The Uber for drivers... Now with 39% of the ride-hail market (doubled from 2016), Lyft jumped 9% on its first-day trading Friday, raising its valuation to $27B. The co-founders (FYI, they own 5% of the shares, but 49% of the voting rights) rang the bell from a former car dealership in LA — Not NYC's Nasdaq stock exchange. It's a vehicular metaphor for its un-Uber strategy: Happy drivers = Happy riders. That lot will become a "Driver Center" for car repairs and tax support.
Man-leisurewear... First, it made yoga pants brunch-ready. Now, it's conquering the work wardrobe. For guys. Lululemon revealed 2018 was one of its strongest years, yet. Then shares soared 14% last week on the CEO's goal for gender parity in its sales (starting with stretch-khakis).
5G drama... America's worried that China's government can spy through Huawei's smartphones. Suspicion hasn't stopped it though — The Chinese telecom's profits jumped 25% last year to nearly $9B. Countries that aren't the US just want their 5G network future to come fast and at a low-cost, and Huawei's answering their calls.
Sleep in a box... Physical goods startups don't usually earn invites to the unicorn ranch. But Casper Sleep just joined all the $1B-valued apps with its latest fundraise, and we learned its sales are growing 60% per year. It even thinks 2019 will be its 1st year of profitability (and it's interviewing investment bankers to run its future IPO).