🐶 “Cute > Compute” — DoorDash’s delivery bot. Etsy’s ChatGPT website-killer. America’s 15th Shutdown. +Ford Poetry.

0:28This is Nick. Couldn't have said it better, Jack. Three stories for today's T-Boy. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, DoorDash just unveiled their first food delivery robot. It's called Dot, and it reminds us of a puppy. Because this robot proves the most underrated advantage in business. Cuteness. For our second story, as of this recording, the United States was on track for a federal government shutdown starting today. So Jack and I will tell you what to expect using hummus bowls and soybeans. And our third and final story. Why did Etsy's arts and crafts stock jump 16 % on Monday?

1:03Why, Jack? Because of ChatGPT. Chat is officially now a personal shopper. And that could eventually kill the website. But yet is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Oh, what a mix of stories. Love the mix for Ceviche Wednesday, Jack. Happy Q4 to all who celebrate. Thank you, Jack. Today, it's the first day of the final quarter of the year. Congratulations. The next three months of the fiscal year, they're going to be fantastic. Every CEO is popping champagne and celebrating today. You earned it. But as you know, Yetis, we have a T-boy tradition. On the first day of the new quarter, we share some publicly traded poetry.

1:40Some highly profitable poetry, Jack. Now, I'm actually not prepared. You go first. I got two poems for you here, Jack. One of them is a limerick about the Spotify CEO. Okay. The other one I kind of made inspired by you. It's about one of the stocks that you own. All right. Just kick it off. Here we go. Our heart revs for you at every turn. Engines of history, oh, do we yearn. From Model T to Mustang's roar, you built our country's factory floor. But Ford, oh, Ford, we speak to thee. Your stocks still trade so stubbornly. I know because Jack still owns your shares and he's the one who really cares.

2:19Yes. You promise EVs in every fleet, but the margins sputter on the street. Detroit's proud son, blue oval strong, we've held your ticker all along. Yes, a lot of debt may stall your pace while Tesla speeds up the EV race, but we still cheer for Bronco's might and the F-150's sales each and every night. Is it too much to ask for a smoother ride? A Wall Street rally, Ford Worldwide. Wow. Not only was Ford the first stock I ever bought, I went to the Ford School of Public Policy. Different Ford. That was Gerald Ford. And I got a Ford scholarship while I was there from the Ford Motor Company. And you know what, Jack?

3:00I was channeling that Ford love in this poem as it got crafted. That was incredible. Is this an investment endorsement to buy the stock? Yeah, that wasn't financial advice, but it was poetic advice. Jack, what do you say we hit our three stories? Let's do it, man. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a 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. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.

3:40Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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6:53Code tboy at im8health.com slash tboy. Disclaimer, these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For our first story, DoorDash just launched their first self-driving food delivery robot with one key detail. It's adorable. If you want to know who will win the robot wars, look at who's cutest. We're not kidding. Oh, Yetis, it's the fall. Leaves are a-changing, apples are a-picking, pumpkins are a-carving. And tech companies are launching products. Yes, they are. But, Besties, it's not just Apple and Amazon and Meta who are launching big things right now.

7:35Jack and I noticed DoorDash just launched their first ever hardware yesterday. DoorDash, we're talking about the PurePlay food delivery stock. It's been feasting on Wall Street lately. DoorDash stock is up 104 % so far year to date. It's a$115 billion company that's more valuable than Nike or Nintendo. Besties DoorDash now does two out of three food deliveries in America. They're eating so much market share that the CEO needs a moist towel at. Hold the napkin, but until today, DoorDash was simply a software middleman, right? Like just an app that takes a cut with a fee. But not anymore. DoorDash yesterday unveiled DOT, their first autonomous delivery robot.

8:16DOT, a delivery robot, actually shockingly developed in-house by DoorDash. DOT is kind of like a, how would you put it, Jack? It's like R2-D2, but instead of a Jedi as its master, it's got a pad thai as its master. Well put, Jack. Well, why don't we sprinkle on some more context here, Jack? It's 2025. We already have self-driving taxis. You got Waymo, you got Tesla. Even Zooks just launched in Las Vegas. In some parts of the country, we also already have self-driving food delivery bots. Jack and I have seen them in California. The Postmates bot named Serve, it's been roaming the streets of Santa Monica for like three years now.

8:49The besties, here's what we find fascinating. DoorDash's robot has a strategic differentiator. Cuteness. This stroller-sized red bot is designed to look adorable. It's got this cartoonish style that would make Bambi blush. Now, the two big headlights, they look like eyeballs and make it look like a Pixar character. I want to hug it. And the lid that you open up to grab your hot food when it gets delivered, the handle of that lid forms a perfect smile with those eyeballs. The eyes light up with excitement if a child approaches. And it makes puppy-like sounds to let a human know that it's standing right next to you in case you didn't see it.

9:26Now, Basties, we jumped in T-boy style to the launch video, and this robot can dodge soccer balls, yield to pedestrians, and even make small talk on the street. It's testing right now in Arizona. It can hold up to 30 pounds and go 20 miles an hour, which is the speed of like a D3 ex-athlete. Now we know what you're wondering, regulations. Well, this robot is legal on sidewalks and the side of the road and bike paths and can stroll up the path to your front door. And yet he's just like Uber and Lyft. DoorDash's business model becomes way more profitable if they can cut out the human driver. And practically speaking, It's kind of a waste to use a two-ton car just to deliver a couple tacos.

10:01So this thing's good for the planet, and it's good for profits. Although one problem here, Jack, is, you know, the last 10 feet. They're going to lose out on some customers who want it to their door. It gets pretty close, man. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies with the food delivery robot over at DoorDash? Cuteness is a competitive advantage because robotics is an emotional industry. Yeah, it is. Elon's Tesla humanoid robots, they're a little bit dystopian. Elon actually calls them his Legion, which is pretty intense. Amazon's robots, they have screens instead of a face, which is just like the Demogorgon in Stranger Things.

10:36Way more robotaxis feel soulless, and Boston Robotics' robot kind of looks like the Terminator. These are the things of nightmares, not the things of dreams. But instead of trying to replicate the human form like Elon, DoorDash's bot focuses on human emotion. You know, they say that Star Wars prepared humankind to embrace technology by making R2D2 and C3PO so trustworthy and lovable. I did not know they said that, Jack, but I'm glad they said that. Well, I'm saying it. So instead of making Dot like a human, DoorDash made Dot inspired like a puppy. In a world where people distrust and fear robotics and AI, cuteness and endearment, that may be the successful strategy.

11:17Besties in the consumer robotics industry, adorableness is a competitive advantage. Cute beats compute. For our second story, today is day one of the federal government shutdown, the 15th shutdown in the last 45 years. We'll provide the historical context, who this is going to hurt, and why this time it's different. Ah, Yeti's American exceptionalism. We're the only country that does government shutdowns, and damn, Jack, we do them well. Unfortunately, that's true. You know, everywhere else in the world, if politicians can't agree on how much to spend, then the existing spending levels just continue indefinitely.

11:59But not here, Jack. Not, not, not, not here. And because our politicians cannot agree, we are getting our 15th federal government shutdown since 1980. How is this going to end? And, well, eventually one party is going to concede based on which party the public is more angry at. We've been through this before. We've been there. But yeah, can we please clarify like what shut down and what's not shut down right now? All right. Mandatory programs like Medicare and food stamps and public safety departments like the TSA, ICE, and the military, they will not shut down. So don't worry, you'll still get that pat down at the airport this afternoon.

12:32And the post office and passport offices, they're going to stay open too because they're mostly funded by fees, not taxes. But bureaucrats, whom Americans don't depend on for their livelihood, they won't get paid and they'll be asked to stay home right now. And this is going to impact the private sector too. Just one small example is Cava. Because Cava normally feeds those federal workers who are now furloughed. Besties, remember, the fast casual Mediterranean restaurant Cava, they're based in DC. They got 21 locations in the Capital District right now. But the Department of Interior isn't stopping by for a lunch meeting, bowl of hummus anytime soon.

13:06No, they are not, Jack. So Kava stock is down. But besties, this shutdown of the government, this time, it's different in a couple very interesting ways. Most importantly, the president dislikes much of the government and wants it to be smaller. Now, Yetis, the background here is that the Democrats, desperate to oppose Trump in their only moment of leverage, have refused to fund the government unless Republicans restore health care funding. Because remember, like a trillion dollars of healthcare funding was cut in President Trump's big, beautiful bill. But in the last few days, Trump has seemed to welcome the shutdown.

13:41You see, for him, it could be a form of Doge 2.0 in a certain way. For the last couple of weeks, he's been threatening that he will use the shutdown to eliminate programs and lay off government workers in departments he doesn't like. Plus, interestingly, the Department of Labor won't announce or publish economic data while the government is shut down. Including the jobs report, which is scheduled for this Friday and tells us the unemployment rate. So add it all up, Estes, and the president thinks that he has unusual leverage in this particular government shutdown against Democrats. But there is one exception, and that exception is working in the fields of Iowa right now.

14:17So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching the shutdown? The Americans most in need of government right now are soybean farmers. Yetis, President Trump has made his most public punches in this trade war against China. It seems like China hasn't really punched back, but it has. Yeah. They've retaliated in a powerful way that you probably haven't noticed. They have boycotted American soybeans, which is a big deal. You see, Yetis, last year, China bought$12.6 billion of soybeans from our American farmers. But yet, how many soybeans has China purchased since May? Zero. out.

14:54They've switched their entire soybean consumption from American soybeans to Argentina. So our president wants to rescue soy farmers right now with a bailout because they are the top trade war victims these days. But it seems he can't help soybean farmers without congressional action and a functioning Department of Agriculture. So yet is this 15th government shutdown. It's different because the president will use it to cut programs that he doesn't like. But he does like farmers who need a functioning government to get rescued from the trade war. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. NetSuite. Yeah, this NetSuite is the corporate control panel for business.

15:32Has 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. I didn't know they said that. Now I'm stressed, Jack. That's an incredibly stressful thing. We're all anxiety maxing. So, Bessie, if you're feeling like your business is behind, there is NetSuite Next. NetSuite is a unified suite that brings your financials, inventory, commerce, HR, and CRM into a single source of truth. It's trusted by over 43 ,000 customers.

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16:36Walmart business. Yetis, we cover business trends on our show, and they move faster than you can spell GPU. One minute it's vibe coding, the next it's agentic. Tomorrow it's probably going to be in-person old school again. Yeah, well, while you're managing this to stay ahead, the last thing you need to worry about is supplies for your company. Carol, do we have the cogs needed to meet our Q1 sales commitments? Carol! Outsource that mental load instead to Walmart Business. Walmart Business lets you buy the bulk supplies your business needs. AI tools are there for your digital work. Walmart Business is there for your physical work.

17:07Like restock your office inventory with low prices, reliable shipping, and fulfillment. Walmart Business helps simplify your operations so you can focus on building and selling your product. You see Carol in accounting? She'll be relieved that Walmart Business is all over it. Eligible organizations can take advantage of tax-free shopping, both in-store and online with Walmart Business, saving you more while getting you everything you need. It's Walmart built for your business. Sign up for a free Walmart Business account today at business.walmart.com. For our third and final story, Etsy, the online arts and crafts marketplace, its stock jumped 16 % on Monday after a partnership with ChatGPT.

17:49Because you can now shop directly on Chat, which creates an entirely new business model. We call it B to A. B to A. But yetis, this story really begins last month when we told you about the huge surprise from ChatGPT. What was it, Jack? According to their data, a majority of users are now women. And they got 700 million monthly users right now on ChatGPT. ChatGPT also just launched this week their first marketing campaign. And guess what? It features moms who use Chat as like a household assistant, basically. As mom would. But the newest move by ChatGPT may be their most mom-approved one yet. Because Chat just launched a direct shopping service starting with Etsy.

18:31Etsy. And Jack, why are our buddies at Etsy mom-approved over there? Well, they're the online craft goods marketplace whose sellers are 86 % female. Etsy, the home of that handcrafted mason jar you saw at every wedding rehearsal from 2016 to 2019. If it's macrame, it's Etsy. Yetis, the biggest surprise with ChatGPT jumped up their stock 16 % as OpenAI gave its first e-commerce rose to Etsy. But what is this news, really? Nick and I are seeing that this is an AI shopping agent that will do your online shopping for you. Okay, but Jack, what does this really mean if we now live in a world with AI shopping agents?

19:11It means you might never visit Etsy.com again or eventually any website. This may kill the website. So let's like jump in T-boy style and explain how this would go down, Jack. Like a housewarming party. I went to Lucy and Peter's the other day. They have a new house. I needed to bring a gift. I like to bring cake, but Molly said we needed to bring something permanent. So you asked ChatGPT for a housewarming gift. Here was Chat's response. I found a selection of warm ceramic ideas just for you. So then ChatGPT in the chat will show you a bowl, a dish, hand-thrown vases, Etsy options that are like a crafty concierge.

19:45It knows your style already. And these warm beige bowls are perfect for Peter and Lucy. Okay, but here's the key, Jack. To buy that pottery, you don't leave ChatGPT. Chat has built the pipes to handle the payment and process the transaction. Now here's the business context. Open AI, they're getting in on the action here. They're getting a commission if we purchase that vase from Etsy. Nice new revenue stream to pay for their trillions of dollars of data servers they're building. And the financial processing of my payment, that'll be done by a different company. That's actually handled by Stripe.

20:17Etsy gets a piece of the action too. And the rest of the money goes to the Minnesota mom who loves macrame, but is side hustling in hand-thrown ceramic bowls. But besties, if AI chatbots can find out what you want to buy and sell it to you there in the chat, maybe you stop going to the sites. You'll stop visiting websites. If you need handcrafted stuff in the future, just use chat. Although I know you wanted to say macrame right there, Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Etsy? We have B2B and B2C. Prepare for B2A, business to AI. Yetis, as you learn in business school, there are two main types of business models.

20:56One is B2B and the other is B2C. B2B is business to business. You sell to other companies. B2C is business to consumers. You sell to regular people. But Jack and I think a new form of business model is emerging and we call it B2A, business to artificial intelligence. Because what Etsy is really doing here is selling to AI in order to sell to you. Yeah, Etsy now has an incentive, as Jack just described to market online, not to human shoppers, but to AI shopping agents. And if AI bots control consumer decisions in the future, then AI bots are who you need to market to. That means a whole different business model with a whole different focus.

21:37Not B to B, not B to C, B to A. Business to artificial chatbots. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? day. DoorDash launched Dot, their autonomous delivery robot that looks like a Pixar movie. Because in the consumer robotics industry, cuteness is a competitive advantage. Cute beats compute. For our second story, America's 15th government shutdown since 1980 begins today. Yeah. And willing to lay off workers, Trump has an advantage this time. But the Americans most in need of government right now, it's soybean farmers. And our third and final story, you can buy Etsy products directly on ChatGPT.

22:19There's no reason anymore to visit Etsy.com. And it's a whole new business model. Not B2B and not B2C. We call it B2A. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the stock market, it's at an all-time high. And you know what that means? More private companies want to go public with an IPO. Tap the market while it's hot. Jennifer Garner, the actress, also has a baby food company called Once Upon a Farm that just filed to IPO. Well, front, they're jumping on the fintech boom, and they also just filed to IPO. And Beta Technologies, an electric airplane startup based in Burlington, Vermont, filed to go public too.

23:00Everyone is going to IPO dibs on the ticker symbol T-boy, by the way. And second, President Trump announced a surprise deal with Pfizer to sell drugs to Medicaid at European prices. Wouldn't that be nice? After all, American-developed drugs are priced three times higher in the United States than the same exact drugs are in Europe. Now, the administration is branding the website TrumpRx so that the president gets credit for it. And the pharmaceutical companies will now use this website to sell drugs direct to consumer. Because it's actually the middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry that cause some of the gigantic prices we have to pay.

23:36And finally, a record-scratch moment on Wall Street. Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek just announced he's stepping down out of nowhere. He's leaving the band. After 19 years of leading Spotify out of Sweden, the stock is near an all-time high worth$140 billion. Shares fell 7 % on the surprise news, which is kind of just a compliment to Daniel Ek. Although he's stepping, he's not really stepping down, he's stepping up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because he's now going to be the CEO's boss. He's the chairman of the board. Yeah, he's not the lead singer, but he's managing the band. Now time for the best fact yet This one sent in by Debra from lovely Seattle Yesterday we said Actually Nick said the word clout Like four or five times Which means you know Having power or influence But Debra points out that there is an Arabic word That is similar to clout called wasta It doesn't have a direct translation in English But it basically means a lot of clout Let's use it in sentence Nick How did you get that 7.30 restaurant on Friday night At La Bernadette?

24:35It's impossible Well, Jack, I got the reservation because I got losta. Not pasta. Losta. If you know, now you know. Yetis, you look fantastic for Ceviche Wednesday. And happy Q4 to everyone listening right now, right? No, no, no. Close your books before you buy anything. All right. So Jack's still got to serve up some publicly traded poetry for us. If there is a company that you want to be his muse, please drop it in the comments. Jack will be inspired by it. That's a great idea. I will write a poem based on the most loved comment on Spotify. And it's going to be a great poem. I promise not to use AI.

25:14Jack's going to craft this one from the heart. So leave your comments, Yetis, and we'll see you tomorrow.

25:23And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Oliver Montia, celebrating 10 years in Orlando, Florida, tennis playing while coding. And congratulations to Sam Nangia in Houston, Texas, who just launched Value Genius, a valuation business. And congratulations on the new job to Carol Lukasiewicz-Danzy in Essex, the United Kingdom. Carol from accounting is moving on to financial controller. And congratulations to my buddy Brett Benabettini in Rochester Hills, Michigan, who passed his fourth and final CPA exam and is now starting a new accounting job. You know what that means, Jack.

26:07This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, Cava, and Ford. Nick owns stock of Nike, and we both own stock of Spotify and Apple. I hope it's not Occidental Petroleum. Palantir. Good luck with that love poem to Palantir, Jack.

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