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What Makes A Job “Good” — And The Case For Investing In People | Warren Valdmanis | TED

Businesses need to stop cutting labor costs and start investing in people, says social impact investor Warren Valdmanis. In this perspective-shifting talk, he breaks down the essential ingredients of a “good” job — which is more than just the size of a paycheck — and shares why they’re key to building great companies. Visit to…

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Businesses need to stop cutting labor costs and start investing in people, says social impact investor Warren Valdmanis. In this perspective-shifting talk, he breaks down the essential ingredients of a “good” job — which is more than just the size of a paycheck — and shares why they’re key to building great companies.

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21 Comments

21 Comments

  1. Super Socks

    February 28, 2022 at 8:01 pm

    Chillin

    • Super Socks

      February 28, 2022 at 8:02 pm

      Cool

    • Super Socks

      February 28, 2022 at 8:08 pm

      Also I got first comment

    • l0gic23

      February 28, 2022 at 9:03 pm

      @Super Socks what you win?

  2. 1 ꜱᴜʙ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ 2023? ????

    February 28, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    Literally to the 1% whos reading this, God bless you, and may your dreams come true, stay safe and have a wonderful day. ‍‍‍‍????s

    • Thu Thuỷ Phạm

      February 28, 2022 at 11:55 pm

      That is for true

  3. Boarding Aisle

    February 28, 2022 at 8:14 pm

    oftentimes, it is not the job that you hate, but the boss who’s running behind. When your boss think of its employees is just a part of the pie chart, or just a cell in the spreadhsheet, harmony between the ranks starts to crumble. Management must be thoughtful that employees is also human – it have emotions and needs trusting support.

    • Zenn Exile

      February 28, 2022 at 9:40 pm

      As an employee you are nothing but a labor printer. If you need service and that service is cheaper than buying a new printer, you get serviced. Otherwise, you’re trash that just hasn’t been thrown away yet. People do not matter to the corporate model. Only productivity matters. And treating people well is not how you keep productivity up. Taking away their benefits, paying them steadily less year after year, and destroying the planet they all need to live on seems to be more than enough motivation to keep productivity sky rocketing while wages, health, and overall well being take a back seat to brutal economic inequality.

    • Al W

      February 28, 2022 at 9:53 pm

      Nah, lets treat them like robots.
      /satire

    • 楊小藍

      March 1, 2022 at 9:29 am

      In my country, if the employee’s boss is his/her father, the position and salary is always higher than average or brilliant talent owned employees. No fairness anymore , boss needs slaves but elites here in my place.

  4. Astrid Mortensen

    February 28, 2022 at 8:28 pm

    🙂

  5. Strangepete

    February 28, 2022 at 8:53 pm

    Most jobs: Going somewhere you don’t want to go, to do things you don’t like doing, while being around people you don’t want to be around, all for reasons you don’t really believe in, just in order to avoid becoming homeless and starving to death.

    • fiona fiona

      February 28, 2022 at 9:48 pm

      Glad to be in Germany, enabled to have better choices.

    • Al W

      February 28, 2022 at 9:54 pm

      Soultion: vote 3rd party.

    • Nick Sikes

      March 1, 2022 at 12:28 pm

      @Al W Better solution: find a different way of making money.

  6. fiona fiona

    February 28, 2022 at 9:46 pm

    That example is soo creepy, I don’t want to be around people doing sports to begin with and “helpful” employees contributed to Germans like me refusing to shop at Walmart.

    Those conditions were better meet at other local stores thought, so that may have contributed.

  7. WildOnez

    February 28, 2022 at 10:52 pm

    Why give someone a low wage when they are literally the one who is making the money, minded the store, It’s ridiculous.

  8. Brian Gara

    March 1, 2022 at 1:13 am

    I like the idea of labeling corporations with a number and everyone can see it

  9. knifedog

    March 1, 2022 at 2:18 am

    when workers own da means of production

  10. Huyen Thu

    March 1, 2022 at 5:22 am

    Thank you for this wonderful speech, lots to learn from.

  11. Patrick Baek

    March 1, 2022 at 8:42 am

    Most people don’t have a career. They just have a job.

    If you have a job that takes you about a year to get comfortable at work, that is the end of the first chapter in your career.

    Longer you work there from then on, you are only multiplying the same number of experience. Consequently higher you are forced to go up the career ladder to level up your work experience, more the sacrifice you have to compromise.

    You flip a burger for 6 months at McDonald and stay there for 3 years, you don’t have a 3 years of work experience. You just have 6 months of experience in flipping a burger 6 times.

    That is a reality of work that most of us do for a living, not for a career.

    The idea of having work-life balance stems from not having a true career.

    A good job is the one that you are being surrounded by a group of people who are equally passionate about what they do.

    Your happy work always comes at the expense of others like those janitors who clean up your office after you leave; unpaid interns; or in some cases, tax payers for those government-funded jobs.

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Science & Technology

Learn What VCs Actually Want, From a Founder Who’s Raised $1B l Build Mode

Investors want founders who understand the financial reality of their business. Messy data, misunderstood metrics, or waiting until you’re nearly out of cash to start fundraising can cost founders leverage, valuation, and even a term sheet. In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Sasha Orloff, founder and CEO of Puzzle…

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Investors want founders who understand the financial reality of their business. Messy data, misunderstood metrics, or waiting until you’re nearly out of cash to start fundraising can cost founders leverage, valuation, and even a term sheet.

In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Sasha Orloff, founder and CEO of Puzzle and Startup Battlefield alum, to talk about what he’s learned from building companies that have raised more than $1 billion collectively.

Sasha breaks down what investors look for during fundraising, which financial metrics founders should know by heart, and why VCs don’t expect your startup to be perfect—they expect you to understand its reality. He also shares how he nearly lost a term sheet because his data room wasn’t ready, how fundraising diligence changes as a startup grows, and why getting your financial house in order can help founders raise with more confidence and leverage.

They get into:
– What raising more than $1 billion across multiple companies taught Sasha about fundraising
– Why investors value founders who have a strong grasp of their company’s financial reality
– The financial metrics founders should know before pitching VCs
How investor expectations change from pre-seed and seed through Series A, B, and beyond
– Why revenue growth and the quality of that revenue are critical fundraising metrics
– How runway, margins, sales efficiency, and profitability factor into investor decisions
– Why waiting until you’re running out of cash can hurt your fundraising leverage
– How Sasha nearly lost a term sheet because his data room wasn’t ready
– Why financial organization and compliance can influence investor confidence and startup valuations
– What founders should have prepared for the due diligence process
– Why VCs don’t expect perfection—and why being honest about what isn’t working can make for a stronger pitch
– How Sasha’s own fundraising and finance frustrations ultimately led him to build Puzzle
– How AI could change the way startups manage accounting and understand their financial health

Chapters:
00:00 – Why VCs Want Founders Who Understand Reality
01:26 – Sasha Orloff’s Journey to Building Puzzle
05:05 – Why Puzzle Started With Startup Founders
08:38 – What Founders Should Know Before Fundraising
11:08 – What Investors Look for During Due Diligence
14:37 – Understanding the Financial Health of Your Startup
17:52 – The Financial Mistakes Founders Make
20:19 – When Startups Need Accountants and Finance Teams
24:04 – How Sasha Almost Lost a Term Sheet
26:10 – The Financial Metrics Founders Should Know Cold
28:20 – Lessons From Raising $1B+ Across Multiple Companies
31:45 – Why Financial Readiness Matters to Investors
33:49 – How AI Is Changing Startup Accounting
37:17 – Inside Puzzle’s Series A With General Catalyst
38:52 – Launching Puzzle at Startup Battlefield
40:38 – Sasha’s Advice for Early-Stage Founders

Subscribe to Build Mode:
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Science & Technology

How Satellites and AI Can Protect the Planet | Robbie Schingler | TED

Space technologist Robbie Schingler cofounded a satellite company that images the whole planet every day, making visible changes on Earth. He shows how pairing that data with AI creates a “planetary intelligence” we can use to spot emerging threats we might not have seen otherwise. Now he asks: Can we close the gap between seeing…

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Space technologist Robbie Schingler cofounded a satellite company that images the whole planet every day, making visible changes on Earth. He shows how pairing that data with AI creates a “planetary intelligence” we can use to spot emerging threats we might not have seen otherwise. Now he asks: Can we close the gap between seeing a crisis coming and actually stopping it? (Followed by a note from TED guest curators Divya Siddarth and Audrey Tang) (Recorded at TED2026 on April 14, 2026)

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#TED #TEDTalks #Tech #ClimateChange

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CNET

That Voicemail Isn’t Real, It’s AI. The New Wave of AI-Impersonation Scams

Scammers are using AI to impersonate high-profile targets, such as celebrities and politicians. Here’s how you can stay safe. You can find the products mentioned in this article linked below Commerce Link *CNET may get a commission on these offers Link to CNET article: Read more about X on CNET.com: Timecode Chapters: 00:00 The Threat…

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Scammers are using AI to impersonate high-profile targets, such as celebrities and politicians. Here’s how you can stay safe.

You can find the products mentioned in this article linked below
Commerce Link
*CNET may get a commission on these offers

Link to CNET article: Read more about X on CNET.com:

Timecode Chapters:
00:00 The Threat of AI Impersonation
01:25 How Deepfakes Are Used in Politics
04:07 The Rise of Hyper-Personalized Fraud
05:42 Testing a Voice Clone on My Boss
07:11 Audio Blind Taste Test With My Sister
11:10 How to Stay Vigilant Against AI Clones

Video Credits:
Host: Katelyn Chedraoui
Scripted by:Katelyn Chedraoui
Producer: Numi Prasarn
Camera: Carly Marsh
Video Editor: Jon Gomez
Thumbnail Designer: Zooey Liao

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