Happy Saturday Besties,

This week we indulged in Ben & Jerry’s at their O.G. 1st-ever location in Burlington, VT…which reminded us of the best business quote ever (yep, it’s from B&J)…

• Listen to the clip at 21:03-21:38.

To summarize: Ben & Jerry ‘just made it up.’ They copied a business plan from a pizza joint, replaced the word "pizza" with "ice cream,” and scored a $4,000 bank loan with it. With the loan, they bought an old 5-gal ice-cream-making machine and rented an ancient gas station in Burlington, VT. And 46 years later, it’s one of the sweetest names in ice cream with $900M in sales.

• The Takeaway? Just make it up. Don’t commit fraud (of course), but know that company founders, Hollywood stars, Olympians… are all bullish about the future. So when it comes to projections and sales forecasts, you should be too.

Or as we prefer to say…”always round up” (including on ice cream portions). Keep scrolling to hear our Ben & Jerry’s flavor choices.

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ICYMI

6-Day Work Week??? Effective July 1, Greece has allowed one additional working day if a company runs a 24/7 operation (like a factory. Or Mount Olympus). The goal: Tto boost the nation’s productivity and reverse the nation’s reputation that led to Greece’s debt crisis in 2010.

• But, the Prime Minister says this new policy will also protect workers. Because in many cases, they’re already clocking 6 days, but are just not fairly paid for it. And we think…

• It’s impressive. Greece’s economy grew nearly 6% last year, making it one of the fastest-growing in Europe. Huge turnaround for a country that nearly declared bankruptcy 12 years ago.

MARKETS

The #1 fastest growing city in America, for 3 years straight is… Georgetown, Texas — but it’s filled with Baby Boomers. 👵🏼 👴🏽

• Welcome to Boomer Spring Break: Sun City is one of many gated communities in Georgetown. 17,000 retirees have moved in for the golf courses, shuffleboard tourney, & no income tax. The median age? 73. It’s a no-work, all-play lifestyle.

• Interestingly: All of the Top 10 fastest-growing US cities are Boomer Boomtowns — and all of them are in AZ, TX, & UT.

• But we think that’s good for Zillennials, too: Because each Boomer moving into Georgetown leaves an empty home behind, that’s probably more affordable for a 1st-time homebuyer.

• The Takeaway: Building unaffordable ($$$) housing is the best way to create affordable ($) housing. Building 11k unaffordable homes in a Boomer Boomtown opens up 11k affordable homes somewhere else. A boomer’s old empty nest can become a Zillennials’ new full nest.

STOCKS

Chipotle has a portion problem. TikTokers accuse the chain of skimping on barbacoa portions (while keeping the guac extra) #Shrinkflation. Soooo, 1 Wells Fargo analyst tested the weight of the same burrito bowl order at 75 different locations (literally). The goal? Test consistency & end The Great Weight Debate…

• The Ingredients: white rice, black, beans, chicken, pico, cheese, & lettuce 🌯 

• The Shocker Results: There was almost a 1-pound difference between the smallest & largest Chipotle bowls. The average bowl was 21oz, but the biggest was 27 oz, and the smallest was just 13 oz. One of those is a snack, the other is a feast 😳

PRIVATELY OWNED 

Driscoll’s sells more berries than anyone in America. In fact, Driscolls’ strawberries make up 60% of all US strawberry sales (yes, your 🍓 smoothie is almost 2/3 Driscoll’s).

• But strange thing… For 120 years, Driscoll’s has tossed out its sweetest berries. The best-tasting berries are fragile, and don’t ship well. But they found a solution...

• “The Sweetest Batch”: Instead of tossing a berry that hurt the bottom line, Driscoll’s now sells them at a premium. They can make fewer of them, but can charge 30% more than organic. Now sweet berries are a Profit Puppy 🤤

FACTS

Team USA Gymnastic is breaking the record for bedazzling — this year’s leotards have more than 10,000 crystals each. Red, white, blue, and sparkly…

• For the first time ever, the fab five are even rocking pearl. And the total price is $5,000 per leo 😳…that’s a wedding dress (or several).

• The most fashionable Olympics ever is thanks to the involvement of the host country’s LVMH (parent co. of Dior and Louis Vuitton) who are also making products for the game.

• But crystal gear is an athletic strategy: Because shinier crystals “accentuate the gymnast’s routine of the gymnasts” according to the design director.

BEST TAKEAWAY YET

“Some of the biggest opportunities are the Blind Spots of Business.” Just like driving a car, we all have blind spots — opportunities we simply don’t see. And the perfect example of that is Koala Kare, which now owns 85% of the diaper-changing station market 👶 

• The Blind Spot was from Male fast food restaurant managers. Koala pitched the product to them, but those 50-year-old dudes had never changed a diaper (and didn’t see the need).

• What Koala Kare did: Koala redesigned its marketing pamphlet to shine a light on a problem those managers couldn’t see — women had to put their babies on the ground to change their diapers.

• The result: Seeing that, guilty managers were convinced to buy the changing tables. Now Koala is the most adorable monopoly in America.

BTS: VERMONT EDITION

We were together in Vermont this week! Activities at Camp Kramer included…

• 😋 Dinner at Honey Road on Church Street. We ordered the halloumi & wings (but get 2 of everything).

• 🧘🏻 Sunrise yoga with Jack (and Adriene IYKYK) + an outdoor shower experience.

• 🛝 Slides and swings with the Pod Son (Wilder, Jack’s 3-year-old son).

• 🍦 Ben & Jerry’s at the Flagship location… Nick went with Half Baked, extra hot fudge (and 3 samples). And Jack went with Milk & Cookies in a cone. It’s a write-off.

🎙️🎙️ If ya missed an episode this week, we gotcha…

• Money Monday: 🍯 “How to make $1 Billion” — Steve Ballmer’s money story. Electric Bikes’ Gen Z surge. Citibank’s criminal ATM.

• TBOY Tuesday: 🏠 “How Boomers Can Fix Housing” — Georgetown TX is Boomtown. Driscoll’s #1 berry brand. Boeing’s stay-out-of-jail card.

• Ceviche Wednesday: 🐻 “Babies Off The Floor” — Koala Kare’s diaper monopoly. Paramount’s ultimate nepo-baby. Christian Dior’s $57 handbag drama.

• The New Friday: 🌯 “I measured the bowls” — Chipotle’s burrito “weight debate”. Wimbledon’s grass startup. Amazon’s renewable energy win.

• The Real Friday: ⚾ “Savannah Bananas, Inc.” — Minor League Baseball’s new owner. Apple Watch for Kids. Inflation’s 2 diseases.

And one more thing. There’s more (adorable) footage of Nick & the Pod Son on our Instagram, check the BTS highlight on our profile. 

Celebrate the wins, Yetis :) 🙌 🙌 

—Nick & Jack