Tech Insider : Business, Style

Every morning, New Yorkers stop at chrome breakfast carts for coffee, bagels and doughnuts — a routine that fuels the city's workforce. But behind that ritual is a fragile industry built on large suppliers, early-morning shifts, and a permit system that has prompted street protests.

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Style
Woman holing baby and sign that says
Elizabeth Kennedy, a working parent of two, stands outside New York City Hall advocating for universal childcare.
Tech Insider : Business, Economy
Smiling woman in a camel coat standing in sunlight against a geometric black-and-white wall.
Keijhon Francis spent over a year unemployed before finding a new role.
Tech Insider : Business
A tall, slim white man gives an onstage presentation. Silhouettes of attendees are in the foreground.
Max Junestrand
Tech Insider : Travel, Business
The author posing in a black beret and cheetah-print coat on the steps of a house in New York City.
I left New York City to move back to my hometown in Upstate New York — there are some things I miss, and others I don't.
Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author and her family in DUMBO.
The author and her family recently took a trip to NYC and enjoyed doing touristy activities together.
Tech Insider : Business, Sports, Style
head shot of the CEO of EyeBuyDirect
Sunny Jiang.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sunny Jiang, the 41-year-old CEO and president of EyeBuyDirect, based in New York. It's been edited for length and clarity.