The Best One Yet - 🙅 “We don’t do social” — Restoration Hardware’s anti-Instagram. Oura’s Ring of Power. Nobel’s college football auction.

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksListen free anywhere you get your pods (or one-week early and ad-free on Wondery+).Episodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.Restoration Hardware doesn’t have a single social media account… and it’s working.How is the Oura Ring beating Apple and Google?… With NASA and the NBA.A Nobel Prize winner also won an Emmy Award… because auctions are everywhere.Plus, we’re revealing our next big thing… and it’s The Best Idea Yet (literally).$CROX $AAPL $GOOG—-----------------------------------------------------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/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, Teenboy, Tuesday, October 8. 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. But Nick, I actually have a correction to issue already. Jack, hit me. What do we got? It's not Tuesday, October 8th. It's launch day, baby. Oh, it is launch day. Jack, talk to me. What do we got on the pod? What's going on? That thing we've been teasing the last few days? We're about to play the trailer for it. More on that in the minute. In the meantime, the third. three fantastic stories for today's T-boy. What do we got, check? For our first story, Restoration Hardware, they don't have a single social media account. Not one. Restoration Hardware doesn't spend a dollar on Instagram. And you know what? It's working. For our second story, we're looking at O'RRing. Oring is now on the fingers of two and a half million extremely sleep-aware people. Our ring is beaten Apple and Google with a no-screen strategy. And our third and final story. For the first time,

ever, Nick and I found a Nobel Prize winner in economics who just won an Emmy Award, too. Jack, how did a Nobel Prize winner also win the biggest prize in TV? Because everything in life is actually a market. That's a market. That's a market. That's a market. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a fantastic mix of stories, but I can't wait anymore, Jack. What do we got? What do we got? A, B, L.E. Able always be launching everything. That's what that stands for. This week, Nick and I are launching our biggest thing in six years. And now, Yeti's yesterday, Jack, and I gave you some hints. We're just going to tell you what it is.

Jack, do you think we should do this? Should we just drop the trailer? Should we do the trailer? Let's show them what it is. Ooh, I like what you're thinking. Jack, let's hit the trailer. Push and play. Hey, Nick.

Hey, Jack, what's going on over there? You know, we've done over 1,000 episodes of our pop business news podcast. And we've covered over 3,000 business stores. But what is your point, man? I was just thinking, yeah. What if we went? deeper and told the surprising stories behind the most fascinating products we use every day. I like it. Like how Birkenstock's 250-year-old sandals ended up on her feet.

Yeah, or like why nearly every house in America has at least one game of monopoly. We see you all for penny bags. Or how seven jacuzzi brothers invented the hot tub that's parked on your parents' porch. Jack, I love it. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, man? Spin-off podcast. Yes, baby. From Wonderry and T-Boy, that's us. This is the best idea yet. A podcast about the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with.

And the wild risk takers who brought them to life, brought them to market, and brought them to you. Each week, we're talking about your favorite things and their surprising backstories you had no idea about. Like the happy meal. Did you know that Ronald McDonald didn't invent this iconic kid's meal? A mom in Guatemala was behind this idea. or the Levi's 501s. The most popular genes don't exist without two immigrants and the California

Gold Rush. Or Jack, we're not Saracha. Soracha was all one guy who smuggled gold bars into this country and then started selling hot sauce out of a van. Exactly. Come for the thrilling untold stories behind your favorite things, but stay for the actionable business insights

will share along the way. Because from business school, to working in finance, to selling our own startup to a tech unicorn, Jack and I have learned a thing or two and we cannot wait to share these inspiring stories with you. Plus, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. A person next to me. Did you know Mario from Super Mario Brothers was actually a Donkey Kong first?

Oh, did you know that the first Air Jordans from Nike were banned by the NDA? We call it the Air Jordan strategy, and we can't say this legally? No. But it'll get you promoted. You're obsessed with these products, but you'll never believe they're shocking origin stories. Follow and listen to the best idea yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. You can listen ad-free by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. It's just the best idea yet.

Cachow! Yiddies, that's what Nick and I have been working on in secret all year long. Although, Jack, we've been planning on it. We've been talking about it. We've been thinking about this for like years now. I thought you'd say we've been manifesting it. Because we have. And we did.

Episodes are 45 minutes long. They are free and they will drop every single week. So those episodes, they pair perfectly with this show, our daily show, T-B-O-Y. And the first episode of The Best Idea Yet drops next Tuesday and you can listen for free anywhere. So follow the show now. We put the link in the episode description. You can listen wherever you listen. If you're a Spotify guy, hey, tap to follow us on Spotify.

If you're an Apple gal, tap to follow on Apple. But besties this, this our new show, this is the best idea yet, literally. It's free to listen to. The first episode drops everywhere next week. But in the meantime, we've got a fantastic show for you today. So, Jack, let's hit our three stories. Gahooke Grimm. I'm just so excited.

It should be an episode on the show. Let's be an episode on the show. 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've ripped. to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Our first story. Restoration Hardware just had its best month ever. Because R.H. doesn't just hate social media. They won't even set up an account. All right, Jack, quick Q&A. Here you go. One question. Shoes. In the house, not in the house.

You take them off, you leave money. We take them off. Okay. It's caused a lot of friction with my dad and my mom and all my brothers, to be honest. I've had to have that conversation. It's not a fun conversation. Didn't you start that policy when you got back from Japan? Well, I think we got it also because we may have gotten a restoration hardware product. Yet he's restoration hardware is the opposite of IKEA. Luxury furniture that turns your living room into an architecture digest centerfold. In the last month, restoration hardware stock has gotten off the couch and surged 40%. Restoration hardware stock is worth $6 billion, which makes it worth $3 billion. It makes it worth $3 billion. three lazy boys. Three lazy boys,

one lift. Yeah, same thing. Why is R.H. stock rising? Because interest rates are falling. Which means you're more likely to renovate your home. If you're putting in a new addition, you may want a new couch to match the sconces in the second bedroom of your third home. Must be nice. Must be nice. But the highlight of restoration

hardware's earnings wasn't the marble table revenues and it wasn't the leather chandelier profits. It was the social media. Or lack of social media. Because get this, Yeties. RH does not have a single social media account. We even check MySpace. There's no RH account there.

Now, it's surprising that Restoration Hardware doesn't have Instagram because Restoration Hardware is one of the most Instagramable brands in the world. RH doesn't have a TikTok account. They don't have Facebook. They don't even have Pinterest, which is where my wife sends all her expensive furniture ideas. I got a Pinterest check. It's half Resto hardware. None of it is from the corporate account.

I had to copy and paste all this stuff. And the CEO of Resto, Gary Friedman, who loves to talk, by the way. We love listening to him because this guy, when he gets a microphone, he does not stop talking. He said that we won't follow the herd into the world of social media. And then he went on. He said, you won't find us on TikTok paying a bunch of strangers to say they love us. Ouch. Now, part of the surprise is that RH does have a big marketing budget.

Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style and we discovered that Restoration Hardware spends almost a third of its revenues on marketing. But it won't spend a single dollar of those revenues. news on a paid Instagram post. Jack, if you want to be a free social media intern for them, they won't even let you in the building. If you say influencer campaign at Resto, they're going to stick you in a very expensive trash basket, which actually sounds kind of nice. So to all of those social media professionals listening to this pod right now, Jack and I,

we do see your value. But R.H apparently doesn't. And that made us come up with the takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Restoration Hardware? There are very few one and only opportunities in this world. So if you see one, grab it. Yet he's Jack and I have told you before that the only bets worth making are contrarian ones. We've said that success comes from not being better, but by being different.

We've said to Zag, one other Zieg, and Restoration Hardware has made Contrarian its entire brand. They're the only furniture brand that has a hotel division. Yeah, get this. Restoration Hardware owns two private jets that customers can book and a 127-foot yacht that you can also book for a vacation. And they have three hotels slash guest houses that you can visit and even spend the night at. Again, it's like an upscale IKEA with a hospitality division. And now, Resto is the only furniture brand in your home without a single social media account. Vastis Al-Lop and RH isn't just focused on being different. It's focused on being the only one.

Because when you could find someone that no one else is doing, it might be a good idea that you should pursue doing. There is untowed value in being the one and only. our second story. Or a ring, the smart ring, has two and a half million users and is about to hit a half a billion dollars in revenue. Here's how the finished startup is beating Apple and Google with a smart ring. A ring, well, that's screen. A ring of power, if you will. We will. Yet is the top topic in tech right now. It is smart fashion. First, tech came to watches and bracelets. Now it's coming to AI necklaces and smart eyeglasses. But according to Anna Wintore. The most successful smart fashion right now is the smart ring. Specifically,

the aura ring. Everyone's got a buddy, maybe our buddy Timmy, who has one of these things. It's a finish ring that tracks your fitness, your heartbeat, your temperature, and your sleep. It does more than that. It can predict whether you have COVID based on changes to your body temperature and it tracks your fertility too. That's right, ladies. Your pinky is pretty powerful and this is like a fit bit for your finger. Shaquille O'Neal's got one, although that must be custom sized. Size 48. Jennifer Aniston's got one. Everybody over at NASA wears them, too. And the financial performance of ORA Ring is so impressive it would make Frodo freak out right now. Founded 10 years ago in Finland, sales are on pace to double this year to $500 million, according to Bloomberg.

The ORA Ring has become the one tech hardware to rule them all. Like we said, Ghalem would go Gaga for this thing. My precious. No, I do the column and precious. Let me invest in your next round. No more Lord of the Rings impressions from you. Okay, sorry, but the wildest part about the ORA Ring strategy isn't what it does. It's what it doesn't do. Because the O'R Ring does not have a screen. And the CEO of the O'R Ring says they never will have a screen.

Apple Watch, it's got a screen. Zuck's meta-ray bands, they got a virtual screen. And yet O'Ring is selling it $400 each for this screenless ring. Now, instead of a screen, we should point out, the O'Ring has an app that shows all the metrics on your body that collects. 20% of their business is software subscriptions because for six bucks a month, you get to check your readiness score every morning when you wake up. And Jack, what is that readiness score again exactly? Orrin crunches your activity rates, your heartbeat, and your sleep levels to give you a readiness score. And if your score is over 70, you're going to have a good day. You're going to have a great day

if your score's over 85. And yet, this screenless hardware tech product is selling at a faster clip than Apple's watch. Saran? sorry into it. It's evil and I like it. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy is over? At the ORA ring. ORA success isn't about influencers. It's about institutions.

Yetis, yes. Some celebrities do use the ORA ring. Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow made you buy it. Totally cool with that. But the real driver of ORA ring success has been marketing to institutions. Institutions. For example, during the pandemic, the NBA gave all its basketball players, ORA rings, to catch early signs of COVID.

Last year, ORA partner, with NASA so that training astronauts could track their bodies using aura rings. And just last week, ORA signed a $100 million deal with the United States Department of Defense to put that ring on a soldier. Make sure that G.I. Joe is resting like sleeping beauty. Because Yetis, influencers, they may get you to buy. But a respected institution, they may get you to trust. The NBA, the military, NASA, those are three of the most respected institutions in this here country.

So the way Jack and I see it, ORA is pioneering a new form of marketing. Not influencers, institutions. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, one man won a Nobel Prize and an Emmy Award, and he founded a wild startup. It's called Auctionomics, and it shows how important auctions are for water, for Netflix, and even for Division I College football. Jack, I am checking the calendars, and it is.

Nobel Prize award season. Oh yeah. Professors are getting late-night phone calls from Sweden with an epic announcement. Congratulations. The faculty at your Ivy League school will now be jealous. You just won a Nobel Prize.

It includes a million-dollar prize, right? Yeah, not too shabby. Dinner's on Fred. Sorry, dinner's on Dr. Fred. Actually, dinners on Paul Milgram, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2020 for brilliance in auction design. Here's why Jack and I were fascinated with the story, Yetis. He also won an Emmy Award.

Yeah, a TV award. He won an Emmy Award this year because the auctions that he designed were for television. All right, Jack, let's jump in T-Boy style. How did he design an auction for TV? Here's how it works. For decades, TV networks transmitted audio and video signals over the airwaves. It's called Spectrum. Spectrum.

And those spectrum waves can carry your favorite sitcom through the air. Spectrum, it's all around us. It's like the force. And in 2024, most people don't have an antenna, so that spectrum wave was just sitting there wasting space. So eight years ago, Paul Milgram created an auction, a very special auction that let TV network sell their spectrum to wireless phone companies.

And that is why you just finished binging the perfect couple on Netflix on your phone. This guy's auction took wasted TV spectrum and made it useful wireless speculations. Now, yeties, here's where things get even more interesting. Because Paul didn't just win a Nobel Prize and an Emmy Award, Paul, the Stanford professor, co-founded a company. It's called Auctionomics. He helps clients build efficient auctions that maximize value by minimizing ways. His field is that auctions are basically everywhere. Everywhere is an auction. That's an auction. Auctions are used in stock markets every day to efficiently buy and sell stocks. Uber uses auctions to pair drivers with riders. uses auctions to sell ads to the highest bidder. And in California, companies buy and sell renewable

energy credits with, you guessed it, an auction. Nick, did you know, college football programs use auctions? Okay, Eddie's Jack told me this before the pot. I had to sit down and stand up and sit back down again. This was wild. Big programs, like the University of Florida Gators, they will pay tiny football programs to come to Gainesville and play us in football. Like, they'll pay millions of dollars. What would be like a perfect example of this, Jack? Like the SCL. Muddogs that Bobby Boucher played on? Yeah, yeah. The University of Florida would pay

SCLSU to come to Florida and get their butts kicked. Yeah, it's like the mud dogs will get crushed, but that team gets paid. And Florida is happy to pay for a 49 to nothing victory at home. And that is an auction. Like we said, to quote you grant,

auctions are actually all around us. This could be a great rom-com. Sorry. Rom-Cap. Yes. A romantic capitalism. So, Jack, what's the takeaway? for everyone in this economy.

With growing scarcity, auctions grow in importance. It is awesome to learn how auctions are already used to create value and to prevent waste. Auctionomics' latest client is actually the west coast of the United States. Yeah, it is. They're building an auction to distribute water rights. Because out west, droughts are common and water is short. If water is split equally, then that would lead to waste. Auctions can ensure that those who need water the most get water.

and those who don't get paid for their water. And as climate change gets worse, natural disasters and droughts will create more and more shortages. But economics has a tool ready to go to make sure nothing gets wasted, and that tool is the auction. And now, of course, there is one catch, we should point out, you know, every scarce item, simply going to the highest bidder, it's not an ideal. There's some major fairness and equity issues. So auctions can have regulators to manage that so it's not just the wealthy, get in the water. But either way, this Nobel Prize winner proves it. Grow in scarcity, auctions grow in importance.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Restoration hardware stock is up 60% since June, even though they have zero social media accounts. Restoration hardware is the one and only home company without social media, because there is value in being the one and only. For our second story, it's ORA ring. They're on pace to double their sales this year. The private company is producing rings of power.

And ORA isn't driven by influencers. Laura is driven by institutions. And our third and final story is auctionomics. They were founded by a Nobel Prize and Emmy Award winner. Because with growing scarcity, auctions grow in importance. Auctions really all everywhere. But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

First, just a week after Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton is now a major threat to Florida. It's escalated to a Category 5 storm, and it's expected to make landfall on the west side of Florida Thursday morning. Especially around Tampa evacuation orders have already been made out there. Tampa Airport is closing this morning and the Orlando airport is going to close Wednesday morning. We know we got a lot of fantastic Yetis down there, so we're thinking of you guys. Can't believe you have another storm in just two weeks on this.

Second, for the first time in the history of Google, Google is losing its dominance in the search advertising market. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google's share of the search advertising market will fall below 50%. cent next year. Six years ago, Google had 60% in the market, but Amazon and TikTok have taken huge bites. And finally, LeBron James and his son, Brani, played together for the first time this weekend for four minutes on a professional court. It's the first time ever in the NBA that a father and son have played at the same time, much less on the same team. LeBron is 39. His son,

Brony is 20, and they're both Los Angeles Lakers. I've never seen this before. Never thought I'd seen it, Jack. If Brody doesn't pass the ball, there's going to be a conversation about this at dinner. Somebody's getting set to their room, the locker room. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack like a minute ago. He, like, texted me. He was like, okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, pause the pod for a second.

All right, so LeBron and his son just played in the same game together. We just said it. True story. You know, in baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. and his father, Ken Griffey Sr., not only played together on the same team, the Seattle Mariners. Classic. They hit back-to-back home run. You're kidding!

On September 14th, 1990, Kangraffi Sr. hit a dinger, and next up was his son, Ken Griffey Jr., who hit a dinger. Like father, like son. Yeties, you look fantastic today. Jack, I cannot wait you to see in L.A. for the big launch. This is going to be amazing.

My first flight at 5.45 a.m. Classic. My second flights at like 9 a.m., and somehow I get there only two hours later. Yeties, Jack and I are launching in one week the best idea yet, and we can't wait for you to listen. You're going to love it. We've been working on this show for so long. It's going to be fantastic. You can follow and subscribe to the show now by clicking the link in the episode of description. And that's all we're going to ask of you today. Go follow the best idea yet.

And as usual, Jack and I will see you more. And before we go, a congratulations to the Yeties at the Abraham Lincoln High School down the street in San Francisco. They won two gold medals at the Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy. leading 10 other high school teams in both the 18-under, the Mixed 200, and the 500 meter. And congratulations to Yeti's Miriam and Nathan from lovely Dallas, Texas, who just got engaged on the beach in Pliadal Carmen after eight fantastic years of dating. Congratulations to Jasmine Joy, the military brat in West Fargo, who just published an article that referenced the best one yet.

It actually did a great piece on Krispy Cream Donuts and Insomnia cookies. Wonderful, wonderful takeaway. published writer, not too shabby. And a happy birthday to Kyle Howard from just outside San Francisco. Dahlin from Duncan is giving you two pumps for free in that lodge regular. And Yumen Go

in Kunming, China finally got his U.S. Green Card and can finally visit home after six years. Congratulations, you, man. Have a fantastic trip. We'll miss you. Happy 33rd birthday to Kim Becks Murray in Ormond Beach, Florida. And Diego Sierra is celebrating the 29th birthday over in Washington, D.C. And happy birthday to

Rosie the Posey Horowitz in Silver Spring, Maryland. Yes, full disclosure, Rosie is a proud owner of a share of Wayfair and a share of Intel. Jack and I both own shares of Apple and Spotify, and Jack own shares of Amazon, Restoration Hardware and Netflix. How'd I do, Jack? Well done. No edits. Now that Max, he's crawling. We really can't have shoes on the ground. And like, that gets people to do it.

But when I was like, we'd prefer if you take your shoes off. I was like, oh boy, germaphobe. It was like, no. You just stepped in dog shit