For decades, a four-year college degree was widely seen as the standard path to getting most midlevel jobs in the United States. It was the expected entry point for getting a job as a marketing specialist, project manager, IT support analyst, among other roles. But this expectation is shifting. Many fields ' including cybersecurity, health care and advanced manufacturing ' are facing significant shortages in skilled workers. The gap between available skilled jobs and workers is likely to push employers to rethink what they require from job candidates over the next decade. A major demographic shift will also play a role. Between 2024 and 2032, an estimated 18.4 million experienced workers with education beyond high school are expected to retire, according to September 2025 findings by Georgetown University's center on education and the workforce. Only 13.8 million younger workers with similar education levels are expected to enter the workforce during the same period, these findings show. This trend will also make it harder for employers to fill roles that traditionally require a college degree....

The way venture capitalists think about fundraising can be a black box. But investors must think about their go-to-market strategy for raising their own funds, just as much as they think about how their portfolio companies find their market fit. All season on Build Mode, we've explored how founders should approach marketing, but this week we're exploring how VCs sell themselves to founders as trustworthy partners and to LPs as worthwhile investments. Isabelle Johannessen spoke with Graham & Walker's Leslie Feinzaig and XYZ Venture's Ross Fubini about raising their first funds and how that experience has given them empathy for the founder fundraising experience. Feinzaig came into venture capital with very few industry connections. 'It was hundreds of pitches. It was raised almost entirely from individuals. We ended up with 105 LPs,' she said. 'If you don't have a track record, then what they're investing in is you. Like it is basically, like, raising a gigantic angel round with no lead.' Both VCs noted the change from the most recent 2022-23 bear market ' where VCs held all the cards ' to the current eager dealmaking atmosphere where founders have a bit more power. This makes choosing the right VCs that much more important, they say....

The transaction reshapes ContextLogic following its post-IPO collapse and the 2024 sale of its former e-commerce assets. The firm is now repositioning itself as an owner of specialist businesses with strong cash generation, supported by BC Partners Credit's $150m strategic commitment and the company's $2.9bn of net operating losses and tax assets. US Salt supplies high-purity evaporated salt for food, pharmaceutical, and water treatment markets, which have remained resilient through economic cycles. Its management team, led by CEO David Sugarman, will continue in place under the new ownership structure. Abrams Capital will roll over substantially all of its existing stake in US Salt and become the largest shareholder in ContextLogic after completion. Ted Goldthorpe, Head of BC Partners Credit and Chair of ContextLogic's Board, said: 'We are very excited to partner with David Sugarman and US Salt to drive value for all shareholders of ContextLogic through its defined growth strategy. US Salt's outstanding management team, resilient business model, consistent track record of growth, and runway for future expansion ' including M&A ' distinguished it as an exceptional company.'...

Market research is a $90 billion industry that helps brands figure out how to best present themselves to potential customers. But that market insight isn't cheap, nor is it quick. Cashew Research wants to change that using AI. Calgary, Alberta-based Cashew uses AI to develop market research plans and surveys for brands based on what information they are looking for ' like what their brand recognition is for a specific population or how a marketing tagline resonates with customers. Cashew then sends the survey to real people and uses AI to summarize and digest the findings. 'You can use an LLM to try to do deep research and get answers to your questions, or you could use a firm that's going to be really expensive,' Addy Graves, co-founder and CEO of Cashew, told TechCrunch in describing the current market research industry. 'Now there's Cashew that exists in the middle. It creates custom, fresh data to answer your question instead of you just using an LLM that's surfacing the same recycled pool of data that everybody's finding on the internet.'...