Working Girl's Guide #25: plumbers are rich and cowboy cocktail is in

We’re talking fintechs in hot water, remote-controlled not-so-robotic robots, and a puffy vest that feels like a sleeping bag and looks at least slightly better than one.

Let’s get into it.

Private Equity is Making Plumbers Rich

Almost 800 home service companies, including those specializing in HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, have been purchased by private equity investors in the last 2 years (and that’s likely an underestimate). These experts in leaks, toilets, and air ducts are taking six- and seven-figure paychecks for their businesses; about one third of them are taking the check and staying on with the company anyway.

The Fintechs Apps Holding Their Users Hostage

Better Business Bureau complaints are way up for fintech startups, many of which cite difficulty canceling subscriptions as the primary reason for complaining. TomoCredit, which has about 100,000 paying subscribers, has received 557 complaints to the Better Business Bureau—to put that in context, it’s about 100x the number of complaints PNC Bank has received. The FTC required the cash-advance startup Brigit to refund $18 million to customers harmed by hidden fees and blocked cancellations. Neobank (a fintech company that offers banking services online, without physical branches) Albert is also in some hot water: canceling accounts is apparently so difficult that a “how to cancel your Albert subscription” video on YouTube has racked up more than 15k views.

Elon’s Robots Were Just…People

If you scrolled TikTok at any point over the past few days (and if you haven’t, I’m deeply impressed), you likely saw videos of Tesla’s new robots. The allegedly AI-operated Optimus robots at last week’s Cybercab event were apparently at least partially remote-operated by Tesla employees, and even admitted to being assisted by a human when asked. According to Tesla employees, Musk only gave 3 weeks notice that he wanted the robots included in the event—which meant they weren’t ready to operate autonomously. Elon’s net worth dropped by $15 billion after the event, which is a number so large I can’t quite comprehend.

Had the best weekend at (yes yet another) wedding. Note to self: a cocktail cowboy themed party is a one-way ticket to the best welcome party you’ll ever attend. When we strapped on these hats, we became full on cowgirls. And if you caught my outfit try-on video, SURPRISE! HERE'S THE WINNER!

As it gets colder I'm just getting lazier, but this outfit at least made me feel semi-cute, even while lazy and comfy! Loveeee this vest from Dynamite, which amps up basic leggings or yoga pants. I’m on the hunt for more cute fall hot girl walk attire, because I really don’t want to subject my neighbors to seeing me in the ten-year-old sweats I still own for some reason. That being said, please reply to this newsletter and share some cute athleisure recs!!

This weeks’ lazy girl hack is for the social media managers/content creators/multitasking girlies! If you’re like me, managing multiple platforms can get super overwhelming. I have been using Rella, which simplifies content planning, scheduling, and analytics. Everything is in one place which means I can spend less mental energy keeping track of posts/analytics/etc. Especially love having one link to share content with clients aaaand done! So easy, so much less manual work, so much more time for hot girl walks and cowboy cocktail outfit try-ons. And you can use my discount code CORPNATALIE for 30% off!

This week on the pod, Ross and I are talking about the clients who should be getting restraining orders instead of gift baskets this holiday season. These are literally the wildest stories we’ve ever heard: hidden foot cams, threesomes, dengue fever, and stool softener…none of these words should ever be heard in a work context (and some of them in any context tbh). Listen here.

Thanks for reading!