Stock Watch: Masks

Icebreakers With... Bridget Connelly

Luna Bay Booch

Bridget Connelly is originally from Chicago, but after college she moved to California, then Texas, then Uganda, then back to Chicago, then to Australia in search of something she could really get behind. It wasn't until she found herself in San Diego, a hub for hard kombucha and craft beer, that she had the idea to start Luna Bay Booch and enlisted her business partner and childhood friend, Claire Ridge, to help.  

Luna Bay was "born in Chicago" and is the first woman-founded-and-led hard kombucha brand on the market. Most of Connelly's team is new to the alcohol industry, but their focus on wellness, the planet, and building a community around a drink is setting them apart.

We asked Connelly some icebreakers and inquired about her plans to transform the alcohol industry.

What's a question that you wish someone would ask you about your job?

“What are the things that light you up?” When I hear from my team about how much they love what they do and they're excited about what they're doing every day, it brings me so much joy.

What has your experience as a women-led brand in the alcohol market looked like?

In the beginning, it was hard to be taken seriously. And luckily, we are very strong-willed, smart women and did our research in the space. I do think it's changing. We are really fortunate that we have amazing distributors that are empowering us and really want to support [women-led] brands.

What is the worst piece of advice you've ever gotten about running a business?

"You signed up for this." At first, I would take that personally because I did sign up for this. So I thought I had to keep pushing myself to limits that were super unhealthy. You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.

What song would you say describes Luna Bay?

“Night Moves” by Bob Seger is definitely a Luna Bay song.

What are you reading right now?

When Breath Becomes Air. It's an amazing book. I was recently thinking about rereading it. And when I passed it at the airport last week, I was like, that's a sign.

What's your favorite flavor of Luna Bay?

Ginger Lemon right now, [although] I go through phases. I also love mezcal. So I love making a ginger lemon mezcal Booch-a-Rita. Our new flavor is coming out in June. I can't say what it is yet, but I can't wait for everyone else to try it.

This interview was lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Chasing Down Receipts

Each week, Morning Brew's Head of People Ops Kate Noel answers reader-submitted questions about work in 2021. 

I'm a bookkeeper and my colleagues constantly ignore my pleas for receipts. What's the best way to get them to take my requests seriously?—Kelly in Philadelphia

Kelly...I feel you on this one. Countless times I've seen my brothers and sisters over on the accounting side of the room deal with this very problem. Chasing people to submit receipts...ain't nobody got time for that! 

So here's what I would do. Talk to your manager about installing a policy that says if employees do not submit a receipt to support a purchase within 60 days, they will not receive reimbursement. If the issue is an employee using a corporate card and not providing receipts for purchases, then their individual card can be blocked for 30 days if they make several purchases without proof of receipt. It's a hard stance, but I am sure once this policy is circulated and enforced, folks will get their ish together.  

Should I feel guilty about taking time off after only being in my new job for three months?—Anonymous

I don't think that you "should" feel guilty about requesting time off with just three months under your belt. When an employee requests time off, the request must always honor the company's general PTO policy. If your company's PTO rules don't have a probationary period, then I don't see a problem.

I would also assume that before you can take a single day off you would have to make that request to your manager. Managers are the gatekeepers of the company policies. Your manager has to make a judgment every time a direct report makes a PTO request. That's to make sure there is no negative impact on the business and its scheduling needs. So go ahead, sip on your mojito at the pool with shades on, and if a hater has something to say...tell 'em to take it up with your boss.

Something bothering you at work? Ask Kate for advice here.

Should the Government Have Paused the J&J Vaccine?

Francis Scialabba

This week, the US' surprisingly smooth vaccine rollout hit some turbulence, and regulators turned on the seatbelt sign. 

On Monday, the CDC and FDA recommended pausing Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid vaccine while they investigate reports of rare blood clots. And when we say rare, we mean six women were found to have developed blood clots out of the roughly 7 million people who had received the vaccine. One died. 

Because of the country's bountiful supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the decision isn't likely to significantly slow the rollout. But it did lead to heated discussions around people's appetite for risk, crisis communications, and trust in experts. 

The argument against a pause

Agencies said they paused the rollout out of an "abundance of caution." Critics say the amount of caution used was abundant in the way the amount of mayonnaise on a Jimmy John's sandwich is abundant.

They point to the numbers: Covid-19 has killed more than 560,000 Americans—blood clots from vaccines, 1. By pausing a vaccine that is overwhelmingly useful in fighting Covid, aren't we focusing on the wrong problem?  

Plus, this isn't a binary choice—there might be options other than suspending the rollout to everyone. 538's Nate Silver, one of the top critics of the government's decision, suggested that regulators could have said they're monitoring the situation and not paused vaccinations, or could have stopped giving J&J to young women, who appear to be most at risk of developing the rare blood clots. 

Finally, US health regulators, by seeking to avoid a credibility crisis, may have just invited one in. For those hesitant to take a vaccine—and there are many—seeing the FDA pause J&J over safety concerns is leading at least some of those skeptics to go, "HA! Knew it." 

• A YouGov poll found that the perception of safety of the J&J vaccine dropped 15 percentage points after officials suspended it.  

So what were officials thinking? 

Instilling confidence in vaccines is their No. 1 priority, and right now...there isn't a ton of confidence. According to a recent NPR/Marist poll, 25% of Americans would refuse a vaccine if offered, which could complicate the push for herd immunity. 

As Axios's Bryan Walsh writes, vaccines are "virtually unique" among medicines because you take them not when you're projectile vomiting, but when you're healthy. Therefore, you demand a higher level of safety from vaccines than other treatments ("I'm feeling great...why would I jeopardize that?"). 

The FDA and the CDC know this. They know J&J-induced blood clots are extremely rare, rarer than getting a blood clot from Covid or getting struck by lightning. But they made a calculated decision to pull J&J based on what they think would give a skeptical public the biggest confidence boost around vaccine safety. Early indications show they may have miscalculated. 

Open House

Welcome to Open House, the only Sunday Edition section that asks questions like, "What if a sixth-floor apartment had a custom iron gate instead of a door?" We'll give you a few facts about a listing and you guess the price.

Zillow  

Today we've got a 5,206 square-foot condo in downtown Columbus, OH, a thousand feet in the air. Other highlights include:

• Three beds, six baths
• A slew of custom-painted doors 
• Unobstructed views of that famous Columbus skyline
• A curved tray ceiling with a “rotating light color wheel”

How much is it listed for?

Look for the price at the bottom of the newsletter.

Just Click It

1. The most notorious gossip bloggers of the 2000s are sorry. (Buzzfeed News)
2. Surviving the crackdown in Xinjiang. (The New Yorker)
3. Surely we can do better than Elon Musk? (Current Affairs)
4. Your guide to autonomous vehicles. (Emerging Tech Brew)
5. The mystery of the man who fell from the sky. (The Guardian)
6. How people get rich now. (Paul Graham)
7. Let's settle this once and for all: the difference between IPOs, SPACs, and direct listings. (Morning Brew)
8. Analyzing the design of Japan's unusual butter tableware. (Core77)
9. Would you get sick for the sake of medical research? (Undark)
10. Deconstructing Disney: Queer coding and masculinity in Pocahontas. (Longreads)

It’s already begun. A disruption of the $1.7 trillion art market isn’t just coming—it’s already here. And it’s making some people a lot of money: High-profile collectors are projected to rake in $900 billion by 2026. For the first time in history, you can be part of it with Masterworks. Bonus: Brew Crew can skip the 75,000-person waitlist.*

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Meme Battle

Welcome back to Morning Brew's Meme Battle, where we crown a single memelord every Sunday.

Today’s memelord: Olivia in Jersey City, NJ, with this wholesome interpretation.

This week's challenge: You can find the new meme template here for next Sunday. Once you're done making your meme, you can submit it at this link. We'll pick a new memelord in next week's Sunday Edition and provide you with another meme template to meme-ify. 

$3.45 million

✢ A Note From Walmart

*Free shipping – Excludes freight & Marketplace items.  Free delivery - $35 order min.  Restrictions apply.

**Savings based on 3 shopping trips per week.  Excludes time spent shopping online.  $35 min. order.  Restrictions apply.

***Savings based on 2 deliveries per week vs. non member $7.95 fee.  $35 min. order.  Restrictions apply.

✤ A Note From Masterworks

See Masterworks' disclaimer here.