This is Nick. This is Jack. And we have a HUGE announcement: Our first-ever live recording of The Best One Yet podcast. We’re pumped to meet some Yetis & Besties IRL for a fantastic live show. San Francisco — you’re up first' (do us proud, SF). If you don’t live in the Bay, don’t worry we’re just getting started. 😉😉

🎟️ The details 🎟️: It all goes down November 29th at 6:00 PM at Shack15 in San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Building (Ceviche Wednesday ofc). Tickets are on sale NOW. See ya there.

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1) The Tech to End iPhones

Last week, Humane unveiled the AI Pin. Their goal: make smartphones go extinct. 

Says who: The husband and wife co-founding couple who says a Buddhist monk inspired them. So did Venture Capitalists, who chipped in $240M worth of funding, and Microsoft and OpenAI, who have signed partnerships. 

The $699 product does everything your phone can, but without 1 key thing: A screen. Plus, it uses AI. 

• What it looks like: A tiny computer and a separate battery — the 2 pieces magnetically snap onto your shirt, so you can use it hands-free. If you want a screen, just hold up your hand and it will project images onto your palm. It’s like a broach fit for Judy Jetson. 

• How to use it: You can speak to the AI or gesture with your hands. To make phone calls and utilize the web, it requires a T-mobile wireless plan for $24/month. 

What it can do: 

• 📍 Summarize text chains, emails, and phone calls for the important bits, 

• 📍 Tell you how many grams of protein are in the almonds you’re holding, 

• 📍 Act as an interpreter (perdón),

• 📍 Take pictures, videos, and voice recordings that you can retrieve by logging into a computer.

What it does not do: apps or scrolling…more time for activities.

The Takeaway →

If the AI Pin succeeds it’s because of one thing: “Phone Guilt.” We’ve all tried to use our phones less and experience the world more. But emergencies and conveniences require a phone nearby. With this Buddhist monk-inspired tech (true story) you can be present (without the distraction of a screen) while remaining connected (with access to phone, text, and web). Not having a screen isn’t a defect, it’s the key feature. This innovation is really solving for a feeling: the feeling of phone guilt.

2) $250K of Stolen Matcha KitKats

$250K of rare Japanese KitKats were the center of a freight heist. But the story of the sweet escape uncovered how a wild growth hack made KitKat the #1 candy in Japan. 🇯🇵 

Roll the tape: In the year 2000, KitKat was sold by Hershey in the US, but by Nestle abroad… 

• …and in Japan: sales weren’t cutting it. So Nestle decided to get creative…

• By making a KitKat for every hometown. The idea was inspired by the tradition of omiyage (sharing souvenirs/mementos from a specific place). 🗾

Then Kit hit the fan: by creating 350 different flavors based on different Japanese cities. Okinawa’s flavor, which you could only buy on the island, was Purple Ube Sweet Potato…milk chocolate is lookin’ lame. Want a sake-flavored KitKat? Only available in the Prefecture of Miyagi, known for its sake.

• But the key realization: Only allowing people to buy Okinawa’s KitKat flavor on Okinawa made each flavor like a collectible exclusive — that drove demand even higher. 

• And since they don’t have an expiration date, a collection of all 350 became super valuable. Hence the recent heist, in which $250k worth of KitKats was stolen.

The Takeaway →

Every successful growth hack starts with an observation. 

• 🍫 The observation: The Japanese omiyage custom 

• 🍫 Application: Bringing omiyage into KitKat with niche local flavors 

• 🍫 The outcome: By 2012, KitKat was the #1 chocolate in Japan and by 2014, it was the #1 candy overall in the country. 

• 🍫 The real growth hack: Wasn’t the customization, it was the observation. Break me off a piece of that Purple Ube Sweet Potato Bar.

On the Pod

🪧 Hot Strike Summer is officially over. But the 2024 sequel will be even bigger. To hear more about the coming “Jealous January”, listen to today’s show.

Here’s what else you need to know today —

👶 America’s population is expected to stop growing by 2080. A lower birth rate + a lower immigration rate = lower population of living Americans.

🧗 Jared Leto just became the 1st person to legally climb the Empire State Building. He did it to promote the Thirty Seconds to Mars tour (he’s a musician and an actor) and to see the sunrise. 

🌲 A 63-foot Norway Spruce tree grown in West Virginia is headed toward Washington DC. It’s kind of a fig deal…

👷 Bob Vila, the guru of home improvement, is selling his Florida home. He DIY’ed the construction and is now asking $53M for it. 

🎥 ”The Marvels” generated an estimated $47M domestically over its debut weekend, the lowest for any Marvel movie ever.

🫰 The IRS announced new income tax brackets for 2024. Carol from accounting rejoices. 

And one more thing. What city should TBOY LIVE hit next after SF?

—Nick & Jack