Hey All,
This is issue #018 of the Talk Money Weekly. To get your mind moving on the topic of money every week, I curate and share trending conversations around money, business, current events, and pop culture from Twitter, my favorite podcasts, and other platforms.
In one month we launch Season 3! This is the season that really shows our chops. It took me two years, but I'm really excited to share it with you. For now, I leave you with my favorite episode: A Table for Two, Please
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📈Markets & Business:
DoorDash Shares Jump 80% at IPO
Door Dash raised $3.4B at a price of $102 in the largest IPO of the year. Once shares went live on the stock exchange, they soared 80% to around $180. Which means there was a lot of investor appetite for the stock. But the real story is in how they got here.
Food delivery was a really competitive space with Uber Eats ahead of the game. DoorDash focused on the suburbs and areas where Uber Eats wasn't prominent. They also focused on curating the best restaurants, building trust with customers. This is an excellent thread on the importance of execution.
Did the Trump Admin Fail to Get the Pfizer Vaccine?
With all the talk about a vaccine coming, did the Trump administration fail to order them on time? According to this, we're going to be waiting some time for a vaccine. There are over 300M people in the United States, so having vaccines for 16% of the population seems like a fail.
Imagine hearing all the hype about the Playstation 5. You really really want one. You get offered to be first in line to get one. You don't take it and say you'll get it when it's released in stores. We all know what happens. That's me right now.
WTF is Going On in San Francisco
I honestly feel for SF now. It's hard to watch people and businesses suffer at the hands of local government. And it's not just happening in SF. It's all over California. Here's a list of unfortunate events.
- Elon Musk is leaving for Texas. That's another really wealthy person with influence taking his tax dollars with him.
- Chef Andrew Gruel talks about how shutting outdoor dining is wrong without compensation. While people can go into stores and fly on airplanes, restaurants continue to be crushed. Setting up for outdoor dining is really expensive.
- The city of SF wants to remove Zuckerberg's name from SF General, the public hospital. He donated $75M to that hospital. Look, I'm not a Zuck fan, but who cares when his money is providing free healthcare to folks.
- I won't even mention the whole French Laundry incident that happened with the mayor of SF.
We really need to find some common ground here.
🎥 Sports & Entertainment:
Bob Dylan Sells His Songwriting Catalog for $300M
It pays to be a songwriter. I did an interview with Ben Lovett from Mumford & Sons for Season 3, and that's exactly what he told me. Songwriting is the most lucrative skill in the music industry. Bob Dylan has written hundreds of songs, and so many artists have covered them- Knock On Heaven's Door, All Along the Watchtower, Blowin in the Wind. See the list here.
He deserves to cash out and leave it to his kids, or give it to charity, or whatever the hell he wants to do with it. Music catalogs have always been sought after.
- Prince changed his name until he was able to reclaim his catalog.
- Taylor Swift had her catalog bought by Scooter Braun in a dramatic under the table deal.
- Michael Jackson took Paul McCartney's advice about owning song rights and bought the Beatles catalog from right under him.
Mark Cuban is One of the Good Guys
Not all billionaires are bad! This argument gets old. Yes, relative to Mark Cuban's wealth, $100M isn't a lot of money. But let's be honest. NO ONE WANTS TO LOSE A $100M! If you had $10,000, would you be annoyed if you had to spend $1,000 to keep something on that you can't use?
He keeps his employees paid because it's the right thing to do. Because he can. He's not a company who has to think about the bottom line and shareholders. He's doing the right thing. That's what matters.
That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed the SEVENTEENTH issue of Talk Money Weekly.
If you haven't already subscribed to my podcast, Talk Money, do so here. Make sure you listen to our latest episode "Black in Business". Stay tuned for our trailer for Season 3 which is going to be pretty amazing. More on that soon.
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