💏 “Cuffing Szn” — Raya’s dating club. Olive Garden’s petite parm. TikTok FlipFlop. +September Stock Diss.

0:28This is Nick. Drop the hook. But make a note for the three-quarters birthday check. Three stories. What do we got on today's T-Boy? For our first story, the number one dating app rising above the rest right now, it's a secret. It's called Raya. Raya. Raya is the dating app where you just might meet a celebrity, but its wait list is as big as Houston. For our second story, Trump says that China approved his deal to sell TikTok to mostly Trump-allied U.S. investors. But the details are changing by the day. The deal's not actually done, but we got the latest break in details over the weekend. Trump is trying to sell TikTok to the owners of Oracle, Dell, a famous venture capital firm, and now Fox News.

1:12And our third and final story. The Olive Garden is doing more business than ever. You know how? Yeah. By serving smaller portions of pasta. I thought you said the breadsticks were never ending. Because America has actually shifted from supersize me to downsize me. One more order of petite Parmesan, please. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, love the mix today, Jack. Best mix we could ever do. All three major stock market indices hit all-time highs on Friday. A-T-H. And right now, we're in the highest point in Wall Street history. But there is one warning that we have to give you about the month of September.

1:52Yeah, Yetis. Investors historically hate September. Now, before we go on, we should clarify, we love September. Oh, Jack and I, huge September fans. I mean, the weather is perfect right now. Crisp, right? I'm wearing a short sleeve t-shirt. Football and hockey both started in September. That's great. And it is socially acceptable in September to not have a Halloween costume quite yet. Now I'm anxious about my lack of Halloween. Well, now I'm thinking about it. You're right. But yet he's for stocks. September is the worst performing month of the year by far. Get this. Stocks have fallen four out of the last five Septembers over here.

2:25We had to fact check this one. September is the only month in the calendar when stocks go down on average. We jumped in T-boy style, Jack. A few reasons for this. What are they for the Yetis? Maybe it's the post-Labor Day blues. Yeah, vacay is over. Maybe it's tax loss harvesting. Whatever that means, ask your accountant, besties. Maybe traders are distracted by the scent of pumpkin spice wafting onto the Wall Street from the nearest Starbucks. I mean, there's pumpkin spice toilet paper now. That's got to distract you, Jack. But this year, so far, stocks are up 3.4 % this month. In fact, Yetis, this is the best September that we could find on record right now.

3:02So, can stocks defy the historical odds and finish up? Or will we suffer another usual September slump? Jack and I got a poll going right now on Spotify. We want to get your thoughts. And if you're a Virgo, your vote counts twice. Virgos, if you know, you know. You have super shares. Jack, let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50 % that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.

3:41We can't wait no more, so just start the show.

3:46Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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5:47Who's Henry? Besties, use code TBOI at monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Corps half off at just 50 bucks. Nick, did you see Liquid IV teamed up with Ring Pop? I did, Jack. And honestly, it's one of those collabs where you immediately think, how has nobody done this before? I mean, Ring Pop Cherry is already iconic. My sons love Ring Pops, by the way. I give it to them at the beach. it occupies them for about an hour, but now it's a sugar-free liquid IV flavor too. Ah, it's not just a fun flavor. It's still the same liquid IV hydration formula that hydrates faster than water alone, has three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients.

6:25I've been throwing one of these in my water before the gym and before bed pretty much every night if I sweated that day. Way more fun than drinking plain water. Probably for workouts, travel days, hot days. Honestly, anytime you know, you're probably just not drinking enough water. So if you're looking for an excuse to actually stay hydrated, this is a pretty good one. Check out the new Liquid IV sugar-free ring pop cherry at liquidivy.com. For our first story, there is one dating app rising above all the rest right now, but here's the deal. No one can get on it. That app is Raya. Raya has a wait list that is bigger in size than the city of Philadelphia.

7:04Oh my God. Because curation is queen. Yetis, check in the calendars here And while today is my three-quarter birthday, yesterday - You don't even know. It's your two-thirds birthday. I was fact-checking you on that one, Jack. Yesterday was the first day of fall. Jack, that means it is officially cuffing season out there. What are your autumnal goals? To find a BF or GF to nest with all fall. And that cashmere cardigan. Yetis, you want to have somebody cuffed by Thanksgiving? That's the goal. Nick and I are married, but that's the fall playbook, pretty much. Now, Yetis, for a couple of years now, we've been telling you about it.

7:38Bumble, Hinge, Tinder, they've all been struggling. It's the Tinder fatigue, the swipe slowdown. But the dating app Raya is living its best life. Raya's revenues are up 50 % each of the last five years, according to the Wall Street Journal. So Jack and I got curious about the Raya business and we jumped in T-boy style. But what did we discover when we knocked on the door, Jack? Like Fight Club, nobody in Raya talks about Raya. We don't know the size, who the investors are. The website simply has an apply button. That's it. Get this, according to the WSJ, Even the investors in Raya don't know how many users the dating app has.

8:12But we do know that this is like a secret society of swiping. Because if you get accepted, you could be interacting with celebrities. Olivia Rodrigo has gone on a date because of Raya. Drew Barrymore has done at least a couple dates now on Raya. Simone Biles, the gold medal winner, she met her NFL playing husband on Raya. But you're not allowed to talk about Raya. It's like the Illuminati Tinder. But get this, Yetis. If you want to join Raya, be careful. It's got a wait list of two and a half million people. Jack, could you sprinkle on some numerical context for us over there? That's bigger than the population of Philadelphia.

8:46Because Yetis, the real secret to Raya's success is that no one can actually get on Raya. Which makes everyone want to be on Raya. Yetis, most dating apps run on the premise of network effects. Network effects like more users mean more options for matching, which means more value to the company and the user. Tinder allows anyone with a pulse to join Tinder. Raya is doing the opposite. Essentially, Raya has a bouncer who judges applicants purely on hotness, social status, and basically whether you are a catch or not. Raya employs a team of 15 human judges, and they are so judgmental. It's their job to be.

9:24Basically, they're somewhere between a Harvard admissions committee and the Soho House Club membership board. Like both Harvard and the Soho House, it's expensive. If you're accepted, this app costs$25 a month. There's no premium option. That's the price. Pro tip here, Yetis. Don't ask customer service what the price is because then your application will be automatically denied. Among the Raya community, asking about price, that's a red flag. But this is the differentiator. Raya is operating more like a club than the app, which leads to this wild quote from the founder and CEO. Raya refuses to scale.

10:00Again, he refuses to scale the app. Again, it's hard to get into, and that's why everyone wants to get into it. So add it all up, and Raya is way smaller than Tinder's 50 million users, but Raya is also the only dating app we're seeing that's actually growing right now. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Raya? We are entering the Brita filter economy. Everything needs a filter. Now, Yetis, one of our favorite takeaways we've ever done is when we've told you that content is king, but curation is queen. The internet has enabled endless options of pretty much everything. So there's increasing value if someone will limit the options to just the best ones for you.

10:38The way we see it from shopping to news to TV shows, value is shifting to curators, critics, and tastemakers. And as AI creates more content and more products, there will be even more value in curation. And so we will see more demand for products, places, and services like Raya. Businesses that use human curators to control for quality so that you don't waste time. Besties, we are flooded with options these days. We need a filter for them. It's the Brita Filter business model, and Raya is winning with it. for our second story it's the latest breaking news on who's gonna buy tiktok oracle fox news dell and a few venture capital firms are probably gonna be tiktok's new owners trump says the deal to sell tiktok is approved but the details are changing every day so nick and i have the perfect analogy for the u.s tiktok and china yetis it all starts one week ago when President Trump posted that he had reached a deal for China to sell TikTok to American investors.

11:44Now, we have heard that kind of thing again and again and again and again in the president's second term. Okay, but this one felt different. We were optimistic about this Friday's deadline. It felt different because he and his treasury secretary said that more details would come Friday when Donald Trump speaks to President Xi. Well, last Friday, President Trump spoke to President Xi of China on the phone and Jack, the result? We got no new information. Yes, after the call, President Trump said the deal is approved, but China has not confirmed the deal and no details were shared and China still owns and controls TikTok.

12:22So it feels to me like there's no deal. Now, in President Trump's Friday post, he also mentioned four more planned meetings with President Xi that are coming up in the future, probably to discuss this and other negotiations. But it seems like the delay is that President Xi of China is using TikTok as leverage in his trade war with Trump. Because what she wants, she tends to get. But in the meantime, we've pretty much got nine months of the same thing. TikTok's been banned, but the ban has not been enforced. That awkward situationship continues on in America. And Jack and I continue to post TikTok videos of this podcast because why the heck not, Jack?

12:59Let's grow our followers even though they could all go away. Now, besties, over the weekend, Jack and I were prepping today's pod, and we decided to make an editorial call. Do we have enough of an update to do a story on TikTok? Well, clearly we thought we did. Yeah, we think yes, because while the deal isn't signed, the key players appear to be set. Because based on lots of leaks and reporting, we know who is going to buy TikTok if the deal goes through. Here are the details we expect. TikTok's U.S. operations would shift to a newly formed company, 80 % owned by the United States, 20 % owned by China.

13:30The American owners would be Larry Ellison's Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm, and Silver Lake, a private equity firm. Now, those three investors are who the administration has been saying all week are going to buy TikTok. But then on Sunday, I was enjoying some nice brunch, and I got a text from Jack that President Trump had just mentioned three additional future buyers of TikTok. Jack, what do we get? Trump said Sunday that Michael Dell of Dell Computers, Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox News owner News Corp, and probably Rupert Murdoch will all be in the investor group of TikTok as well.

14:05But besties, here's the key. The big question left is the most fundamental to why TikTok was being sold in the very first place. Does this new arrangement solve the national security concerns that caused us to want to ban TikTok in the first place? All right, so Jack, let's break it down. Does it solve that big question? In this new deal, TikTok's data would be stored on Oracle servers in the United States. Okay, and if that data's on Oracle servers, it'd be unlikely China could spy on us American users. But the algorithm would remain in China. And the algorithm is the most valuable asset in the deal.

14:41However, it doesn't appear to be part of the deal. No. With this deal, the United States TikTok would license the algorithm from China. So it is still unclear if China could tweak the algorithm to influence U.S. swipers propaganda style. We'd know more if we had details, but this deal is detail-less. We would post this video on TikTok, but we don't want to be shadow banned. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies curious about TikTok? What's the situation ship between the US and China? We're a broken up couple, but we're being civil with each other because we still live in the same apartment.

15:16Yetis, we just finished a straightforward telling of the news of last week, but now time for the relationship analogy. Here it is. The United States and China are broken up, but they're being civil because they still live in the same apartment. And it's a great apartment. You know, why is that the analogy? Well, because Trump and Xi are clearly broken up. I mean, President Xi was just attending a military parade holding hands with Putin and Kim Jong-un. But the most punitive tariffs between the U.S. and China are on pause. So we're still trading with each other. And like a broken up couple still living in the same apartment, our finances are still intertwined.

15:50Plus, we have planned calls and meetings with China, which is a very broken up couple thing to have. So what's the status quo situation ship with the U.S. and China? Well, it's a very awkward, broken up couple that's still civil with each other because they still live in the same apartment. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. NetSuite. Yeah, it is. NetSuite is the corporate control panel for business. Has been since 1998. They probably use this on Star Wars. This pre.com software suite, though, it remains the market leader. But Nick, what is next? I got no idea, Jack. You tell me what's next. Well, they say every day your business is late for AI, you fall two days behind.

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17:51For our third and final story, why is the Olive Garden dominating the restaurant industry right now? It's petite portions of pasta for petite prices. But it's not shrinkflation. It's the opposite. And we think it's the next big trend in American commerce. Now, Jack, I'm not going to put you on the spot and ask you what to pair with a nice bottle of Montepulciano. But full disclosure, since we are talking about your alma mater here, I feel like you should take the lead. Well, Nick, you've traveled to Italy a bunch of times. You went for your honeymoon. You went a couple years ago in the summer.

18:25You've done pretty much the full tour of Italy, right? Yeah, I would like to say literally. But have you done the tour of Italy, the signature menu item at the Olive Garden? Jack, there was a hole in my heart, and I think it's the Olive Garden tour of Italy. Lasagna, chicken parm, and fettuccine alfredo on one plate for one low price of$23.99. Yeah, let me just make a note to run a marathon after that. Yeti's the Olive Garden, it was actually created by General Mills. True story. In the 1980s, when they launched the Olive Garden, most of America did not have an Italian restaurant nearby. And Jack, could you share with the Yeti's that cool economic fact we just love about the Olive Garden?

19:02The OG is one of the great socioeconomic integrating forces in America, according to The Economist. It's a true story. The Olive Garden is where rich and poor are most likely to interact with each other as customers. Jack, guess who celebrated her 31st birthday at the Olive Garden? Who? According to TMZ, Katy Perry did, and she paid for everyone's tab at the table. I went into my local Olive Garden the other day because Alex needed takeout and it was the only place open. I kind of like strolled in there thinking people would recognize me from 15 years ago when I was a waiter. Nobody recognized me.

19:35That's a sad story, Jack. But Jack and I jumped into the earnings from Olive Garden, and we can confirm this economic truth is still the case today. According to the CEO, last quarter, they had an increase in visits from guests across all income levels. Apparently, Jamie Dimon had the Olive Garden cater the JP Morgan holiday party. But Nick, a big reason that mid and lower income Americans are flocking to the Olive Garden right now is not the never-ending pasta pass. It's the petite Parmesan. But to sprinkle on some context yet is here's the hero stat critical to understanding the Olive Garden right now.

20:0644 % of American adults admit to ordering off the kids menu at least sometimes, according to a recent survey from Lightspeed Commerce. Now, one reason is for the chicken nuggies, but the other two reasons are that Americans simply want smaller portions and smaller prices these days. Now, there's a special place in hell for shrinkflation. Yes. When companies shrink the product but keep this price the same. Shrinkflation, it is sneaky and dishonest, trying to sneak a price increase on us without us noticing the size. But the Olive Garden is doing something different. They're offering seven dishes on their menu with a lighter portion option and charging a lower price for that smaller portion.

20:44And now, Jack, in your two years as an Olive Garden waiter, can you, is that even an option? This was never an option, but I can confirm that tons of food was left on the plates by people. So instead of more meatballs than you can eat, the Olive Garden is offering smaller options, basically an adult kids' meal. An adult kids' meal. And by the way, it still comes with unlimited breadsticks and salads, so eat your heart out. You're going to be good. Okay, but here's the financial key. This adult kids' menu, it's basically boosted Olive Garden's affordability by 15 % according to customer service.

21:15Prices in this economy are still high, and the jobs outlook uncertain. People like lower-priced options. In this economy, yeah. So with no signs of inflation trends reversing, we actually think this adult kids' meal concept is going to become a trend. Prepare for the petite Big Mac, but not just in food. This could be a trend across all industries. Which leads to our takeaways. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the Olive Garden? From supersize me to right-size me, America has an appetite for downsizing. Yetis, remember the 2004 documentary supersize me? It captured American excess.

21:502004, it was the time of McMansions, gas guzzling SUVs, and never-ending pasta ball passes. But today we're seeing three forces reversing that trend completely. Inflation, wellness, and Ozempic. What we're seeing is people saying, don't supersize me. Shrink and size me instead. It's the entire snackification of our entire culture. People want tinier stuff, not like American excess that you think of. There's a tiny homes trend. Tiny cars are making a comeback. And now, tiny portions of pasta over at the Olive Garden. We think this is a serious trend with lasting power. The Olive Garden won't be the last who offers smaller versions for smaller prices.

22:29From super-size me to right-size me, America is downsizing. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Raya has an enormous wait list because the app refuses to scale. It's like Harvard University. In an economy with unlimited options, the Brita Filter business model has huge value. For our second story, Trump says that China approved his deal to sell TikTok to mostly Trump-allied U.S. investors, but the details are changing by the day. So what's the situation ship between the U.S. and China? We're broken up, but we're civil because we still share a really nice apartment.

23:07And our third and final story, the Olive Garden has a new menu of seven items that are just other items, but smaller portions. It's like an adult's kid's meal. From super-size me to right-size me, America has an appetite for downsizing. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Ticketmaster has another federal lawsuit on its hands trying to triple dip customers on fees. According to an FTC complaint, Ticketmaster is turning a blind eye on scalpers. Hear the numbers. Five brokers owned 6 ,345 Ticketmaster accounts that held 246 ,407 tickets. They're probably scalpers, but Ticketmaster doesn't crack down on them because fees.

23:55It's a feeocracy. And second, remember the Jurassic Park startup we did a story on? Colossal, they're bringing back those extinct animals, Jack. They just made two huge announcements. First, they raised$125 million of capital at a$10 billion valuation. And second, they made a pivotal step in bringing back the Dodo, the most famous celebrity extinct the animal out there. I think the T-Rex is more famous, but... Still, the dodo's years away, but they've successfully made progress culturing its cells. And finally, Hermes emerged victorious in the most dramatic lawsuit in fashion history, the Birkenbag waitlist lawsuit.

24:34The allegation, Hermes makes you buy products to move up the waitlist to buy one of their handbags. Basically, getting a Birkenbag is conditional on you buying a whole bunch of expensive scarves, socks and hats first. But the judge dismissed the class action lawsuit, the Birkin, you are now free to go. Now time for the best fact yet, which because it's Monday means T-boy trivia. Jack, what is the trivia question today? What legendary TV show has a style that is inspired by a Snickers bar? Here's what we mean why it's like a Snickers bar. It has a consistent format and you know what to expect every episode.

25:10But it's also varied. Like it's got a nougat, caramel, peanuts, and chocolate. And here's a hint. This TV show has won more Emmys than any other show in TV history, 113 of them. Drop your answer in the comments and Jack and I will reveal it in tomorrow's pod. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. And since it is officially autumn, I guess, Jack, we should share our autumnal goals, which is a great word to say. You share yours first. Okay. My autumnal goal is to use cardamom, the spice, in more things. My autumnal goal is to not drink a pumpkin-flavored beer. Always regret it. Pumpkin and beer shouldn't be in the same glass.

25:46Shouldn't even be in the same podcast. Yetis, you do look fantastic. If you haven't yet, tell a buddy H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. That's how we grow the show. Have you had the best one yet? Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. If you know, you know.

26:03And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti Emily Consino, who is drinking coffee right now while turning 30 as the queen of Houston. Happy birthday to Jocelyn File, who's celebrating on a bike around a lake in Cincinnati. Sounds lovely. And Modi, happy birthday celebrating the big one in lovely Los Angeles. Congratulations to Alejandro Yegerman, who just launched an AI newsletter called Monday Thought. And the OG Pookies, Landon and Liz Glover, are celebrating the best anniversary yet down in Denver. Congratulations to Kyle and Savannah Clark, who just got married at Georgia's Capitol.

26:37And Kyle did not need a sling after that bachelor party incident. And to the Yeti who DM'd us that they heard Ikea reference dink wads on an advertisement. Great to have you as a Yeti, Ikea. Great to have you as a Yeti. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Bumble.

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