The Best One Yet - 🧑‍🎤 “iConcert” — Apple’s 600-seat rock-hall. Horowitz Andreessen University. Zuck’s bot-blocking. +Iced Coffee Interview

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

Apple Music Hall has 16 cameras and 600 seats… it’s built for live concert… recordings.A16z’s new alt-college in San Francisco is for future tech founders… It’s Dropout University.Meta new AI app is #1 in all the app stores… But Amazon just canceled them.Plus, should you bring an Iced Coffee into a job interview?$AAPL $META $SBUXGrab your Tickets to the IPO Tour: Our In-Person OfferingSan Francisco 9/23: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1C0064AFB5F688BDBoston 10/14: https://tickets.citywinery.com/event/tboy-the-ipo-tour-in-person-offering-8cdhupSeattle 11/4 (21+): https://www.axs.com/events/1446394/the-best-one-yet-ticketsNEWSLETTER: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, Cevice Wednesday, September 23rd. And today's spot is the best one you had to this is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know tonight. Tonight, tonight. It is our live show straight out of San Francisco, baby. Our special guest is Tim Draper.

Yes. The man who basically invented venture capital. The godfather of venture capital, Titanatech, the chairman of writing checks, Jack. He invested early in Tesla, SpaceX, Robin, Coinbase, Rings, Skype, Twitter, Twitch, docket, Cruz Carter. Yeah, he's the guy, and he's with us tomorrow. And you might buy the last ticket if you click the link in the episode description.

We can't wait to see you there. It's going to be the best one yet. But in the meantime, Jack, we got three fantastic stories for the funnest place in finance, coolest and capital. For our first story, Apple just built their first concert venue, and it's got more cameras and speakers than Carnegie Hall. But Apple knows that live events aren't actually about live events. For our second story, Injuries and Horowitz, the world's most famous venture capital firm. just launched a university. Horwitz-Andreason Academy, or as we call it, dropout year.

And our third and final story, Zucks AI agents just got blocked by Amazon. So Instagram is going to block Alexa. We need to talk about bot blocking, don't we, Jack? But besties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Wonderful mix of stories. Love the mix. Almost time for Harry Mix. Did you hand them a printed copy of your resume?

Did you send a thank you letter to all the recruiters within 24 hours? And was that thank you note and email, or was it hand-written? Jack. And did that thank you note say, hi, Mr. Johnson or dear Mr. Johnson? Bessie, there are so many challenging questions when you're applying for a job, but one question is bigger than any other. Should you bring an iced coffee into your interview? Ice coffee interviews. Where do we stand on this, Jack? Okay, summer of 2008, I would not have survived without my daily 40-ounce black iced coffee. Okay, but did you bring it into the interview? I feel like if I walked in with a decaf,

half-calf situation, I would have been kicked out right there. So the pro iced coffee supporters, they say that bringing it in showcases your personality. Wow. This guy's got a frappuccino. It highlights your energy, Koolada. It also signals you were organized because you had time to hit up Starbucks on the way to the office. Okay, that's one opinion. But the iced coffee detractors, what do they say?

Well, the first thing they'll mention is the condensation ring on the boss's desk. Then they're going to mention the cracking ice that interrupted the whole interview. And did I hear slurping from your straw? I can't resist it. I can't resist it. It's the syrup part. Now, I'm a little biased here, but if I saw someone bringing in. an ice coffee to an interview. I'd hire that man.

Remind me of me. Hire that man. Darlina Duncan, she's loving this ice coffee interview drama. Because the ice coffee question has gone viral like a bad Zoom interview. Besties, is ice coffee a job hunting asset? Or 40 ounces of rejection? Let us know in the comments. And Jack, refills, let's

start our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack, yeah, that's it. I don't even do 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, Apple just built its first ever concert hall, 600 seats at the London headquarters. Apple is getting into live experiences,

but this theater specializes in not live. experiences. No, besties. Forget the snubs. The pit may have won the biggest award, but Apple won the Emmys. Apple beat out HBO, Netflix, Disney, and NBC. Twenty-eight Emmy Awards. Half of them coming from Widow's Bed. Bridger-ton, Bridger-Nots, 25% of Apple revenues now are from their services sector. They've got Apple TV. They've got Apple Fitness. They've got ICloud. They got Apple Music. And although most of those service revenues come from the app tax in the app store, even Scorsese is impressed by Apple's creative arts. But Apple just announced they're going deeper into the arts. Yeah. From streaming to stage. Would that make me love you, Dad? It's called Apple Music Hall,

and it's at their London headquarters inside the Battersea Power Station. Apple, it's trying to be Carnegie Hall, literally. And Apple Music Hall opens up on September 28th. Okay, but besties, press pause in the pod, because here's what actually fascinates us about Apple's first concert venue. It's really the world's largest recording studio. And just sprinkle on some context, Apple Music Hall, It sits inside an old electricity station right on the Thames River. Somebody spent a ton of money turning it into a millennial paradise office space. Jack and I call this, though, the I stage. Because the 38-foot stage of Apple Music Hall would make Shakespeare jealous.

It's got bronze balconies. It's got 600 seats. It's got multiple bars. We'd love to host a live show there. Are they serving Appletinis? They're probably serving Apple Tis. Now, that's what you'd experience if you witness Sir Paul McCartney sell out Apple Hall someday. But what excites the Beatles is actually the 48th,

speakers and the 16 cameras for live streaming in Apple's eye stage hall. Plus, enough lighting to grow sunflowers on the stage. Oh, plus, plus two mixing studios. We repeat, this theater has 48 speakers and 16 cameras, even though there's only room for 600 people. So, like, the next time the Spice Girls go on a reunion tour, it would probably begin at Apple's new music hall. But we'd all watch it on TV because the recording would be so damn good.

Now, we know you're thinking 600 seats. That'll make this more of an intimate space, like Picture MTV Unplugged back in the day. Spotify presents, those tend to be intimate affairs as well. But Apple's new concert hall, according to BBC, has more cameras and speakers than any venue of its size on earth. And this theater has a unique and important legal term, too. The artists walk out owning the recordings. Not now.

Okay, but one sec, Dr. Dre, there is a catch here, isn't there? All performances must be live streamed to Apple music. That's the deal. But as epic, as watching Adele belt out some soprano notes at Eye Hall would be, that's not actually the goal of this thing. The goal is for Adele to say, hello, it's me on your screen. Oh, did I just break our no singing room? You were very close, Jack. You were very close, but you didn't break it.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple's first concert hall? Apple knows that the most important part of live is the not-life. They're doing it for the Graham. Festies, for decades, recordings of live content, that's been a big part of the music industry. ACDC Live CDs, Hamilton, the Musical on Disney Plus. tour movie. Those were all live recordings, but experienced by most people not live. Live events are epic. That's why we're doing a live tour right now. Ticket sales, they can make a lot of money. But just as important as ticket sales are the revenue you make after the live event.

But to make money after the live event, you need really good footage of the live event. And that's really hard. Like, here's some insider info. We're doing our live show tonight in San Francisco, and we have to record it because we want the whole audience to experience it the next day. And even though we're recording at an epic venue, the San Francisco Palisian, the San Francisco House of Pine Arts, we have to hire our own film crew. We have to rent our own cameras in order to capture the content. We have to do this at every venue. But Apple's Music Hall understands that unique pain point, and they capture all the content with 16 cameras. It'd be so easy if we did a live show at Apple Music Hall because they have all the cameras and all the speakers and all the

microphones already. Basically is the only venue we've ever seen that lets the performer walk out the door with the content of a new album on a hard drive. So what Apple really created here is a giant turnkey recording studio for the live performance. Because Apple really knows what we know to. Just as important as the live part is the not live part. For our second story, Andresen Horwitz is launching Horwitz-Andresen, an academy where students learn from Sam Altman and Travis Callan. It's not a college. It's Silicon Valley's first farm system. All right, Jack, and we've been out the whiteboard here. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Travis. Calanick Daniel Eck.

You forgot the dropout. Oh, right. Who has a show on Hulu called The Dropout. Yeah, Bessie's Elizabeth Holmes. That's Silicon Valley's dropout list. But it's not just tech founders. Ralph Lauren, Richard Branson, Coco Chanel. Yeah, they dropped out too.

Across industries, the entrepreneurial it can be more urgent than the midterm exams. So Andreessen Horowitz, the world's most famous VC firm just invested in a new kind of higher where you won't drop out, actually, because it's basically entrepreneurship already. And they've raised 35 mil for an unaccredited, two-year college alternative in San Francisco for 16 to 22-year-olds. And according to the CEO of this academy, yes, they have a CEO. The curriculum is heavily AI-centric. Like you learn to launch a company, you learn to scale apps.

And they also pointed out you also learn to, quote, unquote, find love. I mean, because the number one question from applicants is, yeah, what about the hookups? The party scene, huge. And according to Andresen Horowitz's press release, courses will be taught by legendary people. Yeah, the PR team name drop Jensen Wong, Sachin Adela, Mira Marotti. Patrick Carlson, they're all going to be teaching. But Silicon Valley has been trying to disrupt the diploma for decades. It's a move fast and break Harvard situation.

Sprinklons in context. In 2011, Peter Thiel launched the Teal Fellowship, which pays the most promising students to drop out and launch a company instead. Dylan Field, the founder of Figma, he left Brown as junior year for the Teal deal. Quit and get cash. Palantir launched a program last year for high school grads called the Meritocracy Fellowship. Same idea. Get paid to work at tech companies instead of pledging to a sorority.

Also, Nick Draper University, an unaccredited pre-accelerator entrepreneurship school. Founded by Tim Draper, the guy we're interviewing at tonight's live show. A lot of these Silicon Valley CEOs think you learn more by working and doing among smart people than by studying in a class. Now Andreessen, the world's most famous VC is launching its own all at college, but they have a campus. Although you'll be on a lot of corporate campuses too. Yeah, yeah. Rotational work programs at tech costs. And Mark Andreessen is going to haze you by withholding dinner until you can finish math problem.

should put that out. Traditional teaching creditations are not required for this academy. Because, as they say, there's no correlation between having a PhD and being a good teacher. And the founding class is a one-year program. It is free starting next year. But eventually, they want a two-year college-like degree with tuition the same price as the elite university. So students 16 to 22 are now applying to start next fall, although no athletic scholars. I think if you say you play sports, you're less likely to get it. Yeah, good luck, fenters out there. You're not going to see the Andresen disruptors versus the teal technologists. But besties, what do we think about this?

That it's a minor league for venture capital. Just like the farm system in baseball. Stanford is already teaming with VCs looking for the next soccer. Andresen wants the talent pipeline even more concentrated. That's why Google Anthropic and Vida, they're all founding partners of this academy as well. They want access to the top 16-year-old talent. Besties, the real goal of Andreessen's drop out you. It isn't alumni donations.

It's alumni equity. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies pledging to Andresen's dropout university? There is no correct answer to entrepreneurship. Yeties, there's a long list of founders who quit college to start a company. There's also a long list of founders who finished college or who went to business school or who started a company when they were middle-aged. One of those paths gets the benefit of speed. If you launch young without kids, you're happy to sleep in a house with any other engineers

and bootstrap. The other path, it gets the benefit of wisdom. You launch when you're more educated, bigger network, and more life experiences. There's no right formula on how or when to found a company. Some industries require launching and experiencing. Other industries that require networking and lessons. It's a reminder that unlike with college exams, there's no one correct answer to entrepreneurship.

Class dismissed. We'll see after the break. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Amazon just blocked Zuck's new AI app from doing your shopping. And Zuck is blocking everyone else's AI apps. Oh, boy. This is a case of bot blocking.

lock and it's holding AI back. Medi's meta. Ah, meta. They are the AI company DeJure. Meta stock is up 33% in the last 30 days, adding $64 billion to Zuckerberg's network. That's 11 lifts. And Zuck is now hitting Hollywood, kind of.

Yeah, kind of because he's the anti-hero in the upcoming sequel to the social network called the Social Racken. That comes out October 8. Plus, Zuck's new AI app just hit number one in both the Apple and Google App stores. Muse AI. Zuck is everywhere right now. Yeah, chat.

GPT, Gemini, Claude, and now Muse. Every tech company's chatbot has had their time as the big man on campus. Now, we should point out, meta, AI was meta's AI chatbot. But Muse AI is meta's AI agent. Chatbots just answer your questions. Agents go on the internet and do things for you. Here's how it's going to look, Bessies. When you download Muse AI, it's going to show you a telotubby-like character.

Like, what's your name again? Mine is called Vesper. Gersper sounds kind of cool. And it'll ask you to connect your Gmail, your Google Calendar, and your Instagram accounts so that their agent rapidly gets to know. They won't let you call them a him or her, though, right? They're playing kind of ambiguous with these pronouns. You have to call it or that.

Yeah, they don't want to get too close to this thing. But, Nick, after you've linked those accounts, it will take up bits on some meta data center somewhere, working on your behalf 24-7-365. And today, Zucks expected to announce a new AI, new smart glasses at his Meta-connect event this evening. Oh, in the company, meta, it's approaching a $2 trillion dollar valuation. But Bessie, this is what Jack and I find fascinating.

Like, we said meta's AI can connect here. your Gmail, but it can't connect to your Amazon. Amazon bot blocked it. That's the drama this week that coincided with Muse AI's rise in the app store. You see, the app to buy things for you can't actually buy things where you buy things. Here's what happened. Now, Amazon cited their terms and conditions for why they're blocking Muse AI. They have the right to block access to AI agents. Every time you say block, I think bot now. That usually limits how useful Muse can actually be. Like, if it can't shop for tissues or tortillas, what's the point? Online shopping is a huge use case of the internet.

Now, an unstated reason that Amazon is bot blocking meta, what is it, Jack? Advertising. Amazon made $68 billion in ads last year. But if those ads are viewed by bots, not humans, then advertisers will stop advertising. Plus, Zuck has plans to take a small cut of transactions, which would further shrink Amazon's margins. But I want to point out that I had a similar experience last week where Zuck wasn't being blocked. He was doing the blocking.

Okay, why don't you sprinkle on more contact? I asked Claude to periodically check Facebook Marketplace. Because I need a set of 45-pound time. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, spot. 45 or 25 pound? No, I have 25, I have 30, I have 35, and I've been maxed out for like three years now. Pretty sure I was spotting you on 25, but okay, we'll roll with your story, Jack. So, Claude tells me, I can't check periodically, Facebook blocks the access to other agents to their access.

Claude, like, are you sure you can brand trust 90 pounds together, Judge? So there it is, Facebook's happy to let Muse their AI chatbot, Peru's Facebook marketplace, but Facebook will not let AI from other companies check their platforms. I still got some questions about these ways. But another example, besties, Apple's new Siri AI app that hit your iPhone on September 14th, it can't read Gmail or WhatsApp. Because Google and Meta have no incentive to help Apple's AI. They bot blocked it.

Basically, every tech company is blocking bots from other tech companies. Now, Shopify is like the one exception. They announced on Tuesday they will allow muse AI agents to shop on their platforms. But AI agents won't achieve their potential unless the tech companies can't. agree to be botnostic. Bot agnostic for those who are trying to understand what Nick just said. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies lifting 55-pound dumbbells with their AI agents? We need an interstate commerce clause but for AI.

Yeah, these tech companies blocking bots from other tech companies, that's another collected action problem in AI. There's historical precedent here. Early cell phones couldn't accept text messages from other carriers. Or they wouldn't, I mean. Or how about the Baltimore Fire of Not? 1904. Four departments from neighboring cities came to help, but their hoses didn't fit the hydrants. You see, the interstate commerce clause, it requires states to now respect the rules and

commerce of other states. It creates some harmony across the different jurisdictions. This can also be solved without regulation. It just requires the tech companies to agree to one standard. But they better do it soon, because when AI agents fail to do the thing you tell to do, we often don't give them a second chance. Get this, six out of ten British consumers, stop using an AI shopping agent after it makes one mistake, according to a survey. You're like, I'm sick of this, never trying to again. Sorry, Vesper. So all the tech companies actually have an incentive to unblock each other's bots. Because if they don't, all the billions they spent on these AI bots won't live up to their full potential.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? Apple has built a music hall in London with the most cameras of any venue of its size. Because just as important as the live part is the not live part of live entertainment. For our second story, A16Z is launching Z16A. Horowitz-Andreason, a college-like program for future tech matters. Let's drop out you, but there's no one answer to the question of becoming an entrepreneur. And our third and final story, Amazon is reigning on Zuck's party by blocking Muse AI bots from shopping on Amazon.

The tech companies, they got to get botnostic, or AI won't live up to its potential. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, hold on to your diesel, because we might be banning diesel exports, something we've never done before. The world's economy runs on diesel, and with prices had an all-time record high, the president and the Republicans who control Congress are supporting a diesel export ban. Short term, this could help U.S. energy prices, but at the expense of the rest of the world and corporate profits. Second, Bitcoin is rising for no apparent reason. Bitcoin. It hath risen 30% since the summer on hopes that the clarity bill would pass through Congress. But the clarity bill

did not pass through Congress. What looked like bad news for the crypto industry never materialized. So Ben, the Bitcoin is out of hibernation, up another 13% since the Clarity Act failed to pass the Senate. And finally, how do you steal attention from Starbucks at the start of PSL season? Well, Jack, you team up. Duncan and L.L. Bean, they just collabed on their first ever joint tote bag. The most flannel thing New England has ever seen since lobsters were putting in all. It represents a whole new frontier and brand collapse from celebrity to geography. Now, time for the best fact. Yeah, this one whipped up by Jack. And I reckon me as we were prepping for our SF live show.

The oldest car dealership in America, it's in the Bay Area of California. And it's so old, they used to sell horses. True story. Yeah, it's true. Normandy's car dealership was found in San Jose, California in 1875. This car dealership is 151 years old. But for the first 25 years, they sold Morgans, not Mazda's. Yeah.

But when the horseless carriage came along, they started selling that too. Big's referring to a car. Right, right. And today, 100% of their business is Chrysler's. 0% is clouds. It's the oldest continually operated car dealership in America, and it'll be used to new horses. Yiddies, you look fantastic over there.

Jack, you are glowing before hair and makeup, which is in like 30 minutes. We actually do our own hair and makeup from the show. I do you, you, do me. Which maybe now people are noticing. But fasties, if you haven't yet, grab your tickets at tiboypod.com. And if you're coming to tonight's show,

we want to bring you up on stage. Yeah, so fill out the form. We have a link in the episode description. We want your best fact yet, and let us know if you want to whip up the takeaways on stage. If you do, we'll get you up there. Jack, I think I missed the spot. All right over here. I got a little blunt.

We'll see you tonight. We'll see it tomorrow morning. All right, is that pit bull? And before we go, a happy birthday to Legendary Eddie, Tyler Mayo, the cross-country running trombone, playing now 15-year-old in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Happy 60th birthday to Rita Richie in McAllister, Oklahoma. And Ward Doggins, Turned 7, Wake Forest, North Carolina. Happy birthday to Carter T. In Greenwich Village, New York.

And J.C. Angere in Mexico City, Mexico, happy best birthday. Congrats to Anna and Alex, who both got promoted and are going to the show tonight. And a happy fifth wedding anniversary to Huyul and Noreen from Oakland. We'll see at the live show tonight. You'll get another shout out. And congrats to Natalie Chan and Kyle Curry in San Francisco expecting their first IBO. 34 weeks pregnant kicking off the third trimester at our live show tonight. The IBO, the initial baby offering, the baby even knows our voices at this point, Jack. And to anyone else, celebrate something today, making a T-Bose.

Great the wins. Bitcoin name band.