Screengrab from a video of two naval drones hitting a depot in Crimea on May 30, 2024.
Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Ukraine said it used sea drones to take out two Russian naval vessels on Thursday.
Footage shows one drone passing through heavy aerial fire to strike a patrol warship.
It's the latest Ukrainian attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which has been forced to disperse.
Footage shared by Ukraine's intelligence service on Thursday showed what it claims are two of its sea drones striking Russian naval vessels near Crimea.
The video, shared by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, features a sea drone dodging Russian fire, before exploding next to a Russian patrol ship.
Ukraine intelligence said the attack on the two ships was carried out using Magura V5 drones, and that Russia tried to neutralize the drones using combat aircraft, artillery, and small arms.
However, they failed to stop them from completing their mission, it said.
Business Insider was unable to independently verify details of the attack.
The claimed attack is just the latest example of Ukraine's devastating use of sea drones against Russian naval assets in the Black Sea.
In November, Ukraine said its sea drones hit and sank two Russian Black Sea Fleet landing ships at a port on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine ramped up sea drone attacks in February, with one attack taking out the warship Ivanovets using naval drones powered by Jet Skis, and another causing the explosion of the Black Sea Fleet's Project 775 Ropucha-class landing ship, the Caesar Kunikov, Ukraine intelligence said at the time.
A month later, it said it sunk the Sergei Kotov with a sea drone.
Despite having no real navy of its own, Ukraine has taken out about a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, according to estimates, and has forced it to limit its Black Sea operations and relocate vessels away from occupied Crimea to a port in Novorossiysk.
Saudi Arabia is selling more shares in its state-owned oil company.
The sale begins on Sunday, Saudi Aramco said.
The proceeds of about $12 billion will go to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and may aid the Neom project.
Saudi Arabia is selling more shares in its oil company, Saudi Aramco.
The sale of a 0.64% stake in the state-owned company will begin on Sunday and is expected to raise about $12 billion.
The proceeds are expected to go to the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund — the Public Investment Fund.
Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, said the offering would broaden its investor base and allow current and new investors to build positions at an "attractive" price in comments reported by The Financial Times.
The company paid dividends of $98 billion in 2023, a figure that is set to hit $124 billion this year.
The government of Saudi Arabia remains the largest shareholder in Aramco, which is the world's largest oil company by market value.
Aramco raised $25.6 billion in the world's biggest IPO in December 2019, selling 3 billion shares at 32 riyals ($8.53).
Shares have dipped about 12% this year to close at 29 riyals ($7.73) on Thursday. The offering will be priced at between 26.70 and 29 riyals.
The share sale comes amid Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to diversify the kingdom's economy and pivot away from oil.
The plan has involved big spending on sports, entertainment, and infrastructure.
The kingdom has embarked on a number of "gigaprojects" as part of the 2030 plan, including its Neom megacity.
The project, which is expected to cost at least $500 billion — with some estimates putting the figure at $1.5 trillion — includes the much-talked-about "The Line," a futuristic city in the northwest of the country.
But recent reports suggest Saudi Arabia has been seeking to borrow funds for the project, while also scaling back population estimates for The Line.
The Saudi government had previously said it wanted to move 1.5 million residents into The Line by 2030, but that number is now likely to be fewer than 300,000, Bloomberg reported in April.
And while the city was set to stretch 105 miles to the Red Sea, the Bloomberg report said that officials expected just 1.5 miles to be completed by 2030.
The PIF has also been hit with falling cash levels. In January, it said that its cash as of September had dropped to around $15 billion — the lowest level since December 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Saudi Arabia's finance minister said in April that while the kingdom was "very pleased" with Vision 2030 progress, "challenges" meant adjustments would be made to some aspects of the project. Those statements were later rejected by the economy minister.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin (C) walks out after a bilateral meeting with China's Defence Minister Dong Jun at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on May 31, 2024.
NHAC NGUYEN via Getty Images
The US and China's defense chiefs met for the first time in two years.
They discussed China's intimidation of Taiwan and issues around Ukraine.
Tensions are increasing between China and the US' east Asian allies.
US and China defense chiefs held their first face-to-face meeting for two years amid escalating tensions over Taiwan and Ukraine.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Chinese counterpart, Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the US Department of Defense said Friday.
The meeting was part of a bid to repair the China-US relationship, which has become severely strained. Last month, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, said there was a risk relations could "return to a downward spiral."
The meeting may be among the final opportunities to reset relations and deter Chinese aggression.
Taiwan tensions
Austin discussed China's military exercises around the Taiwan Strait, according to the Pentagon, and "reiterated that the PRC should not use Taiwan's political transition — part of a normal, routine democratic process — as a pretext for coercive measures."
The independent island is the main flash point between Washington and Beijing, with the US signaling that it would help defend it from China, which has long sought to bring it under its control.
Dong said that China opposes any US government intervention and that it regards Taiwan as an internal matter.
A central issue on the agenda was reestablishing communication channels between the militaries to head off potential misunderstandings that could result in direct conflict between the nuclear-armed powers.
Beijing's military drills last week, which were among the most threatening China has launched yet, were in response to the inauguration of President William Lai, a champion of Taiwan's independence who is hated by China's government.
China has also menaced US fighter planes and warships in the region, accusing Washington of seeking to encircle China and curtail what it claims to be its rightful regional ambitions.
The Pentagon said that "both sides will resume telephone conversations between theater commanders in the coming months," and Austin "welcomed plans to convene a crisis-communications working group by the end of the year. "
Ukraine remains a flash point
China and the US also clashed over Beijing's support for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, which analysts believe China sees as a way of damaging US global power. The US has accused China of supplying Russia with vital dual-use components for its military industry, but China argues that the trade is legitimate.
But amid a steep downturn in the Chinese economy, China's President Xi Jinping has also softened his stance toward the US in recent months as he seeks US investment.
At a meeting on the fringes of the APEC summit in San Francisco last year, Xi and President Joe Biden agreed to reopen military communication channels.
In April, in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Xisaid that the relationship between the US and China should be founded on "mutual respect, peaceful coexistence."
Analysts say the meeting between Austin and Dong is another positive indication of the desire to establish better communications.
"Even when direct diplomacy fails to resolve key issues, Washington's openness to engage demonstrates to the world that the United States is acting responsibly," Paul Triolo, an analyst at the Albright Stonebridge Group, posted on X.
"Moreover, such engagements provide opportunities to press the Chinese government to change its harmful policies, including support for Russia's war in Ukraine and other threatening actions."
The Pentagon emphasized in its statement that dialogue would continue.
"Department officials will continue active discussions with their PRC counterparts about future engagements between defense and military officials at multiple levels," it said.
But serious challenges remain."The trend for this year has been more engagement, more communications, but not more trust," Ian Bremmer, the president and founder of the political-risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told Bloomberg TV last month.
A Ukrainian drone pilot with a reconnaissance drone in Luhansk, Ukraine, August 19, 2023.
AP Photo/Bram Janssen
Ukraine's special forces have developed new drone tech that Russia can't jam.
Drones can now fly and hit targets without GPS or operator input, The Economist reported.
Russia and Ukraine are in a drone and electronic warfare arms race.
Ukraine's special forces have developed new software that allows drones to fly without the use of GPS, limiting the impact of Russian jamming.
The software, called Eagle Eyes, allows unmanned drones to travel using sight rather than satellite-based GPS navigation, The Economist reported.
It uses AI to compare live video of the area below the drone to a map made from photos and video that a reconnaissance aircraft previously collected, the report said.
This means that drones can keep flying even if Russia tries to jam them.
The software can also recognize targets, like missile launchers and tanks, and can drop bombs or fly into them without the drone operator needing to give the order, according to The Economist.
Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to NATO and former special representative for Ukraine, told the outlet that the technology could be a big factor in helping Ukraine turn the tide against Russia, but that it will take time to see how effective it is.
A Ukrainian serviceman launches a drone in northern Ukraine.
Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
A commander in a special forces corps called White Eagle, which is helping develop the technology, said the software is already being used widely, and is cheap enough to be used on kamikaze drones: drones that are destroyed on impact, making them ill-suited to expensive upgrades.
A White Eagle captain told The Economist that Russian jamming stations are the primary target, and Russia's S-400 air defense systems the second.
Both sides use them to conduct reconnaissance and to attack troops and weaponry — all while developing electronic warfare to try to make the other side's drones less effective.
That has led to a new arms race, as both countries try to develop better drones and drone jamming technology.
In May 2023, the Royal United Services Institute, a UK think tank, said that Ukraine could be losing 10,000 drones a month, mostly due to jamming.
Ukrainian soldiers watch a drone feed from an underground command center.
AP Photo/Libkos
James Patton Rogers, a drone expert at the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute, described the situation to Business Insider as "a battle within a battle."
"It's basically a cat and mouse game," Fabian Hinz, a drone warfare expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told BI, with both sides frequently making big technological leaps.
Ukraine has used cheaper, civilian-grade drones for much of the war, but those are particularly vulnerable to electronic warfare, making new and affordable software like Eagle Eyes key.
Ukraine had responded to Russian jamming efforts by building new types of drones and drone software.
This includes a new drone that Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for Innovation, Education, Science, and Technology, said late last year had a "powerful GPS antenna" that was resistant to Russian jamming and electronic warfare.
When Kevin Tien's restaurant abruptly closed in 2023, he took big steps to reopen it on his own terms.
Rachel Paraoan
When Kevin Tien's restaurant abruptly closed, he took steps to reopen it on his own terms.
All the unexpected costs of running a restaurant add up, so he gets everything he can out of his investment.
He says it's important for AAPI entrepreneurs to look for local advocates who can help on the journey.
Chef Kevin Tien opened his first restaurant, Himitsu, in 2018. It quickly became a local favorite within the Washington, DC, food scene with its spicy fried chicken and colorful crudos infused with Vietnamese flavors like lemongrass and garlic. As a son of Vietnamese immigrants raised in Louisiana, he brought Southern and Southeast Asian flavors to his restaurants, garnering awards and a cult following across the Washington, DC, metro area.
He subsequently worked as an executive chef for several other restaurants. His restaurant Moon Rabbit abruptly closed in 2023 when its landlord decided not to unionize, something the hospitality staff was pushing for.
Tien opened Moon Rabbit again in the Penn Quarter neighborhood a year later — this time, as the chef/owner of the restaurant. The road to opening has come with challenges, and Tien has learned a great deal in preparing himself financially to open his restaurant under his terms.
Have your finances in order before you start
Tien recommends having at least three months of working capital saved to offset unexpected expenses. As he got ready to open Moon Rabbit, he sold his home, used the sales profit, and withdrew from his wife's 401(k) to raise money to open his restaurant.
He knew he had to be more frugal to open his restaurant. "We also started limiting our expenses at home. As a chef, I like to go out to eat on my days off, but I realized that I had to buckle down and eat more at home so we could save money along with consolidating our bills. Overall, we're around $1,500 a month," says Tien.
He advises against borrowing from friends or family, noting that such decisions can complicate personal relationships. Tien highlights the unforeseen costs that can impact a business, emphasizing that it is often not the major expenses like rent or labor but the myriad of smaller, unanticipated costs that add up.
Additionally, he stresses the necessity of being fully aware of all tax liabilities, including payroll and sales taxes, to avoid future financial complications. In his case, he sets aside his monthly taxes and places them in a savings account to ensure the funds are there when it's time to pay.
Prioritize your business spending
Tien emphasizes the importance of having adequate financial preparation before starting a business.
"We used our savings and everything we had to open Moon Rabbit. And one of the most important things was getting equipment and supplies as we made revenue. We opened on a slim budget," says Tien.
He stresses focusing on the essentials as you grow your business. "Things don't always go well, so keeping an eye on the numbers is crucial. Because we are very personally invested financially, we grow the space as we generate revenue. Many people want to get everything they can right from the beginning, but that's always very expensive. We focused on getting what we needed to provide a very nice service," explains Tien.
Tien also recommends using a business credit card, which allows you to accrue points with purchases.
"I have a Chase business credit card," Tien says, "which gives me 3 points per grocery purchase, and our restaurant ingredients are considered grocery expenses. I turn around and use those points to buy other items, like paper goods."
Managing money and preparing for the future
"I used to be bad at saving money," Tien recalls as he looks back at his financial outlook. "Operating a restaurant can be difficult as margins are small, but I make sure to save every week, no matter how small the amount is. Sometimes, I only saved $20 in a week. Once I build enough, I move it to a CD account to accrue a higher interest rate."
He also has a side hustle consulting for other restaurants. As he provides similar consulting services for Moon Rabbit, he bills the restaurant his fee instead of taking a salary to keep his accounts separate.
Insurance is another essential expense for Tien. He purchases life insurance and personal injury insurance to protect himself financially in case of an accident. To get the best life insurance deal, he advises going with an insurance broker who can offer a bundle deal with multiple policies. "In our case, the same company that provides our workers' comp insurance also manages my life insurance policy."
Choose your partners wisely
Tien says it's important to choose the right partners in business, highlighting the value of long-standing relationships and mutual support. "For me, it's about finding the right people to be partners with. Many of our co-chefs and co-owners, like Judy Beltrano, Susan Bae, and Alan Vo, have worked with me since I was a kid at Momofuku. We have a relationship spanning over 10 years, where we understand each other intuitively," says Tien.
He explains that these colleagues supported him through the best and worst times, so he chose them as partners. "When things were at their lowest, they stuck with me and helped find solutions to create a business we are proud of," Tien adds.
Look for community resources
Tien contacted his friends in the tight-knit Washington, DC, restaurant industry to learn best practices in opening Moon Rabbit. "I have a lot of really great friends in the industry who helped walk me through the permitting and application process. I think this is the best way to do it," says Tien.
He stresses the importance of preemptively going through the steps of permitting and application before signing a lease, which helps expedite the overall process and save money by operating as soon as possible.
For AAPI entrepreneurs looking to lay their financial groundwork for starting a business, Tien suggests leaning into your local community. "Lean on organizations serving the AAPI and restaurant advocacy organizations for guidance. There are people in your local government are there to help and provide resources," he says.
Happy Friday! Ancient Egyptians still left us a few secrets as archaeologists may have just found a hidden chamber at the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
It's the first time a US president has become a convicted felon. According to a veteran court sketch artist who captured the moment for history, Trump looked "demolished" by the verdict.
It took the jury less than 10 hours over two days to reach a verdict on the case, which focused on a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels made 11 days before the 2016 election.
A key piece of deliberations could have been the judge's "rain metaphor" instructions. On Thursday, jurors asked to rehear the concept — you can infer it's raining by seeing a wet umbrella even if you don't see actual rain — suggesting they were weighing Trump's intent.
Trump's sentencing is scheduled for July 11, where he could face up to four years in prison, but don't expect things to move quickly.
You could even argue feelings about Trump, for better or worse, will remain unchanged despite the guilty verdict. If anything, it might cause supporters and detractors to dig their heels in deeper.
(Either way, I'm curious if you feel differently about Trump. Vote here.)
In reality, Trump's fate still comes down to November's election. Trump told reporters Thursday the "real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people."
Wall Street vets run through their greatest hits. Top investors like Rob Arnott and Bob Elliott detail the best trades of their careers and the lessons they learned from them. From a 93% gain in three months to betting big against the volatility index, these are the bets that stand out.
Elliott Management just raised a ton of cash. Here's what it's gonna do with it. Paul Singer's vaunted hedge fund raised $8.5 billion, according to a letter to investors seen by BI. The $66 billion firm is preparing for a potential market downturn where distressed opportunities, its specialty, will arise.
Tech-savvy hedge funds are hiring top AI talent. BI collected salary data from eight hedge funds and prop-trading firms for AI roles. Check out who's paying the most at firms like Bridgewater, Two Sigma, Jane Street, and more.
3 things in tech
A leak has exposed some of Google's closely-held Search secrets
The SEO industry isn't happy with Google these days. A trove of 2,500 documents containing highly coveted secrets about how Google ranks its search results pages was circulated this week. SEO experts said the documents showed Google hasn't always been honest when answering questions about how it ranks websites.
In more Google news, the company is scaling back its AI search plans. The tech giant's head of search Liz Reid confirmed in a blog post on Thursday that Google would roll back the use of AI-generated answers after the feature made several errors, including telling users to put glue in their pizza sauce.
Shopify; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
The Shopify Plus brand will no longer be used. According to a leaked internal memo, Shopify Plus, a more premium version of Shopify's SaaS product, has "outlived its usefulness." The company will stop referring to Shopify Plus as a stand-alone brand.
The housing market appears to be entering a recovery period. In a recent note, Charles Schwab said supply, price growth, and home sales all look to be improving from past conditions — but that doesn't mean we'll be seeing a booming expansion.
Laid-off TikTok staffers speak out. The company started letting go of employees across its ops and marketing teams last week after it had previously bucked the Big Tech trend by holding fire on cost-cutting efforts. Several ex-staffers told BI how they're feeling about the layoffs.
Elon Musk's X is planning a live town hall event with Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The platform is reportedly partnering with NewsNation and will show the events on both outlets.
The relationship between Trump and Musk appears to be warming up.
Elon Musk's X appears to be planning to host a live town hall event with Donald Trump.
The social media platform, which has been pushing toward video content, is partnering with cable network NewsNation and will air the events on both outlets, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Its unnamed source said a date for the event had not been finalized.
The Journal reported that X also plans to host a similar town hall event with rival presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
The plan would bring Trump back to Musk's platform, where he was previously an influential and active user before his account was banned following his supporters' attack on Congress on January 6, 2021.
Musk reinstated the account in late 2022 after he took control of Twitter, but Trump has only posted once since then.
The personal relationship between Trump and Musk also appears to be strengthening.
The outlet said the pair had discussed ways for Musk to provide input on border security and economic policies, though the title and details of Musk's role remain unclear.
Musk later denied the report on X: "There have not been any discussions of a role for me in a potential Trump Presidency."
The Tesla CEO also defended Trump after a Manhattan jury convicted him of 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush-money trial, calling the case a "trivial matter."
Despite the Thursday verdict making him the first former president to become a convicted felon, some billionaires are nevertheless revealing their support for Trump.
Chen was able to make $23,600 after posting five ads on TikTok.
Brian Young; Alyssa Powell/BI
Allison Chen studied to be a pastry chef and worked in a kitchen while attending Duke University.
She was passionate about baking but worried about pursuing a low-paid career after college.
After posting about her job on TikTok, Chen was able to multiply her income using brand deals.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Allison Chen, 21, from New York, about using TikTok as a source of income. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
During my sophomore year at Duke University, I decided to move to France for a sixth-month pastry school. I was a biology major then but had lost interest in my degree. I've always loved cooking, particularly baking, and I decided to take some time off from college to pursue that passion.
Since studying at pastry school, I've worked as a pastry chef and have been building a baking TikTok account alongside my degree. My creator side hustle has been much more lucrative than any of my work in an actual kitchen, but I still don't think I'll be a content creator full-time immediately after university.
I went to a pastry school in France
France has the best pastries, and during my semester-long break from Duke in 2022, I attended École Ducasse to get my pastry diploma. This one was the most modern of the pastry programs I looked at. My parents were paying for my college education, so I used the money they would have spent on the semester and put it toward pastry school instead.
I learned about fundamental pastry techniques and French desserts. We made things like chocolate, croissants, and ice cream. I went to school six hours a day, four days a week. The school was based in rural France, so it was also a nice change of pace. I feel so lucky that I could have this experience; it was life-changing.
I finished the program in June 2022 and did a stage — which is an unpaid internship — in a patisserie in Paris.
I knew that I wanted to finish my bachelor's degree, and returned to Duke in August. I started a part-time job the following January, working back-of-house as a pastry prep cook in a restaurant near my university campus. I wanted to continue to practice my baking skills in a commercial setting.
While at pastry school, I started making baking content on TikTok
I downloaded the TikTok app a month before going to pastry school. I had made a few TikToks before, but while there, I'd film the chef's demonstrations, showing what my pastry looked like and filming myself eating it at the end. I wanted to document my experience so people back home could see what I was up to.
My videos started to go semi-viral, and over a month into posting, I had a video that hit a million views. I shared videos daily, and people seemed interested in what I'd learn next. I didn't intend to monetize my videos, but when I got back to the US, brands started reaching out to me with deal offers.
Most brands I work with are in the lifestyle space; they want me to help promote their products to a college-aged audience. I've done ads for a TV show and language app in the past.
Most of the time, the brands let me plan the video. I typically cook or make a dessert in line with the company's theme or the product they were promoting. I'd promote the product in the video, disclosing it was an ad.
Content creation made me an income, but I wanted to work in a restaurant for the experience. It's always good to work in different kitchens to learn how they operate and to learn new skills.
I was able to make more from content creation than pastry work
My part-time job as a pastry cook paid around $17 an hour. I worked between 10 and 12 hours a week on average. When I left in May 2023, at the end of the school term, I'd made around $3,000 over the five months.
It solidified that being a pastry chef alone was not a lucrative career. While I would love to continue to bake all day, I'm not sure I'm cut out for the long hours and low pay of restaurant work.
When I was working at my part-time restaurant job, I posted five ads for three different companies on TikTok and made $23,600 — over $20,000 more than the $3,000 I made from the actual job.
I now have almost 350,000 followers on TikTok, around 260,000 followers on Instagram, and 200,000 subscribers on YouTube. In addition to the money I can make from brand deals, I make as much as $500 a month through these platforms, including YouTube ad revenue and the Creator Rewards Program.
Content creation has given me an extra source of income; I don't need to worry so much about my future salary
It's hard to be a really good pastry chef. It requires a lot of work and doesn't always come with appropriate compensation. I think it's cool I've been able to supplement my pastry work with money from content creation. But content creation is essentially freelance work, and the income isn't consistent, which can be stressful. I'm still making money from content and hope someday to turn it into my full time job.
I graduated from Duke in mid-May after switching my major from biology to visual media studies. For now, I think I will get a job in addition to being a content creator. I'm thinking of applying for an internship in marketing to try something different and then returning to a pastry shop when I start to miss baking.
Content creation has helped me to pay for more of my expenses. In 2024, I started paying for my college tuition, which has allowed me to alleviate that burden from my parents, who were paying for it previously.
It's also given me more professional freedom. When I get a full-time job, whether it's in marketing or pastry or something else, I can be more flexible about the salary I'm earning because I have this other source of income — I can do pastry work without having to worry about the low income from working in a kitchen.
An official Lego play area. Brick Fest Live was not affiliated with Lego.
Gerardo Mora
Brick Fest Live was promoted as the "UK's biggest Lego festival." It was not affiliated with the Lego company.
Instead, the "bleak" convention hall left fans feeling like they'd been conned.
The event is being compared to the disastrous Willy Wonka experience that went viral for being so bad.
British Lego fans were left feeling less than impressed last weekend after a convention dubbed the "UK's biggest Lego festival" turned out to be a "bleak" half-empty room.
Brick Fest Live UK was held from May 25 to 27 in the British city of Birmingham. It promised to bring fans a "jaw-dropping collection of brick creations from across the globe under one roof."
It was not sponsored by or affiliated with Lego.
The poster promised a Lego brick pit, life-sized models, floor mosaics, derby races, and a "glow zone."
Instead, footage from the event appeared to show a large convention hall with a few large models scattered about the room, a shop, and a small children's playpit.
The event's disappointing offering has been compared to the Willy Wonka experience fiasco held in Scotland last February, which went viral because it was such a letdown.
'It's as bad as that Willy Wonka experience in Scotland, hardly anything there, both of my kids were so disappointed," one mother told Birmingham Live.
Another attendee shared a video of his experience at Brick Fest Live on his Youtube channel, saying he paid $50 for a VIP ticket and was "filled with regret."
"Most of the event is empty space and piles of loose Lego," the Lego enthusiast, whose channel is called Block Party UK, said.
"It is one of the biggest cons I've ever experienced, and I've been coming to conventions for 15 years."
Fellow angry fans commented on the video, agreeing that the festival had been a disappointment and was "utter rubbish." Several said that they were demanding a refund.
"They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this blatant false advertising," commented a father who had brought his 10-year-old son to the event.
Brick Fest Live UK's website and social media sites were all inactive when Business Insider tried to contact the organizers.
A Brick Fest Live event in Worcester, Massachusetts, October 2023.
JOSEPH PREZIOSO/Getty
"We are aware that Brick Fest Live is potentially not delivering for adult-level enthusiasts, and there are elements of the show that are not of satisfaction for this sector of customers," Brick Fest Live UK said in a statement shared with The Sun.
It confirmed that it was considering customer feedback.
The convention originated in the US nearly a decade ago and is supposed to be a showcase and fan celebration of all Lego creations.
In a recent interview with the journalist and YouTuber Jon Youshaei, Jimmy Donaldson, AKA MrBeast, said some creators attempt to "copy and paste" successful content, while others are inspired by their peers.
YouTube is full of creators trying to imitate MrBeast's style. Some have the same type of thumbnail, same overlay text, and even visit the same places Donaldson does. Many even try to impersonate him by mimicking his voice and characteristics.
Youshaei said there's a difference between "plagiarism, which is not good, and remixing and elevating."
'Copy with taste'
He describes the latter as "copy with taste," which "is elevating the past, giving credit, and then blending from different sources."
Donaldson agreed that copycat content is noticeable because a creator will post a video where the only difference between his and theirs is their level of resources.
"We don't need someone else doing my videos with lower budget and less effort," Donaldson said. "We need people doing their own version of it with their own unique spin and taste."
Donaldson pointed to Ryan Trahan, a YouTuber with 15 million subcribers, as an example of a creator who was inspired by him but has developed his own original style.
"Ryan has his own voice; he's quirky," Donaldson said. "We need more people like that."
Ryan Trahan at The 2023 Streamy Awards.
Gilbert Flores/Getty Images
Xavier English, the founder of content creation agency Supermix, told Business Insider that simply copying the surface layer of a popular video is "missing the point."
While it may help in the short term by generating a good number of views, there will remain a lack of understanding about why it worked in the first place, and that will backfire, he said.
Creators that do this also "ooze fakeness," English said, which "audiences can smell a mile away."
"You could drop MrBeast at a Neanderthal campfire 50,000 years ago, and he'd probably tell a story with a 70% audience retention rate," English said.
"His content doesn't succeed because of what you can see on the surface or flash-in-the-pan trends. It's because of a deeper understanding of timeless human psychology."
Copycats are 10 steps behind
Katya Varbanova, the owner of content marketing firm Viral Marketing Stars, told BI that being yourself is in, and copying what others do is out.
"The difference between pioneers like MrBeast and copycats is that pioneers are 10 steps ahead," she said, "making it impossible for copycats to win because the pioneer is learning from and making mistakes the copycat hasn't even gotten to yet."
Knockoffs of popular creators aren't likely to win in the long run, Varbanova said, because "they'll always be a few steps behind."
The main difference between copying and inspiration is "lazy research," Varbanova added.
"Copying is where you simply follow what your competitors do," she said. "Inspiration is when your competitors' content is only one piece of the puzzle in your research."
Donaldson, for instance, started out performing challenges in his bedroom (like counting to 100,000 in one sitting). He gradually increased the ambition, budget, and scale of his stunts until he is where he is now: recreating Squid Game, shredding Lambourginis, burying himself alive, or stranding himself on a desert island.
Isla Moon, a fishing influencer and OnlyFan star, told BI it's difficult to find "a truly original idea" as a content creator. But copying is not the answer.
"It just leaves a sour taste in your mouth because it's simply a lack of effort on their part," she said.
Copying Donaldson will also not work because he has such vast resources that almost nobody else has access to, so any copycats are likely to be underwhelming.
"If you're basing your whole content idea on what someone else is doing, you'll run out of ideas eventually because you're solely dependent on what someone else is doing without throwing in anything new," she said. "It's just not sustainable."
Kaye Putnam, a psychology-based brand strategist at Freewyld, told BI that originality pays off in the end, not being a "secondary version" of someone you aspire to be like.
The key to building a strong brand is for creators to understand who they are and how they can express that to the world — looking inward before focusing on others for inspiration.
"Stop trying to model what success looks like," Putnam said. "Yes, it's natural to model success, but the less you try to be like someone else, the more attention that you get for your work."