Happy Saturday Besties,

This was a big week… an election week makes some anxious, others eager, and the maps look divided (literally). That’s why we wanted to share a story that united us.

During WWII, the US military asked the entire US car industry for a favor: Put aside the rivalries & create one vehicle to win the war — And that vehicle was The Jeep 🚙

• That’s right: To create the Jeep, 3 rival car companies put aside differences and came together to build something unprecedented.

• And this car saved the world: Jeep, a creation of many Americans, from competing companies, was the ultimate group project success story.

So if you’re looking for a break from political coverage, give this special episode on the Jeep a listen.

(It’s episode #4 of our new show “The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with”)

GET THIS

ELECTION HANGOVER: Americans ordered 20% more takeout on Tuesday than the average day. Stayed up late watching Steve Kornacki touch the big board. Woke up the next day with a lot of feelings.

WHO COUNTED THE VOTES: We do. 645,219 Americans ran the election with patriotism & coffee (according to a report written for Congress). We divide power across states and within the states, so election responsibilities were divided between hundreds of counties & thousands of towns.

HERE’S A TIP

👯 The most powerful word in persuasion — “We”. It has the power to help you de-escalate and handle any hard conversation. Political convos are unavoidable rn. By using “we” instead of “you,” you can avoid conflict and show empathy, per the WSJ.

• Data shows: In Reddit forums, comments that use “you” were 3x more likely to require moderator intervention than ones that used “we”.

• Why? “you” makes someone feel attacked and get defensive, while “we” was more inclusive and makes the person more likely to listen.

• Give it a try: Giving feedback to a colleague? Instead of saying “you need to improve the deck,” try “we need more organized decks.” It even works in relationships: “Honey, we need to get out of the bathroom faster”

ELECTION ECONOMICS

🔺 How Markets reacted: Its best week of the year… The Dow jumped 3.6% Wednesday because an extension of Trump’s 2017 corporate tax is now highly likely — Companies will keep more of their profits and pay less in taxes. It was the market’s biggest jump (1,500 pts) in 2 years. BUT those tax cuts will be paid for with debt (economists estimate we’ll need $4 trillion of debt). That’s why interest rates on US government debt rose also rose Wednesday — the US is expected to borrow more in a Trump admin, so bond investors are going to charge America higher interest.

📈 Stock Market Winners & Losers…

• Who Won: Tesla stock soared 15% (winner). Elon gave the Trump campaign $130 Million and now he’s likely to get presidential favors (preferential treatment on regulations, exemptions on tariffs…stay tuned). Speaking of Elon (winner), he may lead what he calls, “Department of Government Efficiency” — D.O.G.E. — also the name of his fave cryptocurrency. Speaking of crypto (winner), Bitcoin reached an all-time high price of $75K, as Trump promised crypto-friendly policies. So Robinhood & Coinbase stocks (winners) rose 20% and 30%, on more crypto trading expected. And increased economic activity in general meant bank stocks rose too (winner) — JP Morgan rose 12% on Wednesday alone. Plus, private prison stocks, like CoreCivic, jumped on Trump’s tough-on-crime talk.

• Who Lost: Clean energy stocks tanked (loser), as Trump plans to roll-back environmental incentives 🌎 & regulations. None of these are isolated. All interconnected. But the biggest economic splash is our trade….

🔶 Trade War 2?? In Trump’s 1st term, he taxed a limited number of Chinese 🇨🇳 imports as they entered our country. This time, he plans to tax everything we buy from China up to 60%. And tax everything else we buy from overseas (including from our allies) by 10%. Economists believe these tariffs will raise prices, which then require high interest rates to bring inflation down (Btw, the US just went through this). But Trump thinks economists are wrong. He says tariffs are misunderstood. Smaller, US-only (no imports/exports) companies are expected to benefit from tariffs, but the big Q is whether a majority of Americans do.

ELECTION-ISH

💋 Elf Beauty explains the election: For years, Elf Beauty’s growth was slow. But then in 2022 something changed… Elf went from 6% sales growth to 60% — That’s avg revenue growth of 60% every quarter 🤯. What changed? Inflation. That’s when prices went up across economy. Suddenly, Elf’s super affordable cosmetics became #1 for everyone under 45… because Elf’s $3 lipstick is still just $3. We called this the “Grocery Receipt Election” (i.e. prices were the priority). Well, Elf Beauty captures that — Elf was an inflation-buster & consumers loved ‘em for it.

If you want to understand the 2024 election, look at Elf Beauty

🧘🏻 Who really won Election day? Calm, the Meditation app, bought a surprise TV commercial: 30 seconds of silence and a Calm logo (pic above). The $2 Billion startup bought space on CNN & ABC, then said nothing….and that said everything. Most ads are loud (literally by turning up the volume). But Calm shows don’t need volume, you just need contrast. And what do we all need during this tense political moment? Relaxation… as they put it, ya need Calm. Brilliant.

• The Takeaway: Find Your Super Bowl. Calm turned Election Night into its Super Bowl by finding a less crowded, more relevant day for its brand to focus all its ad energy. It’s the same strategy as a Super Bowl commercial, but lower cost and greater attention. So find your Super Bowl.

TELL A BESTIE

The best headlines to bring to the weekend tailgate…

• 🎤 GANSTA PARTY: Snoop Dogg had a futuristic concert in Times Square

• 😢 SAD DAY: SFO airport lost its bouncy conveyer belt

• 🏃🏻‍♂️ BANKRUPT: TGIF has $50M in gift cards… first come first serve?

THE BEST IDEA YET

NEW EPISODE: Jeep: The Car that Saved the World 🚙

New episodes drop every Tuesday: Nick & Jack tell the untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with in our new show The Best Idea Yet (pairs perfectly with the weekend).

HINT for next episode: It goes great on avocado toast, pasta, and Nick dressed as it for Halloween when he was 24. 🌶️

And one more thing. We’ve been keeping a secret from you… just gotta hold it in a little bit longer. Elves are working 👇👇

— Nick & Jack