The Best One Yet - ⚽ “Yellow card” — World Cup’s surge seating. Winklevii Bros’ IPO. Casey’s pizza station. +Zodiac Investing.

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

FIFA began selling tickets to the 2026 World Cup in USA yesterday… and it’s messing with StubHub.The Winklevoss twins didn’t get Facebook… but their crypto company Gemini just IPO’d.The 5th biggest pizza chain in America is actually a gas station… Casey’s General Store.Plus, your zodiac sign is wrong… Find out your zodiac through NY Times here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/upshot/zodiac-signs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.kk8.Qs18.GDuT7R54ps8L&smid=url-share$GEMI $CASY $STUBWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/ to listen.NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday the real Friday. September 12th. 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, I really know it's the real Friday, Jack? Because I'm wearing yak fur. Because you're wearing the yak sweater I got you for your birthday. I'm finally wearing it. And it feels fantastic. I have three compliments today. Three! The best part, Jack? No yaks were hurt in the making of that sweater. They actually stitch it. themselves. These yaks are incredible these days. Okay, I'm not going to fact check that one. You are wearing the yak, though, Jack. The yack sweater is not wearing you.

Yetis, we have got three fantastic stories for today's pod. Jack, what is on the T-boy? For our first story, the World Cup is coming to the United States next summer, and the ticket presale launched yesterday. But FIFA is doing dynamic pricing, and everyone hates it

except for us. For our second story, remember the WinkleVos twins. The Winklevye. Those Harvard rowers who claim that Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook? Or is it the Winklevarosses? It's the Winklevineck. Well, with Zuckerberg settlement money, they started a crypto startup. And it just IPOed.

And our third and final story is the fifth biggest pizza chain in America. It's actually a gas station. Casey's built a cult following by selling regular unleaded with a side of bacon, egg, and cheese pizza. You either love Casey's or you. You've never even heard of it. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, what a mix of stories to go into the weekend with. Love the mix, Jack.

Mercury is not in retrograde. Jupiter is in transit. And your horoscope has an update. Get this, Yeties. According to the New York Times, your zodiac signs are 2,000 years out of date. And that astrological issue could be messing with your money. Here's the context.

Planet Earth actually wobbles on its access a little bit, a dreidel that's spinning. So our view of the stars shifts by one degree every 72 years. So 2,000 years ago, September 12th planet Earth was in Virgo. Because the Virgo constellation was directly behind the sun. But today, which is September 12th, the constellation behind the sun is no longer Virgo, it's Leo. That's how much the Earth has moved in just two millennia. So since the Babylonians first observed the zodiac 2,000 years ago, those constellations have shifted a up in 27 degrees, Jack. I thought I was a Pisces, but I'm actually Aquarius. Jack, I thought it was Aquarius, but I'm actually a Capricorn. And all this cosmological craziness could freak out your

financials, too, if you happen to be an astrological investor. Because maybe you thought you were a risk-averse Scorpio. But you're actually a risk-loving Libra. Or maybe you thought you were a crypto-crazy cancer. You're actually a mutual fund Gemina. And if you're buying advanced call options because Mercury is in retrograde? First of all, you should probably talk to somebody, but you also may want to invest in a new telescope. Besties, Jack and I dropped a link to the tool that will confirm what your actual Zodiac is if it shifted.

Yeah, I'm checking it out right now. I'm kind of freaking out, to be honest. In the meantime? Although, if I wasn't a Pisces, that might explain a lot. I'm sorry, Jack, all signs reporting to us hitting our three stories. Let's hit him. 15 years before this song,

two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm It's the best one yet, but the best is a 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 For our first story For the first time in 32 years The United States is hosting the FIFA World Cup and the tickets just went on sale. But only if you have a visa card.

And it's controversial because of the dynamic pricing, and all of this is bad for Stubhub. Okay. Now, yeties, Jack and I have been checking the calendars for you, and by our math, we are exactly 272 days away from the men's World Cup of Soccer. Awkwardly co-hosted next summer by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Why is this awkward, Jack?

Because when we agreed to co-host the big, tournament in the world with our neighbors, we weren't in a trade war with them. Yeah, but unfortunately, tariffs have made this World Cup an angry Thruple situation, haven't they, Jack? It's a soccer, soap opera, and like, who knows what's happening at the border. But in the meantime, MetLife Stadium, home of the Jets and the Giants, is hosting the World Cup finals next summer, so it got the attention of New York City's mayoral candidate. He's a Democratic socialist, Zoran Mundani, and he launched a petition on Wednesday, called called Game Over Greed.

Game over greed. Because this year, for the first time, FIFA is using, get this, dynamic pricing to maximize revenue. And of course, yesterday, when the pre-sale launched, there were major glitches, causing huge frustration for the fans who were waiting at their computer for the clock to strike midnight. Taylor Swift Eristore 2.0. Here we go again, baby. Oh, by the way, the World Cup ticket pre-sale that launched on Thursday, classic.

It was for Visa card holders. only. Yeah, Visa's sponsoring the events. Only Visa cardholders could buy the tickets. Because let's be honest, FIFA is an international money making operation with a side hustle in soccer tournaments. Now, besties, before

you throw the red flag on these guys, Jack and I want to pause the pause for a second. And Jack, could we dive in T-boy style to dynamic pricing? When it comes to ticket selling, we're actually for dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing. Now, dynamic pricing, it smells like surge,

pricing, or as Jack and I call it in this situation, surge seating. So it's understandable why you get mad when you hear that the World Cup has dynamic pricing. Yeah, in this case, for the World Cup, if the tickets are priced at $100, but the demand data suggests they could sell for $200, what's FIFA going to do, Jack? They're going to jack up the prices dynamically to $200. That sounds greedy, right? It does sound greedy. But the reality is, that price would have hit $200 anyway, either way, on the secondary market. And here's And here's the important detail we want to highlight. When those tickets would inevitably sell for $200 in the secondary market,

it would be the scalpers taking the profit, not the performer, the producer, or the venue, in this case, the World Cup. So in Zoran's petition, he's calling for a price cap. And he's also calling for 15% of all the tickets in this tournament to be set aside for locals to buy the discount. Which is actually an idea that my parents, who live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, kind of like. It's a great idea.

But given the 0% chance of a price cap for World Cup tickets, those tickets are going to be really expensive no matter what. Because the World Cup is a global event with billions of people demanding tickets, and yet there are only 80,000 seats in that MetLife Stadium. And thanks to dynamic pricing, it's the people putting on the show who are going to get the revenue, not the scalpers. And that's why, as much as we hate dynamic pricing, economically speaking, we're for dynamic pricing. Prices are going to be high no matter what. want the soccer players to get the money, not the scalpers. Even though they do have a lot of money. So Jack, what's to take away for our buddies over at the World Cup? It's a dirty secret. Stubhub's business model depends on scalpers. Yaddies, it's not just FIFA starting to use dynamic

pricing these days. Ticketmaster also started using it as well. Both FIFA and Ticketmaster want to stop letting bots and middlemen take revenue that should be going to the performers. Basically, the primary ticket issuers, the World Cup, they're trying to price. tickets accurately with data so that there's no need for a secondary market like Stubhub. And that's bad news for Stubhub. It is. Because Stubhubbizates the secondary ticket market. Now, sure, if you can't make it to the World Cup game, you could use Stubhub to sell your tickets if you can't go. But the giant business of bots and scalpers selling huge volumes of tickets on Stubhub, it looks like that business is going away. And that's why Stubbub's value is

half of what they were targeting just a year ago. For our second story, the business is a business. IPO to kick off the fall is Gemini. The crypto credit card company goes public today. But the key to understanding Gemini is understanding the Winklevoss twins behind it. Ah, the first ever original Zucking. It happened in a college dorm room at Harvard. Jack, could you take us back there, please? The blonde Winklevoss twins. They shared their idea for a social network on the internet with Mark Zuckerberg and that little puny freshman at Harvard allegedly stole their idea. Well, the WinkleVye twins ended up suing Zuck, you actually saw the depositions in the movie, the social network. And in the closing credits of that awesome movie, you saw the result of that lawsuit. Mark Zuckerberg paid the

Winklevoss twins $60 million to settle the lawsuit. But what you may not know, Besties, is what the Winkle Vy twins did with that $60 million? Jack, what did they do with it? They bought Bitcoin in 2012 at $10. Oh, sprinkle on more context, please. $10. Today, Bitcoin is $110,000. Okay, that is a 10,000 X return on that Zuck money. But here's the fascinating thing, Yetis.

The Winkle Buy twins didn't just sit on their Bitcoin billions. They actually started a crypto company called Gemini. Gemini, another Zodiac, because they're twins, right? The Gemini twins are part of the Greek Zodiac, yes. And today, Gemini stock begins trading after their IPO valued the company at $3 billion. So if you're looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6'5 Blue Eyes,

you'll see two of them on the stock exchange today. The besties, we know what you're thinking right now. Here's the real question. Do we need another crypto trading platform out there? I mean, look, we don't have FDX anymore, but we still got Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com, cracking, and a dozen other crypto exchanges you'd never heard of. Jam and I is only the fifth biggest exchange in the United States.

It's the 26th largest crypto exchange by volume in the world. But Nick and I dove into the IPO paperwork, and it turns out buying and selling of crypto, that's not even the focus of the company. That's right, because the product Gemini mentioned the most in their IPO paperwork was the word credit card. They want to be the amex of blockchain. Gemini launched the first crypto credit card, and it's the smallest but fastest growing part of their business today. Because the rewards for that credit card are crypto.

Get this, like instead of 3% cash back on dining, you're getting 3% coin back on your spending. That dinner date turned into Ethereum that's in your account already. Honey, we need to go to dinner again. I think Ethereum prices are up. Now, look at the numbers. This is a small business. Only 58,000 customers have the Gemini credit card. And they've only distributed $5.5 million in crypto rewards to those credit card users. So your typical Gemini credit card customer only has got to... $100 worth of crypto rewards. But if you want to invest in crypto, then Gemini has put your points immediately into the market where, unlike other credit card points, they can go up.

The strategy is to reach a mass audience because trading crypto is scary. You could lose the money you put into the market. But instead, credit card rewards feel like you're getting free crypto. You're doing spending anyway. Now you're spending turned into crypto. It feels like you didn't put anything at risk. Yeah, your Chase Sapphire got you a 50 bucks off of massage, but oh, your crypto credit card from Gemini, suddenly Ethereum's going to the moon, unless it goes down. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies

over at Gemini? Gemini's competitive advantage isn't its size, it's its influence. Yeties, Robin Hood has 100,000 cardholders. Amex has 100 million. Gemini, it is tiny compared to both of those. But the Winkly Vy founders of Gemini have turned themselves

into a unique asset. Just this week, Trump praised the Winkle twins at the White House as having the whole package, looks, genius, and plenty of cash. And they've already used that influence to try to change government policy on crypto. Get this. This week, we learned that the Winklyai asked Trump to choose a different person to lead the CFTC, the agency that regulates crypto. To quote Alexander Hamilton, the Winklevoss are in the room where it happens when it comes to this administration. And you want to be in the room where it happens. Gemini's real competitive advantage isn't their size or their founder's huge size.

These guys are tall. It's their influence. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story before the weekend, one gas station chain is thriving more than any other, but it's all thanks to pizza. Casey's gas station is the fifth biggest pizza chain in America. So we're looking at Casey's pizza profitability. Now, if we're going to tell this story, I think you should reveal for the audience something that I'm shocked by I learned only minutes ago. What is it, Jack? Now, I worked at a gas station in high school. I can't believe I never told you this.

I had no idea. You know, I described myself as a petroleum distribution engineer. And I actually picked up an unhealthy financial habit when I was 17. Yeah. Dude, during downtimes when nobody was in the store, I would purchase scratch tickets, scratch them, and then purchase more tickets with my winnings. It's a right-off boss. Is this how you got to become the sommelier of the law?

local Olive Garden as well? That was when I was 18. It's a story for another pod. But besties, Casey's gas station, where Jack did not work, actually has 2.7,000 locations across Middle America. It's the fourth biggest chain in the country. If you live in the central time zone, then you love Casey's. Because from the mighty Mississippi to the Rio Grande, this brand kind of looks like a cracker barrel and an Exxon had a baby that was raised by 7-Eleven. But Casey's General Stores is actually a publicly traded company worth 20. $21 billion on the stock market. Get this, Casey's general stores is worth more than Hilton, twice as much as Snapchat.

This company is three lifts. This week, they've reported earnings. Sales rose 11%. Profits rose 20%. Casey's stock is up 40% this year. It has tripled in the last five years. I'll take premium unletted, actually. Yeah, that would be the dividends.

And yet you've probably never been. Because we looked at the data of this podcast and the majority. majority of you listeners are coastal listeners. Yeah, we know you're like mid-deep in a sweet green slop bowl right now and you've probably never heard of Casey's, but that's why we dove in T-boy style. Plus, three-quarters of Casey's are in towns with populations less than 20,000 people right there in Middle America. To quote John Mellencamp, Casey's was born in a small town. But you've got to respect Casey's, because here's the surprise. It's actually the fifth biggest pizza chain in America. Besties, this gas station company,

breaks out their sales between inside the station and outside the station. It's the most Iowa thing I've ever seen. And yeah, this brand was launched in Iowa. Now, when they refer to their sales inside the station, they're talking about pizza sales, not gas. And outside is gasoline. Because pizza is this gas station's hero product. In fact, they sell at double the profit margin as the fuel does. Now, Nick's born and raised in New York. Total pizza snob over there. I'm not going to lie, I'm going to judge here, Jack. And this Casey's, it's not a New York City slice and it's not a Neapolitan pie, my friend. No, Casey's doing their own thing. Medium thickness, extra cheese pairs really well with a Dr. Pepper. I do respect it. It's the kind of

pizza you would devour after a softball game with two to three buddies or maybe your kids. And the innovation, they decided it's a three meal a day product. That's right, Casey's serves three different types of breakfast pizza pies. Bacon, egg and cheese, pizza. Real thing. And strategically, they've priced these pies at 20% less than Domino's does. Which is why they sell more pizza than Papa Johns. Now, Basties, if you have ordered a Casey's breakfast pizza, please tell us in the comments if the eggs are scrambled are over easy. We couldn't tell.

And if you own Casey's stock, tell us if the dividends are paid in the form of the gasoline vatcher. In the meantime, these are numbers that sweet green would be jelly of. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Casey's? Carl Young, I am what I choose to become. Yeties, every other gas station chain prioritizes gas. It's consistent, it's reliable, it's recession proof. But Casey's did the opposite. They prioritized pizza.

And now, the majority of customers to Casey's don't even buy gas. They came for the food. They go for the food, the majority of customers. Now, gas is expensive. It is the majority of their sales, we should point out. But food is more profitable. So food is the majority of what counts, profits. Oh, and remember when we said that three out of four cases,

Cacey stars are in small towns with under 20,000 people. That was strategic. Yes. One of the reasons the pizza is so popular is that Casey's is the only pizza in town. Honey, you're in the mood for pizza? It's got to be Cases. If you look at the numbers, Cases is not a gasoline station. They're a pizza chain disguised as a gas station.

Casey's didn't let itself get defined or labeled by its industry. It is what it chose to become, a $20 billion pizza chain. Born in Iowa, winning on Wall Street. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? FIFA is selling tickets to next summer's World Cup with dynamic pricing and glitches. Seat Surgeon, the goal of dynamic pricing, eliminate the scalpers, and that is bad for Stubhub's business. For our second story, the Winklevoss twins took their $60 million of Facebook settlement money, bought Bitcoin, and they're now IPOing. Their crypto credit card company is called Gemini, and their advantage is their influence.

And the third and final story is Casey's general stores. It's a huge Wall Street winner. The profits aren't in the gas, though. They're in the garlic. And to quote psychologist Carl Young, Casey's is what it chose to become a $20 billion pizza chain. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

First, Sephora just became the first beauty chain on a delivery app. Sephora is actually owned by LVMH, the largest luxury company in the world. Now they've partnered with Uber for Homewell. delivery to rush order that mascara that you needed five minutes ago. Because physical stores are great for trials, but sometimes it's just an emergency. And second, demand for mortgages. Just jump to a three-year high this week as interest rates finally inch down a bit. On Thursday, we got the inflation report for August. 2.9% inflation, not too bad. With the weak job situation out there,

investors are thinking that the Fed may finally cut rates this month. And the market has already come down in anticipation of that. So, with the interest rate, potentially coming soon, that could finally loosen up our frozen, constipated housing market. Constipated? The market's stuck, Jack. The market is stuck. And finally, a phone-free restaurant just opened up in Washington, D.C. It's called H. Harbor, and it's on H. Street.

It's actually owned by the chef who won the Hell's Kitchen TV competition. Here's how this works. When you walk into the restaurant, you're given a pouch to lock your phone up in. And then everyone, including the staff, must keep their phone locked in that pouch at all times. until they leave the restaurant. So that you can enjoy your mindful minestrone and your focused fettuccini. Now time for the best fact yet.

This one is actually a correction sent in by A.L. Petron from lovely New York City. The inventor of the polo shirt was actually Renee LaCost, a French tennis player who created the Lacoste brand that we all know today. Here's how the polo was invented. Players started flipping up the collars to protect their necks from the sun

so they became, and that was the OG popped collar. So Ralph Lauren didn't invent the polo but he invented the brand polo for lifestyle and fashion in America. Oh, and by the way, that French tennis player, LaCoste, his nickname was the crocodile, which explains why LaCost's logo is Le Crocodad. Apparently he played tennis like a crocodile. I don't know what that means. I don't know. To me, it looks not possible. Yiddies, you look fantastic today.

And hey, Jack, can I see your ponies? For a second, let me see. Okay, as a Pisces, I'm seeing that you will, you will share today's podcast with three other adults, and you will say, H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. Dude, I don't think Palms has anything to do with the Zodiac. I'm seeing here that you will correct yourself about my POMS idea, and you will still share the podcast with three people today. That's the most Capricorn thing you've ever said. Besties, have a fantastic weekend.

Tell your buddies to H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. That's how we grow the show. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Celebrate the wins. See you Monday. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Moro-Leos down in San Antonio, Texas, celebrating the best one yet. And happy birthday to Searsden, Breslin, in Santa Clarita, California, a day one, Yeti. Here we go, Searsen, and George Gould's turning 27 years old in Chicago doing logistics.

We met George at the live show. George, you were looking and you still look fantastic. Happy 34th birthday to Megan Scott in Houston, Texas. And Dan Tillman down in Woodbridge, Virginia, happy birthday, man. Happy birthday to Brian Gill in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And Jack, Abbas Hussein, just turned nine years old in Chicago, absolutely the most legendary nine-year-old at school. And a shout out to Derek and Caitlin Toomey over in Madison, Wisconsin.

Congrats on the new baby, Everett is a beauty. Congratulations to Taylor from Detroit, Michigan, who just landed a new job. And Jack, I want to give a shout out to my wife Molly for the first week we spent with the new baby Selena. You and I get back on the microphones pretty quickly after an IBO. And Molly's doing amazingly taking care of Selena right now. She's an absolute legend. Great girl. This is Jack.

I own stock of Lyft. Nick and I both own some Bitcoin and Nick owns some Ethereum. Bitcoin Ben and Ethereum methyl.