The Best One Yet - 🧴 “Lather me in CeraVe” — Neutrogena’s skincare mistake. The NYT’s Wordle milestone. FTX’s perfect bankruptcy.

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

Neutrogena has lost its crown as the #1 dermatologist-recommended skincare… and #1 in sales — Because CeraVe did 3 things Neutrogena was too afraid to do.The New York Times just passed a wild milestone — The NYT has more gaming & cooking subscribers than news subscribers.And FTX just announced the perfect bankruptcy — All FTX customers are will be repaid in full, despite Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud. We’ll explain how.Plus, NYC is officially the millionaire capital of the world — 1 out of every 24 New Yorkers is a millionaire (which means there are 3 millionaires on every block in this city).Submit The Best Fact Yet: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLjeOSdjpj5E3XSEs4MFn7W9FZ9BNTSfAhm3z_gW6_cB4o3w/viewform Request a shoutout: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts/form/shoutouts $JNJ $LRLCY $NYT $BTCSubscribe 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 Thursday, the new Friday, May 9th, and today's pod. Today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Hold the hot dogs, baby. Jack and I just landed in New York City for a business trip.

We're here for a very specific gig. Nick and I are speaking today at the podcast Upfronts event. Yeah, podcast up front. It's kind of like the Cannes Film Festival, you know? But it's not in Cannes. We're in South of France. It's in Midtown Manhattan, but we'll take it, baby. We're chatting with the advertising and marketing reps who fund the podcast industry.

Okay, it's a 24-hour trip. We are in. We are out. The only thing we had time for was hot dogs on the L train. In the meantime, Jack, should we kick off this podcast, baby? For our first story, Nutrugina has lost its crown as the top-selling skincare brand in America. Because Sarajevay just did three things that NutraGina was afraid to do. For our second story, the New York Times just passed a wild,

new milestone. Get this. Cooking and games is beating news. Jack, the New York Times is really a wordel company with a grilled chicken recipe. For our third and final story, Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX just concluded what we're calling the perfect bankruptcy. The perfect bankruptcy. We'll tell you how FTX customers are actually going to make money at the end of all this. Because bankruptcy isn't the end, it's a new beginning. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, what a wild mix. Oh, my God. Oh, never, we almost missed the L train again, Jack.

150 years ago, Nixon, my great-grandparents emigrated from Europe to the United States. Jacks came from Germany. Mine came from Italy. They were immigrants, and they came through Ellis Island, which we can almost see from here. And the famous phrase that lured those immigrants of that era across the Atlantic in the 19th century, what was it, Nick? The streets of New York are paved in gold. Figuratively. Jack and I just landed in New York City and it turns out the streets are paved in gold.

Literally. Get this. According to an immigration consultancy, New York City officially has more millionaires than any other city. Hong Kong, New York City's got more millionaires. Because New York City has 350,000 millionaires, but we won't stop there, will we, Jack? Get this. 350,000 millionaires in the city of New York means that one out of every 24 New Yorkers is actually a millionaire. Sit down, stand up, and cash that check. out of every 24 people we saw today in New York City, Jack, they were a millionaire. We just took the L train to our meeting in Midtown we were just telling you about.

We counted 52 people on the train. So, Jack, there are therefore two millionaires that were in that subway car. We had lunch in Brooklyn yesterday. 77 people in the restaurant. That means there were three millionaires in that restaurant. Nick and I rented rowboats to row a romantic Central Park boat ride. 96 people on the pond. It was lovely, but most of them were tourists.

but probably four New York millionaires in there, Jack. If you ever come up short on your tab in a restaurant, just be like, is anyone here a millionaire? Because odds are, someone at the table to the lefty is. And this millionaire moment is even wilder from a geographic perspective. Because there are 350,000 millionaires in New York City. And 120,000 blocks in New York City. Ipsopacto in New York City, there are three millionaires on every single block, Jack.

Yadies, if you match with 24 New Yorkers on Bumble. odds are, one of them's a millionaire. Unless you're the millionaire. You might be that millionaire. If you know, you know. And if you don't know. Hopefully you know. Otherwise, you may want to talk to your account.

In the meantime, Jack, let's hit our three million stories. 15 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 this. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no.

So just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, NeutraGena, they were the number one skincare company in America for a generation, but then it all changed.

Bloomberg News did a deep dive on how Saravei has overtaken Neutragina. I'm sorry, Jack, can I just say something? For a guy who just got off an airplane, nothing cakey about you. You are doing right now. You are glowing, my friend, talking about the nighttime routine.

I actually, can I talk about my morning routine? I know you like that one more. Talk to me better. So I start with a facial cleanse. Okay. Then I do vitamin C serum. Yes, yes, yes. Then I do moisturizer.

This is a 20-minute podcast, Jack. Then I do SPF. We're running out of time. And then I finish with two misty sprays for that dewy look. Well, apparently two hours later we start our work day. There's one thing, though, I'm pretty sure you haven't done, Jack. What's that? You haven't used Neutragina since you popped a pimple back in 2008.

Correct. Because Neutrigina was founded 97 years ago in California. Then Neutrigina was acquired by. by Johnson & Johnson in 1994 for $1 billion. Besties for years, Nutragina was the go-to millennial sunscreen, wrinkle cream, acne cream, cream, cream, cream. It was good enough for Jennifer Gardner's cheeks. It was good enough for hours.

Yeah, remember we'd splash our faces with water like in the commercials? That's still how I wash my face. I splash a massive puddle of water into my face. That's not how you're supposed to do it. But that's what every Nutri Gena commercial had. But here's the news yet is lately. Neutragina has been fading like a winter. Enter tan. Nutragina just reported that sales fell again last quarter by 5% this time.

First, it was embarrassing. In the past five years, Nutrigena's share of the skincare market has fallen by 40% and Saraveg is now number one. And then it's gotten more embarrassing. Three years ago, Nutri Gena lost their title as the number one most recommended skincare brand by dermatologists and they lost it to Saravet. And now it's gotten the most embarrassing. Get this. One Nutrugina executive told their staff, that his daughter buys Saravet products, even though his cabinet is full of NutriGina that he got for free because he's an executive.

He works there. Rub that in your epidermis. Pour that in your pores, Jack. So Nick and I got to ask, what happened to Nutri Gino? Jack and I had to jump in T-boy style. What caused the number one skincare brand in the United States to just wash away?

Well, Bloomberg News spoke to four former employees who weren't supposed to say anything that they said, but they said it anyway. Yeah, they didn't. What do they say? According to those employees, NutraGina pulled back on everything at the wrong time. According to those employees,

NutraGina cut its advertising budget in half. So you don't see Jennifer Gardner splashing water in her face anymore. And NutraGina cut its research and development budget in half. So Nutri Gina missed the big mineral sunscreen trend. Because of the pandemic caused supply chain shortage, Nutri Gina cut their product offering in half. But here was the worst mistake. Nutri Gina forgot to join TikTok.

Like sometimes you forget to do your skincare routine before you go to bed. They forgot to join the most important marketing channel. They were like the last skincare brand we can find that set up a TikTok account. In 2020, Sarajevo joined TikTok at the perfect time when everyone was stuck at home, doing skin care and skin routines on TikTok. But Neutrigina didn't join TikTok until a full year later. Gen Z had already cleansed their chin with Sarah. I don't want Neutragina, Mom.

What kind of a gift is this? Neutrigna's worst enemy, turns out, was itself. Neutrogena retreated to your cabinet like they were on. afraid of your face. Nutragina missed the spot. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Nutragina? The market can be like a ball pit. If you leave a void, someone's going to fill it.

You know, like when you're playing in a ball pit as a kid? Like you clear out the balls in one corner of the ball pit, and then all the balls just like pull her back right in and they're covered a ball. It's the same with business. If your company pulls back, some rival is going to fill the void. Okay, for example, Neutrigina pulled back on its sales team. They sent fewer sales reps to dermatology offices to sell Neutrogena. So a dermatologist told the reporter at Bloomberg that they had forgotten about

Nutrugina because a rep only came once a year. Meanwhile, Saraje, they sent a rep every month to pitch their products. Every business is a relationship business, including skin care because of dermatologists. And across the board, everywhere that Neutriana was pulling back, Saraje was moving in. And what was the result, Jack? Sarvei ate Neutragina space in the bathroom closet. Because Bestie's business is like. a ball pit. If you create a void, someone's going to fill it in.

For our second story, the New York Times officially has 10 million paying subscribers, but the newspaper just hit a wilder milestone. The New York Times has more gamers and cookers than it has readers. All right, Jack, and we're going to tell the story, let's go back to five years ago when the New York Times set a goal that we covered on this podcast. The goal was to have 10 million people paying about 10 bucks a month. for access to the New York Times. The goal was 10 million paying subscribers. And Jack, can we whip up an update today?

They have achieved that subscriber goal ahead of schedule, and they are profitable. Yeti's the stock of the prestigious legacy news company. The New York Times jumped 4% on Wednesday on some pretty nice numbers. That's right. The New York Times is a publicly traded company, and they had a $40 million profit last quarter. The New York Times extremely fancy letter T. It's very proud right now. The gray lady is feeling.

I heard David Brooks took a shot of fireball yesterday. I heard Gail Collins sprayed the interns with champagne. But here's the funny thing Nick and I noticed from New York Times earnings yesterday. If you think the New York Times is a news company, you're sorely wrong. Because besties, more people are playing wordal than reading the words in the New York Times newspaper. Now, that's an embellishment. That's an exaggeration. But there is some truth to it.

Yeah, there's some truth to it. Because the New York Times actually has three divisions. and the main division is bundles. The New York Times wants people to subscribe to both the New York Times news app and the New York Times' other apps. And we just learned that 4.5 million people subscribe to that bundle.

Let's call it New York Times Max. Let's do that, Max. I mean, let's do that, Jack. But last quarter, for the first time ever, there were more subscribers to the New York Times' other apps than to the news app. I'm sorry, Jack, can we sprinkle in a little context here? What exactly do we mean when we say the New York Times

other non-news apps. The New York Times has a gaming app called New York Times Games, which features the iconic crossword puzzles, spelling bee, connections, and word. My mom plays all four of those games every morning. And the New York Times has New York Times cooking as an app, which features personalized recipe recommendations and videos of those recipes that will make you drool. You're going to like the miso salmon. And New York Times also has the wirecutter app. The shopping recommendation website. And the athletic app. The sports news company they acquired a couple years ago. Yeah, he's added all up. And 2.9 million people subscribe to those other New York Times apps compared to 2.5 million people who subscribe to news only. Basically, what we're saying is

more people are doing crosswords or cooking cuss-coos than reading the call. Basically, what we're basically basically saying is that more people are playing wordle and weighing walnuts than reading words. The New York Times. They do news, but they also do this other stuff that's even more popular. Like you, weighing walnuts. So, Jack, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the Sunday, New York Times? How much is five grams of walnuts? I have no idea. But you better measure out five grams if you're going to enjoy the walnut, mayo, moose recipe, Jack. Here's the takeaway, Yetis. The New York Times funds its journalism with games and cooking.

Yeties, for centuries, before we got distracted by our screens, newspapers were thriving. But today, to stay in business, news agencies need to find another cash generator. They need to find another profit puppy besides the news. And we've noticed that news agencies are doing this. For CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, old people fund journalism by paying for cable TV. For Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, and Washington Post, a benevolent billionaire funds their journalism. And for the New York Times, the profitable games and cooking apps are what fund their journalism.

Journalism is crucial to a functioning democracy, but the Internet broke its business model. So, awesomely, the New York Times is thriving. a surprising new business model. They're funding their journalism with games and gazpacho. They're funding their journalism with wordle and beef Wellington. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story. In a wild twist, we've never seen before,

FTX just announced the most perfect bankruptcy of our lives. Because FTX just said that all of its crypto victims will be paid back in full. Wow. Plus extra. Go on. It's a great outcome to what was an awful situation. Yet is FTX.

The bankrupt crypto company just issued a press release and the first sentence shocked us. FTX said this in their first sentence. 98% of creditors will receive at least 118% of their claim in cash. Yeah, can you whip up a financial translation for us over that? If you had money stolen by Sam Bankman-Fried with FTX, you will get all your money back plus 18%. Besties, that is amazing sounding, although we should find out it's not the best outcome for customers who got screwed by Sam Bankman Freed.

Yeah, because the customers that got screwed by San Bankman Freed, they may have had Bitcoin in their FTX account. And if they had just kept their Bitcoin, they'd be up 200% thanks to the huge Bitcoin rally. But Jack and I got to sprinkle on some context here because they also could have received nada from this FTX situation. So this is very positive news for FTX's victims. Yeah, it is what we're saying here is that when FTX went bankrupt, we thought that the customers would get nothing. Instead, they're getting all their money back plus 18%. Not too shabby.

Which leads to the next question. Yeah, Jack. How the heck does a bankrupt company have so much money to divvy out? I thought they spent all the money. I thought the money was gone. Yeah, I thought it was spent on Cheetos, PlayStation, and hanging out with Tom Brady. So, Nick's in my first thought. with where did this money come from, it must have come from Bitcoin. Yeah, our first thought was that

this crypto company must have have some valuable Bitcoin lying around that they just sold and can now pay all the customers back. But that's not what happened. When FtX declared bankruptcy in November of 2022, they announced that Sam Bankman Fried had lost 99.9% of the Bitcoin that the company said that they had. Okay, okay. So let's start over again then, Jack. Why does this bankrupt company actually have so much money if it wasn't even the Bitcoin? It's because Sam Bankman-Fried made a bunch of venture investments. Yet is this was shocking. But Sam Bankman-Freed's fraud was using customer money to invest in a bunch of startups who, it turns out, did pretty, pretty good. Yeah, apparently Sam Bankman-Freed is pretty good at illegally investing your money without you knowing about it. Yeah, for example,

one of Sam Bankman-Freed's investments was a company called Anthropic. Jack, what is the startup Anthropic? Anthropic is the number two behind Open AI. It's the number two largest AI startup out there. So what we're saying, Enid, is that Sam Bankman-Fried was pretty bad at fraud, but pretty great at venture capital. I see what you're saying. Yeah. So now, FTCS has taken over Sam Bankman-Fried's investment in Anthropic. They've sold that investment for a huge gain and are using the proceeds to pay back all the victims. So, Bessies, if you're an FTC's victim, you will be made whole because technically you also owned a piece of anthropic and didn't even realize it.

And this whole situation reveals something. kind of awesome about bankruptcy. Pretty awesome about bankruptcy. Let's hit our takeaway, baby. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who are curious about bankruptcy? Bankrupt companies still have money in the bank. Literally. Yet there are a lot of false impressions about what bankruptcy means.

Many people think it means that you're broke. You got no money. But what bankruptcy actually means is that you owe more money than you own. But oftentimes, a bankrupt company still owns a lot of money. They still have a lot of assets with a lot of assets. with a lot of value. So to prevent a free-for-all of lenders and creditors demanding their money back, FTX just declared bankruptcy. They received protection from the court. The judge takes over and gives the company a chance to salvage the situation. And since then, FTC's bankruptcy managers have managed

to salvage a whole lot of value. Without bankruptcy, there would have been chaos. With bankruptcy, FTC is making everyone whole. So besties, it's a nice reminder that bankrupt companies aren't the same as broke companies. Bankrupt companies still have money in the bank. And FTX was the perfect bankruptcy. By the way, Sam Bankman Fried's going to prison. Just to clarify, this doesn't change the sentencing of San Bankman Fried. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday?

Neutrigina has fallen big in the skincare industry and they've let Sarajevo become number one. Because markets are like a ball pit. When Neutrigina pulled back, the competition filled the void. For our second story, it's The New York Times. They've reached their 10 million subscriber goal, partly thanks to NYT Games and NYT cooking. The New York Times is funding its journalism with games and gazpacho,

with wordle and beef well-nights. And our third and final story is FTCS. They just announced that all their victims will be paid back in full, plus a little extra. Because bankrupt companies can still have money in the bank. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to. to know today. First, overall earnings right now are really, really strong. Get this, the Dow Jones

Industrial Average is on a six-day win streak. That is the longest winning streak for the Dow of the whole year. Maybe that's why one out of 24 New Yorkers or millionaires, Jack. True. And second, Robin Hood just reported their best earnings yet. They beat on both profits and revenues. Yeah, the surge in crypto over the last quarter is powering Robin Hood stock to its highest point in a few years. But Robin Hood also got a notice form from the SEC that a crypto lawsuit is probably coming their way. And finally, Airbnb beat their earnings expectations to. Airbnb sees a robust summer travel season happening already. And thanks to the eclipse, 500,000 people booked an Airbnb in the path of totality.

Oh, and it's not just there. What's going on in Paris, France? It seems every apartment is apparently being Airbnbed out for the Olympic Games this summer. Ask any French person right now, can you go to, France in August and they will say, it is not possible. You know I'm going to France and August. I know, and if you text your landlord, they're going to say, not possible. You're going to have a reservation.

They're still going to say, not possible. I know. I think the city's going to be partly emptied out after the Olympics, just because of the summer vacation season. But we got two kids with us. It might actually be a good thing. Not possible. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in

by Rachel Howard from Wisconsin, the great state of Wisconsin. It's not just teacher appreciation week yet, it's also nurse appreciation week. Oh, and apparently all the nurses in our lives are extremely fit. Get this, the typical nurse in the United States walks four to five miles during their shift.

That's about 15,000 steps a day. Just walking around from patient to patient. Apparently, if you want to know a good running shoe, ask a nurse. Thanks for all your walking, and thanks for all that caring. to all the nurses out there. Yeties, you look fantastic today.

And if we just saw you on the L-Train, you probably look fantastic too. And you might be a millionaire. Yeties, Jack and I would love to hear your shout-outs and hear your facts. And if you've got the best fact yet or you want a shout-out on the pod, what do you do, Jack?

Click the links in this episode's description and there's an easy form for you to fill out. Or go to our website at t-boypod.com slash shout-outs. And always, as always, the best way to grow this show, H-Y-H-T-V-O-I. Have you had the best one yet? If you know, You know.

Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a shout out to the legendary Yeti, Paula Hauer, who's Rachel's mom, Rachel, our legendary creative director, and she also is a nurse in Wisconsin. Oh, by the way, pro tip from Paula, if you're a nurse, Chipotle is giving out free burritos to nurses right now. You're going to need a calories for all those steps.

And congratulations to Bessie's E. Etienne and Han Jang, who are getting married and have been to more zoos than anyone we've ever heard of. What a fantastic way to go into a wedding. I'm dying to take my son Wothered to his day. That's gonna be a blast. And Audrey and Claire Wren from Beaver Creek, Ohio, our sisters turn in six and nine celebrated

and some fantastic T-boy merch. Happy birthday, guys. Happy 10th birthday to Savannah Bryant. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they're talking T-Boy at school today. And Anna Chang from Sunnyvale, California, has got a lovely, sunny birthday. Happy 37th birthday to Sarah Rudolph

in Port Towns in Washington. And happy birthday to Dan the man, Uco from lovely Santa Barbara, California. The bearded girl dad of two watching Deadpool with a craft brew. That is the best bearded dad girl of two I've ever heard of. And congratulations to Yeti, Jackie Connor, who's graduating this week from USC and isn't just your typical Yeti. She wrote a term paper about this podcast. Guess what grade the term paper got?

Talk to me, Jack. God, nay. Teacher, gave it a teed boy. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Airbnb and Robin Hood, and we both own one Bitcoin. Name Ben.