July 20, 2021 Sign Up

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"The quickest to be offended are the easiest to manipulate." — Shane Parrish

Good morning! The stock market had a day to forget yesterday, notching its worst performance since October as all major indexes fell, with the Dow dropping 2.1%. The drop is a result of growing concerns around the Delta coronavirus variant and sustained inflation concerns. In some more positive news, Jeff Bezos & Co will take off for space at 9am ET today. The flight will last 11 minutes and you can watch the live stream on Blue Origin's website here.

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1. Story of the Day: Business 'Baby' Showers

Building a business is in some ways the same as raising a child – it requires hard work, sleepless nights, communal support and is expensive af. Across the US, especially in NYC, entrepreneurs are having baby showers for their start-ups, an idea previously reserved for expecting parents.

Business showers include games, decorations, food and also allow entrepreneurs to spread the word about their start-up. Some founders even ask for gifts (not limited to cash) and provide links to business registry websites. Gifts include e.g. subscriptions for software such as Calendly, gift cards for office supplies, and paid registration/airline fees for conferences. Founders having business showers have reported receiving up to $10k worth of gifts.

Female founders are especially attracted to the idea of business showers because it helps them formally celebrate an event that is not a life cycle event. We no longer live in a world where the biggest milestones for a woman are getting married and having a baby.

Short Squeez Takeaway: Investors also appreciate someone who has been scrappy and done whatever it takes to start a company. A business shower shows that you are resourceful and can rally people behind a brand. Business Gift registry websites experienced 25% growth in Q2, and as more companies get founded in the post-pandemic creator economy, we can only expect the trend of business showers to continue.

2. Markets Rundown

• US stocks had the worst day since October'20 as the latest Covid-19 concerns hit a wall of existing investor angst about inflation
  

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Novavax ($NVAX) +13% the delta variant is lifting the tide of companies associated with Covid testing and prevention.
• (+) Ocugen ($OCGN) +13% another company positively affected by rising Covid infections.
  
• (–) Membership Collective Group ($MCG) -14% the Soho parent company tanked on news of rising Covid infections.

3. Top Reads

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4. Book of the Day: Gold Diggers: A Novel

A magical story, Gold Diggers, tells a hilarious and moving story about immigrant identity, community, and the underside of ambition.

A second-generation teenager growing up in the Atlanta suburbs, Neil Narayan is funny and smart but struggles to bear the weight of expectations of his family and their Asian American enclave. He tries to want their version of success, but mostly, Neil just wants his neighbor across the cul-de-sac, Anita.

When he discovers that Anita is the beneficiary of an ancient, alchemical potion made from stolen gold that harnesses the ambition of the gold’s original owner, Neil sees his chance to get ahead.

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick and soon to be a series produced by Mindy Kaling, Gold Diggers is original, funny, and deeply wise.

Source: Publisher

5. Daily Visual: AirPod Power (2020 Revenues: AirPod vs Top Tech Companies)

Source: StatsPanda

6.  Daily Acumen: Life Advice from Sam Altman

1) Never put your family, friends, or significant other low on your priority list. Prefer a handful of truly close friends to a hundred acquaintances.

2) Time is extremely limited and goes by fast. Do what makes you happy and fulfilled - few people get remembered hundreds of years after they die anyway.

3) Whether or not money can buy happiness, it can buy freedom, and that’s a big deal. Also, lack of money is very stressful.

4) Go out of your way to be around smart, interesting, ambitious people. Work for them and hire them.

5) Minimize your own cognitive load from distracting things that don’t really matter.

6) Don’t worry so much. Things in life are rarely as risky as they seem. Most people are too risk-averse, and so most advice is biased too much towards conservative paths.

7) Exercise. Eat well. Sleep. Get out into nature with some regularity.

8) Go out of your way to help people. Few things in life are as satisfying. Be nice to strangers.

7. Memes of the Day

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