Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. This is Bloomberg BusinessWeek inside from the reporters and editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus global business, finance and tech news as it happens. Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim Stenebeck on Bloomberg Radio.

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. This is Bloomberg BusinessWeek inside from the reporters and editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus global business, finance and tech news as it happens. Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim Stenebeck on Bloomberg Radio.

It is a Bloomberg Business Week. That's just menton. I'm Tim Stenebek, justin for Carol Master this afternoon. So some good news and bad news when it comes to retirement. More employers than ever offer retirement benefits, and automatic enrollment has increased worker participation and improved how investments are made. So today's Americans actually have more money saved than previous generations. That's the good news. The bad news is we're not really thinking about the right goals when it comes to saving for retirement. Our next guest says the goal that the goal of retirement plan should be providing income to those no longer working, not accumulating wealth for those who still are. Alison Schreger is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute as well as a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She joins us from New York City. Her callum today among the most read stories on the Bloomberg terminal. So, Alison, I want a little help making this distinction here, because this isn't the whole idea of building wealth ahead of retirement so that when you do get to retirement you can then reliably sell assets each year to live off of.

It is a Bloomberg Business Week. That's just menton. I'm Tim Stenebek, justin for Carol Master this afternoon. So some good news and bad news when it comes to retirement. More employers than ever offer retirement benefits, and automatic enrollment has increased worker participation and improved how investments are made. So today's Americans actually have more money saved than previous generations. That's the good news. The bad news is we're not really thinking about the right goals when it comes to saving for retirement. Our next guest says the goal that the goal of retirement plan should be providing income to those no longer working, not accumulating wealth for those who still are. Alison Schreger is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute as well as a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She joins us from New York City. Her callum today among the most read stories on the Bloomberg terminal. So, Alison, I want a little help making this distinction here, because this isn't the whole idea of building wealth ahead of retirement so that when you do get to retirement you can then reliably sell assets each year to live off of.

Yeah, well, I mean they're definitely related. The more wealth you have in retirement obviously the more income you have in retirement. But really, when you think about your asset strategy investing for Okay, I have a big pile of money twenty years from now, versus I will have regular, consistent payments for I don't know my entire lifetime, the rest of my lifetime twenty years from now, or actually two very different objectives that do require a slightly different sort of asset allocationes. I mean this is actually I think I mentioned defined benefit plans when they were around years ago. At least the good ones did manage wealth for income rather than just like a pall of money in one day.

Yeah, well, I mean they're definitely related. The more wealth you have in retirement obviously the more income you have in retirement. But really, when you think about your asset strategy investing for Okay, I have a big pile of money twenty years from now, versus I will have regular, consistent payments for I don't know my entire lifetime, the rest of my lifetime twenty years from now, or actually two very different objectives that do require a slightly different sort of asset allocationes. I mean this is actually I think I mentioned defined benefit plans when they were around years ago. At least the good ones did manage wealth for income rather than just like a pall of money in one day.

Talk to us about the retirement plans in general when it comes into the US. So many people that obviously went through the pandemic and were hit really hard there and potentially lost their job, maybe struggling to still get one. Walk us through sort of what is out there and some of the issues people still have trying to get access to retirement plans.

Talk to us about the retirement plans in general when it comes into the US. So many people that obviously went through the pandemic and were hit really hard there and potentially lost their job, maybe struggling to still get one. Walk us through sort of what is out there and some of the issues people still have trying to get access to retirement plans.

Well, the access is pretty good, particularly if you do have a full time salary job. You know, for a long time, for smaller firms, it was rare to have a defining contribution plan like a four to oh one k because it was just very expensive. I think I do mention in the story a lot of the issues we have with the retirement are various administrative things that make things very expensive or very rigid. So various secure acts that were now on our second one did a lot to make that lot easier. So more people than ever do have access to retirement plans, and even some states offer them to various people. So at this point, like anyone, most people who have like a reasonably high middle income access to retirement plans. It's mainly lower income people or people in part time jobs who don't have them.

Well, the access is pretty good, particularly if you do have a full time salary job. You know, for a long time, for smaller firms, it was rare to have a defining contribution plan like a four to oh one k because it was just very expensive. I think I do mention in the story a lot of the issues we have with the retirement are various administrative things that make things very expensive or very rigid. So various secure acts that were now on our second one did a lot to make that lot easier. So more people than ever do have access to retirement plans, and even some states offer them to various people. So at this point, like anyone, most people who have like a reasonably high middle income access to retirement plans. It's mainly lower income people or people in part time jobs who don't have them.

Yeah, we're going to be speaking with a company that's creating a platform for gig economy workers, and there was some interesting story this week about gig workers in Pennsylvania actually getting access to retirement benefits. So we're going to talk about that a little later. Hey, Allison, there's this third rail in politics when it comes to social Security and when it comes to retirement that really no politician is going to want to touch. And that's the idea of Now that we're living longer as Americans, potentially retiring later, how does that factor into the calculation here?

Yeah, we're going to be speaking with a company that's creating a platform for gig economy workers, and there was some interesting story this week about gig workers in Pennsylvania actually getting access to retirement benefits. So we're going to talk about that a little later. Hey, Allison, there's this third rail in politics when it comes to social Security and when it comes to retirement that really no politician is going to want to touch. And that's the idea of Now that we're living longer as Americans, potentially retiring later, how does that factor into the calculation here?

Well, I mean, if you still are going to retire at the same age, but you live longer, you're just going to more years of retirement to finance, and that just makes the problem a lot hard. So it's unfortunate. I mean, people do who are against raising the retirement age, and that seems to be most people lately do point out that some people do work physically demanding jobs and they don't have the option of working longer, and that is totally true. But it seems to me that we can't say, well, because some people can't work longer, everyone gets to retire early or should be encouraged to retire early. It seems that you know, we do have programs or could expand the existing programs to cover people who physically can't work beyond sixty two or sixty five and still have more carrots and sticks to encourage everyone else to work later. I think the bigger issue I think about working into your sixties and seventies that we think about is binary, like you working that one day you're full time and then one day you're retired, as opposed to I think it's a lot healthier, and we're starting to see more trends of people trying to do this. It would be great if we had more support for this, people working maybe part time, maybe scaling back their jobs a bit, maybe only doing tasks that sort of still it then, and sort of do a more gradual withdrawal from the labor force rather than just this binary I'm working that I'm not.

Well, I mean, if you still are going to retire at the same age, but you live longer, you're just going to more years of retirement to finance, and that just makes the problem a lot hard. So it's unfortunate. I mean, people do who are against raising the retirement age, and that seems to be most people lately do point out that some people do work physically demanding jobs and they don't have the option of working longer, and that is totally true. But it seems to me that we can't say, well, because some people can't work longer, everyone gets to retire early or should be encouraged to retire early. It seems that you know, we do have programs or could expand the existing programs to cover people who physically can't work beyond sixty two or sixty five and still have more carrots and sticks to encourage everyone else to work later. I think the bigger issue I think about working into your sixties and seventies that we think about is binary, like you working that one day you're full time and then one day you're retired, as opposed to I think it's a lot healthier, and we're starting to see more trends of people trying to do this. It would be great if we had more support for this, people working maybe part time, maybe scaling back their jobs a bit, maybe only doing tasks that sort of still it then, and sort of do a more gradual withdrawal from the labor force rather than just this binary I'm working that I'm not.

Something that I've always thought was interesting is just the financial literacy issues when it comes to retirement planning and kind of the lack of schooling, whether it's in high school or even colleges for people to kind of have access. I mean, as you know, Tim, you use money for the rest of your life and you have to use these types of financial decisions. So I'm kind of wondering through your reporting what you've sort of learned and maybe some of the holes because each state has different laws for how they go about doing this with their curriculum. But kind of wondering how do we give people kind of more access to the information that they need, because some people might have access to a retirement plan through their employer, but a lot of times they still have a lot of questions and don't really understand the types of allocations they really need to be using at a particular juncture in their life.

Something that I've always thought was interesting is just the financial literacy issues when it comes to retirement planning and kind of the lack of schooling, whether it's in high school or even colleges for people to kind of have access. I mean, as you know, Tim, you use money for the rest of your life and you have to use these types of financial decisions. So I'm kind of wondering through your reporting what you've sort of learned and maybe some of the holes because each state has different laws for how they go about doing this with their curriculum. But kind of wondering how do we give people kind of more access to the information that they need, because some people might have access to a retirement plan through their employer, but a lot of times they still have a lot of questions and don't really understand the types of allocations they really need to be using at a particular juncture in their life.

Yeah, I mean, I found in various jobs, and you know, so I'm an expert in this. I've done this my whole life. I did my PhD in this, So I still find very confusing when you are signed up for a retirement plan. I'm not sure if sort of financial literacy programs in high school, you know, are going to be able to explain this well considering even you know, most forum KAY administrators make the problem a lot more confusing than it does. But I think people do need to understand the basics like compound interest. Obviously that's helpful, but also thinking about different reasons you're saving and the trade offs there. I think, you know, an issue we do have with retirement counts. There is a lot of people sort of don't really think through the fact that they are liquid, and then you know they don't have other forms of saving. There is evidence that retirement displaces more liquid forms of saving. Some people don't have a lot of saving otherwise, so they end up in a sort of bad financial situation, end up drawing down, maybe paying penalties, not realizing they have a tax liability. So I think we do need to sort of really just maybe educate people, make advice certainly more accessible, and find ways to make it more affordable for more people so they can understand, you know, really a more holistic saving strategy that is just not just about retirement but all areas of life.

Yeah, I mean, I found in various jobs, and you know, so I'm an expert in this. I've done this my whole life. I did my PhD in this, So I still find very confusing when you are signed up for a retirement plan. I'm not sure if sort of financial literacy programs in high school, you know, are going to be able to explain this well considering even you know, most forum KAY administrators make the problem a lot more confusing than it does. But I think people do need to understand the basics like compound interest. Obviously that's helpful, but also thinking about different reasons you're saving and the trade offs there. I think, you know, an issue we do have with retirement counts. There is a lot of people sort of don't really think through the fact that they are liquid, and then you know they don't have other forms of saving. There is evidence that retirement displaces more liquid forms of saving. Some people don't have a lot of saving otherwise, so they end up in a sort of bad financial situation, end up drawing down, maybe paying penalties, not realizing they have a tax liability. So I think we do need to sort of really just maybe educate people, make advice certainly more accessible, and find ways to make it more affordable for more people so they can understand, you know, really a more holistic saving strategy that is just not just about retirement but all areas of life.

Hey, Allison, and I have so many questions for you because you are a retirement economist. You did your PhD in this, and you know, even I find myself googling, like at my age, how much should I have safe to retirement? And there are different answers everywhere. I think a lot of it has to do with, like, you know, we're trying to make assumptions here, and there are a lot of things that are out of our control, and we don't know how long we're all going to live. So there's a lot of unknowns out there. But what about something like target date funds that was supposed to simplify everything. How would you design the system differently?

Hey, Allison, and I have so many questions for you because you are a retirement economist. You did your PhD in this, and you know, even I find myself googling, like at my age, how much should I have safe to retirement? And there are different answers everywhere. I think a lot of it has to do with, like, you know, we're trying to make assumptions here, and there are a lot of things that are out of our control, and we don't know how long we're all going to live. So there's a lot of unknowns out there. But what about something like target date funds that was supposed to simplify everything. How would you design the system differently?

Well, I mean, I think we're tramake date funds were an improvement on what we had before, but I think they are fundamentally flawed in that they are very wealth oriented. The idea is, you know, have a build up being a lot of stocks when you're young, which does make sense, particularly when most of your assets are still your future earnings and not your wealth, and then as you get older you move more into bonds. So the idea is there is that your portfolio doesn't move around quite as much. But that's thinking about wealth, not income. So I think it would be better if we put these terms and judge different funds based on income goals and saying, okay, this is how much income this could get you, and where are you relative to that goal? Now, I mean, that's the way to find that if it plans used to operate, and there's no reason why we couldn't do that on an individual basis too. But it really takes a rethink of benchmarks and how we assess goals and how people pick funds.

Well, I mean, I think we're tramake date funds were an improvement on what we had before, but I think they are fundamentally flawed in that they are very wealth oriented. The idea is, you know, have a build up being a lot of stocks when you're young, which does make sense, particularly when most of your assets are still your future earnings and not your wealth, and then as you get older you move more into bonds. So the idea is there is that your portfolio doesn't move around quite as much. But that's thinking about wealth, not income. So I think it would be better if we put these terms and judge different funds based on income goals and saying, okay, this is how much income this could get you, and where are you relative to that goal? Now, I mean, that's the way to find that if it plans used to operate, and there's no reason why we couldn't do that on an individual basis too. But it really takes a rethink of benchmarks and how we assess goals and how people pick funds.

We only have about thirty seconds left. But you talk about how America needs to start thinking more creatively about work. How do we get there?

We only have about thirty seconds left. But you talk about how America needs to start thinking more creatively about work. How do we get there?

Well, I said, I think it starts with education. I think we sort of we set people up to fail by sort of not educating well about income. We just sort of like, here's this pile of money, figure out how to make it work. Or you know you're going to work and then one day you're not going to work. And instead we should be thinking are more integrated approach and to think about sort of different ways you can assess your work. Andrew Scott is a great book on this that just came out of how to sort of change how you see you work throughout your lifetime. Really, even if you live.

Well, I said, I think it starts with education. I think we sort of we set people up to fail by sort of not educating well about income. We just sort of like, here's this pile of money, figure out how to make it work. Or you know you're going to work and then one day you're not going to work. And instead we should be thinking are more integrated approach and to think about sort of different ways you can assess your work. Andrew Scott is a great book on this that just came out of how to sort of change how you see you work throughout your lifetime. Really, even if you live.

To one hundred.

To one hundred.

Allison, we're gonna have to leave it there. Love it when you join us. Thank you so much. As I mentioned. Dallas And Schrager a Bloomberg Opinion columnist also senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. She's a retirement economist for Story. Her column today among the most read on the Bloomberg terminal, well an all time high of sixty four people. More than one third of America's workers turned to freelance work in twenty twenty three. That's according to survey by the online recruitment company upwork Carol. Nearly half of those workers provided knowledge services including computer programming, marketing, consulting.

Allison, we're gonna have to leave it there. Love it when you join us. Thank you so much. As I mentioned. Dallas And Schrager a Bloomberg Opinion columnist also senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. She's a retirement economist for Story. Her column today among the most read on the Bloomberg terminal, well an all time high of sixty four people. More than one third of America's workers turned to freelance work in twenty twenty three. That's according to survey by the online recruitment company upwork Carol. Nearly half of those workers provided knowledge services including computer programming, marketing, consulting.

Quarter.

Quarter.

What's that a lot of stuff? It's a lot of stuff. Yeah, about a quarter where social media influencers.

What's that a lot of stuff? It's a lot of stuff. Yeah, about a quarter where social media influencers.

Surprise, that's a lot.

Surprise, that's a lot.

How many influencers do we need?

How many influencers do we need?

I don't know.

I don't know.

This is according to data release back in December from the online recruitment company. This is interesting. Younger workers are more likely to freelance, more than half of the gen Z workforce and forty four percent of millennials working those jobs in twenty twenty three.

This is according to data release back in December from the online recruitment company. This is interesting. Younger workers are more likely to freelance, more than half of the gen Z workforce and forty four percent of millennials working those jobs in twenty twenty three.

All right, so there's a lot of opportunity out there to connect gig workers to jobs. Enter job snap. It's a new app that calls itself quote tinder meat snapchat for jobs. We've got with us. The CEO of job snap, James Albert. He is also an entrepreneur. No actually say with us is also entrepreneur and OSCAR nominated actor. An entrepreneur, Chas Palm and Arry you know him from a Bronx table.

All right, so there's a lot of opportunity out there to connect gig workers to jobs. Enter job snap. It's a new app that calls itself quote tinder meat snapchat for jobs. We've got with us. The CEO of job snap, James Albert. He is also an entrepreneur. No actually say with us is also entrepreneur and OSCAR nominated actor. An entrepreneur, Chas Palm and Arry you know him from a Bronx table.

It's over Broadway.

It's over Broadway.

The usual suspects, modern family a lot, a lot, a lot.

The usual suspects, modern family a lot, a lot, a lot.

We have Chas.

We have Chas.

He is on the phone in New York City and James is right here in our interactive broker studio. First of all, we're going to get to you James in a second, but Chas, I have to say. When we were prepping for this on our planning call.

He is on the phone in New York City and James is right here in our interactive broker studio. First of all, we're going to get to you James in a second, but Chas, I have to say. When we were prepping for this on our planning call.

This morning, we're like, why is Chas involved in this? Why are you?

This morning, we're like, why is Chas involved in this? Why are you?

I'll tell you why I'm involved in this because when I obviously I'm an entrepreneur, but when I hear a great idea, this idea, I said, well, wait a minute, I've never heard that before. That is a great idea, you know, especially with me with my movies, especially with my obviously first movie A Bronze Sale, where I talk about the working man. This is the working man's app or the working woman's app. This is an app where you don't have to go to Google and get an information about something you need done. Angie's List, Craigslist, these those companies take a chunk, a chunk where you have to pay sometimes twenty five. This app that James and Chris invented. This goes from the person, the consumer right to the worker, no in between, no in between, and I think whether you'll let's say you have a tree down on your property now you want to put you If you're in the app, you'll get people right in that area in your area. Where you take a picture of the tree, it goes right to them. They look at it, and you could decide which which company you want to use immediately boom they come over. No charge, no charge. All you do is pay an app charge, a yearly app charge. That's it. So for me, when I heard this, I said, Wow, I don't have to go on Craigslist, Google a cool a hand in it. This is perfect.

I'll tell you why I'm involved in this because when I obviously I'm an entrepreneur, but when I hear a great idea, this idea, I said, well, wait a minute, I've never heard that before. That is a great idea, you know, especially with me with my movies, especially with my obviously first movie A Bronze Sale, where I talk about the working man. This is the working man's app or the working woman's app. This is an app where you don't have to go to Google and get an information about something you need done. Angie's List, Craigslist, these those companies take a chunk, a chunk where you have to pay sometimes twenty five. This app that James and Chris invented. This goes from the person, the consumer right to the worker, no in between, no in between, and I think whether you'll let's say you have a tree down on your property now you want to put you If you're in the app, you'll get people right in that area in your area. Where you take a picture of the tree, it goes right to them. They look at it, and you could decide which which company you want to use immediately boom they come over. No charge, no charge. All you do is pay an app charge, a yearly app charge. That's it. So for me, when I heard this, I said, Wow, I don't have to go on Craigslist, Google a cool a hand in it. This is perfect.

James could Yeah, well, James, come on in here, because I was surprised to see I read that this happen as I was preparing for this five years in the making to figure out how to do this. Why did something like this take so long?

James could Yeah, well, James, come on in here, because I was surprised to see I read that this happen as I was preparing for this five years in the making to figure out how to do this. Why did something like this take so long?

Well, again, as when you iterate and you look at all the nuances that made these apps, and and Chazz alluded to them, you know a lot of them are relegated into commission based apps or you know, pay per click, pay for lead. The frustration that I've seen from from at least on the workers side, is that these guys were getting overpaid, jammed up about all these fees.

Well, again, as when you iterate and you look at all the nuances that made these apps, and and Chazz alluded to them, you know a lot of them are relegated into commission based apps or you know, pay per click, pay for lead. The frustration that I've seen from from at least on the workers side, is that these guys were getting overpaid, jammed up about all these fees.

So we just took it from a different lens.

So we just took it from a different lens.

We just decided to move in the direction of software as a service, just charging a one time monthly fee.

We just decided to move in the direction of software as a service, just charging a one time monthly fee.

Who are you charging the fee too to the service provider?

Who are you charging the fee too to the service provider?

So the tree.

So the tree.

Removal company in Jazz's example.

Removal company in Jazz's example.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

So for those people looking for jobs or tasks, there's no there's no costs to that, unlike other you know, the competition is always trying to look for ways to you know, peg on a lot of fees. But again, the other important point that I want to make is that whilst we're talking about the broader service category in terms of like tree work, this application has broad appeal. You know, whether you're looking to you know, you have a knack for playing a guitar, you know, so the idea there is you can use your skills, your motivation, your equipment, your time to whatever your side hustle is to to make make extra money. And it's not just about you know, there are people, there are a lot of people out of work. I mean I just read this morning that in California there's a lot of people now that are just moving moving away.

So for those people looking for jobs or tasks, there's no there's no costs to that, unlike other you know, the competition is always trying to look for ways to you know, peg on a lot of fees. But again, the other important point that I want to make is that whilst we're talking about the broader service category in terms of like tree work, this application has broad appeal. You know, whether you're looking to you know, you have a knack for playing a guitar, you know, so the idea there is you can use your skills, your motivation, your equipment, your time to whatever your side hustle is to to make make extra money. And it's not just about you know, there are people, there are a lot of people out of work. I mean I just read this morning that in California there's a lot of people now that are just moving moving away.

I mean because a lot of the companies can't can't afford to keep them. So where do all these people go? So a lot of people have any talent.

I mean because a lot of the companies can't can't afford to keep them. So where do all these people go? So a lot of people have any talent.

And that's something that Chas and I have talked about a lot, and I don't want to oversecept that conversation about, you know, using the talents and the skills you have, because we all have them, regardless of what they are. And this, as I said, this has much broader appeal to millions and millions of people across America.

And that's something that Chas and I have talked about a lot, and I don't want to oversecept that conversation about, you know, using the talents and the skills you have, because we all have them, regardless of what they are. And this, as I said, this has much broader appeal to millions and millions of people across America.

It almost tells what blockchain was like, kind of this whole idea of like cutting out the middle people and just connecting.

It almost tells what blockchain was like, kind of this whole idea of like cutting out the middle people and just connecting.

Like you you want to do this, Yeah, go right to it. And that's what it kind of feels like. Yeah, in some extent, but in an app form.

Like you you want to do this, Yeah, go right to it. And that's what it kind of feels like. Yeah, in some extent, but in an app form.

Well in an a form.

Well in an a form.

And again, what the app does it allows you to really build your portfolio. So you showcase yourself as as a picture, your equipment, your scales, your time, and all that stuff, and then you showcase that to the world.

And again, what the app does it allows you to really build your portfolio. So you showcase yourself as as a picture, your equipment, your scales, your time, and all that stuff, and then you showcase that to the world.

And again, we don't get in the middle.

And again, we don't get in the middle.

We don't hold information, we don't curate information, we don't disseminate it.

We don't hold information, we don't curate information, we don't disseminate it.

Let the market dictate it freely.

Let the market dictate it freely.

So chas are you an investor in this?

So chas are you an investor in this?

Yes, I am so. I believe in it. You know, a great idea I always said, is a great idea when I met James, and I know James and Chris, and it was just something that I said, Hey, well I could help obviously as an investor, I could help get the word out there, you know, as I'm doing right now. I mean I on my Instagram, I mean I reach a million people a month. So for me, I was like, you know, people got to see this, people got to know this. This is a no brainer. So as an investor, I said, look, I can control the media. I can control getting it out there. You know, It's not like it was years ago where you had to pay a fortune for radio time, you had to get out of the Tonight Show and talk about all your things. It's different now. We can control control the media.

Yes, I am so. I believe in it. You know, a great idea I always said, is a great idea when I met James, and I know James and Chris, and it was just something that I said, Hey, well I could help obviously as an investor, I could help get the word out there, you know, as I'm doing right now. I mean I on my Instagram, I mean I reach a million people a month. So for me, I was like, you know, people got to see this, people got to know this. This is a no brainer. So as an investor, I said, look, I can control the media. I can control getting it out there. You know, It's not like it was years ago where you had to pay a fortune for radio time, you had to get out of the Tonight Show and talk about all your things. It's different now. We can control control the media.

That kind of hurt us, that radio time comment. But but we're gonna.

That kind of hurt us, that radio time comment. But but we're gonna.

Still Hey, okay, we're in control here.

Still Hey, okay, we're in control here.

Okay we end up.

Okay we end up.

We still need you, all right, you can stay around.

We still need you, all right, you can stay around.

I doug a hole. I'm trying to get out of it. But uh, seriously, but you can control a lot of the media. Yourself if you're someone in the public eye like me who reaches a million people a month. So, uh, I just thought between that and between this is a great idea. Why not let's do it?

I doug a hole. I'm trying to get out of it. But uh, seriously, but you can control a lot of the media. Yourself if you're someone in the public eye like me who reaches a million people a month. So, uh, I just thought between that and between this is a great idea. Why not let's do it?

It just abuted, right.

It just abuted, right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, we're in the We're in the Apple Store and the Google Play Store.

Yeah, we're in the We're in the Apple Store and the Google Play Store.

So what can you tell us, I know, early adoption or like what early activity?

So what can you tell us, I know, early adoption or like what early activity?

Yeah, we have.

Yeah, we have.

We have a couple hundred users on both sides, mainly in the northern suburbs, you know, the Connecticut area where I live and I live in Richefield, Connecticut. Yeah, so you know, the idea here is to geo geomarket here in the Tri state area and then fan out across the country. But the application has national appeal.

We have a couple hundred users on both sides, mainly in the northern suburbs, you know, the Connecticut area where I live and I live in Richefield, Connecticut. Yeah, so you know, the idea here is to geo geomarket here in the Tri state area and then fan out across the country. But the application has national appeal.

You know what was interesting, James, is that I when I was doing the research for this in googling, when I googled the name of your company, job Snap, there were four paid advertisements for competitors above you. And it made me realize, dang, this is a lucrative space because people are paying a lot for that placement to be above you in search.

You know what was interesting, James, is that I when I was doing the research for this in googling, when I googled the name of your company, job Snap, there were four paid advertisements for competitors above you. And it made me realize, dang, this is a lucrative space because people are paying a lot for that placement to be above you in search.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So so again just in terms of like the costs, the cost to in terms of the search, right, because you know, those those competitors which we all know of when we would alluded to them, and I'll make mention of them, Angie's in home Advisor and thumbtapu they're you know, they're they're pay for pay for click, pay for leads, and so we organically just want to, you know, let the market dictate, you know, where it wants to go.

So so again just in terms of like the costs, the cost to in terms of the search, right, because you know, those those competitors which we all know of when we would alluded to them, and I'll make mention of them, Angie's in home Advisor and thumbtapu they're you know, they're they're pay for pay for click, pay for leads, and so we organically just want to, you know, let the market dictate, you know, where it wants to go.

What would happen if those companies see that your model's working and they say, wait a second, we're going to change our model. We're not going to do lead generation anymore. What we're going to do is ninety dollars a month fee just.

What would happen if those companies see that your model's working and they say, wait a second, we're going to change our model. We're not going to do lead generation anymore. What we're going to do is ninety dollars a month fee just.

Like they got.

Like they got.

They'd implode their business and you'd short their stock.

They'd implode their business and you'd short their stock.

It would be that much of a difference.

It would be that much of a difference.

Oh absolutely so, So to give you an idea, I through my competitive analysis that those companies, you know, they're charging four or five thousand.

Oh absolutely so, So to give you an idea, I through my competitive analysis that those companies, you know, they're charging four or five thousand.

Dollars a month to these these guys.

Dollars a month to these these guys.

So if they moved to a ninety seven dollars a month flat league fee, their their revenues would create and you short their stock and make a lot of money on the downside.

So if they moved to a ninety seven dollars a month flat league fee, their their revenues would create and you short their stock and make a lot of money on the downside.

So chas we only have about forty five seconds left, a minute left, here, we'd be crazy not to ask you about kind of all of the acting you've done and playwright. You know you've done so much stuff. Is there just I don't know what do you think about the world and content creation today?

So chas we only have about forty five seconds left, a minute left, here, we'd be crazy not to ask you about kind of all of the acting you've done and playwright. You know you've done so much stuff. Is there just I don't know what do you think about the world and content creation today?

And forget me? Just only about forty seconds left.

And forget me? Just only about forty seconds left.

Okay, Well, I'm against AI. I think that's you cannot take my image. You cannot take my word and put some words in my mouth and put my image up there. I'm totally against that. I'm in favor of a lot of things, but that's one thing. I like artists to be honest, but when it comes to a I don't agree with that at all. I think if you don't like something, just shut it off. I love free expression. I am an artist. If I write something that you don't like, or do a movie that you don't like, you have the option to shut it off. But I should also have the option to make it. And that's the way I feel.

Okay, Well, I'm against AI. I think that's you cannot take my image. You cannot take my word and put some words in my mouth and put my image up there. I'm totally against that. I'm in favor of a lot of things, but that's one thing. I like artists to be honest, but when it comes to a I don't agree with that at all. I think if you don't like something, just shut it off. I love free expression. I am an artist. If I write something that you don't like, or do a movie that you don't like, you have the option to shut it off. But I should also have the option to make it. And that's the way I feel.

Ah gosh, you covered a lot and certainly topical stuff that we talk about an awful lot here at Bloomberg. Gentlemen, thank you so much. Curious to seek check back with us after it's been up and running for a little while and let us know how it's going. See you have job snap, James Albis and of course Chazz Palm and Arry he's joining us on the phone here in New York City, Cheryl Master.

Ah gosh, you covered a lot and certainly topical stuff that we talk about an awful lot here at Bloomberg. Gentlemen, thank you so much. Curious to seek check back with us after it's been up and running for a little while and let us know how it's going. See you have job snap, James Albis and of course Chazz Palm and Arry he's joining us on the phone here in New York City, Cheryl Master.

Long, Tim Stenek life here in our Bloomberg Interactive. What were you doing earlier today work studio?

Long, Tim Stenek life here in our Bloomberg Interactive. What were you doing earlier today work studio?

You were gone? What were you doing?

You were gone? What were you doing?

I did a step away for an hour. We're going to hopefully bring the conversation I had at Bloomberg Intelligence hosted event and it was called Generative AI Next Steps in Evolution, and it was really looking at all the things we've been talking about over the last year and a half, at some great high level conversations about what it really means in terms of equipment, software services, enterprise systems, a lot of really smart conversations.

I did a step away for an hour. We're going to hopefully bring the conversation I had at Bloomberg Intelligence hosted event and it was called Generative AI Next Steps in Evolution, and it was really looking at all the things we've been talking about over the last year and a half, at some great high level conversations about what it really means in terms of equipment, software services, enterprise systems, a lot of really smart conversations.

Well, we got one of the folks here who was involved in one of those smart conversations just moments ago. Alice Steinlass is over an executive vice president over at Salesforce. She's here in our Bloomberg Interactive at Brokers Studio. The panel that you were on today, Alice, was the role of data and making jen Ai enterprise ready, which we'll talk about in a few minutes. But I just want to start big picture here, and I just want you to talk a little bit about how you use AI in your role because we've been talking about AI for a long time, and I know you've been probably thinking about AI for longer than we've been talking about it, But how are you using it in your role?

Well, we got one of the folks here who was involved in one of those smart conversations just moments ago. Alice Steinlass is over an executive vice president over at Salesforce. She's here in our Bloomberg Interactive at Brokers Studio. The panel that you were on today, Alice, was the role of data and making jen Ai enterprise ready, which we'll talk about in a few minutes. But I just want to start big picture here, and I just want you to talk a little bit about how you use AI in your role because we've been talking about AI for a long time, and I know you've been probably thinking about AI for longer than we've been talking about it, But how are you using it in your role?

So we're all using AI all of the time, right, and this is because it has been around longer than we think. Salesforce rolled out our predictive AI in twenty sixteen. Today we do over a trillion predictions every single week.

So we're all using AI all of the time, right, and this is because it has been around longer than we think. Salesforce rolled out our predictive AI in twenty sixteen. Today we do over a trillion predictions every single week.

With AI, right.

With AI, right.

It's embedded in all of these decision points we make. So within Salesforce, things like, hey, which account should I look at? What's the next best action I should take? How do I know where to go? With like service or sales? What's new and what really changed was generative AI, which came on the scene a little over a year ago and has opened up a bunch of new capabilities that we can use to generate text. But it can do more than generate text. It can generate campaigns, it can generate code, it can generate flows, which are automations. And so we're using AI across the board in every part of our business.

It's embedded in all of these decision points we make. So within Salesforce, things like, hey, which account should I look at? What's the next best action I should take? How do I know where to go? With like service or sales? What's new and what really changed was generative AI, which came on the scene a little over a year ago and has opened up a bunch of new capabilities that we can use to generate text. But it can do more than generate text. It can generate campaigns, it can generate code, it can generate flows, which are automations. And so we're using AI across the board in every part of our business.

But what you.

But what you.

Generate is only as good as maybe the software you're using, the systems you're using, the reliable data that's going into it. So talk to us about that because it's not so easy as just doing it.

Generate is only as good as maybe the software you're using, the systems you're using, the reliable data that's going into it. So talk to us about that because it's not so easy as just doing it.

You're absolutely right. It starts with the data.

You're absolutely right. It starts with the data.

Right If I you know.

Right If I you know.

If I asked you, if I said, hey, can you can you write me a campaign brief? And I didn't tell you what it was for, right, and I didn't tell you who that customer was, you wouldn't write me a very good It'd be terrible, right, And so it's exactly the same thing as working with a person. It needs to know who is your customer. It needs to know what is that customer? Like what should I recommend to that customer? Write all of that information that your business data is core to using an AI in an enterprise.

If I asked you, if I said, hey, can you can you write me a campaign brief? And I didn't tell you what it was for, right, and I didn't tell you who that customer was, you wouldn't write me a very good It'd be terrible, right, And so it's exactly the same thing as working with a person. It needs to know who is your customer. It needs to know what is that customer? Like what should I recommend to that customer? Write all of that information that your business data is core to using an AI in an enterprise.

So to what extent do we using the collective? We have to make sure that we or I guess, train ourselves to act differently or interact differently with this technology, like what do we need to know and what do we need to do differently?

So to what extent do we using the collective? We have to make sure that we or I guess, train ourselves to act differently or interact differently with this technology, like what do we need to know and what do we need to do differently?

So what we want to do at Salesforce is make it so it works for you and everybody doesn't need to do it right. We don't all need to know how to talk to computers.

So what we want to do at Salesforce is make it so it works for you and everybody doesn't need to do it right. We don't all need to know how to talk to computers.

I'm talking about like the idea of a prompt engineer.

I'm talking about like the idea of a prompt engineer.

Oh yeah, so we don't all need to be prompt engineers. And actually that is one of the challenges when AI first rolled out, right, people were like, Okay, I'm just gonna expose this. I was talking to one company and they had every single salesperson was supposed to copy and paste the prompts from a spreadsheet into the like, you know, their version of their AI, and then ground it with the right data. So then put in Okay, I'm going to generate a sales email. Who is that person? Who am I supposed to send it to?

Oh yeah, so we don't all need to be prompt engineers. And actually that is one of the challenges when AI first rolled out, right, people were like, Okay, I'm just gonna expose this. I was talking to one company and they had every single salesperson was supposed to copy and paste the prompts from a spreadsheet into the like, you know, their version of their AI, and then ground it with the right data. So then put in Okay, I'm going to generate a sales email. Who is that person? Who am I supposed to send it to?

Right?

Right?

That's they didn't get great uptake. But you know why, right, because every single salesperson having to do it, they're not going to do it right. We're not all prompt engineers. So what we're doing at Salesforce is we're making it easy to roll this out in an enterprise way across your organization. Right, there should be a person, a person who's doing that prompt engineering for that sales team, who's thinking about what data do I want to put in my sales emails? What's the tone for my company? What is you know, what kind of information do I need to put in here? And then just roll it out as part of the course of work so it's actioned in the workflow. So the sales engineer at the end of the day, not the engineer, sorry, the sales rep at the end of the day, just hits a button to generate an email and then they can edit it, use it, not use it.

That's they didn't get great uptake. But you know why, right, because every single salesperson having to do it, they're not going to do it right. We're not all prompt engineers. So what we're doing at Salesforce is we're making it easy to roll this out in an enterprise way across your organization. Right, there should be a person, a person who's doing that prompt engineering for that sales team, who's thinking about what data do I want to put in my sales emails? What's the tone for my company? What is you know, what kind of information do I need to put in here? And then just roll it out as part of the course of work so it's actioned in the workflow. So the sales engineer at the end of the day, not the engineer, sorry, the sales rep at the end of the day, just hits a button to generate an email and then they can edit it, use it, not use it.

Alice, I'm always curious about and you guys have tons of different kinds of customers.

Alice, I'm always curious about and you guys have tons of different kinds of customers.

What are customers asking.

What are customers asking.

You specifically about jen ai and what they need to be actually able to do? Because I think this is something we all talk about it and there's chat GBT and you ask it to write something about your friend the other day, and Matt Miller uses it to do X Y Z anything in his world, right, But what is it that customers are specifically asking so that we understand, like, what how does generative AI impact our personal lives and our professional lives?

You specifically about jen ai and what they need to be actually able to do? Because I think this is something we all talk about it and there's chat GBT and you ask it to write something about your friend the other day, and Matt Miller uses it to do X Y Z anything in his world, right, But what is it that customers are specifically asking so that we understand, like, what how does generative AI impact our personal lives and our professional lives?

I think in the enterprise space, in the fun space, I don't know, we're generating poems and songs.

I think in the enterprise space, in the fun space, I don't know, we're generating poems and songs.

I don't even know pictures in enterprise.

I don't even know pictures in enterprise.

What people are looking to do is they're looking to do two things. One is to improve productivity by automating the things that we waste our time on. Right, just take take the tasks that take a lot of time and make them faster. The other thing that they're looking to do is to take the things that we do and make them better so that they can improve their sales rates, so they could improve their service responses. And the main way it can do that is by making it more personal.

What people are looking to do is they're looking to do two things. One is to improve productivity by automating the things that we waste our time on. Right, just take take the tasks that take a lot of time and make them faster. The other thing that they're looking to do is to take the things that we do and make them better so that they can improve their sales rates, so they could improve their service responses. And the main way it can do that is by making it more personal.

Right.

Right.

So I was talking to a company that was doing sales emails and their reps were sending basically the same email subject lines to every customer just because it's a pain in the neck to go look up who is that customer? Right, and what am I actually.

So I was talking to a company that was doing sales emails and their reps were sending basically the same email subject lines to every customer just because it's a pain in the neck to go look up who is that customer? Right, and what am I actually.

Going to sell specifically to that customization there?

Going to sell specifically to that customization there?

You know, they could they could have, they could have, but they weren't, right. And so this is BACA Systems, and so I was talking to Andrew, who's their admin there, and he said, you know what I did. I used the AI to generate personalized subject lines for every email and the response rates went up two x, Right, And so what that did was it it improved Yeah, you know it improved that because it saved them a little bit of time, Right, I don't have to look up who is this customer and what exactly do I want to put in? And it made it better, it made it more personalized, and that magnifies us so small.

You know, they could they could have, they could have, but they weren't, right. And so this is BACA Systems, and so I was talking to Andrew, who's their admin there, and he said, you know what I did. I used the AI to generate personalized subject lines for every email and the response rates went up two x, Right, And so what that did was it it improved Yeah, you know it improved that because it saved them a little bit of time, Right, I don't have to look up who is this customer and what exactly do I want to put in? And it made it better, it made it more personalized, and that magnifies us so small.

Yeah, So in your experience and in the work that you're describing, what are the jobs that are eliminated?

Yeah, So in your experience and in the work that you're describing, what are the jobs that are eliminated?

I think it. I think it makes all of us faster, It makes us better at our jobs, and it allows us to spend our time on the more high value, high value parts of our job. So I think about like I come from my team's technology, I come from a technology background. Software development is getting a major change. APP development is changing in a dramatic way due to AI. But it's not that we're getting rid of developers. What we're doing is we're making the job a lot more fun because I can spend more time thinking about what it is I want to build and less time doing things like writing fifty thousand test cases for it. Right, And I can think at a higher level, I'm more productive, I'm able to do more. And I think we see that same thing across the board in a lot of jobs. There's pieces of every job where you're probably even in your job, there are pieces that you're like, Hey, wouldn't it be great if I had an assistant.

I think it. I think it makes all of us faster, It makes us better at our jobs, and it allows us to spend our time on the more high value, high value parts of our job. So I think about like I come from my team's technology, I come from a technology background. Software development is getting a major change. APP development is changing in a dramatic way due to AI. But it's not that we're getting rid of developers. What we're doing is we're making the job a lot more fun because I can spend more time thinking about what it is I want to build and less time doing things like writing fifty thousand test cases for it. Right, And I can think at a higher level, I'm more productive, I'm able to do more. And I think we see that same thing across the board in a lot of jobs. There's pieces of every job where you're probably even in your job, there are pieces that you're like, Hey, wouldn't it be great if I had an assistant.

We talk about it all the time, for writing certain things that either we don't get time to do, or just to help us in doing some of like a script every day, and then being able to focus on some other things exactly so I get it.

We talk about it all the time, for writing certain things that either we don't get time to do, or just to help us in doing some of like a script every day, and then being able to focus on some other things exactly so I get it.

It's pretty cool stuff.

It's pretty cool stuff.

That's a control room laughing. Am I the assistant?

That's a control room laughing. Am I the assistant?

No equal footing? I'll think so much for stopping by.

No equal footing? I'll think so much for stopping by.

Yeah, thank you for having me and being part of the Bloomberg Intelligence event earlier today. Executive vice president general manager at Salesforce joining us here in our Bloomberg Interactive Brokers studio.

Yeah, thank you for having me and being part of the Bloomberg Intelligence event earlier today. Executive vice president general manager at Salesforce joining us here in our Bloomberg Interactive Brokers studio.

I'm Carol Masser, a long attemp.

I'm Carol Masser, a long attemp.

Stent ofic and this you're not my assistant, not anybody's assistant.

Stent ofic and this you're not my assistant, not anybody's assistant.

Wouldn't be so bad

Wouldn't be so bad