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🍋 End of the Tech Uniform

🍋 End of the Tech Uniform

Silicon Valley has been the cool kid on the block compared to its Wall Street counterparts for years. The "tech uniform" of t-shirts and cargo shorts perfectly encapsulates that cool factor. But after SBF's arrest, it looks like Silicon Valley might have a little bit of a perception problem.

December 14, 2022

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“Technology finds most of its uses after it has been invented, rather than being invented to meet a foreseen need.” — Jared Diamond

Good Morning! Inflation finally cooled as November's 7.1% CPI increase came lower than expected, the lowest rise since the end of 2021. Stocks rallied as investors let out a sigh of relief and poured more money into the market.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's reign as the richest person in the world may have come to an end, but his space exploration startup SpaceX is still going strong. The company was recently valued at a staggering $140 billion.

In an effort to save money, Amazon will postpone start dates for new grads from May 2023 to the end of that year. Two more states banned TikTok. And Argentina reached the World Cup final (Messi's last game?), and Morocco and France will play today for a chance at the title game.

There’s a whole universe of places to park your capital these days… but let’s talk about one of the most down-to-earth options 一 farmland.

1. Story of the Day: End of the Tech Uniform

Silicon Valley has been the cool kid on the block compared to its Wall Street counterparts in recent years. The "tech uniform" of t-shirts and cargo shorts perfectly encapsulates that cool factor. But after SBF's arrest, it looks like Silicon Valley might have a little bit of a perception problem.

Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and SBF all helped pioneer the concept of a "tech uniform" - the ultimate in lazy fashion for the tech-savvy. It's the perfect outfit for those who are too busy changing the world to bother with actual fashion. After all, tech innovators are supposed to be rebellious and ignore conventional fashion rules, and their wardrobe choices are just one way to show it.

But some worry the tech uniform has become too casual. Tech billionaires’ attitudes seem to have shifted from being indifferent to societal norms, to being indifferent to corporate governance and fundamental laws.

Maybe FTX investors should have seen this coming - if SBF couldn't be bothered to shower or comb his hair, why are we surprised he was too cool to hire auditors or keep his funds separate?

Takeaway: It’s been a rough year for tech. And if rising interest rates and mass layoffs weren’t enough, SBF might have finally put the tech uniform out of style. After all, who wants to look like SBF right now? We tolerated the tech uniform when it represented tech bros flipping the bird to societal norms. But now that the tech uniform arguably represents flipping the bird to actual laws, it might be time for tech bros to buy a Patagonia vest or two.

2. Markets Rundown

If you want access to Wall Street insider interviews, industry deep-dives, premium research/resources and weekly Knowledge Drop newsletter, check out our Insiders membership.

Stocks rallied after strong inflation data, but eyes are on the Fed’s Wednesday speech.

Movers & Shakers

(+) Moderna ($MRNA) +20% after the company reported positive news on its cancer vaccine.
(+) Pinterest ($PINS) +12% following a stock upgrade and potential buyback plan.
(–) United Airlines ($UAL) -7% after the company announced it will buy 100 new planes.

Private Dealmaking

Getir will buy German grocery delivery company Gorillas for $1.2 billion
Dalmia Bharat, an Indian conglomerate, will buy the cement and power business of Jaiprakash Associates for $687 million
AutoNation will buy RepairSmith, a mobile car repair startup, for $190 million
MessageGears, a cloud customer engagement platform, raised $62 million
Darwin CX, a SaaS platform for subscription-based companies, raised $38.4 million

A Message from FarmTogether: Did You Know You Can Add Farmland to Your Portfolio?

Farmland investing has been a popular macro trend among billionaires and big institutions for the last decade. But the high cost of buying an entire farm put this asset class out of reach to all but big institutions and the ultra-rich… until now.

With FarmTogether, you can add US farmland to your portfolio easily, without being in the thick of the cornfield.

FarmTogether reviews billions of dollars worth of deals, offering less than 1% of these deals on their platform. Their 105-point due diligence checklist ensures no stone gets left unturned.

Translation: FarmTogether brings you the cream of the crop(s), helping you invest in only the best of the best institutional-quality farmland.

Benefit from farmland’s inflation-hedging properties and land value appreciation, especially in the midst of the current global food shortage.

Get started with FarmTogether today and invest in a timeless asset 一 our food supply.

4. Book of the Day: The Age of AI

An AI learned to win chess by making moves human grand masters had never conceived. Another AI discovered a new antibiotic by analyzing molecular properties human scientists did not understand.

Now, AI-powered jets are defeating experienced human pilots in simulated dogfights. AI is coming online in searching, streaming, medicine, education, and many other fields and, in so doing, transforming how humans are experiencing reality.

In The Age of AI, three leading thinkers have come together to consider how AI will change our relationships with knowledge, politics, and the societies in which we live.

The Age of AI is an essential roadmap to our present and our future, an era unlike any that has come before.

“Imperfect, weak AI is already enough to transform the nature of firms and how they operate.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

How to reclaim 40 hours every week without quitting your job
How the 4-day workweek could change the future of work
How New York became the world’s most dynamic city
Why soft skills at work are anything but soft
10 of the best podcast episodes of 2022

A Message from Daloopa: Win an Unforgettable Dinner for Two

Our friends over at Daloopa are giving away an unforgettable dinner experience for 2 at a Michelin starred restaurant.

You must be a buyside professional to be eligible to win.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is fill out this form.

Winners will be decided and contacted next week.

6. Daily Visual: Highest Grossing Films of All-Time

Avatar sequel "The Way of Water" drops on Friday, 13 years after the original James Cameron Avatar film first debuted in December 2009.

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen

"The problem isn't that you're too busy.

You are too busy, but that's not the problem.

If you view being busy as the problem, there is no solution.

You will always be too busy, and that will never change.

As Andy Grove once noted: "A manager's work is never done.

There is always more to be done, more that should be done, always more than can be done."

The problem is that you're acting like a firefighter instead of a fire marshal."

Source: Ed Batista

9. Memes of the Day

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