The Best One Yet - ⛱️ “Happy Gas Tax Vacation” — $0.18 cents off gas. Magic Spoon’s cereal revenge. The Obamas’ pod move.

Episode Date: June 23, 2022

Remember yesterday when Kellogg told us that cereal is dead? Well, startup Magic Spoon just raised $85M… for Millennial cereal. Just as you spiral into a Gas Price depression, we may be getting a 3-month Gas Tax Holiday. And the Obamas are moving their podcast from Spotify to Amazon because exclusivity has an expiration date.$SPOT $AMZN $XOM $KFollow 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, June 23rd, and today's pod is the best one yet. Tb.O.I. I'm calling you straight from the great state of Vermont. I'm back, baby. I'm over on Nantuck. I got Searsucker Boxers on. Is that a problem? We got our pod studio set up. You can watch this pod now with one tap on Spotify. In the meantime, Jack, what's the first story for the TBOY? Yesterday, Kellogg's told us that cereal is dead.

But cereal startup Magic Spoon? raised big VC cereal money. And our second story, the 4th of July is coming up pretty soon. But we're getting a different kind of holiday. Yeah, a three-month-long gas tax holiday. Our third and final story, after three years, the Obamas are taking their talents from Spotify, going to Amazon. The way Jack and I see it, exclusivity has an expiration date.

But before we hit that wonderful mix, Nick, honestly, just the perfect mix for the new Friday. This is how you do it, Jack. Can I ask you a question, Yeties? Are you supposed to be on your ninth Zoom call of the day right now? Hey, all the besties out there. Are you stuck in another one-on-one with your manager to talk H-2 O-KR reach goals? If you're feeling like the corporate world is breaking your soul.

Well, Beyonce's new song is literally called Breaking My Soul. That's right. Beyonce just dropped the first single of her new album on Tuesday. And it's not about single ladies. It's not about Halos and it's not about being crazy, oh so crazy in love. It's about quitting your job, the job you hate. Jack, can you whip up the first stanza for us of the new song? I just quit my job.

I'm going to find new drive. Okay, Yetis, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the lyrics. The chorus is literally a call to action from Beyonce for you to quit whatever you're doing right now. The chorus happens like eight times in the song. It does. And the chorus is just saying quit like eight different lyrical ways. So Jack and I am noticing here is that the Great Resignation just became a Billboard top 100 hit. This song from Beyonce, it's the world's most lyrical LinkedIn post,

Look, Yeti's Beyonce, she's burned out. Although she is her own boss, so it's kind of confusing. It's like Beyonce, it's just Nick and Jack here. Who are you quitting from? Who are you quitting from? You're your own boss. And she does have enough money to pay for a thousand retirement accounts. But if you're about to quit or you're about to switch jobs or you're about to take some time off...

About to do it. Say this in the exit interview. Look, boss. Yance made me do it. And then just like send a text with a B emoji. Let's hit our three stories. years before this song. Two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one. Yeah, 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 to show. For our first story yesterday, Jack and I were telling you that Kellogg's disowned cereal. They said cereal is dead at Kellogg. Well, a startup called Magic Spoon just raised $85 million Specifically, entirely, exclusively for cereal. Oh, Jack. Let's just set the scene here for a second. So startups right now, startups across the world, across the country, they're laying off employees and they can't raise money.

But Magic Spoon, a cereal company, direct-to-consumer, just hit a $500 million value in this economy. Oh, and Jack Kellogg told us yesterday that cereal is not growing as a category. But just three years old, MagicSpoon, a cereal company has reached a million different customers. And Jack, forgive me if my memory doesn't serve correct, but didn't Kellogg just tell us yesterday that cereal was not cool anymore with the kids? Pretty much. On the other hand, Amy Schumer, Odell Beckham Jr. and Shakira have all invested in Magic Spoon, a cereal startup? Shakira, Shakira.

Let's break down what the heck is going on between what Kellogg's is telling us and what's working at Magic Spoon. Yeties, Jack and I were fascinated with the story, so we jumped in T-Boy style, because Magic Spoon is literally a pure play cereal company. They have like eight or nine different types of loop cereal. Jerry, we're going to need more loops. They got like your standard Cheerios and then like a peanut butter version, a rainbow version. The whole company is a variation on loops.

A maple version, a waffle version. The key difference, Jack and I noticed, between Magic Spoon and Kellogg is that Magic Spoon changed two variables in the cereal equation. The ingredients and the branding. Besties, over the last century, the Kellogg team, they've been coating their flakes with enough sugar to break your molar. Big cereal literally put sugar cubes in a box. Call them Lucky Charms and sold them to kids as breakfast food.

On the other hand, Jack, those rainbow marshmallows, they're pretty cute. So Magic Spoon has un-Boomered cereal by using clean ingredients instead. Okay, so that's on the ingredient side. On the brand side, Kellogg and General Mills, they tossed on Carlin. cartoon animals with huge eyes, basically to make you want to lick the box. Magic Spoon's not doing any of that either. No, they're not. The box, honestly, it looks like an all-birds shoebox. And there's no Wiley Coyote, like tripping on those sugar cubes, those lucky charms.

Jack and I were looking at Magic Spoon. We're like, is this a cereal or is this an athleisure brand? And Magic Spoon is clearly targeting adults, not little Johnny who's getting tricked by Cookie Crisp. By Cookie Crisp, Jack? Or by... Gaukey Crisp. But yet he's one small asterisk, Jack and I should mention due to those.

two variable changes. The price tag. You feel like you're paying for a pair of Albert shoes. The new ingredients and the new brand, it's going to cost you $10 a box of cereal. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Magic Spoon? Don't confuse one company's tale with the whole story. Okay, Yetis. Jack and I went back.

Like, we jumped in T-boy style. Kellogg has been calling cereal demand soft for years on their earnings calls. So if the biggest cereal player in America says that cereal sales are soft, then the whole cereal sector must be, right? But here's the situation. In reality, demand was low for Kellogg's cereal, not for the idea of cereal. Think about it. Cereal, it's incredibly quick to prepare, and it can be like a healthy snack.

Yeah, so cereal isn't over. You just needed a cereal full-body makeover, Jack. Change the look and the ingredients to target millennials, not children. And then advertised to millennial parents on social media, not to little kids on TV. Magic Spoon did all that and adjusted cereal for a new market fit. Because no matter how big a company is, its tail isn't the whole story. For our second story, President Biden just called on Congress to suspend the gas tax. A gas tax holiday. It's good politics. It's terrible policy.

Jack, we said it before. We'll say it again. What is the one price tag that you I and every Yeti out there see every day? Gas prices. Jack, the biggest direct and indirect driver of the inflation driving up. prices. Gas prices. Jack, the biggest vulnerability to President Joe Biden and his party's political fortunes? Gas prices. Cereals. Gas prices. So Yeties, the White House just called on Congress yesterday to suspend the gas tax for a full three months. This is the economic equivalent of the teacher pushing the exam until after spring break. Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Thompson. Yeah, no studying. Oh, Jack, Mrs. Thompson is going to get like the best reviews at the end of the year after doing that.

out of here. Library, what are you talking about? So here's what Jack and I find fascinating about the gas tax of all the taxes. It's one of the special taxes that has a specific purpose. The gas tax pays for our roads. Yeah, 18.4 cents per gallon is what you pay at the pump, and that goes to the highway trust fund every time. That highway trust fund pays for the crew that repaves I-95 every once in a while. Jack, I'm looking at the map here. It looks like the bridge needs a new chassis. The gas tax pays. for that bridge's new chassis. But look, besties, President Biden is desperate to provide relief at the pump right now. So he just asked Congress to pause that gas tax.

He also asked the states, all 50 of them, to pause their gas taxes, which are separate and which can range from 9 cents a gallon to 58 cents a gallon. And if the federal gas tax pays for like the federal interstates, then the state gas tax that pays for all the state roads you're on. Oh, and finally, Joe Biden's going to Saudi Arabia soon to ask. the shakes to pump more oil as well. Jack, we add up all those three things. What kind of a reduction we're looking at at the pump? No federal gas tax, no state gas tax, and more oil from Saudi Arabia. The White House thinks it'll reduce gas prices by $1 account. Okay, we'll take it. So Jack,

what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone driving a gas powered car? This is good politics, bad policy. Look, Yeties, the reality is that the president gets blamed for gas prices, no matter what, even though there's very little a president can do about gas prices. The gas per gallon, it's up $2 since the war in Ukraine started. Okay, so President Biden's doing something. It appears to be helpful except one thing. It's actually not. Economists broadly agree this gas tax holiday will not help solve the problem. Okay, more specifically, oil companies pay the gas tax.

And Biden hopes that they will pass on that 18.4 cents in gas tax savings to all of us. plus as lower prices at the pump. He hopes the gas companies drop the price of each gallon by 18.4 cents, but it's up to the gas companies. Jack, I'm checking the Wikipedia right now. In oil companies, they're not UNICEF. It's not generous George over there. Yeah, ExxonMobil, not a charity. Experts think the oil companies are going to keep a lot of this gas tax savings as their own profit.

At the end of the day, gas prices won't meaningfully go down unless there's more supply of oil or there's less demand for oil. And the market controls that, not the present. So this gas tax holiday, it's fun and it is great politics, but it's bad policy. And now a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. So for the last three and a half years, Jack and I were running a startup within a startup, basically. We turned our company Market Snacks into Robin Hood Snacks, the news arm of Robin. And in Robin Hood, we co-hosted the Snacks Daily Pod that you got to know and love. At Robin Hood, we also got to hire an awesome team of news people who run the Robin Hood Snacks newsletter.

Wild fact here. The biggest newsletter in America, Robin Hood snacks. A key detail, though, not many are aware of is the editorial independence. So Jack and I set it up so that we could independently cover the most interesting and most important news stories of the day. Robin Hood's commitment to free, digestible news snack style was an awesome differentiator. Yeah, if you're not investing in Robin Hood yet to get started, go to robin hood.com slash t-boy and choose a free stock. That's robinood.com slash T-B-O-Y. Certain limitations apply. investments involve risk. Robin Hood Financial LLC member SIPC. By the way, Robinhood is no longer affiliated with us or the podcast. For our third and final story before you quit your job and tell

your boss, Beyonce made you do it. After three years, the Obamas are leaving Spotify for Amazon. Because there's an expiration date on exclusivity. Okay, Jack, what was like one of the top themes that we saw in the last three years? Actually, this is particularly close to you and me because we're in the podcast game. We paid attention to the podcast payouts. The podcast payout. People were playing a premium for the content from the podcast. Meg and Prince Harry.

Call her daddy. Joe Rogan. Conan O'Brien recently. They all got eight-digit deals, including smartless. It'd be the best if Oprah got one of these deals. Because then on her podcast, she could be like, you get a podcast payout. You get a podcast payout. So, Yeties, over the last three years, these exclusive podcast deals are getting all the attention

for their big numbers. but what really is an exclusive deal that you keep hearing about? Well, there's two sides to each deal. The creator. A podcast host. And the platform. Like Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Sirius X-M. In these deals, the creator agrees to license their podcast exclusively to just one platform.

And you know who's exclusive because at the end of the pod, they don't say, listen anywhere you get your pods. What do they end up saying, Jack? They end up saying, listen only on Spotify or only on Sirius XM or only on Apple. Exclusively on Sirius. And the benefit for the creator of one of these deals is they get a big upfront check from the platform. Not too shabby. Bloomberg writes a big article. There's a huge number and they get a lot of publicity for getting a big cash out. Let's look at the platform. The benefit to them is that the listeners of that show, they all have to come to this platform to listen to that. But there is a downside here. So, Jack, what's the downside of exclusivity for the creator?

The downside is some listeners might leave you. Some will open a spot of. account like you asked them to. But others are going to be like, I'm just going to find a new show on Apple. And if anyone's listening to Apple, but you're exclusive on Spotify, then they won't discover your show on Apple, which is going to hurt your growth. And there's also a downside for the platform. There is, because buying a podcast audience, that's expensive due to that premium content price that Jack and I mentioned earlier. Eight digits? That's a lot of digits. But here's the news. Three years ago, the Obama signed an exclusive deal with Spotify to bring their president. brand over to Spotify podcast.

The Michelle Obama podcast became the most listened to Spotify original pod ever. But we just got an update. And Jack, how is that relationship changing now? It's not getting extended. The Obamas are leaving Spotify and striking a deal with Audible. Not just Audible. Audible is owned by Amazon. Exactly.

Now, here's where things get a little funky. This isn't an exclusive deal that they're striking with Amazon. Yeah, the Obama's want as broad distribution as possible. That's one of the reasons they left Spotify. Right. So Amazon is now getting the Obamas, which is great, but people can still listen to the Obama podcast on Spotify and Apple and everywhere else. Amazon does deals different, I guess. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies listening in the podcast industry? There's an expiration date on exclusivity.

Okay, Yeti's little secret about exclusivity deals. The payouts are huge, but they're not forever. These deals typically last three to four years. And many of those deals are coming to an end soon. The reality is that exclusive deals provide a one-off boost to the platform, like an Apple or an Amazon, but then that value can subside. The platform might figure they already have the creator's audience after three years. Yeah, no need to pay a premium for Caller Daddy to extend that three-year exclusive deal. The Daddy Gang is already here. They've been here for three years.

Now, we're expecting more exclusive deals to expire in the next year or two because they're come and due. And if they're renewed, it'll likely be at a much lower price. Because there's an expiration date on exclusivity. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for the new Friday for us over there? Magic Spoon is rising from Kellogg's cereal ashes. Yet, he's don't confuse one company's tale with the whole industry's story. For our second story, President Joe Biden has asked Congress for a three-month gas tax holiday. It's good politics.

It's bad policy. Our third and final story is the Obama's. They're bringing their voices to audible. Because there's an expiration date on exclusivity. Now, time for the best fact. yet this one sent in by Ted Kramer in Browbrough, Vermont, your dad sent this and this is incredible. How do you get it to us?

Big Ted sent this in by facts. There we go. It was not a Twitter DM over there. Now, we grew up, my brother's mate, loving to treat ourselves to a good can of Pepsi. It was like lucky charms in a beverage. Yes. And when we visited my dad's hometown of Port Washington on Long Island,

we noticed that the Pepsi cans there are special. Okay, I'm from New York. I didn't even notice this until Jack told me sophomore year. When you buy a can of Pepsi in New York or New York City or the whole state,

I think, it says New York right there on the top of the can. So Jack and I have something T-boy style. New York is the only place that gets their own specially labeled cans.

Bessies, if you got one that says New York on it, send us a pick. And if you got one that doesn't say New York on it, we don't believe you. We dug through the internet.

We couldn't figure out why it's just New York Pepsi that says New York at the top. But then, Jack, what did Big Ted tell you those many years ago when you were a kid? Big Ted and his dad, my pop, used to tell us it's because New York has the best water. Forget Evian. Just bottle New York tap. Pepsi wants you to know that this Pepsi is extra tasty because it's got New York water. And a big happy birthday to Big Ted in Brattleboro.

Happy birthday, Pop. Celebrate with probably a Pepsi. Yeties, you look fantastic today. If you haven't yet, click to follow us right here. on Spotify, on Apple, wherever get your pods. Jack and I will get you every day. Nick and I, we will see you tomorrow. H-Y-H, T-B-O-Y.

And before we go, congrats to Yeti, Sarah Mogul, who just got featured by Citibank as like their best senior VP in the entire company. Congrats to Max and Kara, who are kicking off their big wedding weekend

in Carmel, California. Beautiful, big little lies. And congrats to Ali Akalus, who just hit her one-year annual sales quarter. And Ishmael Martinez, congrats on one-year, Working at a Napa wine resort, not too shabby. Congrats to Vince Combs, who got a new gig at Snapchat.

And Jake Levingston just got a new job as an accountant. Happy anniversary to Amanda and Miguel Rodriguez, happily celebrating 10 years together. And Justin Wilcox, happy birthday in San Diego. Happy birthday Nicole Leigh in Macau, China. And Marnie Bonner, turning 25 in Dallas. Congrats to making another year to John Duffy down in Mexico. And Alejandra J from Los Angeles, also celebrating a birthday in Mexico. go.

Congrats to Shana Albin, who's got a birthday in California and having a baby in just a couple months. Meanwhile, Daniel Ney is turning 27 over in Brooklyn. And finally, happy birthday to Doug in Harrisburg. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both own stock of Apple, Spotify, and Robin Hood. And now word about our exclusive sponsor, Robin Hood. Look, we're not tech guys.

We're not engineers. Nick, I'm no product manager. You look great, but we're not technically. When our computer's not working, Jack and I turn it off. then we turn it back on again. But when we moved to California to join Robin Hood, we were in tech's mecca. So we were soaking up as much about the tech industry as we could. One thing we saw about the tech industry at Robin Hood was insane customer focus.

Every product launched, every tweak made to the app was a laser focused move on customers. Robin Hood would be interviewing hundreds of users to figure out if one tweak of one button in the app would improve the experience. Inside of Robin Hood, we saw that everything the company did was focused on the best outcome for you the customer. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to robinode.com slash T-B-B-B-O-Y. That's Robinhood.com slash T-B-O-Y. Certain limitations apply. All investments involve risk. Robin Hood Financial LLC member SIPC. By the way, Robin Hood is no longer affiliated with us or this podcast.