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🎧 On the go? Listen to today’s 10-minute podcast to hear Zack and Rob debate whether Blank Street Coffee can take on Starbucks and Dunkin’, Twitter’s abandoned OnlyFans plans, Snap’s layoffs, and more.
🎧 On the go? Listen to today’s 10-minute podcast to hear Zack and Rob debate whether Blank Street Coffee can take on Starbucks and Dunkin’, Twitter’s abandoned OnlyFans plans, Snap’s layoffs, and more.
In the US, coffee is dominated by a familiar duopoly.
Starbucks and Dunkin’ control ~66% of the retail market, and their ubiquity makes it difficult for upstarts to break through.
But Williamsburg-based Blank Street Coffee has a plan: to sell cheaper coffee than Starbucks that tastes better than Dunkin’, per The New York Times.
… started as a small, electric coffee cart in 2020, and has since expanded to 40 locations across NYC, Boston, and London.
The chain is betting big on automation, using a pair of tools to minimize the wait for customers:
This combination allows Blank Street to keep its retail operation small. Most stores are under 350 square feet, making it easy to add new locations.
… is the $67m the chain has raised from investors like Tiger Global and General Catalyst, which has also created skeptics out of some New Yorkers.
Unsurprisingly, Blank Street has ambitious goals. Founder Issam Freiha says, “We want to be the really good cup of coffee that you drink twice a day, every day.”
If they accomplish that, we may soon be talking about coffee’s triopoly.
Snap is laying off 20% of its ~6.4k-person staff, with some teams reportedly impacted more than others — like one that builds minigame capabilities for Snapchat developers.
Royal Caribbean announced it will use Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet to power its cruise fleet.
In France, officials have used AI to find 20.3k undeclared swimming pools, which can raise property values and, thus, taxes.
Gopuff is looking to secure a $300m credit line amid slowing growth and after burning through $400m in the first quarter of 2022.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani replaced Bernard Arnault as the world’s third-richest person, with ~$137B. He’s the first Asian man to rank that high.
Twitter Circle, a feature that lets you tweet to a preselected group of up to 150 people, is now available to everyone.
The National Labor Relations Board ruled it’s unlawful for Tesla to prevent workers from wearing union buttons and T-shirts.
Germany and Denmark are investing $9B in offshore wind parks expected to power up to 4.5m homes and curb reliance on Russia.
$170k in 20 days? Check out how Trendsters Lori and Kelsey executed a ridiculous affiliate program and product launch for a cannabis company.
Singdhi Sokpo
Bad news for the Sopranos and Corleones: PayPal’s former kingpins, known as the “PayPal Mafia,” could soon get a series of their own.
A show about PayPal’s early days, where many of tech’s biggest names springboarded their careers, is being tinkered with, per Protocol.
The development comes as streamers make the tech rounds. In 2022 alone, we’ve seen Apple TV+’s “WeCrashed” (about WeWork), Showtime’s “Super Pumped” (Uber), and Hulu’s “The Dropout” (Theranos).
A show we’d really like to see made, however, is one about Dan Chan, the early PayPal employee who got laid off, then became Silicon Valley’s favorite magician.
Value props = clear, concise pitches for buyers and stakeholders.
AKA the key branding language no business can afford to flub.
If you’ve got mumbo-jumbo to remove, here are 15 copy and design templates to provide structure and spark.
Keep those pitches pristine. Packaged by HubSpot. 🧡
California’s minimum wage is $15.50/hr., but a new bill could score some fast-food employees up to $22/hr.
The Fast Food Accountability and Standards (FAST) Recovery Act has passed both the state Assembly and Senate, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign it, per The New York Times.
Proponents hope the council would give fast-food employees — who often deal with wage theft, harassment, and safety issues — a voice.
Several business groups and restaurant owners, including the California Chamber of Commerce and both the National and California Restaurant Association, are against it. They argue:
Groups representing Black, Asian, and LGBTQ+ businesses also worry it could harm minority groups who rely on franchises as a path to entrepreneurship.
Interestingly, if approved, the council would be similar to sectoral bargaining, where workers and employers negotiate across an industry. It’s common in Europe, but not the US.
🎥 On this day: In 1897, Thomas Edison received a patent for the Kinetograph, a movie camera that used celluloid film.
🍨 That’s interesting: The dessert Clair de Lune was invented for a White House state dinner honoring the astronauts of Apollo 11. Here’s how to make it.
🙄 Haha: A LinkedIn viral post generator. You get to choose your own “cringe” level.
⛽ How to: How to use Google Maps to save on gas.
😍 Aww: And now, a stoat on a trampoline.
Brace for impact. (Source: imgflip.com)
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