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Cassindy Chao now works as a full-time matchmaker.Courtesy of Cassindy ChaoCassindy Chao worked in finance, including at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, but felt she never thrived.She started matchmaking as a side hustle while working in corporate restructuring.Chao finds that her age and life experience are valuable assets in the matchmaking industry.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cassindy Chao, 57, a matchmaker based in the Bay Area. This piece has been edited for length and clarity.Finance is a young person's arena. Long hours and stamina are treated as essential markers of a coveted hire. As I got older, I found myself wondering where that left someone like me: a middle-aged mom of three.I couldn't control getting older, so in 2022, at the age of 54, I became a full-time matchmaker.For the first time in my career, my age is an asset.Have you made an unconventional career move? If you're comfortable discussing it with a reporter, please fill out this quick form. We want to hear from people who have stepped out of or into corporate life in nontraditional ways.I discovered matchmaking at collegeI'm American-born Chinese, and in families like mine, there's often a plan: get good grades, attend a reputable school, and secure a respectable job. My parents wanted me to pursue a career in medicine, but because I struggled with chemistry. I went to Wellesley and majored in Chinese studies and economics.In my sophomore year, I became involved with the Asian Association's blind-date semi-formal. I had a lot of fun, even though I made some of the worst matches back then.I was so engrossed by match-matching that I started organizing the semi-formal event during classes and even dropping classes to focus on it. I never imagined it could be a career.I worked at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, but didn't thrive I graduated in 1990 and got a job at an investment bank. I loved art and creative work, but I needed a career that paid well because I wanted to send money to my parents. I got rejection after rejection from JPMorgan in New York, but as Asia boomed in 1993, being fluent in Mandarin became an advantage, and I got a job in the Hong Kong officeA year in, Goldman Sachs offered me a role in Hong Kong as well. The culture was one of working hard and playing hard, ultracompetitive, yet tight-knit. You made close friends because you were working late nights together on deals.Working at Goldman was addictive: I was getting paid a lot, traveling, and generally having a lot of fun, but I struggled with the numbers, and writing reports never came easily to me.Cassindy Chao left a career in finance to become a matchmaker.Courtesy of Cassindy ChaoI also found myself sacrificing my energy, creativity, and life to fulfill the needs of an organization. Deals were time-sensitive, people are accustomed to quick turnaround times, and it was all-hands-on-deck for various projects.It takes a lot out of you, and I remember my mom telling me that if I stayed at Goldman Sachs, I'd never get married. I think she was right.In May 1999, after five years at Goldman Sachs, I returned to California and got married soon after. My mom was sick at the time, and as painful as that period was, it forced me to stop and assess where I was going and what came next.It became clear that investment banking was not where I thrived.Matchmaking became my side hustleFrom 2002 to 2016, I worked on various projects in financial consulting: I was helping close companies for VCs and businesses manage their overseas operations.I had to draw boundaries around my time because it was intense, but the pay was good.In 2013, I read an article in a magazine about a matchmaker in Chicago. I had no idea that it could be a career, and I read loads of books on the topic.In 2015, I trained with a matchmaker and initially did it as a side hustle, which I publicized by building a website and emailing my network — long before I understood the…

C’est un match que tout le peuple marseillais attend. Ce mercredi soir au Stade Vélodrome, l’Olympique de Marseille reçoit Liverpool pour le compte de la 7e journée de la phase de ligue de cette C1. Un match choc qui peut faire basculer le destin de l’OM dans la compétition. La victoire st donc primordiale et important pouvoir continuer dans cette compétition. Les hommes de Roberto De Zerbi devront sortir le grand jeu face aux partenaires de Hugo Ekitike. Ce samedi après la rencontre face à Bunrley, l’ancien joueur du PSG n’a pas manqué d’évoquer le choc face à Marseille mais aussi d’envoyer des jolis mots au club phocéen. » L’OM ? Je suis excité de jouer ce match. Marseille, c’est un club que je regarde depuis petit.. avec Paris. J’adore le Vélodrome. C’est un magnifique stade avec des supporters de fou. Je pense qu’ils vont bien m’accueillir. J’ai aucune haine. J’ai toujours aimé Marseille, » a-t-il lancé au micro de Canal +. L’OM pointe à la 16e place 16e de la phase régulière, l’OM est encore en lice pour les barrages de la compétition. Néanmoins, il faudra effectuer le travail pour espérer intégrer le Top 16. De son coté, Liverpool n’a pas encore assuré sa qualification. Les Reds sont donc à la recherche de points. Arne Slot ne devrait pas faire tourner son effectif. Actuellement 9e du classement, le club de la Mersey doit prendre des points et assurer sa qualif. Réponse ce mercredi…

Shiyao Tang says she spent 5 months planning her exit from her $390K job.Shiyao TangShiyao Tang quit her $390,000 job at DoorDash to build Soir Si, a silk womenswear brand.Tang says she spent 5 months planning her corporate exit and was scared to leave a stable job.While she experiences moments of self-doubt, Tang says the risk is worth it to pursue her dream.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shiyao Tang, a 34-year-old business owner based in New York City and Paris. It's been edited for length and clarity.I was on a very strong upward trajectory in my manager role at DoorDash when I quit in 2025. I was making $390,000 and felt that I still had room to grow, but when I was honest with myself, my heart wasn't in it.Leaving to start my own silk womenswear brand wasn't an instantaneous decision; it was a long-term calling inside of me. It took a lot of courage to quit and choose the unknown.I still constantly ask myself if I made a huge mistake. I think to myself, "How could I just leave a job that most people would dream of?" It was high-paying, the benefits were great, and there was room for learning. But I don't want to look back and think I climbed the wrong mountain.I enjoyed my tech job, but felt an inner tug toward entrepreneurshipIn 2022, I was hired as a strategy and operations manager on the homepage team at DoorDash. My job was challenging, and I got to wear a lot of hats. I also developed deep friendships with some truly talented people.However, I realized I missed the feeling of being close to the people I was building for.Earlier in my career, I had a small entrepreneurial chapter where I worked on a fashion wholesale startup. I built my own customers from the ground up and interacted with them every day.When I was 16, I moved from China to the US and later spent a year studying abroad in Paris. I've always lived between cultures and felt super energized by working with people from distinct backgrounds and creative disciplines. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I wanted my career to reflect that part of me, too.I spent about 5 months deciding what I wanted to do before I quit, and the idea scared meTech created a structure for me to learn and expand my horizon, but I was ready to try entrepreneurship again. I spent a lot of time journaling and reflecting on what business I really wanted to make.Every weekend was dedicated to foundational discovery work and even talking to potential customers or friends to get some early feedback on different ideas. I even started connecting with other young, inspiring entrepreneurs at founder events, which expanded my horizons regarding what life might look like as an entrepreneur.Frankly, I was extremely scared every day, but seeing people thrive gave me more confidence to envision what it might look like for me. I decided on my business, Soir Si, where I make simple, minimal sculptural silk pieces. The mission is to make luxury accessible.Even though I was sure of my decision, walking away was scary, and honestly, it was really sad for me. However, the thought of not pushing to the edge of my potential was scarier than quitting.I now split my time between NYC and ParisI have my own apartment in NYC, and I spend half my time in Paris, typically staying with friends or family, to fuel my creative inspiration during the design process.The first month after quitting, I focused on building a strong visual and emotional identity for Soir Si by enrolling in online courses and even partnering with a freelancer. The next stages were developing my website, connecting directly with customers, and using my branding and website to open up my supply chain.Now I'm focused on securing and strengthening those relationships while sprinting toward product development.I still question whether I made the wrong decisionRight after quitting, I was so focused on transitioning into entrepreneurship that I didn't have time for…

Consumers are spending more than ever on mobile apps.Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe "year of mobile" may finally be upon us.Mobile adtech firm Liftoff filed to go public this week.Industry experts predict other mobile ad firms will follow, ending an adtech IPO drought.Could the adtech IPO drought be coming to an end?This week, Blackstone-backed mobile adtech firm Liftoff filed to go public in the US, potentially ending a yearslong freeze that has seen only one major pure-play adtech IPO — connected-TV firm MNTN's debut last spring — since 2021.If the IPO market does reopen in earnest this year, adtech executives expect the first movers to resemble Liftoff. That means companies with consistent growth and exposure to performance advertising, the slice of the market focused on measurable outcomes like app installs and online sales, which is increasingly powered by AI.Liftoff provides a software development kit that app developers install in their apps in order to sell advertising, and a product for advertisers that uses machine learning to help them target high-quality mobile users. It grew revenue by 30% year over year to $491 million in the nine months that ended September 30. The company reported $263.3 million in adjusted earnings — a 54% margin — and a net loss of $25.6 million in that period.The mobile adtech companies InMobi and Moloco have similar profiles and could be the next candidates in the space to go public, industry experts said. The mobile adtech space has consolidated into just a handful of big players in recent years, including AppLovin, gaming engine Unity's mobile ad business, Google's AdMob, and Hong Kong-based Mobvista. Fresh IPO money could spark more M&A.SoftBank-backed InMobi has long been rumored as an IPO candidate. Bloomberg reported in July that the company was aiming to raise as much as $1 billion in an Indian public listing at a valuation of between $5 billion and $6 billion, citing people familiar with the matter. Business Insider was unable to verify InMobi's IPO plans. InMobi declined to comment for this article.Ahn Ikjin, CEO of Tiger Global-backed Moloco, said in an interview with a Korean news outlet last month that "going public is one of the milestones that we aim to reach," but didn't specify a timeline. Moloco declined to comment.Here's why the market looks ripe for a year of mobile adtech IPOs.The AppLovin effectAppLovin's meteoric rise has pushed its market cap past $200 billion, cementing its status as the most valuable pure-play adtech company by a wide margin. The company has some of the highest profit margins in all of tech — not just adtech — powered by its AI-driven Axon targeting platform and a recent expansion beyond gaming into e-commerce advertising.Other mobile adtech companies and their investors will be hoping some of AppLovin's magic rubs off on them."AppLovin is a bellwether for a buoyant space," said Ciaran O'Kane, general partner at the adtech-focused venture fund FirstPartyCapital.'Performance' pays on mobileHow did placing ads in solitaire games and talking cat apps become such a money-maker?Consumer spending on mobile apps was estimated to have grown 21.6% year over year to reach $155.8 billion in 2025, according to the app intelligence company Appfigures.App advertisers are "typically more focused on math than art," said Alex Merutka, CEO of the creative technology platform Craftsman+.They're laser-focused on making tiny tweaks to variables in targeting, ad creative, and whether you show an ad in the first 30 seconds of the game —or the first 45 seconds — in order to drive performance. These advertisers are willing to pay top dollar to target potential "whales," the users who are most likely to spend big once they download an app.Mobile adtech companies have transformed from middlemen that simply placed ads on…

Avec 10 millions d'utilisateurs et 50 000 clients professionnels dans 180 pays, Bitwarden ne joue pas dans la même catégorie que ses concurrents mieux financés. Il n'empêche que la jeune pousse construit sa légitimité auprès des utilisateurs et responsables IT qui recherchent une solution digne de confiance, abordable et évolutive.