🍋 TikTok-ing Over

Together With

Good Morning! Did you hear that? No, your Mom didn't surprise you while your clothes are all over the floor of your room. That's Amazon's Alexa, who will soon be able to speak in a relative's voice. Maybe Netflix could've used that tech when firing 300 people in its latest round of job cuts. On the music side of media, Pink Floyd is looking for $500 million for their music catalog. That seems like a lot, but it pales in comparison to the amount of student loan debt the D of E is relieving. About 200k borrowers who went to for-profit colleges will get $6 billion worth of loans forgiven.

Sweater is a fintech platform providing everyday investors access to venture capital investing. If you're looking for a simple way to gain access to the VC asset class, Sweater is the way to go.

1. Story of the Day: TikTok-ing Over

Whether you love it or hate it, TikTok is huge. The app had nearly $4 billion in revenue in 2021 and is projected to reach $12 billion this year. This would make the Vine knock-off bigger than Twitter and Snap combined, just three years after it began accepting ads on the app.  

It's not just the app making money, but the users as well. If you partner up with a brand like Coach, Netflix, or Amazon Prime video, you could make bank for short videos of terrible dancing and trippy visuals. Just ask Alyssa McKay, a 22-year-old out of Portland, Oregon, who used to work part-time at a fro-yo store making minimum wage to pay for college. She's now got 9 million followers and makes more than $100k a year on the platform.

More and more young people have become disheartened by the world and more traditional careers, and are seeking to earn an income through an alternative method like being a social media influencer. According to a report from the Walton Family Foundation and Murmuration, Gen Z'ers are "less conservative than previous generations and take a more progressive stance."

It's not all about having a cool job though. Gen Z wants to enact real change, and could use the platform to make that happen. Romy Drucker, director of the Walton Family Foundation's education program, said, "The big message from young people is, 'please listen.' We have good ideas about what makes us feel excited, what unlocks our love of learning, and what we're passionate about."

Short Squeez Takeaway: I'm loving the energy coming from Gen Z. I may be a millennial, but these kids have moxie. Unfortunately, the average TikTok user in the US now spends roughly 29 hours a month on the app, so let's hope they're not just posting/watching videos about the change, and actually get out there and make it happen.

2. Markets Rundown

The June jumps continue, with equities bouncing higher today and adding gains to the week. Crypto followed suit, hoping the rally continues.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) WeWork ($WE) +16% because Credit Suisse initiated coverage on the stock with an outperform rating.

• (+) Rite Aid ($RAD) +20% after the company reported better than expected revenue and a smaller than expected loss for its most recent quarter.

• (–) Revlon ($REV) -12% after a three-day rise fueled by meme stock enthusiasts.

Private Dealmaking

• European fintech SumUp raises €590 million

• Electric Hydrogen, a CA-based green hydrogen startup, raised $198m in Series B funding

• Opn, a Japanese mobile payments startup, raised $120m at a $1b valuation

• Gearset, a Cambridge, Mass.-based dev-ops solutions provider for Salesforce, raised $55m

• Glowforge, a Seattle-based maker of 3D laser printers, raised $43m

• JobGet, a Boston-based LinkedIn for shift workers, raised $40m in Series B equity funding and $12m in debt

3. Top Reads

• Can crypto’s richest man stand the cold? (BB)

• Amber Vittoria, an artist freed by NFTs (Axios)

• Is Opendoor the Amazon of buying homes or just another Carvana? (BB)

• After a golden decade, fintech faces its first true test (BB)

• Terra founder lost nearly all his wealth in wipeout (Fortune)

• The worst corporate investment of all time (Axios)

• Two former Goldman Sachs bankers are now in the chocolate business (BB)

• Nike to fully exit Russia (CNBC)

• Bridgewater doubles short wagers in Europe to $10.5 billion (BB)

A Message from Sweater Ventures: The Venture Capital Fund for Everyone

Sweater opens venture investing for everyday investors, regardless of accreditation status.

The venture capital ecosystem was begging for change. The majority of investors—even founders, analysts, and venture insiders—couldn’t meet the requirements for most of the existing paths into venture investing, so we decided to reshape the landscape for everyone, for you.

With the Sweater app, you can start investing in venture capital at a low minimum investment and grow your position in the fund with automatic recurring investments. We report on the investments we make right back to you through the app.

Venture capital shapes the future, and here at Sweater, we believe the right to shape that future belongs to everyone. 

Sweater VC has officially launched . Download the app.

4. Book of the Day: Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom

Sam Dogen, creator of the Financial Samurai blog, knows that you need to spend money to make money. He’s taught over 90 million readers how to invest wisely in all facets of life, from education to parenting to relationships to side hustles, even choosing where to work and play.

Now, in his first book, Buy This, Not That, the Financial Samurai takes the guesswork out of financial planning and shows you exactly what to buy, how much to spend, and how to optimize every dollar you earn so you can maximize wealth building and live life on your terms. 

The good news? You don’t need to be a millionaire or a genius to achieve financial freedom. It’s about making the most of your money, now and forever—and it’s never too late to get started.

“Financial freedom means you get to do what you want when you want.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• Why you should return to long-form writing

• The $100 million compromise home

• Stop recording every minute of your life

A Message from Polymarket: Celsius Bankruptcy

Is crypto lender Celsius Network insolvent? 

Celsius recently told its users that it was pausing all withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts because of “extreme market volatility.” (without sharing any other details)

On June 15, Celsius engaged in restructuring attorneys from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to look for potential solutions to its financial problems. Currently, there are rumors that the lawyers are now helping them prepare for bankruptcy.

Polymarket traders are currently predicting a 70% probability that Celsius will announce bankruptcy by July 13th.  What do y’all think? Follow the odds now on Polymarket!

6. Daily Visual: Job Market Swinging Back to Employers

Change in Indeed job postings

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen: Kindness

“Please be kind sounds like a moral imperative. And in some ways, it is.

But behind the theory of the firm and a key building block of successful communities is the idea that kind interactions are significantly more productive.

When people feel seen and respected, they’re more likely to focus on what needs to be done, instead of taking umbrage or being defensive.

When we leave opportunities and pathways for others, they can move forward with less friction.

And when we’re enjoying our days, we’ve created a posture that spreads.

Hockey games aren’t supposed to be kind. But just about everything else works better when we don’t throw elbows.”

Source: Seth's Blog

8. Crypto Corner by Bonkalytics.com

• Coinbase’s advanced trading platform, Coinbase Pro, to be transitioned

• Cristiano Ronaldo to get football fans into Web3 with Binance partnership

• Where are we with non-USD stablecoins today?

• Bitcoin mining difficulty falls by 2.35%

• 'Foolish' to deny Bitcoin price can go under $10K — Analysis

• Voyager Digital cuts withdrawal amount as 3AC contagion ripples through DeFi and CeFi

For more crypto-focused content, sign-up here.

9. Memes of the Day

*****

Insiders: A Tale of Two Acquisitions

We all have that one influencer we are obsessed with. Track every post across all social media platforms. Worship the ground they walk on. Believe everything they say and wish we looked half as good as they do in every single photo… Looking at you, Ryan Fischer! But what is it about these influencers that draws us in so easily? Surely, there are not that many people who fall out of bed looking 10/10 day in and day out.

In this age of social media following, influencers make looking good seem easy – but there must be something they all need to accomplish that?

No matter how perfect you think your favorite influencer looks, there is most definitely more behind the scenes that we don’t see. 

The simplest answer: cosmetics and beauty products! If all these influencers are using beauty products, and we know they are raking in the dough right now, it would make sense that beauty products might be an area to examine a little further for investment.

Social media isn’t going away and neither are influencers. As more influencers rise up, or current influencers get more popular, that appears to be a direct demand for more beauty products.

But, even if this space is growing, does that mean all companies are good investments? Should we just buy an index fund for consumer discretionary or cosmetics and call it good? We say no. 

Subscribe to Short Squeez Insiders to read the rest.