Sara Friedman

New York, You

Senior Content Writer at The Hustle

Senior Content Writer at Hubspot

Senior writer @TheHustle covering business & tech | Opinions are my own, rodeo is my first | Pitches: [email protected]

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Articles

Can mushrooms solve the world’s diaper problem?

6 days ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

No one enjoys a dirty diaper, but the stinky things are threatening more than just your nostrils. More than 300k diapers — first introduced in 1948 by Johnson & Johnson — are thrown out every minute, per Fast Company, and the issue is piling up in our landfills.
Ready your inbox: The brands are coming to Substack

4 weeks ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

Ready your inbox: The brands are coming to Substack That tech bro with the inspirational quotes, your old English lit professor, and that girl from your hometown trying to make it as an influencer — they’re all on Substack. In fact, it feels like everyone has a newsletter these days (we were here first!).
The booming business behind these viral plush dolls didn't come to play

1 month ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

If you’ve noticed a plush doll with a bunch of teeth and a mischievous grin hanging off a fashionista's purse recently, then you’ve likely spotted a Labubu. A La… what, now? Created in 2015 by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, the dolls began as children’s book characters before a deal with Beijing-based toy company Pop Mart turned them into a line of figurines in 2023.
I can’t believe it’s not butter from a cow

1 month ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

This toast is a little dry — can you pass the spreadable carbon dioxide? What, does that not sound tasty? Take it up with Savor, the startup turning greenhouse gases into butter. It’s already raised $33m in investments to date — including some cash from Bill Gates himself — to create more sustainable fats. The startup takes carbon dioxide and joins it with hydrogen under high heat and pressure to create fatty acids.
Chew this over: Food waste could be the answer to alternative fabrics

1 month ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

Sustainability is something that most of us would happily raise a glass to. But what if the beer in that glass was the very substance that could solve a pressing environmental problem? That’s the concept behind Arda Biomaterials, a London startup that just raised a $5.3m seed round to produce plastic and leather alternatives, per AgFunderNews:Arda uses a proprietary supramolecular process to extract proteins from spent grain left behind from the beer- and whiskey-making process.
When did every aisle become the protein aisle?

2 months ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

Put those muscular hands where we can see ’em and step away from the Greek yogurt. The “proteinification” of our food is well underway, and Americans can’t seem to get enough (though they’ve likely had plenty). Sixty-one percent of consumers said they were striving to increase their protein intake in 2024, up from 48% in 2019, according to a report from global food company Cargill. Sixty-three percent of consumers said they want protein in their snacks.
All aboard the cruise ship: Young travelers are setting sail

2 months ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

We didn’t think we’d see the day that cruise ships got “cool” (and to be honest, we’re not sure we wanted to). But it might just be happening. Why? Because young people are trendsetters, and they’re taking their suitcases and disposable income out to sea, per Sherwood News. The average age of a cruise ship passenger is 46, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. That’s down from 49 less than 20 years ago, and 36% of cruise customers are now under the age of 40.
Name, image, likeness, and a whole lotta cash

2 months ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

Nil might mean nothing to you, but in the world of college sports, it means quite a bit. College athletes weren’t always allowed to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL), and they often forfeited their rights to do so when signing on with a university’s team. That’s since changed, thanks to a series of — ongoing — legal proceedings:In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that refusing to let college athletes earn NIL income violated antitrust laws. Today, the House v.
Sustainable lumber? That wood be cool

2 months ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

Yes, the pun was mediocre at best, but the concept is awesome — stick with us. Startup Cambium is chipping away at recycling the 36m trees that fall each year due to development, natural disasters, disease, or decay, per CNBC. Traditionally, those fallen trees are either burned, sent to a landfill, or turned into mulch — a process that produces carbon emissions and wastes energy.
AI made that rug… and those earrings

2 months ago | thehustle.co | Sara Friedman

An AI-generated email is cool, but what about something you could wear? Or walk on? Generative AI marketplace Arcade is making those projects a reality. Launched in 2024, the company just closed a $25m Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $42m. Customers — or “dreamers,” as the company calls them — can use text and image prompts to create custom jewelry designs.