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The week is not off to a great start for much of the internet. In the early hours of the morning Pacific time, internet users around the world began experiencing issues with accessing various apps, websites, and platforms. Shortly after, a culprit emerged: Amazon Web Services (AWS)or, more specifically, an outage at Amazons cloud computing platform. Heres what you need to know about the AWS outage and what websites are affected. Whats happened? At around midnight Pacific time, internet users around the globe began experiencing issues accessing high-trafficked parts of the internet. Websites like Reddit, services like Lyft, and even apps from restaurant chains like McDonalds seemed to be down or working intermittently. The source of the problem was shortly found: AWS, Amazons cloud computing platform that hundreds of thousands of websites and services rely on, including Reddit, Netflix, Pinterest, Spotify, and more. At 12:11 a.m. PDT, the AWS Health Dashboard posted its first notification about the problem, stating that the platform was investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region. By 12:51 a.m. PDT, AWS confirmed increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region, and by 1:26 a.m. PDT, AWS said it could confirm significant error rates for requests made to the DynamoDB endpoint in the US-EAST-1 Region. But though the problem seemed to be affecting only the endpoint located in one region of the United States, any website, app, or service that ran data through that endpoint could be affected by its outageno matter where in the world the end-user was located. And that was bad news for users around the globe who were attempting to access some of the globes most highly trafficked sites and apps. What websites went down? Users around the world have reported troubles accessing dozens of websites, apps, and services, according to data compiled by DownDetector. As of this writing, the DownDetector home page is showing that multiple websites and services that rely on AWS are being reported as down, including: Amazon Amazon Alexa Amazon Prime Video Apple Music AT&T Chime Delta Air Lines Epic Games Store Fortnite Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Lyft Max McDonalds app Reddit Ring Robinhood Roblox Roku Playstation Network Signal Snapchat Spectrum Starbucks Steam Ubisoft Connect Venmo Xbox Network Xfinity by Comcast Zoom This list above is not exhaustive. Users of many other websites, apps, and services have also reported additional outages, including on Coinbase and United Airlines. Its also worth noting that some report being able to access select sites and services, while others report no luck while attempting access. What caused the AWS outage? Amazon has not yet mentioned whether a specific cause has been identified. A spokesperson for AWS referred Fast Company to its status page, which is still being updated with new developments. How long will the outage last? Its unknown how long the AWS outage will last or for how long your favorite site or service will be down. The last update on the AWS Health Dashboard, posted at 3:35 a.m. PDT and stated that the underlying DNS issue has been fully mitigated, adding most AWS Service operations are succeeding normally now. However, the same notice warned that Some requests may be throttled while we work toward full resolution. In other words, if you still cant access your favorite site or platform, its best to try again in a little bit. This story is developing . . .
Category:
E-Commerce
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday. Gregg Renfrew is back. Four years after the entrepreneur sold her clean skincare and cosmetics brand Beautycounter to The Carlyle Group in a deal valued at $1 billionand more than a year after she and the private equity firm shut down the company amid falling salesRenfrew today is officially launching Counter, a new company built on Beautycounter assets she acquired from Carlyles lenders. A season of learning Counter, which has been quietly selling products online since June 25, shares its predecessors clean ethos and uses some of its formulations. Renfrew also secured data on all of Beautycounters customers. But Counter is an upstart compared with Beautycounter, which reportedly booked $400 million in annual sales at the time of the Carlyle acquisition. Despite her considerable experience as an entrepreneurshe previously cofounded a bridal registry site bought by Martha Stewart Living OmnimediaRenfrew is, in many ways, going back to basics, focusing on profitability and listening to customers and sellers. I come into this today with a level of humility, she tells Modern CEO. I dont claim to have all the answers. Im in a season of learning. Beautycounters demise was indeed humbling. (My Fast Company colleague Elizabeth Segran offers a thorough recounting of the companys rise and fall.) Sales foundered and the company struggled to service its debt. Efforts to revive Beautycounter, such as a deal to sell its products in retailer Ulta Beauty, and changes to leadership, including the return of Renfrew as CEO in 2022, ultimately could not save the business. Renfrew says buying back the Beautycounter assets instead of starting a new company from scratch wasnt just a way of kick-starting a business. It was an emotional decision, too. To let the old company completely go and die when it pioneered, created, and led clean beautyknowing that it had been a very successful entity at one point in timeI didnt want to let go of all that, Renfrew says. She adds: My daughter Georgie was literally bawling in front of me saying, You cant just let this thing die. Mom, you worked so hard for so long. Second chances and lessons learned Renfrew is not the first founder with sellers remorse. In 2023, Ben and Nate Checketts took back control of Rhone, the apparel brand they started, from investor L Catterton. Sprout Pharmaceuticals founder Cindy Eckert sold her company to Valeant Pharmaceuticals (now known as Bausch Health Companies Inc.) in 2015 for $1 billion, then bought it back two years later because the giant didnt make reasonable efforts to commercialize Sprouts female sexual health drug. At Counter, Renfrew is applying lessons learned the hard way from the Beautycounter collapse. She is not the majority shareholder, but she says she has a high degree of decision-making authority. Her backers are mostly individuals, most of whom invested with her before. The one institutional investor came in knowing that we were going to do things a little bit differently, such as prioritizing profitability over growth. Profitability gives you optionality, she says. One of the things Im very acutely aware of is you dont ever want to be in a situation where youre not profitable. And if that means the business is slightly smaller and it takes longer to grow, thats okay, because your customers then know that youre going to be around in five years. Shes doing teleconference meetings with customers and sellers, asking whats working and whats not. Im seeking to understand and learn, she says, adding that she recognizes that were here in service of others who will afford us the opportunity to build a great brand and a great community. Counters success is by no means assured. The clean beauty category Renfrew helped create is now crowded with competitors, and the demise of Beautycounter left employees, sellersthe company sold through its website but also through so-called ambassadors who earned a commission on salesand customers in the lurch. Counter may have to, well, counter lingering negative feelings. Those who continue to purchase from us in this new companywe owe a debt of gratitude, Renfrew says. We need to treat them with the respect that they deserve. For Renfrew, one way of showing them that respect is, this time, to build a company thats built to last. What’s your approach to business longevity? If youre a founder or work at a founder-led company, what are the ways that your business is ensuring its longevity? Share your insights with me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com, and well include some of the best reader feedback in a future newsletter. As a reminder, Im soliciting nominations for Modern CEO of the Year via this form. Submissions are due November 21, and well share our pickor picksin a newsletter at the end of December. Read and watch: entrepreneurial second acts Cindy Eckert on buying back sexual health company Sprout Pharmaceuticals Chipotle founder Steve Ells wants to shake up restaurants with his new concept, Kernel Mark Lore on what it takes to be a serial entrepreneur
Category:
E-Commerce
Over the past few years, business leaders have lived through a masterclass in volatility. A global pandemic, supply chain breakdowns, surging cyberattacks, economic whiplash, and now the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence have reshaped markets in unpredictable ways. For many executives, resilience once meant little more than business continuity planning: extra servers, backup systems, and insurance policies. But the world we lead in today demands more. Resilience is no longer just about defenseits about growth. The organizations that thrive amid disruption are not those with the strongest walls, but those with the most flexible foundations. They are able to absorb shocks, pivot quickly, and find opportunity where others see only risk. In a landscape defined by constant change, resilience has become the ultimate competitive advantage. From Recovery to Reinvention When the pandemic forced millions of people to work remotely overnight, some companies stumbled, scrambling to rewire systems and processes on the fly. Others adapted seamlessly, scaling their infrastructure, safeguarding data, and even uncovering new business opportunities. The difference wasnt foresightit was resilience. Resilient companies dont wait for crises to test their systems. They build for adaptability from the start. This means modern digital infrastructure that can flex with demand, decision-making processes that prioritize speed and clarity over bureaucracy, and leadership cultures that empower teams to act quickly. Crucially, it also means a mindset shift: The goal is not to return to a normal that no longer exists. Its to reinvent faster than your competitors. Resilience Across Three Dimensions Leaders often ask where to start. My experience points to three dimensions that define organizational resilience today: infrastructure, decision-making, and culture. 1. Infrastructure that bends, not breaksDigital infrastructure is the invisible backbone of every modern business. If it is brittle, the business is brittle. Legacy systems that cant scale or integrate force organizations to spend more time fixing problems than creating value. By contrast, companies with modern, cloud-enabled infrastructure can adapt quicklywhether to reroute supply chains, scale up for surges in customer demand, or safeguard data against emerging cyber threats. For example, when ransomware attacks spiked during the pandemic, companies with strong cyber resilience strategiescombining secure storage, rapid recovery, and smart automationwere able to restore operations in hours, not weeks. They didnt just avoid losses; they preserved customer trust. And when AI applications exploded onto the scene, those with flexible, well-governed data environments could test and deploy faster than rivals still wrestling with fragmented systems. 2. Decision-making at the speed of changeIn uncertain environments, resilience depends as much on how decisions are made as on the data that informs them. Traditional hierarchies slow response times, with insights stuck in silos and approvals delayed by bureaucracy. Resilient organizations create clarity about who decides what and empower people closest to the action to act. They ensure data flows across departments so that leaders at every level have a shared picture of reality. This approach marries speed with accountability. In my conversations with executives, I often hear stories of how front-line empowerment made the difference in moments of disruptionretail managers adjusting inventory strategies in real time, or manufacturing supervisors reconfiguring production on the fly. These shifts didnt happen because the CEO dictated every move; they happened because the organization trusted its people to act on data-driven insights quickly, and ensured the data they rely on is accessible, reliable, and available where and when its needed. 3. Culture as the engine of resilienceInfrastructure and processes matter, but ultimately resilience is human. It is defined by how people respond under pressureand whether they feel empowered to adapt and innovate. Resilient cultures are built on trust and psychological safety. Employees who feel trusted are more willing to experiment. Teams that feel supported are more likely to take ownership. Leaders who model adaptability create a ripple effect that normalizes flexibility across the organization. This human dimension is often overlooked, but it is what allows resilience to scale. Without it, even the most advanced systems and strategies will falter. With it, organizations can turn volatility into a proving ground for growth. Why Resilience Now Means Growth It may sound counterintuitive to equate resilience with offense, not just defense. But the connection is real. When uncertainty is constant, the ability to adapt faster than competitors is itself a growth strategy. Consider how cloud transformation, once viewed as a cost play, is now enabling new digital business models. Or how investments in cyber resilience not only prevent losses, but also unlock customer confidencea critical differentiator in trust-sensitive industries. Or how AI adoption, grounded in resilient data strategies, is enabling companies to innovate while others struggle with integration challenges. In each case, resilience doesnt just protect the enterpriseit expands its possibilities. It shifts the narrative from How do we recover? to How do we reinvent? The Leadership Imperative The challenge for leaders is to stop treating resilience as an insurance policy and start treating it as a core strategy. That requires moving beyond siloed initiativesone group working on cybersecurity, another on supply chains, another on cultureand instead weaving resilience into every layer of the business. The most effective leaders Ive seen approach resilience as a flywheel: Modern infrastructure supports faster decisions; faster decisions empower people; empowered people innovate in ways that strengthen the system further. Over time, resilience compounds into sustainable advantage. Resilience used to mean survival. Today, it is the strategy that separates those who stumble from those who soar. For leaders, the priority is no longer defense against disruption; it is building resilience as the engine of growth.
Category:
E-Commerce
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