🦈 “I’m out” — Shark Tank’s China trade deal. Nvidia’s $5T flowers. Fruitist’s $1B blueberry. +Candy Salad Trick-or-Treat

0:28This is Nick. Halloween, he will find you and he will kill you. His particular set of skills is an algorithm. He's a jack dude. I wouldn't mess with him at all, Jack. But three fantastic stories for today's show. What do we got for the T-boy? For our first story, NVIDIA just became the first company ever to pass a$5 trillion valuation. Because NVIDIA's AI computer chips aren't like railroad tracks. They're like flower bouquets. And we'll explain. For our second story, it's Fruitist, a startup that invented jumbo blueberries the size of golf balls. Yeah, true story. Now, Fruitist is getting big Wall Street money because their blueberries have made character energy.

1:08And our third and final story. President Trump is meeting President Xi today to talk trade, but we want to talk Shark Tank. Because if you want to understand the trade war, you just have to watch this season of Shark Tank. But yet is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. And for that reason, I'd like to hear are three stories. Shocker, every news story this week is about the record high prices of candy. Chocolate prices have doubled in 2024. They're up another 29 % so far this year. The 100 grand bar costs 250 grand now. Jack, even gummy bears saw a 15 % price pop in the last year. And there's no chocolate.

1:43No chocolate. Sugar inflation. It's not sweet for anyone, including dentists. But consumers have found a clever solution to this year's candy conundrum. It's called the candy salad. The candy salad. In this economy, candy salads are the new TikTok trick or treat trick. Kind of like a fruit salad, but not fruit. Candy's in there. Yeah, you basically take 12 different candy bags, you open them up and you pour them into a salad bowl. That's a candy salad. Your base can be Twix's and Reese's cups. That's a solid foundation, Jack. And then your toppings can be M &M's, Hershey's Kisses, and Baby Ruth's.

2:16I like it. It's a well-balanced selection. What What about some nerd clusters bedazzled on top? Oh, Jack, nerd clusters? That's the garnish on the salad. But this is more than a TikTok trend. Because Ferrara, the owner of Nutella, just launched a candy salad kit. The financial key, by the way, is using tongs to serve the children who knock on your door. That way you control the quantity and therefore the cost. The only controversial candy salad question, though, do you include candy corn? I mean, technically, corn is a vegetable, man. So yeah, it's healthy for you. Jack, let's hit our three stories.

2:5115 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.

3:17Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

3:48podcast hosts. We also run a media company here and full-time employees mean full-time benefits too. Which means roughly 46 ,000 forms, documents, and tasks to process for each team member. Oh boy, if you're a small business, you'll want to outsource all that to Gusto. Gusto is online payroll and benefit software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use. So you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Gusto handles payroll automatically, handles taxes associated with payroll, health benefits, commuter benefits, 401ks. You get unlimited payroll for one monthly price and direct access to certified HR experts.

4:25That's how they got G2's highest satisfaction products list this year and trusted by over 400 ,000 small businesses. 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 tboy. One more time, gusto.com slash tboy. Monarch. Happy wedding season to all those who celebrate. Wedding season. That means you just liquidated your 401k to pay for that bridesmaid dress. Yeah, flights, hotel, and a gift. Your presents. It was not the only present. Good timing though, because Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything.

5:02Your accounts, your investments, your savings goals, and your spending. We use Monarch to keep all our personal finances accounted for and in one place. We're excited that listeners of this show can get your first year of Monarch Core for half off. That's just 50 bucks with promo code TBOY. The weekly spending recap, it uses AI to categorize everything you spent organizing them into digestible buckets. Weekly emails are perfect, by the way, because checking finances daily, that's too much. Monthly, that's probably not enough. So Monarch helps you make sure you're on track for seven different destination weddings this summer.

5:30Because you don't want to go into debt if you don't even know the groom. Who's Henry? Besties, use code TBOY at monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just 50 bucks. For our first story, NVIDIA just became the world's first$5 trillion company because of one phenomenon that everyone forgets about. NVIDIA's AI computer chips are actually a perishable good. Yetis, it took NVIDIA over 6 ,000 days to reach a$1 trillion valuation. But Jack, how long did it take them to hit$5 trillion? Only 600 days later. Not too shabby. besties, NVIDIA. They used to make super fast chips for video game consoles.

6:15Now they're powering AI. NVIDIA is just printing compute the last few years and they can name their price and big tech will buy the chips. And NVIDIA just hosted their first conference held in Washington, DC over on Tuesday. And they announced that orders for their Blackwell GPUs have reached $500 billion through 2026. Now that's a profit puppy because NVIDIA, yeah, they're charging a 4X markup on those chips. That's right. They make the world's best chips and it costs them$1 to make. They sell them for$4. NVIDIA, they price their Blackwell chips like Hermes prices its Birkin bags. They keep raising the price and tech companies keep paying for them.

6:54Yeah, big tech, they are fighting over each and every one of those chips, ordering$500 billion worth of them by the new year. I'm sorry, Jack. It's early in the pod, but yeah. It's by next year, but I appreciate the cha-ching. But Jack, can you please sprinkle on some context into the just sheer magnitude of NVIDIA right now? If NVIDIA does$500 billion of sales next year, that will be 20 times larger than the revenue from three years ago. 20x larger. In fact, NVIDIA is such a big deal right now that Blackwell, the word, the name of their chip, is on the agenda for President Trump's meeting today with President Xi of China.

7:31And those Blackwell chips, by the way, they're now made in America for the first time. Jensen Huang announced it this week in Washington, D.C. That's right. TSMC's new factories in Arizona, they broke ground in 2021, but now they're rolling off those chips from the assembly line. It's huge progress in the reshoring of U.S. manufacturing that started with Trump's first presidency, continued with Biden, and is now continuing with Trump too. But Jack, pause the pod for a sec. Can we go back to those epic Blackwell computer chips, please? Guess what, Nick? Their replacement is already under development.

8:02No way. And the replacements replacement has already been announced. Oh, besties, that is both a blessing and a curse for artificial intelligence as an industry. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at NVIDIA? AI chips are not like railroad tracks or telephone wires. They're like flowers. You see, Yetis, every two to three years, AI processing chips become obsolete because NVIDIA launches a newer, better, faster chip. Hopper was the chip from 2022 to 2024. Blackwell was the NVIDIA chip from 2024 to 2026, both named after famous computer scientists. But get this, NVIDIA's already announced the Rubin chip that'll be on sale next year and even announced the successor to that chip, the Feynman chip.

8:46It's going to go on sale in 2028. It's like the Olympics. I'm surprised they haven't named the 2032 chip by now. You see, for NVIDIA, that's fantastic. Demand refreshes every two to three years, kind of like Apple with the iPhone. But for the rest of big tech, they're splurging$100 billion each on something that they'll have to replace in two years because it's become obsolete. I mean, I guess, Jack, that may be why NVIDIA continues to thrive, but NVIDIA's customers continue to suffer. Because AI chips are not like railroad tracks or telephone wires. They're like flowers. Yeah, a billion-dollar flowers.

9:20They're perishable, and they need to be replaced. For our second story, the latest startup to hit a$1 billion valuation, they're in blueberries. Giant blueberries. What industry are you in, Greg? I'm in the blueberry industry. No, no, no. The really big blueberry industry. The company's called Fruitist, and they're doing$400 million in sales by turning the blueberry into the main character. But yet, our story begins with Ray Dalio, the legendary financier who founded the largest hedge fund in the world. Bridgewater, they manage$100 billion of money. Yeah, but funny thing, that hedge fund, Bridgewater, wasn't interested in Ray Dalio's latest startup pitch, were they, Jack?

10:03Because the startup was in blueberries. So Ray Dalio, with his billions of dollars, invested his own money. He invested in a blueberry business. The company's called Fruitist. They just got$150 million from Ray Dalio and JP Morgan. This unicorn has an all-fruit diet. And we say that because fruitists carefully crossbred blueberries and grew them in special microclimates to maximize size and crunchiness. The result? A blueberry three times the size of an average blueberry. I'm sorry, Jack. You mean a blueberry with the girth of a clementine. Talk about a girthquake. Now, they're sold under the brand Jumbo, and they're now in 13 ,000 stores.

10:43They did$400 million of sales last year. Again, this isn't a big blueberry business. It's a big blueberry business. Yeah, it's a double big. But yet here's what Jack and I find fascinating with this story. In the world of commoditized fruit, Fruitist has built a blueberry brand with loyalty. Because the real innovation isn't just the massive size that will get you to stop in your tracks in the grocery aisle. Although a golf ball-sized blueberry does make for a good Instagram pic, Jack. The real innovation is these blueberries' consistency. Because Fruitist solved the berry roulette challenge. challenge berry roulette.

11:16We've been there. You see, the farming industry is fragmented. What you find in the grocery store could come from a hundred different farms. I mean, so Jack, like every berry you pick from the grocery store, it holds an unknown taste. You never really know what you're going to get. It's like roulette. There's variability. Like, will this one be sour? Will it be sweet? Will it be soft? Will it be crispy? When I go to Jack's house and he makes me oatmeal in the morning, you usually taste the blueberries for me and give me a warning. You know I'm not a sour blueberry guy, Jack. Well, Fruitist has venture capital money that regular farmers don't.

11:43So Fruitist invested in high-tech, highly controlled growing environments. They've got a Mexican farm for summer blueberries, an Indian farm for winter blueberries, a Moroccan farm for the fall blueberries, which ensures consistently grown blueberries year-round. And those berries are grown at high altitude with big day-night temperature swings. Why is that important, Jack? It means the berries grow more slowly, which results in thicker skin and crunchier berries. Okay, but here is the real surprise. The real reason why Ray Dalio is interested in these big, big blueberries. The Ozempic effect.

12:16Yeah, it's Ozempic. You see, GLP-1 drug users reduce consumption of all foods. That's what the drug is for, except for fruits and vegetables where they eat more of them. And since Ozempic users don't want surprises in their meals, they're splurging on a consistent guaranteed berry. They're buying the recognizable berry brand. They're buying Fruitist Jumbo Berries A big berry brand So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Fruitist? You can transform the supporting cast into the main character Now, yes, Yetis, there is a novelty angle here You know, scientifically engineering a giant berry That is an attention grabber As I mentioned, it's a girthquake But the real Unlocked by Fruitist Was repositioning the role of the blueberry as a product Historically, blueberries are a supporting item They're your yogurt topping They're your cake decoration.

13:04They're a smoothie ingredient. Okay, but by making the berry big, it took on a main character role, if you will. And that's what Fruitist is doing. Fruitist sells these huge berries, not just in a berry box next to the competition, but also in one serving berry snack packs. And that's the real value to the giant blueberry, going from a topping to a meal replacement. We know people who are on Ozempic, and instead of having like conventional three meals a day, they'll just pound blueberries at like two o 'clock. Just sprinkle some protein flour on it. And that is why Fruitus is worth a billion dollars.

13:35They've transformed a product from a supporting role to a main character one. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. Walmart 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.

14:12AI tools are there for your digital work. Walmart Business is there for your physical work. Like 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.

14:46Decagon. Am I still on hold? What am I doing? It's been like 15 minutes. Am I still on hold? Hello? Excuse me? No. No, I don't need to hear my list of options again. Yeah, it is. Decagon helps companies create personalized concierge-style customer experiences with AI agents across chat, email, voice, and SMS. They're available 24-7. They feel natural to talk to and can resolve customer requests on their own so businesses can keep up with their requests without losing their personal touch. Decagon plugs directly into your existing system so agents can get live quickly. And because workflows can be updated using natural language, teams can make changes themselves.

15:19Also, Decagon gives your team full visibility into why agents make decisions and what's happening across every conversation. So it's easier to spot trends and improve the experience over time. Decagon helps power millions of conversations every day for brands you know and love, including Avis, Affirm, Fanatics, and Aura. Ready to transform your customer support? Go to decagon.ai slash tboy to get a personalized demo and see what Decagon can do for your team. Check Decagon out at decagon.ai slash tboy. That's decagon.ai slash tboy. For our third and final story, President Trump is meeting with President Xi of China today, Thursday about a potential trade deal.

16:00But the place that the trade war's impact is being felt the most is the TV show Shark Tank. Yeti's 17th season of Shark Tank began last month. Mark Cuban is in. Lori Greiner is out. Jack, what's going on with Barbara? I don't know. What's she going to do? I don't know, but all I do know is Mr. Wonderful is going to make you license your IP and then pay him a monthly dividend after every unit is sold. He charges a hard bargain. Now, the theme of Mark Cubans' final season is that all of the Shark Tank contestants are trade war losers. And to illustrate this, we can look at one product, the Fluffle from Shark Tank.

16:33The Fluffle. It's a human-sized dog bed. Like a giant circular mattress pen thingy that you can just flop into on the floor, in the living room, whatever. Yes, it pairs well with the Snuggie, right, Jack? Yeah, it does. Now, they do a million dollars in sales. Each bed retails for$399, and it costs $140 to produce the Fluffle over in China. But that 65 % profit margin that the Fluffle team pitched on Shark Tank, the finances ain't financing right now, are they, Jack? As U.S. tariffs on things made in China hit 145 % earlier this year, Fluffle just threw out their numbers, they didn't work anymore.

17:12Today, tariffs on Chinese goods are down to 30%, but still, it makes the CEO of Fluffle not want to get out of his Fluffle in the morning. Well, great idea would be to make an adult stroller. I would love to be strolled around Central Park by somebody. Fluffle, make it happen. But besties, here's what Jack and I find fascinating about this story. What ails Fluffle right now is a common situation among all Shark Tank style companies. American startups that have one physical invention, in other words, a Shark Tank style company, exactly, those products tend to be designed in America but made in China.

17:43Low price, high volume, you need to sell a lot of Fluffles to make a fluffy profit. The Simply Fit board, the Bomba sock, the Squatty Potty. These are Shark Tank's greatest hits, all made in China. But unlike Tim Cook, that Squatty Potty CEO couldn't get a tariff exemption this year. Even one of the show's most successful products of all time, the Scrub Daddy, is feeling big trade war pain right now. 13 years after doing a deal, Scrub Daddy's now doing 200 million bucks in revenue, but the founder just said he is in crisis mode. He told Business Insider that the U.S. just lacks the expertise to make his scrub daddy, as well as apparel and electronic products, too.

18:23And you know what? Mark Cuban agrees. He said that, Now look, NVIDIA has the scale to get an entire chip factory built for him in Arizona. Great point, Jack. Squatty Potty doesn't. Unfortunately. So the result? The numbers are down for Shark Tank alums and current contestants. The sharks have the upper hand this season. Expect more deals at smaller valuations. And for that reason, Jack, I'm out. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over in America? Rare earth metals, AI chips, soybeans, TikTok, and Shark Tank. It's all on the line in today's Trump-China meeting. Yetis, this is President Trump's first meeting with China's President Xi in his second presidency.

19:10And you know what? It's the most important economic event of the year. No lunch will affect us all more than the one happening right now in South Korea. Now, prediction markets, they think there's a 30 % chance that a TikTok deal is announced at this meeting. But also, the fate of American computer chip sales to China, that's at stake today. Rare earth metals that underlie all our technology, also on the table in today's meeting. And of course, the$500 billion of made-in-China stuff that we Americans buy each and every year. Add it all up, rare earth metals, AI chips, soybeans, TikTok, and Shark Tank.

19:46It's all on the line in today's Trump-China meeting. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Thursday, Halloween Eve? NVIDIA stock rose on news of$500 billion worth of Blackwell chip orders, but Blackwell's successor and its successor's successor are already in development. AI data centers, they're not like railroad tracks or telephone wires. They're more like flower bouquets. They are perishable. For our second story, Fruitist carefully grows golf ball-sized blueberries and is now a$1 billion brand because Fruitist turned a supporting role product into a main character product.

20:24And finally, President Xi meets with President Trump today in China. The administration's been signaling that a deal is coming on the trade war, but we will update you in tomorrow's pod. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the Federal Reserve, our central bank, voted 10 to 2 to cut interest rates again yesterday. The benchmark interest rate that influences all other interest rates is now down to 3.75%. By the way, the two dissenting votes, one of them wanted an even bigger rate cut and the other one wanted no cut at all. Unfortunately, the Fed signaled it won't cut interest rates again this year.

21:01And second, earning seasons in full swing for big tech. 15 % of the S &P 500 is held by just three companies, and they reported yesterday. Google and Microsoft announced 34 % and 40 % jumps in their cloud revenue. But Meta's stock fell 9 % after hours. Their results were good for Zuck, but it was probably trading bots that sank the stock. And Chipotle's stock plummeted 13 % on word that younger diners are cutting back on their burritos. And finally, the average American now spends, it's official, three full days a year sitting in traffic. By the way, traffic is defined by the report as delays compared to how long it would take without traffic.

21:42Yeah, and you spend a full three-day weekend equivalent sitting in it. You may even be in traffic right now. If you are, great to see you there. You look fantastic. If you want to feel better, though, you spend three months of the year looking at your phone. Yeah, yeah. But Jack, three of the days that you're looking at your phone, you're also stuck in traffic, not moving, we should point out. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Dr. Clifton Byrd down in Tampa Bay. Push and play. Yeah, let's press play. Hey there, Yetis and Besties. This is Dr. Byrd from Moffitt Cancer Center in beautiful Tampa, Florida.

22:11Today, I'm bringing you the best fact yet for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know that screening for breast cancer saves thousands of lives every year? Research shows that screening mammograms decrease breast cancer-related deaths by up to 40%. Regular screening allows for early detection, better treatment options, and fantastic outcomes. God bless you all. Let's make this year's fight against breast cancer the best one yet. Thank you, Dr. Bird. And we left a link in the episode description to learn more. Sent to us by Dr. Bird. Yeah, it is. You look fantastic today, even if you got a costume paralysis for this costume countdown right now.

22:49Yeah, we're down to one day. If you go to Spirit Halloween today, be civil. Don't knock anybody out of the way for that last wig on the shelf. Hey, you don't want to be talking to a manager at Spirit Halloween on Halloween Eve. That is not a situation you want to be in. Unlike the temporary tattoos, that goes on your permanent record. So to everyone dressing up like RoboCop Brian Chesky, good luck getting those handcuffs. And Jack and I, we'll see you on tomorrow's pod in costume.

23:18And before we go, a congratulations to Jonas Afe down in Santa Barbara, California, who's not just a birthday boy, but is getting married this weekend too. Congrats, Jonah. And congratulations to the Marlington Girls Cross Country Team in Alliance, Ohio, who are headed to Ohio State for the championships. And a happy birthday to Akash Sarong-Walters, turning 32 years old down the street in San Francisco. And alles gute zum Geburtstag to June Mendoza, who's turning 40 over in Germany. And Preston Bryant have the best birthday yet over in Austin, Texas. And finally, a big shout out to Emily Crabtree.

23:55We are so pumped to have you with us. Straight out of Livonia, Michigan, her friend asked her HYHTBOI and she said no. So this is her first pod and it happens to be our best one.

24:08This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Apple, Chipotle, and ETFs of the S &P 500. Bureau Premium Non-Alcoholic Beer. All right, yet he's a little behind the scenes here. Before our New York City live show back in April, Jack and I went sober for two weeks. True story. Couldn't risk getting sick. I didn't want to be groggy. I couldn't afford a hangover. It was New York, baby. Okay, but Jack, celebrating the wins is what we do. And so for our live shows, we crack open something special. So we drank Biro, the premium non-alcoholic beer brand co-founded by Tom Holland. Yeah, I actually first saw it at my grocery store.

24:43Delicious his taste like a celebration, feels fantastic, and looks legit. More on the looks in a sec. And if it's good enough for the actor who played Spider-Man, it's good enough for us. You see, it pairs well with a pickleball game, a profitable earnings report, or with the best podcast. So, Yetis, if you want to celebrate the wins with all the taste of a premium lager or IPA, but none of the alcohol, there's no better choice than Bureau. Okay, pause the pod. Did we mention the can is straight up gold? This thing will stand out at every one of your next parties. Trust us, we've done it. Only beer we know that actually upgrades the scene like a promotion.

25:17So, Basties, if there's a win you're celebrating every day, Bureau is the non-alcoholic brew brand you gotta bring. So use code T-Boy for 20 % off your first order at BureauBrewing.com.