🩺 From taboo to treatment

👋 It’s time to start making your New Year’s Eve plans. But it will be hard to top Macon-Bibb County, the Georgia city that’s imploding a vacant 16-story hotel at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, if you’re hoping to replicate such a stunt, it might cost you — the city spent $4.5m to buy the hotel in a federal bankruptcy proceeding and $2.6m to have it blown up.

🎧 On the pod: Why some banks are adding cafes, even with mobile banking on the rise.

NEWS FLASH

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked.

🧹 Defying a box office slump, musical Wicked forecast $117m its opening weekend, the year’s third-highest domestic opening behind Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. Gladiator II also earned a projected $60m, another boon for theaters following a sluggish fall. The numbers are also positive considering Wicked and Gladiator II’s $150m and $250m respective production costs, not to mention a marketing blitz including a deluge of Wicked merchandise and Gladiator II’s $2m ad buy that plastered its trailer across 4k+ channels last Monday.

🥩 The Meatpacking District is no more… for meatpacking, at least. While you can still get your $14 latte in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, you shouldn’t go looking for a fresh cut of prime rib. The neighborhood, once home to 200+ slaughterhouses and packing plants, is now filled with upscale restaurants, galleries, and luxury apartment buildings, and the tenants of the neighborhood’s last meat market have accepted a deal to move out. While there’s no eviction date set for Gansevoort Market, Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to transform the 66k-square-foot site into mixed-income housing and public spaces.

🤔 Wait a minute: Indian delivery startup Zomato is hiring a chief of staff, but the initial posting came with a catch: no pay for the first year, and the new hire would have to pay Zomato ~$23.6k. CEO Deepinder Goyal said the job would provide “10x” more learning experience than a management class and that the fee would be donated to his NGO Feeding India. Following backlash and ridicule, however, he claimed it was all a stunt designed to “filter” for candidates who “had the power to appreciate the opportunity.” And perhaps it did — 18k+ people applied.

MORE NEWS TO KNOW

Toys “R” Us is developing a family-friendly competition show with Fox Alternative Entertainment and Known Originals. It involves “larger-than-life challenges” around iconic toys and games.
DirecTV terminated its deal to acquire Echostar’s satellite TV business, including rival Dish TV. The merger, had it gone through, would have formed one of the largest pay-TV companies in the US, with 20m combined subscribers.
McDonald’s is still trying to lure inflation-weary customers back to its restaurants. This time, the chain is introducing the McValue menu, which will include the return of its $5 meal deal, plus a “buy one, add one for $1” offer.

NEWSLETTER POWER PLAYS

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THE BIG IDEA

A smiling woman sits at a desk with a cup of coffee.

From taboo to treatment: Menopause startups address the needs of millions

Most of us know that women constitute roughly half of the US population.

But there are some other stats you might not know:

By 2030, an estimated 47m women worldwide will enter menopause each year.
Around 25% of the US working population is affected by menopausal symptoms at any given time.
Thirteen percent of women have experienced an adverse work outcome related to menopause symptoms, per a 2023 study.

Rather speak in dollars and cents? Menopause leads to an estimated $1.8B in lost work time annually — $26.6B including medical expenses, according to the Mayo Clinic.

And the global menopause market is projected to reach $27.6B by 2033.

Now that you know the issue…

… and the opportunity, meet the menopause startups looking for solutions:

Alloy recently closed a $16m fundraising round for its online health care platform offering FDA-approved menopause treatments.
Midi lets patients book virtual visits for various women’s health issues, offering hormonal and nonhormonal prescriptions, supplements, and lifestyle coaching.
Evernow has a monthly membership structure that connects women to medical experts 24/7 and offers medications and mental health services.

These services could prove invaluable for women struggling through the traditional health care system.

Studies show that while 85% of women experience menopause symptoms, 75% of those who seek care for those symptoms don’t receive any treatment.

More women are speaking up…

… both for better medical treatment and for support in the workplace.

In the UK, employers can be certified as “menopause friendly” through an accreditation organization. Other companies — including Nvidia — are contracting with menopause startups to offer benefits to their employees as they do for other physical or mental health needs.

Ultimately, talking about menopause at all is a win — and exactly the kind of change that makes room for more innovation.

🔗

NEWSWORTHY NUMBER

How much King Charles III’s coronation cost British taxpayers last year. The lavish affair — the nation’s first coronation since that of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953 — included a gold carriage, a display of jewels, and a concert at Windsor Castle featuring Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Andrea Bocelli.

While Buckingham Palace claimed the celebration would stimulate the local economy, critics have called it excessive for a time when Brits were struggling with rising energy and grocery costs. CNN noted the King’s parade cost as much as 24m free lunches for London schoolchildren.

AROUND THE WEB

🔎 On this day: In 1952, Agatha Christie’s murder-mystery “The Mousetrap” — which would become the longest continuously running play — premiered in London.

🌶️ That’s interesting: The history of hot sauce.

💌 Newsletter: Subscribe to Female Startup Club for must-have resources for small-biz owners (like a $200k grant 😱).

🪗 That’s cool: Classical music from around the world… on an accordion.

🍼 Aww: A small hyena having a bottle.

SHOWER THOUGHT

Some rich alien has probably purchased our star in their sky. SOURCE

Today’s email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah and Sara Friedman.
Editing by: Ben “Zero-time gold carriage passenger” Berkley.

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