đ Good morning. Did you just use ChatGPT to turn a sassy Slack to a co-worker into a cordial one? We want to know about it. Take our survey on how youâre using AI on the low and you could be featured in one of our original stories. (We promise not to snitch⊠unless you let us.)
đ§ On the pod: College athletes can finally earn money from brand deals and sponsorships, and new startups are smelling a payday.
NEWS FLASH
đ Talk about a teenage dream: Jeff Bezosâ Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard rocket yesterday morning, marking its 31st trip and 11th crewed mission. This flightâs six-person crew, though, looked a little different: It was crewed by all women â the first since Soviet astronaut Valentina Tereshkovaâs 1963 mission â and included some big names, like pop star Katy Perry and âCBS Morningsâ anchor Gayle King. Sound like a blast? Get ready to cough up $150k to reserve a spot on a future launch.
đ Big news for Samâs Club: The Walmart-owned retailer intends to open 15 new stores per year and remodel its ~600 existing stores, as CEO Chris Nicholas expects membership, sales, and profits to double over the next 8-10 years, perRetail Dive. The Costco rival has seen success with tech investments, including its online shop and in-store Scan & Go app feature, with its online customers reportedly spending more, shopping more often, and renewing their memberships at a 10% higher rate. Membership fees make up 80%-90% of Sam Clubâs profits.
đ· Huh:Crosswalks in Silicon Valley were hacked to feature audio mimicking Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk this past weekend. Videos from passersby depict a Musk clone talking about how alone he felt after money failed to buy happiness, and a Zuck clone saying itâs ânormal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience,â but donât worry because thereâs ânothing you can do to stop it.â Officials are investigating the incident.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
Pfizer is scrapping the development of its daily weight loss drug after a trial participant experienced a liver injury. Itâs a setback in Pfizerâs race to join the GLP-1 industry, which is estimated to top $150B by the early 2030s.
Great: A new survey of 300+ CEOs found that 62% expect a recession or other economic hurdle in the next six months, up from 48% last month, as uncertainty mounts surrounding tariffs.
Metaâs antitrust trial, filed in 2020 by the FTC, began this week. The lawsuit alleges that Metaâs purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp formed an illegal social media monopoly, and could force the parent company to break off from its acquisitions.
SPOT SIGNALS
3 tools to help you find the next big thing
How does Sam Parr, a dude (our founder) who now brainstorms business ideas for a living, conduct deep research on companies to surface new concepts worth stealing?
Mostly through six different signals. Read his personal Company Research Playbook for pro tips on spotting opportunities, three free proven research tools, and four brilliant little case studies (Literotica, WPBeginner, 1-800-Flowers, Uzabase).
Yes, he wrote it all himself. Really great read, and free as always.
Sports are getting techier, with gimmicks like indoor golf battles, but itâs not just about making things more exciting.
Modern advancements are also bringing sports to underserved fan bases.
Accessibility slam dunk
Professional sports teams are working with startups like OneCourt, Touch2see, and Field of Vision to help blind and low-vision fans follow the action via tactile devices, perCNBC.
Tactile tech is already in play to make cars safer and VR games more realistic, so why not expand that to accessibility solutions?
OneCourtâs tablet, available at a handful of stadiums, allows fans to track a basketballâs position with their fingers and vibrates when something exciting happens.
Other variations have a physical cursor that moves along with the ball.
The most exciting thingâŠ
⊠is that this tech could eventually improve â if companies like OneCourt stick with it.
Disability advocate Liz Jackson, who uses the term âdisability dongleâ to describe a well-meaning piece of accessibility tech that is ultimately useless, told CNBC that startups often announce, then abandon such products.
OneCourt says it intends to eventually introduce at-home versions of its tech, rather than relying on licensing deals with sports teams. But because its device only does one thing, itâll need to do it well â and affordably.
Nobody bats 1.000 in sales. Youâre going to run into hitches and hiccups from time to time â but you can avoid these seven common mistakes.
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
The number of small businesses that employ a young-adult child of an owner.
Thatâs a 13% increase from last year and double 2018âs figure, according to payroll provider Gusto.
For young people who have recently waded into the workforce, this trend is likely unsurprising: Many are finding jobs harder to get and interview processes more painful.
Plus, the Gen Xers and baby boomers who own most of Americaâs small businesses are eyeing retirement and making succession plans, perThe Wall Street Journal.
Forty-two percent of small-business owners said they plan to transition ownership of their companies in the next five years, according to a 2024 survey from Barlow Research, and 28% said they plan to have a family member take over.
If âSuccessionâ has taught us anything, itâs to tread carefully when it comes to the family biz.
AROUND THE WEB
đ On this day: In 1955, Ray Kroc opened his first McDonaldâs in Des Plaines, Illinois. Kroc bought the company from the McDonald brothers in 1961.
Down to earth: Apparently for Lauren SĂĄnchez, who led an all-women crew to the edge of space yesterday, being far the f*ck away from Earth helped her feel closer to the rest of us stuck down here. She described her experience in a livestream shortly after returning.
What was the point of the mission? Beats us â though, earlier this month, pop star and crew member Katy Perry toldElle theyâd be putting âthe âassâ in astronaut,â if that offers any clarity.
SHOWER THOUGHT
Somewhere out there is the Easter egg that has gone the longest without being found.SOURCE
Today’s email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah and Sara Friedman, with help from Sam Barsanti, Singdhi Sokpo, and Kaylee Jenzen. Editing by: Ben âWill settle for Space Campâ Berkley.
