🏀 “Bank of Shaq” — JPM’s Council of Athletes. Swarmer’s 500% Drone IPO. Banksy’s secret art biz. +Disney’s craziest ideas

0:00This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, March 19th. 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. I'll tell you what's not a T-boy. Stocks dropped yesterday because of the Fed. More specifically, it's what the Fed said. America's central bank cut interest rates last year more than once, but they said yesterday to expect zero cuts this year. See, the Fed's worried about inflation again, including a report yesterday showing February prices, they're up 3.4%. And that report didn't even include the war on Iran, which has driven up oil prices since.

0:35Oh, oil seeps into everything. But Jack and I got three fantastic, uninflated stories for you. Jack, what do we got on today's T-Boy? For our first story, Tom Brady just got a new job at J.P. Morgan. Congrats! Recruiting 18-year-olds. So why are Tom Brady and Dwayne Wade joining J.P. Morgan's Council of Athletes? Jack and I will explain. For our second story, one drone company IPO'd on Tuesday, and the stock is already up 1 ,000%. Swarmer, they're selling military drones, but they remind us of The Bachelor. And our third and final story is Banksy. Banksy. Is he the most mysterious artist of all time, Nick?

1:12He's got to be, Jack. Well, he's been unmasked. We now know his real name. So we're focusing on the business of Banksy, which made$250 million anonymously. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix. Love the mix. Perfect mix, Jack. Nick, do you remember your first day of school? I mean, like it was 28 years ago, Jack. New classroom, new backpack. Are they going to like my haircut? Are they going to like my outfit? Mom, stop taking pictures of me. Well, Yetis, for one brave youngster today, it's like the first day of school. Because it's their first day as CEO of Disney.

1:49Josh DeMauro, the theme park guy, has taken over the big job from Bob Iger today. So Disney folks, if you see Josh in the cafeteria today, please remember to sit and be nice to him when you sit with him at the lunch table. But since I'm a Disney shareholder, Nick, and since you cried twice during Toy Story, it was actually three times, but, and oh, because Disney stock is also down 50 % in the last five years. Ouch, we got some ideas for the new CEO, Josh DeMauro. Okay, here's the first one. Picture this, Josh, a villain theme park. It'd be a profit puppy. Rides for Jafar, Ursula, Scar, that funny biker guy from Luca.

2:23Or what about Jack? For one day, just do opposite day at Disney. Yeah, the fast pass buyers wait for rides. Everyone else skips the line. Okay, and this one's a little more for the adults, but what about if you launch Demorow's Amaro? Disney's first liquor, named after the CEO. Okay, okay, so Disney, those are the fun ideas we got, but Jack and I also got some strategic business ideas for you. For one full year, don't do sequels. Just original movies. See how it goes. Or what about our idea from last year? Buy Spirit Airlines. Make the Disney vacation start at Terminal B. Finally, an idea from our buddy Rich Greenfield.

2:55Acquire Roblox. Yes. Turn the virtual world into Disney World. Because that's where the kids are spending all their time these days anyway. Own it. Bob Iger bought Pixar the first year he became CEO. You should acquire Roblox. So Josh, good luck on your first day of CEO school. We are so proud of you. You're going to do great. We know you're listening. Jack, let's get our three stars.

3:44Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

3:54Top hats, baseball hats, Von Dutch hats. We wear so many hats on this podcast. Honestly, we're not great at all of them. No, we've been avoiding hiring someone to wear those hats instead of us, especially the Von Dutch one, because hiring and training can take forever. Well, I'm proud to say that we are hiring right now at T-Boy, and this is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Because sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed are 95 % more likely to report a hire than non-sponsored jobs. So besties spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes, less stress, less time, more results.

4:24When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of the show will get a$75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com slash podcast. So just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. That's Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed-sponsored jobs. So yet he's Jack's instituted a new business model for his Airbnb hosting. And Jack, what is it? Here it is. Host equals guest.

4:58Yes. I funnel all my revenue from being a host on Airbnb into one bank account and use that same bank account to book travel for myself. Basically, it's Jack's host guest bank account for when he hosts and when he's a guest somewhere else. When I lived in the city neck, every time my apartment was available on Airbnb, it would get booked like that. I mean, think about how often are you away from home? You got the bridesmaid, you got the shower, you got the bachelorette, you got the wedding. That's three weekends away just for one wedding right there. Plus, you got to visit your mother. Naturally, well, that's a lot of potential hosting that you could be doing on Airbnb.

5:31Let someone else stay at your place while you're away. Take that host money and spend it when you're a guest somewhere else. Have a business model like me. If you want to travel more, hosting more is a great way to make it happen financially. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. For our first story, J.P. Morgan just formed a council of retired athletes to recruit young athletes to get to the bank. It's profits disguised as philanthropy because you don't acquire customers, you tempt them. Oh, college athletics. What do we say, Jack? Basically pro athletics these days, right?

6:07The freshman on Kentucky has a brand deal with KFC. Not too shabby, which means thousands of 18 to 22 year olds are already coming into some money early on and they don't know what to do with it other than spend it on the Sig Sig app party. Which leads to the news. J.P. Morgan wants a piece of that collegiate NIL money, so they just hired a bunch of superstar athletes to what we're calling Team Jamie. Team Jamie, America's biggest bank, introduced the Athlete Council yesterday. Dwayne Wade, Tom Brady, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, and a couple other retired all-star studs, the only ones missing were the Toon Stars from Looney Tunes.

6:41Here's what the Athlete Council is going to do. They're going to meet with a bunch of J.P. Morgan executives to help the bank craft services especially tailored to athletes. You know, I said Looney Tunes. I meant Space Jam. Sorry about that, Jackson. From college athletes to pro athletes to their retirement. Honestly, the only thing missing from the press release was Jamie Dimon wearing shoulder pads under a Xenia suit. Now, J.P. Morgan is framing this as something noble. They're trying to save athletes from going broke. But J.P. Morgan also hopes that the athletes get rich and that rich people notice the athletes getting rich.

7:11More on that in the takeaway. But Yetis, sports in America is the biggest rags to riches industry there is. Absolutely, Jack. A 22-year-old can get crazy rich, crazy quick, going from like poverty to pro big money, money, money. Okay, but what Jack and I find fascinating is that America's sports are also a rags to riches back to rags industry, and the data is compelling. Get this, one out of six pro athletes in America end up declaring bankruptcy within 12 years of their retirement. And why is that, Jack? They all point to the same thing. 65 % of athletes in surveys say that they never had a financial education in school.

7:47So they get all this money and they don't know what to do with it. Yeah, Mike Tyson made 400 million bucks, yet he still went bankrupt and not because he ate someone's ear. So JP Morgan is launching an athlete center of excellence and hiring a bunch of ex-athletes to staff it. This is going to be the only bank going to campuses, scouting events, combines offering up free financial education after someone does the 40-yard dash. Plus, they're going to have a dedicated educational content section of their website with a checklist the athlete should look at before they sign any NIL deal. So let's say, I don't know, you're a D1 lacrosse face-off guy, Jack.

8:18What kind of thing are you going to see these days if you go online? Okay, the checklist. I just, I scanned the QR code and opened up the checklist. It includes, you should probably think about opening up five different types of financial accounts, all of which J.P. Morgan offers. Yeah, because you also happen to be considering a Taco Bell deal at this time. And the checklist finishes with a proposal that you chat with a J.P. Morgan financial advisor. Because you're going to need a Sapphire card for that Notre Dame meal plan. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at J.P. Morgan? The customer lifetime value of a pro athlete, it is Hall of Fame worthy.

8:55All right, Yetis, you got to think about the numbers here for a sec, because J.P. Morgan spent a whole bunch of money getting these athletes to agree to that huge press release with a bunch of stars. Tom Brady's agent doesn't let Tom Brady do anything for free. Tom Brady charges Mother Earth money for him to breathe. But we simulated the returns on one successful athletic wealth management client for J.P. Morgan. It's bigger than you'd expect. You're going to give this a standing ovation. What do we got on the whiteboard, Jack? A solid NFL starter might earn$50 million over the course of their career.

9:24And if J.P. Morgan wealth management manages just half of that wealth, Nick? We're talking 1 % fee on 25 mil. That's 250 ,000 bucks a year. And if that wealth grows in the stock market, JPMorgan remains the wealth manager for a few decades, JPM could make$5 to$10 million in fees on that one pro athlete alone. Now that's big, but here's what's even bigger that no one's thinking about. The halo effect. Totally. Because you now associate JPMorgan as the bank of face-off guy. Yeah, one big reason why Goldman hired Justin Tuck of the New York Giants and Morgan Stanley hired Wayne Krebet of the New York Jets isn't just because they're smart dudes.

10:04Why is it, Jack? It's to leverage their stardom to help close deals. Yeah, these guys attract fans. Who would rather give money to Goldman, you know, if your favorite football player also happens to work there? Or also happens to have a bank account there. So besties, JP Morgan isn't really just marketing to athletes here. They're also marketing to the fans, too. And if this works, the returns will be Hall of Fame worthy. For our second story, the Nasdaq's newest stock is called Swarmer, a drone brand up 1 ,100 % in two days since its IPO. Because Swarmer is the sole bachelor on an island of hungry bachelorettes.

10:44That's right. We connect the drones with reality TV and we'll get there in a moment. But in the meantime, Yetis, people like to say that a viral stock is going to the moon. Well, this one is going to Mars. Because an IPO happened this week from the company Swarmer. They priced their stock at$5 per share, but it closed day one at$31 per share. Impressive. It closed day two at$55 per share. Sit down, stand up, and buzz again. What's going on, Jack? It's up over 1 ,100 % in two days. It's on pace for the best rookie year for a stock since Ichiro. Wow. Good baseball knowledge there, Nick. I do what I can.

11:23I do what I can. No, we've covered hundreds of IPOs on this podcast. Maybe thousands. But Swarmer's IPO is the most unusual one for several different reasons. That's right. We jumped to T-Boy style to the IPO paperwork. And notice they mentioned the word Ukraine 52 times. Because the company is only 33 months old. That's it. It was founded for the war in Ukraine. Yeah. And interestingly, Ukraine is their one and only proof of concept for the business. The website's testimonial is from Ukraine's Minister of Defense because they use their software. You know, Anthropic has reservations about fully autonomous drones used in warfare.

11:57Well, Swarmer, they don't. Swarmer says that one pilot can control dozens or hundreds of drones to attack the enemy using their drone software. They swarm sounds brutal. Well, their chairman happens to be the founder of Blackwater, the for-profit private military force you may remember from the Iraq War. And his software will help the military swarm the enemy with an overwhelming force of drones that cannot be shot down. Now, Swarmer mentions they're an Austin-based company, but we should point out 44 of their 49 full-time employees are fighting the war right now over in Kiev for independent Ukraine.

12:31Yeah, Swarmer's helping the good guys, and I really hope it stays that way. But Jack, let's sprinkle on a little bit more context here, if you please. In recent years, we've seen wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, and more. There's a huge market for military drones that has emerged. We've covered tank stocks, fighter jet stocks. The military industry is having its best year since Alexander the Great invaded Egypt. But the price that this stock is trading at is absolutely insane. I mean, the math ain't math, and the numbers are like noodling us here. What are we seeing, man? Swarmer claims that they have$30 million of revenue in the pipeline, but their actual sales were just$300 ,000 last year.

13:09Okay, Swarmer's profit, negative$5 million. How is that possible exactly, Jack? That means that they spent$16 last year for each$1 they made of sales. And yet, this company, based on its$55 stock price, is now worth$700 million. That's a big difference. Nick, this podcast makes more revenue than Swarmer does. Yeah. But this podcast is worth$700 million. Yet, besties, this company, it is so unprofitable that they are required by law to say this in the IPO paperwork, also something you don't usually see. They're required to say that they might go bankrupt before the year ends. And this is what we find fascinating.

13:46Despite all of that, none of it is stopping retail investors from pouring moolah into Swarmer's drone stock. So Jack, what's the takeaway for this curious case of a 1 ,000 % up stock known as Swarmer? If you're the lone bachelor, you're the most popular guy in town. Oh, we told you we'd bring it back, Yetis. You see, there are very few stock market opportunities to invest in drone companies. Very few. China's DJI owns 70 % of the world's drone market, but DJI is blacklisted in the U.S. And the big military defense companies, yeah, they make drones, but drones are just a tiny part of their business.

14:22Only Swarmer and a couple other small companies have publicly traded stocks focused 100 % on drones. So here's what happened. Once Swarmer IPO'd this week, the stock market group chats and the subreddits blew up in interest. And it appears Swarmer rushed to IPO, based on their financials, to tap into the huge retail investor demand for drone stocks. Basically, Swarmer's valuation is less about the business. It's more about the limited number of drone stocks on the market. But when drone competition eventually arrives on the stock market, there's a good chance Swarmer's stock falls. Because, besties, the bachelor looks less hot once the other bachelors arrive on the island.

15:00Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

15:29checking account, brokerage account, even our mortgages, live balances updated in real time. I'm still paying down my mortgage and Monarch gives me the visibility and tools to do it. You can use it too. Create savings buckets and financial goals in Monarch. Set yourself up for financial success this year. Are you familiar with the Sankey diagram? I had no idea what it was, yeah. Well, once you see it, you can't unsee it. It's brilliant. And Monarch visually shows you what you're spending. And we did not make up that term. Your investment portfolio, Monarch compares it to the S &P 500 for you. Set yourself up for financial success in 2026 with Monarch, the all-in-one tool that makes proactive money management simple all year long.

16:04Use code TBOY at Monarch.com for half off your first year. That's 50 % off your first year at Monarch.com with code TBOY. NetSuite by Oracle. Yetis, on our show, you know, we love to sprinkle on some context. Because news doesn't mean anything if you don't have a sense of history, the competitive situation, et cetera. Yada, yada, yada. Well, it's the same with AI. If your AI tool doesn't know anything about your biz, then it's not going to be the best one yet. That's why we're pumped to promote NetSuite by Oracle. It's helping over 43 ,000 businesses figure out how AI can work for them. NetSuite is actually the number one cloud ERP connected to your entire enterprise.

16:37It has your data on financials, HR, inventory, commerce, and CRM. To be honest, it's probably going to have to sprinkle on context about your business to you. It's that intelligent. That connected data is what makes your AI smarter. So it doesn't just guess, it knows. This isn't another bolted on tool. It's AI built into the system that runs your business. So whether your company earns millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you stay ahead. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, get your free business guide, Demystifying AI, at netsuite.com slash tboy. The guide is free to use at netsuite.com slash tboy.

17:09netsuite.com slash tboy. For our third and final story, it's Banksy. The mysterious street artist has been unmasked. We now know Banksy's real name. So let's reflect on Banksy's quarter billion dollar business. But besties, let's start by sprinkling on some context. The inventor of the Bitcoin. The two Daft Punk helmeted DJ dudes. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, all the men. All secret identities. And so was Banksy. Yes, the world's most famous anonymous artist. Banksy once posed as a street vendor in Central Park selling$60 scribbles. True story. that were actually worth$6 million now. Banksy walks into a city without warning and graffitis a random brick on a wall at night, and then that wall is worth a million bucks the next day.

18:01Banksy once gave Sotheby's, the fanciest art auction house of all, a painting of a girl with a red balloon to sell for$25 million. But he'd built a shredding machine into the frame of that painting, so after the auction closed and they sold it, the painting self-destructed. He shredded the$25 million artwork he sold. I don't think he got paid for it, right? We're not making this up. Everything we just said is true. Who builds a shredding machine into a frame? Banksy does. But breaking news yet is Reuters claims they have proof of Banksy's true identity. And his real name? Spoiler, not Banksy. According to Reuters, Banksy was arrested while spray painting public assets in New York City in the year 2000.

18:45And Reuters got a copy of his signature on that court paper. And Jack, what exactly does it say where he signed? Robin Gunningham, a British man now in his 50s. That's right, Banksy. He's really Robin Gunningham. Or actually, he was only temporarily Robin Gunningham. Yeah, he changed his name to the most common British name there is, David Jones, to help protect his identity. So that's why what was most fascinating to Jack and I is the business of Banksy. Because Banksy has sold$250 million worth of art while remaining anonymous. And here was the secret to those sales. Despite his anonymity, Banksy operated a legitimate business, as he called it, the Pest Control Office LLC.

19:26Well, during the pandemic, Pest Control Office LLC made bank. Americans were splurging on stocks, bored apes, and any kind of art. So Banksy sold 171 million bucks in one single year. His company has sold 9 ,000 pieces altogether, which includes prints. And the company's job is to verify that it was Banksy who made this art, but do so without revealing Banksy's true identity. Exactly. The LLC keeps Banksy arm's length from the gallery system to maintain his secrecy. So pest control office LLC is basically a private market regulator. That's right. Their value is in controlling the quantity and the veracity of Banksy's art, basically like the SEC of Banksy.

20:06But here's the wild plot twist. According to the Wall Street Journal, his real identity being revealed will not hurt the value of his art. In fact, it will help the value of his art. Yes, we know we told you that where there's mystery, there's margin. And secrecy is what made Banksy go viral in the first place for over a decade. But if you're going to spend$25 million on a Banksy piece of graffiti, you want confidence to know he's a real person. Yeah, you want 100 % confidence knowing it's one person, that he's still alive and that he's actually doing this. And that he's not like an awful person who's been canceled for some horrible thing he did.

20:41And soon someone will have the chance to buy the first Banksy post-unmasking, which we bet will sell at a record price. There's a whole new collection of scarcity you can sell now that he's post-unmasking. You think he's going to get a Twitter account? I mean, Robin Gungingham is definitely available, Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Banksy? At work, you can build your own mythology too. Yeah, that's right. Jack and I see a career angle here because there's a range of practical career advice from this maverick mystery artist who was unknown for so long. Lesson number one, it wasn't his skill.

21:14It was all about the surprise location that his art was revealed in. Lesson number two, it wasn't what he drew, but it's the conversations that what he drew started, like that painting that self-destructed live at the fancy auction. And number three is that not saying anything can be louder than any words you could say. Besties, those counterintuitive moves built Banksy's personal brand beyond any other modern artist. So think about where your work is going to appear and what conversation it could start. And how sometimes saying less lets others talk about you more. It's not just mystery, it's mythology.

21:45And Banksy built a quarter billion dollar business on it. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? JPMorgan Chase hired a council of athletes to spearhead their effort to get varsity clients. Because the ROI of having a pro athlete as a client also includes the fans. For our second story, Swarmer had the best two-day IPO pop we've ever seen. And we think it's because they're the only drone stock on the market. See, when other bachelors arrive on shore, this bachelor is going to look a lot less hot. And our third and final story is Banksy. His identity has been revealed. He's David Jones, born Robin Gunningham.

22:21And his$250 million art business holds lessons on how to build mythology, even at work. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, one of the most downloaded apps in America right now is a TSA app. That's right, the TSA app for airports. Oh, and the app, it's not fully working. For 32 days, there's been a partial government shutdown focused on the Department of Homeland Security. TSA workers are unfortunately the biggest victim of this. Over four weeks, they have been working without pay. Many of them are calling in sick to drive for Uber right now. So if you're at an airport, those guys aren't getting paid.

22:57And the TSA app shows where the longest lines are because lines are really long. But the app doesn't work because of the shutdown. It's a vicious cycle. And second, Amazon's got big delivery news. One hour shipping and no more USPS, man. New York, LA, and San Francisco already had one hour shipping priced at$10 per order for Prime members. But now Des Moines and Nashville and many other smaller cities are getting one hour delivery too. Okay, but the bigger surprise, it's Amazon versus the post office showdown of the century. Amazon is reportedly in heated negotiations with the USPS on how much to pay to get their packages delivered.

23:34And they're planning to reduce their postal service contract by two-thirds by this fall. Newman! And finally, the WNBA signed a collective bargaining agreement last night after a month's negotiations. Huge step for the league. For the first time, WNBA players will get a revenue share, which means upside. Another first, there's going to be the first million dollar WNBA players this season. The average salary will be$600 ,000 with a minimum salary of$300 ,000. Which is five times more than just last year. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yeti Susanna Owen from lovely Asheville, North Carolina.

24:08And get this, Jack. Susanna started listening to us when she was in sixth grade. She's now in college. That is incredible. Thank you, Susanna. Now she's a nutrition major. And she has another fun fact, a follow-up from our David Barr story. Yeah, here it is, Yetis. You see, in addition to the different ways of measuring calories in food, our bodies actually don't extract the exact same amount of energy from what each of us eat. For example, two people could eat the same meal, but differences in digestion, gut bacteria, and food prep mean one person might absorb slightly more calories or less than the other person.

24:39So even though calorie labels look super official and precise, the energy we actually get is more individualized. Yetis, you're looking fantastic for the new Friday. If you haven't yet, tell a buddy, H-Y-H-T-V-O-Y. That's how we grow the show. Have you had the best one yet? And if you'll be in New York on April 8th, snag some tickets to T-Boy Live right now. And hey, Disney, if you don't launch Tomorrow's Demara. Oh, Demara's Amaro. It tastes fantastic. Trust us. They should launch Demara's Amaro tomorrow. It's a drink I want to borrow, Jack. If you got more ideas for Disney's first CEO day, drop them in the comments and Jack and I, we'll see you manana.

25:21And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Zidane Thomas down in Frisco, Texas, also starring as part-time NBA over at SMU. And happy birthday to Gisele Hernandez, turning 26 in Salt Lake City with his serving of some dirty soda. And Allie Harrington, enjoy that birthday down in Smyrma, Georgia. Happy birthday to Caroline Corrado in Houston, Texas. And Lizzie Spence of the Fondue Crew is celebrating a big birthday down in Philadelphia. Happy birthday to Christina Smoloski, who's getting a massage for that birthday over in Denver. And Tessie T., we see your birthday over in New York City. And happy birthday to Debbie Shiodani, a seven-year Yeti, whose belated birthday is happening right now in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

26:01And Millie Driggers from Sparta, Tennessee, had a tonsillectomy. This Yeti is the bravest one yet. Millie, you're on the way to recovery, and you're feeling and looking fantastic. Millie, send us a picture of that big old bowl of ice cream you had. And a shout out to Jen Migliore, who says that Dick's Sporting Goods House of Cleats opened as she was listening to our story about Dick's Sports opening stores. When does that happen? I mean, oh my God. I mean, I know our phones are listening to us, but wow. Yeah, not a conspiracy. And finally, to the Yeti Elbosh on Spotify, who used our plannuary suggestion so happy that it saved you a bunch of money on the vacations this year.

26:37And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate who wins.

26:45This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Disney, and Nick and I both own some Bitcoin. Looking for soccer analysis more knowing than a Carlo Ancelotti eyebrow raise? With the World Cup around the corner join me, Max Rushton and the Guardian's expert soccer journalist on Football Weekly for all the latest soccer action and news throughout the week. We'll cover more ground than Drew Bellingham in a Champions League final with conversations sharper than an Arsenal set piece for fine margins, fun debates and full-blooded tackles. Football Weekly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube.