Tag: News

• Jeeva AI raised $9 million from Marc Benioff, Jack Altman, and Sapphire Ventures.
• The sales tech startup created an AI-powered platform to help users improve sales outreach.
• Jeeva AI plans to use the funding to enhance its AI models and expand sales and marketing.

Gaurav Bhattacharya came up with his idea for Jeeva AI, a sales tech platform, when he was struggling to keep his last venture afloat.

"Even though we sold to some really large customers, I feel like our downfall was that we were not super good at selling," Bhattacharya, Jeeva AI's founder and CEO, said. "It became a very technical, very hard problem for us."

So, the San Francisco-based company pivoted from a customer intelligence platform, keeping its own problem in mind.

"What we want to build with Jeeva is some kind of companion that truly helps anyone become a really good salesperson," he said, about the new product. "Just how Cursor is doing with coding."

The agentic sales platform just raised $9 million in funding from JLL Spark and Sapphire Ventures, along with investments from Jack Altman's Alt Capital, Marc Benioff, Launch Capital, Bonfire Ventures, Techstars, and Mucker Capital.

The platform, which launched this year, allows individuals or businesses to find leads and customers based on who they're already in conversation with and craft outreach across channels.

It's like a "coach" that follows you around on email and phone calls, Bhattacharya said.

Jeeva AI offers two pricing tiers: free and paid, where users can purchase credits in amounts of $20, $50, and $100. It has about 300 paying customers, including real estate giant JLL and energy company Whisper Energy.

To land new customers, the company transferred 2 cents on PayPal to prospective customers with a short note introducing the company and inviting people to share their "2 cents" on the product.

"We got the same amount of negative and positive reactions," Bhattacharya said. "We sent it to about 250 people, and about 50 of them booked meetings with us, 20 of them became customers. About 50 of them were like, 'This is the worst strategy, I would never do this again.'"

The company, which employs 20 people, plans to split the $9 million cash injection into two areas: half toward sales and marketing, and the other half toward product by improving its AI models.

Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Jeeva AI used to raise fresh funding:

• Alicia Keys says her kids help her recognize and heal her own emotional triggers.
• While parents often project worries onto kids, the singer said it's crucial to know when to step back.
• "I think that's why they're the most beautiful teachers because they bring to light what we have to see in ourselves," she said.

Alicia Keys, 44, says having kids has taught her some lessons about herself.

During an appearance on Sunday's episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show," Keys spoke about being a mother and how it has made her more introspective.

When host Drew Barrymore said that she's the type to "care myself to death" when it comes to parenting and asked Keys for advice, Keys said the goal is to embrace the experience.

"You have your instinct, and you know what you feel. And I think we also do have to learn how to separate ourselves from them, because I think that's a big point that you're bringing up," Keys told Barrymore.

The "Empire State of Mind" singer and her husband, Swizz Beatz, have a blended family of five kids, three of whom are from his previous relationships.

While it might be common for parents to project their worries onto their kids, Keys said it's important to recognize when to step back.

"Like, naturally, we do have our own triggers, and we do have our own histories and things that we're working through," Keys said. "And so knowing that they're so pure, you know, knowing that they are a clean slate and a pureness, we can almost take a step and say, 'Hold on, that's mine. That's not theirs. Let me just take a breather.'"

The singer added that it might be a "beautiful way" for parents to become conscious of unresolved issues they're personally working through.

"It's just like these things, they bring up things in you, and you're like, 'Ah, wait a minute. Is that me, though? It's probably me,'" Keys said.

"I think that's why they're the most beautiful teachers because they bring to light what we have to see in ourselves," she added.

Speaking to Bustle in 2021, Keys said that becoming a mother is "the reason I came into myself."

"I know for sure that prior to it, I still didn't know myself. I still didn't understand my own worth and importance," she said.

That same introspection is something she also tries to pass on to her kids.

In 2024, Keys told People that she encourages her kids to share their thoughts and trust their own intuition.

"If you don't know what you think or what you feel, it's going to be hard for you. I feel like I've spent a lot of time not fully understanding or not trusting what I felt, and so I want to teach them to trust their instincts."

• Ukraine's interceptor drones are countering Russia's new jet-powered Geran-3 attack drones.
• Russia has deployed 138 Geran-3 drones, which are faster and more advanced than Geran-2 models.
• Ukrainian developers are rapidly adapting drone technology to meet evolving Russian drone threats.

Russia's new high-speed attack drones are increasingly appearing on the battlefield, but Ukrainians said they've already destroyed some with cheap interceptors.

Serhii Sternenko, the leader of a volunteer organization specializing in donating drones to Ukrainian units, said on Sunday that the Sting — a locally built interceptor drone — successfully destroyed several jet-powered attack drones.

"A bit of a historic achievement," wrote Sternenko in his Telegram channel. He published a photo that appears to show the back of a jet-powered Geran-3 in the sky, indicating that the footage was captured by an aircraft fast enough to catch the Russian drone.

The announcement is another sign of how Ukraine is finding ways to fight the growing threat of jet-powered strikes, amid concerns that Russia's new drones are too fast to be reliably destroyed through inexpensive means.

On Sunday, Ukraine's General Staff said in a description of a monthly briefing for officials that Russia had already deployed 138 of the new uncrewed aerial systems.

This turbojet drone is the Geran-3, Russia's domestic version of the Iranian Shahed-238 long-range loitering munition. With an estimated top speed of 230 mph, the Geran-3 flies much more swiftly than its propeller-driven predecessor, which the Kremlin has been using to hammer Ukraine in large waves over the past year.

The Geran-2, modeled after the Shahed-136, flies at around 115 mph and is now the foundation of Moscow's bombardment strategy.

Russia regularly accumulates these mass-produced drones to send in large waves over the border, pairing them with hundreds of decoys to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. Kyiv officials have said Geran-2s can cost as little as $20,000 each.

A challenge for new interceptors

In response, Ukrainians are developing interceptor drones, or small first-person-view drones modified to fly at high speeds, as a low-cost way of countering the Geran-2. Each one typically costs between $2,000 and $6,000, and they're now considered a crucial part of Ukraine's air defense system, working in tandem with machine gun crews and a range of other interceptors.

The Sting, the interceptor mentioned by Sternenko, is one such drone that is frequently deployed. It was developed by the Ukrainian company Wild Hornets to fly at roughly 215 mph with four rotors.

Sporadic appearances of the Geran-3 over the last year, however, sparked fears that these interceptor drones would be too slow to catch waves of jet-powered Shaheds.

If that becomes the case, the war would resurface Ukraine's key struggle in defending against such large-scale air attacks: cost. The country is already strapped for resources and cannot afford to use traditional expensive missiles to take down cheap Russian drones.

The General Staff's latest briefing said Ukraine had destroyed most of the 138 Geran-3s used by Russia lately, but it's unclear through what means.

Senior Ukrainian officials told Business Insider's Jake Epstein last month that Russia is experimenting with the Geran-3 to test and probe Ukraine's defenses.

But they also said that Moscow has deployed the new drones in limited numbers. That would indicate that Russia has yet to move into mass production on the scale it has reached with the Geran-2.

The Geran-3 is significantly more advanced than the Geran-2, of which Russia produces thousands each month, with newer features such as a satellite navigation system that enhances resistance to electronic warfare.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone developers previously told Business Insider that they've been preparing for the possibility of the Geran-3 taking over the skies.

The deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, Pavlo Palisa, said in September that Kyiv had already developed drones "capable of fighting the Shaheds with jet engines." However, he did not disclose details about these new interceptors.

• Hilton's CEO, Christopher Nassetta, said he's not afraid of customers with problems.
• He said solving customers' problems makes them more loyal to a brand, rather than perfect service.
• Hilton has over 1.3 million rooms in 141 countries, with an additional 515,000 rooms in development.

Hilton's CEO said there's one surefire way to build loyalty with a customer.

Christopher Nassetta, the executive who has held the hotel chain's reins since 2007, said solving problems for his guests is the key to customer retention.

"People have studied problems and resolution, and it turns out that historically — and it's true to this day — that you build more loyalty with a customer when you have a problem, and you solve it well, than if you never had a problem," he said on a Saturday episode of Yahoo Finance's "Opening Bid" podcast.

"It sounds crazy, but it's true," he added.

Nassetta said that customers who don't face any problems with the service don't think much about it.

But he added, "If I had a problem and you've managed it really well, you think, 'Hey, wow, they care about me. They're really good at this.'"

The executive said that solving problems for customers is more effective than "begging forgiveness" and rewarding "a million honor points."

To that end, he said AI integration into the Hilton Honors app has been "the biggest game changer," helping the company resolve customer problems quickly.

When reached for comment, a Hilton representative directed Business Insider to a January 2024 news release about Hilton allowing its customers to text properties via its Honors app, SMS, WhatsApp, and other channels.

Hilton has over 9,000 properties in 141 countries, consisting of more than 1.3 million rooms. The company plans to add more than 515,000 rooms, per its October earnings report.

The company's stock has risen about 15% this year.

Nassetta's comments come shortly after another American hospitality giant, Marriott, made headlines in November for abruptly terminating its licensing agreement with short-term rental company Sonder.

Marriott guests staying in Sonder facilities received an eleventh-hour notice to vacate the properties, resulting in travel chaos. Previously loyal Marriott guests told Business Insider that the hotel's poor customer service had upended their trip and broken their trust with the brand.

Evan Nierman, the founder of Florida-based crisis public relations firm Red Banyan, told Business Insider last month that Marriott should have solved problems for affected customers rather than making them deal with rebookings and processing refunds themselves.

"The lesson is that hospitality companies earn goodwill when they take the burden off the customer," Nierman said. "Relocation, refunds, and clear guidance are essentials, not perks, during a crisis."

• Elon Musk says AI and robotics are the only way to solve the US debt crisis.
• He predicted that growth in goods and services would outpace inflation within three years.
• Musk said last month that his Optimus robot could eliminate poverty and the need for human labor.

Elon Musk says the US debt problem has only one escape hatch: AI.

Musk, in a conversation with investor and podcaster Nikhil Kamath published on Sunday, said that the only way out of America's deepening fiscal hole is productivity driven by AI and robotics.

"That's pretty much the only thing that's going to solve for the US debt crisis," said Musk. "It probably would cause significant deflation," he added.

The national debt reached $38.34 trillion as of November 26 — more than double its value a decade ago, per data from the US Treasury.

AI has not yet boosted productivity enough to push economic output above the pace of inflation — but that's about to change, Musk said.

"In three years or less, my guess is goods and services output will exceed the rate of inflation," he added.

Musk said the advancements in AI and robotics would bring humans to "the point where working is optional," likely in the next two decades.

Musk described this outcome as "universal high income," a world where productivity is so high, and goods and services so abundant, that people don't have to work to meet their basic needs.

Over the past few weeks, Musk has outlined his vision for how AI could remake the global economy.

At a Tesla shareholder event last month, the CEO said its Optimus robot could eliminate poverty and the need for human labor.

"People often talk about eliminating poverty, giving everyone amazing medical care," Musk said at the shareholder event. "There's actually only one way to do that, and that's with the Optimus robot."

Musk also said at the US-Saudi Investment Forum last month that money would "stop being relevant" in the future of AI.

"There will still be constraints on power like electricity and mass," Musk said. "But I think at some point currency becomes irrelevant."

Economists have long touted shorter workweeks from tech-enabled productivity boosts. John Maynard Keynes predicted in 1930 that future generations would work just 15 hours a week thanks to technological progress.

AI will transform the economy

Tech leaders have been vocal about AI's power to reshape the global economy.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told the BBC in an interview last month that AI carries the "potential for extraordinary benefits" but will also spark "societal disruptions."

"It will create new opportunities," said Pichai. "It will evolve and transition certain jobs, and people will need to adapt. And then there will be areas where it will impact some jobs, so as a society, I think we need to have that conversation."

Investor Vinod Khosla said in September that AI will eventually handle 80% of the work in 80% of jobs, a shift he said will erode the value of human labor and give people more free time. To avoid a spike in inequality, Khosla said governments will need to adopt a universal basic income.

Not everyone believes the benefits of AI are positive and equally distributed. Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the "godfather of AI," said in an interview with the Financial Times that while AI will generate a "huge rise in profits," most of that wealth will flow to a small group of people at the top.

"It will make a few people much richer and most people poorer," Hinton said in September, adding that AI is likely to create "massive unemployment."

He said the problem isn't the technology itself, but the "capitalist system" that determines who captures the value AI creates.

• Schonfeld has hired Citadel CFO Andrew Philipp as co-president, per an internal memo.
• Philipp, a former Goldman Sachs partner, will share the title with current president Andrew Fishman.
• Schonfeld has bolstered its senior ranks this year to better compete with the industry's top funds.

Schonfeld is adding more firepower to its senior ranks as the firm eyes further expansion in the highly competitive multi-strategy hedge fund space.

The $15.5 billion hedge fund has hired Andrew Philipp, the chief financial officer of hedge fund giant Citadel and its sister trading firm Citadel Securities, as co-president, according to an internal memo from CEO Ryan Tolkin that was seen by Business Insider.

"Andrew, currently the Chief Financial Officer of Citadel and Citadel Securities, will play a crucial leadership role at the firm as we continue to scale strategically, partnering closely with me, our current President Andrew Fishman and other senior leaders, while also acting as an ambassador to clients, major counterparties and talent," the memo reads.

Philipp, 43, is leaving Citadel after four years and will start the new role in September 2026. He will share responsibilities with Fishman, 66, who is staying on as co-president, according to the memo. Fishman joined Schonfeld in 2000 and has been president since 2004.

Representatives for Schonfeld and Citadel declined to comment.

Philipp's team at Citadel will report to COO Gerald Beeson in the interim until the firm hires a replacement, according to a person familiar with the matter. Beeson previously served as CFO for 18 years, prior to Philipp's arrival.

Landing one of the hedge fund industry's top young executives is a win for Schonfeld and marks the latest major C-suite hire as Tolkin aims to fortify the firm's position and better compete with industry heavyweights such as Millennium and Citadel.

This summer, Schonfeld hired Michael Grad, former head of business development at BlueCrest, as its chief investment initiatives officer, and Tracy Backofen, a longtime leader at Goldman Sachs, as global head of human capital management.

Philipp began his career as a trader at Goldman Sachs, where he spent 16 years, rising to the position of partner and holding titles such as global chief market risk officer and chief risk officer for EMEA. He joined Citadel in 2021.

"His hire is a continuation of our multi-year efforts to enhance the depth and breadth of our senior leadership team, to support the growth and increasing complexity of our business," Tolkin said in the memo.

Schonfeld's rapid ascent earlier in the decade stalled in 2023, when a string of losses and investor outflows pushed the firm to scale back and briefly weigh a potential tie-up with Izzy Englander's Millennium. Tolkin has long envisioned Schonfeld operating in the same league as Millennium and Ken Griffin's Citadel.

The firm regained its footing in 2024, delivering a 19.7% gain in its flagship Partners fund — outpacing many competitors. The fund was up 8.4% as of October.

• Burned out from her job at an LA startup, Maria Laposata made a travel spreadsheet with her husband.
• The list inspired her to suggest quitting their jobs and traveling the world for a year.
• She thought the gap would hurt her résumé. Instead, it helped her stand out in interviews.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maria Laposata, 32, the founder of travel consultancy Travelries. Her words have been edited for length and clarity.

Life made me realize I needed a break.

My husband and I had moved in together just before the pandemic, and our one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles had become both our offices. We were making it work, but I could feel the walls closing in.

We both love to travel, so in an effort to dream a little, I said, "Let's make a list of all the places we want to go." I'm a bit of a spreadsheet nerd, so I took his list and mine, ranked them, and combined them into one massive spreadsheet. It was my little form of stress relief.

At the time, I was working on the operations team at a startup in LA, and my schedule had become a lot more intense. I opened my laptop at 7 a.m. and closed it at midnight. I loved my job, but I was feeling burned out. On the rough days, I'd look at that list and dream about African safaris or going to Antarctica.

One morning, while my husband was making me a cappuccino, I decided to pitch the idea to him: "Hey babe, what if we quit our jobs and traveled around the world for three months?" And he said, "OK, sounds good." That's very him: calm, chill, no big reaction.

Planning for the trip

If we were going to take the risk of leaving our jobs, we wanted it to feel worth it. We decided the trip should last for a year, and it took us time to save and work through the logistics. Two years later, we both handed in our resignations.

We set a $75,000 budget for the trip, which included everything from our Netflix subscription to the storage unit we rented. My manager was excited for me, but our families had a lot of questions: How would they contact us? Was it safe? What about diseases?

Before the trip, I was worried about snakes in Africa and tsunamis in Southeast Asia — which is funny, because I live in Los Angeles on the Ring of Fire.

My biggest concern was that a career gap would look like a black mark on my résumé. That ended up being completely false.

After we finished our lease in LA — and convinced my mother-in-law to watch our cats — we were off.

Around the world in 365 days

We started our trip in Rome, where we'd enrolled in Italian school for two months. Walking through our neighborhood that first night — Aperol spritzes on tables, music in the air, a cat watching us from a balcony — it felt like Rome was saying, "You made the right call."

The next morning, we walked to class past the Colosseum and Pantheon before the tourists were out.

One of the moments that really changed me happened halfway through the trip, when I turned 30. We were in Gili Air, a tiny island near Bali, on my birthday.

Even in paradise, I found myself questioning whether I mattered at all — away from the birthday emails and office cakes that usually mark the day back home. I told my husband, "I've realized I don't matter," and he stopped and said, "But you mean everything to me."

I'd always said he was my top priority, but in reality, work had always come first. In that moment, I realized how wrong I'd been — and how much I needed to start actually living my life by what mattered most.

Returning to LA

We decided to spend the last six months of the trip focusing on our job search and building skills. My husband built an app while we traveled, and I reconnected with former colleagues so it wouldn't feel out of the blue when I reached out later.

When the plane landed and the pilot said, "Welcome home to Los Angeles," it hit me that I had never pictured that moment. I'd imagined so many scenes from our trip, but never the return.

My husband and I both received job offers on our last day abroad, and I returned to work quickly. I was terrified I'd slip back into old habits — the workaholic version of myself who didn't know how to be any other way. But this time, I really wanted to change.

I wanted my husband to be at the top of my priorities list — because he's the reason I matter. When I think back on those moments, I'm grateful that we took that trip. I'm a profoundly different person because of it.

What came next

When I was laid off last August, I didn't rush to apply for new jobs. Instead, I returned to an idea I'd had during our trip — how little support there is for people who want to travel long-term. That's when I started Travelries, a company that helps adults plan gap years and travel sabbaticals.

In the end, the career gap on my résumé ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made — and a guaranteed conversation starter in every job interview.

Do you have a story about taking a gap year that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: akarplus@businessinsider.com.

• A 22-year-old student shares what it's like to build an AI startup while still in university.
• Komy A said not living the full school experience is challenging.
• Still, he tells BI that college students shouldn't wait for the "right time" to start a startup.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mahmoud Ashraf Mahmoud Mohamed, a 22-year-old founder who goes by Komy A. He's a final-year university student at the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation in Kuala Lumpur. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified his employment and academic history.

While pursuing my bachelor's degree in cybersecurity in Malaysia, I began working in 2023 for a UK company that developed software solutions.

When OpenAI dropped their AI, I could bring it into any software that I write. I started automating some parts of my job with AI. At some point, I had a full AI system with agents that was automating for four clients at a time.

There was so much potential in this. I was excited about it and decided to leave my job and do that full time with an AI agent-focused startup, and I started Genta AI in November 2024.

We scaled the team quite fast and hired a few senior people with over 10 years of experience in software development.

Building a startup in school can get lonely

I've always worked while in school, but starting a business, I was surprised that there's a lot to do. After starting Genta, I barely have time to go to school. I usually have a handful of meetings a day.

Even though everyone around me has asked me to slow down and focus on finishing my degree, I can't. I always have Genta as my priority.

I'm worried about my last year of school. We're scaling fast, and I'll get busier. I even sometimes think about dropping out, but I don't want to do that.

Sometimes, it's a bit sad not to live the full school experience. You give up a lot on social life, building friendships in university, and fun things you should be doing at this age.

I rarely attend campus events, student clubs, activities, or social gatherings. Over time, that created a distance between me and the typical university experience.

It gets lonely. Everyone around you is living a completely different life. That's the hardest part about it.

A day in my life as a student founder

I start my day around 8 a.m., checking emails, Slack, and work updates. Then I head to campus and attend classes, mostly for attendance. I usually work during lectures.

I try to avoid scheduling calls during class hours, but things often overlap. Sometimes I have to leave mid-class or skip entirely.

After school, I move to a coworking space or a café and continue working and taking calls until around 7 to 8 p.m.

When I get home, I start working on our US-based accounts until 1 to 2 a.m. because of the time zone difference. I usually use the time on weekends to focus on Genta's internal growth.

Sometimes, on Sunday, I try to disconnect for a few hours by taking bike rides outside the city, swimming, or catching up with friends and family — anything that isn't work or university-related.

Living this way for almost a year hasn't been easy, but I've gotten used to it, and I've grown to love the rhythm.

Age shouldn't stop you from being a founder

I don't buy that age is a barrier to starting a company. But it can be a problem, especially when working with bigger clients.

There are a lot of clients that I could have done so much for, but the main reason we didn't proceed is because of how young I was and how new the company was.

Tech, especially AI, is such a new technology. It needs people who can move, learn, and adapt fast, which you usually see among the younger generation.

Many clients actually try to take advantage of me. They say, "He's young, he doesn't have much," and then they try to get more work for free, or they try to cut the price.

That is disrespectful to do purely based on age. I try to prove myself and gain that respect with work, focusing on getting the ROI. Then they don't just respect you, but they want to work with you.

One of the trickiest things for me is being a manager. It's a new experience, and I always try to be as nice and as chill as possible with my team. I hate micromanaging and having to be bossy, but I expect a lot from my 16-member team, which is spread across countries.

The more I experience, the more I realize that there's still much I need to work on.

College students should never wait until something happens or until they reach a certain level to start. Do now, learn later. You'll only figure it out once you start. You should not know everything.

Do you have a story to share about being a young AI founder? Contact this reporter at cmlee@insider.com or Signal at @cmlee.81.

• My friend had two spare Oasis tickets, but I could only take one of my twin sons.
• We showed up three hours early, and the wait became its own experience.
• One-on-one time with one of my twins rarely happens. We'll both remember this night forever.

When a friend offered me two spare tickets to the sold-out Oasis concert, I jumped at the chance. Then I realized I'd have to choose which of my twin sons to take. To make it fair, I sent both the same message: "Who wants to see Oasis with me? I can only take one of you."

Of course, Charlie replied instantly, as they're his favorite band. We had a year until the concert, and Charlie spent it playing Oasis constantly. Most nights, I'd hear him belting out Oasis songs from the shower.

I didn't anticipate the concert to be one of my most memorable experiences.

Twelve months later, we were ready

Our general admission tickets meant arriving early to get a good position close to the stage. We showed up at 5:30 p.m. for the 8:45 show, both wearing the Oasis jerseys I'd bought the day before. People had been queuing since six in the morning, and I worried we'd be stuck far from the stage. So when we ended up four rows from the front, I couldn't believe it.

I sent Charlie for food and drinks, giving him my credit card, which is always a risky move. He came back with burgers and beers. When he suggested another round, I was surprised. He doesn't drink much, and never with me. We ended up having several beers while watching three levels of the stadium fill up around us, thousands of people taking their seats far above, as we stood just feet from the stage.

We talked about which songs we were looking forward to most and whether his friends who'd chosen seats had made the right call. It was just the two of us, without his brother there to rib him or fight for attention like they do at home. Charlie wasn't even scrolling through his phone like he usually does. Standing for three hours should have been tiring, but we were too busy drinking and talking to notice.

The lights dimmed, and 60,000 people roared

When Oasis walked onstage, I looked over at Charlie. His eyes widened, and he broke into a grin, starting to clap and cheer. For the next two hours, we sang and danced together. All that shower practice paid off because Charlie knew every word to every song. His enthusiasm outmatched his voice.

The moment that stands out was when they played "Half the World Away," a ballad that only devoted fans would know. Charlie pulled out his phone and filmed it. He never takes photos or videos, not even on family trips to Disney or New York.

During the final song, "Champagne Supernova," we had our arms around each other, singing at the top of our lungs.

The expensive night was worth it

After six hours of standing and dancing, my legs ached. As we walked to the train station, Charlie pulled out his phone and posted the video he'd filmed to Instagram. He posts maybe twice a year.

Raising identical twins means they do everything together. Same age, same interests, always a pair. Time alone with just one of them almost never happens. That night, from the moment we put on those jerseys until we walked out of the stadium with our arms around each other singing, it was just Charlie and me.

There's something special about Oasis being the soundtrack to both our lives at the same age. They were my favorite band at university, and now they're Charlie's. Every time I hear an Oasis song now, I'll think back to this concert.

It cost $1,000, and it's the best money I've spent all year.

• At 41 years old, I moved in with my 88-year-old grandmother.
• My personal circumstances made it relatively easy for me to slip into the role of caregiver.
• My grandma and I enjoy watching TV together, but caregiving isn't easy.

A little more than two years ago, I woke up in my childhood bedroom for the first time in more than three decades.

I wasn't home just for a visit. In fact, I wasn't even back with my parents. At 41 years old, I moved in with my 88-year-old grandmother to take care of her. (I call her Mamaw as any good Texan kid would.)

All along, my family knew that one day the Mamaw would no longer be able to live alone. Since my grandmother refused to give up her own home, I offered to move in.

It made the most sense for me to move in with Mamaw

When I was a kid, Mamaw, Mom, and I lived together in this house. Mamaw became like a secondary parent to me. Over the course of four years, she taught me the joys of old musicals and playing card games that were way too advanced for 7-year-olds.

Now that I'm in my 40s, I'm living with Mamaw again because it makes the most sense. The logistics were a lot easier than my mother uprooting her life and taking on the primary caregiver role.

As someone who is single with no children and no mortgage, it made the most sense for me to move in. Not having to worry about selling a home or uprooting a family to move in with Mamaw made the process relatively seamless — aside from moving all the books.

Thankfully, I'm not doing this alone. My family has concocted its own version of the sandwich generation. A recent layoff made my working situation a little more complicated right as Mamaw needed some extra care. Now, my mom comes over most weekdays to take care of home health visits, appointments, and other caregiving tasks while I work and job hunt.

Living with my grandmother isn't easy, but there are bright moments

I'm not trying to be a martyr here. Moving in with Mamaw wasn't some selfless sacrifice for which I expect a pat on the back. I genuinely enjoy her company, and we get along great when she isn't refusing to eat lunch or using my cat napping in her lap as an excuse not to do her physical therapy.

I've introduced her to the wholesomeness that is "The Great British Bake Off "and the brutality of playoff hockey, and heck, she was even strangely fascinated by watching my marathon sessions of "Animal Crossing."

Don't get me wrong, though: it's not always easy. There are doctors' appointments, home healthcare sessions — all while trying to juggle work meetings, and the ever-present battle to keep her eating and drinking enough.

I'm enjoying the last few years I have left with her

Now at 90 years old, it's hard to ignore the changes I've seen in her health in just these two short years.

Circumstances have put us together time and time again over the years. She's been there for me more times than I can count, and I'm only too happy that I'm in the situation to be able to return that favor.

Plus, who else is going to watch "Jeopardy" with me every weeknight?