The Best One Yet - 🧋 “Anti-Slop Coffee Shop” — Claude’s AI café. Vulcan’s patriotic mine. Buldak’s $8B noodles. +Downpayment Work Perk.

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

Why did an AI brand open an NYC coffee shop?... Claude’s throwing shade at ChatGPT.China’s cutting off rare earth metals to America… So Vulcan raised $65M for Made in USA ones.Gen Alpha’s favorite brand is Buldak ramen noodles… but they’re so spicy, they got banned.Plus, the hot new work perk?... A downpayment on a home.$AMZN $MP $SPYNEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Saviche Wednesday, October 15th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. I'm sorry, Jack, I'm checking the cows, and we are halfway to Halloween, baby. Besties, this is your warning pod. It's October 15th. You need a semblance of a concept of an idea of your Halloween costume. Yeah, no pressure, Besties, but I'm feeling the pressure. I'm clueless right now. But Jack, we have that thing. We're working on that thing. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The couple's costume. All right, but in the meantime, Yeti's Jack and I had three fantastic stories for today's Tea boy, Jack, what's on the show?

For our first story, Gen Alpha, the generation younger than Gen Z is obsessed with one company. Bulldog ramen noodles. Bulldogs is now an $8 billion dollar noodle business because it's so spicy, it got banned. For our second story, on November 6th, China is cutting off rare earth metal exports. to the United States. So Jack and I are looking at the company that raised 65 million bucks for a patriotic metal mine. That company is Vulcan. The Vulcan. And our third and final story, why did an AI chatbot open up a coffee shop in New York City? And why does that coffee shop have a line going around the block? Claude's anti-slop coffee shop has a real purpose and here's what it is.

Throw shade, chat GPT. But yet he's before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Sam, all LAT for Sam Altman? For years now, yeties, Nick and I have been keeping track of the ultimate corporate competition. Oh, we got it up on the whiteboard. Whose office offers the best work perks? Well, the newest work perk is by far the biggest, at least financially speaking. Because that work perk, which is a tongue twister, by the way, is down payments.

That's right. Some Bay Area companies are offering down payment assistance as an employee benefit. It's called the 20% down workberg, baby. Here's the story. Businesses want employees to live closer to the office to shorten their commutes. Okay, but the problem with that, Jack? There's nothing in San Francisco, and I mean nothing under a million dollars. It's a seven-digit city.

It's a seven-digit city. And with high interest rates, they're double as expensive. So, cash-rich companies are offering cash stipends or low-interest loans for near-buy housing. And you know what? If you do live closer to your work, you'll probably go to work more often. So, Jack, it's kind of a work perk to benefit the employee and the employer. You're joining the company? Here's a 0% loan for that apartment downtown.

Oh, you're coming on board with Frank from finance. Here's 50K for that condo. Now, so far, it's mostly hospitals, universities, and local governments that are offering these down payment assistant perks. Honestly, we are shocked. Zuck has not zucked this idea yet. Zuck, this is an idea we actually want you to copy. Totally.

This ain't Snapchat. It's housing. So, Yeties, the next time your company does an all-hands meeting and you have the chance for Q&A? Here's what you ask. Excuse me, when are we getting the down payment work perk, please? Yeah, I know everyone's really excited about the free kombucha tap. A condominium would be nicer. Just don't have the room with my boss. Jack, let's sit on our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm.

Jack Nick T-ticks. 50%. That's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know you know, because We're ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Our first story. The hottest brand among American kids right now? It's Bulldox ramen noodles. This South Korean company is now worth $8 billion because they're so spicy.

They're illegal. But first, we got to begin with an apology, Jack, because, sorry, Gen Z. Demographers are already turning their attention to a younger, generation. I remember being so bummed when millennials became second fiddle to Gen Z. Now Gen Z's second fiddle to Gen Alpha. Because Yeti is everyone under the age of 15 years old is officially Gen Alpha. And their favorite brand? It's not Labuobo Dolls, Roblox, or Abercrombie. Their favorite brand is a food you've probably never heard of. South Korea's Bulldog noodles. Bulldog is the Crafts Mac and Cheese for the youngest generation of Americans.

Bulldog noodles is the sole food for the preteens out there. There's a TikTok video of a girl getting gifted bulldog noodles for her seventh birthday. When she pulls it out of the bag, she is so overwhelmed with joy that she starts crying. This gift of a noodle got 60 million views on TikTok. Now, Nick and I used to eat ramen noodles when we were kids too. You'd boil the waddle, cook the noodles, mix in the powder patch of flavor and eat it. But I'm sorry, Jack. Top ramen and cup of noodle never gave us emotions for carbohydrates quite like Bulldog Noodles is doing. We are in

the middle of the Bulldog noodle boom and it's driven by your niece probably. So Besties, Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style and the numbers are going to make you sit down, stand up and ask for a napkin again. We always get excited when the popular product, DeJure, is part of a publicly traded company like this one. Oh, yeah, yeah. This is a pure play. Slurp stock if I've ever seen one, Jack. Yet he's Bulldog is owned by a publicly traded South Korean company called Sam Yang Foods. And let's talk numbers. Sam Yang's revenue has doubled in the last three years to one and a half billion bucks.

The stock has doubled in just the last year. It's now worth $8 billion U.S. dollars. We repeat, this noodle company is worth more than a lift. To sprinkle on some context, Nick and I actually did a full episode on the invention of ramen noodles for the best idea yet. Yes, we did. instant ramen invented in Japan after World War II. Well, Sambyang adopted noodles in Korea after the Korean War caused a food shortage there. In both cases, as we said before, necessity was the mother of invention. But it took 50 years for it to have its viral breakout moment.

In 2015, is when Bulldogs sold their first flavor abroad that was the most spicy yet. It was so spicy, in fact, that Bulldogs' flavor became a challenge. It was a YouTube sensation. Try to eat three bites without your head exploding. Yeah, good luck on that. Now, scientifically speaking, this was the spiciest noodle brand in the market, and it still is today. I'm looking it up right now. Bulldog in Korean means fire chicken, so it makes sense. In fact, they got a flavor so spicy, it got banned in Denmark.

That's right. The capsaicin in the chili peppers of this flavor is near poison levels. Okay, apparently in Copenhagen, Noma, the three-star Michelin restaurant, was smuggling this. stuff in just to eat in the back. Now, part of the Bulldog Boom in America is just our Korean love right now. Yeah, there's a Korean economic wave right now. K-pop, Korean cosmetics, Korean films. We've been covering out on the pod. K-pop demon hunters? Still the top movie on Netflix, months after we covered it the first time. Our prediction, the number one Halloween costume, K-pop demon hunters. But the other key to the bulldog boom, it's the spice. The very particular spice strategy. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our

buddies is over at Bulldog. How to stand out, there's always opportunity in the extremes. Now, Yetis, remember Jack and I did a story on the best idea yet about Red Bull and how it was such an energizing product and actually got banned? It's a similar strategy with Bulldock. It is. Their differentiator is their borderline illegal spiciness. You know, as they put it, spicy or nothing, like spiciness that makes you feel alive. That's their tagline. Yeties, consumers want to know what a brand stands for. Bulldock is a brand that stands for spice to the extreme. Okay, in California, bulldog noodles have to come with a warning label. They're so hot. Part of the reason we like that is the challenge to see if you can handle three bites of that spiciness. Part of it if you don't

consume the food is just knowing that the Bulldog brand is willing to go there. It's how a brand can stand out relative to others. Exist at the furthest end of the spectrum. We've seen it before, Basties. We're calling it out now. There is opportunity in the extremes. Four hours. second story. On Friday, China announced a trade policy so extreme, our Treasury Secretary called it Leninist. Not John Lennon, Vladimir Lennon. The other Lennon. Yet he's China just banned the export of rare earth metals to the U.S., which is why we should prepare for Operation Warp Speed 2.0. Now, Jack, you've got the best memory of anybody I know. Take us back to April when we covered China's monopoly on rare earth metals. What do we see?

we had like a great analogy. Yet is in April, we covered China's monopoly on rare earth metals. And they were using it like an acupuncture needle in the trade war. Ah, the acupuncture needle analogy. If you applied just the right amount of pressure, a needle can sting more than a punch or a tackle. And with 60% of the world's rare earth metals, China has been poke in the U.S. with the most painful economic needle. Yeah, and it hurts, which leads to the news.

Starting November 6th, China will restrict the export of the United States. their 17 critical rare earth metals to the United States. And rare earth metals are critical to every technology in the, basically every electronic. Check, what this is is an export ban. That's what it is. That's right. Starting November 6th, no U.S. company can buy Chinese rare earth metals without an explicit approval from the Chinese government in Beijing. And this move, it caused some drama. It caused Trump to freak out, blast China in his longest post ever, threaten 100% tariffs on the entire country and cancel his next meeting with President Xi. On Friday, stocks tanked because of all of that.

Okay, and then stocks fell again yesterday after Trump's Treasury Secretary dissed China's rare earth metal export ban. By calling it Leninist. Yeah, Lenin, the co-founder of communism. Yeah, that's on his LinkedIn. Now, Yeti's Jack and I were fascinated about this story because we were curious, how bad would life be with no rare earth metals from China coming to America? Well, there's one veteran of the U.S. Navy who knows how bad that would be.

And his name is John Maslin, six years in the Navy before he spent two years over at Harvard Business School. John Maslin is now the CEO and co-founder of Vulcan Elements. And while he was in the Navy, he was the officer of supply chain. And what did he notice in all of our supplies? He noticed that our military hardware, like battleships, submarines, fighter jets, they all depend hugely on China's rare earth metals. In fact, as we said, Jack, you have an incredible memory. What was that stat he shared about the fighter jets? The F-35 fighter jet, it needs 900 pounds of rare earth metals. The Navy vessels that we use in the ocean, they need tons

of rare earth metals. And Maslin used a great analogy to explain how important rare earth metals are to all of these electronics. A semiconductor is like your brain. A battery, is like your heart. Rare earth metals are like your spine. And you know what, besties? We need all three of them made in America because it's too important to depend on foreign countries for them. iPhones use rare earth metals. Electric cars do too. Gas cars do as well. Okay, Jack, air conditioners, computers, fridges, light bulbs. Oh, yeah, the PlayStation you're using. Here in the podcast studio right now, the lights, my headphones, my computer, my camera, the podcast recorder, and the microphone, all with Chinese rare earth metals. I feel like I should just do that right now. I know, I think that thing's

using it too. This is the other in my Cheching button. Yet these rare earth metals are the infinity stones of the real world, the VIPs of the periodic table. But Maslin is most motivated by military applications. So he just raised 65 million bucks to scale up his rare earth metal processing facility down in North Carolina. And right now, it's more like a waste management business. since we don't have rare earth metals plentily available in the states, he's recycling them from old obsolete electronics. But with China escalating their anti-U.S. Trade War rhetoric, we need more than just recycled rare earth metals. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies staring at the rare earth metal drama? Rare earth metals should be Operation Warp Speed 2.0. Now, you haddies,

in COVID, we created a vaccine four times faster than we'd ever done before. We need to do the same thing right now, but for rare earth metals and magnets. Because rare earth metals exist under American soil, but opening up a new mine to get them? It takes 30 years due to all the regulation. That's why America has just one rare earth mine. It's in California. Now, this is the result of some poor long-term planning by both Republican and Democratic administrations over the last 30 years. And a lack of realization that, eh, maybe we can't depend on China for all of our supervital stuff. Well, maybe, Jack, Trump reaches a deal with China. We become simpatico, and they start exporting rare earth metals again.

If we do in the short term, we should create a strategic reserve for this stuff, just like we have with oil. But even that is not enough, which is why we think we need an Operation Warp Speed 2.0 to mine rare earth metals right here in the States. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Claude, the AI chatbot owned by Anthropic, just opened to cafe to sell coffee and croissons? Claude's anti-slop coffee shop, as we call it, shows that the next battle in AI is over brands. Oh, now that is if you live in New York City, you know this to be true. Jack, what is the most common experience for which you are going to live your life? Three quarters of your leisure time

is spent waiting in line. Yeah, the other day I was in Tribeco with my sister waiting on line to get on a line for a line, dude. Now, the latest line actually made headlines, because Because Air Mail Newsstand is a cafe in New York City's West Village with a line of thousands of people waiting to get in. Jack, could you sprinkle on some context to this wild story, please? Airmail is a trendy newsletter founded by the former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair. It's like a digital intellectual version of Vanity Fair. And they opened up a coffee shop. And last week, they were giving away free double-digit lattes and croissants at this coffee shop,

giving vibes of a French bistro. Not possible! They wanted you off your coffee shop. your screens when you've entered in there, right? That was the scene. They wanted you to sit down and read and write creatively. Vesties, this five-day pop-up cafe, it had the longest line in the whole city. But here's the plot twist. The whole thing was sponsored by Claude, the AI chatbot. We repeat, Claude owned by Anthropic, invested in by Amazon and Google. Anthropic is worth $183 billion, and Claude is their crown jewel. This is the second biggest independent AI startup after

Open AI. Claude is basically the Pepsi to Chat Chipit's Coke. It's the Scotty Pippin to Open AIs Jordan. And ironically, Claude A.I. Is marketing AI with the opposite of AI. Coffee shop, old school creativity. And now we jumped in T-Boys style. The pastries look delicious.

I'd like that Baclavar. But the highlight was the merchandise. At this pop-up, they had T-shirts, hats, and tote bags with the words thinking stitched in simple plain letters. We repeat the verb. Thinking, the ability that we're worried AI will steal from humanity. I remember doing things was the hat like eight years ago? Now, thinking is the hat.

And the word thinking covered the entire West Village last week from this pop-up if you were lucky enough to get one of the few left. The new status symbol is these limited edition thinking hats. And if you saw them, it kind of looked like swag from a Frederick Nietzsche fan club, right, man? But it's really merch from an AI startup. But it all comes down to the numbers. and what kind of numbers did they see, Jack? Claude's anti-slop coffee shop

got 10 million social media impressions. The word thinking went viral. But besties, this is what Jack and I got to know. When did chatbot suddenly become a fashion statement? And start serving pretty good macchiados? I got a half-calf quartado for Sam Altman. Half-calf cortado with the macha sprinkles. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Claude's anti-slop coffee shop?

The biggest challenge in the chatbot wars is creating a brand. Now, yeah, the biggest risk facing all these AI companies investing billions of dollars is that there won't be an ROI. It's a bubble. The second biggest is that AI becomes a commodity, all offering the same service so there's no customer loyalty and people just choose the cheapest chatbot. You want to know Sam Haltman's greatest fear? It's that you toggle between chat, GPT, and Claude like their Uber and Lyft. I do exactly that. Well, what Claude's coffee shop is really about is differentiating. It's about creating a brand where there's a commodity.

Chat Chapti is in the news right now for launching SORA and filling our feeds with AI slop videos. But Claude is now positioning itself as the opposite, curated, intellectual, artistic even. Claude is framing itself as a thinking partner, not a bot to outsource your thinking too. Because while Chatchipt increasingly feels like a threat, Claude wants to be seen as a collaborator. We're seeing the start of the next phase of the chatbot wars. Who can build a brand? Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? Bulldog is the South Korean ramen company that is most beloved among gen alpha Americans.

And how do they stand out? So spicy, they got banned because there's opportunity in the extremes. For our second story, China's export restrictions on rare earth metals begin November 6th, and that could disrupt all electronic products. Which is why we need Operation Warp Speed 2.0, this time for rare earth metals. And our third and final story is Claude. They opened an AI anti-slop coffee shop in New York City's West Village, promoting thinking. Because the next phase of the AI battles is going to be commodities versus brands.

But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, we got the big bank earning. reports. They just came in and honestly, they were really, really big. J.P. Morgan's sword on a record $9 billion in quarterly trading revenue. Jack Goldman soared on a record $2.7 billion in deal fees from M&As and IPOs. And BlackRock soared after announcing your record $13.4 trillion of money under management. And second, Netflix and Spotify just announced that podcasts are coming a Netflix. Podcasts from the Ringer, which is founded by Bill Simmons and owned by Spotify,

will have their video episodes up on Netflix. You see, YouTube was already encroaching on Netflix's turf. Video on TVs. So Netflix is now encroaching on YouTube's turf with podcasts. And finally, the cool new thing to do on weekends, panning for gold. Can you describe what panning is for me, Nick? People will buy dirt and then look for gold in it by sifting it through like a strainer. Yeah. In fact, sales of $5 dirt buckets are 50% in the last years as people are searching for gold on the free time. So you could mine for gold or you could sell shovels to the gold sifters. Literally. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Zach Williams from lovely Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

actually has more bridges than Venice, Italy. They don't say not possible in Italy. They say Pittsburgh has 446 different bridges. Venice, Italy? Just 435 bridges. How could that be possible? Well, we looked into it. Pittsburgh is known as the Three River City. Like, Three River Stadium is where the Pittsburgh Steelers used to play football.

Not only are there three rivers meeting together, but there are a bunch of tributaries and streams, all of which require bridges. So they got bridges for people, for cars, and for trains to cross over them. It doesn't hurt that this is the same. Steel City. Bridges need steel. Yeties, you look fantastic today. Jack, you're glowing right now too, man. Looking great.

Thank you, dude. Remember, besties, the best thing you can do, well, one of the best things you can do is to tap to follow us. And that way, you get T-Boy the podcast every single day without even having to think about it. And make sure to push subscribe or follow on whatever podcast app you're listening on. The show is always free, but subscription, that means you're going to get us every day. In the meantime, one sec, Jack, one sec. A half-calf, Fortado for Sam. Yeah, we still have this. No one's picked it up.

I'm going to just take this thing and go. Are you, Sam? I'm going to need to see some ID, please. Yeti's Jack and I. We'll see them. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti, Joseph Bader the 3rd, turning 21 years old and celebrating in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Happy birthday to Jonathan D. Armas, who's turned 27 but feels 30 in Boston, Massachusetts. Just outside Boston. And an extended tax filing deadline day is today. So congratulations to all. those who celebrate. And a big shout out to Eddie Boy on Spotify, who's 13 and has been listening to this podcast since episode number one. And Jack, a happy birthday to Anto Antonella Grazie in Basilica, Italy, the wife of Epiphanio, who's related to my family and my dad met them

on his last trip to Italy, and now we're connected via email. It's pretty cool. I heard about this. It was an amazing experience. Your dad tracking these people down. Separated by 100 years. Pretty crazy. Remember, they couldn't speak English, so they just embraced by hugged. Yeah, it was pretty cool. I wasn't there, but it's done enough. This is Jack. I own stock in Netflix, and Nick and I both on stock in Spotify.