By Stephen Britt ( April 3, 2025, 4:16 PM EDT) — In this Expert Analysis series, attorneys provide quarterly recaps discussing the biggest developments in California banking regulation and policymaking…. Law360 is on it, so you are, too. A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions. A Law360 subscription includes features such as Daily newsletters Expert analysis Mobile app Advanced search Judge information Real-time alerts 450K+ searchable archived articles And more! Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial. source

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More In the race to deploy enterprise AI, one obstacle consistently blocks the path: hallucinations. These fabricated responses from AI systems have caused everything from legal sanctions for attorneys to companies being forced to honor fictitious policies.  Organizations have tried different approaches to solving the hallucination challenge, including fine-tuning with better data, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), and guardrails. Open-source development firm Oumi is now offering a new approach, albeit with a somewhat ‘cheesy’ name. The company’s name is an acronym for Open Universal Machine Intelligence (Oumi). It is led by ex-Apple and Google engineers on a mission to build an unconditionally open-source AI platform. On April 2, the company released HallOumi, an open-source claim verification model designed to solve the accuracy problem through a novel approach to hallucination detection. Halloumi is, of course, a type of hard cheese, but that has nothing to do with the model’s naming. The name is a combination of Hallucination and Oumi, though the timing of the release close to April Fools’ Day might have made some suspect the release was a joke – but it is anything but a joke; it’s a solution to a very real problem. “Hallucinations are frequently cited as one of the most critical challenges in deploying generative models,” Manos Koukoumidis, CEO of Oumi, told VentureBeat. “It ultimately boils down to a matter of trust—generative models are trained to produce outputs which are probabilistically likely, but not necessarily true.” How HallOumi works to solve enterprise AI hallucinations  HallOumi analyzes AI-generated content on a sentence-by-sentence basis. The system accepts both a source document and an AI response, then determines whether the source material supports each claim in the response. “What HallOumi does is analyze every single sentence independently,” Koukoumidis explained. “For each sentence it analyzes, it tells you the specific sentences in the input document that you should check, so you don’t need to read the whole document to verify if what the [large language model] LLM said is accurate or not.” The model provides three key outputs for each analyzed sentence: A confidence score indicating the likelihood of hallucination. Specific citations linking claims to supporting evidence. A human-readable explanation detailing why the claim is supported or unsupported. “We have trained it to be very nuanced,” said Koukoumidis. “Even for our linguists, when the model flags something as a hallucination, we initially think it looks correct. Then when you look at the rationale, HallOumi points out exactly the nuanced reason why it’s a hallucination—why the model was making some sort of assumption, or why it’s inaccurate in a very nuanced way.” Integrating HallOumi into Enterprise AI workflows There are several ways that HallOumi can be used and integrated with enterprise AI today. One option is to try out the model using a somewhat manual process, though the online demo interface.  An API-driven approach will be more optimal for production and enterprise AI workflows. Manos explained that the model is fully open-source and can be plugged into existing workflows, run locally or in the cloud and used with any LLM. The process involves feeding the original context and the LLM’s response to HallOumi, which then verifies the output. Enterprises can integrate HallOumi to add a verification layer to their AI systems, helping to detect and prevent hallucinations in AI-generated content. Oumi has released two versions: the generative 8B model that provides detailed analysis and a classifier model that delivers only a score but with greater computational efficiency. HallOumi vs RAG vs Guardrails for enterprise AI hallucination protection What sets HallOumi apart from other grounding approaches is how it complements rather than replaces existing techniques like RAG (retrieval augmented generation) while offering more detailed analysis than typical guardrails. “The input document that you feed through the LLM could be RAG,” Koukoumidis said. “In some other cases, it’s not precisely RAG, because people say, ‘I’m not retrieving anything. I already have the document I care about. I’m telling you, that’s the document I care about. Summarize it for me.’ So HallOumi can apply to RAG but not just RAG scenarios.” This distinction is important because while RAG aims to improve generation by providing relevant context, HallOumi verifies the output after generation regardless of how that context was obtained. Compared to guardrails, HallOumi provides more than binary verification. Its sentence-level analysis with confidence scores and explanations gives users a detailed understanding of where and how hallucinations occur. HallOumi incorporates a specialized form of reasoning in its approach.  “There was definitely a variant of reasoning that we did to synthesize the data,” Koukoumidis explained. “We guided the model to reason step-by-step or claim by sub-claim, to think through how it should classify a bigger claim or a bigger sentence to make the prediction.” The model can also detect not just accidental hallucinations but intentional misinformation. In one demonstration, Koukoumidis showed how HallOumi identified when DeepSeek’s model ignored provided Wikipedia content and instead generated propaganda-like content about China’s COVID-19 response. What this means for enterprise AI adoption For enterprises looking to lead the way in AI adoption, HallOumi offers a potentially crucial tool for safely deploying generative AI systems in production environments. “I really hope this unblocks many scenarios,” Koukoumidis said. “Many enterprises can’t trust their models because existing implementations weren’t very ergonomic or efficient. I hope HallOumi enables them to trust their LLMs because they now have something to instill the confidence they need.” For enterprises on a slower AI adoption curve, HallOumi’s open-source nature means they can experiment with the technology now while Oumi offers commercial support options as needed. “If any companies want to better customize HallOumi to their domain, or have some specific commercial way they should use it, we’re always very happy to help them develop the solution,” Koukoumidis added. As AI systems continue to advance, tools like HallOumi may become standard components of enterprise AI stacks—essential infrastructure for separating AI fact from fiction. source

As a former US federal employee, I’m a customer of two financial services companies that focus on current and former feds. Within the past couple of months — as millions of federal employees have been subject to on-again, off-again layoffs — these companies have emailed their customers with essentially the same message. It goes something like this: We know that in these uncertain times you’re worried about your finances. Our personal financial advisors can help you understand your finances and plan for the future. Unspoken, but obvious to everyone, is that you have to pay for this personal financial advice. So what these emails really offer is a chance for feds who may lose their jobs to spend more money! You may respond that this is how business works: Identify a need — such as financial stress — and offer a product to solve it. But there’s a better way, a way that builds longer-term customer loyalty, contributes more to business performance, and aligns more closely with these companies’ stated values — which I’ll paraphrase as things like “members first,” “service,” and “community.” This approach proved itself during the COVID-19 pandemic: Remove customer stress and offer benefits that align with the long-cultivated brand, instead of adding another expense and contradicting stated corporate values. For example, during the pandemic, companies in financial services helped customers with financial hardships by deferring loan and credit card payments, canceling various fees, and adding overdraft protection. Even better for financial services companies: Helping customers in these and other ways improves the uptake for additional paid services (like pricey personal financial advisors), as improving customer experience (CX) boosts customer loyalty in financial services and other industries. Has your company made a similar blunder, pitching an expensive upsell without first offering loyalty-building assistance to customers in need? It’s not too late to fix the problem. A few quick pieces of advice: Reaffirm your brand. It’s unlikely that market volatility affects any of your brand fundamentals. Hastily upending a well-determined brand strategy will only cause trouble once the volatility subsides. Instead, modulate your brand’s value proposition by considering all four possible types of value that your brand can provide: economic, functional, experiential, and symbolic. Recommit to CX fundamentals. Ensure that you use driver analysis for targeted CX improvements, qualitative research to plug key holes in customer understanding, data storytelling to drive action from insights, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure a journey-centric approach. Provide customers with consistent, on-brand experiences. Start by reaffirming your CX vision to ensure that it aligns with your business strategy. Use The Forrester CX Vision Development Template to speed your vision review. Balance customer and business needs to serve customers sustainably. Use an enterprisewide metrics framework to help maintain a long-term balance between the value for the customer and the business. It can also help you decide when to lean toward value to the customer in the short term, such as when people are losing their jobs. Want to talk in greater detail? Forrester clients can schedule a guidance session or contact their account team. source

Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/Creative Commons U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a new 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S., taking effect on April 5. He is also imposing additional “reciprocal” levies on approximately 60 countries that represent the largest contributors to the U.S. trade deficit —  a move that significantly impacts tech prices. These include: 46% tariff on goods from Vietnam. 32% tariff on goods from Taipei and Taiwan. 26% tariff on goods from India. 25% tariff on goods from South Korea. 24% tariff on goods from Japan. 20% tariff on goods from the E.U. China faces a 34% reciprocal tariff, in addition to the 20% tariff already in place. These percentages were calculated to generate revenue equal to the trade deficit with each country and then halved. The reciprocal tariffs will come into effect on April 9. Trump says that trade deficits — in which the U.S. spends more on imports from these nations than it earns through exports — are the result of higher foreign tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and economic policies abroad that depress wages and limit domestic consumption. Tariffs have also been applied to countries with low tariff rates but high trade surpluses with the U.S. like the U.K. and Australia. The president managed to pass them without congressional approval, declaring a national emergency and claiming that persistent trade imbalances undermine national security by weakening U.S. manufacturing and exposing supply chains to foreign dependence. SEE: Trump’s Import Tariffs: How They’ll Shake Prices, Jobs, and Trade Separately, Trump has revoked tariff exemptions on Chinese imports valued at $800 or less and intends to extend this policy to other countries with comparable exemptions. Canada and Mexico will not face higher rates than what they were given in February, and goods compliant with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), including auto parts from Canada and Mexico, remain exempt. In response, the U.K. has  reportedly offered major U.S. tech firms reductions to its digital services tax in exchange for relief from new trade barriers, according to The Guardian. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU is “prepared to respond” with countermeasures and that it “holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market,” via The Associated Press. How will these tariffs affect you? While these tariffs were brought to restore economic fairness, boost manufacturing, and create more jobs in the U.S., they are also expected to trigger price increases in tech products. According to CNBC, after Trump’s announcement on April 1, NVIDIA’s stock fell by 5%, while Apple and Amazon fell by 6%. This is due to fears that their operational costs will rise and supply chains, which rely heavily on overseas manufacturing and imports, will be disrupted. U.S. chipmaker NVIDIA should be somewhat shielded from the impact due to Trump’s exemption on semiconductors, sparing it from the 32% tariff on chips manufactured in Taiwan by TSMC. However, it remains unclear whether the semiconductor exemption will also cover the 10% baseline tariff on all imports. Apple products, mostly manufactured in China, India, and Vietnam, are likely to become more expensive as the company passes increased import costs on  o U.S. consumers. Amazon might do the same, as a high proportion of the goods listed on its marketplace are from Chinese sellers. The e-commerce giant will especially be impacted by the removal of the tax exemption on products under $800. The U.S. relies on China and Taiwan for approximately 80% of its foundry capacity for 20 to 45nm chips and about 70% for 50 to 180nm chips. Tech firms may attempt to shift sourcing to reciprocal tariff-free countries, but many will pass the additional costs to consumers instead. First tariffs were set in February These new tariffs come after those imposed in February — 25% on all imports from Canada and Mexico except energy resources and minerals, 20% on Chinese goods, and 25% on European Union tech components like semiconductors. With 80% of U.S. foundry capacity for key semiconductor sizes currently reliant on China and Taiwan, experts predicted ripple effects across the entire tech sector, impacting everything from smartphones and cloud services to AI infrastructure. At the time, Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson, told Bloomberg that part of the reason Trump is implementing tariffs on goods from the E.U. is in retaliation for the region “making a habit” of fining major U.S. companies, such as Apple, Google, and Meta, for “whatever behavior they choose to penalize.” He added that the E.U. may become “combative” in response, and the level to which it does will determine the scale of the tariffs’ impact on the big tech players. SEE: Were the White House’s Tariffs Calculations Done By AI? Data centers and AI infrastructure face higher costs The expanded tariffs on aluminium and steel from February are predicted to sting data center companies, as these materials are essential for server racks, cooling systems, and other infrastructure, driving up construction and equipment costs. The additional expenditure and potential supply chain disruption may be reflected in cloud storage prices from companies like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, as well as SaaS and AI companies that utilise large-scale data processing. It could also delay plans to build new data centers that companies have earmarked to meet the growing demand for AI. Nevertheless, the stated intention is to reduce dependence on foreign adversaries. While this may result in higher prices for consumers in the short term, it could also drive investment in domestic industries and boost supply chain resilience. SEE: Microsoft to Invest $80 Billion in AI Data Centers in Fiscal 2025 Tech companies ramp up U.S. manufacturing Even prior to the tariffs, many companies have been announcing plans to build new facilities within the U.S., which is a trend likely to continue. In March, TSMC pledged to expand its spend on building data centers in the U.S. to $160 billion, which it deems the “largest single foreign direct investment in

Last week’s mega deal of Google acquiring CNAPP provider Wiz for $32 billion has some lamenting the future of IPOs in the cybersecurity space. Wiz was on a high growth trajectory, and given that Wiz had previously rebuffed Google’s interest in the summer of 2024, many assumed Wiz was on target for a 2025 IPO, the success of which was meant to serve as a bellwether for the overall health of the cybersecurity market. With Wiz no longer an IPO candidate, has momentum for cybersecurity IPOs stalled? In the short term, the answer is yes, but that is more to do with the health of the overall tech IPO market, not just cybersecurity. Genesys, a provider of AI-driven call center software, recently postponed its planned spring 2025 IPO, citing market uncertainty, with plans to revisit an IPO in the second half of 2025. And despite last year’s uneven macroeconomic environment, there were still over 220 IPOs in the US stock markets last year, up from 150 in 2023. While approximately 10% of the 2024 IPOs were of the SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company) variety, there were still several significant tech IPOs in 2024, including Reddit, OneStream, Ingram Micro, and ServiceTitan, to name a few. Rubrik’s April 2024 IPO also marked the first cybersecurity-related IPO in two years. While the cybersecurity IPO market may be muted right now, there are still several possible cybersecurity IPO candidates for 2025. While there is a lot of discussion on tariffs and the current market volatility hindering IPOs, indexes such as the Cboe’s VIX Index (which analyzes S&P 500 index options to derive a forward-looking projection of volatility) have not moved as much as the overall market indices. Some have suggested that this is because much of current volatility is derived from policy decisions (like tariffs), meaning they can be quickly reversed and are also not tied as directly to structural economic factors. Despite this current uncertainty, the resilience of the US stock market, and the fact that there are still several cybersecurity companies seeking a liquidity event, mean that cybersecurity IPOs could still happen in 2025, especially in the second half of the year. The current tech IPO bellwether is AI darling CoreWeave. Despite a tepid initial trading day, CoreWeave has since rebounded and its shares are up. This current (but by no means comprehensive) list of potential cybersecurity IPO candidates for the fall of 2025 can be put into two distinct categories: Category one: venture-backed, with $500 million or more in VC funding and high annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth of over 40% Netskope: In October 2024, Netskope CEO Sanjay Beri indicated plans to proceed with an IPO in the second half of 2025, depending on market conditions and investor appetite. Netskope has raised over $1 billion in venture capital, reported over $500 million in ARR, and competes in the high demand Zero Trust edge network security segment. While Netskope has not filed an S-1 form with the SEC yet, it is a vendor to watch in 2025 as a strong contender for an IPO. Snyk: Like Netskope, application security developer Snyk has raised over $1 billion in venture capital, hit $300 million in ARR last year, and is growing ARR 40% annually. While Snyk has not filed an S-1 with the SEC, it is long rumored to be an IPO candidate and fits the criteria for this category. Application security remains a high growth area. OneTrust: This privacy management company has raised over $1 billion and is exceeding $500 million in ARR. While the firm has been mum on any IPO plans, it meets the size, valuation, and growth metrics for an IPO. Armis has not reached the $500 million ARR milestone yet but is growing rapidly and has raised over $800 million in venture capital. According to Bloomberg, it is looking at 2026 for an IPO, so continued success and growth in 2025 will position the company for an IPO next year. Category two: established cybersecurity firm owned by private equity (PE) firms for two or more years and seeking exit This category already has a successful 2025 IPO: identity management and governance vendor SailPoint, which PE investor Thoma Bravo took public in February, raising $1.4 billion in the IPO at a $12 billion valuation. Some other IPO candidates in this category include: Proofpoint: Email and data security vendor Proofpoint was taken private by Thoma Bravo for $12 billion in 2021. Last fall, Proofpoint indicated plans to return to public markets within 12 to 18 months. Thoma Bravo has held Proofpoint for five years; this would be a good IPO candidate once market conditions improve. Illumio: Also owned by Thoma Bravo since 2021, Illumio has raised more than $500 million in funding, is growing fast, and had a $2 billion-plus valuation when acquired by Thoma Bravo. Illumio was a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Microsegmentation Solutions, Q3 2024, last year and competes in the high-demand cloud security and Zero Trust segments. Delinea: Last week, the PE owner of privileged identity management vendor Delinea indicated that it’s considering IPO plans. TPG has owned Delinea since 2021 when it merged Thycotic and Centrify and renamed the new entity Delinea. With Delinea’s ARR at almost $400 million, it fits the criteria, especially if the PE owner is looking to exit this investment in 2025. While macroeconomic factors or geopolitical events could affect the public market’s appetite for tech IPOs, this post has hopefully shown that there are plenty of well-funded and capitalized cybersecurity companies capable of going public in the next 12 months based on market conditions. And seeing as all these companies are growing and investing in their product offerings, security professionals should view pending cybersecurity IPOs as a positive validation of the overall cybersecurity market and their supplier’s position within that market. source

Digital India Foundation, a policy think tank working in the areas of technology policy, digital inclusion, ethics of AI, supply-chain security, and governance of critical and emerging technologies. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Head and Co-founder, Digital India Foundation (DIF) talks in detail on security roadmap, impact of AI, best practices for CISOs and future outlook for technology. Q. What are the key factors for Indian companies to prioritise their security roadmap and related investments? Dr. Arvind: Indian companies must prioritize regulatory compliance under the DPDP, 2023, using encryption and audits to meet data protection laws and align with RBI, SEBI, and GDPR. AI disruption requires securing AI systems while leveraging them for threat detection amid regulatory shifts. Supply chain shocks from geopolitical factors, worsened by USA tariff wars (e.g., 25% on Mexico/Canada, 20% on China), escalate costs and disruptions, necessitating vendor assessments and localized threat monitoring to counter trade conflicts and regional tensions. source

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More American Express is a giant multinational company with roughly 80,000 employees, so as you can imagine, something’s always coming up with IT — whether it be a worker struggling with WiFi access or dealing with a laptop on the fritz.  But as anyone knows firsthand, interacting with IT—particularly chatbots—can be a frustrating experience. Automated tools can offer vague, non-specific responses or walls of links that employees have to click through until they get to the one that actually solves their problem—that is, if they don’t give up out of frustration and click “get me to a human” first.  To upend this worn-out scenario, Amex has infused generative AI into its internal IT support chatbot. The chatbot now interacts more intuitively, adapts to feedback and walks users through problems step-by-step.  As a result, Amex has significantly decreased the number of employee IT tickets that need to be escalated to a live engineer. AI is increasingly able to resolve problems on its own.  “It’s giving people the answers, as opposed to a list of links,” Hilary Packer, Amex EVP and CTO, told VentureBeat. “Productivity is improving because we’re getting back to work quickly.” Validation and accuracy the ‘holy grail’  The IT chatbot is just one of Amex’s many AI successes. The company has no shortage of opportunities: In fact, a dedicated council initially identified 500 potential use cases across the business, whittling that down to 70 now in various stages of implementation.  “From the beginning, we’ve wanted to make it easy for our teams to build gen AI solutions and to be compliant,” Packer explained.  That is delivered through a core enablement layer, which provides “common recipes” or starter code that engineers can follow to ensure consistency across apps. Orchestration layers connect users with models and allow them to swap models in and out based on use case. An “AI firewall” envelops all of this.  While she didn’t get into specifics, Packer explained that Amex uses open and closed-source models and tests accuracy through an extensive model risk management and validation process, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and other prompt engineering techniques. Accuracy is critical in a regulated industry, and underlying data must be up to date, so her team spends a lot of time maintaining the company’s knowledge bases, validating and reformatting thousands of documents to source the best possible data.  “Validation and accuracy are the holy grail right now of generative AI,” said Packer.  AI reducing escalation by 40% The internal IT chatbot — Amex’s most heavily used technology support function — was a natural early use case.  Initially powered by traditional natural language processing (NLP) models — specifically the open-source machine learning bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) framework — it now integrates closed-source gen AI to deliver more interactive and personalized assistance. Packer explained that instead of simply offering a list of knowledge base articles, the chatbot engages users with follow-up questions, clarifies their issues and provides step-by-step solutions. It can generate a personalized and relevant response summarized in a clear and concise format. And if the worker still isn’t getting the answers they need, the AI can escalate unresolved problems to a live engineer.  For instance, when an employee has connectivity problems, the chatbot can offer several troubleshooting tips to get them back onto WiFi. As Packer explained, “It can get interactive with the colleague and say, ‘Did that solve your problem?’ And if they say no, it can continue on and give them other solutions.”  Since launching in October 2023, Amex has seen a 40% increase in its ability to resolve IT queries without needing to transfer to a live engineer. “We’re getting colleagues on their way, all very quickly,” said Packer.  85% of travel counselors report efficiency with AI Amex has 5,000 travel counselors who help customize itineraries for the firm’s most elite Centurion (black) card and Platinum card members. These top-tier clients are some of the firm’s wealthiest, and expect a certain level of customer service and support. As such, counselors need to be as knowledgeable as possible about a given location.  “Travel counselors get stretched across a lot of different areas,” Packer noted. For instance, one customer may be asking about must-visit sites in Barcelona, while the next is enquiring about Buenos Aires’ five-star restaurants. “It’s trying to keep all that in somebody’s head, right?”  To optimize the process, Amex rolled out “travel counselor assist,” an AI agent that helps curate personalized travel recommendations. So, for instance, the tool can pull data from across the web (such as when a given venue is open, its peak visiting hours and nearby restaurants) that is paired with proprietary Amex data and customer data (such as what restaurant the card holder would most likely be interested in based on past spending habits). Packer said This helps create a holistic, accurate, timely view.  The AI companion now supports Amex’s 5,000 travel counselors across 19 markets — and more than 85% of them report that the tool saves them time and improves the quality of recommendations. “So it’s been a really, really productive tool,” said Packer.  While it seems AI could take over the process altogether, Packer emphasized the importance of keeping humans in the loop: The information retrieved by AI is paired with travel counselors and institutional knowledge to provide customized recommendations reflective of customers’ interests.  Because, even in this technology-driven era, customers want recommendations from a fellow human who can provide context and relevancy — not just a generic itinerary that’s been pulled together based on a basic search. “You want to know you’re talking to someone who’s going to think about the best vacation for you,” Packer noted.  AI-enhanced colleague assist, coding companion Among its other dozens of use cases, Amex has applied AI to a “colleague help center” — similar to the IT chatbot — that has achieved a 96% accuracy rate; enhanced search optimization

Key takeaways: It is possible to get a business loan with no money, but lenders may require strong personal credit, a solid business plan, or collateral. Alternative financing options include microloans, equipment financing, business credit lines, invoice factoring, merchant cash advances (MCAs), and accounts receivable (A/R) financing. Choosing the right option depends on factors like business type, revenue model, and financial situation. Properly using and repaying your financing can help build business credit, increasing your chances of qualifying for larger loans in the future. Step 1: Strengthen your personal and business credit. When applying for a startup business loan with no money, lenders will closely evaluate your credit history to assess risk. If your business lacks revenue or assets, a strong personal credit score can improve your chances of approval. Start by checking your credit reports for errors and paying down existing debt to boost your score. Additionally, consider opening a business credit card or a small credit line to establish business credit. The stronger your credit profile, the more financing options you’ll have. Step 2: Create a solid business plan. A well-crafted business plan is essential when applying for a startup business loan, as it shows lenders you have a clear path to profitability. Your plan should outline your business model, target market, revenue projections, and how you intend to use the loan. Lenders want to see that you have a strategy to generate revenue and repay the loan, even if you don’t have upfront capital. A strong plan can make up for a lack of financial history and increase your chances of securing funding. Step 3: Choose the right financing option. Since traditional business loans can be difficult to secure without upfront capital, exploring alternative financing options can be a smarter approach. The best option depends on your business type, revenue model, and financial situation. I discuss each in detail later, but here’s an overview. Microloan is ideal for startups needing 1) small amounts of capital to get their businesses off the ground; and 2) access to mentorship and business training. Equipment financing works well for operations with machinery, tools, or technology, as the equipment itself serves as collateral. Business line of credit offers flexible, revolving credit, making them useful for covering ongoing expenses or managing cash flow as needed. Invoice factoring or A/R financing helps businesses with outstanding invoices access immediate cash without waiting for customers to pay. Invoice factoring involves selling your invoice to a factoring company to obtain immediate cash, while A/R financing allows you to use the invoices as collateral by borrowing against them. MCA can be a fast funding solution for businesses with strong daily credit card sales, though it often comes with high fees. Business credit card provides an easy way to cover short-term expenses while helping to build business credit. Step 4: Apply for the option that fits your needs. Once you’ve identified the best for your business, the next step is to prepare and apply. Each type has different eligibility requirements, so it’s important to gather the necessary documentation. For example: Microloan may require a business plan and proof of industry experience. Equipment financing typically requires a quote for the equipment and an assessment of your creditworthiness. Business credit line and credit card are often based on your personal and business credit scores. A/R financing or invoice factoring requires unpaid invoices from reliable customers. MCA is based on your daily credit card sales history. Before applying, check the lender’s requirements and improve your credit profile if needed. Having the right paperwork ready can speed up the approval process and increase your chances of securing funding. Step 5: Use the funds strategically to grow your business. Once you’ve secured financing, use the funds wisely to maximize your business’s growth and ability to repay the loan. Prioritize spending on essential expenses that will generate revenue — such as equipment, inventory, marketing, and operational costs. If your financing option involves revolving credit, such as a business credit line or credit card, use it responsibly to maintain a healthy credit profile. For loans with fixed payments, ensure you have a clear repayment plan to avoid missed payments or high fees. By making smart financial decisions, you’ll build your business’s financial strength and improve your chances of qualifying for more funding in the future. Mercury Venture Debt may be an option for startups that have already raised venture capital. It has a term loan that focuses more on the strength of your venture capital investors than on your business’s current cash flow. Visit Mercury for details. Best business loan types for businesses with no money Securing financing can seem daunting for entrepreneurs with promising ideas but no established revenue stream. However, several funding options exist specifically for pre-revenue startups and new businesses. Even with zero dollars coming in, these alternative methods can help transform your business concept into a revenue-generating reality by focusing on your potential rather than your current bank balance. Income minimum Time in business Loan term Interest rate range Microloan None 6 months+ 6 months to 6 years 7% to 15% Equipment financing Must be able to cover new payment + existing debt 6 months+ 1 to7 years Based on equipment lifespan. 6% to 20% Business line of credit $50,000 to $250,000 annually 6 months+ Revolving (ongoing) 8% to 60% Invoice factoring No strict minimum Depends on invoice values. ;$5,000 minimum for 80% advance rate No strict minimum Until invoice is paid Typically 30-90 days. 1% to 5% factoring value per month with 70% to 90% factoring advance MCA $10,000+ in monthly credit card sales 3 months+ 3 to 18 months Factor rates of 1.1 to 1.5 APR can potentially reach 350% A/R financing No strictminimum Depends on invoice values. 2+ years operating history preferred Until invoice is paid Typically 30-90 days. 1.15 % to 5% factoring rate with 70% to 90% factoring advance Business credit card Personal income requirements vary by card No strictminimum Personal credit history is important. Revolving (ongoing) 13% to 26% Microloan This is a great option if

By Vance Knapp, Kayla Panek and Alen Samuel ( April 1, 2025, 5:32 PM EDT) — Sophisticated artificial intelligence tools, if properly vetted, can be used during workplace investigations to identify and analyze evidence, conduct witness interviews, synthesize findings, draw conclusions, and draft a report…. Law360 is on it, so you are, too. A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions. A Law360 subscription includes features such as Daily newsletters Expert analysis Mobile app Advanced search Judge information Real-time alerts 450K+ searchable archived articles And more! Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial. source

Encuestas realizadas en 36 países revelan que el cristianismo y el budismo registran las mayores pérdidas por este “cambio de religión”  Este comunicado de prensa se ha traducido del inglés original al español. En muchos países del mundo, una quinta parte o más de todos los adultos ha abandonado el grupo religioso en el que se criaron. El cristianismo y el budismo han experimentado pérdidas especialmente grandes debido a este “cambio de religión”, mientras que un número cada vez mayor de adultos no tiene ninguna afiliación religiosa, según las encuestas realizadas por el Pew Research Center a casi 80.000 personas en 36 países. ¿Qué es el “cambio de religión”? A lo largo de este informe, el “cambio de religión” se refiere a un cambio entre el grupo religioso en el que una persona dice haberse criado (durante su infancia) y su pertenencia religiosa actual (en la edad adulta).  Utilizamos el término “cambio de religión” en lugar de “conversión” porque los cambios pueden producirse de muchas maneras, tanto como haberse criado bajo una religión a no estar vinculado a ella.  Contamos los cambios entre grandes categorías religiosas (como de budista a cristiano, o de hindú a no vinculado), pero no los cambios dentro de una religión mundial (como de una confesión cristiana a otra).  Para más detalles, consulte la sección Terminología de nuestro informe. Las variaciones en la afiliacion religiosa global varían mucho en todo el mundo, según muestran las encuestas.   En algunos países, cambiar de religión es muy raro. En India, Israel, Nigeria y Tailandia, el 95 % o más de los adultos dicen seguir perteneciendo al grupo religioso en el que se criaron.   Pero en Asia Oriental, Europa Occidental, Norteamérica y Sudamérica, el cambio de religión es bastante común. Por ejemplo, el 50 % de los adultos en Corea del Sur, el 36 % en los Países Bajos, el 28 % en Estados Unidos y el 21 % en Brasil ya no se identifican con la religión de su infancia.   ¿A cuales religiones se están cambiando las personas? La mayor parte de los cambios de religión son desvinculaciones: personas que abandonan la religión de su infancia y ya no se identifican con ninguna religión. Muchas de estas personas fueron criadas como cristianas. Por ejemplo, el 29 % de los adultos en Suecia dicen que fueron criados como cristianos, pero ahora se describen desde el punto de vista religioso como ateos, agnósticos o “sin ninguna religión en particular”. El budismo también está perdiendo adeptos por desvinculación en algunos países. Por ejemplo, el 23 % de los adultos encuestados en Japón y el 13 % en Corea del Sur afirman que se criaron como budistas, pero que actualmente no se identifican con ninguna religión.   Sin embargo, no todos los cambios implican alejarse de la religión. Algunas personas se mueven en la dirección opuesta. De los 36 países encuestados, Corea del Sur cuenta con el mayor porcentaje de personas que afirman no haber sido criadas bajo ninguna religión, pero que hoy profesan una (9 %).La mayoría de ellos (6 % de todos los adultos surcoreanos) afirman no haber sido criados bajo ninguna religión y ahora ser cristianos. ¿Qué grupos religiosos han experimentado las mayores pérdidas por el cambio de religión?     En la mayoría de los países estudiados, el cristianismo registra las mayores perdidas netas – es decir, las mayores proporciones de personas que abandonan frente a las que se adhieren.   En Alemania, por ejemplo, esta proporción entre cristianos es de 19,7 a 1,0, lo que significa que hay casi 20 alemanes que dicen haber sido criados como cristianos en la infancia, pero que hoy no se consideran cristianos respecto a cada alemán que se hizo cristiano después de haber sido criado bajo otra religión mundial o bajo ninguna religión.   La encuesta también muestra que el budismo está experimentando grandes pérdidas por cambio de religión, en su mayoría desvinculación, en unos cuantos países, como Japón, Singapur y Corea del Sur. Sin embargo, la proporción entre abandonos y adhesiones no es tan elevada como en el caso del cristianismo.   ¿Qué grupo religioso ha ganado más adeptos con el cambio de religión?    La categoría que ha experimentado las mayores ganancias netas por el cambio es la de los que no estan vinculados a ninguna religión.   En los países donde hay un gran número de personas que se declaran no religiosas o sin vínculos religiosos, son muchos más aquellos encuestados que reportan no estar vinculados, que los que se han unido a una religion tras haberse criado sin ella.  En Italia, por ejemplo, la relación entre abandono y adhesión entre los no vinculados es de 1,0 a 28,7. Esto quiere decir que por cada persona que se crio sin afiliación religiosa, pero que ahora tiene una religión, más de 28 personas dicen que se criaron bajo una religión, pero ya no la tienen.  ¿Existen diferencias por edad, educacion o sexo en los indices de cambios en la afiliacion religiosa?   La edad: En la mayoría de los países encuestados, los porcentajes de adultos jóvenes y mayores que han cambiado de religión son prácticamente iguales. Sin embargo, en 13 países, incluidas casi todas las naciones latinoamericanas encuestadas, así como varios países de Europa y Norteamérica, los adultos menores de 35 años tienen más probabilidades que los mayores de 50 de haber cambiado de religión.   Educación: En la mayoría de los países, las tasas de cambio de religión no varían mucho entre personas con distintos niveles de educación. Sin embargo, en 12 de los 36 países estudiados, las personas con mayor nivel educativo tienden a tener tasas más elevadas de cambio de religión.   Una vez más, la mayor parte de las personas que cambian de religión en cada nivel educativo es por desvinculación; en concreto, personas que dicen haber sido criadas bajo una tradición religiosa (a menudo como cristianos o budistas), pero que ya no se identifican con ninguna religión.   Género: Asimismo, en la mayoría de los países encuestados, los porcentajes de mujeres y hombres que han cambiado de religión son aproximadamente iguales.   Otras conclusiones claves