Answer me this

Hola,

Last month, we asked readers to reply to us with their favorite job interview questions. 

Wow, did we get some responses. 



We curated them into a single post with 87 job interview questions for hiring managers, job candidates, and HR nerds everywhere. Here are some of my favorites:

• If you were in charge of evolution, what would your human look like and why?
• A visitor from another planet comes to Earth. You’re tasked with giving them a tour. What do you show off? What do you hide?
• If you could open and run any type of store, what would you sell?

There's plenty more where that came from for interviewers/interviewees everywhere.


Heed my words

Since Amazon's beginning, Jeff Bezos has run the company according to an unconventional set of core principles, which he discusses in his annual letters to shareholders.

From the importance of wandering to building a cash moat to staying terrified of your customers, we dig into the key lessons of each Bezos letter since 1997. Read them all here.




Hey, big spender

Facebook has snapped up over 80 acquisitions since 2007, including Instagram and Oculus.

We created a visual timeline of the company's largest acquisitions. See them all here.




 Pop goes the retail

Pop-up stores are hot right now. Brands from Louis Vuitton to Cheetos are jumping on the trend to get closer to their customers.

We take a look at why grocery retailers could be the next ones to get in on the pop-up craze. Expert Intelligence clients can read about it here.




Blockchain, blockchain everywhere

Blockchain's potential isn't limited to finance.

From voting to education to music & entertainment, we take a look at 50 big industries that blockchain could transform.




 What's next?

This week Visa launched Visa Next, a bundling of developer tools that allows issuers and acquirers to build new payments products. 

We take a look at key takeaways from the announcement, including how it highlights an industry-wide shift toward open APIs. 

Clients can read about it here.




Have a great rest of the week.

• $1T: Microsoft’s market cap surpassed $1T for the first time. The company joins tech giants Apple and Amazon in being the only publicly traded companies to reach 13 figure valuations. We dive into Microsoft's strategies for cloud, enterprise IT, AI, gaming, and more here.
  
  
   
• 640: Merriam Webster’s dictionary has added 640 words. New additions include swole, the state of being “extremely muscular,” and omnicide, a potentially understated term for the “destruction of all life.”
   
• $1.2B: Plant-based protein startup Beyond Meat is looking to go public. The company plans to raise almost $184M through its IPO, with an expected valuation of up to $1.2B. Find out how the $90B global meat industry is set to be disrupted in our Meatless Future report.
  
  
   
• 360,000: The world’s first malaria vaccine is set to be distributed to 360,000 children a year across three African countries, according to the World Health Organization. Though the vaccine has been found to only be effective at preventing malaria in about 40% of cases, it could play a significant role in helping to reduce the 435,000 annual malaria deaths.
   
• $1.25B: Mary Meeker has raised $1.25B to launch Bond Capital, her new VC firm. The former Kleiner Perkins partner was ranked No. 8 in our list of top venture capitalists — see the rest of the pack here.
  
  
   
• 30 years: This week Nintendo’s Game Boy celebrated its 30th birthday. The popular handheld console hosted hit games like Tetris and Pokemon, helping to grow the nascent video games market into what is now one of the largest entertainment industries in the world. Expert Intelligence clients can see where the gaming industry is going next with our recent market map.
  
  
   
• $149M: KeepTruckin raised a $149M Series D to reach a valuation of up to $1.25B, becoming the latest company to reach unicorn status. The Google Ventures-backed fleet management startup is part of a hot space — Expert Intelligence clients can see 50+ trucking tech cos here. Keep track of the world’s 343 $1B+ private companies using our unicorn tracker.
   
• $1.9T: China-based telecom giant Huawei has been given permission to provide equipment for “non core” parts of the UK’s 5G network, despite security concerns. Huawei is just one of many companies competing for a slice of the 5G services and equipment market, estimated to be worth $1.9T globally by 2026, according to CB Insights' Industry Analyst Consensus. 5G is set to increase mobile download speeds and enable emerging technologies like self-driving cars.
  
  
   
• $4.3M: Japan’s imperial calendar is set to reset when Emperor Akihito abdicates at the end of April. When his eldest son ascends to the throne it will usher in a new era, as well as a potential surge in software updates as developers scramble to keep time-linked software running smoothly. The city of Nagoya estimates it will spend around $4.3M prepping for the change.