Bitcoin News Australia

Employees reluctant to look for new gigs due to noncompete clauses have the FTC in their corner.

On Thursday, the agency proposed banning both new and existing noncompetes nationwide. The new rules would not apply to standard NDAs, nor noncompetes between those buying and selling companies.

What’s a noncompete clause?

A contract that prevents someone from working for or starting a competing business if they leave their current job, voluntarily or not. Usually, they expire after a period of time (e.g. one year) and come with geographic boundaries.

Some states, including California and North Dakota, have already banned them. The FTC argues that they trap workers and decrease competition, resulting in lower wages marketwide and a lack of new business, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

Per the FTC:

• Noncompetes affect ~20% of US workers.
• Banning them could increase US workers’ earnings by $250B-$296B annually.

Is anyone opposed to banning them?

The US Chamber of Commerce doubts that the FTC has the authority to enact such a broad ban and is considering a lawsuit, per The Wall Street Journal.

And proponents of noncompetes say:

• They protect confidential company and customer info.
• They encourage employers to invest in employees’ education.

But the FTC asserts that noncompetes have gone too far, encompassing lower-wage workers who lack access to such intel.

Earlier this week, it announced a crackdown on a few noncompetes, including one that prohibits security guards, who make near minimum wage, from working at other security firms within a 100-mile radius, else pay $100k.

Really hoping everyone reading this understands that reference.

It’s an exciting time for board games. Over 3k new ones debut annually, per online forum BoardGameGeek, with the global market estimated between $11B and $13.4B, according to The Washington Post.

The space has seen a boom in recent years. Even before the pandemic, interest in venues like board game cafes was rising. And through it, sales jumped as people looked for ways to connect at home, per WSJ.

• While the old classics still sell, smaller game-makers are having a moment, often leveraging TikTok to market their creations.
• Wingspan, a gorgeous game about bird-watching, was a bestseller on Amazon in 2022.

BTW: Exploding Kittens was originally a Kickstarter project with the goal of raising $10k to make 400 copies. The team ended up crowdfunding $9m, and they’ve since sold 20m+ sets.

Now would be a good time to whip up this root beer float party punch, which we’re not sure how we feel about. In case you missed ’em, here’s our week’s best…

• Tweet: National “Circle Back” day, or whatever we’re calling it.
• Story: How some pets earn more than most people.
• Chart: CES started yesterday. Here’s a visualization of its attendance over the years.
• Video: Marketing predictions for 2023 from our friends over at Marketing Against the Grain.
• Blog: Growing by acquisition could be a quick way to the top — check out our beginner’s guide to M&A.