🔥 “Hot People Only” — Secret Influencer apps. Colbert’s Last Show. Crypto Week’s Roman Empire.

0:29This is Nick. This is Jack. some tickets left if you want to see us in Chi-Town. Snag your tickets, but in the meantime, Jack and I whipped up, honestly, this is the best pod we've ever done. Jack, three stories for today's T-Boy. What do we got on the show? For our first story, CBS shockingly canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, generating tons of hot takes. But Jack and I have a surprise reason for the fall of the late night TV business, the podcast. For our second story, happy crypto week. Last week, we went from zero federal laws governing crypto to three. But as Caesar once told us, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither were regulations.

1:03And our third and final story, there is a secretive app that gives you free stuff, but only if you're hot. Okay, did you get the app? Did we download the app? Do we have this app, Jack? I haven't tried. I'm nervous that I'll get rejected. It's called the Neon Coat and it's powering the whole influencer industry. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories, fantastic mix of stories to kick off the week. Love the mix, Jack. Jack, it's Monday morning. Yeah. Flying to Chicago this week. I need a coffee to start the week. Okay, but Jack, not a cup of coffee, not a glass of coffee. What about a bucket of coffee?

1:33Get this, Yetis. The latest trend in coffee is to serve it in 34-ounce plastic buckets. Equipped with straws, these giant buckets are being used for morning iced coffees. You gotta lift with your legs, not your back. These single-serve coffee buckets are so big, they come with handles. Definitely doesn't fit in a cup holder. They're so big, you need three hands. It looks like the bucket of balls your Little League baseball team used to carry the balls in, you know? Hey, Darlene, what's going on over there? Folgers had it all wrong. The best part of waking up is Folgers in your bucket. All right, let's jump in T-boy style here, Jack.

2:06What exactly is going on according to the New York Times? Local coffee shops nationwide have started serving coffee in buckets to differentiate. Because Dunkin' has an XL, Starbucks has a Venti. But only a local small business will do what Starbucks corporate never would. A six-inch tall, 34-ounce plastic bucket with handles. It just hits different. And if you walk into the office with that thing, you just got the boss's attention. And you just got a promotion because there are probably two straws in that bucket. That's a statement piece. All I know is the morning after our Chicago show, I'm going to need a bigger bucket.

2:39Make it a pail. Make it a pail. Yetis, let's hit our three stories. Fifteen 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. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.

3:08Start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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4:13Because we pioneered it for him, Jack. Resties, write your own story with Monarch. Use code TBOY 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 TBOY. Another 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.

4:49Another 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. We'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.

5:19Now 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. That's www.franchise.anothernine.com. That is happy schvitz season to all those who celebrate I walked to the mailbox the other day I arrived, the envelopes were damp Oh no, I wasn't swimming in a lake, Jack I was just on the subway So on days we sweat, and sometimes on days we don't We pour a liquid IV stick into our water Liquid IV, we've got enough of this hydration formula in the T-boy studio We may drown in the stuff Because liquid IV is more hydrating than old school H2O And tastes way better Plus, liquid IV is three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink There are so many good flavors, but right now, it's the sugar-free lychee.

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6:43For our first story, CBS shockingly canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, maybe because of business, maybe because of politics. But we have a third reason for the fall of late night, podcasts. But yetis, in order for us to tell this story, how about we talk about the big winner in media last week? Jack, who was it? Nielsen reported that Bluey, the kids' TV show about a family of Australian dogs, was the most streamed show in the first half of 2025. We repeat, Americans watched twice as much Bluey as we watched White Lotus, Friends, or Squid Game. Family content is the profit puppy of streaming.

7:22Yes, it is, Jack. But Nick, what's the opposite of Bluey? Well, Jack, while daytime kids TV is thriving, late night adult TV is dying. Including, officially, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Because on Friday, CBS formally announced it is canceling The Late Show for, as they put it, purely financial reasons. The Late Show. It's an institution. For 32 years it's been on TV. David Letterman for the first 22 years, Stephen Colbert for the last 10. CBS even bought the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan to be the home of The Late Show. It's the flagship show of CBS, which is a flagship channel of American television.

8:01There is nothing quite like the live laugh track at 11 p.m. of a bunch of adults screaming because a band goes ba-dum-ps. But now that legendary show has been canceled. And we gotta say, the timing is quite awkward. And the timing's awkward because Paramount, which owns CBS, which owns The Late Show, is in a high-stakes legal standoff with the president. Here's the bigger context, Yetis. Paramount, which owns CBS, desperately wants to sell itself to Skydance. Yeah, they announced the deal like a year ago, but it is still pending approval by President Trump's FCC. At the same time, Donald Trump sued another CBS show, 60 Minutes, for the way they handled the Kamala Harris interview.

8:39Now, besties, legal experts have called the lawsuit frivolous, but Paramount still needs approval of Trump's Federal Communications Commission in order to sell itself. So earlier this month, Paramount paid Donald Trump$16 million to settle the lawsuit, probably thinking it's the only way Trump will approve their merger. Okay, but then things got juicy and they got spicy, didn't they, Jack? On the next episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert satirically described that settlement payment as a big, fat bribe. And here's why we said the timing is funny. Just four days after Colbert called the settlement a bribe, CBS announced they're canceling his show after the season ends in May.

9:23Now, maybe CBS is canceling this because cable TV is a dying business with viewership declining each and every year. Or maybe CBS is firing the big Trump critic on their staff to sweeten the deal and try to finally get that merger approval. We can only speculate. It's probably both. But Jack and I think there's also a third reason here for the cancellation of late night TV. Yes, we do. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies watching late night? Late night hosts are becoming podcast hosts. Yeah. What's the formula for late night TV? Well, we think it's three parts. Monologue, couch interview, and a band for the studio audience.

10:01The monologue and the couch interview 100 % can be podcasts. I mean, Jack, you could just listen with headphones on or watch on YouTube, social media. Boom, you get those two variables. The band can't really be a podcast, but that was an awesome treat for the in-studio audience that probably just doesn't make financial sense anymore. And that's why Conan O 'Brien, Jon Stewart, and Trevor Noah, all former late-night hosts, have all now launched podcasts. The economics of late night TV just don't work anymore. Cable TV is dying. And look at the costs to put on one of those late night shows. Okay, this is wild.

10:34Stephen Colbert's late night show requires 200 people to produce. It's an amazing show. Amazing show. But it just doesn't work with today's media environment. On the other hand, a podcast with the same content, that would just need 10 people to produce. We expect Colbert to create a podcast that's 80 % the same as late night with 80 % fewer people. And that is why late night hosts are becoming podcast hosts.

11:02For our second story, there's a stealthy app that's only for hot people. If they let you download it, you get anything for free. It's called Neon Coat. Neon Coat. And for eight years, it has secretly powered the influencer economy. And I think Jack is secretly on it. More on that in a bit. More on that in a bit. I got a suspicion here. For besties, over the weekend, you tried to get that 8 p.m. reservation prime time at Dorcia, but you failed. You tried to get a top spot at that Pilates studio, and you failed. You spent three hours scrolling resi, open table, class pass, and all you did was get stuck with a 5 p.m.

11:39dinner and a guest pass to Planet Fitness. Trick question. Planet Fitness will let anyone in for free. You see, besties, us regular looking people, we compete for limited spots in daily life for services and experiences. But there's a wonderful place in the digital world. It's a stealthy app where everything is free. But here's the catch. It's only for models, influencers, and hot people. The Wall Street Journal last week exposed Neon Coat. Yes. A platform that connects restaurants, gyms, and salons with people who have big followings on social. The business model? Restaurants let influencers dine for free on one condition.

12:15And what is it, Jack? You post about it. You're not paying because you're posting. And again, I think you, do you have this on your phone? I'm so flattered you think I'm, I think you're just joking though. I've got evidence. I've got evidence and I'll get to it in a bit, Jack. But yeah, let's sprinkle on some context here to this wild concept. The most popular apps out there are platform apps. Airbnb, Uber, Instagram. What they do is connect one side with another side in a little marketplace in the middle. Well, Neon Coat also connects two sides, but Neon Coat doesn't want to be a popular app like all those others.

12:46This platform is eight years old, but you've never heard of it, and it's nowhere on the rankings. It was founded in 2017 by a Slovenian model who wanted it to be easier for her to access perks. And today, there are 1 ,500 restaurants, clubs, and gyms that are users. And then on the other side, there's 12 ,500 models and influencers who are users. And now we know you're wondering who qualifies. Well, we should point out, hotness is not actually a technical qualification. The technical qualification is you must have 5 ,000 followers on either Instagram or TikTok. And here's the key to the business model.

13:17Influencers don't pay to use the app. The app is free for them. But businesses must pay$1 ,000 a month to be on the platform. Plus, Jack, those businesses have to cover the cost for the influencer to use their actual service. So a restaurant using the Neon Coat app might dole out 40 free meals a month to influencers using Neon Coat. Okay, so let's follow the numbers here. Let's say it's$150 per free meal that they give out. Nice. That's$6 ,500 a month in free meals to influencers. And in exchange, that restaurant got exposed to at least 200 ,000 followers. Not only do those tagged posts create buzz for the restaurant, they're definitely going to convert at least some customers.

13:56Now get this, the Wall Street Journal tracked one influencer who uses this Neon Coat app. What did they discover, Jack? She got a free berries workout in the morning, a free Mangia smoothie after that, a free mani-pedi in the early afternoon, and then dinner with buddies all covered by businesses on the app. That Tribeca restaurant footed the whole bill for the meal. Hundreds of dollars of value in one day. Must be nice. Must be nice. Says the guy who every time you're in San Francisco, you want to get that Aperol spritz of Cattonia, Jack. Now I know why you want to always get that. I wish they were free, Nick.

14:33I wish they were free. If you think about it, Yetis, it's wild. Influencers have created 350 ,000 pieces of content from this app, and you've probably seen those Aperol spritzes in your Instagram feed. Do they have to be declared as promoted posts? Technically, but the FTC does not enforce this at all, so... And you didn't even know about this app. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy is over at Neon Coat. Size doesn't matter. Engagement does. Yeti's effective influencer marking isn't the size of the following, but the engagement. Plenty of celebrities have millions of followers. Big, big, big followings.

15:07But brands are realizing that the real value is micro-influencers who have engaged followings. That 5 ,000 follower requirement, not that high a bar. No, that's basically what we have right now, Jack, personally on our handles. Like, we can totally do this. But what restaurants on the other side really care about is does the following like, share, and comment on the content. Because an influencer with 10 ,000 engaged followers is more valuable than another influencer with a million not engaged followers. So Bastie's engagement, not following size, is the true measurement of trust. That followers might actually buy the thing you're posting about.

15:41It's not popularity that sells. It's trust that sells. Now a quick word from our sponsor. Built. Housing. Yeti's housing is now 40 % of your budget and 40 % of your brunch convo. You can't bust into pancakes with a buddy for brunch without venting that your landlord is brazenly raising your rent again. 12 %? Or your mortgage broker. No offense, Pam, but that interest rate felt personal. Yeah, it did. But are you at least getting rewarded for paying your huge rent or your mighty big mortgage? The answer is probably no. But the solution is probably built. Because becoming a built member means earning points on every housing payment no matter where you live.

16:21And those built points can be redeemed for flights, hotels, lift rides, Amazon.com purchases, future housing payments, and more. You can even redeem your built points at SoulCycle, Barry's, Rumble, or Pure Bar. What we're saying is paying your rent or mortgage with Bilt could get you free Pilates in boxing class. And again, Bilt works for mortgages too if you happen to be a homeowner. And with that boxing class, you can fight your landlord. Because housing is 40 % of your salary and 80 % of your brunch convo. I'm not advocating violence yetis. I'm advocating that you download the Bilt app and join the membership for where you live at joinbilt.com slash T-B-L-Y.

16:55That's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T dot com slash T-Boy. Use our links so they know we sent you. This episode is brought to you by Bill, the intelligent finance platform that helps businesses scale with proven results. Yet he's paying and getting paid. That is a pain for small and medium-sized businesses. Jack, did you send the invoice? Did they see the invoice? Did you remember to remind them to see to pay to remember to pay the invoice? If you drop the ball in any one of those steps, you don't get paid. Nope. And you're missing out on cashflow. You should not have to chase your customers. This isn't tag.

17:26So powered by AI, Bill does all that simply and automated it so that you don't have to. ACH, credit card, check, international wire transfers. They probably do carrier pigeon bill pay if that's how you want to get paid. Bill is the intelligent finance platform trusted by nearly half a million businesses and 98 of the top 100 US accounting firms to manage, move, and maximize your money. They have securely processed over a trillion dollars in real transactions. That is proven infrastructure you can actually trust. So besties, talk to an expert at bill.com slash proven and get$150 gift card as a thank you.

17:57That's bill.com slash proven. Terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details. For our third and final story, last week, the crypto industry took a giant leap forward. Three bills all passed Congress. Crypto Week reminds us about a lesson from the Roman emperors. It's the first crypto regulation, not the last. Yeah, it is. Jack and I have been keeping track, And Bitcoin was actually invented 17 years, 6 months, 18 days, 4 hours, and 16, sorry, 17 minutes ago. But it took all this time for Congress to pass its first ever crypto law. That's right. All at once. We had three crypto laws passed just last week, plus a surprise big executive order.

18:43It was called Crypto Week. And a happy crypto week to all those who celebrate. But Nick, what is crypto? It's an asset now with a combined value of$4 trillion. That is A, a lot of lifts, and B, bigger than the economy of the United Kingdom. But crypto has also become an entire industry, with thousands of companies eager to know what are the rules of this industry. And after massive political donations and industry lobbying and a lot of billboards all across Washington, D.C., crypto just got three big laws. The first crypto law past week is called the Genius Act. GENIUS stands for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S.

19:24Stablecoins Act. I think you just basically described it all. I don't need to say anything else. Basically, it creates a framework for stablecoins, the digital equivalent of the U.S. dollar. Instead of slow and old-school payment systems full of fees, which is the status quo we all live in, with stablecoins, we could use the blockchain to move dollars fast and potentially free of fees. Now, the second law is the CLARITY Act, which is not a fun, cool acronym. Well, this one does clarify what regulatory agency regulates crypto and how. Crypto will now be also overseen by the CFTC, which is a smaller regulatory agency that's not as intense.

19:59It's lighter touch. After a harsh Biden era of SEC regulation, crypto feels like they can flourish under this new clarified setup. And now the final bill, the third bill, it doesn't have a cool nickname like Genius or Clarity like the other two. No acronym here. It simply bans our central bank from creating a stablecoin, a digital equivalent of the U.S. dollar. And why does the government want to ban this type of stablecoin, Jack? Well, crypto people say it's to prevent government surveillance of us through the movement of our digital dollars. But pause the pod because we're also getting a surprise crypto bonus announcement as well.

20:35An executive order from President Trump to let 401k retirement accounts invest in crypto. So when you hit 70, you can pay for your senior citizen's condo down in Del Boca Vista with all your gains from Ethereum. Now, as of this recording on Friday afternoon, none of those had been signed by the president yet, but they are all expected to be. And add it all up, and we just got the first set of crypto rules in its 17-year history. But it won't be the last because of our takeaways. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies looking at crypto? Rome was not built in a day, and neither are regulations.

21:08Yetis, many people assume that with three big bills, our government's crypto rules are boom, donezo, set for life. The reality is that regulation is never one and done. Nope. Regulation is like building a city. Takes many years, many eras. It's like building Rome. Surprising example of this? Just look at our Federal Reserve Bank, which was established in 1914. But it wasn't until 1933, 19 years later, that we got the two other crucial parts of our financial system. Right, the SEC and the FDIC. Well, 2025's crypto moment, it's a lot like 1914's financial moment the way we see it. It's just step one.

21:45It's not done. So our prediction, a 2030 crypto bill will probably happen. One that fixes everything that these three bills didn't fix. We'll see how these next X number of years go, and then Congress is going to come back and finish the job of regulating crypto. Because as Caesar once said, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are regulations.

22:31It's not the size that counts. It's how you engage with it. And our third and final story. Congress passed three crypto bills last week. And a big executive order came too. Like Rome, regulation isn't built in a day. This is just the start. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Substack, the newsletter startup, has raised$100 million for its newsletter business, a valuation of$1.1 billion. Very simple business model. You can make a newsletter and publish it on our platform, but if you make money, we get a 10 % cut. Beautifully simple business model.

23:09If your newsletter is free, then Substack is free for you to use. If you charge$10 per subscriber, Substack takes a buck of that$10. And Andreessen is into it. And second, Republicans in Congress were busy last week. They also clawed back$1.1 billion that had already been allocated to the CPB. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. And why are they taking this money away? Perceived liberal bias of NPR and PBS. Now, we should point out NPR only gets 1 % of its budget from the federal government, so who this really hurts is local news businesses. 1 ,500 radio and TV stations across the country just lost a major funding source.

23:49And finally, where are you sitting, Jack? Because Christopher Nolan's Odyssey movie is already selling IMAX tickets one year in advance. Unlike with Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan doesn't have Barbie to rely on to drive hype. So he's driving his own hype with a 12-month pre-sale window. And I'm best. He's Jack and I are very excited for any Christopher Nolan movie. He is our Roman Empire, after all. Although the Odyssey is the Greek Empire. Good point, Homer. Good point. Speaking of the Odyssey, you know who plays Odysseus? Oh yeah, who? I don't know. Matt Damon. Is that a spoiler? Do people know that yet?

24:23Oh! Did you find that out on your influencer app? Doesn't everyone read Deadline Hollywood like I do? Now, time for the best fact yet, which, because it's Monday, means T-Boy trivia. Here's the trivia question. What is the most valuable franchise of all time? It's a simple but hard question. What fictional universe has made more money than any other? Is it Harry Potter, Star Wars, Pokemon, Marvel Universe, or Hello Kitty? I like that we're doing multiple choice on this one. Brings me back to the SATs. Here we go. What do you think? Oh, a little bit. You want to drop a hint? You got a hint, Shaq?

24:58Here's my hint. It's not the Lord of the Rings. Here's another hint. Hermione, you're not going to get this. Whoa, that's a huge hint, dude. Unless you think about that answer, Jack. To repeat the options, it's Harry Potter, Star Wars, Pokemon, Marvel Universe, or Hello Kitty. Yetis, you look fantastic to start the week. Jack, you are looking glowing with that fresh haircut for the big show in Chicago. I'm ridiculously excited for this live show. I can't wait to see you, Jack. We got to use your influencer app to get us a reservation at one of these places. Can you get us a burger at O'Shaval?

25:30You think you can pull that off? I would love a free meal. Dude, I heard brunch is huge in Chicago. We should get brunch each day we're there. They say no one does a bloody like the loop. Jack and I will see you there. Snag your tickets and celebrate the wins.

25:49And before we go, a happy 41st birthday to Eddie Philip Hanks from Oak Ridge North. Cackalacky. Happy birthday, Philip. Happy 50th birthday to David Chen in Walnut Creek, California. And happy 88th birthday to Krispy Kreme Donuts, which Jack was selling 88 cent donuts, which is not good for your Krispy Kreme stock, I gotta point out. Take it easy on the promotions, Krispy Kreme. And Cassidy Torres has a new job in Marietta, Georgia. Congratulations, Cassidy. Congratulations to Matt Walterink from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who just had a new baby girl, Hallie. Welcome, Hallie. And Anthony Prudencio from Rio Rancho, New Mexico has sent us some fantastic YouTube recs.

26:25Hey, thank you, Anthony. And a shout out to Rachel Hauer, who is making us do a triathlon, apparently, when we hit 100 ,000 followers on Instagram. Did we sign anything? Have we signed anything for this? I don't know. But if you want to see us wearing Slammin' Salmon spandex, follow us at T-Boy Pod. We've been training our whole lives for it. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-Boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock in Krispy Kreme. Nick and I both own stock of Airbnb. We both own some Bitcoin and Nick owns some Ethereum.

27:23AI, Build does all that simply and automated so that you don't have to. ACH, credit card, check, international wire transfers. They probably do carrier pigeon Bill Pay if that's how you want to get paid. Bill is the intelligent finance platform trusted by nearly half a million businesses and 98 of the top 100 US accounting firms to manage, move, and maximize your money. They have securely processed over a trillion dollars in real transactions. That is proven infrastructure you can actually trust. So besties, talk to an expert at bill.com slash proven and get a$150 gift card as a thank you. That's bill.com slash proven.

27:55Terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details.