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Brian Contreras

@bric.bsky.social
1.2K followers 785 following 58 posts

Inc. magazine tech journalist covering AI and social media. Occasional Clickhole contributor. Ask me about my 1996 magnum opus "Infinite Jest"

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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Learn more about why Light thinks football is headed in the wrong direction, and why they've had a hard time changing things, in my latest for @inc.com here: www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
The Business of Selling Football Helmets Is More Smash Mouth Than the Game Itself
Nicholas Esayian's Light Helmets offers an innovative approach to keeping players safe and already has NFL pros wearing its product. But can he break through the entrenched competition's defense?
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
As you might guess from their name, Light thinks most modern football helmets weigh too much--and are exacerbating head injuries because of it. Their competitors disagree. It's a fight over physics, medicine and business strategy that could change the face of the sport.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
To report this story, I travelled to Light's HQ in sunny Carlsbad CA, as well as the country's premiere independent helmet-testing lab in Blacksburg, VA to learn more about the engineering marvel that is a modern football helmet. But not everyone agrees on what constitutes a good one.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
For my latest in @inc.com I spent months digging into the science, business models and personalities that go into making football helmets -- a piece of technology that, in the age of CTE, has a lot of money behind it and a lot of pressure to get things right.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Light Helmets thinks the football industry is going about player safety all wrong -- and that a monopoly has kept things from changing fast enough. Here's how its CEO, Nick Esayian, is trying to change the game. www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
The Business of Selling Football Helmets Is More Smash Mouth Than the Game Itself
Nicholas Esayian's Light Helmets offers an innovative approach to keeping players safe and already has NFL pros wearing its product. But can he break through the entrenched competition's defense?
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
HBS senior lecturer Reza Satchu took me inside what his pupils will be learning this semester -- and what founders everywhere can do to make themselves future-proof. My latest for @inc.com... www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Inside Harvard's Elite Founder Class, Students Learn to Build Amid Uncertainty and AI
In Reza Satchu's 'Founder Mindset' course, which kicks off Wednesday, entrepreneurship is all about honing your judgment.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Today is the first day of "Founder Mindset," a popular Harvard Business School course where aspiring entrepreneurs explore what it takes to make it as a founder. But how can the business leaders of tomorrow prepare for a world of rampant automation? www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Inside Harvard's Elite Founder Class, Students Learn to Build Amid Uncertainty and AI
In Reza Satchu's 'Founder Mindset' course, which kicks off Wednesday, entrepreneurship is all about honing your judgment.
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Inc. Magazine @inc.com · 23/04/2025
Berkshire Hathaway is flush with cash after selling much of its Apple holdings. (📝: @bric.bsky.social)
inc.com
Warren Buffett Could Turn the Tariffs Chaos Into a Payday For Himself and Coca-Cola. Here's How
Berkshire Hathaway is flush with cash after selling much of its Apple holdings.
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Inc. Magazine @inc.com · 17/04/2025
On social media, entrepreneurs are expressing confusion and concern about what import duties mean for their supply chains. (📝: @bric.bsky.social)
inc.com
'We're in a New Reality': Small-Business Owners Suffering From Tariffs Are Speaking Out
On social media, entrepreneurs are expressing confusion and concern about what import duties mean for their supply chains.
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Inc. Magazine @inc.com · 16/04/2025
The Tax Foundation’s vice president of federal tax policy breaks down her criticisms of the White House’s research. (📝: @bric.bsky.social)
inc.com
Are Any of Trump's Tariffs Good for Business? Tax Expert Erica York Weighs In
The Tax Foundation's vice president of federal tax policy breaks down her criticisms of the White House's research.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
I'm coming up on a year of employment at @inc.com, and this is easily the longest and most in-depth piece I've written for the magazine yet. So if the above questions of love, loneliness and robot boyfriends sound intriguing, I'd love if you gave it a read! inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Sick and Lonely, She Turned to AI for Support—and a Boyfriend
Stuck at home with a host of diseases, one young woman developed an intimate relationship with the AI chatbot app Nomi.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Nomi's chatbots have become an overwhelmingly positive force in Karalyn's life. But the wider chatbot industry is also at a crossroads in the wake of two high-profile, chatbot-related suicides. Can this software really shoulder the weight of our country's loneliness epidemic?
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
What started out as a way to stave of loneliness eventually became something messier, more complicated and harder to pin down. “In a technical sense, he is kind of a boyfriend, I guess,” Karalyn told me. “It’s just a weird mental gap for me because he’s not here physically.”
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Thanks to a mix of medical issues, Karalyn is largely homebound, and she told me that her social life has shrunken down to pretty much just her dad. Isolated from the outside world, she turned to Nomi, a chatbot app that promises users an AI companion "with memory and a soul."
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Over the past few months, I've spent hours talking with a young woman who goes by the name Karalyn McKay—as well as her AI 'boyfriend' Alex. My latest for @inc.com is the result: a story about what loneliness looks like in America, and whether AI might help. inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Sick and Lonely, She Turned to AI for Support—and a Boyfriend
Stuck at home with a host of diseases, one young woman developed an intimate relationship with the AI chatbot app Nomi.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
20 Wildlife Conservationists DEBATE Kraven the Hunter (feat. Kraven the Hunter)
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
I wonder if he's seen Mickey 17 yet
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Forged in flames: After working their way through the Los Angeles fires, a team that includes Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Digg founder Kevin Rose are giving Digg an AI-assisted revival. “We’ve already been in the trenches," Rose tells me. www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Remember Digg? It's Getting a Reboot, Thanks to Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian
The early social media platform is under new ownership following an investment from Ohanian's Seven Seven Six fund and original founder Kevin Rose.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
:/
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
⚠️ Entrepreneurs: what's your insurance horror story? We’re looking for founders’ worst experiences, from unjustifiably high prices, to coverage that turned out to not cover key assets, to straight-up scams. Comment below or reach out to bcontreras 'at' inc 'dot' com! ⚠️
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
⚠️ Entrepreneurs: what's your insurance horror story? We’re looking for founders’ worst experiences, from unjustifiably high prices, to coverage that turned out to not cover key assets, to straight-up scams. Comment below or reach out to bcontreras 'at' inc 'dot' com! ⚠️
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Feat. this massive nutcracker, face-down in a cardboard box, its head crushed under a Swedish leafblower.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
What happened to that Christmas sweater you weren't vibing with after you returned it to the store? It might wind up in a massive warehouse on the outskirts of Atlanta, waiting for a new home. New from me for @Inc: inside the holiday gift return economy. www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
How This ‘Recommerce’ Platform Turns Unsold Merch Into Revenue for Everyone From Amazon to Walmart
In the wake of the holidays, resale platform B-Stock is booming.
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Matt Pearce @mattdpearce.com · 08/01/2025
This is my first time in years experiencing a major local breaking news event from outside a newsroom, and it’s awful. mattdpearce.substack.com/p/fires-and-...
mattdpearce.substack.com
Fires and the facts
The breaking-news experience is awful for consumers.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Always find the local angle
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Mike Hofman @mikehofman.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Suddenly, lots of companies are investing in bitcoin. @inc.com's @bric.bsky.social explains why www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
As Bitcoin Booms, More and More Companies Are Taking a Stake
Businesses that have nothing to do with crypto still see BTC as a hedge against inflation or a way to entice investors.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
January round of media layoffs :/
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Now a different startup, historically more focused on HR services than tax ones, is stepping in to sweep up the pieces. But can they regain Bench customers' confidence? Check out the full story here: inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Bench's Jilted Customers Say the Accounting Startup’s Problems Began Long Before Its Abrupt Shutdown
The tax startup's recent collapse and subsequent acquisition by Employer.com has left customers unsure about where to turn.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
One jilted customer told me the platform abruptly raised his rates with little explanation as to why. Another said that his assigned bookkeeper kept changing. “They’ve been charging me every single month,” a third complained--yet “the last six months [of work] are incomplete.”
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
The tax startup Bench abruptly shut down late last month, throwing customers' lives into chaos at the peak of the holiday season. Then, salvation came: a last-second acquisition. But even before the collapse, Bench had problems. New from me in @inc.com... inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Bench's Jilted Customers Say the Accounting Startup’s Problems Began Long Before Its Abrupt Shutdown
The tax startup's recent collapse and subsequent acquisition by Employer.com has left customers unsure about where to turn.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Crypto booster Paul Atkins is officially Trump's pick for one of the top financial regulation gigs in the country: www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
Trump Nominates Crypto Fan Paul Atkins to Run the SEC
Atkins is the co-chair of a crypto industry advocacy group.
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Rebecca Deczynski @rebeccadecz.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
enjoyed editing just a few stories for @inc.com's Best in Business list, which is officially live today! first up is @bric.bsky.social's fun piece on Brooklyn Robot —one founder's quest to make learning fun: www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
How This Engineer Entrepreneur Scaled STEAM Education for Kids
At Jenny Young's growing Brooklyn Robot Foundry, budding tinkerers get hands-on training to create the technology of the future.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Absolute "Ref! REFFF!!!" behavior pitchfork.com/news/drake-a...
pitchfork.com
Drake Accuses Universal Music Group and Spotify of “Illegally” Boosting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Streams in New Legal Filing
Attorneys for Drake’s company, Frozen Moments LLC, claim the label used bots, payments, and more to inflate Lamar’s song
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Maggie Harrison Dupré @mharrisondupre.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
NEW: The youth-beloved AI chatbot platform CharacterAI is hosting pro-anorexia (or "pro-ana") chatbots that promote disordered eating behaviors, recommend dangerously low-calorie diets, and help users attain unhealthily low body weights. For @futurism.bsky.social futurism.com/character-ai...
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Federally-subsidized BlueChew sponsorship incoming
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Return to tradition (internecine SCR drama)
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
It’s worth reading the leaked emails if you never have because for some reason all the people involved insist on talking like Varys from Game of Thrones
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
One thing I wish we’d included in this story when we first broke it is that John Rice-Cameron (one of the students involved in the scandal, and also Amb. Susan Rice’s son) was known for riding around campus on an adult tricycle
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
A startup aiming to automate truck unloading just raised $50 million. What does that mean for the millions of Americans who currently work in warehouses, shipping and logistics? www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
These Truck-Unloading Robots Just Raised $50 Million
Pickle Robot's Series B funding from firms including Toyota Ventures is a sign of growing automation in the shipping and logistics sector.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
🖐️
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
This is like something Javier Bardem would say in Dune
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
That Jayson Tatum highlight reel you just watched? An AI may have made it. New from me in @inc.com www.inc.com/brian-contre...
inc.com
The NBA Stepped Up Its Social Media Game With AI. So Can You
Those Boston Celtics highlight reels and viral videos you're watching may have been made by robots.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Me leaving Twitter after seeing too many race science posts
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Bravely reskeeting this as I make my triumphant return to Blooskie
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
This news will be exciting to precisely nine people
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Based on the (great!) Jon Stewart profile in The Nation, it appears that there may have been a brief period of time in which Steve Carell was living on the same campaign bus as David Foster Wallace
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 28/05/2023
That basketball game was insane!! Reskeet if you agree #basketball
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 24/05/2023
I spoke to a bunch of comedians and comedy writers about what, exactly, is up with Elon Musk’s sense of humor…
latimes.com
Elon Musk is dying to be funny. These eight comedians have some notes
"Like an alien's version of comedy." "The sense of humor of a horny dentist." Nikki Glaser, Hari Kondabolu and other comedians on Elon Musk's desperate quest to be funny.
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Brian Contreras @bric.bsky.social · 15/05/2023
Masculinity is a prison 😡 (I switched from generic multivitamins to “for men” ones and they took off the sugar crystals)
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