The Best One Yet - 🏡 “iHome” — Apple’s living room strategy. Bumble’s Kate Hudson moment. AI’s casino stocks. +Zuck’s Guiness

Episode Date: October 14, 2026

Bumble got acquired in a happier-ever-after Private Equity ending… We call it D.O.P.E.Apple just unveiled a dozen surprise home products… It’s the new boss’ Living Room strategy.AI stock investing has become “a casino”... so we’ll tell you how to play it.Plus, Mark Zuckerberg can’t finish a Guiness… (is that a sip or a struggle?)$AAPL $BMBL $AVGO $METAGrab your Tickets to the IPO Tour: Our In-Person OfferingBoston 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, Sauviche Wednesday, October 14th. And today's pod. He's the best one yet this is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, the night before a live show,

what do we do? Pasta party. You got a carbolo double popper deli for the live show, Jack. So we're going to SRV in the South End. Thanks to the besties who recommend it. Gabe Brink, Lindsay Martinez, a bunch of other yetis, thanks for the recommendation. And in honor of tonight's live show,

look at what I drew. If you're watching, check this out. Is that Fenway? I drew Fenway Park up on the whiteboard. If you are coming to our live show in Boston tonight and you've got the best fact yet, we want to get you on the stage. If it's about pesky's poll, you get double credit.

We got a link in today's episode description. But in the meantime, before we hit the pasta jack, what are the three fantastic stories for the coolest show in capitalism? For our first story, Apple just unveiled an armada of smart appliances to live in your home. Behold the home view. Do I need one? No. Am I getting one?

Yes. For our second story, Bumble is getting acquired for $1.3 billion in a a happy ever after private equity ending. The women first dating app just got bought by a couple of dudes. And our third and final story. AI investors treat the stock market like gamblers treat a casino. That's a quote from a top AI CEO, so we'll tell you what to actually do with it. But besties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.

What a mix of stories. Also, I love that Kate Hudson's getting a shout out today. More than that in a second. We're going to do an intro on somebody who would not feel welcome in Fenway Park. All right. What do we got? Because the biggest challenge for AI leaders right now, what is it? Hey, it's not data centers, it's not frontier models, and it's not not destroying the world.

It's attempting to look normal while drinking a beer. Specifically drinking a Guinness beer. Now, to sprinkle on some context, please. People liked George W. Bush because, and I quote, I'd want to have a beer with him. Well, Zuck-E-Zuck Zuckerberg wants what Bush is having. So Mark Zuckerberg went out a podcast last week, and he ordered a pint of Guinness. Relatable. But the first sip nearly made him throw up.

Not relatable. The clip has gone viral. He takes the tiniest sip of that Guinness pint. But he's sipping the big brown glass of beer like it's a life sentence. And it takes him, we counted, 17 seconds to physically recover from the tiniest sip of Guinness. Oh, the most try-hard moment in Zuck's career so far. You can't code your way out of this one, Mark. Bet you a billion GPU Zuck won't split the G either, Jack.

Nick, it's wild. His business card literally says, I'm CEO, Bia. But pause the pod, Jack. Because Bessies, we're not hazing, Zuck. We're not peer pressure. As we all know, a Guinness can be an intense experience. Although the numbers suggest it's not. Because, get this, Guinness actually is fewer calories than a Budweiser.

20% fewer. An ounce for ounce, a Guinness weighs less than most beers. 15% less. And it's got half the ABV of the IPAs that you're sipping on. A Guinness is just 4.2% elk. Add it all up, besties. And the next time you find yourself at a pub with Mark Zuckerberg, just remember this. Mark's a smir-knock.

I some Jack. Let's in our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the North These met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, 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, Apple's newest product sits on your kitchen counter and controls five new Apple smart appliances. But here's the big question. It's a big. Will you let Siri run your home? Especially if she has a Fran Dresher nanny voice. Wait, can you customize it to Fran Dresher? I don't know, Jack. Yeah, it's just five weeks after revealing to us the folding iPhone, the iPhone duo, Apple wants another bite of the Apple. And it's called The Home View. Okay, that's enough. It's an Apple HomePod speaker, but with a seven-inch square-shaped iPad Mini perched on top. Now, Jack, I'm looking at the numbers here. HomePod that Apple already makes costs $300. And the iPad Mini cost $600. So you'd think this new

Home View, which combines the two, would be priced at $900. Add it all up. But it's not. No, it's priced to sell at $299 each. And the job of this brand-new home view is to make it so you don't need your iPhone when you're in the kitchen. Now, Nick and I were thinking about this Home View, as it's called, and we think the best use case is for cooking. Cooking, like you ask Siri AI for a recipe and she shows you it on the Home View screen. And then when the meal's over, you can ask this thing for a FaceTime call. You ask Siri to call your mom while you're cleaning the dishes. And if your mom hangs up on you because she's sick you? And you ask Siri to run down tomorrow's schedule while you're enjoying your second dessert. And when this thing's not on,

you're not using it, it's screen saver is a digital photo frame. Right. It's going through all the photos of your family just through your life. That's honestly like the best use case. It's a digital photo. But it's not actually an iPad we should point out. Surprisingly, there's no Netflix app that you can download so it's unclear if you can watch shows or movies while you're cooking. And also, interestingly, the Home View is not available in the

European Union. Because Apple hasn't cleared its AI regulations over there. Not possible. But the next best use case of this big new Apple home product, it's to look at the screen and see who's standing at the front door. Because sit down, stand up and get the door. Apple also unveiled Apple

Home Collection. Five, smart appliances for your home. That's right. Apple is turning your home into a command center bat cave and Siri is your new Alfred. Quick side note though. Yes. It's wild how accurate Bloomberg's journalist Mark German is at his reporting because he called all this last week and we waited to actually see it happen and it did. He must have a spy at Apple who tells him the press releases before we all see. Yeah, the old PFWTM. But Apple besties, Apple is now all in on your home. They're going full Joanna gains on your living room. Pimp this casa. You see, Apple Home Collection is actually a partnership with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. They unveiled yesterday two new Apple-branded security cameras.

One that's a doorbell and one that's a floodlight, kind of like Amazon's ring. And they unveiled an Apple thermostat, which kind of looks like Google's Nest. Exactly like Google's next. And then they also unveiled Apple's first ever front door locks. One has a keypad and one is just a deadbolt and you can control them all with your iPhone and this new HomeView product. The ship point out, Jack, while the Home View ships in November, the other home appliances from Apple, there's TBD, no ship date yet. They're coming soon. But Apple is still going, A-B-L-E-A-B-L-E-A-Bel.

Always be launching everything. Even if there's no ETA for arrival. But Bessie's, this is what Jack and I find fascinating. For the last decade, Apple has been obsessed with your body. Mainly with AirPods and Apple watches. Yeah, think of Apple's own apps. They're all focused on health. They track every beat and fluid going up and down your veins.

But with the new CEO, John Turnus, maybe Apple's next... 10 years are going to be outside your body. Maybe their next 10 years are about being inside your living room. If Syria AI actually works, which three quarters of the time, it doesn't for me still, this home view will be a hit and so of the smarter points. Which leads to the final most important use case for Apple. Privacy. And when are you going to launch that eye toilet Apple, the eye-tushy?

I think the biggest concern is how they'll demonstrate the product in the Apple stores, Nick. Hey, Apple, either way, just make product number two priority number one. And Jack, wants the takeaway for a... Our buddies over in Apple. Don't ever do that again. Apple's advantage, it's a warm security blanket. Yeties, there was a hacking on Monday. At 500 grocery stores in Europe, hackers cranked at the temperature and refrigerators to 122 degrees and spoiled all the food.

What a bizarre hacking, by the way. Right. Why would you want to spoil all the produce and grocery stores over in France? But it's a vivid reminder that interconnected smart appliances can get hacked. But back to Apple Home. If you're going to let a smart AI device with cameras inside your home, then trust is going to trump everything else. And that's why Apple's marketing isn't about design or style or big values. It's simply about privacy and security.

Great powers come with great privacy. And your data is private property. That's what Apple said yesterday. You see, the HomeView is secured by Face ID. The smart appliances, they're co-built by Apple and run on Apple's secure software. If smart, connected, AI-optimized homes are the next frontier for tech profits, then Apple's advantage is their reputation for privacy and security. Which, interestingly, is not the marketing message we saw from Zuck with Metas Raybans.

No, it was only after they called him purve glasses that we started to think about that security. Apple's key to retention yetties? It's a warm security blanket. For our second story, like the happy ending of a love story, Bumble stock is up 138% on news. It's found. It's Prince Charming. Two men will now run this women-first dating app, but they have the Queen Bee's blessing. Yeah, he's a little bit of behind the scenes here, but Jack and I love to study storytelling. And there's a familiar cliche that you'll notice in the plots of rom-coms.

Boy meets girl, girl rejects boy, boy rescues girl, boy and girl live happily ever after. And that cliche also, we noticed, happens to be the story of Bumble's recent stock rise. financially bumble shareholders have been kate hudson to wall street's macaa in this analogy jack is the movie producer right jack because i'm a long-term shareholder i thought it was awesome that bumble was building an entire brand and entire company based on female and i hear you jack you invested in it and on monday bumble stock searched 50 percent on reports it was getting acquired and on tuesday it surged and on confirmation it was voila a happy ending forever after call us roger ebert because one month ago Dick and I predicted that Bumble would get acquired.

Are you thinking about our podcast we did on September 11th, Jack? We said that fallen millennial brands were acquisition targets. They were highly eligible bachelorets. Because five years ago, Bumble was living its best life. Hey, IPO, they had a $14 billion valuation. That's worth two lifts, man. 31-year-old Whitney Wolf Hurd became the youngest woman to take a company public and the youngest female billionaire.

Full stop. But post-pandemic, Gen Z told dating apps, it's just not that into you. Bumble was burned out. It was. They had eight straight quarters of revenue shrinkage that's still going today. And the stock is down 90% from its high, with Jack still holding on for dear life. So Bumble tried to eat, pray, love their share price back up. First, they brought back their founder, Whitney Wolf heard as a boomerang CEO.

And they gave the app a makeover. They let men start making the first move. And then they did the ultimate breakup. They let go of 30% of Bumble employees, basically a third of the company. But Stella never quite got her groove back. No. The low stock price for Bumble left it ripe to be acquired. So on Tuesday, Bumble confirmed that it's happening.

They're being bought for $1.3 billion. Ithaca, a private equity company, is buying Bumble for $6.5 per share. Well, and not too shabby, a 138% premium to their stock price just last week. But it's not the most happy ending. I know what you're thinking, Jack. The co-CEOs, two dudes, will be former executives from META and Instacart. But it's also, like any good rom-com, also a full circle moment. Because six years ago, when Bumble IPOed, its biggest shareholder, was a private equity firm.

Blackstone. Nick and I were rooting that AI would acquire Bumble, but we said that P.E. would most likely do it. And now it's happened. But Whitney Wolf heard, she said in the announcement, she's into it. These guys share her vision, she said, and she believes that Bumble's best days are still to come. And Nora Ephron would approve of that. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over at Bumble? A new area of finance is being born. It's called Dope. Dope. Stands for D. OPE Digital-only private. Equal. Historically, private equity acquires struggling physical companies, makes some changes, and hopes to resell them at a higher price. Picture factories, car wash, change, Jersey Mike's submarine

sandwiches, all bought by private equity. They fixed the finances and they hope to IPO. Or as Richard Gehr did in Pretty Woman, no IPO. He just buys the physical businesses and sells them for parts. But Jack and I are noticing a new wave of private equity that buys struggling digital brands and not necessarily to resell, maybe just to hold them for the cash flow. Yahoo, TechCrunch, and NGadgett, got acquired by Apollo, a New York-based private equity firm. Eventbright, Everdote, Vimeo, AOL, all acquired by Italy's bending spoons, a publicly traded private equity firm. Squarespace, GoDaddy, WebMD, and now Bumble, all bought by different P.E. firms.

Besties, Rundown Factory still have a lot of value, and rundown internet brands do too. PE, it's adopting to the internet era with dope. Digital only, private equity. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third story, the stock market. market is now mandatory and a casino at the same time. Here's how to own a piece of our growing economy without gambling on it. Now, Yeti's, sometimes Jack and I go full mashed potatoes on the news.

We had a couple of headlines here. We're going to smush into one story. First headline is that corporate profits now represent 12% of America's GDP. That's an all-time high, ATH. But those gains for corporate profits have come at the expense of our paychecks. You see workers' share of GDP. is now at all-time lows. So profits have eaten away at wages. Rising prices, lagging wages, Bessie's to survive in this economy, you must own stocks. Because the winners of growing corporate

profits, who is Jack? Shareholders who own stocks of corporations. So, besties, that's why it makes sense that a record number of Americans are rushing into the stock market trying to get a piece of it. We've encouraged it on this pot. Yeah. Paychecks alone rarely get you ahead in modern America. You need to own. You need to own. You need the upside of equity. Equity is exciting. Equity in a house or equity in stocks. It could start with as little as 100 bucks, which leads to headline number two. The CEO of a top chip company just said that the stock market has become a casino. He basically says the NASDAQ has become Caesar's Palace. He actually literally called it a casino. Now, Bessies, we don't talk about Broadcom much, do we, Jack? But how big is Broadcom? It's worth $1.7 trillion.

It's a lot of less. It's the ninth most valuable company in the world. You see, Broadcom is a low-key winner of the AI boom. Because as Broadcom says, 99.9% of internet traffic globally goes through their chips or infrastructure. And that other 0.1% duck, duck, go. I'm not. I don't know.

So everyone is trying to buy Broadcom and that is warring the CEO, Hawk Tan. Which is what lead them to say on Monday, a quote, a lot of investors have no clue what they are investing in. added, it's almost like they're in a casino. So where is Mr. Tan seeing this gambling-like behavior out there? Look on X. After 10xing from 2022 to 2025, Broadcom stock has been flat for the last 12 months. So on X, you're seeing a lot of angry traders right now hating on Broadcom for not delivering the returns they expected. They're trolling the CEO. They are. It's the same guys who'd be yelling at the Eagles for losing on Sunday or yelling at the horse for losing the Kentucky Derby or

yelling at the blackjack tabred down Atlanta City. In 2026, they're also yelling at the CEOs behind the stocks they're owning that aren't making them rich. And all that trolling has now led to a casino quote that literally moved the markets. Yeah, Hawk Tan's very candid remarks that the stock market feels like a casino, that's concerning for the whole market and sent stock prices down, especially AI stocks. Ship stocks fail because of that one single quote, so we got to add it all up here. Headline number one, you must invest in stocks if you want to get ahead in this economy. But headline number two, a lot of people are treating the stock market like a casino. Our takeaway shows how to invest without gambling. Hit me. Hit me for the takeaway.

Sir, you have 17. I recommend you stay. Jack, you know I like to live dangerously. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies looking to invest? Warren Buffett's only invest in what you know versus FOMO. But there's a third choice. Yet he's some of our favorite investment advice came from Warren Buffett. Only invest in the companies you understand. But Warren Buffett didn't understand Silicon Valley. No. So he got left out on the sidelines of the tech and AI booms. Okay, so that's one end of the spectrum. But on the other side of Warren Buffett, you have Roaring Kitty on Reddit who invests in any hot stock because he doesn't want to miss out. He basically says FOMO. Right. But FOMO quickly becomes no money. As in FOMO Rally's run out and

go in reverse and a lot of people can lose a lot of money. So Bessie Jack and I see both sides here. Regular people can't possibly understand all the details happening inside of a secretive AI lab. But you still want a piece of the AI boom that has way more upside potential than the S&P 500, which is why Jack and I see a third choice, which is AITFs, funds specifically full of AI stocks. I have most of my money in the S&P 500 and other diversified funds and some of the stocks I mentioned at the end of the episodes. And Bumble. But I also put some of my money in Ives, an ETF invested in AI Labs. Or DRAM, which is an EF.

ETF of memory stocks. You see, Basties, there's Warren Buffett's invest in what you know, and then there's Roaring Kitty's Total Foma. But there's a third option for those who want to go to the moon, but not gamble. You just got to remember five letters. A.I.E.T.Fs. It's risky, but not live dangerously. Risky. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? Apple's home view is $299. It's first shot at an R2D2 Smart AI for your home. Apple's competitive advantage, it's the warm security blanket of privacy. For our second story, Bumble has been sold to former executives of meta and Instacart. Whitney, the founder, will remain involved.

And the rom-com business story here, it's a dope deal. Digital-only private equity. And our third and final story, Broadcom's CEO is worried that the stock market is being treated like a casino. But between Warren Buffett's slow-mo and Roaring Kitty's FOMO, there is a middle ground. And what is it, Jack? AI, ETFs. Five great letters. But besties, this pod's not over yet.

Here's what else you need to know today. First, a happy third quarter earning season to all those who celebrate, including Jamie. Banks go first. J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs all reported strong profits yesterday. But interest rates are messing with their fixed income divisions. Investment banking fees dropped in Q3 because Q2 had that record setting SpaceX IP. Also, JPMorgan announced their blocking AI agents like Mews from accessing customer accounts. And second, Crumble Cookies, the $2 billion Utah-based cookie chain just had its first

bankruptcy. One franchise is going out of business, and that could be an early indicator. According to restaurant business, all of Crumbull's 2024 sales gains were erased just last year. Crumbulls surged on viral weekly cookie drops with 2,000 calories, but always beware of the three Fs of Fads, fitness, fashion, and food. And finally, Kelly Clarkson is beefing right now with a small business in Brooklyn, and it's got a business takeaway. You see, the singing star went to a small shop over in BK and tried to buy a $15,000 toy bird. The store said no, it's not for sale, but Kelly Clarkson said the store is lying and posted grad it on Instagram. She said she was shamed like Julia Roberts and Pretty Woman. You thinking about that quote check? Huge mistake. Huge, but despite

being attacked by 8 million fans of Kelly Clarkson is online, the store has handled it gracefully by not getting angry and inviting her to return. That's a case study in crisis PR, straight out of TMZ. Now, time for the best fact yet, which, because Jack and I are in Boston for our live show and are at MIT today to speak to a bunch of students, you got to go in for it. Okay, MIT, known for math and numbers, right? So they send out their undergraduate acceptance letters on Pi Day, March 14th. Okay, 3.14. Don't ask me, they rest. But, Nick, on March 14th, 2015, yeah? Super Pi Day.

3.1415. They sent out their admission decisions at 926 in order to continue. you the next three digits of pie. 3.14159-926. If only the year were 5,359 AD, Jack. That's going to be a huge celebration on the MIT campus. So thanks to Nome Moes, sir, the MIT Sloanies out there, all the business school students at MIT, thanks for hosting us.

Do they go by Slonies? Noam's actually right here. What do Sloan students call themselves? Sloanies. Somewhere there's a financial proof in that statement, Jack. Somewhere deep inside. Yetis, you look fantastic for our live show in Boston Day. Jack, you were glowing before hair and makeup.

Did you her in makeup? No. No, I actually swear it. We can't wait to see you at the sold-out show tonight. It's going to be a blast. Oh, and if you've got the best fact yet and want to come on stage, we want to get you on stage. So DM us, your best fact yet about Boston. And if we love it, we'll bring up on stage to perform it live.

But in the meantime, Jack and I, we've got a rest of the voices, hair and makeup. and Deesh fits Jack over here. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, happy birthday to Legendary Yeti, Emily Pepper is spending that B-Day in Boston for our live show. Happy birthday to Kate Keenan, who loves Corgis and has got a birthday just outside Boston. See you tonight.

In recent Chance Kramer, brother and sister, same birthday celebrating in South Korea. Happy birthday to Ryan Adkins, running his first marathon for his birthday down in Texas. And Nate Namik, the Panned of North Carolina, has got the best birthday yet. And Travis Shruder, happy birthday in Aclare, Wisconsin. And Lucas Garcia, we wouldn't miss your 32nd birthday down in lovely Los Angeles. Happy birthday to Ana Ocean in Abuja, Nigeria. And join in a new shea. I have an anniversary in Zurich, Switzerland.

They're listening together right now and somewhere beautiful. Happy eight years together to Brett Taylor and Anna Caross, celebrating our live show tonight. And Ali Berman, our favorite lawyer for crazy copyrights and tricky trademarks is leaving the law. She's leaving the law! But she's doing something delicious. She's launching Edda's bakery. down in Atlanta and the chocolate chip cookies look like profit puppies. Terms and conditions not included.

To anyone else, celebrating something today. Make it a T-Block. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Bumble, Lyft, and Netflix, and EFs of Ives and Dram. And Nick and I both own stock of Apple. I own one share of SpaceX. Nick owns more than one.

And we both own ETFs of the S&P 500.