Oct 11, 2021 Sign Up

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"The idea of Twitter started with me working in dispatch since I was 15 years old, where taxi cabs or firetrucks would broadcast where they were and what they were doing." – Jack Dorsey

Good morning! We finally finished watching Squid Game this weekend, will avoid any spoilers for people that have not watched but expect hella Squid Game costumes this Halloween. Elon Musk opened the doors of Tesla's Giga Berlin factory in Germany by holding a rave party for 9k people dubbed the Giga Fest.

If you are looking to invest in venture capital, check out Sweater Ventures. 

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1. Story of the Day: Goldman Settles Intern Abuse Case

Goldman Sachs has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. The latest saga is an intern who was hazed by coworkers and sued the firm for fostering a culture of hazing that included physical violence, embarrassing nicknames and forced drinking bouts.

Patrick Blumenthal was a Drexel University student when he went to work for Goldman Sachs in 2017. Photos of interns were plastered on a wall, with nicknames underneath, according to Blumenthal’s complaint, which says that his nickname was “Bloomy” and was pronounced derisively.

The drinking culture at the office was rampant and “clearly a job requirement.” He said he was pressured to consume alcohol and when he didn’t drink fast he was mocked.

The most serious allegation comes at a happy hour in SF where Blumenthal was seriously injured. One of his supervisors was angry with him about a joke he made and punched him in the stomach, then put him in a headlock till he passed out and urinated on himself. Two days later Blumenthal went to the ER and was diagnosed with bleeding to the brain.

At least 7 GS employees including a VP were at the bar and instead of calling an ambulance they let a supervisor drive the intern home.

Goldman (who tried to dismiss the case earlier, arguing it isn’t legally responsible for an after-hours work event) reached a settlement with Blumenthal last week.

Short Squeez Takeaway: The case highlights the harsh realities of working on Wall Street as an intern. While Goldman might have made the news due to the extreme nature of this case, intern hazing is commonplace across all Wall Street firms, with often times interns being used as a prop to entertain. Hopefully, this case results in some positive changes on the street. 

Source: Bloomberg

2. Markets Rundown

• US stocks dipped on Friday after the September jobs report missed estimates

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Marathon Oil ($MRO) +5% after US crude oil prices topped $80 a barrel.
• (+) General Motors ($GM) +5% after Credit Suisse reiterated its outperform rating on the stock.
• (–) Allogene Therapeutics ($ALLO) -46% after the FDA placed a hold on the company’s cancer drug trials due to a chromosomal abnormality in a single patient.

3. Top Reads

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

Sweater is opening venture investing for everyday investors. 

The last decade has seen a rise of retail investors keen on taking investment power into their own hands. Every year, more technology and resources allow investors (like you!) to make well-informed decisions for where their money goes and how it grows.

But the most lucrative long-term investment strategy—venture capital—is still out of reach for the majority of investors, until now. 

Venture capital is no longer just a club for the uber wealthy—it’s our time to put stake in the companies we want and know will change the world. Sweater, the VC Fund for everyday investors is coming soon. 

Join the waitlist to find out more information*.

4. Book of the Day: Do the Hard Things First

Bestselling author and personal development trainer, Scott Allan, wants you to defeat procrastination, eliminate negative self-talk and overcome lazy tendencies to delay hard work. In this hands-on practical guide, you’ll learn Scott's step-by-step method to destroy bad habits and end self-sabotage so that you can stop guilting yourself for working hard but getting nothing done.

Do the Hard Things First is structured to save you time, increase mental energy, and teach you to think from a mindset built with confidence by removing fear. You’ll learn how to focus in on your #1 tasks for the day, eliminate overwhelm, and become the best version of yourself in both your work and in life.

5. Short Squeez Picks

6. Daily Visual: Where Data Plans No Bounds
Share of respondents with unlimited mobile data plans

Source: Statista

7.  Daily Acumen: Avoidance

“There is nothing that gets in the way of success more than avoidance. We avoid hard conversations. We avoid certain people. We avoid hard decisions. We avoid evidence that contradicts what we think.

To justify our avoidance, we lie to ourselves. We tell ourselves that we’re noble — we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. We tell ourselves we don’t want to offend others. We tell ourselves that things will get better.

Sometimes we muster up half the courage. We have half the conversation we wanted to have. We do half the hard thing. We acknowledge the evidence but convince ourselves this time is different. We see the person we’re avoiding but don’t really talk to them.

Not only does avoiding today make the future harder, but it also almost always makes the present harder. Avoiding puts you on a hair-trigger, anything will set you off. We all do this. Who hasn’t entirely avoided a hard conversation with their partner about something only to find themselves in an insignificant argument over something trivial? Of course, the petty fight isn’t about the trivial thing, it’s about avoidance of the hard thing.

Everything becomes harder until we stop avoiding what's getting in the way. The longer you wait the higher the cost.”

Source: Farnam Street

8. Memes of the Day

*The information in this advertisement and the prospectus of Sweater Cashmere Fund is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell the Fund’s securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This presentation is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund and can be obtained by 1.888.577.7987 or emailing support@sweaterventures.com and should be read carefully before investing. All investing involves risks, and past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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