🍋 QR Code Economy

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Good Morning & Happy Friday! As if record high home prices weren't enough of a headwind to prevent folks from buying a house, mortgage rates are reaching 4% thanks to expectations of rate hikes. Elon Musk and Justin Trudeau are not getting along. Elon tweeted a meme comparing Trudeau to Hitler (which he deleted shortly after but we screenshotted for you). Elon is also not happy with the SEC and says they are harassing him in a calculated effort to “chill” his right to free speech in its oversight of his communications with shareholders as part of a 2018 settlement. Carl Icahn, who owns a massive $25k of McDonalds stock, is demanding they prioritize something other than profits and said he's prepared to launch a proxy fight if they don't stop using suppliers who house pregnant pigs in small boxes.

📢 We have a lot of exciting stuff planned for y'all this year and one of the things we are close to launching is a Short Squeez Premium membership and newsletter. Before we do, we wanted to hear y'alls thoughts on what would be most valuable to you. Please take a minute to fill out this survey. We'll be sending our favorite book to 5 lucky winners who fill it out.

1. Story of the Day: QR Code Economy

QR codes have made a big comeback since the pandemic as restaurants and bars use them in place of physical menus. They were also recently part of a hugely successful Super Bowl commercial from Coinbase that ended up crashing the company's website. Now though, the FBI isn't so sure their prevalence is a positive thing.

In 2021, 76 million Americans scanned a QR code for some reason or another, which is up 44% from 2019, according to eMarketer. That number is projected to grow even further to 100 million people by 2025. The thought here is that marketers will "gamify" these QR codes so people can simply scan and snag deals.

QR codes make scamming really easy too. FBI issued an alert earlier this year, that cybercriminals are messing with these codes and sending customers sites that steal login and financial info instead of sites that give you a nice 50% discount.

Short Squeez Takeaway: Even though the pandemic is slowly dying out, physical menus may not make a big comeback, and QR codes are here to stay. The FBI's advice to protecting yourself from having your information stolen is to make sure where the website code leads you to is where you were trying to go. A Short Squeez hot tip is if you're just trying to order a pizza, and the site asks you for your Social Security number, it's probably not legit.

Source: Axios

2. Markets Rundown

US stocks were down yesterday amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine with confused investors dumping risky assets and rotating into bonds.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Inspirato Inc ($ISPO) +648% three days after going public through a SPAC merger.

• (+) Cepton Inc ($CPTN) +344% after ringing the opening bell on the NASDAQ today.

• (–) Albemarle ($ALB) -20% because of cost pressures despite sharing bullish price guidance.

3. Top Reads

• Make sure you pay attention to your colleagues' pronouns (Axios)

• History says current bond market drawdown isn't out of the ordinary (PragCap)

• Shopify plans on spending big for its future (Protocol)

• Charlie Munger has his eye on index fund managers (WSJ)

• The downward spiral of content platforms (Anil Dash)

• Are startups becoming more corporate? (Investing 101)

• Weekly initial unemployment claims on the downturn (Bonddad)

• Making money of music royalties (CAIA)

• Walmart says shoppers are on alert as grocery bills climb (CNBC)

A Message from Polymarket: The Power of the Dog for Best Picture

The Oscars are coming up on March 27, and 10 new movies are up for the Best Picture title: Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story.

Jane Campion’s Netflix drama The Power of the Dog leads nominees for the Academy awards with 12. Additionally, it has run the table with precursors this season, with more than 25 wins from critics’ groups. Coupled with a Best Picture win at the Golden Globes, Campion’s movie seems ready to win one more time.

Will 'The Power of the Dog' win the Best Picture?*

Polymarket traders are currently forecasting a 60% probability that The Power Of The Dog will take home the winning prize. What do y’all think? Follow the odds now on Polymarket!

4. Book of the Day: Always Day One: How the Tech Titans Plan to Stay on Top Forever

At Amazon, "Day One" is code for inventing like a startup, with little regard for legacy. Day Two is, in Jeff Bezos's own words, "stasis, followed by irrelevance, followed by excruciating, painful decline, followed by death."

Most companies today are set up for Day Two. They build advantages and defend them fiercely, rather than invent the future. But Amazon and fellow tech titans Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are operating in Day One: they prioritize reinvention over tradition and collaboration over ownership. 

Through 130 interviews with insiders, from Mark Zuckerberg to hourly workers, Always Day One reveals the tech giants' blueprint for sustainable success in a business world where no advantage is safe. Companies today can spin up new products at record speed -- thanks to artificial intelligence and cloud computing -- and those who stand still will be picked apart. The tech giants remain dominant because they've built cultures that spark continual reinvention. 

It might sound radical, but those who don't act like it's always day one do so at their own peril. Kantrowitz uncovers the engine propelling the tech giants' continued dominance at a stage when most big companies begin to decline. And he shows the way forward for everyone who wants to compete with--and beat--the titans.

“Competitors today can create new products at record speeds—thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and cloud computing especially—so you might as well build for the future, even at the present’s expense.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• Gemini – the one stop shop for all your crypto needs. Buy, sell, store, and earn bitcoin, ether, and over 70+ other cryptocurrencies with Gemini. You can also earn up to 8.05% APY on your cryptocurrency portfolio every day. Use code WALLST20 and get $20 of bitcoin after you trade $100 or more within 30 days

• Is a VC gig right for you?

• The struggles of the current job market, and hiring over Zoom

6. Daily Visual: US is Now Energy Independent

US Petroleum; Number of barrels per day from 1950-2020

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen: The Thing About a Gold Rush

“It’s not the “gold.”

It’s the “rush” that changes the way people behave.

When consumed by a gold rush, people make decisions that they would never make on ordinary days. They trust entities, make assumptions and suspend disbelief. Not because there’s gold on the line, but because everyone else is rushing, and the fear of missing out is significant.

Rushing can help us overcome the status quo and our fear of the unknown. It can also lead to choices that hurt us in the long run.

We should rush on purpose. It’s a choice.”

Source: Seths Blog

8. Crypto Corner

• Crypto-SPAC hybrids

• VC giant Sequoia Capital launching a $500-600 million crypto fund

• Millennials having low financial well-being moves them into crypto

• NFTs will need to be dynamic

• Brazil's DeFi ETFs go off

• Stablecoin supply showing "increased belief" despite market rout

9. Memes of the Day

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