The Best One Yet - 🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday and the real Friday. February 21st, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three stories at the intersection of pop culture and business that you need to know today. Jack, I'm checking the calendars. It is almost IBO date.

Starting point is 00:00:19 We are one week from the initial baby offering, aren't we? I know. February 28th is the due day. It could come before. Jack, if you hit a takeaway too hard, I may go into labor. Jack's baby. isn't here yet, but we got three fantastic stories for today's show. What do we got, Jack? For our first story, Amazon has acquired the creative rights to James Bond. Bond.

Starting point is 00:00:40 007 is an Amazon employee now. So we've got advice for Bezos on how to not ruin the James Bond franchise. For our second story, Microsoft just defied physics. True story. He created something that's not a solid, liquid, or gas. They found a fourth form of matter. And Microsoft's quantum leap is awkward for a... Apple. And our third and final story, OpenTable has overtaken Rezi as the home to America's coolest restaurants. Because OpenTable ordered up one bold move. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. Love podden with you, Jack. Great mix today. The number one thing being searched on Google right now is, is it safe to fly? That's right. The number of people Googling, Is It Safe to Fly, has soared to an all-time high. Because there have been four flying

Starting point is 00:01:29 incidents in just the last four weeks. But Jack and I got curious, and so we dove into the data on how safe really is flying. It's good to remind yourself every once in a while. How safe is it actually to fly? Well, we have got the numbers and we have got the context. According to the USAFax.org, you are 7,000 times more likely to be injured driving in a car compared to flying. That's right, because from 2002 to 22, a total of 689 people were seriously injured flying in airplanes. While over that same period, 48 million people were hurt in cars. So you are way more likely to be injured in the taxi on the ground than you are in the airplane. Now, Jack and I got more curious, so we dove in further T-boy style. You're 68 times more likely to die on a roller coaster. You are 20 times more

Starting point is 00:02:18 likely to be killed by your own furniture. In fact, you're more likely to be cast in a superhero movie and then die in a fake plane in CGI on set than die on a real airplane. Oh, you want more? You're more likely to be crushed by a vending machine. Four times more likely. You're more likely to be eaten by an alligator. Three times more likely. You're more likely to be struck by lightning. Twice! And of course, our favorite statistical comparison here. I love this one, Jack. You're more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker on the subway than die on an airplane. We've seen that happen twice. So yeties, even if things in the sky are twice as unsafe as they were before, you're still incredibly safe up there.

Starting point is 00:03:00 Compared to down here. So wherever you're walking right now is way more dangerous than 17 a is. Whether you're flying or driving right now, stay safe. And Jack, let's have 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, but the best is an artist. 50% that's a fat tip.

Starting point is 00:03:26 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, James Bond, just sold creative control of the entire franchise to Amazon? Amazon can now literally write the James Bond scripts. They can. But there's one magic formula.

Starting point is 00:04:03 They shouldn't touch. Yeties, Jack and I were preparing for the pod yesterday when we saw a surprising tweet from Amazon's founder, Jeffrey Bezos. It was a picture of Daniel Craig and a caption that said, who should be the next Bond. Big question. I mean, a lot of options that could be the next James Bond Jack. Who we got? Tom Hardy, Idriselba, speculation runs rampant. If Timothy Salomey puts on 60 pounds on that torso, it could be a bond. By the way, all the comments on his post said it should be Henry Cavill, like all of the comments. But that's besides the point, because the bigger question here for the entire business community was, why is Jeff Bezos

Starting point is 00:04:39 asking about James Bond. Because he's going to decide who the next Bond is. Here's the news yeties. Amazon and James Bond's owner have announced a new joint venture for the franchise. And in this new James Bond company, Amazon has final creative control. The name's Bezos, Jeff Bezos. Yes, Amazon already had distribution rights to James Bond because Amazon acquired MGM Studios in 2022. But the children of the James Bond movie mogul retained the rights to the IP until yesterday. Now, if Andy Jassy wants James Bond's suit to arrive in a prime cardboard box, he can do it. If Amazon wants Q to use Amazon Web Services to design the weapons, they can do it. Nick, they could change Q's name to Alexa now.

Starting point is 00:05:22 And then James could ask Alexa where he could find a good local martini in Monaco. It'd be dumb if it happened. But legally, Amazon could do all that. Now, to sprinkle on a little more context here, I've read most of the James Bond books. And I actually, I collect first editions of the books, Jack. That's a pretty awesome collection. They're beautiful. It's like artwork. But what few people know is that the business of James Bond is actually as private as the spy himself. James Bond is a character created by Ian Fleming,

Starting point is 00:05:49 who was a British stockbroker turned journalist who also was a spy during World War II. And during World War II, this spy, Ian Fleming, went on a secret mission to Jamaica called Golden Eye and ended up retiring in Jamaica after the war. He named his Jamaica estate GoldenEye and ended up writing one James Bond book pretty much every year, pretty much until he died. Now, these James Bond books, as they came out, they were a minor success. They sold about 500,000 copies each, which is not bad, not great. It's okay. But here's the key moment that made it so that everyone knows James Bond, not just Nick with his book collection. Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, sold the exclusive film rights for a one-time fee

Starting point is 00:06:31 of $2,500. He gave away all the film rights to James Bond for just $2,500. to a Hollywood producer named Cubby Broccoli. Now, in the year since, the Broccoli family handed down the James Bond ownership to the kids, who then signed with MGM for distribution, and then Amazon acquired MGM for $8 billion a couple years ago. So James Bond movies have generated $8 billion in revenue at the box office, but the Ian Fleming estate saw zero of that. Honestly, it's a shame that Ian Fleming just didn't realize how hot

Starting point is 00:07:03 and how perfect for the big screen 007 would be. But the bigger question now is, will Amazon be a good caretaker of Hollywood's longest running franchise? And the answer is shaken, not stirred. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Amazon? James Bond's secret sauce is actually an oxymoron. We call it infinite scarcity. Yeties, let's look at the numbers here. James Bond movies have grossed $8 billion.

Starting point is 00:07:30 So that's like less than Harry Potter, less than Batman, less than Star Wars, and less than Marvel. But Bond wins in longevity. At 60 years, it's the longest running major film franchise ever. So we've got to ask, how has James Bond lasted so long that its 25th movie still made a billion dollars? It's something that we call infinite scarcity. Infinite scarcity. Here's the scarcity part. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was 22 movies over 11 years. But James Bond only did four movies in that span.

Starting point is 00:08:01 Way less frequent than the other movie franchises. The average bond comes out every three years. That's scarce. But on the other hand, James Bond is also pretty infinite. Because with 25 films, James Bond has the most of any major franchise. The series starts fresh with the new actor playing James Bond. Like, Daniel Craig is done, but we're just going to move on to a new younger James Bond and do like five more movies. Salome is going to get Jacked and he's going to get six movies in the next 15 years, Jack.

Starting point is 00:08:28 Yes, Amazon as the new owner, is going to start feeling franchise fomo. Pressure to do spin-offs, pressure to do a prequel about one of the villains. But the risk is franchise fatigue, overdoing it, stretching the brand too far, too fast like Disney did with Marvel superheroes. Instead of that, we think Amazon should respect what has made James Bond the longest lasting franchise in Hollywood. And that strategy is infinite scarcity, which also kind of sounds like the name of a James Bond movie. For our second story, Microsoft says it just created an entirely new, form of matter. The biggest thing, though, about Microsoft's quantum technology breakthrough is what it says about Apple. Shots fired. Well, yet he's after 17 years of blood, sweat, and chips,

Starting point is 00:09:22 Microsoft has officially done it. They've achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing. Here's the news on Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled the Myerana One processor. If you're a Marvel fan, think of this Myerana One processor as like the Infinity Stone. It holds power beyond your imagination. In fact, this Microsoft invention is so powerful that it created a fourth state of matter. This is not embellishment. No, it's not. It's not exaggeration.

Starting point is 00:09:51 It's true. Here's the deal. We have solids, liquids, and gas. Then we have this, a Myerana particle. Microsoft has defied physics essentially with a fourth form of matter. This isn't even on the periodic table, man. Actually, Nick, Myerana is a physicist from the 1930s who originally theorized that this fourth type of matter was possible, and now Microsoft has done it.

Starting point is 00:10:13 Microsoft's new processor will make a functioning quantum computer possible by the end of the decade way faster than anyone expected. Microsoft can potentially fit a million quibbits onto this single chip. We know what you're thinking? What's a quibbit? Doesn't even matter. Like, it's just a huge number. Just huge. Just sit with that. Seriously, Nick, I do want to know what can quantum computing actually do? It's a fair question, Jack. So let's whip up our budget. everybody's over at Microsoft and play the clip. To solve unsolvable challenges in creating new medicines, entirely new materials, and helping our natural world, all on a single chip.

Starting point is 00:10:53 Okay, solve unsolvable challenges? Like, like, Apple's absolute zero? Like, is that what they're going for? I think they're going to determine the final digit of pie, Nick. Jack, can this quantum computer, like, tell us what really happened in the final scene of The Sopranos? Maybe. Yeah, these the practical use cases.

Starting point is 00:11:12 of quantum computing are really hard to describe, but apparently really powerful. But there is no question that Microsoft's news represents something really ambitious. Google, IBM, Microsoft. They've each worked on this for decades. And now Microsoft says they have the lead. So if true, huge. This gives the United States technological advantage in the next era of computing, quantum computing. So that's what Microsoft's working on. Okay, there we go. What is Apple working on? Oh, time to hand in the homework. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple and Microsoft. Microsoft is shooting for the moon.

Starting point is 00:11:48 Apple is shooting for the shelf. Yeties, the same day as Microsoft's quantum breakthrough, Apple announced the iPhone 16E. Apple is using its own chip in this iPhone for the first time, so it's cheaper, and they're hoping it works, but they're not sure it will. Okay, but pause the pod. There's just like a bigger issue here we have to talk about.

Starting point is 00:12:07 The difference in ambition between the number one and number two tech companies, it was so palpable this week. I mean, look, Zuckerberg recently dissed Apple saying they haven't invented anything great in a while. Okay. Apple tried and failed to make a car. They tried and failed to do a headset. And they haven't even done our smart toilet, which we proposed like six weeks ago.

Starting point is 00:12:27 The one thing Apple has, which is incredibly valuable, is the iPhone. Yeah. Which makes half the company's revenue, but it was invented 18 years ago. In the meantime, Microsoft is leading an AI in quantum computing. They just invented a new, form of matter. What is Apple working on? Microsoft's like the nerd doing lab work at 8 p.m.

Starting point is 00:12:48 And Apple is like in the lunchroom slapping butts before lacrosse practice. Wednesday's competing announcements were a microcosm of the diverging ambition between Microsoft and Apple. One shooting for the moon, the others shooting for the shelf. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, the battle for restaurant reservations just fly. OpenTable is now beating Rezi. Because OpenTable is treating their tables like real estate. Yeties, it is Friday night. And odds are, statistically speaking, numerically thinking.

Starting point is 00:13:28 If you are going out tonight, your reservation is with one of two apps. Open table or resi. That was quite the pros there, by the way, Nick. Yeti's Open Table and Rezi. They got a duopoly on restaurant reservations. Together, they control nearly 90% of the online reservation market. The restaurants not using OpenTable or Resi, they're probably writing down reservations with a pen and paper. Well, actually, OpenTable is kind of ancient in tech years, isn't it, Jack?

Starting point is 00:13:53 They were founded in 1998. The first generation of websites, pre-Y2K, this is early internet company. Now, when OpenTable first launched 27 years ago, their only competition was like the yellow pages in the phone book. You read Zaggett, and then you went to OpenTable.com on your gateway computer to book a reservation. In fact, OpenTable's so old. They actually IPOed in the early 2000. and became the first publicly traded reservation stock. Until they were acquired by booking holdings in 2015 for $2.5 billion.

Starting point is 00:14:22 But the key here is how Open Table made money. And Jack, what was the Open Table business model? They charged $1 per diner. So if someone booked a reservation on Open Table for a party of four, the restaurant paid Open Table $4 for that reservation. We did the math on that. Assume your typical restaurant has 200 diners a night. That's $200 the restaurant pays to Open Table.

Starting point is 00:14:45 Extrapolate that to a full year? That's $60,000. A typical restaurant was paying open table for their reservation app. Diner's, they didn't mind because they're not paying it, but restaurants got sick of that $1.00 diner fee costing them tens of thousands of bucks a year. Now, yeties, every platform has two sides. And in 2014, entrepreneur Gary Vee and the founder of Eater noticed that restaurants hated the open table monopoly. So, this duo founded Rezi, a platform focused on restaurant needs. And what was their key differentiator Jack. They didn't charge the diner fee that restaurants hated so much. And the result, what did we see? Trendy spots moved away from Open Table to do their bookings on Resi.

Starting point is 00:15:25 And New York, ABC, Teresee, Carbone, they all went to Resi and then the diners followed them to the Rezi app. Oh, you want a dinner reservation at Dorcia? After they got their second Michelin Star, you're going to have to go to Rezzi for that. And that's why Rezzi's valuation surged and they sold to Amex in 2019. So for the last 10 years, Rezi has been eating up market share. from OpenTable. In fact, just last year, Eater published a whole article called How Rezi won. But here's the news. After 20 years, top restaurants are now switching back to OpenTable. According to New York Mag, all the cool tables are now on OpenTable again. Shea Fifi, the coolest hotspot in New York right now? You book through OpenTable.

Starting point is 00:16:05 I didn't even tell you this. But, Jack, I got a dinner tonight with some business school guys over at a place called Angler in San Francisco. I called them, they used to be with Rezi. And now they're with OpenTable. Exhibit A. Actually, Exhibit Angler. So Bestie's OpenTable, they ended their diner fee, and they now make revenue through ads. But that doesn't explain how they are winning back tables from Rezi. No, it doesn't, but our takeaway does. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in the restaurant reservation wars?

Starting point is 00:16:35 Open tables stop treating tables like a commodity. They started treating them like real estate. Yeties, after Rezi was acquired by Amex, their innovation Sloan. Some say it got to corporate, but OpenTable also made some strategic moves. Instead of treating restaurant tables all the same, OpenTable started differentiating them. Yeah, OpenTable just created the icons program, where they put their trendy restaurants in a separate section, a featured section to find them. And for diners, your restaurant app is overflowing with choices.

Starting point is 00:17:05 There's value in that curation of the icon section. Yes, there is. And restaurants can actually pay to get into that section, which became a different revenue source for OpenTable. OpenTable also created a program with Visa. They pre-bought tables that were reserved for Visa's premium credit cardholders. And restaurants get paid a, quote-unquote, substantial amount to set aside those tables for OpenTables VIPs. Yes, Rezi does a similar thing for Amex cardholders, but OpenTable apparently is paying a lot more for the best tables. So how did an open table reclaim the restaurant or reservation thrown?

Starting point is 00:17:38 They realize that restaurant reservations are like real estate. They stop treating them like a commodity. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? James Bond is now an Amazon employee. Bezos is in charge of who will be the next Bond. The secret strategy to Bond 60 years of movie success is infinite scarcity. For our second story, Microsoft achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing while Apple launched a budget iPhone.

Starting point is 00:18:07 Microsoft is shooting for the moon while Apple is shooting for the shelf. And our third and final story is Open Table. They're winning back turf that they had seated to Resi. The cool spots are listing on OpenTable. Because OpenTable stopped treating tables like commodities and started treating them like real estate. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, President Trump called Ukraine's president a dictator this week,

Starting point is 00:18:32 something that he's never called Russia's president. The Trump administration is negotiating an end of the war in Ukraine with Russia directly and without Ukraine. As Secretary of State Rubio says, there is huge, potential for the United States businesses to reenter Russia. It would be a shocking policy change to embrace Russia while punishing allies with tariffs. And second, that Delta flight that just turned upside down in Toronto, we got some wild new details on it. Well, it's a miracle that none of the 80 passengers on that flight were killed. But they're also emotionally scarred, so Delta is offering them $30,000 each having been on the flight. We assume that includes a deal to not sue them. And finally,

Starting point is 00:19:11 Coca-Cola just launched its own prebiotic soda, and they're calling it Simply Pop. Remember this week we told you about the prebiotic soda wars between Poppy and Oli-pop? Well, their mutual enemy is big soda. And Coke just jumped into the category to take both of them on. Now, time for the best fact yet.

Starting point is 00:19:31 This one's sent in by Shobiek Don down the street in San Francisco. Hello, this is Shobank from Apply, the platform that helps job seekers present their T-By versions for every job. The question is, who created the first resume? It's none other than Leonardo da Vinci. During the late 15th century, Da Vinci wrote a letter to the Duke of Milan, seeking his lucrative patronage, and listed his achievements in engineering and weaponry while also highlighting his

Starting point is 00:19:58 capacity to create sculptures and paintings during peacetime. Thus, the resume was born. There we go. Yeah. Who knew that Da Vinci, Leonard Da Vinci, was proficient in Microsoft Word? I had no idea. The only problem with Da Vinci's resume is under personal interest. He probably put like dissecting 40 different types of animals. Probably not the right tone to sell with your future boss, Jack. It's a beige flag. It's a beige flag.

Starting point is 00:20:26 Yeties, you look fantastic out there. Jack, you look so calm, collected and incredible one week before the IBM. Or the baby could come before the end of the credits on this show today. I know. Now you don't sound so sound. Now he's had a little nervous. I have my go bag right next to me. Okay, I know.

Starting point is 00:20:44 I'm ready for you. You know what I packed in the go bag? What's in there? What's in there? A deck of Uno cards. Because we're going to be in the hospital for a couple days after the baby's born. That's fair. That's fair.

Starting point is 00:20:52 I love to play some UNOs with Alex. I'm sure that's going to be Alex's priority. I think that's a nice idea. She loves Uno. I did it for her. Yeties, you looked fantastic all week. If you haven't yet three things we'd love for you to do. First, drop down rate and reviewed the show, five stars.

Starting point is 00:21:07 Second, tell a buddy, H-y-H-H-T. B.O. And Jack Third, have a fantastic weekend. Enjoy our best idea yet episode on the Patagonia Fleece. You're going to love it. And Jack and I will celebrate the wins. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti George Zellefro doing logistics with Chicago trucks and donuts, baby. And happy seventh birthday to Daisy in Galena, Kansas. Who's a good girl? Yeah, she's a dog, by the way.

Starting point is 00:21:37 And John Rich, happy birthday down in beautiful D.C. Happy 43rd birthday to James Roddy. in Long Beach. And Jen Wynne's got a birthday in Lancaster, California. Happy birthday, Jen. Happy birthday to Waverly Bell in Kalamazoo, Michigan. And Dignipinol over in Roseville, California, had the best birthday yet. Congratulations to Caleb Jay and Jesse Calzo, who are getting married in Fort Worth.

Starting point is 00:22:00 Let's see some picks. Enjoy guys. Have a blast. And Steve Hamilton is running a burgeoning distillery in Saratoga County, New York. Looking for a business partner. We got some T-Boy matchmaking to do, Jack. Let's get this guy hooked up. Anybody in Upstate? Actually, Steve should let us know if he's accepting remote work.

Starting point is 00:22:16 We'll update it on the next pot. And Danny Gole saw a fire truck with a surfboard on it, sent us a picture, Danny. Thanks for enjoying the show. And a big shout out to James Holladnik from New York City, who sent us some legendary IPOatry. Publicly traded poetry. And Kelsey Black, speaking at a conference in Denver, we assume on books because no one knows books better than Kelsey. And happy anniversary to Evie and Walter in Juneau, Alaska. And to anyone else who sells, Celebrating something today, make it a T-Boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both on stock and Apple.

The Best One Yet - 🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.

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