🏨 “Spreadsheets to Bedsheets” — Goldman’s Greek hotel. Amazon’s dark factory. FedEx’s black jack bet.

Summary

Podcast Title: The Best One Yet
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell
Episode: 🏨 “Spreadsheets to Bedsheets” — Goldman’s Greek Hotel, Amazon’s Dark Factory, FedEx’s Blackjack Bet
Release Date: July 7, 2025

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Introduction

In this energizing 20-minute episode of "The Best One Yet," hosts Jack Crivici-Kramer and Nick Martell dive into the top three business stories of the day, delivering fresh insights wrapped in their signature witty banter. The episode, released on July 7, 2025, offers listeners a blend of corporate intrigue, technological advancements, and entrepreneurial adventures, all while maintaining an engaging and relatable tone.

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1. Goldman Sachs’ Foray into Greek Hospitality: A Corporate Greek Tragedy

Overview:
Goldman Sachs, traditionally known as America's premier investment bank, ventured into the luxury hospitality sector by attempting to establish a hotel brand in Greece. However, the ambitious project faced significant hurdles, leading to its eventual cancellation.

Key Points:

• Luxury Meets Hospitality: Goldman Sachs aimed to replicate the success of luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, which have successfully branched into hospitality (e.g., Gucci's coffee shops, Louis Vuitton's luxury train rides).

• Initial Investment: In 2022, Goldman acquired three seaside resorts along the Athenian Riviera for €100 million, intending to renovate and rebrand them under the Goldman banner.

• Execution Failures:

  • Lack of Expertise: The management team assigned lacked actual hospitality experience, resulting in mismanagement and operational inefficiencies. As Nick humorously puts it, “They didn’t know the difference between room service and broom service” (07:09).
  • Underestimated Costs: Initial renovation budgets were grossly underestimated. While Goldman projected €100 million for renovations, costs ballooned to five times that amount due to unforeseen expenses like draining pools and replacing carpets.

• Cancellation and Losses: Ultimately, Goldman sold the properties, barely breaking even, transforming what was meant to be a lucrative side venture into a financial misstep. Nick summarizes, “Goldman flew too close to the sun” (08:58).

Notable Quotes:

• Nick: “Goldman chose their own management team to oversee rather than choose a hotel experienced firm” (07:57).
• Jack: “Their hubris in execution” (09:31).

Takeaway:
Goldman Sachs' attempt to diversify into hospitality underscores the importance of leveraging industry-specific expertise when branching into new sectors. Without the right team and realistic budgeting, even top-tier firms can falter in unfamiliar territories.

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2. Amazon’s Dark Factories: The Rise of Robot-Powered Warehouses

Overview:
Amazon is on the brink of transforming its fulfillment operations by integrating nearly as many robots as human workers, leading to the emergence of "dark factories" that operate with minimal human presence.

Key Points:

• Definition of Dark Factories: These are automated warehouses that run "in the dark," utilizing advanced robotics to handle tasks without the need for lighting or extensive human intervention.

• Robotic Integration:

  • Amazon employs nearly one million robots across its distribution centers.
  • Innovations include robotic arms with suction cups for handling packages and advanced pallet-moving robots akin to Roombas but on a larger scale.

• Increased Efficiency: The number of packages shipped per employee has surged by 22 times over the past decade, showcasing the immense efficiency brought about by automation.

• Secrecy Behind the Operations: Unlike companies like Boston Dynamics, which publicly showcase their robotic advancements, Amazon keeps its robotic workforce under wraps, emphasizing functionality over showmanship.

• Global Perspective: While dark factories are already operational in China, there is anticipation that this model will soon be adopted in the United States, signaling a major shift in manufacturing and distribution paradigms.

Notable Quotes:

• Jack: “Nearly a million of them. A million” (10:52).
• Nick: “Your next Amazon package may be boxed up in the dark” (12:44).

Takeaway:
Amazon's push towards fully automated dark factories represents a significant leap in warehouse efficiency and operational scalability. However, it also raises questions about the future of human employment in logistics and the broader implications of widespread automation.

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3. Fred Smith’s High-Stakes Blackjack Bet Saves FedEx

Overview:
Fred Smith, the visionary founder of FedEx, once gambled the company's dwindling funds at a Las Vegas blackjack table, a move that ultimately saved the fledgling business and propelled FedEx to unprecedented success.

Key Points:

• Early Struggles: FedEx, founded on Smith's innovative hub-and-spoke model for overnight delivery, faced severe financial difficulties by 1974, with only $5,000 remaining in the company’s bank account.

• The Gamble: In a desperate attempt to save FedEx, Smith traveled to Las Vegas and bet the remaining $5,000 on blackjack. Remarkably, he turned the stake into $27,000, providing the necessary capital to keep the company afloat (16:28).

• Rapid Growth Post-Bet: Following this pivotal moment, FedEx soared, becoming the fastest U.S. company to reach $1 billion in revenue by 1983 without relying on mergers or acquisitions.

• Innovations and Leadership:

  • Hub-and-Spoke Model: Smith's logistics strategy centralized operations in Memphis, optimizing package routing across the country.
  • Technological Advancements: FedEx was a pioneer in using barcodes for package tracking, enhancing delivery speed and reliability.
  • Corporate Culture: Smith emphasized stability and employee welfare, instituting policies like a no-layoffs rule during the 2009 recession and taking a personal pay cut to navigate economic downturns.

• Legacy and Leadership: Fred Smith’s leadership extended beyond FedEx, with efforts to balance political perspectives on his board and declining high-level government positions to focus on his company.

Notable Quotes:

• Jack: “FedEx was an early pioneer of the barcode. They were the first to scan packages for speed” (19:07).
• Nick: “Fred Smith’s hub-and-spoke logistics model worked because people will pay for time” (20:42).

Takeaway:
Fred Smith's audacious gamble exemplifies the high-risk, high-reward nature of entrepreneurship. His innovative logistics model and unwavering commitment to his vision not only saved FedEx but also revolutionized the global shipping industry.

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Additional Highlights

Upcoming Live Show Announcement: Jack and Nick announced an upcoming live show in Chicago featuring Chris Barman, CEO of Slate—an electric truck startup backed by Jeff Bezos. They teased insightful discussions on creating affordable electric vehicles and competing in a saturated market.

Current Business News:

• Tariff Deadline: A significant tariff deadline looms with only three countries having reached agreements, leading to speculation about potential extensions.

• Meta’s AI Team: Mark Zuckerberg has assembled a high-powered AI team, offering lucrative contracts to top talent, sparking responses from industry leaders like Sam Altman.

• Chuck E. Cheese’s Adult Arcades: The iconic family entertainment brand is launching "Chuck’s Arcade," targeting adult nostalgia with traditional arcade games and modern twists.

Trivia Segment: Listeners were engaged with a trivia question about a popular toy originally intended as packaging for another product, encouraging audience interaction for the next episode.

Shoutouts and Celebrations: The hosts celebrated birthdays and special occasions of their listeners, fostering a sense of community and listener appreciation.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Jack and Nick adeptly navigated through a spectrum of compelling business stories, from Goldman Sachs' ill-fated hospitality venture to Amazon's cutting-edge dark factories, and the legendary risk taken by FedEx's founder. Their blend of humor, insightful analysis, and relatable anecdotes makes complex business topics accessible and entertaining. Whether you're a business enthusiast or simply looking to stay informed, "The Best One Yet" delivers valuable content with flair.

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Notable Quotes Recap:

• Nick: “Goldman flew too close to the sun” (08:58).
• Jack: “They turned five grand into 27 grand and had the wisdom to leave the casino” (18:33).
• Nick: “Your next Amazon package may be boxed up in the dark” (12:44).

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Stay Connected: Don’t miss out on future episodes and live shows! Follow Jack and Nick on their journey to bring you the best in business news, complete with engaging discussions and exclusive guest interviews.

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Note: All timestamps correspond to the provided transcript and may vary slightly in the actual podcast audio.

Transcript

[Nick]

This is Nick.

[Jack]

This is Jack.

[Nick]

Welcome back. It is Monday, July 7, and today's pod is the best one yet. And this is a T Boy, the.

[Jack]

Top three pop business news stories you need to know today.

[Nick]

All right, Jack, we all want to know. Did you end up putting that pickle relish, the fancy pickle relish, on your hot dogs over the weekend?

[Jack]

Pickle spears. I took full spears, sliced them longwise into eight pieces. Perfect condiment for a hot dog besties.

[Nick]

Hope you're taking notes.

[Jack]

By the way, Jack, I found the.

[Nick]

Only lobster roll on Nantucket that cost less than 40 bucks.

[Jack]

No, you didn't. Yeah, I don't think that was lobster.

[Nick]

In there, to be honest.

[Jack]

After tip, it was 50 bucks.

[Nick]

May have been crawfish. Jack, three stories for today's T Boy. What do we got on the show?

[Jack]

For our first story, every luxury brand wants to be in hospitality right now, including Goldman Sachs.

[Nick]

Goldman tried to build its own hotel brand in Greece, but Zeus just struck it down.

[Jack]

For our second story, it's amaz. Because Amazon is this close to employing more robots than humans in their factories.

[Nick]

And that's led to an insane new thing, the Dark Factory.

[Jack]

Think about it. You don't need lights on if it's just robots in there.

[Nick]

Freaky.

[Jack]

And our third and final story. FedEx's founder, Fred Smith, recently passed away, but he was actually the craziest dude Nick and I have ever read about.

[Nick]

Because he once saved the company by betting his final dollars on a game of blackjack in Las Vegas.

[Jack]

But yetis, before we hit that wonderful.

[Nick]

Mix of stories, Insane Jack. Love the mix of stories.

[Jack]

Today we are announcing the surprise guest for our live show in Chicago.

[Nick]

That's right. She's behind the buzziest brand in the buzziest industry.

[Jack]

Yetis. There's a lot of talk right now about electric cars, aren't there?

[Nick]

You got Tesla, Rivian, Ford, China. They're launching 100 new car brands every single week.

[Jack]

But the disruptor of the disruptors is.

[Nick]

Slate otto Slate, the $25,000 electric truck startup that launched just two months ago.

[Jack]

We covered their launch on the pod. They've raised over $700 million to make the first truly affordable American electric car.

[Nick]

And they're backed by Jeff Bezos. Yeah, Amazon Bezos.

[Jack]

And they're selling an electric vehicle that doesn't even come with a radio.

[Nick]

It's that innovative. It's that crazy.

[Jack]

And here's the news. The CEO of that company, Chris Barman, is the guest for our live show in Chicago.

[Nick]

Chris Barman she's the Athena of the auto industry.

[Jack]

And we'll have her on stage with us for an interview segment in our Chicago show.

[Nick]

Because Jack and I gotta know, can she create the most affordable EV in history?

[Jack]

How on earth can she sell a pickup truck for 18 grand after incentives?

[Nick]

What's it like raising money from Bezos while taking on Elon Musk?

[Jack]

So snag your tickets to our live show in Chicago on July 23rd.

[Nick]

Like, did Jeff have one of these pickup EVs on his yacht for the wedding or what?

[Jack]

We got a link in the episode description for you to snag your ticket.

[Nick]

I guess he could fit it on the yacht, but would it need an invite to be a guest?

[Jack]

We got the buzziest new car CEO on earth.

[Nick]

Besties, grab your tickets. See you in Chicago, Jack. Let's hit our three stories.

[Chris Barman]

Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet. But the best is the norm. Jack. Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%. That's a fat tip. T Boy City on your. If you know, you know. Cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more.

[Nick]

So just start the show.

[Chris Barman]

Start the show.

[Nick]

Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

[Jack]

Airbnb.

[Nick]

Yetis. There is nothing more powerful in life or in business than the double dip.

[Jack]

Dip that chip twice and don't end.

[Nick]

It with the ultimate money Double dip. Hosting on Airbnb. Jack's talked so much about being a host, his friends are asking about it. I'm getting asked about it all the time.

[Jack]

One buddy is about to get married. He has no kids yet. He wants to travel the country dink style with his new wife. How is he going to pay for it? He's going to list his house on Airbnb.

[Nick]

So, Basties, if you're going on vacation this summer, join the millions who host on Airbnb.

[Jack]

Host your whole space. Host your extra space. Host your host any space.

[Nick]

The income from putting your home on Airbnb could pay for your whole vacay.

[Jack]

I've been doing it for three different.

[Nick]

Properties now, and it's easy to set booking availability. And then when the booking comes in, Jack, you always say it just shows up in your Google Calendar.

[Jack]

And if you're not sure what to price your place at, check Airbnb and look at similar listings. It's very easy.

[Nick]

You can double dip that chip.

[Jack]

Your home might be worth More than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host and now.

[Nick]

A word from our sponsor, Netsuite.

[Jack]

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[Nick]

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[Jack]

Accounting, financial management, inventory, HR into one suite to help you know what's stuck, what it's costing you and how to pivot for fast.

[Nick]

If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, download the free ebook Navigating Global Trade. Three insights for [e-mail] tboy for our first story, Goldman Sachs just canceled plans to build three beachfront hotels in Greece. Wait one sec. Jack Goldman launching a hotel brand?

[Jack]

That's right. America's top investment bank tried to launch a Greek seaside hotel. And the whole story is actually a Greek tragedy.

[Nick]

Ah, Yetis. Jack and I have been tracking a trend, the luxury industry, it really wants in on hospitality.

[Jack]

Gucci has coffee shops. Louis Vuitton has a luxury train ride through Europe. That looks amazing. It does look fantastic. And Tiffany has a restaurant so you can have breakfast at Tiffany's.

[Nick]

Well Jack, let's add one more to the list. Goldman Sachs hotels.

[Jack]

Goldman Stock is up 50% so far this year to an all time high. So they're feeling very confident.

[Nick]

And remember Yeti's, Goldman Sachs's brand of banking is the equivalent of a Harvard educated Rolex.

[Jack]

And a slight issue for Goldman. Their clients want even more Rolexes.

[Nick]

Yeah, so funny detail here, but part of Goldman's business is doing basically private equity.

[Jack]

They offer their clients access to investment opportunities that regular people don't have access to. Like high end Greek real estate development.

[Nick]

Which is Precisely why in 2022, Goldman bought three lovely seaside resorts in Greece for 100 million euros. The Athenian Riviera.

[Jack]

They were fixer uppers because the resorts were actually closed. Goldman was going to fix them up and then flip them.

[Nick]

Okay, here are the blueprint plans. Buy them cheap, renovate and then reopen under the Goldman brand and then sell.

[Jack]

Them for double collect bonuses. Wash, rinse, repeat, they're going from spreadsheets to bed sheets. That was the plan.

[Nick]

Call it the Ritz Carlton Sachs, Jack.

[Jack]

Because you can't spell Goldman without aman.

[Nick]

True. Oh, by the way, I mean a lot of Wall street theme potential for the spa menu at this hotel, right? Like what the M and a massage? The financial facial, Jack. I Think you may be signing up for an investment banking bikini wax or two? If I know.

[Jack]

Again, with those kinds of names, you can charge a higher price for sure.

[Nick]

Well, here's the news, Yetis. All of what we just said didn't work out that way at all.

[Jack]

Yeah, Goldman just canceled the whole project. They sold all their properties and they barely broke even on the sale.

[Nick]

It got struck down like Zeus from Olympus on high.

[Jack]

Now this is slightly surprising because Goldman has the smartest brains on Wall Street. But Goldman couldn't beat Marriott at their own game.

[Nick]

You know, the Greek economy is strong. The travel industry is stronger. What exactly went wrong, Jack, here was Goldman's mistake.

[Jack]

Their hotel team they assigned to this project had never run a hotel.

[Nick]

Here's how the Wall Street Journal put it. Goldman chose their own management team to oversee rather than choose a hotel experienced firm.

[Jack]

These people didn't know the difference between room service and broom service.

[Nick]

What's going on?

[Jack]

Their team of 10 people had hospitality experience.

[Nick]

Goldman thought it would cost $100 million to renovate the place, but it actually is going to cost five times that.

[Jack]

They got to drain the pool, they.

[Nick]

Got to gut the carpet.

[Jack]

The new doors, way more expensive than they anticipated.

[Nick]

You know, like those thick hotel doors, the ones that like slam shut.

[Jack]

Right. They're bankers, not interior designers.

[Nick]

Well, this Greek hotel project, it's now being called a shipwreck over in Greece. It's a Greek tragedy.

[Jack]

Side note, if Goldman had taken that hundred million euros and just put it in the stock market instead, they would have gained 70% or 70 million euros of profit.

[Nick]

Instead, nothing.

[Jack]

No bonus for you.

[Nick]

No spanakopa. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Goldman?

[Jack]

Like Icarus, Goldman flew too close to the sun.

[Nick]

Yeah, reminds us of a Greek mythology. Yetis. Plenty of financial firms out there are in the hospitality industry. Blackstone. They own a dozen hotels in Greece alone.

[Jack]

And it makes sense why they want to. Because Wall street is a volatile business. Lot of up, a lot of downs. Having a hotel business as a side hustle gives them some reliable cash flow.

[Nick]

So the issue here wasn't Goldman's vision of a hotel. It was the hubris in execution.

[Jack]

The hubris. Goldman insisted on doing the job themselves despite lacking the right hotel experience.

[Nick]

They could have brought on a strategic partner, a hospitality consultant, maybe even an existing hotel company.

[Jack]

But instead, Goldman Sachs went solo, like Julia Roberts. And Eat, Pray, Love.

[Nick]

I love that pizza. Just like the Greek myth of Icarus, who crafted his wings of wax but flew too close to the sun.

[Jack]

Overwhelmed by their own self confidence, Goldman and Icarus melted.

[Nick]

For our second story, under the radar. Amazon has nearly as many robots working in its warehouses as humans.

[Jack]

And that's led to a wild new thing. They're called dark factories.

[Nick]

Dark factories.

[Jack]

No lights. Just bots.

[Nick]

Yetis, the wizzes over at Amazon headquarters in Seattle. They have devoted their lives in the pursuit of not love, but of efficiency.

[Jack]

True. And here's a stat they love to brag about. The average number of human workers at each distribution center is down 17% from 10 years ago.

[Nick]

Well, here's a hero stat we love to tell you about. Over the same period, the number of packages shipped per employee is up by 22x.

[Jack]

So how does Amazon ship way more packages from each factory with way fewer workers?

[Nick]

The answer. Robots.

[Jack]

Nearly a million of them. A million.

[Nick]

Yet according to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon factories are on the cusp of having more robots than humans.

[Jack]

In other words, they have nearly 1 million people working in their distribution centers. And nearly 1 million robots, too.

[Nick]

And here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. It all happened in secret, because unlike.

[Jack]

Every other tech and gadget company, Amazon doesn't show off their robots. They basically keep them a secret.

[Nick]

Yeah, they don't scream it, they whisper it. Like, take, for example, Boston Dynamics. You know, their robot dogs that you've.

[Jack]

Seen, you've seen them, it could do like a backflip.

[Nick]

Well, they treat them like celebrities and give them a press tour every time that robot dog learns a new trick.

[Jack]

But Amazon's robots aren't for us. They're not for bragging, they're for them. These are back office bots that nobody ever sees.

[Nick]

Well, Jack, what do you say we bring them on out and meet the team of robots over at Amazon?

[Jack]

All right. The powerhouse of this factory is these giant robotic arms which can grab and sort huge packages because there's a really powerful suction cup at the end of the arm.

[Nick]

Jack, those were cool, but I thought these were maybe cooler. They have these roomba, like moving pallets that whiz around the floor. They're like five feet wide, carrying giant loads, like entire floors of this.

[Jack]

The newest robot, though, is called the Vulcan.

[Nick]

That's scary. But tell me more, because this has.

[Jack]

Hands that can sense how delicate or how firm a package is and then squeeze that package appropriately. Yeah, like a human being.

[Nick]

It does an awkward poking thing that HR wouldn't like, but it's a robot, so it can get away with it. Next up, though, we should point out, they're adding humanoid robots that look like us.

[Jack]

Why do they have to make them look like us?

[Nick]

It's an AI powered bot, the shape of you. It's got two feet, two arms and a head and maybe even a nose.

[Jack]

Why not make them like insects? Give him six legs.

[Nick]

The nose is unnecessary. But besties, Jack and I haven't even told you the wildest part yet.

[Jack]

Your next Amazon package may be boxed up in the dark.

[Nick]

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Amazon in China?

[Jack]

They're already here. Dark factories.

[Nick]

Yetis. Jack and I read Thomas Friedman, the New York Times opinion writer who compares China to the U.S. that's like what he does. Yeah.

[Jack]

And in China, he has visited a factory that was dark inside. Yeah, dark. It wasn't dark inside because it was out of business. It was dark inside because the factory is so roboticized, so automated that it doesn't require any humans.

[Nick]

Let that sink in. Because guess what? When there are no humans in the factory, there's no need for lights. It's a waste of electricity.

[Jack]

So in China, they have factories right now running 247 in the darkness.

[Nick]

That cute top you got off Temu may have been made in the darkness of a factory.

[Jack]

In these factories, there are no lights, there's no need to heat the building. It's just the production of stuff.

[Nick]

Yeah, like the humans show up once a day to check in, everything's going fine and that's it.

[Jack]

When we heard about these dark factories, we were shocked.

[Nick]

Yeah, it is exciting and scary at the same time. But mostly scary.

[Jack]

To me, it's more scary than exciting.

[Nick]

Yeah, I agree with you. We'll round up on that one.

[Jack]

And it's important for you to know about these dark factories because they're probably the future of US factories too.

[Nick]

Besties in China, they're already here. Prepare for the dark factory. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

[Jack]

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[Nick]

Ah, speed and quality, not typically a combo you get together.

[Jack]

I mean, Nick, you can get a fast food hamburger, but we hope you like it well done.

[Nick]

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[Jack]

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[Jack]

Now a quick break. Switching topics to one of our favorite sponsors, vital Proteins.

[Nick]

All right, Yeti, so Jack has become an extreme collagen user. This guy's adding vital proteins collagen to each morning coffee. And Jack drinks a lot of morning coffee, I should point out.

[Jack]

Yeah, I have three cups a day. I have a tub of mocha and a tub of chocolate. Both make my coffee taste chocolatey. And there's a bunch of protein in each scoop, too. So.

[Nick]

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[Jack]

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[Nick]

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[Jack]

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[Jack]

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[Nick]

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For our third and final story, the founder of FedEx passed away last month, but his life story is giving action hero energy.

[Jack]

Spoiler. The entire FedEx business was once saved by a blackjack game the CEO played in Las Vegas.

[Nick]

This is insane. Yeti's grades matter. Stay in school, work hard, do all that stuff. Definitely.

[Jack]

But if you're a CEO, you can become a billionaire.

[Nick]

Yeah, because Yale senior Fred Smith wrote his term paper about overnight package delivery.

[Jack]

Nerd alert. He ended up getting a C on the paper. The professor said his plan was not feasible.

[Nick]

Because, you see, at the time, the 1960s, overnight delivery was considered insane.

[Jack]

But he had a novel idea. An integrated air to ground delivery system. But nobody bought his idea.

[Nick]

Fred went on to do four years of service in Vietnam as a Marine, and he learned a thing or two about logistics.

[Jack]

So when he got back to the States, he turned that senior term paper into Federal Express.

[Nick]

Yeah, funnily, he chose the name Federal Express because it sounded bigger than like a tiny little startup that it was.

[Jack]

Federal Express sounds like an institution, not a one man startup, which is what it initially was.

[Nick]

Well, Jack, that strategic name worked. He went on to raise $91 million, the largest startup amount in U.S. history at that point.

[Jack]

That's a huge fundraise. He also convinced investors that he was serious by putting his life savings and inheritance into the company.

[Nick]

Then he bought 14 jets and set up the business in Memphis.

[Jack]

Memphis, A place with good weather, a centralized location, and a pretty much sleepy airport at the time.

[Nick]

Well, here's the problem. Yetis the first day, Federal Express only got six packages.

[Jack]

Pretty soon FedEx was losing a million dollars a month.

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Jack]

By 1974, he had just $5,000 left in the company bank account.

[Nick]

Now pause the pot. Because that is when Fred pulled off the craziest bet in business history.

[Jack]

He flew to Las Vegas to save the company.

[Nick]

Literally this company. It was about to shut down. Investors had given up on FedEx.

[Jack]

So Fred took an unsolicited trip to Las Vegas and put down the company's final $5,000 onto the blackjack table.

[Nick]

That's right, the final five grand. He put on a blackjack game and he won.

[Jack]

He turned five grand into 27 grand and had the wisdom to leave the casino. Because that money got FedEx through their toughest moment in company history.

[Nick]

After that Vegas trip, by 1983, FedEx became the fastest US company ever to reach a billion dollars in revenue without a merger or acquisition.

[Jack]

Now, I don't think the SEC would approve of a company gambling the company's final five grand. But this story ends well.

[Nick]

Oh yes, it does. Honestly, this story should win an Oscar and Fred's innovations should win a lifetime achievement award when you hear what he did after that.

[Jack]

FedEx was an early pioneer of the barcode. They were the first to scan packages for speed.

[Nick]

Fred put both a Republican and Democrat former politician on his board to have balance for FedEx.

[Jack]

And during the 2009 Great Recession, he had a no layoffs rule.

[Nick]

That's right. Instead, Fred took a 20% pay cut to get through the recession.

[Jack]

George W. Bush asked Fred Smith twice to be the Secretary of Defense. He declined, prioritizing his family and his company.

[Nick]

Which leads to our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our Buddy Fred at FedEx?

[Jack]

What was the real thesis of Fred's original term paper? It was that time is money Yetis.

[Nick]

Fred's Yale term paper, was about the company's core innovation. Years later, Hub and Spoke.

[Jack]

Here was his. Don't send a package directly from Buffalo to New York. If you did, you'd need a million direct flights between cities. Instead, send the package through Memphis first.

[Nick]

With a central hub. Only with a central hub could you possibly connect the entire country overnight.

[Jack]

Here was the context at the time. There was no guaranteed time of delivery when you shipped a package.

[Nick]

Thank you for the context, Jack. But Fred's model is what let a package arrive at a chosen time as quickly as the next day.

[Jack]

The hub and spoke model that all the airlines use today. It was Fred Smith's idea.

[Nick]

He basically invented the shipping menu. Like, you could now choose the day of arrival like it was a sandwich at a restaurant.

[Jack]

Because what the late Fred Smith of FedEx realized 50 years ago was that people would pay for time.

[Nick]

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week?

[Jack]

Goldman Sachs owned three Greek hotels but.

[Nick]

Just sold them like Icarus. Goldman flew too close to the sun.

[Jack]

For our second story. Amazon is on the cusp of of having more robots than humans in their fulfillment centers.

[Nick]

Besties, get ready for the dark factory. They're in China and they're probably coming here.

[Jack]

And our third and final story. Fredex's Fed Smith got a C on his paper and gambled the company's last dollars to huge success.

[Nick]

His hub and spoke logistics model worked because people will pay for time.

[Jack]

But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

[Nick]

First, markets could be in for a doozy this week because tomorrow is a tariff deadline. Mark the cows.

[Jack]

Yeah. Remember on April 9th when Trump relieved the whole world by delaying his reciprocal tariffs by 90 days?

[Nick]

That's right. We marked our calendars for it.

[Jack]

Well, that expires tomorrow.

[Nick]

It does.

[Jack]

And only three countries have reached some kind of a deal with the US.

[Nick]

So we expect Trump to extend the delay. Again, kind of like the TikTok ban. Kick the negotiating down the road, but who knows?

[Jack]

Nobody knows.

[Nick]

And second, Zuck announced his superintelligence team at Meta last week, and he is treating and paying them like top athletes.

[Jack]

He listed the names of about a dozen AI Dragons that he has poached from other AI companies to join Meta. Many of them he poached from OpenAI.

[Nick]

And according to reporting, many of them are getting $300 million contracts for four years of work with 100 million bucks in year one.

[Jack]

That's like LeBron James money.

[Nick]

Sam Altman's response? Missionaries will beat mercenaries in the battle.

[Jack]

For AI and finally, Chuck E. Cheese is launching a new concept, Arcades for adults.

[Nick]

Yeah. It's a new spinoff branded Chuck's Arcade with arcade games, air hockey, skeeball. You win tickets, you redeem prizes. Just like when you were like three.

[Jack]

We covered Chuck E. Cheese's revival last year. They're renovating 500 different locations.

[Nick]

Chuck is recognizing that in this economy, millennials will pay up for a taste and a smell.

[Jack]

Okay.

[Nick]

And a lick.

[Jack]

No. Of nostalgia. No.

[Nick]

That's how you eat the pizza, Jack. I'm sorry. I had to say it.

[Jack]

We're editing that out now.

[Nick]

Time for the best fact yet, which, because it's Monday, is time for some T boy trivia.

[Jack]

Here's the question. What toy was originally not a toy at all, but it was just the packaging of another product?

[Nick]

Now today, 300 million of these toys have been sold.

[Jack]

But the first version wasn't sold at all. It was the packaging for a baked good that was about to get thrown away.

[Nick]

One person's trash became another person's best idea yet.

[Jack]

Here's a hint. College students in the Northeast were the very first to turn this packaging into a fun game.

[Nick]

Another hint. This product was initially known as the.

[Jack]

Pluto Platter, and now it's one of the top selling toys of all time.

[Nick]

Drop your answer in the comments and Jack and I will reveal it tomorrow. Yetis, you look fantastic today, especially if you just bought tickets to see us in Chicago with the CEO of Slate.

[Jack]

We got links in the episode description. Our shows are a. We'll tell you more about the show later, but you're gonna want to be there.

[Nick]

You're gonna love it. It's gonna be fantastic. And Jack and I will see you there. And before we go, a happy birthday to yeti Brian Aylor in Huntington Beach, California, the events manager extraordinaire at the VIV Hotel of lovely Anaheim.

[Jack]

And happy birthday to Jet Catabug of Irvine, California, who's celebrating on the beautiful island of Kauai.

[Nick]

And congratulations to Valeska and her daughter Maria from Manlius, New York, who just saw Hamilton on Broadway. Perfect timing with our weekly episode on.

[Jack]

Hamilton, Valeska and Maria. My favorite song was Dear Theodosia Makes me cry every time.

[Nick]

And if you want to get a shout out on the pod for a birthday, a buddy's day, an anniversary bar mitzvah, you name it, we've got a link in the episode description. We'll get you on the show.

[Jack]

And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T boy.

[Nick]

Celebrate the wins.

[Jack]

This is Jack. I own stock of Ford and Amazon and Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery and the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

[Nick]

Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

[Jack]

And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.

[Nick]

We want to get to know you.

[Sasha]

Sasha hated sand the way it stuck to things for weeks. So when Maddie shared a surf TR trip on Expedia Trip Planner, he hesitated. Then he added a hotel with a cliffside pool to the plan and they both spent the week in the water. You were made to follow your whims. We were made to help find a place on the beach with a pool and a waterfall and a soaking tub and of course, a great shower. Expedia made to travel.