She moved from Maryland to Morocco for a better life. She didn't expect to start a school in her home.

Julie Wilburn, from Maryland, now runs a microschool in Morocco.

Courtesy of Julie Wilburn

• Julie Wilburn moved from Maryland to Morocco for a better quality of life.
• She has lived there for 13 years and now runs a small school.
• Similar to the US microschool movement, Wilburn found a need for more personalized learning in the region.

Julie Wilburn, 53, never anticipated that, over a decade after moving from Maryland to Morocco, she would be running her own school.

That's now her reality.

"I started with four kids out of my own house, and then I just started building a little school, and now it's been 13 years and I have this school that now has 60 to 65 students," Wilburn told Business Insider.

Wilburn said she worked at small religious schools in Maryland, and when she met her husband, who is from Morocco, she decided she wanted a change.

They moved to Morocco, and Wilburn found a teaching job. When the school shut down, she decided to start her own microschool, a model that typically has fewer than 20 students and focuses on personalized learning.

Wilburn's school prioritizes personalized learning and includes outdoor activities.

Courtesy of Julie Wilburn

American Group International, Wilburn's school in Agadir, teaches students from kindergarten through 12th grade, and they come from diverse backgrounds, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and France.

"A lot of people are moving out of the first-world countries, and actually, the quality of life is better here," Wilburn said, adding that one thing she likes about Morocco is the availability of fresh food.

Plus, the couple thought the US was getting too expensive. She referred to her electric bill: she said that in America, she was paying around $400 a month for electricity, and her bill in Morocco is just $25.

Wilburn is one of many Americans who have left the US in search of a cheaper and better life. Her current role as a school leader is also representative of a growing movement in the US in which parents are seeking out alternative forms of education, like microschools, to best suit their children's needs.

While her school is now larger than the typical microschool, Wilburn said the structure has been instrumental to helping students in the region succeed.

"Our school's like family. They go home with their classmates, they have birthday parties together," Wilburn said. "It makes our school different than the bigger schools."

'Born out of a need'

BI previously spoke to microschool leaders and advocates in the US who vouched for the alternative learning style. Critics, on the other hand, worry that minimal regulation over microschools could diminish their accountability.

Mary Jo Fairhead, who runs a microschool in South Dakota, said that after working in a traditional public school for years, she saw a growing shift among parents who wanted more personalized educations for their kids, especially coming out of the pandemic.

"If a child's struggling and they need something more personalized, we find it for them," Fairhead said. "Or if they're excelling and they need something that's going to challenge them more, we find that for them."

Wilburn saw that same need for a different style of education in Morocco.

"Our school was born out of a need: a need for inclusive education, small class sizes, and alternative pathways for students with diverse learning profiles, special needs, or families seeking a more holistic, flexible, and international approach to learning," she said.

Wilburn said she's hoping to expand her school in the future.

Courtesy of Julie Wilburn

Wilburn obtained accreditation certificates for her school from two US-based agencies, and she said she is working to get regional accreditation to help expand her learning initiatives to other cities. She also partners with programs in the UK to provide English examinations and teacher training exams.

While educational standards and regulations differ by region, some education analysts have expressed concerns with minimal oversight over microschooling in the US. Paige Shoemaker DeMio, a senior analyst for K-12 education policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, previously told BI that most states do not have legal definitions for what constitutes a microschool, paving the way for potential misuse of funds and inability to track students' progress.

Ensuring success after students graduate is a priority, Wilburn said. Her school's curriculum includes bilingual English and Arabic instruction, and if her students want to go to college, she helps find them scholarships and placements.

"I had one boy, he came back here from Saudi Arabia. I took whatever he could give me to help him get through school," Wilburn said. "And now this year he graduated with a British diploma with his BA, and he's going to go back to Saudi Arabia and work with his friend to help them run a school there."

Have you moved from the US to a location abroad? How have you found the different education systems? Share your thoughts with this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

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Robinhood is known for its meme-stock and crypto traders. Its CEO says users are embracing passive investing too.

Vlad Tenev, CEO and cofounder of Robinhood.

Kimberly White/Getty Images for Robinhood

• Robinhood boomed during the pandemic as budding day traders signed up to trade meme stocks.
• CEO Vlad Tenev said on a podcast that many have since embraced passive investing.
• Tenev described two main types of Robinhood users as "motorheads" and "folks that buy minivans."

The meme-stock craze helped make trading app Robinhood a household name, but its CEO said some users have shifted from YOLO-style bets on SPACs and crypto toward long-term, passive investing.

Passive investing in broad index funds has been in vogue for years and heralded by the likes of Warren Buffett as a way of avoiding the costs and risks of active trading, like transaction fees and picking the wrong stock.

Robinhood became synonymous with speculative day traders during the COVID-19 pandemic, pioneering the commission-free stock-trading model while drawing fire for gamifying investing with digital confetti and other visual cues.

The fintech company "kind of turned back the clock" on the shift toward simply owning the index, its CEO, Vlad Tenev, said. But traders on its platform have warmed to passive investing, he said on an episode of Bloomberg's "Odd Lots" podcast released this week.

"A lot of people trade more actively at first and then eventually end up doing more passive investing — mostly because they don't want to put in the time, they have other things to do, so they prefer all of their investments to be hands-off," he said.

'Motorheads' and minivan buyers

While some traders on the platform are active traders with the latest tech, others are casual retirement savers, Tenev added.

He likened the first group to "motorheads" who care about performance, high speeds, and harnessing the latest tech. "These are the folks that are strapped into their battle stations, and they have nine screens," he joked, adding that some are "incredibly sophisticated and wealthy, and they even have Bloomberg terminals."

The other group is "the mass market" and consists of "folks that buy minivans," he said. "They want a relatively hands-free and low-friction way of investing and saving for the long term, and we have products that serve both of those," he added.

Tenev pointed to the growth of Robinhood users using products such as retirement accounts. Robinhood's assets under custody in traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Roth IRAs soared by about 600% last year to over $13 billion, according to its latest full-year earnings.

On a February earnings call, Tenev said people were now "comfortable moving in hundreds of thousands of dollars into Robinhood."

Robinhood's net revenue grew by 58% last year to nearly $3 billion, helping it swing from a pre-tax loss of about $500 million in 2023 to a nearly $1.1 billion profit in 2024. The improving financials have fueled a roughly four-fold rise in Robinhood's stock price over the past 12 months, lifting its market value to north of $80 billion.

Bullish retail investors and new products have also helped drive the rise. Robinhood's stock spiked earlier this week after it announced it was rolling out tokenized investing in Europe.

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This company is requiring employees take PTO this summer — and is offering some a $1,000 vacation stipend

Olipop CEO Ben Goodwin said he wants to help create work-life balance for his employees.

Olipop

• Soda company Olipop mandates a week of PTO this summer to prevent burnout and boost performance.
• Its 'Summer Recharge' program includes a $1,000 vacation stipend for four employees each month.
• Olipop offers remote work, unlimited PTO, and plans to expand perks.

Need a reason to take a vacation? At Olipop, employees don't have a choice.

The prebiotic soda brand valued at $1.85 billion recently launched a program requiring its staff of roughly 220 to take at least one full week of PTO. It's also raffling off a $1,000 stipend to four employees each month from June to September to spend on their vacation.

"I have no concern that our employees, writ large, should be able to afford a vacation, but things are expensive, right?" Olipop CEO Ben Goodwin told Business Insider, adding that he wants to send an "ultra clear" message about Olipop's workplace.

The company said the "Summer Recharge" initiative is intended to prevent burnout, boost performance, and model a healthier relationship with PTO.

Olipop CEO Ben Goodwin said the idea came about after the company launched a summer program for customers to win a soda-inspired hotel suites or one of 5,000 influencer-style PR Boxes for just five cents.

After seeing data about US workers not using all their allotted PTO, Goodwin decided to create a similar program for Olipop's employees.

A survey published by Eagle Hill Consulting last November found that 48% of US employees anticipated having unused vacation days by the end of the year, and over one-third of respondents said they hadn't taken a vacation at all in the past year. 85% of the 1,387 survey respondents said they would support a requirement to use a minimum number of vacation days a year.

Olipop offers unlimited time off. Goodwin said that while unlimited PTO can give employees a sense of freedom, these sorts of policies can lead to employees taking less time off. That notion "was unacceptable," he said and he didn't want it happening at his company.

Goodwin said it's "really important" that the company effectively facilitates employees' work-life balance. He says that Olipop's employees are hard workers and that, since its founding in 2018, he can count on one hand the number of employees who haven't pulled their weight.

Goodwin described the Olipop work environment as "intense" and said the staff is competitive and mission-oriented. Last year alone, the company had nearly 400,000 applicants, he said.

While Goodwin invests heavily in employee wellness, he said he is still working on his own ability to disconnect from his job.

"I have to take somewhat extreme measures to really, like, take a breather," Goodwin said, adding that he needs to leave the country to detach himself.

Goodwin said that Olipop has experienced triple-digit growth nearly every year since its inception, and he has to maintain his performance by following routines like exercise and therapy.

Mandatory summer vacation isn't the only perk Olipop offers. Rather than investing in office facilities, Olipop runs remotely and pays significant costs in employee benefits and perks.

The company pays for employees to have a gold PPO plan and covers 95% of insurance costs, Goodwin said. Olipop also offers department off-sites, a party at the end of the year with a DJ and a hotel stay, new hire orientations, and a program for leadership called Olipop Leadership University.

As a relatively small company in a high-growth phase, Goodwin said he has no plans to pull back these perks. In fact, he said he's in active discussions with Olipop's new head of people about expanding some initiatives. Goodwin said he's exploring the launch of a "company rainy day fund for employee emergencies."

To Goodwin, it's all part of the company's mission to benefit others. He also said it creates incentive for employees to perform better.

"How much time do you want to spend using punitive measures to keep your employees in line, and how much do you want to use incentivization and meaning to inspire them in the same direction?" Goodwin said.

The CEO added that you can "tell which model we prefer."

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Kansas City tried one of Zohran Mamdani's big ideas for NYC. Here's how it could change riding the bus in the Big Apple.

Zohran Mamdani proposed making NYC buses free.

Selcuk Acar/Getty Images

• Zohran Mamdani is running for mayor in NYC on a few key policies, including free public buses.
• Fare-free buses could increase ridership and reduce driver assaults, as seen in NYC's pilot.
• But funding challenges and political hurdles lie ahead.

New York City's Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is running on some eye-catching promises. One of them is free public buses.

Mamdani argues that ending fees on buses, whose 2 million daily riders are disproportionately low-income, would allow the system to move more people — and more quickly, while relieving financial strain on the neediest.

It's a controversial proposal with a tricky political path to implementation, one that a few US cities, such as Boston and Kansas City, have tried.

Mamdani and other proponents point to New York City's recent yearlong free bus pilot, which he pushed for as a state legislator, in which one route in each of the five boroughs exempted all riders from the normal $2.90 fare.

The experiment resulted in a 30% increase in weekday riders and a 38% increase in weekend riders on the free buses, although many of these riders simply shifted from paid to unpaid routes. There was also a nearly 40% reduction in assaults on bus drivers, altercations that often stem from a dispute over fare evasion, according to an MTA report.

Meanwhile, critics say making all of the city's buses free — to the tune of about $700 million a year — isn't financially feasible or the best use of taxpayer money.

How other US cities have fared without fares

Kansas City was the first major metro in the US to fully support free fares in 2019, with Boston following in 2022 with a few prominent routes eliminating fees. Some smaller cities, like Alexandria, Virginia, and Tucson, Arizona, have also implemented free bus rides, but not at the scale of Mamdani's plan.

In Kansas City, reports of safety and security incidents dropped by 39% in the first year of zero-fare rides. Riders in Boston also saved, on average, $35 a month through the first year of implementation, according to a press release from the Boston Transportation Department.

Kansas City bus riders like Joy Mart, a 28-year-old software engineer, told Business Insider the program is essential, especially for those looking for a job or on a fixed income. Mart lost their job a few years ago, and said that as a newcomer to Kansas City, the free buses helped them tremendously.

"It was just so helpful, since you know, we're counting pennies at that point," Mart said. Riders previously paid $50 for a monthly pass or $1.50 per ride.

Mart is a leader with Sunrise Movement KC, an activist group that advocates for economic, climate, and racial justice. The group also supports and is petitioning for zero-fare buses at a time when some of its critics' biggest concerns are playing out. Due to budget shortfalls, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council approved reimplementing $2 fares to avoid major service cuts and driver layoffs. While the city already funded free buses for the next six months, after this period, the City Council will either rescind its plans or move forward with cutting services and bringing back fares.

Indeed, funding remains the largest hurdle for many cities. Kansas City residents already pay for the free bus system through a sales tax reallocation. The ⅜-cent sales tax funded about 30% of the free bus fare program and will continue through 2034, according to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

In New York, the mayor doesn't have control over the MTA, which is a state agency, but Mamdani has said he hopes to partially fund the program in part by collecting overdue fines on landlords. A spokesperson for the Mamdani campaign didn't immediately return BI's request for comment.

When New York City experimented with five fare-free bus routes, assaults on bus drivers plummeted.

Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

The MTA is already juggling a slew of urgent priorities, including desperately needed large-scale infrastructure improvement projects. Without a sustainable funding source, the program won't deliver what it promises, Zhan Guo, a professor of urban planning and transportation policy at NYU, told Business Insider. But Guo also wants to see more evidence that free buses would be more reliable and efficient than the current system.

"This idea is very appealing to the general public, but I also feel there are actually many other options we haven't fully explored or utilized," he said.

Guo thinks a Mamdani administration would be wise to start by expanding on the pilot program to test the waters. Regardless of whether Mamdani fulfills his key campaign promise, Guo said, it's a "very good time to talk about fare policy."

"I like the fact that public transit, bus fares, such a very technical topic, became so visible in the mayor's campaign," Guo said. "This is actually a wonderful opportunity to engage the public."

Helping low-income New Yorkers

Proponents of free buses point to a slew of potential upsides to the policy. For one, buses tend to serve neighborhoods with poor access to trains and low-income populations who could spend their savings from bus fares on other essentials.

Low-income New Yorkers are already eligible for half-price bus and subway fares through the MTA's Fair Fares program. But only about 38% of eligible people use the program. At the same time, nearly half of riders evade bus fares, costing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — the state agency that runs the city's subways and buses — hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The equipment and personnel needed to collect fares are costly, too. Mamdani has pointed to the Staten Island Ferry, which has been free to ride for the last nearly 20 years, as an example of fare-free transit, which was made that way in part because collecting fares was too expensive.

Mamdani and other supporters of the policy argue that buses can board passengers more efficiently without fares, keeping them on time and moving quickly while reducing conflict between bus drivers and riders evading the fare.

"Some people see a tension between fast and free buses, but we shouldn't have to choose," Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the grassroots transit group Riders Alliance, told Business Insider. "We should be able to have both buses that move and buses that people can afford and that are worth paying for, even if not everyone or no one has to pay for them."

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Skims' cofounder said he set out to be the Starbucks of underwear

Skims' cofounder said he wanted his company to be like Starbucks.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

• Skims' cofounder said he turned to Starbucks for business inspiration.
• He said Starbucks drinks were premium but affordable, and the quality difference was worth the price.
• Skims, which sells bras priced at $50 and above, commands a premium over its competitors.

Skims' cofounder said he wanted the firm to become the Starbucks of underwear.

Jens Grede, who cofounded the loungewear company with his wife Emma Grede and media personality Kim Kardashian, said he looks to the coffee chain a lot for inspiration.

In a podcast episode with Colossus, released Tuesday, Grede said the "first sip feeling" with a Starbucks drink was a "distinct sensory experience."

"Every office building in America has free coffee. My office has free coffee. Pretty good ones, too," he said. "But I still think that Starbucks is worth my $5.50 or $6."

"It's at a premium, but it's still available to me. It's still affordable. And I believe that the quality difference is worth the difference in price," he added.

He said he tried to emulate this with Skims, which sells a range of basic, minimalist underwear, shapewear, and loungewear.

"I saw the opportunity to create that in this category. In the beginning, primarily for women, and now, of course, for everybody," Grede said in the podcast.

Most of Skims' bras cost more than $50, and its underwear costs around $18. Its most popular products, like its long ribbed slip dress and cotton tank top, retail for $80 and $38, respectively.

In comparison, Victoria's Secret's bras start at around $40, while Calvin Klein's start at around $30.

"It might be slightly more expensive, but still affordable," Grede added.

The New York Times reported in 2023 that Skims, which started in 2018, was worth $4 billion.

Grede's comments come as Starbucks is trying to turn its business around while remaining a premium coffee option.

Starbucks has faced various challenges, including long wait times, flaws in the customer experience, and issues with its mobile ordering system.

Starbucks' CEO, Brian Niccol, has since implemented his "Back to Starbucks" plan to improve the café experience.

Representatives for Skims did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

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BFF or bot? People are using ChatGPT to answer texts.

Trump suggests DOGE should 'take a good, hard look' at government contracts with Musk's companies

Trump escalated the feud with Elon Musk.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

• Trump is suggesting that DOGE take a look at Elon Musk's business contracts with the government.
• He said the US could "save a fortune" if there were "no more rocket launches, satellites."
• His comments came after Musk slammed his "big, beautiful bill."

President Donald Trump suggested that the Department of Government Efficiency — an initiative Elon Musk spearheaded — look into slashing government contracts with Musk's companies.

"No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump also suggested that Musk might have to "close up shop" and return to South Africa, where he was born. Musk has been a US citizen since 2002.

The Department of Government Efficiency was, until April, headed by Musk.

Trump's comments come after Musk reignited their feud by criticizing the president's proposed "Big, Beautiful Bill," which proposes cuts to Medicaid, removal of taxes on tips and overtime, and axes tax credits for electric vehicles.

Musk has not responded to Trump's latest jab on slashing his government contracts. He has, in the meantime, vociferously opposed the spending priorities outlined in the bill, and threatened to start a new political party if it passes in the Senate.

On Saturday, Musk wrote on X that the president's proposed bill "will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country."

"Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future," he said.

This is at least the second time Trump has threatened to end Musk's contracts since their very public falling-out in June.

"The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!" Trump wrote in June, at the start of their feud.

Responding to the jab, Musk wrote on X that SpaceX "will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately." He walked back the comment a few hours later.

SpaceX works closely with NASA, and the Dragon spaceships are used to ferry NASA astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station.

Representatives for Trump and Musk did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

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