The Best One Yet - 🍣 “Miso Pilates” — Nobu’s hospitality empire. ChatGPT-5’s therapist. Crocs vs Stocks. +Labubu Raves.

Episode Date: August 11, 2025

Michelin-star restaurant Nobu now has 42 hotels… and it’s got pilates studios too?ChatGPT-5 is being called the biggest development in AI history… the latest version is more therapist-like.The stock market has become split between 2 types of consumers… those who own crocs and those who own stocks.Plus, the hot new party is Labubu raves… (yep, late-night clubbing with monster dolls)$CROX $MSFT $GOOGWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Hennessey cognac 🥃Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.NEWSLETTER: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: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks 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. Welcome back. It is Monday, August 11th. And 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. Jack, can I just celebrate a few wins to start the week for us over here? Yes, please. Okay, first, we just interviewed an incredible entrepreneur. That episode drops later this month.

Mm-hmm. And you just went to the best concert of your life. I felt like I was witnessing history. And I was just in Santa Cruz where I saw a lot. other people surfing better than I do. Well, isn't that just a standard Saturday for you? So, Jack, can I just say one more thing, please? It's true.

Nothing beats a Jet 2 holiday. We got three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the team boy? For our first story, Nobu is a Michelin-starred restaurant with 56 locations and 42 hotels. But wildest of all, this billion-dollar restaurant Nobu is now opening a Pilate studio? For our second story, how the economy is doing is split between two types of consumers. Those who own stocks and those who own crocs.

Yeah, those crocs. And our third and final story is Chat GPT-5. The Cinco. Chat-GPT-5 launched last week and it's being held as the biggest development in AI history. For techies, it codes better. But for Normies, it therapeutizes. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories, perfect mix of stories to kick off the weekjack.

Love the mix. The hottest party this weekend. Nick, tell us what it was. Labubu raves. No joke, the viral new Chinese doll. Everyone's talking about it. Made it into the club. We have told you besties about the Labubu doll,

the Gen Z Beanie Baby with a billion bucks in sales. It looks like a Furby and a Telatubby had a baby together that was raised by trolls. Jack, if this thing talked, It kind of sound like Jack in the box, Melf. You know what I'm talking about here? Yeah, the one that goes... Ha!

Now, yadis, we've covered Labibu Doll's business twice on this podcast. But the Labubu virus is spreading so fast through our culture, there are new variants. Like late night Labu-Dance Fest. Get this, Yeties. According to Gothamist, parties are popping up across New York City with Labubu as the focus. Over at the Monarch Club in Brooklyn, Labubu Raves are going till... 4 a.m. And the climax of the party is a mystery box unveiling at the center of the dance floor. Yeah, it's Saturday night, 800 adults attended a late-night Labibu Fest for a mass unboxing ritual.

They drank, they dance, and they traded $28 Chinese dolls. And the DJ plays K-pop. The partiers clip LaBubo's on their pants. Hey, Diploop, more LaBoooo. Moss LaBoo see if we play. Now, Beanie Babies had an epic fever in the late 1990s. But Jack, those beanie babies didn't make the beat drop, did they, man? No, they didn't. So yet, he's no judgment. But if you sweat it up at a Labubu rave until sunrise this weekend? Well, no judgments, no judgment. We're calling it the next Labubu launch, a dating app. Is there going to be a mystery box in this dating app? I think every dating app's kind of a mystery box, Jack. Let's in our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm.

It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it's 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, Nobu, the fancy Japanese fusion restaurant now also owns 42 hotels.

And they just launched a Pilate studio? We'll tell you how Nobu managed to scale the two hardest things in hospitality, food and fancy. Yeties, let's travel back to when I was in high school. My parents went out for a date, and they came back with some leftovers in a tray with rock shrimp. Had you ever had rock shrimp, Jack? So I went to Nobu once. Baird's dad brought me there. Oh, yeah, yeah, that's a good parent trip, Jack.

Yeah, and I did not order a single thing. I let him manage it all because I had no clue. That's a familial write-off right off right there. That was back in 2003. It was the Nobu in Tribeca. Nobu is a very cool Japanese and Peruvian fusion restaurant. It's a Tokyo chef who studied in Lima. And their sushi has got so much swagger.

It needs its own talent agent. Hey, UTA! Now, Nobu began in Los Angeles in 1989. Robert De Niro dineer in there and was such a fan of the miso black cod. He asked for a New York location. But Nobu Matsuhisa, the chef patiently refused until 1994 when he got offered a lot of money. He opened up a restaurant with De Niro's De Nero. And that became the modern blueprint for the premium restaurant venture, the three Cs, Jack.

You need a chef, you need a celebrity backer, and you need a cash money investor. Well, now Nobu's a Michelin-awarded restaurant brand worth $1.3 billion with a B dollars. It's serving up some unicorn terriaki. Jack, the last time I walked by the Tribeca location before it closed, Russell Crowe walked out and fell on top of me. So you're telling me that the gladiator tackled you on the streets of New York City? I haven't showered since, Jack. But actually, this headline, 31 years later, is what we find fascinating. Nobu just launched a Pilates retreat in Abiza.

A record scratch. Excuse me? Why is Nobu hosting retreats focused on Pilates on the biggest club and island in the ocean? It's not just a retreat, Nick. Nobu already has a Pilate Studio at their London hotel. Pause the pot again. Did you just say Nobu had a hotel? Yeah, plot twist. Nobu has 56 restaurants, but also 42 hotels with plans to open 40 more. From Tulum to Orlando with a little bit in Saudi Arabia in between. Nobu's also got condos and fitness centers and a Nobu yacht.

That's right. You could take a cruise with their yellow tail jalapeno poppers on the poop deck. Nobu is a global luxury brand with restaurants, hotels, fitness centers, condos, and yachts. But Jack, let's add it all up for a sec, and talk about the numbers. Those 56 restaurants each make, on average, $10 million in revenue per year. It's like half a billion dollars total in revenue on F&B, food and beverage. Now, we should point out, Nobu doesn't own most of their restaurants. They license them like McDonald's does. But here's a wild detail.

The Nobu CEO says that each seat in their restaurants make as much money as each room in their hotels. Because each hotel room only serves one customer a day, but each restaurant chair changes over with six new customers each day. So what we're saying is that Nobu has scaled luxury like Louis Vuitton, but in an industry with margins thinner than a French fry. Because the profits on a luxury handbag is like 90%. But Jack, the profit on a scallop flown in from Hokkaido overnight? Much slim. Yeah, way less. So, Jack, Jack, What's the takeaway for our... Oh, by the way, before our Chicago show,

before your flight arrived, I did the Omicasse at Nobu. Really? Well, you said it was a write-off. I haven't done our quarterly account yet. Okay, so Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Nobu? Be really good at not being bad.

Yeties, Chef Nobu spoke to the Wall Street Journal and said the reason he's successful is that celebrities trust my food. They return to Nobu not just for the taste. They return for the... very high quality floor. Basically, it's the same reason that McDonald's is so big. You know what you're getting. It's the consistency. The same Big Macs are served at the same quality in Dallas to Detroit. And the same Nobu, Toro, Tuna Tartar is served in the same quality in Melbourne or in

Malibu. It's a reminder about an important consumer psychology. We fear downside more than we desire upside. We fear loss more than we crave a win. We're more worried about not losing, something, than we are about gaining something. Well, McDonald's does it for a mass audience, and Nobu does it for celebrities. They deliver consistency. It's not about being good. It's about being really good at never being bad. For our second story, the big question in this economy, do you own Crocs or do you own stocks?

The answer determines whether you're spending more or less. It's Crocs versus stocks, and that is how we can. can understand today's economy. Nick, last week, there were too many earnings reports for us to cover on the pot. 20% of the S&P 500 reported earnings last week, not too shabby. And the big theme Nick and I noticed is that CEOs were totally split down the middle on whether the U.S. economy was doing well or not. Jack, let's bring out group number one. Crocs, McDonald's and Under Armour, each said that the American consumer is in rough shape right now. Stocks and those three companies, these fell last week, as their CEOs said customers cut spending in the second quarter.

Basically, people are buying fewer sweat-wicking Big Mac clogs right now. And this simple quote from the McDonald's CEO sums up their challenge. Here's what he said. I mean, we've got lower-income consumers that remain under pressure. Their visits to fast food restaurants were down double digits again in quarter two. The main reason? Same as it's been the last few years. Yep. High prices and inflation are squeezing consumers. A monster is still warring. companies that serve lower and middle-income Americans are struggling. But Jack, what about the

companies serving higher-end Americans right now? They're surging. It's a Dickensian tale of two economies, Nick. Because get this yet, his comments from Disney, Uber, and Shopify were the opposite of Crox McDonald's Under Armour. Let's kick it off with Disney. They said, I know there's a lot of concern about the consumer in the United States right now, but we don't see it. Jack, how about Uber? Their CEO said, we're not seeing any sales. signal of consumer weakness. And Shopify said that tariff impacts have not materialized into lower e-commerce activity. So besties, when Jack and I whip out the whiteboard and look at the earnings from last week, here is the theme that we are really seeing. People who get on an airplane to take a

vacation to Disney World, people who take Ubers to work, and people who buy cute tops online, are all feeling good right now. But people who are tossing on some underarmor and eat in Big Macs and strutting around in Crocs, they are not feeling as good right now. It's a Dickensian tale of two economies. That also comes down to one wild hero stat. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in this economy? If you own stocks, you're feeling rich. But what about the other half of Americans?

Yeties, the U.S. economy overall is growing, despite tariffs, thanks to this stock market. Stocks are at all-time highs, mainly because of AI hype driving big tech valuations into the trillions. Now, Jack and I have told you that the stock market is not the economy, but how the stock market is doing affects the economy. Because if your stocks are up, you feel richer. And if you feel richer, you're going to spend more. Yeah, get this. The top 20% of income earners are responsible for half the spending in this country. That's a wild stat that I want to repeat. The top 20% income earners in America are responsible for half of all consumer spending. But Jack, I got another stat for you. Only half of Americans own stocks.

So these all-time-high market records aren't getting them to open up their wallets. Add it all up, and companies catering to the bottom half of earners in America are struggling. But companies catering to the upper half are surging. Or the way we see it, it's stocks versus crocs. Because if you own the market, you're feeling rich. But if you don't, you're feeling squeezed. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, last week, Sam Altman launched Chat GPT5, The Cinco.

And he says it'll be like a PhD student in your pocket. I really hope the Cinco catches on. Open AI marketing team, you're welcome. But the big question, do you want AI to be your colleague, giving your yes, no answers, or do you want it to be your therapist? But first, Jack, I guess we should begin with a little bit of congratulations for a buddy's over at OpenAI, right now? Open AI employees are able to sell their stock in the company right now at a $500 billion valuation. Our buddy Peter, I'm seeing him this weekend, Jack, he's buying me

the drink. I already called it. Now, if it does sell it $500 billion, that would make OpenAI the most valuable startup in business history. More than SpaceX, more than bite dance, more than a couple TikToks. And if you compare Open AI to publicly traded companies, it's the 20th most valuable company on Earth right now. It's as big as next. Netflix, and the product isn't even three years old yet. The product, by the way, chat GPT, which has 700 million weekly users. And that number is two Netflix's, Jack. Open AI is setting financial and tech records like Shohei Otani.

He can pitch and he can bat. And here's the news. ChatGPT5 launched on Thursday, and it's free for all to use. Sam Altman unwrapped it in front of us last week like a Christmas present. If you're a free user, you can ask it up to... 10 questions every five hours. If you want more than that, you got to start paying. Now, we'll explain everything you need to know, but first, this is not a GI. ChatG-T-5 is not super-intelligence.

No, us humans still have a leg up on this thing for a little bit longer, at least. Sam Altman says it's like having a PhD student in your pocket. Well, I don't have a PhD, so do I have a leg up on this thing? Chat-G-T-3, that was basically like a high school student. Chat-G-T-4, that was kind of like a college student. but this one, it's as smart as a grad schooler. This thing was on the dating apps. Everyone would be swiping, right?

Not a big partier, not a big partier, though. Now, at first, when Nick and I were reading about ChatGPT5, we're like, okay, this is the iPhone 16. It's a little bit better in every metric than the previous version. That was from our research, but OpenAI says this is actually a bigger leap than that. They basically say it's like going from a Game Boy to an N64. Which is a pretty big technological leap. And we can kind of see that.

Like, the answers now arrive twice as fast than chat GPT4 with 45% fewer factual errors. So it's smarter, it's faster, it's less wrong and less annoying, but it still has hallucinations. Jack, could you please explain that less annoying, though? Basically, it won't suck up to you as much. It'll be less sick of fantic. Yeah, yeah. And it's going to use fewer emoji. Yeah, it did use a lot of emoji. Actually, you can now make your chat GPT bot more cynical or more nerdy. You can kind of like, you know...

You can choose your tone. Yeah, no sassy option, but yeah. Grock is the sassy option, I think. Now, the biggest improvement here is if you're a coder. Because developers with the paid version of chat GPD now have the highest level of vibe coding. Vib coding. Basically, you can create an entire computer program from scratch. Just describe to chat GPD the app you want, and it will give you that app.

But the biggest update for us consumers, us normies out there. What is it, Jack? Next week, we'll be able to connect our chat GPT accounts to our Gmail accounts and our Google calendars. That's right. So chat GPT5 could become your personal assistant. It could proactively set up that meeting with Marcia over in marketing. You could ask your chat GPT, hey, are there any important emails in my 68 unread emails? Or can I just relax for the weekend? And we'll tell you you can relax for a moment. I've read through all your 68 emails. Everything can wait till Monday. And then we'll judge you for requiring 143 emails just to plan that bachelorette party. So Jack,

What's the takeaway for our buddies over at chat GPT5, the Zinko? Do you want a colleague or do you want a therapist? Yeties, there's one other chat GPT change from last week that didn't get attention. And we think it's big. HSPDs. HSPDs, high stakes, personal decisions. Like stuff having to do with your romantic relationships, your personal health. Like, should I propose to my girlfriend?

People are asking this to chat cheptic. I mean, Jack, a critique from the past versions of chat. was that it would give yes or no answers to huge life decisions. Now, not only is that just ill-advised, because it doesn't have enough information to give you a yes or no, it also became a legal liability for Open AI. So now, instead of telling you what to do, chat GPT will guide you with questions. For example, if you say, should I break up with my partner, instead of giving you a yes or no, it'll ask you questions like a therapist would.

Because OpenAI has realized that these high-stakes personal decisions are a big use case, but big risk. So the power of AI isn't just getting you an answer as quickly as possible, but it's helping you find the answer yourself. That's why we think the future of AI may look less like a yes-no colleague and more like a questioning therapist. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Nobu is co-owned by Robert De Niro and has become a global restaurant and hotel and Pilates Empire.

That's right. Black Measocod on the Reformer. Yeties, they're not just good. They're really good at never being bad. AKA they're consistent. For our second story, companies catering to high-enders are surging. Companies catering to the bottom half are not. Or as we call it, it's stocks versus crocs. Half of Americans own stocks, the other half feels squeezed. And our third and final story, chat cheap ET5 is here and free to use. The Sinkgo. And it's led to a $500 billion valuation for the parent company.

I want you to say Sinko, Jack. Chat Gipt V. The Sinko. Because AI isn't just a yes-no colleague. This version is also a questioning therapist. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Sweet Green stock sank 28% after announcing their first ever revenue decline.

To get customers back in the door, Sweet Green says they're boosting portions. I bet this is protein maxing, Jack. We've always found their sales to be huge. You never finish your cells. I know. I'm a lightweight. I'm a lightweight. Bigger portions could bring people back into the store, but also hurt profits. It's basically a salad 22 situation.

I see what you did there. And second, it's the final zucking. Instagram just added maps, which happens to be a Snapchat feature that they stole. Instagram's map sharing feature will now show you where your friends are based on their posting and their tagging. Oh, buddy Timmy, he's right over there. Although it brings up safety concerns and privacy concerns. I mean, do you want to give Zuck that data? Or show every one of your friends where you are? You can turn it off, though.

We should let you know that. But it also means that everything about Snapchat has finally been copied by Instagram. And finally, Apple just had its best week on the stock market in five years. Why? The CEO Tim Cook gifted Donald Trump with pomp and ceremony a golden statue. A golden statue that said, made in America, which is ironic, though, because the iPhone is not made in America.

Although it was seen as enough of a public flattering of the president to keep the iPhone exempt of tariffs. And just the right quantity of gold. Now time for the best fact yet, which, because it's Monday, means tea boy trivia. Jack, what do we got this week? Nick, what is the most popular dinner served at the International Space Station? That's right. Which food has been re-engineered for space and is now the most requested dish? I think it's the most eaten dish, right? Yeah, it really is.

So, Yetis, here are the four options, and you can vote in our Spotify poll right now. Is it hamburgers, peanut butter, pizza, or ramen? Drop us your comment on the most popular dinner at the International Space Station. And vote in our Spotify poll. And don't say dipping dots. That wasn't an option, although it was our first guess. Yeties, you look, fittins. You hear that, Jack?

Oh, is that a Labubo rave? I got a Laboo rave to get to. We got to end the show. Yeties, you look fantastic. If you haven't yet tapped to follow us, and that way you can hang out with T-Boy every single day. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti Anthony Lewis down in Bethlehem, Georgia,

who's also fantastic husband. Happy 30th birthday to Diana Yu in Beijing, China. And Jonathan Davis turned 37 years old in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. And happy birthday to Sam Mott from Virginia, the best Yukur player on the East Coast. And a happy birthday to Yo-Yo-Chang celebrating all the way over in Taipei, Taiwan. Happy birthday to Rich Jaffe in Pauley, Pennsylvania, T-Boy gives him and his daughter a reason to connect daily. We're honored by that. And a congratulations to Yeti Antonio Nacad and the NG Cash team in Brazil, who just raised $27 million from Andresen, Endeavor, and a whole bunch of VCs.

And happy 13 years together to Sammy and Jaime Arteaga in Everett, Washington, just outside Seattle. And Joe and Emily Driano and Bellingham, Washington, are first-time parents to a real-time human. And happy five-year anniversary to Rahm and Prasanti in Dallas, Texas. And Stephen and Michelle Sheck are buying a home in Colorado. Congratulations, guys. Congratulations to Chloe Boroff in Greenville, South Carolina for finishing that physical therapy class. This is Jack. Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500, and we both own stock of Apple and Shopify. And I own stock in Disney and Netflix.

And I own stock of Crocs. So I guess I'm both the Kenzie and Tails. Lord the Cinco, Jack.