The Best One Yet - 👪 “Nepo-preneurs” — Family biz boom. Twinkies’ 4/20 munchies trade. China’s rare earth embargo.

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

Twinkie is embracing 4/20 with Munchies Mobiles... because the US economy is now PG-13.China just stopped selling us Rare Earth Metals… We call it the Acupuncture Needle Strategy.Say hello to “Nepo-preneurs”… Because kids joining family businesses just surged 13%.Plus, the top way to reduce stress at work? Playing Tetris… $SJM $LMT $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… the Super Soaker 🔫Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Susper Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, April 17th, 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. You know what, Yet is the last pod before Good Friday. Markets are actually closed tomorrow. Yeah, it's a purely religious holiday on Wall Street.

Church, straight, separated, except on Wall Street, apparently. But we do have a special full episode dropping tomorrow on our feet. And we wouldn't leave you empty-handed. Also, you know, Jack? Jack, we haven't done a T-Boy hotline in a while, and people got a lot of questions with the market these days. So, if you have a question for Nick or me, go to our Instagram right now, and we'll answer your questions on Friday on Instagram. It is up at T-BoyPod on Insta. Ask us anything including about our three fantastic stories for today. Jack, what's on today's T-boy? For our first story, Twinkies, their snack sales have been slipping, so Twinkies has a solution.

They're embracing 420. Twinkies is unleashing a fleet of Munchymobiles to celebrate the controversial cannabis holiday. For our second story, it's the Trade War Update Day 16. China has banned the export of rare earth metals to the United States. This is China's biggest trade war move yet, and it reminds us of acupuncture. And our third and final story is the hot new job trend of 2025. Moed is a Jack? Working for mom or dad.

Family businesses are a surgeon right now, like a... scene straight out of the Godfather. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Three fantastic mixes of stories, my son. Beautiful mix today. I love your Godfather impression. I imagine what you're talking about? Keep it in the family.

Yeties, the cool new game to play at the office is actually the oldest game at the office. That's right. Tetris is seeing a resurgence. Get this. As a wellness hack? Yeah, that Tetris. The ones with the bricks and the blocks all falling with gravity, and you got to put them in the right place. And you got to fit the L shape on the square shape.

And then there's that zigzaggy shape that's kind of an S, kind of a lightning bolt. And then you got a backwards L shape coming in. Oh my God, Jack, it's coming quickly. Oh, my God, oh my God. Get this. During the pandemic, scientists studied people who played Tetris every day.

And after five weeks of playing Tetris, traumatic feelings fell by 86%. What we're saying is, playing Tetris has similar effects on you as Xanax does. Yeah, you may not need a glass of peanut to relax. You just need 10 minutes of Tetris. The psychological soothing effect of playing Tetris is now known as the Tetris effect. And it's a whole lot cheaper than a round of therapy.

But here's the wildest part. Tetris is one of the oldest video games of all time. Because Tetris was invented back in the Soviet Union in 1984. It's the greatest Soviet export since Ivan Drago. The Tetris resurgence is part of the broader trend. Jack and I have noticed of vintage tech. Yahoo.com email addresses are hot again. iPods are making a comeback.

And now you're playing Tetris all day instead of swiping on TikTok. So, Yetis, if you think you need to visit the spa this weekend for some R&R. Instead, try playing a little bit of Tetris. It's a massage for your mind. Oh, my God, Jack. Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh. L-shaped coming.

L-shaped. Oh, turn, turn, turn, turn. Game over, Nick. Well, that's in our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet.

The best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it. 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, Twinkies is the rare big corporation that's embracing the 420 weed holiday.

Twinkies is celebrating the cannabis holiday because America is now a PG-13. economy. But yeties, let's start by sprinkling on some context like some powdered sugar. We have got some sad news for you, don't we, Jack? We're in a snack session, a snacking recession, which is particularly hurtful for Nick and me, because our original company was called market snacks. But as Americans, it appears we've moved on from the two-year sweatpants wearing snack binging that controlled all of us during the pandemic. We've moved on to the OZempec era. You're passing on popcorn and you're ditching dunkers. Case and point, let's look at J.M. Smuckers, the billion dollar peanut butter and jelly icon. They just reported that sales of their sweet snacks fell

by 7% last quarter. Okay, so that's a problem, but here's the bigger problem for smuckers. Two years ago, they acquired Hostas for $4.8 billion, which is the sugaryest of the snack brands. It is the sugaryest. Jack, can you read us the Hostess starting lineup of food, please? Hostess brands includes Ho-ho's, dingers, snowballs, and Twinkies. It gets me every time. Hostas's existence is proof that you can stick cream in any So, we're facing a snack session. How are they going to sell more Twinkies? By embracing 420. That's right. Twinkies is making the desperate move to embrace a holiday. No other company is willing to embrace right now. 420, the weed holiday, Christmas for cannabis.

Yeah, the holiday when Mrs. P. Kau in the park with a couple dubies. The 420 holiday started in the 1970s in California, allegedly because 420 was like the police code word for cannabis. We tried to verify that, jumped in T-boy style. It is a debated origin to this day. And this year, 420 falls on Easter. So Hostas is making it their biggest marketing moment of the year. Fritos wouldn't dare do what Hostas is about to pull off. Hostas is positioning itself as the suite of choice for stoners. Yeah, this is a total marketing overhaul. Twinkie is temporarily retiring there, Twinkie the kid, the famous family-friendly mascot they've always had for over a century. They're replacing it with a fleet of self-proclaimed Munchy Mobiles. And I'm going to have to

hear more about these Munchymobiles, Jack. These are Hostess branded food trucks that set up shop right outside where everyone's like popular weed smoking spots. Sound like one of the cool kids there, Jack. Apparently every day at 4.20 p.m. for the next few weeks, these Munchy

mobiles from Hostess are going to give away and I quote, Twinkies, ding-dongs, and ho-hos outside of cannabis dispensaries on the East and West Coast. You buy some chronic and snag some cupcakes for free under way out. As far as we can tell, this is the boldest branding move in marketing since McDonald's asked Grimmis to kill you. And mom ain't happy about it.

No, she's still not happy about it. Now, Besties, there is a broader, deeper strategy here. Jack and I have told you how brands need to find their Super Bowl. They need to find their one day of the year that's their day, and then make it their own. Well, the risque holiday of 420 was ripe for the taken. So Twinkies is biting into it. Because they will break the laws of physics to stick cream in whatever it is they haven't stuck cream into. So, Jack, not going to sugarcoat it. What's the takeaway for our buddies over at Twinkies? We're living in the PG-13 economy.

Yeties, in 2021 and 2022, PG-13 movies took a record 60% share of the box office. Big deal. It reflects a shift in what Americans are looking for. It does, beyond the movies. PG-13, it's that adolescent rating that's not for little kids, but it's not aggressively at all either. And for 106 years, Twinkies was focused on PG. They were a family-friendly, wholesome dessert that was going after children and their parents.

But since this big smuckers deal, Twinkies is pivoting, 180 degrees to focus on weed-smoking teens. As pot has legalized across America's states, the culture has shifted from PG-13 to PG-13. More broadly, America is now a PG-13 economy. For our second story, since Sunday, China has not sent a single shipment of rare earth metals or super magnets to the United States. And if that doesn't concern you, it absolutely should. It's a huge deal. Because China has all the rare earth metals, and without them, nothing works. And we will connect this to an acupuncture needle stick with us, Yetis.

But in order to tell this story, Jack and I want to travel back 15 years ago. when China and Japan had a territorial dispute. In 2010, the two countries were arguing about who controlled the waters between them. To win that argument, China cut off sales of its rare earth metals to the country of Japan. And according to the New York Times, that one move by China was devastating to the Japanese economy. Because rare earth metals are critical to our most advanced physical goods. Key word here, rare. Even more valuable than rare earth metals, are the super-eastern,

super magnets that can only be made with rare earth metals. These things are 15 times more powerful than your regular magnets out there. And they're pretty much in everything these days, Jack. They're using cars, drones, wind turbines, missiles. Any advanced electrical product requires these super magnets. Yeah, these rare earth metals are like the VIPs of the periodic table of elements, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, like scandium is the George Clooney of the minerals. And here's the issue.

China has a rare earth metal monopoly. That's right. 60% of rare earth metals are mined in China, and 90% of super magnets come from China. Now, China eventually ended their dispute, and they removed their rare earth metal blockade on Japan. But then Japan went into Code Red. They found alternative sources for these critical minerals, including buying mines over in Australia. But how about the United States? How did we respond after seeing Japan be brought to their knees by a rare earth metal blockade from China?

Well, Jack, the situation in America is bad. We're still quite vulnerable. We depend almost completely on China for our rare earth metals. Which leads to the news on Sunday, China placed an embargo on the United States of these critical minerals and magnets. It's an escalation in the trade war. It's a retaliation to Trump's tariffs. It's China shooting back, and it's huge news. As we should point out, you're not going to feel this immediately like some of the tariff price pops you're already seeing on like your

cute tops. But we might feel this big time down the road if this embargo holds. Jack and I were talking about it, it actually reminds us of the 1970s Middle East oil embargo before America was a big producer of gasoline. Back then, we realized that cars are useless without gas. And today, we recognize that our energy, defense, and electronics industries are useless without rare earth metals. A pair of iPods require terbium and neodium, two rare earth metals. iPhones, they require half a dozen more rare earth metals. Your refrigerator, your television, your gas-powered Jeep Wrangler,

your electric Tesla, they all require rare earth metals and super magnets. Basically everything that runs this podcast, and that is why rare earth metal restrictions could be China's ace in the hole in this trade war. This is all the result of poor long-term planning, by the way, of both Republican

and Democratic administrations of the last 30 years. We should point out rare earth metals do exist in America, but opening a new mine for one of them, it takes 30 years due to a whole bunch of onerous regulations. I wish 30 years ago we had started opening up a mine because this stuff sounds pretty important. Jack, I wish we could hit this takeaway because it's so good.

What's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone using electronic stuff? Our trade war weapon is a bazooka. China's is a needle. Yeties, the United States used to produce a majority of the world's rare earth metals, But then China came along. And they used their classic playbook. They dropped prices to crush foreign competition, and as a result, all America's minds shut down.

So today, China's government actually controls all of their minds, knowing how critical these rare earth metals are for geopolitics. So we're hitting China with broad tariffs across all industries, which hurt all of China's exports. But China is now wielding their rare earth metals like a sharp, lethal acupuncture needle. Basically, they found our pressure point. Rare earth metals are a tiny percent of the trade between the United States and China,

but this one tiny needle can either help us or harm us big time. And now, Basties, there is hope here. If we're smart, we will do two specific things. We've got to cut a deal with China so that our factories don't run out of rare earth metals. Now we've got to cut regulations on rare earth metal mining, so we aren't dependent on China in the future for these metals. Because China's needle looks a lot scarier than America's bazook. right now. Never thought we'd say it, but we're kind of scared. This acupuncture needle.

Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, the hot new job trend right now, it's working for your parents. Millennials are joining the family business in record numbers with plans to take over when mom and dad retire. And we've got a term for it. We call them neppopreneurs. But Jack, why don't we kick things off with the hero stat? What are we looking at here? The share. of small businesses that employ a child of the owner has doubled since 2018. Let's sprinkle on a little more context, man. It's still a tiny proportion of all businesses, but the number of those cases where the

owner's child is working for the company has doubled in seven years. In fact, in just the last year, the number of in-house legacy hires, the politically correct term for working for your parents, is up 13%. Not too shabby, man. Basically, parents have gone from telling their kids, you can be anything. you want to be when you grow up? Astronaut. To telling their kids, you should work for the family business. HVAC

Specialist! Now, some kids are working for their dad's boring business. Yeah, they're doing plumbing, they're doing farming, they're working the laundromats, that's what they're doing. Others are working for their mom's white collar business. Consulting, hedge fund, cybersecurity, all that good stuff. Saxon from the White Lotus? He is one data point of this bigger trend. Nepo workers hoping to become NEPO owners.

So, Yeties, this is this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Basically, we're witnessing the godfatherification of America. Everyone's joining the family business if they can. Don't ever take sides against the family. So we got to ask, why are so many Americans turning mom and dad into their boss? Well, it is a tough jobs market, but specifically, it has never been harder to nail an entry-level job. A survey published in the Wall Street Journal shows that employers plan to hire 6% fewer recent grads this year than last year. And if you're a bit older than that, well, you're still facing some job pressure too,

because AI is disrupting so many roles out there. So you're reconsidering that opportunity your parents have always had on the table to work for the family company. And honestly, it is an economically understandable and justifiable position these days. Because in this economy, get job security, you know your boss, but you're still financially independent. I mean, the downside, Jack, is your dad makes you shovel the walkway and fix the broken toilet, even though it's definitely not on your job description.

But kids are swallowing their pride, they're risking being judged by their peers, and they're taking the job for dad. Don't call in sick, because your mom knows exactly what you're doing, Jack. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone joining the family business? The first great wealth transfer will be businesses. Prepare for neopreneurs. buddies, we have told you about the silver tsunami before. Basically, the economic impact of retiring baby boomers. Boomers hold a tremendous amount of real estate, stocks, and other assets, and they're transferring that wealth to their heirs right now. But the overlooked part of that

great wealth transfer is the business inheritance. And from a mom and a dad's perspective, they don't want the business they spent decades building to be shut down when they retire. They're looking for an error. Best case succession scenario? Well, they hand over. that business to little Johnny or Tiny Tina. We call the recipient of these inherited businesses neopreneurs. The first thing Zillennials will inherit from boomers before real estate stocks or other assets will be entire businesses. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Twinkies has deployed a fleet of 420 Munchymobiles to market to marijuana users. They're turning 420 into their Super Bowl marketing day

Because America has become a PG-13 economy For our second story, China has a monopoly on rare earth metals And they've stopped shipping them to the United States America is using a trade war bazooka But China is using an acupuncture needle Right on our pressure point And our third and final story The hot new job trend is working for your parents

In the family business The first great wealth transfer will be businesses. Prepare for the age of the neppopreneur. I think neppopreneur is going to be like a dating show on Netflix. Hey, come on down. And what kind of business do you on? But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

First, Lyft finally expanded to Europe. I didn't even know they hadn't done it yet, Jack. They just acquired this app called Free Now, which is a ride-hale app in Europe for $200 million. Free Now is actually jointly owned by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but now it's owned by Lyft, the ride-hail company. Now, for the record, Uber launched in the United Kingdom in 2012. So Lyft's European expansion is 13 years behind. Are they doing food delivery?

No, they're not doing food delivery. Still, Lyft turned profitable last year for the first time ever. Yes, making progress. Jack owns the stock, which is still worth one lift, by the way. And second, Doge admitted that actual savings from their government companies, cutting policies will top out at 150 billion bucks. How's that compared to what Elon has said? Well, he said on the campaign trail he would cut at least $2 trillion in government spending.

So $150 billion is 8% of that. Now, we should point out that we suggested back on November 14th that 87% of our federal budget was untouchable without legislation. Doge isn't done yet, but they finally learned the reality of how spending in D.C. works. And finally, OpenAI is reportedly working. on a social network. That's right, the first ever pure play AI social media. Very early stage. It probably won't even happen if we're being honest, but Sam Alpin wants a competitor to Elon's X. This could be a social network where constantly you're interacting with bots, but like in a good way,

like their phone bots. Or it could be a social network that pays you to post because your social media posts are the AI's training fuel. And then who's working for whom, Jack? No, time for the best fact. Yeah, this one sent in by Beatrice the bunny, Jack, what is today's fact? Passover ends this weekend on Sunday. And Easter is this weekend on Sunday, and 420 is this weekend on Sunday. And a wild data point here, even though egg prices have been very, very high recently, that's not stopping us from decorating eggs.

That's right. According to Pass, the 144-year-old egg-dine company, retailers have ordered the same number of egg-dine kits as they did last year. So eggflation hasn't touched Easter eggs. can't afford the eggs, but you're going to buy them so you can paint them. Now, I'm actually hosting an Easter-themed birthday party for Wilder on Saturday. Oh, did you hear what I'm doing Friday night? Hit me. We're doing an Easter egg hunt in the woods.

The eggs are full of dinosaurs. Oh, my God. On Friday night, I'm going to put on a headlamp and go out in the woods and hide the eggs. Life finds away. You're going full Dr. Grant. You're putting the dino eggs out in the wild over that. And I'm doing it at dark because the party's in the morning. Okay.

I just blink twice. if you put the Stegosaurus under the oak tree. Now you're speaking my language. Yeties, you look fantastic over there. Now remember, even though the stock market is closed tomorrow, Jack and I whipped up a very special episode for you. So check out our feed Friday morning. We think you're going to like what you listen to.

We'll see you here as usual, and then tell a buddy this weekend, H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. Have you had the best one yet? That is how we grow the show. Celebrate the wins, and Jack and I will see you on a minute. And before we go, a happy seventh birthday to Aurora X, the Yeti in northwest Arkansas, who just rode her new bike all the way down the street.

Happy birthday to Dave Pally, an old Robin Hoodie buddy of ours over in San Francisco. And Ed Palacios down in Miami, Florida is listening with a 12-year-old daughter celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy birthday to Krista Baer in Asheville, North Carolina. And Yaska Gametes in Lubbock, Texas, happy brilliant birthday. Happy 31st birthday to Kathleen Wong and the Orange,

cat named Mochi, who's also celebrating a birthday in San Leandro, California. And Zachary Zuzik, with so many Zs, he's celebrating a 31st birthday in Annandale, Virginia. Happy birthday to Dandy Lion Dan in Hudson, Wisconsin, who's picking Dandelions for his birthday. And Shishank Murthy's celebrating the best birthday yet in California. Happy birthday to Alley C in Menlo Park, California. It's also Quigley's got your day. Something to celebrate. And Jack Milliken is celebrating 34 years, doing logistics.

in Chicago. Happy birthday to Tammy Wankoff in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, who's also a member of Vermont's 251 Club. Are you allowed to talk about Vermont's 251 club, Jack? She's visited all 251 towns and cities in the state. And Fundi in Lagos, Nigeria is celebrating a birthday and has been listening with us as a Yeti since 2020, baby. Happy birthday to Juliana Paola Martina Zabara in Plymouth, Minnesota. And Hakeem McFarlane and Bowie, Maryland tells everyone about Tee, and is celebrating a fantastic birthday. Thank you, Akeem. And a big shout out to Rachel Howard, who's getting a colonoscopy, inspired by Nick. These two are scoping influencers. Honestly, Rich, I thought the stuff they make you drink taste good. And finally, happy anniversary to John

and Julie Rich in Washington, D.C. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Lyft and Netflix.