The Best One Yet - 🥸 “Bigger than iPhone” — Apple’s next big thing. Sephora’s anti-influencer. Goldman’s worst day.

Episode Date: January 12, 2023

Apple’s biggest new thing since the iPhone is reportedly launching this spring: Get ready for… iHeadset. Sephora is ending its Influencer makeup brand with Addison Rae because TikTok is magnificent for discovery but miserable for loyalty. And Goldman Sachs is cutting 3,200 employees, but that explains why your banker buddy Brad got such a big bonus. $AAPL $GS $LVMUYFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YoutubeWant a Shoutout on the pod? Fill out this formGot the Best Fact Yet? We got a form for that tooLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, January 12th. And today's pod is the best one yet. It's a T-boy. Am I seeing these numbers right, Nick? I think you're seeing those numbers right. Stocks are up so far in 2020.

2020. You're looking good on you. Stocks rose yesterday for their fourth day in a row. Toss that on your tortelloni, Jack. What is our first story for today's pie? Apple is reportedly launching a wild new product this spring. The biggest since the iPhone. It's a freaky reality headset.

We hope it's not ugly. Better not be ugly. For our second story, Sephora is two years into its Addison Ray influencer makeup partnership. How's it going? It's going? Yeah.

About that. And our third and final story is Goldman Sachs. They just announced their biggest layoffs in years. DJD Sol just canceled free coffee. But Yeties, before we hit that fantastic mess. I love this mix for the new Friday. Earlier this week, we knew where you were. Yeah, we knew that two out of three Yetis were listening to our pod on the toilet.

But there's one other place you could be. There is one other place you could be right now. You could be listening to this pod in traffic. And if you are sitting in traffic right now, you're probably in one particular city. Yeah, because if you are in traffic, you are probably in Chicago. Get this, Yet this yet, is the worst traffic in the U.S. this year? It's Chicago. Yeah, Chicago.

Chicago goes deep on pizza. It goes deeper on traffic. The worst traffic in the U.S. is not Midtown Manhattan. It's not the 405 down in Los Angeles. No, no, no, no. The worst traffic in the United States is on Lakeshore Drive, man. The average Chicagoan lost 155 hours stuck in traffic last year. Yeah, we repeat, 155 hours of their Chicagoan lives lost in the left lane.

What's that? Eight days? That's eight days. In Chicago years, that is eight years. And those 155 hours of lost life in traffic is up 7% from before the pandemic. This was the worst year for Chicago traffic since the Bulls were good. Let's say you're trying to get a slice of pizza at Unos. But you've been stuck in the car for dose.

You're trying to get a hot dog at Wiener Circle. But you've been stuck in traffic forever. You're trying to watch Dod Bears. But Mike Dipka's still on that turnpike. Hey, Chicago. Have you forgotten your superpower? Hey, Chicago, don't you do logistics? Chicago does logistics.

Jack, if anyone can clear out traffic at the I-90 interchange, it's Chicago. If anyone can bypass the build-up around the disabled bridge, it's Chicago. If anyone can give Chicagoans 155 hours of their lives back, who is it, Jack? It's Chicago. You got this Chicago. Let's hit our three stores. Oh, my God. Can you move? Get out of the way.

Keep it moving, people. For 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. They need to practice. 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. Start the show. For our first story, this spring, Apple is reportedly launching their biggest product since the iPhone. What is it, Jack? reality headsets. We're talking I headset? That doesn't totally work.

Yeah, I headset. But Apple's biggest risk isn't function. It's fashion. Yeties, first of all, Jack and I got to tell you. We do a pod. We're just talking. We're just chatting here. We're just speaking words.

But you know what? Words matter. Have you noticed lately that Apple only does product updates? They don't do product launches? Oh, two very different nouns. The last meaningful new products that they launched at Apple were why? watches and AirPods. That was back in 2015 and 2016. Oh, Jack, we got another update. It's version 9.636. Watch number 9, MacBook number 72. Honestly, I don't even know what iPhone I have. I just know that it's a number.

All I know is mine is too big for my hand now. At some point, you just go to Roman numerals. Well, this year, Apple is expected to finally launch a truly new hardware device. And that device is not a car. It is still not a car. That is disappointing. It's so disappointing. When are we just going to get this? According to people familiar with the matter, Apple's focus this year is completely on headsets that combine virtual reality with augmented reality, and they're calling it the reality pro. Yeah, there's still workshop in the name a bit. But according to Bloomberg, this reality headset is launching this spring, and it's going to cost you $3,000. $3,000 for facial hardware.

This isn't an AirPods. This is a head pod. Now, yet he's, whenever Apple launches a product, we know what you're thinking. what is this eye product going to look like? It doesn't launch for a few more months, but there have been massive leaks and reports about what it's going to look like. And we think we know what it's going to look like.

It's going to look like ski goggles made it with AirPods and had a tech baby. Take out an iPhone from your pocket. All right. Hold it up to your face over your eyes. Like this, Jack. Get a roll of duct tape and then tape the iPhone on your head over your eyes. That's what this product is basically going to be. It was like R2D2 took some Oakley glasses and just stuck them on his face.

Apple's new headset will cover your eyes with a two-sided video screen and it will read and detect what's under the goggles your face with a bunch of cameras. Okay, so what Jack and I are saying is that you could play Call of Duty. You could stream Emily in Paris. You could Zoom with Carol from accounting all with this new product hands free. But this is Apple. We are talking about besties. This is Apple.

So that means there's always one more thing. The screen that you see when you're wearing the goggles, it can switch to show you what's on the outside of the goggles. Okay, so you can go from like 100% looking at virtual reality to 100% looking at real reality. Let's say you're sitting by the gate waiting to board your airplane. Classic. You got some time so you put your goggles over your face

and you watch a movie all by yourself. You're watching Emily in Paris. You are 100% virtual reality, 0% real reality. Your phone buzzes you that the airplane is boarding. You got a board. So you turn a knob and switch to 50% transparent. Okay, so you keep watching Emily and Paris. You are 50% virtual reality,

but now 50% of your goggles are real reality. Half of the screen is just showing you what's outside of you. So you don't bump into people. So you're not knocking into anyone. So you're watching Emily in Paris. You're almost at your seat, but then boom, in seat 14B right next to you is your buddy from high school, Timmy.

So you flick that switch one more time, and now you are 100% Real reality like a pair of glasses you are seeing their face. No more movie. You engage with your buddy, Timmy. You ask how the family's doing. Oh, Jack, there is that one catch you and I should point out. Timmy may spit out his drink at you because he's freaking out right now. He's going to sit down, stand up, sit back down again because he's not seeing your actual eyes. You're still wearing the goggles. He can see her eyes, but he sees video of your eyes,

which is on the outside of the goggles. Yeah, the screen on the outside shows video. of your eyes from the inside. Jack, you look weird. Yeah, it's going to be strange. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple? Apple's biggest risk isn't function. It's fashion.

Yeah, it is, remember the ugly rule? Like, we spoke about it with Dyson. It's the fundamental rule of product design, the ugly rule. You can make a product ugly, but that product can't make the user ugly. Well, Apple has another thing. Apple has the beauty rule. Apple turns tech products into fashion. accessories. But these early reports on the headset, they sound like the product is ugly and it makes

you ugly. This may not look that different than Zuck's Metaverse goggles, which definitely make you ugly. Besties, this new Apple product might even have a cable that's attached to your belt that holds a bulky battery. That sounds ugly. Hansel, not hot right now. And honestly, that would be a disaster. And why would that be a disaster, Jack? Apple's reputation depends on its products being beautifully designed. Yeah, because for Apple, the biggest risk isn't function. It's fashion. For our second story, two years ago,

Sephora launched a makeup brand with the world's biggest TikTok influencer. It's not going well. No, it's not. We got the number. Because TikTok doesn't define relationships. No, it does not. But first of all, Jack,

the only store on Union Street right now in San Francisco with a bouncer and a line. You know what this is? Which one? It's Sephora. You can't get in. It's the hottest climate. in town.

Sephora, the chain of cosmetics and skin care stores owned by publicly traded French luxury powerhouse LVMH. Or is it pronounced Avamash? I never took French in high school. Yeties, even if you don't shop for makeup at Sephora, you have seen their black and white striped bags. It's a vibe. And Sephora hatched the idea two years ago during the pandemic.

Let's launch a new cosmetics brand with the world's biggest influencer. Yeah, that was their idea. So they decided to partner with. Addison Ray, the legendary Addison Ray. She's 22 years old. She has 40 million followers on Instagram. Okay, you're impressed with that? Get this. She has 90 million followers on TikTok. We're talking the Kardashian of Dancing. It's Addison Ray. And the new business model they hatched together. Yes, Jack. Sephora does the production and the logistics. All right, you do that. Addison is the marketing department. Addison, you just do the marketing. What they created together is

item beauty, a skincare line. It was a new brand called Item Beauty and it was celebrated as Sephora's first Gen Z, first ever influencer makeup brand. Well, checking my watch. Yeah. That was two years ago. It was Jack. They had the biggest TikToker on earth. Yes, they did, Jack.

How is the first ever influencer makeup deal going? It's a great question, Jack. And you and I don't have the numbers, do we? No, we don't. They haven't reported the numbers. But yet here's what Jack and I do when we don't have the numbers. We have said before that price is a signal. Yes, we have.

So we checked Sephora's website, and those retail prices, they're quite a signal. They are quite a signal. What kind of numbers be talking, Jack? Addison Ray's lash lengthening mascara on Sephora.com. I'm checking right now, it is 50% off. How about the blush and blush? All right, checking that, that is 60% off. And the full coverage concealer.

Oh, Jack, this one's a deal. This one is 70% off. percent off. It is really onsen. All 15 products from Item Beauty on Sephora.com are at least half off. Okay. And Jack, what about the marketing department for this new Item Beauty brand, which is Addison Ray? We checked Addison's Instagram. She hasn't posted about this in four months. What about the branded account? Item Beauty's Instagram has lost followers over the past year. They're down from 355,000 followers to 330,000. We don't have the numbers. No. But the numbers don't look good. And it's not just Addison Ray.

and item beauty. According to Business Insider, they put together the top 25 influencer TikTok makeup brand. Yes, Jack. Most of them have gone bust. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Sephora? TikTok drives massive discovery, but miserable loyalty. According to PFWTMs at Sephora, people just didn't connect with Addison Ray's new makeup brand. The world's largest and most powerful influencer could not convert you to buy her mascara. And, And that reveals the Achilles' heel of TikTok. It drives huge short-term discovery, but not long-term engagement. TikTok powers awareness, but not loyalty.

Besties, every marketer out there right now is pitching you on the value of building a brand on TikTok. But TikTok's algorithm prioritizes freshness, newness, and what have you done for me lately? TikTok's algorithm is fleeting. It is harder to build strong, long-term relationships with a big audience. That's the dirty secret of TikTok marketing. Massive discovery. Miserable loyalty. Now, a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. You know, honestly, your salad, it says so much about you.

Nick, you like to blaze your own trail at the salad bar. Yeah, I'm ordering a salad. I go off menu, man. Like a combo of kale and croutons that has never been made before. Me? I'm not reinventing the wheel. I like to go classic. Like, Sweegrin thinks it's a good combo, Jack's not going to change that. Kind of like investing strategies. someone to build a custom portfolio of stocks, crypto, and options. Others don't want to reinvent.

Just give me the most standard ETF. Whether you're tweaking your one-of-a-kind portfolio every day or prefer a more hands-off approach, Robin Hood has the tools. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to robin hood.com slash T-Boy to choose your free stock. That's robinid.com slash T-B-O-I. Limitations apply. Stocks offered by Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC.

Crypto offered through Robin Hood Crypto. All investments involve risk. By the way, this podcast is, is not owned or part of Robin Hood, and we are not employees of Robin Hood. For our third and final story, Goldman Sachs just announced its biggest layoffs in years. And that is why your investment banking buddy gets paid so much. Yeties, the way Jack and I see it, layoffs, layoffs are kind of like the flu. They are highly contagious.

If one industry gets sick, so does another. Yeah, so for example, in the past year, first, big tech got infected. Now banks caught a whiff of that cough. Now they're infected. First, there were fewer tech IPOs, but that meant that fewer bankers were doing IPOs. If so facto, not good for the banks. And this week, what are we getting, Jack?

All the banks are announcing their earnings. We're getting all the earnings from the big banks. And all the big banks made way fewer investment banking fees this year than they did last year. Which leads to the news. Goldman Sachs is cutting costs like it's Bob's Memorial Day mattress sale. They're just slashing costs out there. For example, Jack, what is going on with those two brand new private jets over at Goldman Sachs? They're under review.

You might see them on Craigslist one of these days. Expect fewer rides to Palm Beach on that G6, Davy. How about the annual bonuses at Goldman Sachs? Ah, the annual bonuses at Goldman Sachs. Jack, you're going to want to cancel that ski trip to Mont Blanc. Analysts expect 40% bonus cuts across the board at Goldman. In fact, every single expense at Goldman Sachs is under review right now. They even canceled the free coffee perk.

No more free coffee like the double digit lattes. Enjoy that curing one cup Chuck, Goldman. The 1 a.m. Westville orders to 200 West Street. Not happening. Someone passed a series seven. But yeties, that is all bad. But this honestly is the worst part of it. Goldman Sachs just laid off 3,200 people, nearly 10% of the global workforce.

It is one of the largest cuts Goldman Sachs has done since the 2008. financial crisis. Honestly, Yetis, that last one, the layoffs, wasn't a surprise to us. Layoffs like this are always sad, but Jack and I should sprinkle on a little more context. Because firing people in January, it's actually a Wall Street annual tradition. Yeah, like for every bonus, a layoff. Wall Street kind of works that way. Wall Street's pretty cutthroat. Historically, every bank cuts the lowest performing staff once per year. Like, there is literally an annual routine of just laying people off. It's part of the business. In fact, Wall Street has some of the highest employee churn of any industry out there.

Yeah. According to the New York Times, 10% of Wall Streeters quit or are fired each and every year. That is higher attrition than health care, telecom. It's twice as much employee churn as the airlines. And get this, Yeties. Within this high turnover industry of finance, Goldman Sachs has the highest turnover in all of finance. 15% of gold men and gold women aren't there at the company next year. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Goldman Sachs? This is why Wall Street gets big checks. Yeties, this is why your banker bud Brad got paid $100,000 after college for an entry-level job. Oh, and got a $200,000 bonus and a signing bonus.

It's not just because Brad's working until 2 a.m. every Saturday. Oh, which is kind of sucks. It's the risk and reward of the layoffs. Yeah. For example, 2021 was one of the best years in Wall Street history. Everyone, record high bonuses. There we go. But just one year later was one of the worst years in Wall Street history. So huge layoffs and firings are happening.

Honestly, Bessie's, a finance job sounds stable, but it's not at all. Like Jack and I worked at banks in 2011 after the financial crisis. We saw this like up front. Today is your last day. Here's a box. Collect your things. Security will escort you to the door. We saw a lot of people let go.

It's a risk-reward industry. Boom, bust like the oil wild west. And that is the last. the reason for the high pay on Wall Street. Jack, can you and that lovely maroon sweater whip up the takeaways for us over there? Crimson. I rounded up. Apple is reportedly launching a virtual reality headset this spring. The biggest risk isn't its function, it's its fashion. For our second story, Sephora is bummed about the results of their Addison Ray makeup line. Because TikTok drives massive discovery, but miserable loyalty. And our third

and final story is Goldman Sachs. The investment bank just laid off over 3,000 people. And this is why Wall Street gets the big checks. It's high reward for the high risk of layoffs. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by legendary Yeti Tomas Baggio from the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. We may be getting one of the rarest and biggest surf competitions in the world this weekend. Honestly, one of the rarest sports competitions ever this weekend.

It's called the Eddie. It's a surf competition. contest held in Oahu, Hawaii in Waimea Bay. And it's named after Eddie Aikow, one of the first lifeguards ever to work in Hawaii. And Eddie was pretty brave because between December and February, the waves in Oahu can get 60 feet tall. If the waves sustain 25 feet tall for eight straight hours, only then do they host the Eddie Surf Tournament that year.

It is a rare occurrence that this happens, but if it happens, then we get the tournament. The tournament's only been. held nine times in the past 40 years. That's how rare this is. So we're hoping we get to see the 10th Eddie this weekend. We hope the waves are big this weekend. Yeties, you look fantastic for the new Friday. And remember, if you're in Chicago and you're stuck in traffic, we know what you should do.

What is that, Jack? Logistics. Yeah. Actually, if you could scroll down and give us a five-star rating on the pod while you're sitting in traffic, we'll take that too. Yeties, Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Thab bears, thaw bowls, the best one. And before we go, happy 69th birthday to Yeti, Joe Van Houdin in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. And happy birthday to Anna and Nina Yang, twins from Australia living in Iceland.

And Eric Rogney is turning 29 down the street in San Francisco. This man hasn't missed an episode of the pod since 2020. And Jack, what is going on with Professor Hornish's class? First day of class for Digital Marketing 265 at Rhodes College, down in beautiful Tennessee. The fighting lynxes, go lynxes. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-Buy. Celebrate the wins.

This is Jack Nick and I both on stock of Apple and Robin Hood. Now a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. Okay, so Jack and I both worked in finance for a while. And we know the six-monitor Bloomberg jockey, with charts, numbers, balances, and more charts. They got coffees in both hands while they're executing some complex trade on a soybean future. Well, we're not trying to impress with our, Mission Control Trading Center. Just give us an app, please. Robin Hood with its mobile first and

intuitive design, it lets you trade with just a few quick taps on their app. And even if things still don't seem easy, Robin Hood has your back 24-7 with its live and robust customer support. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to robin hood.com slash t-boy and choose your free stock. That's robin hood.com slash T-B-O-Y. Limitations apply. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, all investments involved for us. By the way, this podcast is not owned by or part of Robin Hood. And we are not employed. and we are not employees of Robinette. I never took French in high school.