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“I’m going to get my MBA.” I replied, “I think that’s a great move for your career.” “Actually, Chris, I’m just trying to find a husband.” I nearly choked on my coffee. My friendtalented, smart, and undeniably practicalhad just revealed that her next dating strategy involved tens of thousands of dollars in tuition and two years of coursework. Not exactly your passive swipe-right approach. “I’ve tried everything,” she continued, laughing. “The run clubs, the dinner parties, the meetupseven pickleball. All fun, but no ring.” At first, it sounded like a rom-com plot from the 1980sgoing to school to get her MRS degree. But as she explained her thinking, it started to click. She was not just going to grad school for the degree. She was making an investment in her personal life with a focus on the kind of return that does not show up on a pay stub. Or does it? As CEO of a dating company, I understand her frustration and interest in a different approach. Many of our clients are professionals who have not found success with dating apps, partly because of the lack of commitment of those on them, and partly because they cant find people who are at the same place in life. A CURATED MARKET Relationships where both partners have similar education levels, or even the same degrees, often show higher rates of success based on an understanding of each others career paths. Harvard Business Review reported that people with conscientious spouses, supportive of their goals, earn $4,000 or more a year. Not bad. But its not just shared ambitions that matter; spending time together in meaningful settings matters too. In grad school, all-night study sessions, existential crises about your future, and shared exhaustion can create surprisingly strong bonds. Psychologists call it the mere exposure effect, meaning the more you are around someone, the more attractive they often become. In other words, sitting next to someone in a late-night accounting class might be a surprisingly effective path to personal connection. Not only that, but from my friends perspective, the MBA program is a curated market. Admissions officers have already filtered for ambition, intelligence, and commitment. According to Columbia Business School, the average MBA student has 5 years of work experience, meaning the classroom is full of career-focused, motivated people. And unlike dating apps, where quantity doesnt guarantee quality, business school gives you a front-row seat to see how someone handles stress, teamwork, and leadership before you ever consider a first date. If we framed it like a market analysis, my friend is moving from a chaotic, oversaturated dating environment to a niche segment with a high supply of eligible, motivated singles. A survey from Poets&Quants reports that over 30% of Harvard alumni ended up marrying someone they met during their time at school (undergrad or business school). If that were a stock, you might call it a buy signal. Intentionality My friends approach is part of a growing trend in dating: intentionality. In business, clearly defining your objectives and putting yourself in the right environment increases your odds of success. Relationships work the same way. Shared, high-stakes experiences, whether launching a startup in an accelerator or pulling an all-nighter before a strategy presentation, build trust and reveal character faster than casual meetups ever could. I’m not saying grad schools should rebrand themselves as dating hotspots. (Although, admissions offices, feel free to thank me later.) But it’s a reminder that when you invest yourself in a place full of others doing the same, the dividends might include love. And in my friends case, I will be checking back in a semester or two to see how her portfolio is performing. Chris Kumar is CEO of Tawkify.
Category:
E-Commerce
Texas-based Blue Bell Ice Cream is voluntarily recalling a limited number of half-gallon containers of Moo-llennium Crunch Ice Cream, which may contain nuts, after some were packaged in a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough carton. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to almonds, walnuts, and pecans run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products, according to the company announcement, which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted on Friday, August 22. Moo-llennium Crunch is a classic vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate chunks, creamy caramel chunks, roasted pecans, chopped almonds and walnut pieces; while Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough does not contain nuts; that ice cream contains a mix of chocolate chip cookie dough and dark chocolate chips. Why was Blue Bell ice cream recalled? A Blue Bell employee discovered the incorrect packaging on two half gallons while restocking a retailer. No illnesses or adverse reactions have been reported to date. No other incorrect packaging has been discovered or reported to date. Which states are affected? The affected ice cream half-gallons were distributed in: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida Panhandle, Northwest Georgia, Southern Indiana, Southern Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Southwest Virginia. The popular frozen treat is sold at a number of big box retailers and supermarket chains, including Walmart and Kroger. What is being recalled? The product details are as follows: Brand and product name: Moo-llennium Crunch Ice Cream packaged in a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half-gallon carton with a Moo-llennium Crunch lid Product code: 061027524 (on carton lid) What should I do if I have purchased this ice cream? Consumers who have purchased the ice cream can return the items to the place of purchase for a full refund. For more information, they can call 979-836-7977 from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time Monday through Friday or email consumerrelations@bluebell.com.
Category:
E-Commerce
This month, the global organizational consultancy firm Korn Ferry declared that weve entered a nationwide era of job hugging, a term to describe the trend of workers increasingly holding onto their positions for dear life amidst economic uncertainty, layoffs, and AI disruption. Now, a new report from the Bank of America Institute is shedding fresh light on the trend, showing that workers may be choosing to cling onto their current jobs because job hopping is no longer profitable. A few years ago, job hoppingor moving from company to company in search of better opportunitieswas seen as a popular way to achieve a salary and resume boost. In 2023, a Resume Builder survey of 1,000 Gen Zers and millennials found that 62% percent of respondents had left their jobs because they wanted a higher salary, and 80% of people who left said they got a salary increase. Of the self-proclaimed job hoppers, about a fifth received a boost of $50,000 or more. Today, those tales of ultra-successful transitions between companies feel like a thing of the past. A July report from Arlington, Virginia-based Eagle Hill Consulting showed that the majority of employees plan to stay in their current position for at least the next six months, with the Gen Z employees who once led the job-hopping charge reporting the highest intent to remain where they are. According to the BoA Institute’s new report, there are several good reasons for the cool-down. Pessimism is worse than during the pandemic Job seekers are currently feel pretty pessimistic about the labor market, and for good reason: A recent report from global outplacement and coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that through the end of July, U.S.-based employers had announced more than 800,000 job eliminations in 2025, while, per a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. economy created just 73,000 new jobs in July. Further, based on the University of Michigans August 15 Consumer Sentiment survey, the percentage of survey respondents expecting unemployment to rise in the next year has hit a 10-year high, surpassing even the early pandemic era. Payoffs for switching jobs have declined Amidst this climate, the data from BoA Institute indicates that job hopping is largely on pause. Although job hopping has increased slightly since the start of 2025, the estimated rate has trended continuously downward since its peak of 26% in 2022. The report adds that those who do job hop are no longer getting a big bump in pay, with job-to-job pay raises having moderated to around 7% in Julymore than 3 percentage points below the 2019 average level. As the current economic uncertainty continues, it appears that job hopping is no longer a reliable way to score a raiseand, for now, those with a job are choosing to hold onto it at all costs.
Category:
E-Commerce
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