The Best One Yet - 🥾“Method footwear” — Uggs’ Odyssey ban. Ford’s custom drops. 65%-off IVF startup. +Olivia Rodrigo’s Man-In-Finance

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-boy, Tuesday, July 28th. And today's part is the best one yet. And this is a T-boy. The top three pop-business news stories you need to know today. Besties, why are stocks popping to start the week? Well, because everything comes back to oil. Oil prices fell 8% on Monday because the U.S. is pausing strikes on Iran and giving negotiations another shot. So investors are feeling that relief feeling again. We'll see how long this one lasts. In the meantime, Jack, stocks are up. This pod's at all-time highs. We have such a great show today. I mean, three things. Fantastic Stories best we've ever done. Jack, what do we got on the T-Boy? For our first story, Ford Motor is taking inspiration from Nike Sneakers, a limited edition Bronco Drop, because Pimp Your Ride, Pimp Your Profits. For our second story, on the movie set for The Odyssey, one thing was banned, Ugs. Masties, the Ugg ban is the marketing opportunity of the year.

Starting point is 00:00:51 And our third and final story. For Americans with fertility challenges, IVF is an expensive option. $25,000 easily goes higher than that. But could AI make IVF 65% off? One startup thinks so. But besties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories. Love the mix on today's project. Congratulations to Olivia Rodriguez.

Starting point is 00:01:11 The Grammy-winning Gen Zier has found love. Yes, she has. But he is not another rock star. He is a finance, bro. The lucky man's name is Julian Cronenberg, which sounds like a boutique investment bank. So Jack and I jumped in T-Boy's style. We snooped his LinkedIn resume

Starting point is 00:01:29 for you. This man is an applied math major, a Brown University graduate. He's an Olympic field hockey player speaks three different languages. He's a former Goldman Sachs banker turned PE associate. At a mid-market buyout fund for all those keeping track. This guy's got managing director potential. Jack, Olivia Rodriguez's next song is going to be like spreadsheet coded after this. She was looking for a man in finance with blue eyes 65. And carried interest. But Nick, Olivia's not the only star looking for that carried interest loophole. A lot of finance, Bros. Hooking up with A-listers these days. Lady Gaga is engaged right now

Starting point is 00:02:03 to a VC guy. Bad romance, good ROI. Rees Witherspoon is currently dating an I banker. Her book of the month, it is a banker. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is a 250 basis point fee. Because behind every Academy Award winner is a debt collateralized

Starting point is 00:02:19 commodities, equities trading analyst. Jack, what a merger. Let's in at three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They hadn't idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 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 more, so just start the show.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, Ugs just had its best year ever, thanks to Mugs. Man, Uggs. Ugs got banned on the set of The Odyssey, and that puts Ugs in a major marketing pickle. Yeties, exactly one year ago, Jack and I covered the biggest bet in business. At the time, Ugs was pivoting to dudes. To dudes, historically 90% of Ugg sales were to women. They were missing half the market out there. So they did a testosterone twist strategy.

Starting point is 00:03:29 They hired Post Malone and Tom Brady again. Post Malone and his 82 tattoos are now dropping beats and manly ugg moccasins to a majority male audience. So, Uggs was acquired by Decker Corporation 30 years ago, but Ugs were invented 48 years ago by an Australian surfer. And here's the news. Uggs sales to men are now growing twice as fast as they are to women. And Ugs drove its parent brand to its first ever $1 billion quarter. And Jack, who did the CEO of Decker give all the credit to in that epic earnings report this week?

Starting point is 00:04:00 Mugs. Although technically he didn't say mugs. No, no, that's our term. You can run with it, Oggs, though. You can run with it. But we did notice that in the earnings call, he said the word men, six. times and the word women zero times. Men will literally wear ugs before going to therapy.

Starting point is 00:04:14 Okay, but besties, here's the bigger news than mugs, man ugs out there right now. Ugs got banned by Christopher Nolan on the set of the Odyssey. True story. Jack, you're going to have to sprinkle on some context to this one. Actors and actresses want comfy shoes to slip into between takes on set. That's like a Hollywood understood. Yeah, it's an open secret in Hollywood that if you're on the cast, you demand ugs in your contract. But it's an equally open secret that director Christopher Nolan forbids Uggs in all of his productions. Forbidden!

Starting point is 00:04:43 Goes back to the Batman series we saw in theaters over a decade ago, right, Jack? In 2012, Anne Hathaway got reprimanded by Chris for bringing Ugs on set because she didn't know the rule. So for The Odyssey filming, Anne Hathaway double-checked with director Christopher Nolan's team. And what did they say, Jack? They're still bad. So Christopher Nolan explained to Gail King on CBS Mornings last week that Ugs are a signal of modernity. that take you out of the historical place. Basically, you can't be an authentically mournful ancient Greek queen

Starting point is 00:05:11 if you just stepped out of your trailer in fur-length comfort. Sheeper in the plot. Sheepskin fleece are not. Yeah. Chris doesn't enforce method acting on set. He does enforce method footwear, though. It wasn't on our 2026 bingo card, but Ugs got banned by Christopher Nolan. Again, Ugs banned by Christopher Nolan.

Starting point is 00:05:30 So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy is over at Ugs? There are two paths to meme management. Now, Yetis, Jack and I have talked to about how sometimes the best thing in business is a ban. Skateboards, Red Bull, Dungeon and Dragon, the Wolf wristband, all got banned by various authorities. But then when consumers discovered why they were banned, sales surged. And now Uggs has been banned on the biggest movie set by the world's biggest director. And no Ogg's on set. They're too comfortable. I mean, that is like, that is the best marketing you could get, Jack. It's clearly good marketing, which leads to a question that we bet they're debating right now at Ugs.

Starting point is 00:06:05 They're wondering, do we embrace the band, promote it, tell the world that our shoes are just too comfy for the world's biggest movie? Or should we let the band market itself, not disrupt the authenticity and allow it to grow organically? Interestingly, so far, Uggs hasn't said anything. Let us know what you think they should do in the comments. For our second story, Ford is abandoning everything. Henry Ford taught them about mass production. Ford is instead taking inspiration from Nike and MTV. Pimp Your Ride, starting with 1,000 Ford Broncos.

Starting point is 00:06:41 Yetis get this. Monday morning, Ford drops their first ever car. Ford has made like 100 million cars over the years, but they've only dropped this one car. Keyword dropped, Jack, take it from here. Drop is a word created by the sneaker industry. It means offering something in limited quantity, limited time, or both. The drop, it's all about exclusive, dream collapse, the branded hoodie for the Taylor Swift era's tour. Drops are released to be rare. They're sold to be sold out.

Starting point is 00:07:09 They're not scaled. They're scarce. Our never, baby. Nike does drops all the time to build buzz for the latest sneaker. We can't buy this Air Force One. We only made six of them. Michael Jordan lick them. Each one is licked by Michael Jordan.

Starting point is 00:07:20 We don't say lick on the pod. But now Ford is doing it too. Well, Mark, it was technically Michael Jordan who licked them. I didn't lick. Ford just announced. Ford Custom Garage to build the kind of thing that you saw on MTV's Pimp My Ride. But instead of exhibits Los Angeles garage customizing the car, It's Derek in Detroit with his team doing it at Ford.

Starting point is 00:07:38 Or your local dealership will do it. And yesterday, Ford dropped the first product from their new custom garage. Ah, behold, the desert rising Bronco. Pink and Magenta, Desert Sunrise and Spire. Jack, how would you describe this new car? Well, Barbie would roll up in if she went to Burning Man. Yeah, and that is Ford's first drop. And here is the key, Yetis.

Starting point is 00:07:58 Only 1,000 of these Broncos will be made. You see, scarcity is the product, so Ford is giving each of them their own particular serial number. Because scarcity needs proof and proof is a four-digit serial number. Yes, it is. Now, Bessie's when Jack and I talked to classic car experts, which we've done only once ever, by the way, to tell us that the cars that go up the most in value are the ones in limited quantity. For instance, the Porsche 959, only 2902 of those were made in the 80. Which is why each of those Porsche 959's is worth $2 million. Fiat, it's a cute little car that's cheap and inexpensive. Unless you find the Fiat jolly carjack because they only made 650 of them and those also go for nearly a million bucks.

Starting point is 00:08:38 Last year we covered Rolls Royce. They're selling extreme customization for an extreme markup. Get this, Rolls will carve your Zodiac Star constellation into the dashboard if you ask them to. And since only one of those cars is made, they cost like a million dollars. So Ford, they're selling something similar to what Rolls is pulling off here. Custom color, rim, and interior combinations in making just 1,000 of them each. And now, besties, we should point out this is already happening. You can't do customizations elsewhere. Custom garages are huge in this economy. But here is what we find fascinating. The $60 billion spent in North America on last year's car customizations, well, Ford, they weren't getting a dime of that.

Starting point is 00:09:16 So Ford's announcement is basically upstreaming those garages, plus including the limited OEM warranty that these aftermarket garages can't. Ford is going to drop a new destination theme drop every single year. They're going full exhibit on that fiesta. Actually, definitely not a fiesta. But Jack, just to sprinkle on some context to the numbers, a normal Ford Bronco, what's that going to cost you? That cost $44,000. Okay, but the Desert Rising Custom Bronco?

Starting point is 00:09:41 Ooh, that's going to be an extra $13,695. I mean, the car basically smashes the chiching button for you, man. That $14,000, it's pure profit, by the way. Jack, well, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Ford, inspired by Nike? Forget economies of scale. Create economies of scarce. Yeti's, cars are the ultimate economies of scale business. Ford, they became number one 100 years ago by inventing the assembly line.

Starting point is 00:10:07 But now every car company has an assembly line. So without scale as the differentiator, Ford has been competing on price. And that's why Ford's profits are down from 10 years ago. The competitive auto industry, it is a battle in prices. Yet he's creating just 1,000 of each model. That's not efficient production. But what has efficiency gotten Ford lately? On the other hand, limited addition, Broncos, Mustangs, and F-150s,

Starting point is 00:10:29 that could efficiently deliver profits even if production is inefficient. Not economies of scale. Ford wants to the economies of scarce. Besties, if everyone's building assembly lines, you build an art studio. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story,

Starting point is 00:10:50 the American baby company, ABC, just raised millions to offer the holy grail of family planning. Low-cost IVF. But it wouldn't just save families. It could save AI. But to start by I'm going on some context, Jack, you just booked your flights to New York City with the kids in November, I believe? Got it on my calendar right now? I think you set the invite. Annual New York City fall trip right after stick season.

Starting point is 00:11:12 There's like a thousand, a thousand playgrounds in Central Park, basically. That's right. We go there because Central Park is one enormous playground where my kids can endlessly play and I can relax. I mean, I basically, Jack, I learned how to ice skate, how to rollerblade, how to play lacrosse, how to pick up basketball, fold of pizza and sell lemonade, all Central Park. It's such a gift to the city. But Bessie's one problem. The Wall Street Journal just published an article entitled, America's big cities are rapidly losing kids. There are some shocking stats about America's 38 largest cities. Get this. While the population overall has grown 2.6% in the last 10 years, kids under 5 are down 16%.

Starting point is 00:11:48 Porter's Almanac, America's cities are running out of babies. And now, Besties, based on our T-Boy surveys, that shows that most of you live in America's 38 biggest cities right now. And some of you, city-living dinks, simply don't want to have. kids for the lifestyle, for the freedom. Others want kids, but you think it's unaffordable because it is. Preschool prices in New York City just hit $30,000 a year. But besties, here's the irony. Having kids is expensive, but struggling to have kids is even more expensive. So Nick and I are going to whip up some maternity math because there is no sticker shock like this. Because if you're not going through this, you should know what people are going through. See, one out of every eight American couples

Starting point is 00:12:26 is facing some kind of infertility right now. You're told to be extremely careful and use protection, your whole life? Yeah. But then when you want to have a baby, it can be really hard or even impossible. Now, IVF has emerged as a solution to that challenge that one out of every eight American couples is having right now. In vitro fertilization. It's modern medicine's medical miracle. But of those one out of eight couples that could benefit from IVF, only 14% actually end up using it. And the reason so few couples pursue IVF, it costs $25,000 and it's not covered by insurance. That's the sticker shock. Oh, and there's no guarantee that. harvesting eggs in the IVF process is actually going to work in that first cycle you go through.

Starting point is 00:13:06 You may need to do it twice, three times, four times. It could be $100,000 and you might not even succeed in the end. And from knowing those who have gone through it, you're experiencing heartbreak the entire time because it's not just the price, it's the shots along the way to. Now, just as IVF is about to celebrate its own 40th birthday, the price of IVF in America is at three decade highs. Add it all up and that becomes the clear opportunity for a company like ABC's, the American Baby Company. This is a startup that just raised $4 million to disrupt the IVF by cutting the price of the treatment by 65%. They're disrupting the process that disrupted healthcare in the first place. $9,000 for an IVF cycle. That's their deal. $5,000 for an egg pricing. That's their other deal.

Starting point is 00:13:50 Amazon prices for mankind's ultimate medical innovation. But there is a catch here, Jack. The mother can't be older than 35 and you have to have regular cycles to be eligible. But ABC's 10-year goal is to help 250,000 patients a year with that infertility challenge. By starting with one clinic in Florida, that's why they raised $4 million. And we think this is even bigger than infertility. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over at the ABCs? This is the kind of thing we all wish AI were used for. Now, Yeties, Jack and I covered this story because IVF is a huge topic for our generation

Starting point is 00:14:25 and our demographic, and we've spoken with you, Yetis, who have gone through this kind of a thing. But we also covered this story because the startup is using AI for something we all want AI to be used for. You see, AI is the magic sauce that the American baby company says makes their low price point possible. They're not using AI to replace doctors. They're using it to streamline the medical process that's full of bloat. And remember, besties, our medical industry is the number two price driver of America's cost a living crisis behind only housing. And remember, Yeti's, AI has the worst branding in business right now. The vast majority of Americans don't want it happening at all.

Starting point is 00:15:01 So for this, American baby company, the fund raise is so small. It's just $4 million. But the impact could be huge. Low-cost IVF. And we hope that AI results in more breakthroughs like a $9,000 IVF cycle. Add it all up, medicine needs a price cut, AI needs a brand boost, and an American baby company could accomplish both. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday?

Starting point is 00:15:27 Sales to Men drove Ugg sales to all-time highest. last quarter. But Matt Damon can't wear his mugs on the set of The Odyssey. Oh, it's meme management, baby. Do you step in and amplify it or let it grow organically? Second, Ford did their first ever car drop, a Bronco that Barbie would love to drive into the desert, but it's going to cost her $14,000 extra. Yeah, as exhibit would say, yo dog, forget economies of scale, great economies of scarce. We heard you like Barbies, we put them on the dashboard. And finally, the American Baby Company raised $4 million to open a clinic doing $9,000. You have small fundraise, but huge potential impact for struggling parents and for AI.

Starting point is 00:16:05 But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the Marvel Avengers are coming back. The trailer for the new film got 503 million views on day number one, second most for a trailer ever. Now, the last two Avengers movies both hit $2 billion at the box office. That was in 2018 and 2019. It was peak franchise. So Disney's taking another huge swing at the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Starting point is 00:16:29 even though we all got a little bit of franchise fatigue. Yeties comment, Assemble, if you want a full story about this movie tomorrow. And second, AI companies just struck an alliance straight out of Lord of the Rings, or maybe out of sisterhood of the traveling pants. Because Nvidia, SpaceX, Palantir, Doordash, even Capital One, and about 30 other companies are all joining the Open Secure AI Alliance. Because remember that Houdini AI that we said escaped last week? Well, the tech companies are worried we don't have the ability to stop it again.

Starting point is 00:16:56 So this alliance aims to democratize cybersecurity and counter-security concerns. with open-sourced AI. Well, interestingly, neither Anthropic nor Open AI signed into the alliance. And finally, would you rather sell your company for $400 million or give it away to a charity? Well, the CEO of Grady White Boats, those fancy fishing boat brand, they're doing the latter. Grady White Boats is now technically a charity. Specifically, the CEO transferred the assets into a trust so all future profits or sale of the company could be distributed to charity. And if this sounds familiar, the idea was inspired by Patagonia.

Starting point is 00:17:28 Founder Yvonne Chouinard did the same thing, pioneer the concept. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one's sent in by Clark Tee in Marin County, California. What do we got, Jack? Robotaxies, they're just like us. They get parking tickets, too. Yeah, you got a lot of parking tickets. Kind of like how you got two parking tickets last week, Jack.

Starting point is 00:17:47 Unbeknownst to me, I was in one hour maximum parking, and I stayed there for three hours. I got two tickets for the same violation. You live and you learn. Well, I guess you just park and you learn. But get this. Down in Austin, Waymo Robotaxies have gotten $9,325 bucks in parking tickets in just the last year. And in San Francisco, $65,000 in Waymo Robotaxi tickets.

Starting point is 00:18:08 As human rules still apply to robot taxis. And unfortunately, for Alphabet, this is technically a right off. Yeah, the Waymo software, not going to show up in court to dispute it, Jack. If I was like the town treasurer, I'd be like, ticket the hell out of these robocatsies. I'm going to press the Cheching button to get on this. from Big Tech. Yetis, you look fantastic for Teaboy Tuesday. Jack, you are glowing.

Starting point is 00:18:33 And Olivia and Julian, you guys are a match, made, and merger and acquisition heaven. Oh, is that the boutique investment bank that's marrying the pop star? Yiddies, if you haven't yet, grab tickets to our live show and then taff to follow us

Starting point is 00:18:46 so you get the best one yet every single day. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Drop us in the group chat. See you man. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Eddie. Jordi, Captavia Espitea, a legendary Spaniard,

Starting point is 00:19:03 enjoying an epic year for Spain, Jack. I mean, they're going for the hat track. And happy birthday to Manny Super Manish Patel in Orlando, Florida. And Louis Nyang, have a lovely birthday out of the lovely Los Angeles. Happy birthday to parties in San Francisco. And Daniel Briscoe, enjoying the Louisville Life down in Kentucky. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to Tony Puno in Manila, the Philippines.

Starting point is 00:19:22 And Abdul and Afia have an anniversary up in upstate New York. Congratulations, guys. And Jay Carmen and Christina Marin Casanovo. They met in Thailand. Happy two-year anniversary, living it up in London. And Casey Bucky's taking the two-day bar exam in North Carolina. You got this, Casey. You got this.

Starting point is 00:19:42 This is Jack. I own stock in Ford and Disney, and I own one share of SpaceX and Nick Oans more than one.

The Best One Yet - 🥾“Method footwear” — Uggs’ Odyssey ban. Ford’s custom drops. 65%-off IVF startup. +Olivia Rodrigo’s Man-In-Finance

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