The Best One Yet - 🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

Colossal brought the Dire Wolf back from extinction… by using a strategy from Hollywood.The #1 winner of the Trade War? ThredUp… The second-hand clothing stock has doubled this year.Shopify is  requiring everyone at the company to use AI every day… AI is part of the dress code.Plus, introducing “Tasteful Tariffs” — Things that should be tariffed. Think Cargo pants, small talk, QR code menus…$TDUP $REAL $SHOP $NDAQWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of Peeps 🐣. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock sandal to Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Wednesday, Saviche Wednesday, April 9th, and today's part is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Ooh, people are terrified out there. The stock market continued its trade war trauma yesterday. The S&P 500 is almost in a bare market. It was down 19% from its peak as of this recording. Warning for Ann Hathaway, the kingdom of Genovia may get hit with tariffs next. No word on what the princess is going to do, Jack. Three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod, man?

For our first story, the surprise big winner of the trade war so far is thread up. Threat up! Because when it comes to tariffs, the winners are the triple F's, frugal, friendly finance. For our second story, we've covered the startup colossal before. They're trying to bring back the woolly mammoth. But they actually just brought back a different extinct animal, and that animal is the dire wolf. For our third and final story. Shopify's CEO just issued an ultimatum.

When it comes to AI, it's use it or lose it. And by it, he meant your job at Shopify because he just added AI to the company dress code. But yet,ies, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa, what a mix of stories. Love that mix of stories today, Jack. Investors are not happy about the trade war tariffs. Economists hate tariffs.

They make everything more expensive. But Nick and I were thinking, there's some things we wouldn't mind tariffs for. Yeah, like things that are so known. Maybe they should be tariffed. We call them tasteful tariffs. We do things that we would tariff not for economic reasons, but for social reasons. For example, cargo shorts, tariff them.

QR code, restaurant menus, tariff them. Can we tariff pre-meeting? Tariff, tariff, and tariff them, Jack. How about alcohol-free mouthwash? Tariff that. Oh, Jack, what about those ketchup packets that are like impossible to open? You're going to do with your teeth? How about cardboard boxes within cardboard delivery boxes?

A hundred percent tariff. How about saying the phrase, cool beans? A thousand percent tariff. Can we toss a tariff on small talk? Bargo! All conversations about the weather. We don't care what the temperature is. What about clapping when the airplane lands?

Oh, that's a retaliatory tariff I've ever seen one, Jack. And finally, exposed male toenails? 2,000% tariff and a complaint to the WTO for emotional damage. Besties, we're running a list of these tasteful tariffs. A list of import fees on your icks. A list of taxations on tacky. So, besties, for Saviche Wednesday, drop. copy your ideas for tasteful tariffs in the comments below.

The seven-day public comment window opens now. We are accepting tariff proposals on everything cringe. Although I should point out, Jack thinks we should tariff toothbrushs with bristles that are too hard. This is a long-standing debate. The only toothbrushes available to purchase should be soft bristled toothbrushes. It may be a Jack issue or it may be a nationwide issue. Either way, let us know your tasteful tariffs. Jack, let's hit our three stories.

Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. That's it. I don't even think 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story. There is one stock surging in the trade war, and that stock is thread up. It's doubled this year. because Threadup's business model thrives on a trade war. Here's why ThreatUp CEO was giving high fives.

True story. Trump's tariff announcement. But Yeties, Trade War Almanac Day 7. Jack and I have been keeping track from the tariff trenches for you. Here's how tariffs are affecting the economy today. As you know, Yeti, stocks are down 20%. There's a whole lot of red out there. We have told you about the trade war losers.

But there's one winner, a big winner, and it's Threatup. Threatup. The company that IPOed in 2021, we should point out they're down 85% since then, right, Jack? They've never made a profit and investors are growing impatient. But get this. In the last week, Threadup stock has searched 20%. In fact, ThreatUp is up 100% so far in 2025. Investies, if you think Amazon runs impressive logistics, well, Threatup is that, but with pit stains. Because they're an online secondhand marketplace.

So they examine, inspect, clean, and then sell your pre-loved, clothing footwear and accessories online. Yeah, like Jack, when your six-year-old anthropology sweater finally sells on Threatup one of these days, they are going to send you a commission check because it finally sold secondhand. And it turns out Threatup is a rare trade war winner. Yes, it is?

Because its supply chain isn't overseas, it's in your closet. That is why ThreatUp's CEO was giving literal, and this has been fact-checked, high-fives to his team on Word of Trump's trade policies. Threatup's core belief, according to the website, is in a sustainable future for fashion. He was handing out champagne. We haven't verified that.

Secondhand champagne. And because this company likes sustainable fashion, it means they hate fast fashion. Well, that's convenient because Trump recently closed the $800-dermin-derminous loophole that Sheehan and Timu were using to sell cute, cheap tops to the United States. So fast fashion on Sheen and Timu

will effectively get twice as expensive with Trump's tariffs and the closing of that loophole. On the other hand, secondhand clothing for those used cute tops on ThreadUp is now twice as affordable. Comparatively speaking. So hopefully, this trade war is actually an opening for ThreatUp to finally find profits in the secondhand clothing game. Same for its peer companies, The Real Real and Deepop, which have also struggled to profit. What Jack and I are saying is that, ironically, this trade war could be the plot twist that saves the secondhand fashion stocks. Because they don't import clothing from Myanmar.

No. The import from someone's armoire, and there's no tariffs in between some dudes armwarr and Threatoff's distribution facility. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Threatup? Biggest winner of the trade war is the Triple F, frugal-friendly finance. Yeti's tariffs are a tax. And taxes result in less consumption. That is just a basic econ 101 fact. And in a world where we consume less, certain businesses will do well.

and we call them Friends of the Frugal. Like Jack, for example, auto parts chains like AutoZone, they're going to do pretty well, right? Yeah, because you're going to delay your new car purchase because the tariffs and keep your used one running as long as it can go. Or repair shops, like, you're not going to get a new iPhone that's $300 more. To avoid the tariff, you'll pay $100 to fix your crack screen. Over in fashion, secondhand, thrift and resale shops

are immune from tariffs because they are frugal friendly. Even Netflix can be considered frugal. Yeah, can't. I mean, 20 bucks a month. That's a lot for a subscription. Yeah. But it's cheaper than you. going out to dinner or paying for a concert ticket.

Your next date night may be watching Squid Game Season 1 for the fourth time. In a trade war, we all buy less. That's just the truth. And that is why the trade war winners will be the frugal, friendly finance businesses. For our second story, colossal, the startup reviving the woolly mammoth just had its first de-extinction. It brought back the dire wolf. This is a wild story. And to succeed in de-extinction, Colossal has turned to Hollywood.

Yeah, it is two years ago, we told you about the Jurassic Park startup. Their business plan is the same plot as the movie that Steven Spielberg directed. Instead of Velasoraptors, they're starting with a more recently extinct animal, the mammoth, the woolly mammoth. Colossal was worth $1.5 billion when we first covered it two years ago, but now it's worth $10 billion. And they just pulled off an act of God. They brought back the dire wolf. That's right. Yeah, John Snow's pet from Game of Thrones, that dire wolf. The dire wolf was extinct in the last ice age 13,000 years ago.

Jack, I believe that was the late Pleistocene era, and the dire wolf back then was 25% bigger than your standard North American gray wolf. The dire wolf was believed to hunt horses, hunt bison, and possibly even mammoths. So this is a beast of an animal. And because life finds a way. colossal, just birthed three of these new dire wolves back from extinction after 13,000 years. We repeat, the dire wolf is back. The only one not happy about this news is Jeff Goldblum. We saw a bunch of photos. These are big white wolf puppies. They're pure white. They look like

the thing of a sci-fi movie. I mean, they look like a polar bear wolf. Now, one of these new ones is named Calisi after, that's right, the Game of Thrones character. And this company even got George R.R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, to pose holding one of these wolfpups. We repeat, the author of Game of Thrones showed up at their biotech facility, tweeted, Winter has come, and posted a picture with a dire wolf now not extinct puppy. And they were sleeping on an iron throne. And now, in case you're curious to jump in T-boy style, Colossil is keeping all three of these dire wolves on a secret 2,000-acre facility whose location is unknown.

TBD whether they've built a wall around it and put the Knights Watch to defend these wolves. And in case you didn't know, this is a startup that's funded by the CIA, so yeah, they're pretty good at secrecy. But we have a treat for you. Colossal released audio of the first Dyerwolf Howell

heard in the last 13,000 years. Here it is. So yeties, Jack and I were trying to analyze what the strategy here was for Colossum. And we realized this wasn't a minimum viable product. This was a magnificent viable. product. Colossal is proving traction with a wild example. But here's the surprise detail. Bringing the dire wolf back from extinction was actually the result of three failures. This was actually

their third choice. In 2022, plan A for this startup was to resurrect the woolly mammoth. They wanted to de-extinct the biggest land mammal in history. So they put a mammoth embryo inside a surrogate to elephant mother, but the egg wouldn't take. So instead, Colossil pivoted to plan B, resurrect the Dodo. The Dodo. A random, extinct, crazy-looking, flightless bird. But the problem, Jack? The egg shell.

They couldn't get the new Dodo embryo into the hard-shelled surrogate ostrich egg. Third times a charm. Plan C, they were going to resurrect the Dyerwolf. Yeah, it's not as big as the elephant, Jack, and there's no hard shell like the old ostrich bird. They found DNA for the Dyerwolf in a 75,000-year-old skull, and they edited 20 genes of 10. today's modern gray wolf to include the DNA of the dire wolf.

And then they gestated that embryo inside a domesticated large dog. This feels like a bingo game. But it worked. It did work. And that's how they proved their concept, not with the most minimal version, but with the most magnificent version. So what are they going to do now with these three animals that brought back to life? I know what you're thinking, like, what's the business model here?

Are they going to like open Dodo World, open mammoth land? Are we getting a Dyer Wolf Lodge chain coming from these guys? I think this is where the plan deviates from Jurassic Parks plot. Colossel now says their business model is conservation, but one of their key investors said they don't even care how this company makes money. As long as what they're doing is awesome. So, paging Dr. Grant, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Colossal? Colossal success is a lesson from Hollywood.

They focus on blockbusters. Yet he's interesting tension here. No business model, no plans to monetize, and yet Colossel has the widest and deepest range of investors we have ever seen. They've received money from Peter Thiel, Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, the CIA, both WinkleVy twins, two of them, and Peter Jackson, the creator of the Lord of the Rings movies. All that funding is why there were $10 billion today. Colossel isn't launching products, they're launching plots, blockbuster-sized plots.

The lead investor in Colossel's latest fundraise is the Hollywood producer behind the movie Inception. And Jack, what was his one condition to put millions into the company? In exchange for my money, you need to bring back a blockbuster. Now, Yiddies, we know there are a lot of species going extinct, ones that are easier to de-extinct than a woolly mammoth or a dire wolf. But that wouldn't have satisfied the investors. That's not how you raise $225 million bucks in funding, Jack. You don't become a $10 billion company by bringing back some extinct newt that no one's ever heard of. Because colossal, they started with the biggest mammal on earth and a fictional character from me.

Game of Thrones. Colossil runs their biotech business like a Hollywood studio runs a movie business. They focus on the blockbusters. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Shopify's CEO just published a letter that will change how you use AI at work every day. Because using AI is now mandatory. Oh, Jack, I got a long list of job interview questions here. Let me know if you got any of these, right? Tell me if anyone's ever asked you this.

Ready? Tell me about a challenge in your life. That's a neat one. How about tell me about an ambiguous problem you faced at work where you use data

to reach a solution. Yeah, it's a wordy one, but I've got it now to you. How about this? Where do you see yourself in five years, son? Tell me something you're going to stop doing, something you're going to keep doing,

and something you're going to start doing. If I'd probably walk out of the interview if someone asked that at that point, keep notes, repeat the beginning of the question. question five minutes ago. But Yetis, there is now a new question to add to the interview list that you better prepare for. How do you use AI on a daily basis? You better have an answer for that question if you work at Shopify. Shopify, the $100 billion B2B e-commerce platform, that's Shopify.

They enable the buying and selling of anything online. But the biggest news from Shopify right now isn't earnings, isn't annual reports, it isn't tariffs. It's a letter from the CEO that leaked online. It was so controversial and widely discussed that the CEO, Tobias Lutka, decided to tweet it, the whole letter. Now, Jack and I jumped in T-boy Style, and we read the letter for you because we guarantee you that your CEO definitely read it too. The letter includes Shopify's perspective when it comes to AI. And here it is. Use it or lose it. And by it, we mean, um, your job at Shopify.

The CEO's internal memo was conversational, but it finished with a very clear list of six things that you must have when it comes to AI. Very direct points. And here are the highlights. Point number one, using AI is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify. In the 2000s, touch typing was a fundamental skill. In the 2020s, it's now AI. Point number three, your AI usage will be a question in every performance review. Your manager will be asking you how you use AI daily. No prompting, no promotion. Point number five, and this one was, this was a surprise. We really didn't see this one coming. Before asking for more headcount or hiring, you must prove AI can't do the task. Oh, you want a junior content strategist to join the team?

Tell me why a chatbot can't do the job. Back to the drawing board. Now, the conclusion at the end of the letter was also surprising. This rule, all six of these new rules for AI, apply to everyone. From Ian the intern all the way up to Erica the exec. Now, besties, add it all up. and if you're not using AI in a daily basis, this serves as a wake-up call.

We've never seen a company require AI from everyone, but this could become the new standard. Full disclosure, Jack and I use AI every day. We don't use it for the creative process. We use it for the research process to save time. But now, it's part of our daily routines. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Shopify? Shopify just made AI part of the dress code.

Yet is the way Jack and I see it, companies these days fall into two types. First, you got the AI agnostic. They don't care if you use or don't use AI. Just get the work done. Then there's the AI antagonists. You can't use AI if you have a creative position. If you do, you better highlight it.

And if you don't highlight it, you could get fired. But Shopify, they represent this new emerging third category. AI mandatory. You must use AI each and every day. For Shopify, AI isn't a resource. It's a requirement. It's like the company dress code. Yeah, like you can't show up.

to work unless you know you're wearing a suit well you can't show up to shopify unless you're using chat sheepy take after shopify's memo AI is now mandatory AI is now part of the dress code yeah could you whip up the takeaways for us for subitj wednesday thread up is a tariff winner yes it is tariff proof used clothing is also low priced which is good in a recession this trade war sustains the winners will be the three F's frugal friendly finance for our second story colossal has done it they de-exed Their first animal. After 13,000 years, the dire wolf is back. Colossal is so good at raising money because, like Hollywood, they focus on blockbusters. For our third and final story, Shopify is requiring all workers to use AI every day.

Managers can't hire a new person unless they explain why AI can't do the job. It's a wake-up call. AI is now mandatory in corporate America, like the dress code. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, wild day at trading on Tuesday. Stocks rose at first. We thought there was a comeback on Trump's claim that he had deal negotiations with South Korea. But that wasn't enough. The rally failed, and stocks ended up down for the day.

In fact, the White House just announced 104% tariffs on China that go into effect last night at midnight. Which for those keeping track is retaliation on retaliation on retaliation's retaliation. Or if you're keeping track with your kids, that's tit for tat for tit for tat for tit for tat. And second, if you live in the Northeast, you are getting a... a new food delivery option. That's an old option. Seameless. Seamless was the first food delivery app in New York City. Like in 1999, I think. It was the first one I used. Well, I guess it wasn't an app if it was 1999. No, it was a URL web worldwide web page. Eventually Grubhubb acquired Seamless, then they shut down Seameless, but now they're bringing the brand back. It's like we said, retro tech, making a comeback. And finally, the Jeff Bezos Earth Fund is screening 100,000 cows and sheep to identify the ones that fart the least.

That's right. Some cattle emit 30% less methane than others. You can smell them. And Bezos wants to prioritize those climate-friendly or cows when it comes to breeding. Interestingly, selective breeding has been used for centuries to boost certain traits. Usually the traits they try to boost is maximizing milk production. You're right, yeah, yeah. Now it's minimizing flagellants. Feels like colossal. Or could have gotten involved in this, Jack.

Those Velocer rafters, they don't fart too much. Now time for the best fact yet. This one set in by Nita Nogladi over in New York City. Yesterday we said that Ford was doing a trade war discount. They were offering employee pricing for all. But get this. Back in 2009, Hyundai launched a more creative discount during the Great Recession. Hyundai let you return your car if you lost your job.

Yeah. If you got laid off 16 years ago, they'd just let you come back to the dealership and give the car back. That was such a well-received promotion that Hyundai sales rose 24% in the following year, which is double the industry pace. In fact, it was so, so successful. They revived the campaign during the pandemic in 2020 for just a few months, and it was successful then too. Netan, incredible fact.

Thanks for sending in. Apparently, he wrote his entire business school thesis on that promotion. If Hyundai hasn't hired this man, hire this man. We'd like a word with you. Jack, you look, oh, you hear that? What is that? It's the dire wolf howl. Jack, that's the dire wolf howl.

It means we've got to wrap up. It means we've got to wrap up the show. Yeties, before we go, remember to drop in the comments on Spotify or YouTube, your tasteful tariffs. I think we should tariff this phrase that's above my pre-grade. Yeah, let's tariff that phrase. Remember to tap to follow the show, and Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to the legendary podson,

Wilder celebrating with the best birthday yet. He's four years old. Can I give you some stats about the pod son? Jack, let's jump into this S-1 on the pod son. His favorite color is purple. His favorite animal is a T-Rex. And his favorite food is chocolate waffles with maple syrup and peanut butter all mixed together. I'm very proud about how the Potson is such a sweet tooth.

I notice he asked for dates on top of his ice cream cake. I know. It's a bit of a problem, but yeah, he loves it. And a happy birthday to legendary Yeti, Savannah Wisswood, celebrating down in Orlando. She's got a sushi dinner and heading to Tampa for some gambling this weekend. Okay. Not too shabby. And Caleb Randall down in Arlington, Texas is the best.

dad with the best birthday. Congratulations to Maureen Papanostillo in West Hartford, Connecticut, who won the March Madness Pool because she didn't pick Duke. The numbers don't lie. Caroline Curris from the Spotify comments still owns stock of Peloton, just like us. Which we now need to add to disclosures. We're with you, Caroline. Someone's getting this comeback soon.

Peloton Condolences Club. We should start it. And if anyone else wants a shout out on this show, wants to get their buddy a shoutout, or if you've got the best fact yet, we've got a link in this episode description. or go to tboypodpod.com slash shoutouts. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. This is Jack.

I own stock in Amazon, Netflix, and Ford. Nick owns stock in The Real Real. And Nick and I both own stock of Shopify and ETFs of the S&P 500.