06.27.2023

Maya's Reading List

June 27, 2023

SPICE CAPITAL PRESENTS: 🔥 🌶 HOT SAUCE 🌶 🔥

Here at Spice Capital, we’re focused on making big bets in areas primed for rapid change. To do that, we believe it’s important to stay up to date with what some of the most exciting thinkers and builders are saying day-to-day as well as mixing up your content intake with some fun from the corners of the internet. We know there’s a lot of noise and the space can feel overwhelming. Don’t worry! We’re here to be the Hot Sauce in your bag so you can make sure you always keep things spicy!

Hello! We interrupt this message to announce your invite to:

THE TASTE ECONOMY - a mini conference hosted by Spice Capital and Dirt Media on July 13th at Elsewhere in Brooklyn.

Click here to rsvp.

Can’t make it? Subscribers can tune in remotely via livestream.

Recommended reading before the event: https://dirt.fyi/article/2023/03/the-taste-economy

1) Best collabs of June

McDonalds x Grimace x Krool Toys

This was an insanely successful campaign with the best memes. There’s literally price gouging on the grimace shake at certain locations and people are reselling the toys on grailed 😂

The 'Grimace Shake' TikTok trend has Gen Z pretending to pass out in random places after drinking the McDonald's special purple drink

TikTokers are pretending to be unconscious, even sprawled face-forward against a purple liquid-covered wall, after sipping on a McDonald's milkshake.

McDonald’s Just Released A Game That Runs On Game Boy Color

Grimace’s Birthday is free-to-play on desktop and mobile, too

Crocs x MSCHF

First Look at the MSCHF X Crocs Big Yellow Boot

Official collaboration confirmed.

2) Favorite profiles of June

Litquidity - Financial Times

Financial ‘meme-lord’ Litquidity: ‘The market is beyond satire. You can’t make it up’

The anonymous Wall Streeter on finance’s brutal work culture, using humour as a coping mechanism — and why he traded a banking career for comedy

Athena Calderone - New York Times

What Happens When You Get So Influential That You’re Bored by Your Own Aesthetic?

In search of a refresh, Athena Calderone, the queen of muted Brooklyn interiors, is moving to Manhattan. She almost went broke renovating the townhouse that cemented her place in the interiors world.

Me (shameless plug) - The Guardian

A crypto obsession and early Crocs investment lie behind an outsider’s ‘hustle mentality’

Maya Bakhai founded her venture capital firm after stints at PwC and Thirty Five Ventures – and an early bet that paid off big time

3) This episode sent me into a rabbit hole on HSAs and food deserts

Justin Mares - The US Health Crisis - [Invest Like the Best, EP.333]

Listen to this episode from Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy on Spotify. My guest this week is Justin Mares. Justin is the founder of TrueMed and has previously founded three different health food brands that collectively do $100M+ in annual revenue.

4) Gen Z reports

I know there are a lot of bad “gen-z expert” takes, but these were actually good with some shocking stats. Will do a deeper dive post one day.

daughter trying to tell me everyone makes horizontal TikToks now, is this true????
— Jamie Dubs (@jamiew)
11:02 PM • Jun 8, 2023

How Gen Z Invests:

“Close to six in ten, (56 percent) of U.S. Gen Zs ages 18 to 25 report owning at least some investments. Two in ten (19 percent) are currently invested in cryptocurrency and/or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) only.”

Gen Z and Investing:

Social Media, Crypto, FOMO, and Family

How Gen Z Scrolls:

“When prime-time is all the time, the idea of prioritizing a specific time slot for audience tune in is becoming irrelevant”

Ask Gen Z:

A Deep Dive into Gen Z’s Scrolls

Direct from the source:

some good quotes from user testing last week, all the participants were women ages 20-26 in undergrad or grad school (so this is the older cohort of Gen Z/zillennial)
— Julie Young (@juliey4)
7:07 PM • Apr 10, 2023

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