How AI Is Shaping the Future of Retail, Las Vegas and Its Strong Brand, and How Do You Help Your Kid Pick the Right College?

0:00Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door. expertly cleaned and folded. So you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like tea time you. Mmm. Or this tea time you. Or even this tea time you. So did you hear about Dave? Or even tea time, tea time, tea time you. Mmm. So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is?

0:43With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app. Download today. Not all journalism is the same. Take The Guardian. Our coverage has something unique. Fierce independence. Nobody owns us or tells us what we can and can't say. So we're free to report the whole picture. We connect what's happening in Washington to the rest of the globe. Expose corruption wherever we find it. And give fresh perspective on everything. From wellness and soccer to culture, the climate and more. Read, watch and listen to The Guardian for free at theguardian.com.

1:26Welcome to the Prop G Pod's Office Hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours at propgmedia.com. Again, that's officehours at propgmedia.com. Just a little bit of background, a little bit of texture on the dog. I'm in Brazil, in Sao Paulo. I took an overnight here. I couldn't sleep this morning. I took a Xanax, which made me sleep very hard for about three and a half hours. And I have been podcasting for five and a half hours straight.

1:54I am so cooked right now. So with that, let's throw a bunch of meaningful, deep life lessons at me or questions. And I don't know, this is either going to go very well or very poorly. First question. Hi, Prof G. I'm Sarah from New York. I run a startup in the retail marketing space, and I'm super curious to hear your thoughts on Perplexity's new Buy With Pro feature. What does this mean for the retail industry? Thanks. We had to come in hot with a hard question. Buy with Pro is a way to shop online with AI. The platform now allows its paid users to search, compare, and buy products all in one place.

2:33It's a chat-based assistant that includes visual search, similar to Google Lens. So, okay, a couple of things here. I say this a lot. The biggest mistake we've made in marketing is that consumers don't want choice. They want fewer choices presented, but want to be more confident in those choices served up to them. That's the whole basis of specialty retail. Not 32 toasters at Walmart, the right two from William Snow, but from a woman who has better taste in kitchen electronics than you do. Perplexity isn't alone here. Google, Amazon, eBay, and Klarna are all getting into the shopping game. How could this affect the industry?

3:05It's already challenging traditional affiliate marketing models. Platforms, including Perplexity, are partnering with publishers to share ad revenue. But it's unclear how much these relationships will shift the balance of power. So alongside the launch of these tools, I think Perplexity is rolling out a merchant program. And that is retailers who enroll have a better chance of being featured in recommendations and get free API access to PowerSearch on their own sites. When asked if Perplexity makes any money from sales through the buy with pro button, spokesperson there said not at the moment.

3:37But I think if they create enough traffic and attention, they will be able to monetize it. look i like this and we talk about the balance of power like the balance of power is just shifting from the analog or from capital to ip what do i mean by that you don't want to manufacture cars you want to create a layer of software on top of them to sell them you don't want to be in the business of fast fashion you want to be in the business that's airbnb you want to be in the business of having software that observes the traffic on your site and then sends out orders to whatever factory can do this most elegantly and then put in place a transportation system You don't want to own any assets.

4:12And this, to me, feels like, again, more assets and shareholder value are transferring from the people who own stores, the people who insert themselves in between them. If I could invest in any AI property right now, hint, hint, CEO, please call me. I'd like to invest. It would be perplexity because I like the positioning. I like perplexity. Whether this application works or not, it's already worked because we're talking about it. It signals innovation. Yet another person getting in between the consumer and the retailer. And if they build enough traffic, this is a model. Overspend. No one can compete with you.

4:47Don't charge anything. Start getting big traffic. And then slowly but surely, once you have 1%, 10%, 50 % of traffic, start implementing real fees and onerous fees. Anyways, thanks for the question. Question number two. Hi, Scott. This is Noah in Nevada. As a branding expert and visitor, do you think any city or product has marketed itself as effectively as Vegas? Turning a hot, gray, isolated desert crossroads into the global hub of entertainment, opulence, and networking appears to be a contender for number one masterclass in branding. How do you see Las Vegas adapting and faring over the next decade or so?

5:29Thank you for consideration and enjoy your time in the desert. No, that's such an interesting point. Hands down, best managed brand in municipal cities or in metros or whatever the term is for a city. Hands down, what is brand? Brand means differentiation, right? You got 10 brands of cereal, which one do you pull off the shelf? You got 10 super cities. Actually, two thirds of all economic growth is gonna take place in about 25 super cities. I don't think Las Vegas qualifies as a super city. But I think LA is a little bit like Sydney. I think that New York is a little bit like London. They're kind of analogs to almost every city.

6:06I would argue that Orange County or Southern California is a little bit like Cape Town. Cape Town's on my brain because I'm going there later in the month. Reminds me of what I think California was like in the 60s. There's always sort of an analog, except for Vegas. Vegas is singular. In addition, the brand positioning of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, I just think it's fucking genius. I know this firsthand. I was in Vegas 15 hours ago. And what am I doing in Vegas? I'm gambling. I'm yelling when I get blackjack. I'm getting way too fucked up. And it's okay. I thought about going to a strip club last night.

6:38I haven't been to a strip club in 10 years. That's just not my vibe. But it felt natural. It felt like, oh, wait, we just gambled. We made some money. We're fucked up. Oh, we should definitely go to a strip club. No, I shouldn't. Why on earth would I go to a strip club? but you have license to just go kind of just to just sin a little bit and it's legal but you would never do i would never go to a strip club in any city i live in by the way general rule general decent rules for life don't go to strip clubs or eat fast food in the cities you live in i do eat fast food but only when i'm traveling and i'm trying to screen that out in my life because i'm getting older and that's just shitty food anyways the branding around vegas is singular These people are very smart.

7:20And it's amazing how it survived. And granted, it's down a little bit from post-COVID because gambling is so ubiquitous now. But they have done an amazing job. So a singular brand, high margin revenue because it taps into an addiction. And the result is just an incredible offering. By the way, let's talk a little bit about Vegas Hotels. I used to get$40 from ReadyTeller when I was in college. And we'd get ridiculously stoned and think, I know. Let's go to Vegas. and I'd get him my friend's Red Jetta. Of course, he did not drink and drive. We'd go to Vegas for the night. Golden Nugget, Stephen Wynn,$9.99 Best Buffet.

7:53So we'd have 30 bucks. I'd play blackjack at a$1 table. Boom. I remember because I used to wear my mom's boyfriend's cardigan because he was rich and had good taste and he gave me a cardigan that I always used to wear. And then I upgraded to the Tropicana with the toucans with those birds. 19 bucks a night. And then I got really fucking crazy and started going to the, oh my God, what was the one with the Tigers? Treasure Island? No, wait, I don't know. And then when I started to make some money, hello ladies, and I started going to the Rio. Remember the Rio Hotel? I love what cab drivers say. I would say, I'm going to the Rio and they'd go, the Rio where it's hooker friendly.

8:31Anyways, loved the Rio for a while. Then I was at the Palms for like a hot minute. And then when I started making some money, I started staying at the Cosmo. Stayed at the Bellagio, too high end for me. Felt like it was in a Frank Sinatra film. I was waiting for the ass cancer from all the meat. I'm partying with Angie Dickinson later tonight. By the way, did I tell you I did Xanax last night? Anyway, so then when I started making real money, I went to the Cosmo. If you're older and have some money and you want to hang out with younger people, really interesting concept. Take the coolest brands, Beauty and Essex, Milos, license it, bring in there.

9:00Then I went to the Aria, newer, higher end, kind of like a Lexus sort of feel, more modern. It was a fucking disaster for the developers, but they finished it, it was nice. And now I stay at the win because even though it's a bunch of rich people from Texas and not my vibe. I just like good service and they do the best job. The win in the encore, in my impression, are hands down the best casinos. There you go. There's a story of my hotels in Vegas, but see above a singular city resulting in unearned margin. Thanks for the question. We have one quick break before our final question. Stay with us.

9:38From Pushkin Industries, I'm Jonathan Goldstein and Heavyweight is back. The new season is bigger than ever. Bigger hopes. I keep waiting for this moment when he says, Mom, I get it. I'm sorry. Bigger dreams. Tom Hanks wants to meet with you. This is a real chance. And bigger heartbreaks. I thought it would be my movie moment. And maybe he would even whisper in my ear, I've always been in love with you. Check out new episodes of Heavyweight on Apple Podcasts.

10:17Mercury knows that to an entrepreneur, every financial move means more. An international wire means working with the best contractors on any continent. A credit card on day one means creating an ad campaign on day two. And a business loan means loading up on inventory for Black Friday. That's why Mercury offers banking that does more, all in one place, so that doing just about anything with your money feels effortless. Visit mercury.com to learn more. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank and Trust members FDIC.

10:56Support for this show comes from Airbus. It took 100 years for electric vehicles to catch on. Modern solar panels? Half a century. Lithium batteries? Decades to go from their debut to daily use. It's a pattern. Energy tech breaks through, stalls, and then something tips the scales. But for every success, there are even more almosts. So what if there was a breakthrough sitting at this crossroads right now? The potential to cut carbon emissions with sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is real. SAF works just like Jet A1, which is a standard jet fuel used worldwide. But the difference is its contribution to aviation emissions reduction.

11:43It could change the future of flight, and that's why several major U.S. carriers have already increased their commitments to fuel with SAF. But it's not just up to the airlines. What's needed is an industry-wide push to increase the supply to meet growing demand. You can learn more about how Airbus is contributing to accelerating this journey at fly.airbus.com.

12:14Welcome back. Question number three. Hi, Prof. G. I'd appreciate some parenting advice. I have an ambitious high school senior who has been accepted to a high-status university, Michigan, and a lower-status university, Montana State. He plans to double major in mathematics and computer science. My son fell in love with the lower status campus and his outdoor recreation, skiing, fishing, mountain biking, all of which he loves. My instinct screams, take the higher status option. But compelling him away from his first choice runs the risk of resentment, burnout, or dropout. Look, I hate this bullshit of just where he's going to go where he's going to be happy.

12:54This is the bottom line. College is just fucking amazing. All right. He's going to have four amazing years. And... there's just no getting around it. We tell ourselves this myth that it doesn't matter where you go to school as long as you get a good education. It's not true. We have a caste system in our society. In Europe, it's your family name. In the U.S., it's the college you went to. And then the first few firms you work for, your economic trajectory in your 20s largely sets the economic trajectory for the rest of your life. And the thing that sets your economic trajectory right out at 22 is the university you went to.

13:26The big name brand state school you're talking about it's just going to offer more opportunity. There's very few brands that stick with you the rest of your life and say something about you. And unfortunately, that's your university. My son, I had a similar situation with my son. My son applied to a bunch of boarding schools in the UK. One was lesser prestigious. He got in and he got into another one that was kind of like iconic. And I think he was a bit intimidated by the iconic one. And we said, look, you have agency here. What do you want to do? And he said, I want to go to the kind of the second tier, but good one.

14:01And I took him on a long walk. And this is what I said to him. I said, you know, I'm smart, right? I literally said that. And he's like, yeah. And I said, and you know, I love you, right? Yeah. And I'm like, I want to make really good, I want to help you make really good decisions. And I want you to trust me on this one. I think you'd be better off here. I think this will set you up for a better education and more opportunities. And I was really lucky. He was silent for a second and he said, okay. And I don't know if you have that kind of relationship with your son, but I want to be clear. I think you're more doors.

14:35I just talked to a kid who got into a mediocre university where he could play basketball and to MIT where he wasn't going to play basketball. And he chose the mediocre school. And my advice was, dude, go to MIT and buy a fucking basketball team in 20 years. Would you like to own a basketball team someday? I'm like, you're not going to be an NBA player. There's just no getting around it. Your son would be better in terms of prospects. I mean, if he hates it and he's going to be depressed, fine. But the school you're talking about is an amazing school. It's going to have a great time. Fraternities, sororities, football games.

15:08So I hate to say this, but I would just happen and say, look, boss, I love you. I'm smart. Can you defer to me on this? Can you trust me on this? And if you don't like it, you can easily transfer from this school to this one. You know, on this one, can I cash in some chips? Let me finish with the following. You and your partner have clearly done a great job. This is what you call a great problem. If your son is into both these schools, it means you have raised a thoughtful, disciplined young man. And at the end of the day, that's the headline news. Well done. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours at PropGmedia.com.

15:48Again, that's officehours at ProfGmedia.com.

16:18day.