The Best One Yet - 🥇 “Olympian Employees” — Paris competitors’ day jobs. Pit Viper’s faux-stalgia. Google’s loss… is Apple’s loss.

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

The latest gold medal winner has a full-time banking job… so we’ll tell you the secret to side-hustles.The hottest sunglasses brand is Pit Viper... They got here not with nostalgia, but faux-stalgia.Google just lost the biggest monopoly lawsuit in 25 years… but the real pain is Apple’s.Plus, F-word usage is at all-time highs, from Taylor Swift to Deadpool… because profanities may be profitable.$GOOG $AAPL $SPYSubscribe to our Saturday Newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletter  Watch us on YouTube Submit Facts & Shoutouts Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn (Nick) & LinkedIn (Jack)About Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Wednesday, August 8th, 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. Boom, stocks just rebounded like a young Dennis Rodman, Jack. Not too shabby. Over in Japan, stocks rose by 10% the day after falling by 12%. Here in the United States, stocks rebounded two jumping after a historic loss. We're feeling good. But Nick, you said you're vacationing somewhere where they have the best sauce, right? I am. I said you should turn to the left when you arrive in France, Jack. Are you going to Buffalo? Because there's no sauce better than Buffalo size.

I wish we were going to Buffalo, Jack. But we're making a slight U-turn. By the way, we just extended the trip by a day. Oh, yeah. A trip where? Exactly. Three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod, Jack?

For our first story, the newest Olympic gold medal winner has a day job as an investment banker. So Jack and I will tell you the secret. to a successful side hustle. For our second story, Google just lost the biggest antitrust court case in 25 years. But the real loser here isn't Google. It's Apple. And Jack and I will explain why. And our third and final story, we're looking at Pit Viper.

Pit Viper. The sunglasses brand, that's Miami Vice, meets Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Because Pit Viper is a case study in the art of fosolgia. We make up that term, not nostalgia. It's fosolgia. And we should copyright that term. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories, Jack.

What the F? The F word. It is the most versatile word in the English language. The F word. It's the rare four-way part of speech. Yeah, the F word, it's a verb, it's a noun, it's an adjective, it's an adverb, and sometimes it's a vowel jack. So it's very grammatical in one sense, but technically it's not even in the English language. Yeah, because it is dirty slang.

Although it might as well be on the cover of the dictionary, because the F word is everywhere right now. What's the data, baby? This move of the year, they use the F word more than 100 times. 116 times, to be exact. And how about Taylor Swift, her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department? She used the F word 18 times. Taylor Swift is dabbling in the dark arts of the F word cursing. We repeat, the top movie and the top album of 2020.

are both going nuclear with the F bomb. It's kind of a funny thing yet, he's because the FCC still forbids the F word. Federal law bans obscene, indecent, and profane content from being broadcast on the radio or television. But from the numbers, Jack and I've seen, Deadpool's box office performance is extremely decent. And Taylor's streaming numbers are obscene.

So we jumped in T-boy style, and the FCC does not define profanity, right, Jack? In their press release, though, they quote a famous Supreme Court case saying, you know it when you see it. Well, you know what we see, besties? Profanity has never been more profitable. Yet is, we know a whole lot of families listen to this T-boy show together. And we love that.

So we'll keep things kosher. But everyone also loves the sound of a nice juicy bleep. So Jack, let's hit our three-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-stories. Deadpoolman does do it. And Taylor kind of did that. 15 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, but the best is an norm Jack Nick, that's it I don't even think they need to practice 50% that's a fat tip Tea Boy City on your at list If you know you know because we're ready to go We can't wait no more so just start the show Start the show

First, a quick word from our sponsor Our first story The Surprise Star of of these Olympics is actually a full-time investment banker by day. So we have to tell you the secret about the side hustle. The secret to a successful side hustle. But Jack, can you start by setting the scene for us, please? Dwight Eisenhower was pressing.

We hadn't landed on the moon yet, and the Super Bowl wasn't even a thing. Because the scene, Jack, is setting, is 1960 America. The last time the U.S. won a gold medal in rowing 64 years ago, Until this week, when the U.S. men's four-person rowing team won gold in the 2000-meter race. A huge win for the entire team, right? But the highlight was one rower in particular, Justin Best, because rowing is actually his side hustle. Get this besties, Justin Best is actually a full-time investment banker. The man went to Drexel in Philadelphia, and for the last four years, he's been working at Union Square Advisors, a finance firm.

We're talking about a man in finance, 6-5 blue eyes. And honestly, he may not have a trust fund, Jack, but he's going to give a trust fund to his kids. Because he's a gold medal winner now. Yes, he is. So Jack and I actually found out his schedule for work in San Francisco. You want to share it with everyone, Jack? He wakes up at 5.30 to train rowing in the East Bay. He's at work by 9.30.

And then he's training again after work, and he finally gets to bed at 11. We're talking not just spreadsheets. He's doing late-night sprints yeties. And to celebrate his gold, This week he proposed to his girlfriend in front of the Eiffel Tower. And next week, he's getting on a Zoom call because, again, he's a full-time investment banker. Which leads to the big surprise. In the Olympics, side hustling isn't the exception.

It's actually the rule. Now, Eddie's LeBron James, Simone Biles, the soccer teams at the Olympics. Some athletes in a few sports can be full-time pros like them. But for the majority of Olympic athletes, pursuing perfection in a sport does not pay the bills. Yeah. In fact, almost the entire swim team for the United States has a day job that isn't swimming in a pool. Nick Fink, who won a medal for breaststroke, he's a full-time engineer. Oh, and then, Jack, how about Liana Mutia, who's the judo champion for the United States in the Olympics? Back home, she's a software analyst at Comcast. We know because we just added her

on LinkedIn, no joke. In fact, Home Depot, a huge employer based out of Atlanta, which hosted the Olympics in the 90s. Yeah. They're famous for having a program to support their employees who are Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the side. Jack, what were the numbers you discovered from Home Depot, by the way? Home Depot boasts proudly that 660 employees of there were also athletes who trained for the Olympics while working at Home Depot. Oh, and by the way, it's not just the Olympics, is it, man? Overall, for America, 36% of us have some kind of a side hustle now, according to a survey from bankrupt. Some of us do it for extra pay. Some of us do it for curiosity, but guess what? It's not just America and it's not just the Olympians. It's us. Yes, Jack and me too. We started this company

as a side hustle. We did. 10 years ago, this podcast began as a side hustle. When we were men in finance. But now we're full-time potters, baby. We're also 5'10, but you round up to 5-11. And that kind of gets you to six-foot jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone with the side hustle? The secret to a successful side hustle isn't just communication. It's over communication. Now, you know, ladies, when Jack and I started this company as a side hustle back in 2012, we were afraid to tell our work. Like, Jack, I thought UBS was going to straight up fire me and then call your boss and get you

fired. I know, I know. But when we finally did tell our bosses, they were fine with it. It was relief, right? It was such a relief for us. And yet he's, instead of sneaking around, getting worried and, like, working on this podcast on the subway on the way home from work. We could be open and honest, that we have a day job.

We're doing a great job on our day job. Yeah. But we also have the side hustle we're passionate about. And here's the key, Jack and I realized, you don't just communicate to your boss that you have a side hustle. You need to over communicate. The cost of over communicating with your boss

is it may become annoying to them. Your boss may be annoyed that you're sending them so many emails telling them what you're working on outside work. But the benefit is transparency and company. Your boss knows exactly what you're working on and they're less likely to try to shut down your side hustle. In fact, funny thing,

but that rower, Justin Best, said that over-communication with his banker boss was the key to his side hustle success. Yeties, a majority of Olympians, and more than a third of Americans, have a side hustle today. Well, the secret to a successful side hustle isn't communication. It's over-communication. Dude, how about you try it with isn't just communication. See, that's over-communication right then. For our second story, this week, Google lost the biggest antitrust case of the internet era. But the much bigger loser is actually Apple and will explain why. All right, Jack, this sounds like a movie, but I'm going to say it anyway.

Google versus the people of the United States. The decision dropped this week, and it was 277 pages long. Yet is, this law case took four years to litigate, which actually began back under the Trump administration. But the verdict was quite simple. Yes, it was. Google violated the law by paying Apple and Samsung to be the default internet search engine on those phones. That was the big verdict that Google was being unfair, monopolistic, and anti-competitive in its moves. The judge is going to decide a remedy for Google to fix this situation in a September

separate case. Now, what do we think the judge is going to do, Jack? He's probably not going to require something dramatic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like forcing Google to split up from Google Chrome. Most likely, the judge is going to simply forbid Google from paying to be the default browser on your iPhone anymore. That kind of a deal is going to be a no-no from now on. Now, Eddie, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Google stock did not fall on this huge epic ruling. But Apple stock did. And that got us curious.

So, Jack, because we were curious, how about we play a little game of what happens next? I feel like we have music. Do we have music for this? I feel like we need some music right now. First, we need some context. Yes, we do. Google has been paying Apple and Samsung to be the default search on phones since 2005.

Yeties for 19 years, the competition in search hasn't had a chance against Google. That's why today, Google has 94.9% of the mobile search market. We repeat, Google has almost 95% of the entire search market. You're Googling. You're Googling. But now they're not allowed to pay Apple to be the default search anymore. But Jack, here's the plot twist here. Maybe Google doesn't actually need Apple anymore.

Maybe Google doesn't need to pay to be. be the default search engine now. Think about it. Yeah. Who's Apple going to pick besides Google? What are they going to do? They can't make Duck, Duck Go, that default search browser. What's Tim Cook going to do? Ask Jeeves to help us answer questions as the default search browser? Even though Google can't pay Apple anymore, Apple's still going to probably pick Google as the search browser. So yet he's added all up, and this ruling may not hurt Google's market share at all. It may just end up saving Google a ton of money they've been paying to Apple. And that is why Google stock did not fall despite this historic ruling. The historic ruling simply came too late.

Yeah. Google's dominance in mobile search, it's already established. It's got 95% of the market, like we said. That's not really going down very much. But Apple stock is down on this ruling because of our takeaway. Let's hit that takeaway, Jack. What's the takeaway for our buddy is over at Google and Apple? Apple's most profitable business is in iPhones.

It's selling sponsorships. Yeah, it is, Jack and I like to think of Apple as a club. The iPhone is the ticket to the world's one billion richest consumers, and we call that club club Apple. Google paid Apple $20 billion in 2022. Huge a number. To be the default search on the iPhone, to access Club Apple. It's basically a sponsorship. Apple doesn't do anything here. They just sit back and receive $20 billion from Google for Google to be the search engine on your iPhone. That's pure profit for Apple. The only thing Apple does is set Google.com as the homepage of Safari. That's it. That's it. That's it. That it's a profit puppy. But now they can't get paid to do that anymore. So what will Apple do next? Well, Jack, they're kind of three things Apple could do. They could either set Google as the default for free, or they could let us the users choose our search engine or they could build their very own Apple search engine. Like they did with Apple Maps. Well, none of those are as good or as profitable for Apple as the status quo has been. Apple used to to get $20 billion a year for doing nothing,

that's not happening. Sebastian's this ruling, it hurts Apple's ability to monetize its club Apple user base with paid default deals. That's why the real loser of Google's antitrust case isn't Google at all. No. It's Apple and their most profitable business.

Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, the hottest sunglasses brand this summer may be Pit Viper. Pit Viper's Key to success isn't nostalgia, though. It's fauxstalgia. Fosolgia.

Yeah, it is, funny thing Jack and I have noticed, ski bums, they get a bad rap. Well, after all, they are sleeping on your buddy's couch. They're mooching on your meatloaf, and they're spending all their money on Razzis, but they're not paying rent. Classic ski bums, but Jack and I have been keeping track, and several top brands were actually created by ski bums. Burton Snowboards. Patagonia Vest. Go-Pro camera.

Ever heard of them? All created by ski. But don't forget, Pit Viper. Pit Viper. The insaneest sunglasses brand yet was actually co-founded by a couple skiers down in Park City, Utah. Pit Vipers are wild. Yes, they are.

They are neon full-cover sunglasses with like a lightning bolt-style branding. You look like the macho man Randy Savage. It's like a Richard Simmons leotard mixed with a Van Halen edge in a sunglasses. Yeah. Right, right. With Dog the Bounty Hunter, too. Yeah, the style is dripping in 1980s. How'd you describe it?

It's a bullet for your face. Yeah, yeah. If Patrick Swayze had a side ponytail, he'd be wearing Pit Viper sunglasses. Pit Viper actually began, though, as a Kickstarter campaign. Yeah, with just $38,000. But now they're selling about a million pairs of sunglasses per year. And Pit Viper started with athletic-ish sunglasses, but they've now expanded to casual shades and ski goggles. Yep, they got ski goggles, too, for your ski mom.

buddies. And Pit Vipers' newest thing? They just launched a sunglasses vending machine that makes you feel like you're in a 1980s arcade game. And that's why Pit Vipers punches above their way. Yes, it does. They have those wild marketing stunts. They remind us of liquid death. They get attention that's way bigger than the company. They go to the extreme. But here is the challenge with this fast-growing sunglasses brand. They're still a ski bum brand. But investors want them to become mature. Yetis, let's hit the numbers here. This brand is honing in on $100 million in annual sales thanks to their irreverent, casual, intense, viral edge. Their mission statement is literally Pit Viper is here to party. That is the mission statement. It sounds like a ski bar. It does,

but with 100 employees and almost $100 million in sales, they can't just run this company like a startup anymore. There's too much at stake. It's time to take on Smith and Oakley's now. They need to button up a bit as a company. So Jack and I, underwomen, understand this challenge. How do they scale the brand without alienating the large groups of OG fans? That's the tension they're trying to overcome. Yeah. It's uncomfortable like puberty. Yeah, basically they're going through corporate puberty. It's a transition thing. They're trying to grow up, but they still got to stay young at heart. But here's the biggest surprise of all about Pit Viper. Yeah. They're not from the 1980s. Yeah. Even though their shades scream 1980s. That was the shocker. Pit Viper was actually founded in 2012.

And that is fascinating. And that is our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Pit Viper? If nostalgia is not available, fauxstalgia can still work. Nostalgia never dies. Yeties, that's a takeaway that Jack and I have done a few times on this podcast. Tapping into nostalgia from 20 years ago is a powerful sales and marketing strategy. However, Pit Viper proves a new concept can work too.

And that concept is fauxstalgia. When you design and style a product like it was 20 years ago. Yeah. Even though you weren't even there 20 years ago. Even the new Pit Viper website, they made it look like a crappy dial-up pre-AOL website from like 1989. It looks like Windows 95. It's really cool. We do one of those, you know that noise?

And it's those kinds of details that made Nick and me think that Pit Viper must have been around since the 80s. But it was actually founded in 2012 just a few years ago. The lesson from Pit Viper's success, you don't have to be an old-school iconic brand to tap into customer nostalgia. No, Pit Viper, they prove a new way for brands to win. Not nostalgia. Fosolgia. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? Most Olympians train for their sport as a side hustle.

And 36% of Americans overall have side hustles too. The key to a successful side hustle isn't just communication. It's over. communication. For our second story, Google lost its big antitrust case against the DOJ, but Apple is the bigger loser. Because Apple's biggest business is sponsorships, selling access to club Apple. And our third and final story is pit vipers. They're crushing it with their Van Halen slash electric rock guitar-style sunglasses. I think we need a guitar solo right here, Jack. Because Yetis, if nostalgia's not available, fauxistalgia can still work. But Yeties, this pod's not

over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris picked her VP. This is the current VP picking her VP. Yeah, it's confusing. It's a unique situation. But the new guy is Minnesota's current governor, Tim Walls. He's a Minnesota guy. Yay, six times elected to the House of Representatives and a former high school football coach. Also a former military guy for 24 years. Well, next up is the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It starts a week from Monday on August 19th. Second, we got two earnings reports from two different gig companies, both based in San Francisco, but opposite results. Uber just had its best quarter ever, and the stock jumped 10% after the earnings.

Airbnb, on the other hand, announced possibly their worst quarter ever. The stock fell by 16% after their earnings. Uber good gig, Airbnb bad gig. They're not animals now. Uber five-star rating, Airbnb one-star rating. That's more appropriate. That makes sense. That works. That works. And finally, a new sport is coming to the 2028 Olympics that Nick and I once won a championship in.

Are you ready for this? We don't want to brag, but let's take it away, Jack. Flag football for both men and women. Football, it is a uniquely American sport, but a smaller, softer version with the flag is now coming to the Los Angeles Olympics. To be clear, it's not going to be a contact sport. Tackles are made by removing the flags that are draped around the ball carrier's waist. And it will be five on five instead of a lot of. 11 on 11 with a 70-yard field instead of a 100-yard field.

But from Nick's my experience, tackling may still happen because it's really frustrating when you can't grab that flag, you just tackle the guy. Can we check the Velcro on that thing? Sir, check the Velcro on that thing. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because it's also a correction to the pot. Noah Lyles. Not Noah Lyons, which is how we said the name a couple times yesterday.

Erroneous. Correct. Noah Lyles isn't just the newly crowned fastest man on Earth. No, Noah Lyles has actually gone from being track famous to famous, famous overnight. Not only did he overcome asthma as a child to become the world champ this past weekend. Noah Lyles, the sprinter, also has a side hustle as a rapper. Noah Lyles wrapped a dozen singles under the name Nojo 18. But now, he is the fastest man on earth.

So, Jack, can he sprinkle on more context? Get this, his max speed at the 100 meter final that he won, was 27 miles. per hour. That's right. Noah Liles broke the speed limit in whatever small town you may be in my chance. The car speed limit. Actually, that's the speed limit I think everywhere in every city jack. He's faster than it. And on Thursday, he's going for his second gold. He's trying to win the 200 meter as well. Noah Liles, not Noah Lyons, is the fastest man in the world. Our new champ. Yeties, you look fantastic for Cevice Wednesday. And if you're doing a side hustle right now, while you're podcasting, we're all for it.

It became our full hustle and the best freaking job I've ever had. It is absolutely unreal what it can become. Do you remember when we started out, we would send emails to each other, but we turned the text into white font so we didn't want our bosses to see it? We're like, oh, they might be checking our emails. If our boss looked at our screen, they'd see like these empty-bodied emails. Nick and I were sending each other. About the business we were starting as a side hustle.

Pretty sure the algorithms could read that white font, though. Sometimes you've got to ask for forgiveness, not for permission. But this was pre-AI, so maybe the outgoes couldn't read the white font. Either way, Yetis, remember to over-communicate. And Jack and I will see you and your side hustle tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary long-time listening Yetty, Brandon Chow, turning one-year-old in Potomac-Morland. Long-time, lifelong listeners.

Get this kid some crampcakes and Okshay, J. Rom, in Houston, Texas, just at one. One night camping with his nine-year-old in Olympic National Park. That is how you celebrate a win. Nine-month-old, actually. It's not too shabby. Happy birthday, Uxhay. And a big happy birthday to Nick Samdor in Miami, Florida. Yeah.

He is wedding planning right now with our T-Boy Hotline episode about wedding planning. Oh, remember, you can't go wrong with three cakes, Nick. That's the key right there. They can be small cakes, but they're cake. And happy anniversary to George and Crystal Balbueena, who are celebrating four years together. And a happy birthday to Yeti Prosh Zobberwall in Nashville, Tennessee, celebrating a milestone with some country music. And happy one-year workovertery to the fearless leader of investor intelligence ed, over at placer.AI in New York City.

And a congratulations and good luck to Kevin Brown from Manchester, Connecticut, who's heading down to Australia with his girlfriend Jasmine Davies to see her family in the wild. Down under. Watch out for those kangaroos and impress them with a show. shrimp on the bobby. That's the most cliche thing you've ever said. Trust is, Kevin. It's a winner every time. The Aussies love it. I don't endorse that message.

Crack open a four days and they'll never look back. And to anyone else, celebrating something today, make it a t-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick and I both on stock of Airbnb and Apple.