This CEO paid herself $47.5 Million, SBF is coming home, Binance has $3b of withdrawals, Paul Graham was blocked from Twitter, Chat CPT reached 1M+ users, and the Liver king apologizes for his $12k/mo steroid habit.
But first, the headlines!
- Callum
HEADLINES:
> Sam Bankman-Fried agrees to be extradited to the US after initially planning to fight efforts to return to the US. After a week in Nassau’s Fox Hill prison, he appears less interested in pursuing a years-long battle to avoid extradition.
> Elon Musk's Twitter poll results say he should step down as CEO. 57.5%, over 10m users, favored his exit as CEO, with 42.5% indicating he should stay. Elon says, "nobody wants the job."
> Avatar 2: The way of the Water generated $435m in global box office sales ($135m domestically), giving director James Cameron his first $100m opening weekend.
> Binance saw $3b in withdrawals as the FTX implosion degrades confidence in exchanges. Despite Binance's confident position, a Reuters analysis of the company's corporate filing shows that it has processed trades worth over $22 trillion - mostly hidden from public view.
> Aztec Network has raised $100m led by Andreesen Horowitz to build an "encrypted version of Ethereum."
> Donald Trump released 45,000 NFTs at a price of $99 each, generating $4.46m. The collection sold out in less than a day.
> 66% of Americans don't expect their finances to improve in 2023 despite signals of lowering inflation and moderating gas prices.
FEATURE:
She Paid Herself $47.5 Million!
Paige Mycoskie just paid herself $47.5 million.
Considering she just bought her 9th home for $15M in Austin, she's been crushing it for a while. Forbes estimates her worth to be ~$350M. Paige quickly countered, saying it's "closer to $600M." (If true...good for her!)
So What's The Business? Paige is the founder of Aviator Nation - A relaxed clothing brand she founded in 2006.
The brand sells through its website, wholesale (e.g. Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, etc), and 17 retail locations - primarily in California, Colorado, Texas, and Florida.
The Numbers: The biz is kicking off some serious revenue.
- 2020: $70,000,000
- 2021: $140,000,000
- 2022: 200,000,000 (forecasted)
- 2023: $280,000,000 (forecasted)
Paige owns 100% of the business - financing it with lines of credit from Wells Fargo & Frost Bank - $8,000 in 2006, $35,000 in 2007, and $100,000 in 2009.
The Story:
1) Paige moved to Hollywood after competing on the show The Amazing Race at the age of 22. She didn't win but fell in love with the city.
2) She bought a sewing machine while working part-time at a surf shop. The shop opened her eyes to fashion and retail. She created her own designs on shirts she thrifted.
3) In 2006, she invested $500 to rent a booth during a fair on Venice Beach to sell her 1970's inspired, Cali-made, clothing. She grossed $8,000 in sales in 1 day. She decided to commit to Aviator Nation full-time.
4) She never took outside investment. Instead, she turned to the banks and used SMB loans to grow the business.
5) In 2020, COVID hit. The business was primarily brick & mortar. With over 300 employees on payroll, she needed to do something fast. The company offered a 20% off storewide sale via its e-commerce site - generating $1.4M in sales.
This sale triggered an avalanche...
The How:
User-Generated Virality - Thousands of orders were delivered at the start of the global pandemic to a customer when everyone was stuck at home. These customers started creating content with it. Aviator Nation has a very distinct style (bright colors, etc.) which created perfect fodder for a viral wave. The Aviator Nation hashtag has over 229 million views on TikTok.
BTW: Her brother Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Toms Shoes
Prefer to watch it? Check out our Tiktok video here.
ON TREND: Here's what entrepreneurs are talking about
> Paul Graham, Co-Founder of Y-Combinator, was temporarily banned from Twitter after mentioning Mastodon, a competing social platform to Twitter. PG has historically been a supporter of Musk.
Paul Graham - founder of Y Combinator, and someone who was supportive of Elon Musk since the Twitter takeover - announced he’s taking a break from Twitter, and suggested people can find his Mastodon account on his website.
He was banned a few hours later.
I cannot believe it…
— Gergely Orosz (@GergelyOrosz)
Dec 18, 2022
> ChatGPT, the AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, gained 1m users in under a week. The company is expected to generate $1B+ in revenue from the product by 2024. Those that understand how to use the technology can reap the reward.
ChatGPT is changing the game, and I want to share real things you can do with this AI system today.
Please save this thread and start testing this technology NOW so you’re ahead of the curve.
— Allie K. Miller (@alliekmiller)
Dec 13, 2022
WORTH A LISTEN: Pods you'll want to share
> A Beginners Guide To ChatGPT: Tech strategist Ben Thompson explains how it works, why Twitter is Euphoric, and what the next challenge looks like.
> Liver King On Steroids: The Liver King build a large social media following (TikTok: 3.8M, Insta: 1.7M) and an eCommerce empire generating $100M+/yr based on a lie. He comes clean about his steroid use.
> Doxing Debate, Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, State of the Markets: The All-In podcast breaks down Twitter's new privacy rules, @elonjet suspension, doxxing dynamics, Nuclear fusion breakthroughs & the geopolitical ramifications.