The Best One Yet - 👁️ “I’m recording you” — Limitless’ AI spy device. GE’s theater camp for VPs. Ghost Kitchens’ disappearance.

Episode Date: April 17, 2024

✅ Vote for TBOY to win “Best Business Podcast” at the Webby Awards.https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/podcasts/shows/businessLimitless (backed by Andreessen Horowitz) just launched a $99 AI pin that records your conversations and transcribes them into notes for you — So we’re looking at a world where everything you say, do, and hear is recorded… and how to prepare.Ghost Kitchens were supposed to be the future of food, but now they’re disappearing (like ghosts) — This looks like a classic case of “The Segway Effect.”And General Electric just sold its famous Management Academy, a 60-acre corporate retreat campus — It means the Jack Welch School of Business is officially closed.Plus, Heinz just launched a new product: Ketchup Insurance — It’s time to ensure that your cute white top is insured.$GE $DENN $GOOGSubscribe to the best newsletter yet: tboypod.com/newsletterWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Sanfee, J. Wednesday. April 17th, and today's pod is the best one yet. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Ladies, we are climbing in the polls thanks to your votes this week. We are only 1% away from first place. It is amazing.

Bessie's vote now to help T-Boy win the Webby Award for Best Business Podcast. Now, if we win this Webby Award, if we win, thanks to your votes. Nick and I will wear full slamming salmon rompers for an entire episode. I don't think Scott Galloway slipping into a romper, Jack. But it's only with your vote, so click the link in the episode description to cast your ballot today. In the meantime, before we put on those rompers, Jack, what's our three stories for today's pie? For our first story, Limitless, just launched a wearable $99 AI device that records and transcribes everything you say. So Jack and I are going to tell you how to prepare for a world where everything

is recorded. For our second story, General Electric just sold their famous 60-acre corporate retreat campus that's north of New York City. This was the theater camp for VPs, and now it is closed. And our third and final story, ghost kitchens. Ghost kitchens.

They were supposed to be the future of food, but now they're all disappearing. Like a ghost. So Jack and I want to talk to you about the Segway effect. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, fantastic.

Nick, no one's doing this mix today. Love this mix, Jack. Nick and I have a tradition when I visit him in San Francisco. All right, here's the tradition, yet. Jack and I celebrate the wins with a cheeseburger at the bar at the Spruce Restaurant. It's the only Michelin Star anything I've ever had, and it's the best burger you'll ever have. It's a big old burger. We get the onions, the fries, the avocado, the aoli, the works.

It's worth the $32, okay. But there's one problem with this burger, isn't there, Jack? Yeah. You spill a ketchup on it. your shirt and you're paying more than $32 because of it. We've all been there. You bite into a burger and you destroy your docker. Split, splat, sploop.

Ream your pants. But get this. The newest financial invention is for exactly this use case. And it is ketchup insurance. Catchup insurance. Insurance for your ketchup spills. It's some impressive financial engineering from our buddies at Heinz. In California, you need earthquake insurance.

In Florida, you need flood insurance. But honestly, everyone, everywhere, kind of needs ketchup insurance. So Heinz ketchup just launched it. You can apply on their website for 57 different types of compensation for the ketchup spills. Is Don Draper working for Heinz again? This is great marketing. I mean, they're going to do an appraisal of your garment.

They're doing this financially responsibly. They're going to examine your claim, assess the damages of your garment, and pay for your new blasts. But be careful, Yeties, because not all claims are covered. What do we learn? For instance, if the bottle was left upside down and you weren't prepared for the flow, that's on you. And the insurance examiner, they're going to make that clear. Here's the thing about ketchup insurance, though. They'll cover your claim, but that still means you have ketchup all over your shirt all night.

And it's always that one shirt that's the one-of-a-kind shirt. Your first date was ruined. Let he, without stain, spill thy first ketchup, Jack. Yetis, protect your wardrobe. Vesties, protect yourself. This isn't financial advice. No. It's fashion advice.

But it's also financial advice. Cash up insurance. Jack, let's in our three stories, baby. Another burger, medium rare. Here's gray poupon. I'm gonna have the very much. 15 years before this song, two boys from the 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. This, 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, Limitless just launched a $99 AI pin to put on your shirt and transcribe all of your conversations. In an era where everything is recorded, that means nothing's private. Dun, done, done. Of the movie, Yetis and Reason Horwitz, legendary VC firm. They're right nearest right now. And they back a lot of really interesting artificial intelligence startups lately. Well, they just backed the wildest product we've seen, an AI pendant.

An AI pendant called Limitless. Yet is this is a tiny pin you clip to your shirt, your undershirt, or your bag, but it listens. It's about the size of a watch, and it records your entire conversation, both you and the other person talking, and then transcribes that conversation using AI. It's like a third ear that also has a brain and a hand to write stuff down for you. And with this product, you can have a Zoom meeting or attend a conference or meet people in person and not have to take notes. You could bring this to a date and like really, really keep the details of that date afterwards. Now, the initial use case is business. So you can ask the app, hey, what was that new app that someone mentioned at the board meeting that I should remember right now?

And this product, limitless, will call it up and tell the answer to you. Like we said, this AI pendant, it's about the size of a watch. It has a battery that lasts 100 hours. It costs $99 to buy and then $20 a month. It's an ear and a brain and a hand. on your shirt. It's like a pin. But yeties, Jackson, my first thought when we heard about this unprecedented product was, this is the most practical use case for AI that Nick and I can imagine using every day. Besties, think about this. With this pin, taking notes of your meeting conversations,

you don't have to take notes and you can just focus on being present at the meeting. If I was unburdened from taking notes, but I could rest assured that I'd have all the information, I would be so present. I'd be like a Buddha. Jack, I'm going to rub your belly. Yetty. Jack and I were just in a meeting. And Jack, that meeting, we were both taking notes and probably duplicative notes. I know. It wasn't efficient. I know.

And we probably missed some nuance and details of the conversation because of it. Our second thought about this product is that it's a little bit scary. Yeah. This product is so small. It's easily concealable. And it can record conversations potentially without the other person's consent. It's like an A-I spy. Because Yetis, over the last 10 years with social media, we've learned that anything you do could be published online.

In the next 10 years with AI, we're going to learn that anything you can do could be recorded without your knowledge. Well, this AI pin, it does have a consent mode. We should point that out, Jack. Yeah, it won't record an unrecognized voice without that person's consent. But that consent mode is optional. So, you know, when you say, let's get together in person so that nothing's in writing? Yeah, we want to have a secret meeting. We'll take this offline.

We don't want any record. Well, if this device is present, then everything you say in person is in writing, too. Yeah, so Yetis, you may want to start assuming that we're being recorded as a default. It's a scary situation, but it may be true in the future. And then your conversation may turn into a podcast. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies making this AI ear over at Limitless? For every new sword, there's a new shield. Yeties, 20 years ago, hackers began infiltrating computers causing damage.

And that gave birth to the cybersecurity industry. Ten years ago, the world realized that all your web surfing activity was true. And that gave birth to VPNs. So, Jack and I think that this ubiquitous recording device like Limitless will create a new industry too. We think that the limitless device could give birth to a new device that stops, scrambles, or shields you against being recorded. Picture like a jamming device that you can turn on in your room and it will like disable

local recording devices. Nick and I aren't CMOs, but we're going to call this the oasis. Yeah, like you'd put it on your coffee table and like you would have a dinner party and when you turn it on, you'd be like, hey guys, don't worry, the room is totally private because we turned on our oasis device. Even if one of us has a limitless pin, it's not working right now. Because Yeties, when it comes to tech advancements, for every new sword, there's a new shield. For our second story, General Electric, just finished the final chapter of its fall from grace. GE just sold its famous manager academy. This story is about GE's theater camp for

VPs and what its closure means for business. All right, Jack, General Electric, classic American company, but Jack, how would you describe, or what personifies GE more than like anything else in the world? Jack Donegy from 30 Rock, who is played by Alec Baldwin. Gentlemen, yesterday I moved Cable Town's customer service to a part of India that has no phones.

We're now providing the same level of service to our subscribers that zero the cost. That's a great line. What is GE? They build the engines, the pound. your airplanes and the turbines that electrify our homes. GE was once the world's most valuable company. It was a symbol of American capitalism and American success.

In fact, GE was so big that they even had their very own 60-acre school. It was called the Academy for Managers, and it was on the Hudson River just north of New York City. They taught suited men and women how to squeeze more profit at a fewer workers, and that's where you learned at General Electric's Manager Academy. It's basically GE Business School, but we call it theater canes. camp for VPs. It's like a band camp for your boss. Oh, and an invitation to this theater camp for VPs? It meant that you were destined for the C-suite. Everyone circle around the campfire to hear a scary story about accounting fraud.

Last one to jump into the lake has to cut the budget. Trustfall. But Yetis, here's the big news. General Electric just sold its famous management academy. The bigger news? That's actually a trend. Jack and I jumped in T-Bois out. It turns out. It turns out. out several of America's big blue chip companies set up the same corporate camps in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Boeing had one, 3M had one, and GE had one. But now all of those famous corporate camps are gone. According to the Wall Street Journal, because when those companies were thriving, so were their management academies. But now none of those companies are thriving anymore. And it's actually because of what the managers were taught at those management academies.

Those scary campfire stories about budgeting. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at General Electric? This is the official closure of the Jack Welch School of Business. Yeti's Jack Welch. No relation to Jack Donagy, by the way. Jack Welch is the iconic former CEO of GE, famous for lecturing managers at that GE Academy. Jack Welch pioneered a new school of management focused on outsourcing, cost cutting, and profits. And under Jack Welch's watch in the 1980s and 1990s, General Electric Stock soared in the short term. Jack Welch was named the CEO of the century. But long term, Welch's big management decisions caused quality and control at GE to decay. It turns out that Jack Welch's focus on short-term profits created the same problems at GE as we now see at Bowell.

today. Exactly. GE isn't even GE anymore. In fact, they've been broken up into three separate companies. And now we know that GE's Management Academy is officially over. Add it all up, the Jack Welch School of Business is officially closed. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Ghost Kitchens. Ghost Kitchens were supposed to transform the food industry, but instead, they're now disappearing. So we need to. to talk about ghost kitchens and the Segway effect. Jack, the last time Molly and I were down in Los Angeles, we really wanted to go to the Goop restaurant.

Of course you did. I want that Gwyneth Paltrow, Lifesav and Saving Sound and look like I'm 10 years old. So, Mac plugs in the Goop Restaurant into his GPS and drives there, it's a ghost kitchen. We show up, it was an industrial, like, building. It was the least Gwyneth-looking thing you've ever seen. I don't think Gwyneth would have approved of this device. Getty's virtual kitchens or ghost kitchens. are restaurant brands that exist online only for delivery only.

You can't sit and eat there. In fact, you shouldn't even go there. I learned the hard way. The innovation here is that it's an efficient use of a central kitchen to create food for multiple brands and scale that restaurant brand. During the pandemic, a bunch of chains launched ghost kitchens. For example, Denny's opened up the brand Burger Dent, but it was delivery only and they only existed in the delivery apps.

It was the same kitchen as Denny's, the same menu as Denny's. but no tables and no wait staff. The whole operation was just boxing up Denny's burgers for delivery. And then after the pandemic, celebrities started launching Ghost Kitchens. Moriah Carey's cookies. DJ Khalid's wing restaurant. Another wing. And Mr. Bee's famous burger joint only existed online, only delivered burgers through the apps.

And according to CBRE, a real estate company, Ghost Kitchens were going to be one-fifth of all restaurant sales by 2025. Ghost Kitchens were going to be. Huge. But last year, ghost kitchen started disappearing. Yeah, suddenly Uber removed 8,000 ghost kitchens from their Uber Eats. According to the New York Times, Wendy's, Applebee's, and Kroger have all shut down their virtual restaurant. And it looks like the ghost is gone or just disappearing out there. It's pretty shocking.

So it asked the big question, why are ghost kitchens failing? Yeah, Jack and I were fascinated about this. We jumped in T-boy style and discovered there are two reasons for the disappearance of the ghost kitchen, which is now a ghost. The first one is the main one, quality control. Since these were online-only restaurants, yeties, there was no accountability in those kitchens. If an old man got served cold soup from a ghost kitchen, that old man had nobody to yell at.

Oh, yeah, the kitchen just keeps making cold soup. And, like, you can't DM Gwyneth Paltrow and be like, hey, your goof ghost kitchen, the chicken noodle was a little cold. Even if the old man was really mad and wanted to go to the kitchen, regular people aren't allowed in. Like, there's literally no connection between the customer and the kitchen. That is why Uber Eats unlisted those eight things. thousand ghost kitchen brands from their app.

They all had low ratings. The second reason for the disappearance of the ghost kitchen is no brand equity. There was no emotional connection between the customer and the virtual restaurant. Yadis, you love that adorable bistro down the street from you because you had your special birthday dinner there. Oh, your buddy Timmy was there. Everyone was celebrating. You had a blast.

The ghost kitchen is virtual. You don't love a virtual kitchen. You can have a birthday party at an app. You have no loyalty for it. And there's no long-term. reason to come back to it. But besties, Jack and I think the rise and disappearance of the ghost kitchen is actually part of a bigger concept. And it happens to be our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies at Ghost Kitchens? We need to talk about the Segway effect.

Yeti's Segway, it's the perfect example of when a great technology works in theory but fails in practice. You've seen a segue. They're still used in tours of Paris today. It's a dynamic scooter that lets you stand up on two wheels, it totally was going to disrupt walking. Yeah, that's what it was going to disrupt. But instead, Segway actually went bankrupt. The technology was advanced, but the use case was just not clear. So the Segway effect is our term for a great technology in theory, but a failed technology in practice. We've got a few other examples here.

Like grocery store self-checkout, it's another example. It's efficient, but consumers hate it. QR code menus is another. Functional, but consumers hate it. And now Ghost Kitchen, scalable in theory, but failing in practice. It's the Segway effect. A great technology and theory that didn't work out in practice. The soup is too cold.

There's no one to complain to. Get anyone representative. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? Limitless is the new AI pendant that records and transcribes your meetings into notes. But for every new sword, there's a new shield. For our second story, it's GE. They've sold their famous management academy, which was a 60-acre corporate camp for VPs.

It's a bad camp for your boss, and this means that Jack Welch's school of business is officially closed. And our third and final story was Ghost Kitchens. They're ironically disappearing due to quality issues and lack of customer love. We call it the Segway effect, a great tech in theory that failed in practice. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

First, unleash the bald eagles, Jack. The IMF predicts that the United States will grow twice as fast as every other developed economy in the G7. The IMF upgraded how fast it thinks the U.S. economy will grow this year from 2.1% to 2.7%. Okay, the next fastest growing country in the G7 is Canada, who's expected to grow 1.2% this year. And second, the Department of Justice reportedly plans to sue Live Nation aiming to end the Ticketmaster Monopoly. Yeah, he's back in 2010. Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster and now dominates 70% of the primary ticket market for all those concerts and events we go to. We've said that Taylor Swift should create a ticket competitor. The government thinks Ticketmaster should be split in two instead. And finally, Caitlin Clark was officially drafted as the number one pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever.

She was on Saturday Night Live over the weekend. Now she's in the WNBA. Oh, and the Caitlin Clark effect has already happened. now that she turned pro. Indiana fever ticket sales are now coming up to as high as $500 each. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Jeremy Brownshweig in lovely Davy, Florida. April is Autism Awareness Month. And it turns out one out of 36 children in the United States has autism.

And Nick and I found some pretty accomplished people who are on the spectrum. We only have time for a few on the pod. But for example, Bill Gross, the billionaire bond investor, is on the autism. spectrum. Hello, Clarice. Anthony Hopkins, the two-time Oscar winner is on the spectrum. Over in Hollywood, his buddy Tim Burton, also on the autism spectrum. And Greta Thumburg, the 21-year-old climate activist from Sweden, is also a famous autism activist. Now, Bessies, here's the interesting takeaway here. Autism is widely viewed as like a disability, but not actually the case in practice. It may be a superpower that's contributed to the enormous success of some of those people. Yeties, you'll

look fantastic today. And Jack, you're going to look fantastic, hopefully, in that pink slamming salmon romper if we can get these things on. Yetis, vote for the best one yet as best business podcast for the Webby Awards. And if we win, and the voting ends on Thursday, we're going to wear these rompers on the pot. We have a link in the episode description for you to vote and check out our Instagram to see these rompers in real life. All right, one sec, one second, I'm just sizing your medium. Are you a medium and romper? What is your romper size?

31 inch waist these days. I think that's a medium. It's medium. Just don't get any ketchup stains on it. Yeti's vote today. We got the link in the description, and Jack and I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Before we go,

a happy birthday to Yeti Quincy Joyce, turning one year old in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Quincy has never missed an episode of T-Boy ever. And happy sixth birthday to Aurora Jean, the Lego Club Queen in northwest Arkansas. And Ashley Day is turning 40 years old in University Park, Florida. Happy birthday, Ashley. Happy birthday to Max Waltz, turning 27 in Mesa, Arizona, with the best girlfriend yet.

And Harrison Jones is turning 26 years old in South Orange, New Jersey. We wish birthday could fit in a wordle, but either way, you're going to solve that wordle, Harrison. And happy birthday to J.T. Handley in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And Jack, can I get a gator chomp over there for our buddy Sophia Diye, who's turning 28 years old in Gainesville, Florida. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. Trustfall.