Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Indian Council of Medical Research (<keyword id="6364396" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICMR">ICMR</keyword>) said on Monday <keyword id="8904563" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19-vaccine">Covid-19 vaccine</keyword> <keyword id="9485939" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covaxin">Covaxin</keyword> neutralises <keyword id="9380721" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="multiple-variants">multiple variants</keyword> of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well. ICMR cited the findings of a study carried out by them. Covaxin is developed locally by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd. in collaboration with the ICMR -- the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research. ICMR-National Institute of Virology has successfully isolated and cultured multiple variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 virus: B.1.1.7 (the UK variant), B.1.1.28 (Brazil variant ) and B.1.351 (South Africa variant), said the apex health research body. "ICMR study shows Covaxin neutralises against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well," the ICMR said in a tweet. They have also demonstrated the neutralisation potential of Covaxin against the UK variant and Brazil variant. ICMR-NIV recently has been successful in isolating and culturing the double mutant strain B.1.617 SARS-CoV-2 identified in certain regions of India and several other countries. "Covaxin has been found to effectively neutralise the double mutant strain as well," it said. The study was published in the Journal for Travel Medicine in March where it highlighted that Covaxin is effective against the UK variants as well as other strains of Covid-19. "It was reassuring from the PRNT50 data generated in our laboratory that the indigenous BBV152/ COVAXIN, following its roll out in vaccination program, could be expected to work against the new UK-variant," the study said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/facebook-in-the-crosshairs-yet-again-this-time-indias-cybersecurity-agency-issues-an-advisory-to-indian-users/articleshow/82177573.cms">Facebook in the crosshairs yet again – this time, India’s cybersecurity agency issues an advisory to Indian users</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covishield-vaccine-priced-at-400-and-600-for-state-hospitals-and-private-hospitals-respectively/articleshow/82176762.cms">Covishield vaccine priced at ₹400 and ₹600 for state hospitals and private hospitals respectively, to be available in medical stores after 4-5 months</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-privacy-oriented-ios-14-5-update-can-impact-on-facebook-ad-revenue/articleshow/82176041.cms">Apple will roll out the privacy-oriented iOS 14.5 update next week that has Facebook worried</a>

COVID-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' is effective against double mutant strain found in India, says ICMR

Google has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/android-7-nougat-launches-nexus-smartphones-monday-2016-8" target="_blank">officially rolled out</a> the latest version of Android, version 7.0 Nougat. For the most part, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-android-nougat-features" target="_blank">it looks great</a>. Among its many additions are a multi-window mode that lets you run two apps onscreen simultaneously, a more polished and capable notification panel, and, naturally, more emojis. It's not a monumental upgrade, but it's a step forward. The issue, as always, is that very few people are actually going to see it - at least not while it's new. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Google</div></div></div>According to <a href="https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html#Platform" target="_blank">Google's Android developer dashboards</a>, 15.2% of Android customers were using version 6.0 Marshmallow as of August 1. That's twice as much market share as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/android-marshmallow-is-running-on-7-percent-of-phones-2016-5" target="_blank">it had this past May</a>, but still a fairly small amount for an update that's been available for 10 months. Meanwhile, 35.5% of users were on some form of Android 5.0 Lollipop, while 29.2% were on Android 4.4 KitKat, which launched in late 2013. This fragmentation problem is anything but new for Google, but it's worth reiterating with today's launch: Android is beholden to the device manufacturers that use it, as well as the carriers that service those OEMs' devices. Year after year, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/android-phone-makers-that-release-android-updates-faster-2016-8/#1-motorola-1" target="_blank">very few</a> of those companies are capable of and/or willing to supply their customers with everything their devices could do. Lately, a chunk of them haven't even committed to rolling out of Google's monthly security updates on time, putting an already iffy piece of software with regard to keeping data secure on even shakier ground.As hackneyed as it is to say, it has to be noted that iOS doesn't have this problem. According to <a href="https://developer.apple.com/support/app-store/" target="_blank">Apple's developer support page</a>, 87% of iDevice users were on the latest iOS 9 update as of August 15. Another 10% were on 2014's iOS 8 update, while just 3% were on anything before that.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai.</div></div></div>This doesn't mean iOS is "better" than Android. Rather, it's another reminder that Google faces structural, industry-wide issues that Apple has done well to bypass. (Though it's allowed Google to have a much higher <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-market-share-android-ios-windows-blackberry-2016-8" target="_blank">global market share</a>.)Android Nougat does nothing to fix them. Right now, the only way to ensure you get those updates quick is to buy a Nexus device. Even that has its limits, though - Google confirmed on Monday that Nougat's rollout doesn't apply to 2013's Nexus 5 phone or Nexus 7 tablet, a faster cutoff than what Apple's doing with <a href="http://www.apple.com/ios/ios10-preview/" target="_blank">iOS 10</a>.Beyond that, Google would either have to make some sort of major technical change that allows it to update Android itself, or some sort of major contractual change that puts more pressure on Android-using companies to push updates faster. Or, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-reportedly-working-on-its-own-line-of-smartphones-2016-6" target="_blank">as has been rumored</a>, Google could try creating its own iPhone competitor, cutting those third parties off at the knees. (My colleague Kif Leswing has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-case-for-the-google-phone-2016-6" target="_blank">made a case</a> for this before.)Whatever happens, Nougat is what we've got today. Here's hoping you don't have to wait too long to see it. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-7-boring-different-from-6s-2016-5">Sorry Apple fans - the iPhone 7 is going to be boring</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="p3NGxtMzE6KnPx3Gi2rooC517XpgDrFR" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Google just launched Android 7.0, even though 30% of its users are still on Android 4.4

<ul><li>Investment in marketing and brand-building critical for business recovery post-COVID-19.</li><li>Innovation and creativity key drivers of growth as <keyword id="1063314" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="BrandZ">BrandZ</keyword> Top 100’s total worth hits $5 trillion and delivers US$277bn in additional brand value growth.</li><li>Amazon maintains no. 1 spot and accounts for a third of the Top 100 total growth.</li><li><keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> enters the ranking for the first time at no. 79.</li></ul> The world’s most valuable brands have seen their total brand value increase by 5.9% despite the economic, social and personal impacts of COVID-19, according to the 2020 BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking released today by <keyword id="168456" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WPP">WPP</keyword> and <keyword id="1199021" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kantar">Kantar</keyword>. The total brand value of the Top 100 global brands reached US$5 trillion, equivalent to the annual GDP of Japan. It has increased by 245% since 2006, when the total brand value first reached US$1 trillion. The Top 100 most valuable brands have shown they are more resilient and less volatile in the current crisis than they were during the global economic crisis of 2008-9, adding an additional US $277bn of brand value growth over the past year. The BrandZ strong brands portfolios continued to outperform the market, including the S&amp;P 500 and MSCI World Index, and even in the current crisis dipped less than the global average. The ranking uses valuations data incorporating stock price performance from April 2020 to reflect the impact of COVID-19. Against a backdrop of uncertainty, those companies that have consistently invested in longer-term marketing and in building strong brands have managed to stave off the worst of the crisis. Prior to the global pandemic, total brand value of the Top 100 brands was set to increase by 9%. Amazon maintained its position as the world’s most valuable brand, growing 32% to US$415.9bn. Having first entered the BrandZ Global Top 100 Most Valuable Brands ranking in 2006, Amazon’s value grew by almost $100bn this year and accounts for a third of the Top 100’s total growth. Technology brands continued to dominate the top of the ranking, representing over a third (37%) of brand value in the Top 100 and growing overall by 10%. Apple maintained its position as the second most valuable global brand (+14%, $352.2bn) while Microsoft regained the no. 3 position (+30%, $326.5bn) ahead of Google (+5%, $323.6bn) at no. 4, due to the growth of its cloud-enabled workplace ecosystem that incorporates Office365 and Microsoft Teams, allowing people to maintain ‘business as usual’ during the lockdown. Asian brands represented a quarter of the Top 100 brands, including 17 Chinese brands. Alibaba (+16%, no. 6, $152.5bn) was the most valuable Chinese brand with Internet services giant, Tencent (+15%, no. 7, $151bn) one place behind. This year’s BrandZ Top 100 showed that innovation and creativity are key drivers of growth as people spend more time online. One of the most exciting new brands, short video-sharing social network TikTok (no. 79, $16.9bn) was the highest new entry this year, offering light-hearted, entertaining user-generated content. <keyword id="317398" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="David-Roth">David Roth</keyword>, CEO of The Store WPP EMEA and Asia and Chairman of BrandZ, says: “The continued growth in value of the BrandZ Top 100 shows that strong brands are in a much better place than they were in the global economic crisis of 2008-9. We see a significant improvement in brand equity now compared to 10 years ago because businesses understand the importance of investing in brand-building and are stronger and more resilient as a result. While the impact of COVID-19 has impacted every business regardless of size or geography, consistent investment in marketing can and will help carry you through a crisis.” The retail sector showed strong performance, growing the fastest (21%) in brand value driven by the major e-commerce players. Over half of brands in the media and entertainment category appeared in the top 20 risers, including Netflix (+34%, $45.9bn), up eight places to no. 26, Instagram (+47%, $41.5bn) up 15 places to no. 29, LinkedIn (+31%, $29.9bn, no.43), and Xbox (+18%, $19.6bn), up 22 places to no. 65. Retail e-commerce brands Amazon, Alibaba and JD (+24%, no. 52, $25.5bn) demonstrated innovation and agility during difficult times, along with more traditional retailers like Walmart (+24%, no. 27, $45.8bn), which has invested in its e-commerce capabilities. Brands have also found new and creative ways to engage with consumers, build trust and create a level of intimacy, particularly in health and wellness. Athleisure brand Lululemon (+40%, $9.7bn) was one of the fastest risers, having shifted its focus from yoga-inspired wear to work-appropriate clothing, as well as offering online classes for people at home. <keyword id="2701300" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Doreen-Wang">Doreen Wang</keyword>, Global Head of BrandZ at Kantar, comments: “Innovation has proven to be a key driver for growth in this year’s Top 100, and a way to prevent decline. Creativity is also an important trait for the world’s most valuable brands. Companies like Amazon, Apple and Google – the tech giants that keep on innovating – successfully combine both to continue being relevant to consumers’ lives and making it easier for them to choose a brand.” Key trends highlighted in this year’s BrandZ Global Top 100 study include: <ul><li>MasterCard entered the Top 10 for the first time this year, due to strong financial performance, supported by growing brand equity especially in engaging consumers: successfully fitting into the ‘ecosystem’ of their everyday lives and gaining a close emotional connection through its purposeful positioning.</li><li>Five new entrants appear in the Top 100, led by Chinese entertainment brand TikTok, followed by UnitedHealthcare (no. 86, $15.8bn), Bank of China (no. 97, $13.7bn), Lancôme (no. 98, $13.6bn) and Pepsi (no. 99, $13.3bn).</li><li>Building ecology has become a trend in the global business community. Haier (no. 68, $18.7bn) is the leading IoT ecosystem brand for the second year running.</li><li>US brands represented more than half of the Top 100 brands. Asian brands represented a quarter of the Top 100 brands, with 17 from China (including Alibaba and Tencent in the Top 10) and two from Japan (Toyota and NTT).</li><li>Sustainability is the new luxury – younger consumers expect the qualities associated with luxury, but with sustainable materials and less packaging. Four luxury brands made the Top 100 this year, led by Louis Vuitton (+10%, no. 19, $51.8bn).</li></ul>The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report and rankings are available to download <a href="https://www.kantar.com/campaigns/brandz">here</a> and via Brandz.com. The Global report, rankings, charts, articles and more can also be found via the BrandZ app. The app also contains the same features and functionality for all BrandZ regional reports and is free to download for Apple IOS and all Android devices from www.brandz.com/mobile or search for BrandZ in the respective iTunes or Google Play app stores.

As the world’s most valuable brands see their total brand value increase by 5.9% despite COVID-19 impacts, Amazon takes the top spot: BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Ranking

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Getty Images</div></div></div>Insider Inc. is excited to announce its collaboration with Nielsen in helping more accurately measure the size of our audience across platforms.Comprised of INSIDER and more than a dozen Business Insider editions around the globe, Insider Inc. prides itself on providing the kind of storytelling and journalism that our users crave, whenever and wherever they want it, on whatever platform. For instance, INSIDER routinely gets hundreds of millions of video views on Facebook. And Business Insider has a large and growing audience on YouTube.But <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/its-time-to-go-beyond-comscore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as we noted</a> a couple of years ago, accurately measuring the size of our audience across the many platforms where our content appears has become increasingly challenging.In the absence of a more complete audience picture, publishers have relied mostly on unique visitors (UVs) as the go-to metric to compare size. While this approach made sense when audiences primarily visited sites via their desktops, it falls woefully short when audiences consume content across multiple competing platforms. The growing prevalence of OTT video viewing only adds confusion to the picture. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insider-tv-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider TV</a> is our platform-agnostic video platform that includes our first-ever OTT offering and is scheduled to launch in the Fall.That's why Nielsen's <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-room/2016/nielsen-launches-digital-content-ratings.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Content Ratings</a> (DCR) is so helpful - and timely.DCR is a more comprehensive measurement of audiences' content consumption across digital devices and platforms and helps us get closer than ever to more accurately capture the full scope of our audience.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Insider Inc.</div></div></div>According to Nielsen, Insider Inc.'s audience is significantly larger than was revealed by other audience measurement tools. In fact, our June monthly US audience hit 115 million users. And we're especially pleased to be among the top five biggest media properties when looking at tagged daily and monthly video views.Each day, we reach an average of 21 million US-based viewers, which includes nearly half of all US-based millennial men and two-thirds of all millennial American women.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Source: Nielsen, Digital Content Ratings, Daily data: 6/15/2018 - 7/15/2018; Monthly - Tagged, Unique Audience: Business Insider; Video + Text, Combined video type, P13+; Includes owned as well as distributed content.Business Insider by Unique Daily Reach - June 15 - July 15, 2018</div></div></div>Insider Inc. has more than 3 billion video views each month[1], making it one of the world's leading producers of video content. Video is one key reason why we've been able to attract such a large audience across platforms. INSIDER this year launched two new Facebook Watch series - Bonkers Closets and Travel Dares - and now has about a dozen shows on the platform. In just the last week alone (July 9 - July 15)[2], an episode of Bonkers Closets: "America's Biggest Closet, Houston" reached 6.8 million unique viewers in the US alone.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">SOURCE: Nielsen, Digital Content Ratings, Brand: Business Insider; June 2018: 06/01/2018 - 06/30/18; Monthly - Tagged Computer &amp; Mobile, UA, Video + Text, Combined video type; Includes owned as well as distributed content.Business Insider Unique Audience by Demographic - June 2018</div></div></div>We look forward to collaborating with Nielsen as we continue to offer advertisers a unique way to buy today's highly desirable digital-native audience at scale - publishers' "holy grail" - while ensuring our partners' ads appear in a brand-friendly environment.As our Chief Revenue Officer, Pete Spande, said when we announced Insider TV: "Digital is the new primetime TV, and our goal is to be ready for the radical shift in how video ads will be purchased as well as consumed."[1] Source: Internal video viewership numbers from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, MSN, and site, June 2018.[2] Source: Nielsen, Digital Content Ratings, Brand: Business Insider; Weekly data: July 9, 2018 - July 15, 2018; Monthly - Tagged Computer &amp; Mobile, Unique Audience: Combined video type, P13+; includes owned as well as distributed content. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-features-coming-to-the-iphone-in-ios-12-this-fall-2018-7">Top 9 features coming to the iPhone in iOS 12</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Insider Inc. is partnering with Nielsen to more accurately measure its audience across platforms

From languishing near the bottom of the table after the first leg in the UAE to qualifying for the play-offs by finishing second in the points table, <keyword id="6354467" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kolkata-Knight-Riders">Kolkata Knight Riders</keyword> capped off their <keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> 7 campaign as champions for the second time in three years. Despite a slow start, KKR struck form during the second half of the tournament, and after a shocking loss to <keyword id="13802" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rajasthan-Royals">Rajasthan Royals</keyword> in Ahmedabad, they returned by winning their next nine games, including the first Qualifier and final, culminating in a memorable win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. 
 KKR's fortunes changed immediately after they addressed their problems with their batting, as their bowling remained frugal thanks to their spin department. Robin Uthappa and <keyword id="13839" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Gautam-Gambhir">Gautam Gambhir</keyword> opened the innings at the cost of Jacques Kallis, and Uthappa's stunning run of form turned them into masters of the chase, as out of their nine straight victories, seven came while batting second. 
 
IPL 7 record: Played 16, won 11, lost 5, points 18 (second in table) 
 KKR began the tournament with a convincing win over defending champions Mumbai Indians, but narrow defeats to <keyword id="6354884" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Delhi-Daredevils">Delhi Daredevils</keyword>, <keyword id="13883" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kings-XI-Punjab">Kings XI Punjab</keyword> and Rajasthan Royals (via Super Over) meant they left from the UAE in a precarious situation, especially with Gambhir's opening form being a worry. And once they lost two more after returning to India, they had to turn things around and quickly. 
 
Tough decisions were taken; to leave a player of Jacques Kallis' pedigree was a big gamble but it worked. Robin Uthappa's elevation to the opening slot was a masterstroke as he found his rhythm, as did Gambhir in his company. And once victory came in Delhi, they went from strength to strength, eventually peaking at the right time to launch an unstoppable winning run. 
 
High point 
 Despite securing their passage to the play-offs with a game in hand, KKR showed the hunger to do even better in their last league game. KKR were third in the points table, and another victory – but by a huge margin – would have taken them to No 2, and against <keyword id="1494441" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Sunrisers-Hyderabad">Sunrisers Hyderabad</keyword> on their home turf, they went for it with nothing to lose. 
 KKR needed 161 to win but inside 15.2 overs, and <keyword id="18938" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Yusuf-Pathan">Yusuf Pathan</keyword> chose the moment to announce his return to form, belting 72 from just 22 balls – included 26 from a Dale Steyn over – as the hosts completed the chase with six balls remaining. The win not only gave them two chances to enter the final, but ensured they played the first Qualifier in front of their home fans at the Eden Gardens. 
 
Low point 
 
Not surprisingly, KKR's lowest ebb came during the first half of the tournament, and their twin defeats to Rajasthan Royals had thrown their campaign off course. In Abu Dhabi, KKR managed to tie a thrilling game to take it to a Super Over, but RR managed to tie the game to win it on a higher boundary count. 
 
But their second defeat to RR was worse, as despite cruising at one stage at 121 for no loss, KKR's batting imploded to eventually fall 10 runs short. Six batsmen were out in the space of two overs and two runs. That they bounced back to win nine games in a row showed how much that loss had hurt. 
 
Captaincy verdict 
 
Despite getting off to his worst start across all editions with three ducks in a row, which was followed by a score of 1, Gautam Gambhir showcased his shrewd side as captain even when faced with his own loss of form. He dropped himself to No 3, and even though the experiment didn't work, it showed Gambhir's desperation to put his team in winning positions. 
 
Gambhir – and indeed the team management – made tough choices in resting Kallis and deciding to open with Uthappa, a move that not only signaled KKR addressing their batting issues, but Uthappa's run of form that saw him become the leading run-getter after that vindicated the move. 
 
The KKR skipper was clever while handling his bowlers, and his decision to bowl Sunil Narine during the back end of the innings proved vital in the team's success in the last five overs. The bowling unit at Gambhir's disposal was thus the most economical throughout the tournament. 
 
Most valuable player 
 
Robin Uthappa began the tournament with decent scores in the middle order, but Kallis and Gambhir's inability to keep the scoreboard ticking at a good rate allowed him to open the innings. Uthappa relished the opportunity, and his spectacular returns – more than 40 in ten straight innings leading up to the final – saw him become the leading run-getter of the tournament. Uthappa finished the tournament with 660 runs at a strike-rate of 137 with five half-centuries, and earned a recall to the national side for the series against Bangladesh. 
 
Major disappointment 
 
The veteran South African had announced his retirement from Test cricket not too long ago, and the rustiness of not having played the shorter formats frequently showed up during the first leg of the tournament in UAE. His 72 in KKR's opening game was his best across both skills, but Kallis' contributions dropped after that. In eight games, he managed 151 runs at a strike-rate of 117 and four wickets with an economy of 8.45. Kallis' waning form prompted KKR to push Uthappa to open, and his good run coupled with the finishing skills of Shakib Al Hasan and Ryan ten Doeschate meant Kallis could never return to the XI. 
 
Verdict 
 
By winning their second IPL title in three years, KKR became the second team to win the championship twice along with Chennai Super Kings. KKR's successes were highlighted by the team playing around their key players. Different batsmen put their hand up to win games – Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey deserve a special mention – while the bowling attack revolved around the excellent spin trio of Narine, Shakib and Piyush Chawla. The highest run-getter was a KKR batsman (Uthappa) while Narine was two wickets shy of becoming the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. 
 
Must do for 2015 
 
No team likes to disrupt a winning combination and KKR won't be any different, but it will be interesting to see if Jacques Kallis returns for another year as an IPL player. Kallis has retired from Test cricket and with the 2015 World Cup not too far away, the legendary allrounder will draw curtains on a glittering career. At 39, fitness would be a key battle Kallis would have to fight to find a place among the four overseas players. What would be more interesting is who they replace the greatest allrounder of the modern game with. 
 
For the latest cricket news, like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gocricket" title="https://www.facebook.com/gocricket">Facebook </a>or follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/gocricketnow" title="https://twitter.com/gocricketnow">Twitter</a>. Download our app for <a href="http://bit.ly/1iS811t" title="http://bit.ly/1iS811t">Android</a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/1eqImA5" title="http://bit.ly/1eqImA5">iOS</a>.

[IPL] Review: KKR Cap Stunning Turnaround With Title

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">ZocDocZocDoc CEO Cyrus Massoumi</div></div></div>In November 2014, a former ZocDoc employee <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zocdoc-sexual-harassment-2014-11">said she would be filing a lawsuit against the company</a>.The anonymous employee said the company, which lets you find and book doctor's appointments from your computer or mobile device, was a "frat house.""There were things the men who worked there could get away with saying like 'you aren't bubbly enough,' 'you look hot today,' 'That secretary is a c---,' etc.," she said <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zocdoc-sexual-harassment-2014-11">in an anonymous rant on Kinja </a>that is <a href="http://zocdoced.kinja.com/what-it-is-really-like-to-work-at-zocdoc-as-a-woman-vo-1656479263">no longer online</a>."It was just accepted."In addition, the former employee claimed, men openly discussed their female colleagues' bodies, the company's upper management treated women differently from men, and the building had a rodent infestation.ZocDoc, which was founded in 2007, is one of New York's biggest startups. Last year, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/interview-with-zocdoc-ceo-cyrus-massoumi-2014-6">reports said the company was seeking to raise $152 million at a $1.6 billion valuation,</a> adding to the $97.9 million war chest it's amassed over the years. Its institutional investors include DST Global, Goldman Sachs, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, and SV Angel.The former employee who said she would file a lawsuit against the company did not end up taking ZocDoc to court. But since then, more than half a dozen other former and current employees have spoken with Business Insider to discuss their experiences at the company, which mirror the woman's original complaints about ZocDoc's company culture. These former employees asked not to be named, citing non-disclosure agreements they signed while working for ZocDoc. Some of the issues they cited are typical in many sales departments and startup offices: employees work long hours, there's significant employee burnout and turnover, and the staff is dominated by immature-sounding men (in Silicon Valley, there's actually a term for this: "bro-grammers.").Other issues seem ZocDoc-specific and troubling.<h2>"A catcall mentality throughout the office"</h2>ZocDoc's headquarters occupies two floors of a building on Broadway in New York City's SoHo neighborhood. One floor houses the sales team; the other is for the company's other departments, like product and customer service.Former employees tell Business Insider that the two floors are culturally segregated, and ZocDoc's problems are contained to its sales floor. ZocDoc's salespeople contact doctors to sign up for ZocDoc. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">ZocDocZocDoc's iOS app</div></div></div>Several former employees told us about a "hookup culture" at ZocDoc, catalyzed in part by company happy hours."There would be a catcall mentality throughout the office," a former employee tells Business Insider. "It felt like a college party every day. There was no line between after-work party and work."Another former employee describes ZocDoc's sales floor as a "meat market," and says that the majority of the sales floor's hires are good-looking people fresh out of school.One former saleswoman says she was "lucky enough" to work for a female manager. "She kind of understood that we needed someone who was able to give us training and look at us for our sales skills versus our gender," she told Business Insider. "Some of the sales floor people, mostly men - even managers - would objectify the women."For instance, this former ZocDoc saleswoman says, she would take an alternate route to ZocDoc's lunch room to avoid being subjected to her male colleagues looking at and making comments about her body or her outfit, like "your shirt is a little too tight or your skirt is a little too tight," she says. This same former saleswoman also says that when ZocDoc makes new hires, the company sends out pictures of new employees and that male colleagues would make comments about their appearance by saying things like, "Oh, we have a bad batch today."Other former ZocDoc saleswomen shared similar anecdotes with Business Insider. "I would definitely recommend any male out of college to go to ZocDoc to build their sales acumen, but girls I would steer away 100%," a former salesperson told Business Insider.Another female former employee says what happens at ZocDoc isn't abnormal for a sales company. Based on her experiences at ZocDoc and other companies, she says, these places target and attract recent college grads who crave competition, energy, and most importantly money."Sales isn't the safest career path for any woman and it's obviously not the most stable," she tells Business Insider."Of course [young, male employees] are going to womanize and gawk at the only two women on the sales floor. Of course they don't know what an actual office environment is supposed to look like and how they're supposed to act."<h2>"Churn and burn" </h2>On the sales floor at ZocDoc, employees say there's a phrase used over and over again: "churn and burn." Former employees say this phrase indicates the competitive, often stressful nature of work in ZocDoc's sales division."They are full steam ahead," one former salesperson told Business Insider. "They have this arrogance in the company where the human capital is of zero value."A former employee at ZocDoc told Business Insider that employee turnover at the company is high. The company recruits and brings in batches of new employees regularly because so many end up leaving or quitting, the employee alleges."I have never seen anything like it in my life," this former employee says. "And I've been in sales for 11-plus years. It's mind blowing the amount of people that leave or get fired."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">ZocDocZocDoc's platform</div></div></div> When new sales hires start at ZocDoc, they go through a training program called Med School. One former salesperson tells Business Insider that she started her Med School class with 30 new hires.Most of them were gone in three months, and now, a year later, there's only one other person from her training program left. "To be there for a year is an accomplishment," she told Business Insider. "Either you are really crazy or you're doing really well."One former employee says the stress of working at ZocDoc led her to seek out professional psychiatric care."I never used any psychotropics until I worked at ZocDoc," she says. "I went to a psychiatrist, and I was put on Prozac."This person left ZocDoc several months ago. She says she's no longer on Prozac, either."It was bizarre. It was really really depressing," she recalls. "I honestly don't know how I lasted that long."Because of the hours that people on the sales floor work, one former employee says some ZocDoc salespeople took cocaine or Adderall. "There was a lot of cocaine around the office - because you know, you gotta come in and cold call from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., take an hour commute home, go to sleep and then wake up in the morning and do it all again," he says.Other former employees corroborated this story. "All the employees were on Adderall, pretty much. There was one salesperson who was promoted and is no longer there as of two weeks ago, but he was giving other employees Adderall and coke," a former salesperson told Business Insider. A company spokesperson provided the following statement to Business Insider when reached for comment:"We hear time and again from our team members that ZocDoc is a great place to work. We try every day to uphold a positive culture that encourages people to speak up and use their voices to make our company better."We have a long-standing policy against any forms of unlawful harassment or discrimination and never condone illegal drug use."Our sales team is an important engine of the company and, like any maturing sales organization, is evolving. Over time, we have strengthened our recruiting and training programs and continue to emphasize and support quality performance."<h2>Who's running this place?</h2>Former employees say ZocDoc's founders and CEO are open to speaking with employees, offering "office hours" and one-on-ones for employees who have questions or problems. They are aware there are problems on the ZocDoc sales floor, but they haven't done much to fix them, former employees say.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=299892266702886&amp;set=t.124575&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook/Nick Ganju taken by Skip Mitchell</a>One of ZocDoc's cofounders, Nick Ganju</div></div></div>"Getting to know the founders and CEO definitely made the job a little more bearable because they understand the stress behind it," one former employee says. "However, they don't really care or want to fix the turnover issues, or any other issues for that matter."Other former employees echoed this sentiment. CEO Cyrus Massoumi, according to one former employee, is "extremely aware of the problems with the hiring and firing."Interestingly, ZocDoc has been named a "best place to work" by <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/20131206/FEATURES/120909999/21">Crain's</a> for several years in a row and one of the 50 best small- and medium-size companies to work for by <a href="http://fortune.com/2014/09/18/50-best-small-and-medium-size-companies-to-work-for-2014/">Fortune</a>. These rankings are determined, in part, by employee surveys administered by anonymous, independent third parties. In addition, 30% of ZocDoc's leadership team and 40% of the company's entire team are women. For comparison, at Google, 22% of the company's leadership team and 30% of its entire staff are women. <h2>A bigger issue</h2>Two of the former employees who Business Insider spoke with say that while ZocDoc's sales floor does have a problematic culture, the stressful, male-dominant environment is not specific to just the one startup. Rather, that culture exists on the salesfloors (and elsewhere) at plenty of tech companies, the two ex-employees said.Startups have repeatedly earned a reputation for being environments dominated by young men fresh out of college with no experience leading companies. <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/04/silicon-valley-brogrammer-culture-sexist-sxsw">At a 2012 SXSW talk</a> called "Adding Value as a Non-Technical No Talent Ass-Clown," Matt Van Horn, then an executive at social media startup Path, told stories about sending "bikini shots" of women to the company's co-founders and talked about using campus recruitment as a way to "attract the hottest girls." <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Whitney WolfeWhitney Wolfe, former VP of marketing at Tinder and founder of dating app Bumble</div></div></div>"Van Horn wasn't even 10 minutes into the talk [when] several clearly irritated women (and a couple of men) had gotten up and walked out," <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/04/silicon-valley-brogrammer-culture-sexist-sxsw" target="_self">says Mother Jones' Tasneem Raja, who attended the talk</a>. "I joined them." The "brogrammer" and frat-house mentality extends beyond employees. Female entrepreneurs seeking funding for their startups are both ignored by investors who say they don't invest in women because they "<a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/07/gender-gap/">don't like the way women think</a>" and hit on when they're trying to present their pitch decks and talk business.In May 2014, <a href="http://valleywag.gawker.com/fuck-bitches-get-leid-the-sleazy-frat-emails-of-snap-1582604137" target="_blank">Valleywag</a> published emails sent by Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel in 2009 and 2010, while he was an undergrad at Stanford. Spiegel's emails to his fraternity brothers, littered with obscenities, describe women as sexual objects.A month later, Tinder's former vice president of marketing Whitney Wolfe filed a lawsuit against her former employer. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-lawsuit-and-sexual-harassment-text-messages-2014-7">In her complaint</a>, she alleged that Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen "repeatedly called Ms. Wolfe a 'whore,' including in front of CEO Sean Rad, and he told Ms. Wolfe that he was taking away her 'Co-Founder' title because having a young female co-founder makes the company seem like a 'joke' and 'devalues' the company." Wolfe later settled with Tinder and IAC, its parent company, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whitney-wolfe-settles-sexual-harassment-tinder-lawsuit-1-million-2014-11">for just over $1 million</a>."I've been through three different sales companies and they were all like a 'frat house,'" one former ZocDoc salesperson told Business Insider."You'll see people giving high fives, chest bumps, chant, or just 'bro out' as if they won the winning goal in a game," this former employee added. "That's what all sales really is anyway, playing a sport and winning." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hearthstone-expansion-2015-7">One of the world's most popular games is getting a huge addition</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="84bTJndjoECrwILBDXuMqdrDW2dtf-Bo" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "ios 152" and got 6 results

COVID-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' is effective against double mutant strain found in India, says ICMR

IANS

Google just launched Android 7.0, even though 30% of its users are still on Android 4.4

Jeff Dunn

As the world’s most valuable brands see their total brand value increase by 5.9% despite COVID-19 impacts, Amazon takes the top spot: BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Ranking

BI India Partner

Insider Inc. is partnering with Nielsen to more accurately measure its audience across platforms

Jennifer Tonti, Director of R…

[IPL] Review: KKR Cap Stunning Turnaround With Title

gocricket

Insiders say billion-dollar New York startup ZocDoc is run like a total 'frat house'

Maya Kosoff

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides