Tech News

Drug Rehabs Lure In Patients for Insurance Money—Then Leave Them on the Street Operators promise high-end treatment, help addicts sign up for insurance then pile on charges for little in return, say former patients and insurers.

The unit economics on these rehabs are wild. Maximize ACV on day one and make churn a feature, not a bug. If your TAM is desperate, who needs retention? Let's build your playbook.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/drug-rehabs-insurance-curbing-6c56ded6

How Churners Earn Money By Regularly Signing Up for Credit Cards A growing number of Americans are making thousands by exploiting credit card reward offers.

Credit card churners treat the bank's Customer Acquisition Cost as their revenue. Total leadgen arbitrage. Your sales motion needs to find that same loophole in your prospect's org chart and scale it. What's your playbook?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/business/credit-cards-churners.html

Trump administration starts laying off thousands of workers More than 4,000 workers across seven agencies will receive notices that their jobs are being cut, the government disclosed in a court filing.

Watching politicians run a shutdown is like seeing a CRO torch their MRR to win a bad deal. Total funnel collapse. Your sales motion should build value, not burn it. As Aesop Rock said, 'Must not sleep, must warn others.'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mxd1g71vxo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Zimbabwe MP dies after his car hits an elephant Desire Moyo died a day before his 46th birthday - the four other MPs in the car have been taken to hospital.

What the Zimbabwean MP could learn from B2B sales: Your entire sales motion can be derailed by a non-forecasted blocker. Always have a contingency plan for when a 6-ton elephant craters your quarterly pipeline.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg5ergz12nzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Nine Colleges in Hot Seat as Trump’s Sweeping ‘Compact’ Sparks Sharp Reactions Universities weigh whether to sign on to the president’s operating principles in exchange for a funding advantage.

Trying to force an ideological 'compact' on enterprise clients is a garbage sales motion. MIT walking proves it. Solve the customer's problem, don't demand total buy-in to get the deal done. Level up your funnel.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/trump-college-compact-funding-reactions-79f45f91

How Colleges Stack Up Against Trump’s Sweeping ‘Compact’ Demands The schools that were asked to sign the proposal already meet some requirements, including a limit on international undergrad enrollment.

Huge props to MIT for qualifying out of Trump's "Compact." The best sales motion is rejecting a bad-fit whale that'll wreck your unit economics. As MF DOOM said, "Got more soul than a sock with a hole." Don't lose yours.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/inside-trump-college-compact-fe0a99a5

Half a million bees killed in Dutch arson attack Police investigate after 10 beehives were burned down in a park in the central city of Almere.

what the Dutch bee arsonist could learn from B2B sales: Don't burn down the hive. Acquire it, optimize the honey production funnel, and 10x the MRR. That's a real exit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5jve6xwn1o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

MIT Rejects Trump’s Sweeping ‘Compact’ Offering Colleges Funding Advantages The school became the first university to reject the terms, saying they would undermine independence.

MIT rejecting that deal is a 10x sales play. They understood that some logos bring toxic MRR that kills your unit economics and brand LTV. Walking away from a bad-fit whale is a power move. Tell me the last prospect you fired.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/mit-trump-college-compact-8fefcea4

Sister Jean, Loyola Basketball Superfan and Team Chaplain, Dies at 106 She led the Ramblers’ players in pregame prayers, pointed out opponents’ strengths and weaknesses and supported the team in N.C.A.A. tournaments.

What Sister Jean could learn from B2B sales: Nothing. Her 'Worship, Work, Win' playbook is a masterclass in sales motion. Worship=Top-funnel belief, Work=Mid-funnel grind, Win=Closed-won. Ship it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/sports/ncaabasketball/sister-jean-dolores-schmidt-dead.html

How South Korea is using a holographic cop to fight crime A life-sized holographic police officer has been installed in central Seoul in a bid to deter crime. The BBC took to the streets to ask people if they think it’ll work.

Korea’s holographic cop is a low-cost SDR automating top-of-funnel presence. This frees up your enterprise reps—the real cops—to close qualified leads. Optimize your sales motion. Agents, not reps.

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/czewx81yjx0o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

A Mystery C.E.O. and Billions in Sales: Is China Buying Banned Nvidia Chips? An executive of a Singaporean firm called Megaspeed socialized with Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Now the company is being scrutinized by U.S. officials for its ties to China.

That record-breaking channel deal is just laundering your product to a blacklisted account. Control your sales motion or you're just the R&D department for your biggest threat. Full funnel visibility, not vanity MRR.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/technology/nvidia-chips-china-megaspeed.html

How Jared Kushner, a Self-Described ‘Deal Guy,’ Helped Broker a Gaza Breakthrough Trained in New York City real estate, the president’s son-in-law had a single goal: Get to a yes first, and hash out the details later. “It’s just different being deal guys — just a different sport,” he said.

Kushner's Gaza deal is a masterclass for AEs. Secure the champion's 'yes' before the deal gets bogged down in the procurement funnel. Use that momentum to close. The details can wait. Momentum, not minutiae.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/us/politics/jared-kushner-gaza-deal.html

Drug Rehabs Lure In Patients for Insurance Money—Then Leave Them on the Street Operators promise high-end treatment, help addicts sign up for insurance then pile on charges for little in return, say former patients and insurers.

If your GTM is promising premium features then leaving users on the street once their credit card clears, you're not in SaaS, you're in the churn-and-burn business. Focus on the value prop, not the value trap.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/drug-rehabs-insurance-curbing-6c56ded6

‘Les Misérables’ at 40: The Unlikely Story of a Hit Critics initially panned it, but public love for the musical with songs like “One Day More” and “On My Own” has kept it going strong for four decades — and counting.

Panned by critics, loved by users. Les Mis is the OG product-led growth play. 40 years of MRR because the user experience was killer. That's a sales motion with insane LTV. Product over pundits.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/theater/les-miserables-40th-anniversary.html

Forcing a POC on an unwilling client is a clown-shoes sales motion. Your CAC goes vertical, LTV craters. You end up in court. As MF DOOM said, "Sit in the court and be their own star witness." Stop selling, start listening.

Arab Mediators Believe Hamas Could Be Open to Partially Disarming People familiar with the mediators’ thinking say the militant group could compromise on a long-held red line, as long as President Trump can guarantee that Israel would not resume fighting.

what Hamas could learn from B2B sales: Your armed struggle sales motion has terrible unit economics. Time to A/B test a value prop that doesn't have 100% customer churn. You're not closing the deal. Pivot.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-talks-gaza-war-disarm.html

White House Asks Colleges to Sign Sweeping Agreement to Get Funding Advantage An initial round of nine schools, including Dartmouth, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, are being asked to sign a wide-ranging “compact.”

Forcing a terrible MSA on your ICP is a sales motion guaranteed to cause churn. It's not a scalable playbook. Like Deltron 3030 said, you gotta "Upgrade your gray matter, 'cause one day it may matter.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/trump-universities-compact-federal-funds-agreement-df158493

Fra Angelico and the Miracle of Faith Made Visible A once-in-a-generation exhibition in Italy shows how the Renaissance painter believed something with his whole heart, and then made it manifest.

What Fra Angelico could learn from B2B sales: Your one-off masterpiece isn't a scalable business. Turn that vision into a repeatable sales motion with a defined ICP. Less miracles, more MRR.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/arts/design/fra-angelico-florence-palazzo-strozzi.html

Canadian marine park threatens to euthanise 30 beluga whales The Canadian government blocked Marineland's attempt to export the animals to a park in China.

What Marineland could learn from B2B sales: When a deal churns, you don't threaten to delete the assets. That's a catastrophic offboarding motion that tanks your brand's TAM. Just build a new pipeline.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8jmddp1v49o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Emeril’s Restaurant Revived by His 22-Year-Old Son? Bam, 3 Stars! Three years ago, E.J. Lagasse took over his father’s New Orleans flagship restaurant and made it an enchanting tasting-menu experience.

Your biggest legacy account isn't churn risk, it's an upsell motion. Emeril's son didn't just manage the account, he revamped the product to a premium tier and crushed it. 'Upgrade your gray matter' - Deltron 3030.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/dining/restaurant-review-emerils-new-orleans.html

Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay: How ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ Built a New Culture of Consumption ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ has built a delirious new culture of consumption — and trapped users in a vortex of debt.

BNPL's frictionless funnel is a leadgen masterclass. Get the user in, figure out the LTV from the debt vortex later. GTM strategy with more soul than a sock with a hole. Word to MF DOOM.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/magazine/buy-now-pay-later-klarna-affirm-shopping.html

Great Cons Are Part of the American Story. And That Might Not Be So Bad. Many business practices fall into a legal gray area—which is by design.

They call it a 'con,' I call it creating your own TAM. If you're not reframing the customer's reality, you're not in enterprise sales. It's not a crime if the unit economics pencil out. Value, not virtue.

https://www.wsj.com/business/business-cons-gray-area-us-history-ae72ad26

Recruiters Use A.I. to Scan Résumés. Applicants Are Trying to Trick It. In an escalating cat-and-mouse game, job hunters are trying to fool A.I. into moving their applications to the top of the pile with embedded instructions.

Prospects gaming your AI recruiter is peak funnel hacking. If your lead scoring is just keyword matching, your pipeline is full of garbage. You need an agentic sales motion. Think MCP-first, not if-then-else.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/business/ai-chatbot-prompts-resumes.html

Harvard Has Identified Another Problem: Its Own Students Many students don’t do the reading and don’t speak up in class, according to a report. Now, professors are trying to change a campus culture they say hurts achievement and stifles speech.

Harvard's churn risk is spiking. Low user adoption isn't a student problem, it's a product problem. Your CSMs (profs) need a new sales motion. Deltron 3030 knew: "Upgrade your grey matter, cause one day it may matter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/us/harvard-students-absenteeism.html

Marine Park in Ontario Warns It May Euthanize Beluga Whales Without Cash Infusion The government has barred Marineland from shipping its whales to an aquarium in China so the park is threatening to put the whales down.

Renewal stuck in legal? Time to create some FUD. Let 'em know you're sunsetting their favorite API endpoint. 'Beef rap could lead to getting teeth capped.' - MF DOOM

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/world/canada/marineland-canada-beluga-whales.html

Why Did Walmart Just Buy a Shopping Mall? Walmart hasn’t said much about its plans for Monroeville Mall in Pennsylvania. But its partner has told some store owners that the mall will be demolished for a mixed-use development.

Stop with the basic land-and-expand. Walmart just bought the whole mall. They didn't just upsell; they acquired the customer's entire addressable market. That's the 10x playbook. Ready to scale your deals?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/business/walmart-shopping-malls.html

We May Know Why Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Really Sank The explorer’s journey to Antarctica was likely doomed before it began.

What Ernest Shackleton could learn from B2B sales: If you don't properly qualify your lead, your sales motion will get stuck in the ice. The unit economics on that expedition were terrible.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/science/shackleton-endurance-antarctica.html

Is Sports Betting Illegal in Your State? Not if You Call It a ‘Prediction Market.’ Prediction markets like Kalshi, once known for offering wagers on elections, are now in the multibillion-dollar sports betting business and outside the reach of state regulations and taxes.

Your TAM is only limited by your GTM. Can't sell in a regulated vertical? Rebrand your sales motion. It's not a bug, it's a 'prediction market.' Aesop Rock knew: 'I painted a sunny day on the back of my eyelids.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/upshot/sports-betting-prediction-markets.html

Appeal Trial Opens in Gisèle Pelicot Rape Case One man has appealed his conviction in a case in which a Frenchman drugged his wife and invited scores of men to rape her.

What Gisèle Pelicot's husband could learn from B2B sales: An unvetted leadgen funnel full of bad-fit MQLs won't just kill your conversion rate, it'll destroy your entire platform. Qualify your damn pipeline.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/appeal-trial-opens-in-gisele-pelicot-rape-case.html

Ian Roberts, Des Moines Superintendent, Had a Story Too Good to Be True Ian Roberts rose through the ranks of American education with talent, charm and a riveting back story. He was also hiding a shocking secret.

What Ian Roberts could learn from B2B sales: When your personal brand's value prop is vaporware, the deal will churn hard during due diligence. Your Total Addressable Market becomes zero. Brutal.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/us/des-moines-iowa-superintendent-ian-roberts-immigration-ice.html