🛍️ “Fake-flation & Dumb Deals” — Prime Day’s shopping tricks. Dishoom’s dice restaurant. H-E-B’s Texas rescue team.

0:00This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, so V. Wednesday, July 9th. And today's pod, out of all the pods, is the best one yet. It's a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. All right, Jack, let me see if I got this straight. The stock market was down and your eczema flared up. Right. And then yesterday, Selena Gomez got a zit and stocks fell again. Yeah, celebrity facial complexions are correlated with stock market performance. Absolutely, the data is there. Yeah, I just called myself a celebrity. Call that me. Jack, three stories for today. T-Boy, what do we got on the pod?

0:37For our first story, the hottest restaurant in London right now is Dishoom, and they've got a wild take on the early bird special. Dishoom's hype is driven by a viral growth hack. Roll the dice, land on six, your meal's free. For our second story, Amazon Prime Day began yesterday, but Amazon Prime Day has three days left. All of e-commerce is preying on your psychology right now, but Jack and I will preach the pricing truth. For our third and final story, the Texas flooding tragedy has one surprise hero that you probably haven't heard of yet. H-E-B. The H-E-B grocery chain is only in Texas, but they're bigger than Netflix, and they've basically replaced FEMA.

1:21But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories for Ceviche Wednesday, Jack. Ozzy Osbourne has played his final concert. That's right, the mumbling British bat-eating rocker retired just this week. But plot twist. Yes. The rock star Ozzy Osbourne is actually going to live forever. Because Ozzy Osbourne just sold his DNA. You know the viral water company Liquid Death? Liquid Death. They're worth 1.4 billion bucks thanks to their insane marketing stunts. Well, get this. They're now selling$450 empty cans of water that Ozzy Osbourne drank from. You could buy traces of the Prince of Darkness's DNA on the can.

2:02They probably got his lipstick on there because I'm pretty sure, you know, he's a British rocker. He probably has lipstick. Absolutely. That is definitely some Cartier lipstick on there. And they've already sold out of the Ozzy Osbourne saliva cans we just checked. Now some lucky fan is probably going to clone Ozzy. They might accidentally clone that bat too. But there's a bigger story here, Yetis. Ozzy Osbourne isn't the first celebrity to sell their DNA to a CPG. Sydney Sweeney sold her bath water with Dr. Squatch soap. Tony Hawk sold a line of skateboards with his blood on them. Gwyneth Paltrow made a candle that smells like her.

2:37Yeti celebrities are sick of signing autographs. And social media killed the paparazzi picture. So the new celebrity influencer Flex, what is it, Nick? It's DNA. Celebrity DNA. Who wants a signature when you can get their chromosomes? Jack, don't get any deeper than that. It makes you wonder, what's the next bodily fluid that's going to be productized by some celebrity? One sec, Jack. I'm just bidding on Gosling's tears over here. I would buy a bottle of Gosling's tears. Well, it comes in a shampoo. We may have to split it. Jack, let's hit our three stores. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm.

3:14They 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.

3:35Start the show. Start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

3:46Another nine. Yetis, we've all heard of side hustles. You find a way to make extra income on the side of your day job. But what if your side hustle was more of a side leisure? And what if it involved hitting golf balls every minute of the day? That's called a hobby. Actually, no, this is the real idea behind launching a franchise of Another Nine, the ultimate indoor golf experience. Another Nine is a network of golf simulators open 24-7. The business is built around private simulator suites that guest book by the hour. And it's powered by the same TrackMan technology used by the PGA Tour. Now, Besties, we're not talking about playing golf here.

4:20We're talking about a franchise opportunity to open up one of these things and run it. And it'd be semi-passive income. There's no staff needed on site. So there's some management required while the golfers are swinging woods, but not so much management that you need to commit to this fully. Actually, Another Nine was started by a couple of guys with young kids who just wanted to play more golf anytime they wanted. Now they've got 70 locations and want to add more. You could be number 71 by launching Another Nine franchise near you. So head to www.franchise.anothernine.com to run one of your own.

4:48That's www.franchise.another9.com. Monarch. Yeah, it is. You know my first money lesson? It was where to put our lemonade stand. I was wondering, it was on the Upper East Side. Do we do it on Lexington Avenue or Park Avenue? Wait a second. New York City has lemonade stands on the sidewalk? They didn't. We were pioneers, Jack. Lexington Avenue is more commercial. Park is more residential. So what did we learn, Jack? Families are willing to pay more for lemonade. So you set it up on Park. Yeah, we did it on Park. Besties, no one gives you financial lessons in life. you end up figuring most of it out as you grow up.

5:18But we love Monarch because it's like a financial advisor in your pocket. Because every minute, it's tracking your savings, spending, investments, and more. For instance, Monarch's goal tracking feature shows if you're on track for that summer trip to Santa Fe. And it tells you what percent of your income is going somewhere that's a surprise. I open Monarch all the time because it takes the mental load off tracking my finances. And whether you're single, you're in a family, or you're dinking it up, Monarch's the way. Our personal fave, the AI Weekly Recap, a once-per-week gut check on what you did with your money.

5:43Hey, Nick, you've spent 96 bucks at kids' lemonade stands since July. Because we pioneered it for him, Jack. Resties, write your own story with Monarch. Use code T-Boy at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just 50 bucks. It's 50 % off your first year at Monarch.com with code T-Boy. For our first story, the most popular restaurant in London right now has the wildest game we've ever seen. The restaurant is Dishoom. Dishoom. It's a cult-followed Indian restaurant and it's turned a roll of dice into a growth hack. Yetis, the Wimbledon tennis tournament is going on right now.

6:24So all eyes are on London. But after the match, you got to find something to eat. Absolutely. And the hottest restaurant reservation these days in London? What is it, Jack? It's an upscale family style Indian restaurant called De Shum. De Shum, founded in 2010 by a couple cousins. it evokes the vibes of a 1960s cafe in then called Bombay, now known as Mumbai. Side note, my first Indian food ever was in London. I was 23, and let's just say my palate has not recovered from the spiciness. Jack, double side note, ate at Deshoom 12 years ago with Molly. You did? Yeah. I wish you had taken us there when we went to London for that business trip.

7:02I was so embarrassed, I actually haven't brought it up since then, Jack. Jack, Pippa Middleton eats their paneer. Benedict Cumberbatch gets their curry, and Andy Murray, the tennis star, you know what he gets? Benign. No, the chicken ruby dish, which the restaurant trademarked. It was so good. Wow. Like Momofuku, Dishoom has created a chain out of luxury international cuisine. 14 locations all in the UK. And the last numbers we have on this private company, what are they, Jack? Their revenues jumped 23 % in 2023 to$135 million. Besties, this company is so profitable. This restaurant is such a profit puppy.

7:39they just opened a hotel in London. After all that non, Andy Murray's going to need to stay overnight. Yeah. Side note, side note, Jack. Molly tried going on her last business trip to London, couldn't even get it. Doesn't make me feel any better that you didn't take us here. I dropped the ball, I dropped the ball. But besties, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. DeShum also happens to have the most exciting early bird special we've ever heard of. And it involves a game of dice. It is highly strategic and here's how it goes down. If you're eating at Dishun before 6 p.m. on a weekday, you can play the game.

8:13The game is only available to those in the know. True. So you ask your server before the meal for a Mitka dice. And at the end of your meal, you're handed the check. But before you pay, you roll the dice. The rules are simple. If you roll a six, your entire meal is free, including the drinks. Okay, we repeat here. You have one shot and a 16.666666667 % chance of rolling six, and that feast is free. This game was inspired by India's illegal underground lotteries that sprung up in Bombay back in the 1960s. And today, part of the fun is the brand tension that we see in the concept, right, Jack? You're at an upscale restaurant, but you're hoping your meal's free, and you're playing a criminal activity.

8:57The Shum, they're doing around 10 million bucks per location on a roll of the die. Or is it dice? Nobody really knows. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at The Shum? The thrill of the hunt outweighs the power of the prize. Yetis, the The Shum dice game is totally unique, but the underlying concept here is completely common. It's the same idea as Happy Out. Right. Or Early Bird Special. Yeah. They're attracting diners during the slow times by offering them a discount. Since the odds of rolling a six are 17%, it's the same financial cost as a 17 % discount on all 6 p.m. or earlier meals.

9:37So financially, Dishoom could have just said 17 % off. That's our early bird special, and it would have had the same financial outcome. But instead, by turning a discount into a game, it is novel, it is exciting, and it has driven publicity. No one's that excited about a 17 % off meal coupon. Yeah, you can get that at Applebee's. But everyone is excited about the chance to roll a dice to get a free meal. And a one out of six chance, that's pretty good. Like every restaurant, Dishoom wanted to fill tables during off hours. So they took what already existed and flipped it into something awesome.

10:09A total growth hack. Because the hype of the hunt beats the heft of the haul.

10:18For our second story, we just entered the biggest shopping week of the year, Amazon Prime Day. I mean week. But what's really going on this week is a theme park of price manipulation on your mind. All right, I'm hooked, Jack. Yetis, if William Shakespeare were alive and shopping right now, he would call this the Midsummer Night's Deal. Yes, he would. He would. Because first, Amazon announced their longest ever Prime Day. Yep. From July 8th to July 11th, that's four days long. All right, but pause the pod, Jack, because two weeks after Amazon's announcement, Walmart upped the ante by announcing six days of Walmart deals, July 8th to July 13th.

11:03But right Right now, you also have Target's Circle Week, and you have Best Buy's Black Friday in July. Our podcast, it's free. Prime Day, it used to be Amazon on offense, but now that Amazon stock's been flat lately, it's kind of on defense. Still, Amazon is expected to sell$21 billion worth of stuff over these four days, which is 60 % more than last year's Prime Day. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little bit of census context for us, please? $21 billion in sold stuff on Amazon calculates to$70 per American. So if you bought more than 70 bucks of stuff on Prime Day, you're lifting the average. Now, what's driving this surge this year is not just more days, it's the urgency, the tariff urgency.

11:48You're splurging today on that made-in-China espresso machine before the China tariffs hit it. In the meantime, while we've been recording the show, Jack, I just dropped 39 bucks on a TiWu. What's a TiWu? A T-I-W-U, a thing I won't use. That's about half the stuff I buy on Amazon. At besties, what Prime Day really has become, in our opinion, is the world's largest pricing magic trick. Because like a magician with a rabbit and a hat, the price you see on Amazon right now could be manipulated like magic. That's right. Amazon's gone full David Blaine on the prices. Here we go. They're using a variety of tactics to give an inflated sense of value, urgency, and satisfaction.

12:30For example, the Ninja Air Fryer. Ah, the Ninja. It's the ultimate millennial oven. And right now on Amazon, it's listed at$119, which is 33 % off that full price of$179. But Bessies, before you drop it in your cart, according to popular information, this product has been sold at that price every month so far this year. $119 is not a special price. In fact, last year, during November and December, the holiday season, it was selling for$89. So Jack, where did the$179 original price actually come from for this air fryer? Ninja only listed it for$179 for the six weeks leading up to Prime Day, when nobody is buying an air fryer anyway because they're all waiting for Prime Day sales.

13:16Boom, then they mark it down 33%. but from a price that was artificially high. That's the magic trick. The New York Times and Fast Company noticed this too. Prices rise leading up until Prime Day so that they can drop for a deal. In the months leading up to Prime Day, they inflate the prices on Amazon to optimize the sense of savings. Call it fakeflation. I like that, fakeflation is a good way to describe it. Yeah, because Amazonflation, it didn't roll off the tongue, Jack. And after fakeflation, it's a dumb discount. Because consumers aren't focused on the sale price. No, no, no, no, no. you are focused on the sale discount.

13:49You care that it's 33 % off. You don't care that it's 33 % off a fake price in the first place. But besties, this fakeflation to dumb discount practice is actually just one piece of this psychological puzzle we know as Prime Week. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies? Shopping Prime. There's a rule of online shopping Nick and I want to tell you about. Nothing is urgent. There will always be another sale. Trust us on this. Yeah, it is. The overall strategy here is to create a sense of urgency because impulse buying makes you irrational. Just look at the name. Prime day is almost a week now, but calling it a day implies that this is urgent and it's ending today.

14:31And then you get the lightning deals, the invite only deals, the AI generated personal deals during prime week. Each one ratchets up the urgency. So the discount gets your attention and the urgency gets you to buy now. But besties, the reality, as we just showed you by that Ninja Air Fryer example, is that there's another deal right around the corner. It's a rule of online shopping, which no online shopping site wants you to believe. Nothing is urgent. There always will be another sale. I'm buying it, Jack. I'm sorry, I can't stop. You might be right, Jack, but I'm buying this anyway. I can't help myself.

15:05I got a problem. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. Nature Raised Farms. Yetis, you walk into the grocery store. Excited to cross off your list. That empty shopping cart is an ocean of opportunity. Then you get to aisle six and it hits you. Oh boy. Choice paralysis. Yes, we whipped up takeaways about this on the pod. Too many options. It's like a game of chicken. Do I go with that chicken or that chicken? Yeah, the irony of having so many chickens to choose from, you cannot choose. This one's raised on a farm. This one's raised on a prairie. Is this range-free or cage-free? Choice paralysis of all these options.

15:39It makes us feel dumber. So nature-raised farms is built on the simple belief that food shouldn't be complicated. Especially chicken. Definitely shouldn't be complicated, but the freezer aisle, it makes it that way. Too many options, too many additives, a lot of random compromises. But Nature Raised Farms chicken is free from gluten, dairy, and soy made with no seed oils or artificial ingredients. You know what you're getting. So you can make a simple decision, get on with your day without stressing about the chicken parm recipe. Because that recipe, it's really simple and so should be your chicken.

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16:29For our third and final story. In the middle of the flood disaster, one grocery chain is known as Texas's FEMA. It's leading the entire disaster response. That grocery chain is H-E-B, and it's proof that there is an ROI on generosity. Yetis, Jack and I got a little challenge for you here. Can you find us a bigger company that only does business in one state? Because we have never seen a business as big as this one that is so single-state centric as H-E-B is to Texas. All right, Yetis, we're talking 120-year-old operation. It is the fifth largest private company in America by revenue. And again, they only operate within one state's borders.

17:15We're talking$47 billion in annual grocery sales. Jack, could you sprinkle on, can you bag some context over there for us? HEB has revenue just around the same as Uber, Nike, and Coca-Cola. And yet, besties, you have probably never heard of nor shopped at an HEB. Because HEB is only in one American state, the state of Texas. That's right. They've got 380 locations in Texas, as well as 70 in Mexico. Remember the Alamonex? Yeah, how could I forget? Those cowboys were probably supplied by H-E-B. More beef jerky? Yeah, which just came in from H-E-B. H-E-B calls their employees partners, because since 2016, they've paid each employee a stock bonus at the end of the year, around 3 % of their salary.

17:57As they put it on their website, we are a people company, we just happen to sell groceries. It's called H-E-B for Howard E. Butt, the founder's son, who opened their first grocery store in Kerrville, Texas. And side note, the family's doing pretty well because they still own 90 % of that$47 billion business. But Yetis, we just mentioned Kerrville, Texas. Yes. And that got our attention because this single-state grocery chain has become a rescue operation that's basically replaced FEMA. Now, the Texas floods have killed at least 100 people in this company's hometown of Kerrville, Texas. But they didn't just do a condolence statement.

18:35They've led the disaster response. HEB trucks were early to arrive to this disaster era. They've already set up three sites giving out free snacks, waters, and first aid kits, as well as a bunch of other supplies. HEB partnered with the Red Cross and FEMA, giving out free gift cards to HEB grocery stores. And it turns out HEB does this often. They have a track record in the state of Texas of getting there before emergency aid agencies do. In fact, this is wild. They've got a full-time staff at this grocery store dedicated just to disaster relief. HEB has a 15-vehicle convoy that brings supplies wherever Texans need them.

19:15Pretty sure Whole Foods doesn't have two mobile kitchens that can each cook 2 ,500 meals an hour ready to be deployed to disasters in Texas, but HEB does. And that explains why we all saw these viral videos over the weekend of HEB tractor trailers going into the damaged hill country of flooding areas while every other car was going in the opposite direction. Again, we are a people company. We just happen to sell groceries. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at HEB? How do you win the love of a community? Not just with kindness, but consistent kindness. Yetis, looking at HEB's generosity as an investment, it is an extremely high ROI.

19:57Because that has made HEB the most beloved brand in Texas, according to all the surveys. We're talking about a grocery store that has achieved Costco-level love through consistent presence of its disaster team. During the devastating cold freeze of 2021, power went out at HEB stores. But instead of closing the stores because of lack of power, HEB urged their fellow Texans to take what they need free of charge. Uvalde shooting 2022, Hurricane Harvey 2017. HEB had a dozen trucks in each disaster area. When Texas institutions are running short on money, HEB often steps in as the financier of last resort.

20:35HEB is the most beloved brand in Texas, a state so large it could be its own country. That's why it's become the fifth biggest private company in America. They're consistent acts of kindness.

20:50Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? D 'Achum is the hottest restaurant in England, partly because of its dice game for early bird specials. The thrill of the hunt outweighs the power of the prize. For our second story, Amazon Prime Day, I mean week, has all the big box stores offering huge discounts. But our rule of online shopping, nothing is urgent. There will always be another sale. And our third and final story is H-E-B. This grocery chain is contributing majorly to flood relief in Texas. And they are huge. So how do you win the love of a community? It's not just kindness, it's consistent kindness.

21:30But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, congratulations to the great city of Philadelphia. You are getting Waymo robo-taxis. Waymo announced they won't just be testing robo-cabs in New York City, they're also testing in Philadelphia. It's part of a strategy we call the Oprah plan. Basically, you get a Waymo and you get a Waymo and you, Minneapolis, you're probably getting a Waymo. They also announced teen accounts so that minors can get a self-driving robo-ride while their parents supervise. I mean, Jack, in San Francisco, I see like kids in those robo-taxis all the time.

22:05And second, ScarJo is now America's highest grossing lead actor of all time. Movies that Scarlett Johansson has been in have brought in$14.5 billion at the box office. It does help that she was in eight Marvel movies and now Jurassic Park. She beats out Robert Downey Jr., also of Marvel fame, and Samuel L. Jackson, who was the only actor in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Star Wars movies. And finally, TSA is reportedly making their biggest update to the airline industry in decades. Keep your shoes on. It's already happening at select airports. It is, it is. You don't have to remove your sneakers, your loafers, your snowfers, whatever's on your feet, come on through.

22:47It's been 24 years since the failed shoe bomber incident that led to the rule in the first place. And shoe removal is the top complaint of the TSA and the top reason that people get TSA pre-check. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago, because it's T minus 10 business days until our live show. Let's talk about the L train. The L train in Chicago, the L stands for elevated. That's right. But if you know that this L train is actually older than New York City's subway. That's right. The New York Underground Subway began in 1904. Chicago's L train beat it in 1892.

23:22That's according to the Chicago Transit Authority, but London's tube beats them both. That goes back to 1863. So to everyone riding the L right now, grab your tickets to our live show. We got a link in this episode description. We'll see you there. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. Jack, you are glowing over there. But if you roll that dice that is in your pocket right now and get a five, we will not charge you for today's podcast. I think it's if I roll the die. Nobody knows, Jack. Like I told you, nobody knows. Yetis, drop down to give us five stars to help grow the show. Leave a review.

23:59Jack and I will read it. And we'll both see you tomorrow.

24:06And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Isabella Lima over in Chicago doing logistics and managing literally a million things. Happy birthday to Asher and Leah Dale in Bluntville, Tennessee. Two sisters born on the same day, three years apart. Unreal. And Sam Cortez has turned 18 years old in Lake Stevens, Washington. Hope you're celebrating with a Benton Boone crumble cookie there. And a big shout out to Michael and Pooja from the Upper West Side of New York City. One's in insurance tech, one does car washes. The coolest couple on Riverside Drive. Jack ran with them on Nantucket. They were both looking fantastic.

24:43And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.

24:51This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Netflix. And Nick once lived in Philadelphia for like a full year. Gino's not Pat's. Gusto. Yetis, there's nothing more satisfying on a Friday evening than celebrating the wins of our company from that week. Like how we triumphantly completed payroll paperwork right before the tax deadline. Just kidding. That's not a win to celebrate. But it is an annoying thing that we did have to do. Yeah, we did. Because if you're an entrepreneur, you're the HR team, the benefits team, the payroll department, and you have to be all those things before your morning coffee.

25:21Double digit latte. But you could be doing it all with Gusto. Gusto is an online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote, friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay higher onboard and support your team from anywhere. So save time with built-in automated tools like offer letters, onboarding documents, direct deposit, and more. And it's super simple to switch to Gusto. You can just transfer your existing data to get up and running fast and don't even have to pay a penny until you run your first payroll. Because you're not toasting a Negroni on Friday to celebrate that paperwork.

25:48Nope. So besties, try Gusto today at gusto.com slash tboy and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash tboi. One more time, gusto.com slash tboy.