Ukrainian soldiers are tired because some have served for over two and a half years, but they still wouldn't allow Russians to break through the Ukrainian positions. At the moment, we shouldn't think about offensive operations but [how] to strengthen fortifications. I appreciate the decision of the United States government to give us anti-infantry mines. Having three, four, five kilometers of a minefield is an excellent response to the new tactics of Russia, which is penetrating Ukrainian positions with small groups of five to 12 persons with the support of Russian artillery, which has an unlimited number of artillery shells. If we have fortifications, minefields and reconnaissance drones, including thermal night drones and [an] unlimited number of FPV drones to destroy these small groups, [an] effective radio-electronic warfare system, including against Russian reconnaissance drones, I'm confident we can keep [the] defense lines. VOA: Ukraine is under pressure to start negotiating. Is this a good time for that? Poroshenko: No other nation in the world wants peace more than Ukrainians because we pay an enormous price. However, the negotiations should start when both sides are ready. Everybody asks if Ukraine is ready, and nobody asks if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is ready for these negotiations. Putin is not ready. We should undertake enormous efforts to prepare Putin for these negotiations. What language should we speak to Putin? The language of strength, including sophisticated and modern weapons for Ukraine. Putin should feel that he is paying a high price. We need stronger sanctions to destroy the shadow fleet. The sanctions should lower Russian exports from $600 [billion] to $200 billion to cut Putin's ability to finance the war. VOA: Do you think the new Trump administration will support your vision? Poroshenko: I strongly believe in the global leadership of the United States. I worked with [President Donald] Trump in 2016-2019. Meeting him was one of my first meetings as president of Ukraine. Our meeting was scheduled for five minutes — just to shake hands and take a photo — and lasted for two and a half hours. As a result, he gave Ukraine the first lethal weapons after three years of the war, the legendary Javelins [anti-tank missiles]. They saved lots of lives in the Donbas region. Even without additional consultation with our European partners, we agreed that the United States introduce sanctions against the company contractor for the North Stream 2 [natural gas pipeline], which was vital. In President Trump’s presence we discussed with [his former CIA Director Mike] Pompeo the coordination of efforts to recognize the Ukrainian independent church. Trump is a person of results, not process. He is decisive enough to make tough decisions. VOA: Trump nominated General Keith Kellogg as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine and Russia. What do you think about him and his ideas? Poroshenko: I've met him several times when he was a member of [then] Vice President [Mike] Pence's team. I welcome President Trump's approach to appoint a special presidential envoy to Ukraine. When President Trump appointed Kurt Volker [as U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations], that was extremely efficient. And now, General Kellogg's level of professionalism gives us careful optimism. We can stop the war in 24 hours, as President Trump promised, and without a single shot [fired] or a dollar spent. We need just one signature for one treaty — the Washington Treaty [the April 1949 treaty establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance]. Inviting Ukraine to join NATO will be a powerful demonstration to Putin that we are not afraid of his blackmail. We are decisive enough, and we want to have sustainable security on the continent. I propose my plan — the “Poroshenko Plan.” Within one year, partners guarantee that Ukraine will get a full [NATO] membership if it meets specific criteria and fulfills certain conditions. During that year, while we are not in NATO, we will receive the same security guarantees as Finland and Sweden before their full NATO membership. During that year, I also suggest having peacekeepers under the mandate of the United Nations Security Council to guarantee a ceasefire. That's how to stop the war in 24 hours.Washington 65, Prairie View 50
A poll conducted by of more than 38,000 readers has revealed fans have had a change of heart as to in 2025. has shut down suggestions that Adam Reynolds could be replaced as the club's skipper, but that hasn't stopped calls for Patrick Carrigan to take over. There were initially calls for change in the middle of the 2024 season after the Broncos suffered a humiliating loss at home to the Bulldogs. Club great Gorden Tallis suggested Carrigan would be the better choice, and the pressure on Reynolds hasn't died down after the Broncos slumped to a 12th-placed finish this season. Maguire appears highly unlikely to make the switch, and can reveal Reynolds is the more popular choice amongst fans anyway. Carrigan was initially the top choice ahead of Reynolds when the poll was first published, but fans have made a surprising backflip. As it currently stands, Reynolds has 42 per cent of the votes compared to 40 per cent for Carrigan. Payne Haas has seven per cent of votes, while just three per cent want Reece Walsh as skipper and eight per cent want 'someone else' entirely. The poll of over 38,000 fans shows Maguire might be wise to stick with Reynolds for at least one more season. Speaking in July, Tallis said: “I think the team is lacking leadership. I watch them closely... on Saturday (against the Bulldogs) somebody needed to stand up and put a stake in the ground. (Reynolds) didn’t do it, and in the (2023) grand final he didn’t get them home either. If he’s the captain and he’s not doing it, there might be a chance to put Pat Carrigan there. “In that game on the weekend, under the pump, if I’m playing with Allan Langer, he gets out from dummy-alf, he does three or four tackles in a row, he looks at us and challenges us. There’s none of that happening at the moment. So maybe there should be a change with who gets the C next to their name.” But Maguire recently stated: “I don’t have any reason (to replace Reynolds as captain). I’ve had a long relationship with Adam and we won a comp together (at Souths). He is a winner. He’s taken that team to some pretty good places already, so as long as he’s fit and healthy and he is right, he is a great leader.” Last month, still committed to skippering the team in 2025, in what will be the final year of his career. And Carrigan also backed Reynolds to continue as the leader, saying: "People that know him as a leader and the influence he has on the club, it's second to none and he should be skipper of our team." Maguire has also in an indication he could be in the running to become the next captain after Reynolds retires. “We all know what an incredible person he is, but I feel that he can lift the group – I saw him do it with the Origin team," the coach said. "He was a leader. He was in our leadership group within the Origin space. I’m going to call upon those sorts of things with Payne for sure here at the Broncos."Ayaneo 3 to launch with unusual vibration motor and customisable ABXY layoutsBy CHRISTINE FERNANDO CHICAGO (AP) — As Donald Trump’s Cabinet begins to take shape, those on both sides of the abortion debate are watching closely for clues about how his picks might affect reproductive rights policy in the president-elect’s second term . Trump’s cabinet picks offer a preview of how his administration could handle abortion after he repeatedly flip-flopped on the issue on the campaign trail. He attempted to distance himself from anti-abortion allies by deferring to states on abortion policy, even while boasting about nominating three Supreme Court justices who helped strike down the constitutional protections for abortion that had stood for half a century. In an NBC News interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he doesn’t plan to restrict medication abortion but also seemed to leave the door open, saying “things change.” “Things do change, but I don’t think it’s going to change at all,” he said. The early lineup of his new administration , including nominations to lead health agencies, the Justice Department and event the Department of Veterans Affairs, has garnered mixed — but generally positive — reactions from anti-abortion groups. Abortion law experts said Trump’s decision to include fewer candidates with deep ties to the anti-abortion movement could indicate that abortion will not be a priority for Trump’s administration. “It almost seems to suggest that President Trump might be focusing his administration in other directions,” said Greer Donley, an associate law professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Karen Stone, vice president of public policy at Planned Parenthood Action Fund , said while many of the nominees have “extensive records against reproductive health care,” some do not. She cautioned against making assumptions based on Trump’s initial cabinet selections. Still, many abortion rights groups are wary, in part because many of the nominees hold strong anti-abortion views even if they do not have direct ties to anti-abortion activists. They’re concerned that an administration filled with top-level officials who are personally opposed to abortion could take steps to restrict access to the procedure and funding. After Trump’s ambiguity about abortion during his campaign, “there’s still a lot we don’t know about what policy is going to look like,” said Mary Ruth Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law. That approach may be revealed as the staffs within key departments are announced. Trump announced he would nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, which anti-abortion forces have long targeted as central to curtailing abortion rights nationwide. Yet Kennedy shifted on the issue during his own presidential campaign. In campaign videos, Kennedy said he supports abortion access until viability , which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks, although there is no defined timeframe. But he also said “every abortion is a tragedy” and argued for a national ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a stance he quickly walked back. The head of Health and Human Services oversees Title X funding for a host of family planning services and has sweeping authority over agencies that directly affect abortion access, including the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The role is especially vital amid legal battles over a federal law known as EMTALA, which President Joe Biden’s administration has argued requires emergency abortion access nationwide, and FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Mini Timmaraju, president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, called Kennedy an “unfit, unqualified extremist who cannot be trusted to protect the health, safety and reproductive freedom of American families.” His potential nomination also has caused waves in the anti-abortion movement. Former Vice President Mike Pence , a staunch abortion opponent, urged the Senate to reject Kennedy’s nomination. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the group had its own concerns about Kennedy. “There’s no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary,” she said. Fox News correspondent Marty Makary is Trump’s pick to lead the FDA, which plays a critical role in access to medication abortion and contraception. Abortion rights groups have accused him of sharing misinformation about abortion on air. Russell Vought , a staunch anti-abortion conservative, has been nominated for director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was a key architect of Project 2025 , a right-wing blueprint for running the federal government. Among other actions to limit reproductive rights, it calls for eliminating access to medication abortion nationwide, cutting Medicaid funding for abortion and restricting access to contraceptive care, especially long-acting reversible contraceptives such as IUD’s. Despite distancing himself from the conservative manifesto on the campaign trail, Trump is stocking his administration with people who played central roles in developing Project 2025. Trump acknowledged that drafters of the report would be part of his incoming administration during the Sunday interview with NBC News, saying “Many of those things I happen to agree with.” “These cabinet appointments all confirm that Project 2025 was in fact the blueprint all along, and the alarm we saw about it was warranted,” said Amy Williams Navarro, director of government relations for Reproductive Freedom for All. Dr. Mehmet Oz , Trump’s choice to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a former television talk show host who has been accused of hawking dubious medical treatments and products. He voiced contradictory abortion views during his failed Senate run in 2022. Oz has described himself as “strongly pro-life, praised the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade , claimed “life starts at conception” and referred to abortion as “murder.” But he also has echoed Trump’s states-rights approach, arguing the federal government should not be involved in abortion decisions. “I want women, doctors, local political leaders, letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves,” he said during a Senate debate two years ago. An array of reproductive rights groups opposed his Senate run. As CMS administrator, Oz would be in a key position to determine Medicaid coverage for family planning services and investigate potential EMTALA violations. Related Articles National Politics | In promising to shake up Washington, Trump is in a class of his own National Politics | Election Day has long passed. In some states, legislatures are working to undermine the results National Politics | Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president National Politics | With Trump on the way, advocates look to states to pick up medical debt fight National Politics | Trump taps forceful ally of hard-line immigration policies to head Customs and Border Protection As Florida’s attorney general, Pam Bondi defended abortion restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period. Now she’s Trump’s choice for attorney general . Her nomination is being celebrated by abortion opponents but denounced by abortion rights groups concerned she may revive the Comstock Act , an anti-vice law passed by Congress in 1873 that, among other things, bans mailing of medication or instruments used in abortion. An anti-abortion and anti-vaccine former Florida congressman, David Weldon, has been chosen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which collects and monitors abortion data across the country. Former Republican congressman Doug Collins is Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs amid a political battle over abortion access and funding for troops and veterans. Collins voted consistently to restrict funding and access to abortion and celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “This is a team that the pro-life movement can work with,” said Kristin Hawkins, president of the national anti-abortion organization Students for Life.
Trump taps Rollins as agriculture chief, completing proposed slate of Cabinet secretaries
NoneFrench President Emmanuel Macron accused Haiti's transitional council of being "total morons" for dismissing the country's prime minister, according to a video shot at the G20 summit in Brazil this week and shared on social media Thursday. In the footage, the French leader is speaking on the sidelines of the G20 in Rio with an individual accusing Macron and France of "being responsible for the situation in Haiti". Haiti's transitional council pushed out then-prime minister Garry Conille after just five months in office, a move Macron called "terrible" in the clip. "They're total morons," said Macron referring to the transitional body, adding, "they never should have dismissed him." Condemning the remarks, Haiti's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that French Ambassador Antoine Michon had been summoned following the "unacceptable comments." Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste used the meeting to express "indignation" on behalf of the transitional council, which he said viewed the remarks as "an unfriendly and inappropriate gesture that must be rectified," according to a statement from the ministry. Haiti has suffered from decades of political instability. But in recent months, the Caribbean country has seen a surge in violence with gangs now controlling 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The clip also shows the French president, who is on a multi-leg tour of Latin America with his most recent stop in Chile, blaming Haitians for "letting drug trafficking take over". "Quite frankly, it was the Haitians who killed Haiti," the French president said in the clip. Businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime was sworn in as Haiti's new prime minister on November 12, promising to restore security in the crisis-wracked country. fff-lum/ekf/sjw/bfm/mdThis story is part of CNBC Make It's The Moment series, where highly successful people reveal the critical moment that changed the trajectory of their lives and careers, discussing what drove them to make the leap into the unknown. Jake Loosararian's nine-figure business might've never existed if he'd listened to the people he trusts most. Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are As students at Pennsylvania's Grove City College in 2012, Loosararian and his electrical engineering classmates were asked to build robots that could climb and scan a local power plant's walls for costly issues like cracks or corrosion. His team built a 40-pound robot with an ultrasonic scanner that collected data in dirty and dangerous environments more efficiently than human workers ever could. Their creation saved the power plant tens of millions of dollars in labor costs and productivity, says Loosararian. He floated the idea of turning it into a business to his family and professors. "Everyone said, 'Don't f---ing do it,'" Loosararian says. Such a company would be a major longshot: Loosararian had very little work experience or seed money, and no tech industry connections. Roughly 70% of hardware startups either shutter or fail to grow, mostly due to how long it typically takes to get a product to market and build a reliable customer base, according to CBInsights . But few tech companies seemed focused on Loosararian's niche of inspecting critical infrastructure. He believed he'd stumbled onto "a secret hiding in plain sight," he says. After graduating college in 2013, Loosararian co-founded Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics. He worked 100-hour weeks to save "$30,000 or $40,000" and fund his startup's first few years of existence, he says. He spent a lot of that time in some dark places — going broke, sleeping on friends' floors and climbing inside power plant boilers, which are "dirty and horrible," he notes. Repeatedly, he almost walked away. Today, Gecko Robotics is a fast-growing robotics company with $220 million in funding, including a $100 million fundraising round last year that valued Gecko at $633 million. The startup, with Loosararian at the helm, ranked 42nd on the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 List , which released in May. Here, Loosararian discusses why he believed he'd seen something that nobody else did, the challenge of funding his startup without investors or family money, and the "I will not die" mentality he developed to succeed. CNBC Make It: Did you immediately believe you had a major tech startup on your hands after building a successful robot in college? Did you get advice from anyone? Loosararian: I talked to a bunch of people after that project — my parents, my siblings, people who had started companies before, people I looked up to from a technology standpoint, like professors. Everyone said, "Don't f---ing do it. There's not a big market here." It was very clearly a bad idea. I'm not a very smart individual, but I just began to think: It seems like the robots are an incredible way to localize and gather information using sensors that couldn't get to these places without robotic systems. Customers will pay me to collect and own that data on their assets, which no one else has access to. It seemed like that was a secret hiding in plain sight. And, more importantly, it was a really important [problem] no one else was solving for. So, if not me, then who else was going to solve it? How did you get the funds to get started? I didn't come from a super well-off family. I had, maybe, $15,000 [in savings]. I knew that wasn't enough to start the company, and I had no idea you could get people to give you money for equity in a company that was still worthless. I took a job doing systems automation. The first day I got in there, I sat at my cubicle and was like, "Aw, get me the hell out of here!" I spent 50 to 60 hours a week at my job, and about 40 to 50 hours at Gecko. My weekends were at power plants, and in the lab building the robot. A year to the day I joined [that job], I quit. I think I ended up saving $30,000 or $40,000. I was like, "Thank God. I have enough money to bootstrap the thing." You had a co-founder that first year. What happened? [Gecko Robotics co-founder Orion Correa] poured his life-savings into it, too. He worked on it full-time. The week before I quit my other job, he said: "Jake, I can't do this anymore. Mentally, I'm exhausted. It's just never going to go anywhere and I have to get out." That was hard. But I was so obsessed with this problem. So, I bought his 50% stake for $2,500, or something like that — an insurmountable amount of dollars for me at that time. It killed me, because I didn't have much money to give. We're still friends today. He's fantastic. But, then it was all me bootstrapping [until Gecko joined tech accelerator YCombinator in 2016]. That led to some pretty dark moments. What were some of the toughest moments in those early years? I was down to my last dollars. My best friend was living in a crummy basement apartment. There was a section behind his couch and I was like, "Can I take that?" I laid the mattress down. That was where I slept for, like, two and a half years. Sometimes [the tech] wouldn't work, so I would literally be in these dirty and horrible environments, like the power plant boiler — a box that gets really hot and super eerie. It's probably what Hell is like. If your robot is s---ing the bed and not working, you've got to fix that. I'm literally soldering circuit boards in that environment, with all of this dust, and then I'm coding, trying to make the robot work, and nothing's working. Did you ever consider walking away? What ultimately stopped you? Yeah. The worst-case scenario was: People were right. This is a stupid idea. You're wasting years of your life after working so hard up to this point. The fear was just being a failure. Going back to that cubicle was a really scary thing. But I realized that I'd rather be in a deep, dark place being in charge of my own fate than in a cubicle and subject to someone else's. What helped me get through it was spending time with customers and hearing how important the problem was to solve. I'm helping them understand how to refine and create barrels of oil at higher margins, while reducing environmental and human safety risks and increasing the longevity of their assets. I'm trying to make sure bridges don't collapse. That gave me the encouragement I needed to feel I wasn't just fooling myself. Did having those doubts, and pushing past them, help solidify your resolve to stick it out? You just dig deeper into: Why am I really doing this? It allowed me to have an "I will not die" mentality. Determination and persistence sound good to say, but you don't know what they actually mean until you're down in the trough of despair, if you will. Until you are there repeatedly and get comfortable there. I know what the bottom feels like. I don't mind if I go back. So, I'm just going to put all the chips on the table. I don't care if I look like an idiot. If I believe there's a right thing to do, I'm going do it. That actually is a superpower. Those scars allow you to act with confidence, courage and a will to make [your goals] become reality. That's a very helpful thing. It was only possible through that refinement of going through hell. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Want to earn more money at work? Take CNBC's new online course How to Negotiate a Higher Salary . Expert instructors will teach you the skills you need to get a bigger paycheck, including how to prepare and build your confidence, what to do and say, and how to craft a counteroffer. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 50% off through November 26, 2024.
Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in Astrana Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTH)Utah Hockey Club (7-9-3, in the Central Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-11-4, in the Metropolitan Division) Pittsburgh; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Penguins -111, Utah Hockey Club -109; over/under is 6.5 BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Hockey Club look to stop their three-game slide with a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh has a 4-5-2 record in home games and a 7-11-4 record overall. The Penguins have a -28 scoring differential, with 57 total goals scored and 85 given up. Utah has a 3-5-2 record on the road and a 7-9-3 record overall. The Utah Hockey Club have a -14 scoring differential, with 49 total goals scored and 63 allowed. The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Sidney Crosby has scored seven goals with 13 assists for the Penguins. Vasiliy Ponomarev has over the last 10 games. Nick Schmaltz has 13 assists for the Utah Hockey Club. Jaxson Stauber has scored goals over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 3-4-3, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.6 assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game. Utah Hockey Club: 3-5-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.2 assists, 4.7 penalties and 14.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game. INJURIES: Penguins: None listed. Utah Hockey Club: None listed. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
India mosque survey sparks clashes, two deadSeibert misses an extra point late as the Commanders lose their 3rd in a row, 34-26 to the Cowboys
Seaspan Corporation Signs Agreement with KVH to Equip Fleet with OneWeb Low Earth Orbit Solution
