5SR - April 25, 2024

Hitha on noncompetes, Nicola Coughlin, and how the TikTon ban bill happened

A quick refresher - I’m Hitha Palepu, the founder of

#5SmartReads

. If you’d like to connect with me elsewhere, I’m most active on Instagram and write a weekly newsletter about smart, random things (check out the most recent issue).

---

‘Thunder Run’: Behind Lawmakers’ Secretive Push to Pass the TikTok Bill (New York Times)
link gifted via my subscription

President Biden signed a sweeping bill for foreign aid yesterday, which included the mandate to ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States.

The effort has gained plenty of coverage and advocacy work from the creators and users of the app, and members of Congress received plenty of calls from constituents asking them to oppose the bill when it was being debated in the House.

So how did it actually come to be? And why does it feel so secretive?

The former is a longer story, and the latter is by design. This exhaustively reported piece shows how it happened, and is a vital read to understand how and why it’s happened - and what could happen next.

---

Nicola Coughlan on Bridgerton Season 3, Polin, and 'Funny' Age Discourse (Teen Vogue)

With season 3 of Bridgerton airing in a few short weeks, I’m voraciously reading and watching every piece of coverage I can get my hands on.

And this profile of Lady Whistledown herself did. not. disappoint.

Versha Sharma covers it all with Nicola Coughlin - acting, advocacy, and the artistry behind her incredible looks (in partnership with her stylist Aimée Croysdill).

I especially loved this detail that Coughlin revealed about filming season 3 of Bridgerton:

“They’ve [the crew] been there since the beginning with Pen and Colin, and to see the big, burly camera guys getting emotional at stuff was sweet,” Coughlan recalls. A security guard came up to them at one point, she remembers, and said, "'I don’t normally say this. I've worked with lots of big stars, but this season's really special. And I'm really proud of you, and it's really touched me.' It was just pure kindness.”

---

Steal my quick breakfast on the mornings I wake up hungry - Greek yogurt (I like nonfat Chobani), Beeya seeds (tons of fiber and I’ve noticed my perimenopausal symptoms have mellowed out since eating them), a drizzle of peanut butter, and a small serving of this granola.

---

Dear venture capitalists: You're blowing it (Axios)

A scathing, quick read that pulls no punches. As a founder who’s been on the other side pitching constantly for funding, I am in full agreement with Dan Primack’s piece - and it’s also why we’ve stopped early stage investing over the past few years.

---

The Beauty Products Brooke DeVard Ozaydinli Uses to the Last Drop (The Cut)

If you need a beauty rec, Brooke DeVard Ozaydinli has you covered.

She recommended the microblading artist that’s transformed my eyebrows (and streamlined my morning routine). Her recommendation of Le Prunier plum oil and Kosas concealer were spot on, and improved my skin and my whole look.

More than stellar recommendations, Brooke is a thoughtful interviewer and draws out the best stories from her guests on Naked Beauty, her podcast that’s hosted everyone from Pharrell to Sabrina Elba to Gabrielle Union and offers a refreshingly honest look at building and scaling a brand (I love her episodes with her mother, marketing executive Jerri DeVard). If you’re not following her or listening to her podcast, this is your sign to start.

And be careful before you click this article - it may result in a massive Sephora order.

---

U.S. bans noncompete agreements for nearly all jobs (NPR)

This is a really big deal - as long as it can survive the legal challenges that will come its way.

“The FTC estimates about 30 million people, or one in five American workers, from minimum wage earners to CEOs, are bound by noncompetes. It says the policy change could lead to increased wages totaling nearly $300 billion per year by encouraging people to swap jobs freely.

The ban, which will take effect later this year, carves out an exception for existing noncompetes that companies have given their senior executives, on the grounds that these agreements are more likely to have been negotiated. The FTC says employers should not enforce other existing noncompete agreements.”

I think the exception for senior executives is a necessary one, in order to protect a company’s trade secrets that these leaders helped shape and have exclusive access to.

The Chamber of Commerce’s staunch opposition to the bill cites positions that I just don’t see employers providing, such as increased care benefits and workforce training and development.