Stimulating your vagus nerve could help you live longer. A top scientist shares 3 easy things he does to activate his.

Dr. Kevin Tracey has studied the vagus nerve and its link to inflammation for decades.

Matthew V. Libassi/ Getty Images

• The vagus nerve is essential to many bodily processes, including digestion and a steady heart rate.
• Stimulating it could help prevent or stop chronic inflammation in the body, which is linked to disease.
• An inflammation expert meditates and takes cold showers in the hope they will activate the nerve.

Psychotherapists, yoga teachers, and self-help types such as Mel Robbins have been talking about stimulating the vagus nerve as a way to "reset" the nervous system and calm anxiety for years. But growing evidence suggests it could do far more for our health: By helping keep inflammation at bay, the vagus nerve could be the key to living a longer, healthier life.

In our modern world, "inflammation has replaced infection as the greatest threat to healthful human longevity," Dr. Kevin Tracey, a neurosurgeon, inflammation researcher, and the president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, writes in his new book "The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes."

Non-infectious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, which Tracey described to Business Insider as "diseases of inflammation," were responsible for three-quarters of deaths worldwide in 2021, according to the World Health Organization. And that figure doesn't take into account the one in 15 Americans affected by autoimmune diseases, which research indicates stem from chronic inflammation, each year.

Stimulating the vagus nerve seems to reduce inflammation

The vagus nerve is made up of 200,000 nerve fibers, which run from the brainstem, down each side of the neck, to the gut — touching almost every organ in the body.

It helps turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for putting the body in a "rest and digest state" (the opposite of "fight or flight") and is crucial for several automatic bodily processes, including digestion, reducing blood pressure and heart rate, breathing, mood, and immune function.

Neuroscientists are still working to uncover the role of each nerve fiber. They know that vagus nerve activity, known as vagal tone, reduces heart rate, for instance, but they don't know which of the 200,000 fibers are behind that mechanism.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a vagus nerve stimulation device, which is similar to a pacemaker and implanted into a patient's neck, to treat epilepsy in 1997 and depression in 2005. But it's also being studied as a therapy for several inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.

In 1998, Tracey and his team at the Feinstein Institute became the first to discover this link. When they stimulated the vagus nerves of mice with a handheld stimulator, it reduced their inflammation, measured via levels of inflammatory biomarkers, in their blood by 75%.

The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us feel calm.

Ridofranz/Getty Images

Day-to-day activities can activate the vagus nerve

There's ample content online claiming you can stimulate your vagus nerve through things like cold showers, breathing exercises, body tapping, and applying pressure around the neck. But the reality is, the science to prove that any of these hacks work just isn't there yet, Tracey said.

"It's probably a good thing. But can we say for certain we understand how it all works? No, not yet," he added.

Still, Tracey believes in his own data and that of his colleagues, so he does most of these things just in case they can help prevent chronic diseases. "It's a Pascal's wager," he said.

He shared three things he does regularly in the hopes of stimulating his vagus nerve and reducing inflammation.

1) Cold showers

Tracey turns the water temperature to cold for the last two to three minutes of his daily shower. He does this because cold exposure triggers the body's fight-or-flight response, which evidence suggests can suppress inflammation.

Studies suggest that after the initial shock of the cold ramping up the heart beat, the parasympathetic nervous system is then activated, slowing down your breathing and heart rate. This suggests the vagus nerve is activated by cold exposure, however, any role it has in reducing inflammation is still unclear, Tracey wrote.

2) Thirty minutes of daily exercise

Exercise might stimulate the vagus nerve.

Antonio_Diaz/Getty Images

Tracey works out for 30 to 45 minutes around five times a week. He does a mixture of cardio, weight and resistance training, stretching, and yoga.

Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, but you may be surprised to learn that scientists don't fully understand the mechanisms behind the health benefits, Tracey said.

Take running: we know that over time it reduces resting heart rate and increases heart variability (the time in between heartbeats), which indicates the heart is working efficiently. It's possible that this is a result of exercise increasing vagal tone, because it is responsible for slowing the heart down, but more research is needed to confirm this.

Whether this turns out to be true or not, working out regularly is a no-brainer investment to make in your health. "Strength training preserves muscle mass, improves metabolic function, and prevents injuries. Aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling, or swimming, enhances cardiovascular health and endurance," Tracey said.

3) Meditation

Tracey meditates for ten minutes most mornings, often using apps like Headspace.

Early research suggests that meditating can reduce inflammation, but more is needed, Tracey said. A 2022 meta-analysis that reviewed 28 randomized controlled trials involving 4,638 people found that those who meditated had fewer inflammatory biomarkers in their blood compared to those in control groups.

It's possible that meditation could increase vagus nerve activity, which in turn reduces inflammation, Tracey said, but we lack direct proof. Regardless, he has found that regular meditation has enabled him to be more present and less reactive to things he can't control.

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Moving from LA to Colorado was supposed to be temporary; then I got pregnant. We needed the support system we have here.

The author and her husband decided not to move back to LA after she got pregnant.

Photo credit: Quintin Sally

• We moved from Los Angeles to Colorado in 2020 and thought our move would be temporary.
• When we found out I was pregnant, we started to wonder whether staying would be better for us.
• In the end, we stayed in Colorado. We love living near our parents, and we're less stressed here.

In 2020, my husband and I packed up our apartment in Los Angeles and drove to Colorado, where we'd both grown up. I'm a screenwriter, and my husband works at an augmented reality startup — both unpredictable, high-pressure jobs. LA had always made sense professionally, even when it stressed us out personally and financially.

Since moving to the West Coast in our early 20s, we had never been out of LA for more than a few weeks at a time, but with the rise of remote work, it felt like the right moment. We thought we'd be there for a year at most — long enough to do some hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. It would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be close to family and the splendor of the Rocky Mountains for more than just a quick weekend or holiday trip.

But when I got pregnant, we started asking ourselves some big questions.

We started to wonder if we'd ever move back to LA

What would it be like to raise a child in LA? Could we keep up with the cost of housing, childcare, and healthcare? Given the tumult in the entertainment industry and the uncertainty of a tech startup, could we rely on steady work?

We crunched the numbers. We could do it, but we'd have to make some sacrifices. A small apartment. No margin for overspending. Our baby's college fund or our retirement funds, but not both. And paying for daycare was out of the question, which meant one of us would have to quit our job to be a stay-at-home parent. Was the proximity worth it, and was the stress?

And the biggest question of all: When we thought about raising our family, what image came to mind?

Then, when we broke the news about my pregnancy to our respective parents, their unbridled joy confirmed what we had already been feeling. We wanted to raise our baby surrounded by that joy.

Staying in Denver was the right move for us

So we signed an 18-month lease for an apartment in Denver. The cost of living was still high, and both of our careers remained unpredictable. But we had something invaluable: support. Two sets of grandparents, both within driving distance.

When our son was born, they showed up with enchiladas and apple pie, with confident arms willing to rock the baby to sleep at four in the morning, with the tender blessings of someone we wholly trusted, saying, "Go lie down, I've got it."

There were days I worried we'd taken a step back by not returning to LA. That we were pressing pause on our careers, especially for me as a screenwriter, with the industry so concentrated in California. But as the newborn haze began to lift, I started to see it differently.

In many creative fields, especially as a freelancer, there's no HR department, no paid parental leave, no road map. A startup doesn't offer much certainty, either. What we needed — more than a city, more than a scene — was a support system.

This isn't a story of everything magically working out. Daycare in Denver can be prohibitively expensive, but we've figured out a childcare schedule that works for us and the grandparents so we can do our jobs. Work opportunities ebb and flow, and the hustle is much harder all these miles away. And truthfully, I miss the momentum of LA — the energy, the industry, the hunger.

But then I step outside and gaze in wonder at the mountains on the horizon. I see my baby's tiny hand wrapped around my dad's finger, and I feel it in my chest: this is the life we couldn't afford in LA — not just financially but emotionally.

We get to raise our child knowing he will have a close relationship with his grandparents. We're not stretched to the point of breaking. We haven't had to choose between our work and our child. We get to be present. That kind of presence — that kind of joy — is worth everything.

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They've been retired for 2 decades— and have learned to make the most of their golden years

Bernita Clark, 82, makes costumes for her daughter's 12-foot-tall skeleton.

Michael Starghill, Jr. for BI

Sitting at her sewing machine, Bernita Clark, 82, guides a piece of blue fabric as the needle bobs up and down. To her side sit scissors, measuring tape, thread, and a skull.

It's for a costume she's designing for a 12-foot-tall skeleton. The labor is painstaking, attaching the fabric such that the soon-to-be well-clad lawn fixture becomes the talk of the town.

But, she said, the work has been one of the most fulfilling parts of retirement.

Are you an older American comfortable sharing your retirement outlook with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form. We are especially looking to hear from people 80 and older.

In her late 40s, Clark didn't think she could ever retire. A divorce at 40 meant she would be on her own, raising her two daughters with little savings and no retirement plan.

At age 46, she said she "set about finding a job that offered good retirement above all else and supplemented it as much as I could."

Clark returned to school and worked as a computer systems analyst for a railroad company with a defined-benefit pension plan, rather than the increasingly common defined-contribution retirement plans offered by many employers.

After developing congestive heart failure, she retired at 64, pursuing travel to national parks, painting, and costume-making. She worked part-time, training railroad dispatchers and working in university admissions. Nowadays, she coordinates neighborhood meetups and maintains a strong social calendar.

"Financially, I'm not wealthy, but I'm not poor either," Clark said. "I own my home and don't have a mortgage. I have more expendable income now than I've ever had in my life, and I'm debt-free."

Bernita Clark.

Michael Starghill, Jr. for BI

Over the past few months, hundreds of older Americans told Business Insider that they've struggled to figure out what they really wanted to do in retirement. Some new to retirement said they weren't sure how to spend their time, while others hinted at returning to work. To learn from those with more experience navigating retirement, Business Insider spoke to over a dozen older Americans who have been retired for 15 or more years to pinpoint some common practices that have made retirement fulfilling long-term.

Though not all have had smooth retirements, most agreed that what made retirement worthwhile included maintaining strong social ties, staying physically active, working side gigs, and staying positive amid twists and turns.

For those worried about recent stock market volatility, Rob Williams, a managing director at Charles Schwab, said these kinds of concerns will come and go throughout a lifetime. "Having a financial plan helps, and those who do are more confident than those who don't."

'I've stayed on top of things'

Some of the longtime retirees BI spoke with still do some work to stay active and supplement their finances.

Leslie Giles, 83, didn't expect to return to work in his 80s after retiring 24 years ago. Giles, who lives in Ohio, worked as a statistician and personnel testing specialist, investing and keeping expenses low. He retired in 2001 after his job of three decades was cut.

He and his wife traveled to national parks in the Southwest, and he lived off savings, a state pension, and the one-year buyout he got from his job. To pass the time, he volunteered part-time as a school library assistant. Once his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he became her primary caregiver before she entered a rehabilitation facility.

When she died in 2020, Giles said he was desperate to get back to work to give himself purpose, so he held shifts as a security guard until recently, sometimes working 10-hour shifts.

For Donald Kimmel, 78, retirement meant slowing down instead of stopping work entirely.

Kimmel, who lives in Florida, retired at 62 after taking a buyout from his full-time position in osteoporosis research. He stayed as a freelance consultant for the next five to six years, flying to conferences and working in areas with less-developed bone research facilities. The morning after he took his buyout, he said he got a call from an attorney asking him to do expert testimony about a patent challenge for a drug company.

"The moment I became a free agent, companies like them were happy to have me," Kimmel said.

Donald Kimmel.

Nilo Jimenez for BI

Kimmel moved from Pennsylvania to Florida with his wife so they could retire in a calmer and warmer community, though he continued freelancing and managing vacation properties until 2017.

"More than 15 years after retirement, I've stayed on top of things," Kimmel said. "I like to pass down ideas on career moves that students should make. You don't get any pay for that, but you get the joy of helping people get themselves going."

'It's never over until it's over'

Most retirees BI spoke to said they knew retirement would eventually stop being the golden years and would take time to adjust.

When Richard Adelmann, 82, retired early at 52 after a career in accounting, he expected to spend much of his retirement with his wife of over three decades. Just a few years into retirement, she died suddenly at 55.

Adelmann returned to his post-retirement job building affordable housing and married an educator who lost her husband.

He and his second wife worked in their retirement with children at a residential treatment center for endangered youth, although neither had kids of their own. Adelmann navigated health issues, including cancer, over the last two decades, and his home faced severe damage from Hurricane Sandy. He's made the most of rough times, keeping his mind fresh by reading and still remaining active.

"It's never over until it's over," said Adelmann, who lives in New Jersey.

For Elayne Schulman, 82, some of the joys of retirement have evaporated, though there are still silver linings. Schulman retired at 62, a few years after her husband, after a decade supervising educational software development at IBM.

"My husband wanted to jump to retirement as fast as he could," Schulman said. "We didn't think we needed to be in the upper-middle class. We just wanted to do better than our fathers, who both died very young."

Schulman and her husband moved to a waterfront town in Florida, but while on a trip, her husband fell and became partly paralyzed. In January, her husband was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. She had a stroke in February that temporarily hurt her vision. Their years of financial planning prepared them for emergencies like these, and Schulman said she's learned to cherish the small moments of peace and family times.

"I expect this to be better in a couple of months, but who knows?" Schulman said. "This is the tail end of a very long retirement that has had its ups and downs."

Staying fit, even amid health challenges

Rich Colorado, 87, used to be the youngest in his senior bowling league. Now, he's the second oldest.

Colorado, who was born in El Salvador and lives in California, held two long-term jobs his whole life: 17 years at a bowling alley and 27 years as a scale technician. He retired in 2002 on his 65th birthday despite never having a specific savings plan.

Rich Colorado.

Jason Henry for BI

Colorado said the key to his retirement has been staying active. He bowls three times a week, teaches chess, and used to take guitar lessons. He said staying fit and having a routine, coupled with a healthy diet, have gotten him to this age with few health problems.

Staying fit has helped Bill Bengel, 84, endure health challenges. Bengel retired from General Motors over 24 years ago, spent two decades living at his lake house in northern Michigan, and took up woodworking. He put aside 10% of his salary increases toward his retirement and lived frugally without sacrificing travel.

Two years ago, a complication from his vascular disease led to a partial leg amputation. He couldn't spend his winters in Florida or enjoy his lake house, so he and his wife moved back to central Michigan, closer to family.

He walks with a cane and goes to the gym to improve his mobility, and he spends much of his time with his eight grandkids and 14 great-grandkids. While he can't run like he did before the amputation, he said he's still got plenty of years left to improve physically while keeping his mind fresh through reading.

"We still do pretty much what we want," Bengel said.

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See the MV-75 tiltrotor set to be the US Army's next premier air assault vehicle and replace the UH-60 Black Hawk

The Bell V-280 Valor was selected as the Army's future long-range assault aircraft in 2022.

Photo courtesy of Bell

• The US Army designated Bell's V-280 Valor as its next-generation air assault vehicle, the MV-75.
• The tiltrotor is part of the Army's plan to modernize its aging fleet of military helicopters.
• The Army plans to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk with the MV-75 by the 2030s.

It flies like a helicopter, cruises like a plane, and could redefine how the US Army fights wars within the next decade.

The Army chose the Bell V-280 Valor as its next-generation assault aircraft, designed to fly longer and faster than current rotorcraft. Officially designated the MV-75, the Army is betting on the Bell tiltrotor to modernize its aging fleet of military helicopters.

For nearly 50 years, the UH-60 Black Hawk has been the Army's airborne workhorse. The Army plans to continue flying the Black Hawk for the next several years as it fast-tracks the rollout of the new tiltrotor replacement fleet in the 2030s.

Bell V-280 Valor

The V-280 was developed by Bell Textron, a Texas-based aerospace company.

Bell Flight

Developed by Bell Textron, a Texas-based aerospace company, the V-280 was designed with "transformational increases in speed, range, and maneuverability," the Army said in a 2020 release.

Propelled by two Rolls-Royce turboshaft engines, the V-280's tiltrotor design allows the aircraft to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane, like the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey.

In order to be a contender for the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, the competing aircraft were required to cruise at speeds of up to 322 miles per hour — nearly twice as fast as the Black Hawk's cruising speed of 174 mph.

The aircraft was expected to carry up to 14 fully equipped passengers or accommodate external payloads of up to 10,000 pounds.

The FLRAA also had to be able to operate at 6,000 feet in temperatures up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit and fly at least 1,700 nautical miles without refueling.

A 'leap ahead'

The V-280 is designed to carry fully equipped troops on assault missions.

Bell Flight

Gen. James Mingus, the Army's vice chief of staff, described the MV-75 as a "leap ahead in technology and capability."

"It delivers operational reach that alters how we close with the enemy," Mingus said at the Army Aviation Association of America conference on May 14. "It brings the right combination of speed, payload, and survivability we've never had in one aircraft."

The concept is that each MV-75 can rush over a dozen heavily loaded troopers onto assault missions that can catch an enemy off guard.

Next-generation military helicopters

Bell's V-280 was chosen over the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X to be the US Army's next-generation military helicopter.

US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen

Bell's V-280 Valor was selected in 2022 as the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, chosen over the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X. The FLRAA is part of the Army's broader effort to modernize its aerial fleet, known as Future Vertical Lift.

The Army also planned to develop a new armed scout helicopter known as the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, but the program was canceled earlier this year to prioritize the fielding of the MV-75.

The Army is "not just committed to the programme, but how we do it faster as well," Mingus said.

Multimission Vertical Takeoff

The Bell tiltrotor was officially designated the MV-75, referring to its multimission purpose and vertical takeoff and landing capability.

US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen

The "M" in the aircraft's designation refers to its multimission purpose, and the "V" represents its vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability.

While the MV-75 design has yet to be finalized, the future tiltrotor is expected to have a baseline variant that will incorporate features to adapt it to special operations.

After entering the engineering and manufacturing stage last year, Bell is under contract to build six prototypes of the MV-75. The Texas-based aerospace company projects to complete its first flight in 2026 and low-rate initial production in 2028. The aircraft is slated to be delivered to the Army around 2030.

'Rapid response and enhanced maneuverability'

Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor is designed to have a baseline variant that can be configured for special operations missions.

Photo by Bell Helicopter

The next-generation aircraft is expected to serve on missions involving vertical lift, air assault, maritime interdiction, medical evacuation, combat search and rescue, humanitarian relief, and tactical resupply.

101st Airborne Division

The Army's 101st Airborne Division will be the first frontline unit to field the MV-75.

US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen

The 101st Airborne Division, the only Army division specializing in air assault operations, is set to be the first frontline unit to field the MV-75.

For nearly six decades, the unit's Combat Aviation Brigade has been operating assault helicopters, such as AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters, UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, and CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

"The 101st flies into real-world contested environments, across wide terrain, often without the luxury of fixed support infrastructure," Mingus said. "They need speed, endurance, and reliability."

Preparing for a fight in the Pacific

The Army is prioritizing the modernization of its aerial fleet in preparation for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

US Army Photo by Mr. Luke J. Allen

The modernization of the Army's aerial fleet comes as the US military prepares for a potential conflict with China.

The long-range mobility of the Army's future aircraft fleet is essential for the vast Pacific theater, consisting of island chains separated by long distances and limited Army infrastructure in the region.

The Future Vertical Lift initiative is also focused on enhancing survivability against Chinese and Russian air defenses by equipping future aircraft with high-speed capabilities and reduced radar signatures.

Autonomous and semi-autonomous flight

The Army is looking to integrate autonomous and semi-autonomous flight on its aerial systems, including the MV-75.

Photo by Morgan Pattillo

Amid the Pentagon's push for AI use within its ranks, the Army is also looking to integrate autonomous and semi-autonomous flight technology into its systems, including the MV-75.

"The Army wants to make sure that aircraft can be unmanned," Textron CEO Scott Donnelly said during an earnings call in April.

In December 2019, the V-280 Valor successfully completed an autonomous test flight at the company's research center in Arlington, Texas, though two pilots remained onboard to intervene if necessary.

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The share of businesses started by women kept rising while the funding gap was stubborn

Women of color are driving the growth of new small businesses, per a new report.

Luis Alvarez/Getty Images

• Women-owned startups made up 49% of new businesses in 2024, up from 29% in 2019, per a new report.
• Women of color, especially AAPI and Black women, are driving this entrepreneurial growth.
• However, women were 75% less likely than men to receive equity financing for their startups.

Younger women and women of color are starting more small businesses than men.

Women-owned startups made up 49% of all new businesses in 2024, up from 29% in 2019 and the highest share recorded in the past six years, per a new report from Gusto. The HR and payroll platform surveyed its users and also found that AAPI, Black, and young women were driving this trend.

Despite the risks and barriers that women face in starting their own businesses, many are choosing entrepreneurship because of the independence and autonomy it can offer, said Nich Tremper, senior economist at Gusto.

"It's seeing a shift from this necessity entrepreneurship to this opportunity entrepreneurship," said Tremper, referencing a change he saw in 2022. "So we've seen women go from saying, 'I need to start a business to make ends meet, to take care of my kids,' to, 'I want to start a business because of the benefits that it provides.'"

Even with the growth of women-owned businesses, barriers still exist for women seeking investments to start or scale their startups. As a result, many rely on financing from their personal networks and debt to launch their enterprises.

Women of color are driving entrepreneurship

Tremper said the growth of new businesses is driven by women of color who are seeking more independence and ownership of their work.

Fifty-four percent of all new AAPI- and Black-owned businesses were started by women, compared to 46% that were started by their male colleagues, per Gusto.

Social justice movements like Black Lives Matter and Stop AAPI Hate bolstered support for businesses owned by women of color, per a report published earlier this year by Wells Fargo. Tremper added that Black and AAPI women-owned businesses gained more momentum during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Hispanic women made up 43% of new business owners compared to 56% of Hispanic men. Gusto reported that the disparity was because women-owned businesses are focused on the community and personal services sectors, while almost half of all Hispanic-owned businesses are concentrated in goods production like home remodeling or construction. Men started nearly 70% of businesses in that sector.

Younger generations of women are also reaching gender parity: More than half of the businesses created by millennials and Gen Zers were women-owned. On the other end of the spectrum, male baby boomers made up 64% of new business owners compared to 36% of boomer women.

Although it's typical for people to launch businesses in their mid- to late 30s and early 40s — after they've developed an expertise in a particular field — that trend has been changing, Tremper said.

"As women are increasingly a large share of the labor market over the last several years, millennial and Gen Z women are really starting businesses at higher levels," Tremper added.

The equity gap in business financing

Women-owned businesses earn a higher return at $0.78 for every dollar invested compared to men's $0.31, Tremper said. Additionally, women-owned businesses have seen faster revenue and employment growth in the past five years compared to businesses started by men, per Wells Fargo.

However, Tremper said there's a persistent gender gap between equity financing for women and men.

"The women who do receive this equity financing really outperform men, but they're still getting it at a lower rate," Tremper said. Women who apply for private investments are 75% less likely to receive equity funding than their male peers, per Gusto.

Gusto's research found that women largely relied on their social networks and accruing personal debt to finance their new businesses. It was more common for women to also secure private loans through collateral in their homes or vehicles, which can expose them to more financial risks.

That means that the stakes can be higher for women-owned businesses—if the founders fail, their personal finances could take a hit.

Despite these challenges and barriers, women-owned businesses are resilient and continuing to find success in the market, Tremper said.

"We're seeing these women-owned businesses coming into the economy and sticking around," he added. "They're keeping their course, they're active players in the economy."

Do you have a story to share about taking on personal debt to start your own business? Contact this reporter at jdeng@businessinsider.com.

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Sergey Brin says management is the 'easiest thing to do with AI'

Sergey Brin said he has been using AI for managing teams at Google.

REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

• Sergey Brin said he has used AI for leadership tasks, including delegating and promotions.
• Brin returned to Google in 2023 to develop AI products amid competition with OpenAI.
• Executives like Nvidia's CEO and Duolingo's CTO also use AI daily.

AI can help write boring emails, speed up coding, and even decide who gets promoted at one of the world's largest companies.

In an episode of the "All In" podcast released on Tuesday, Google cofounder Sergey Brin said he has been using AI for some of his leadership tasks since returning to the company.

"Management is like the easiest thing to do with the AI," Brin said.

Brin cofounded Google with Larry Page in 1998 and served as its president until stepping down in 2019. He returned to the search giant in 2023 to help develop AI products as the company races against startup competitors like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity.

On the podcast, Brin shared two ways he has been using AI for managing people at Gemini, Google's large language model team: delegating tasks and finding top performers.

Brin used an AI to condense group chat messages.

"It could suck down a whole chat space and then answer pretty complicated questions," he said. "I was like: 'OK, summarize this for me. OK, now assign something for everyone to work on.'"

Brin said that there were a few giveaways that he was using AI when he pasted things back into the chat, but it "worked remarkably well."

Brin said he also asked the AI tool who in the group chat should get promoted.

"It actually picked out this young woman engineer who I didn't even notice, she wasn't very vocal," he said. "I talked to the manager, actually, and he was like, 'Yeah, you know what? You're right. Like she's been working really hard, did all these things.'"

"I think that ended up happening, actually," Brin said of the promotion.

In the wide-ranging discussion about AI, Brin said AI could do certain things "much better" than humans, including tasks he is skilled at, such as math and coding.

He did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

How tech execs use AI

Brin joins a number of executives incorporating AI in their day-to-day work.

Earlier this month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he uses tools like ChatGPT and Gemini like a "tutor" every day.

"In areas that are fairly new to me, I might say, 'Start by explaining it to me like I'm a 12-year-old,' and then work your way up into a doctorate-level over time," Huang said.

This week, Duolingo's chief technology officer said that AI is part of his three-step leadership principle. Once he decides a task must be done, he tries to see if it can be automated with ChatGPT.

Still, not every tech executive is ready to outsource their management duties to AI just yet.

LinkedIn's chief operating officer, Dan Shapero, told Business Insider last month that he still likes to do the "human parts" of his job.

"While AI has shown that it can synthesize information, I'm not sure that it's shown that it can inspire a team or that it can connect with people at a deeper level," Shapero said.

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A former Meta manager who beat out 2,000 candidates for his first role shares the 5-step strategy he used to secure the offer

Keith Anderson in the Facebook office.

Courtesy of Keith Anderson

• Keith Anderson secured a role at Meta in 2018 after beating 2,000 other candidates.
• He applied after feeling drained in his previous Big Tech roles at YouTube and Google.
• Anderson used a five-part strategy, including a 'value project,' to stand out and get the offer.

When Keith Anderson, 36, came across a job posting at Meta (then Facebook) while scrolling LinkedIn in 2018, he was feeling completely drained.

He was in his third Big Tech role — working as a program manager at YouTube — after spending two years at Google and two years at Uber since breaking into the industry with no tech experience in 2015.

"I'd hit a wall," Anderson, who now runs Career Alchemy, told Business Insider. "I was physically exhausted and emotionally depleted."

A few months later, he beat out 2,000 candidates for the Meta role.

He wanted a dramatic career shift

Anderson wanted something new and resonated with Meta's mission, so he applied for the role on the global education team.

After three months of silence, he was invited to an in-person finalist event at the company's headquarters. The hiring manager at Meta told him he'd been selected as one of 300 top candidates from 2,000 applicants.

He said that email alone felt like a win, but it was short-lived when he realized the stiff competition he'd need to one-up to actually land the job. He decided he'd try something different to stand out from the crowd.

Here's the five-part strategy that Anderson used to ultimately win the job offer from Meta.

1. Using curiosity and connection points to overcome imposter syndrome

When Anderson first arrived at the event, his excitement turned to anxiety. As an employee who came from a background in teaching, imposter syndrome started to grip him.

"I reminded myself that curiosity is more powerful than self-doubt," Anderson said. "Instead of trying to impress anyone, I approached team leaders and engaged them in meaningful, peer-level conversations."

Anderson said the event started with 30 to 45 minutes of networking. Next, five team leaders presented on the state of the team, explaining their goals. The team leaders then spread out around the room to talk to candidates.

"There were like 15 to 20 folks swarming around each of them, awkwardly trying to get their chance to ask a question," Anderson said.

Anderson worked the room, saying things like, "I just learned about the project your team's been working on, and I'm impressed by what you've achieved! My team's facing a similar challenge, and I'm curious: how has your team approached that balance?"

He said the goal wasn't to deliver a pitch but instead create a conversation rooted in genuine interest and shared experience.

2. Following up with a warm, non-pushy message

Anderson initially didn't get a callback, so he sent a warm, friendly voice note to the recruiter.

"I thanked her for inviting me and reflected on how humbling it was to be in a room with such incredible talent," he said. "I mentioned my conversation with one of the team members and even included a helpful tool we used on my current team at the time, asking her to pass it along." Anderson believes that the most important part of his message wasn't what he offered — it was how he framed it.

"I told the recruiter, 'I know your plate is full juggling candidates for multiple roles and navigating the needs of different hiring managers. If this role doesn't work out, no worries. I just wanted to say thank you,'" Anderson said.

Within 48 hours, the recruiter called Anderson back to schedule a formal screening for the role.

3. Turning the screening into a strategy session

Anderson viewed the phone screening as an opportunity to gather intelligence about both the company and role.

"I wanted to understand the team's internal goals and pain points before I ever stepped into a formal interview loop," Anderson said. He asked questions like "What are the top priorities for this team over the next quarter?" and "How does this role contribute to those broader goals?"

The recruiter provided valuable insight into the team's dynamics and signaled that he understood how to contribute at a high level.

4. Building a 'value project' to show understanding of team pain points

After the phone screening, Anderson sent a warm follow-up email that led to an invitation to speak with the hiring manager. To prepare, he created a four-slide 'value project,' — a mini case study based on a challenge faced by the team he was trying to join.

"I gathered intel on the main pain points the team was facing," Anderson said. "From those, I took the one that seemed the most pressing and created a simple project from that."

Anderson's value project included:

• A short overview of what he understood about the team's current structure
• A breakdown of one key challenge, informed by conversations with the recruiter and event contacts
• Examples of how other companies were solving similar problems
• His personal experience addressing this kind of challenge
• A few practical, creative solutions tailored to Meta's ecosystem

Anderson invited the hiring manager and others who interviewed him into a conversation to discuss it.

"I framed it with, 'I'd love to get your thoughts on this,'" he said. "Suddenly, I wasn't just a candidate answering questions. I was a collaborator helping solve problems."

5. Making yourself easy to remember

The recruiter sent Anderson an email with the names of the people he was going to meet with. Anderson sent brief, friendly email introductions to each of his future interviewers, expressing his excitement about speaking with them.

During the actual interviews, Anderson made a personal connection with the hiring team. "At the start of each call, I asked, 'What's been the highlight of your day so far?' he said. "It's warm, it's disarming, and it instantly transforms the tone of the conversation."

About five months after applying, Anderson received a job offer from Meta for an instructional designer role — his entry position that he later parlayed into a management role as head of learning, global agencies, over his three years at Meta.

Anderson's manager told him something he'll never forget

"After I started, my manager told me, 'If you hadn't accepted, we would've restarted the entire hiring process — no one else came close,'" Anderson said. "That kind of validation reminded me that thoughtful risk-taking really does pay off."

Anderson said that this hiring experience taught him you don't have to follow the traditional script to be taken seriously in Big Tech.

"Throughout every step of the process, I anchored my message: I'm someone who notices problems early and works toward clear, communicative, creative solutions," he said. "My goal was always to show, not tell, who I was through every interaction."

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