The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Mon, 10 Mar 2025
The #3 retailer in the world? It’s TJMaxx… because TJ is tariff-proof.The South By Southwest tech-tainment is this week… because the conference biz is booming.Ryan Reynolds’ investment in one crappy soccer club… just got a 4,900% return.Plus, one Jurassic Park startup just invented a new species… The Woolly Mouse.$TJX $HESAY $LVMUYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Susper Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What makes TJ Maxx the #3 clothing company in the world?
Jack, what do we got on the T-boy? For our first story, get this. The number three clothing company in the world is actually TJ Maxx. TJ Maxx. TJ is at an all-time high because their business model is tariff... For our second story, the South by Southwest Festival is this week. So we looked at the business of South by.
And that business involves Johnny Cash, the Hanson Brothers, and the first ever tweet. And our third and final story, Ryan Reynolds invested in one underdog Welsh football club, and that investment has paid off. Oh, Rexham AFC just got a 4,900% return. And they're almost in the Premier League. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories.
Love the mix today, Jack. A new animal has been invented by mankind. And it's the biggest breakthrough in genetic engineering since the seedless watermelon. The new animal that is now alive and well is a woolly mouse. A woolly mouse. It is one part little mouse, one part wild. Wooly Mammoth. It's like Minnie Mouse and Dumbo the Elephant at a baby.
Jack, could you please sprinkle on some contacts to that fantastic visual? We've told you about Colossal, which is a genetic engineering startup. We've covered it a couple times on the pod. Colossal, they're trying to bring back the Wooly Mammoth naturally. Their business model is basically the plot of Jurassic Park. Yeah, like an animal's extinct.
They want to resurrect it using DNA found in fossils because life finds a way. Well, their first animal is the woolly mammoth. Good choice. But Jack, to get to the first step to reach that woolly mammoth, what do they do? They have to see if the woolly mammoth gene can survive in a mouse. Well, spoiler, it can. The woolly mouse is alive and it is well and it is woolly right now.
You got to see a picture of this. It looks like a regular mouse, except with a lot more hair and a lot more weight. Did we mention it's woolly? Yeah, we mentioned the hair. Now, ironically, adding DNA of an extinct animal to a non-extinct animal, that's the plot of Jurassic Park 2. Paging Dr. Grant.
But instead of a vicious genetically modified dinosaur, they made a precious genetically modified mouse. It feels like the woolly mouse should get their own Disney movie, by the way. I mean, Jack, I'm looking at this thing. It's cuter than Baby Yoda. I want one. Let's just leave it at that, Jack. Hey, Klausel, we found your new business model, Wooly Mice Pets.
Let's make it happen, Jack. Let's hit our three stories. First, a quick word from our sponsor.
I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. Listen to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky wherever you get your podcasts.
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Chapter 2: Why is TJ Maxx's business model considered tariff-proof?
They trust them to handle overstock inventory without damaging their brands. Like if Ralph Lauren bought a thousand too many polo shirts, Ralphie's first call is to his representative at TJ Maxx. That's TJ's advantage. Another chain can't just say, we'll offer a lower price than TJ Maxx, because how are you going to offer a lower price?
That's the real secret to TJ Maxx's discount advantage, an army of 1,300 bargain buyers. For our second story, South by Southwest, the biggest tech media entertainment event of the year is this week in Austin, Texas. We dove into the business of South by. We did. Because there's an economic explosion happening in Austin right now. Yeah.
But first, Jack, a billionaire makes an indie film about his blockchain startup at a burrito restaurant. And he's wearing cowboy boots, right? Where did that happen, Jack? South by Southwest. Yeah, it happened at South by Southwest, the tech music entertainment event. It's basically Coachella for people who don't do Coachella. Come for the hot takes from thought leaders.
Stay for the LinkedIn connections. Rumor has it that Satya Nadella still wears his lanyard from 2015 every day in the shower. And we just call it South By because the whole name is too long, right? If you say the whole name, Jack, you can't sit at the cool table, man. The drama at South By this year isn't self-driving cars. It is.
Because Waymo just launched their robo-taxi business in Austin, while Rivian is sponsoring the conference, all in Tesla's new home city. But few attendees know the real history of South By Southwest or the business of South By Southwest. Because South By actually existed pre-millennial, and it used to have nothing to do with tech. Back in 1987, before Jack and I were born, it was a music festival.
Johnny Cash actually rebooted his career with a concert at South by Southwest in Austin. And it wasn't just Johnny Cash. The three Hanson brothers, they did Mbop and debuted at South By. John Mayer signed his first record deal at South By. And all in all, there was no technology involved in the first decade of South by Southwest.
By 2014, South By was the largest music festival in the world, with 2,000 performances happening across this music-crazed city. That's about 20 times more than Lollapalooza. But the business of South By Southwest, which is a for-profit company, by the way. Good point, Jack. Blew up in the 2000s because they embraced technology. Get this. Back in 2007, Twitter actually launched at South by.
Pretty wild. But the Twitter origin happened at a booth in the Austin South by Southwest conference. And it wasn't just Twitter. Airbnb, where did they get their first big surge in demand, Jack? They marketed their short-term rentals in Austin because all the hotels were sold out.
Now today, South by Southwest has become, by our estimates, a half a billion dollar business, even though they don't share that publicly. 300,000 people are expected to attend South by this year. And with an average ticket price of $1,000, that's 300 million just in ticket sales. That's just the easy money math on it. But that's not the only way that they make money, is it, Jack?
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Chapter 3: What is the South by Southwest festival and its history?
How has his arrival in Wales improved everything about the team so quickly? Again, a 5,000% return in four years? To that, we would say it wasn't his celebrity. It was his documentary. Which leads... to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Ryan and team Rexham? There is no better promotion tool than a video memoir. Yetis. The newest genre in film, we call it the video memoir.
A firsthand account of something all recorded on video. Because when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhaney were talking about buying Wrexham, they started recording everything on video. They got like all the footage. They got the Zoom calls, their visit to Wales, first time meeting the team. They pressed record and they had video of all of it. It was a massive Google Drive folder probably.
It was a gigantic video diary, which eventually got professionally edited into a multi-episode documentary that they sold to Hulu. And that documentary, that is the real reason for Wrexham's rise. That documentary has been watched by millions. Wrexham AFC now has fans across the world. They have new sponsors who want to be on the jersey, and they have players who want to play on the team.
That's what drove that 5,000% return, the documentary. Because in life, you can always cut material, but you can't get back what you didn't record in the first place. Exactly. So if you're doing something epic, document it with a video. That was the genius move by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, recording everything.
Besties, there is no better way to promote yourself and boost the valuation of what you're doing than with a video memoir. For our second story, South by Southwest is now a film, music, and tech festival, probably a half a billion dollar a year business. Because conventions are surging right now. They're the third place for the workplace. And our third and final story is Wrexham AFC.
They're now a 100 million pound company. Its valuation is up 50x in four years. But it's not because of their celeb owners. It's because of that documentary. Remember to press record. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Wait, Nick, did we remember to push record? Oh boy, that's a podcast nightmare. Here's what else you need to know today. You scared me, man.
First, the S&P 500 rose on Friday, but still notched its worst week since September. On the economic front, the economy added 151,000 jobs in February. Kind of surprisingly high growth given the firing of federal workers last month. But the stock market is still feeling whiplashed by all that tariff flip-flopping. And second, reports have come in that Apple is planning to build a foldable phone.
The iPhone 17 might be a little bit thicker when it's folded close, but then it opens up into a tiny iPad for you to watch some videos. It's got to be crease-free, though. That's the key. When you open it, the screen has got to be as flat as still water. Apple's not going to launch this thing until it's crease-free. which is why it won't arrive until 2026 at the earliest. Where is the eye toilet?
Just make us an apple toilet. And finally, Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former crypto king, is in jail right now, but also just got interviewed on a podcast. Sam Bankman-Fried did a podcast interview with Tucker Carlson from a prison. We didn't know that was possible. Neither did Sam's PR rep, who had no idea this was happening.
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Chapter 4: How has South by Southwest evolved into a major economic event?
Happy 40th birthday to Joy Neumann in Whitehaven, Pennsylvania. Who's also got a new job in Wawa country. If you know, you know. Oh, and if you need a shout out on the show, we got links in the episode description. Fill out our easy form. We'll give you a shout out. We can't wait to get you on the pod. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.
Chapter 6: How did Ryan Reynolds' investment in Wrexham pay off?
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, March 10th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Stocks just had their worst week in months, but Jack and I are wearing the same outfit today. Unplanned. I wish it was planned. You look fantastic. I think I look fantastic too. Yeti's three toys for today's show.
Jack, what do we got on the T-boy? For our first story, get this. The number three clothing company in the world is actually TJ Maxx. TJ Maxx. TJ is at an all-time high because their business model is tariff... For our second story, the South by Southwest Festival is this week. So we looked at the business of South by.
And that business involves Johnny Cash, the Hanson Brothers, and the first ever tweet. And our third and final story, Ryan Reynolds invested in one underdog Welsh football club, and that investment has paid off. Oh, Rexham AFC just got a 4,900% return. And they're almost in the Premier League. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories.
Love the mix today, Jack. A new animal has been invented by mankind. And it's the biggest breakthrough in genetic engineering since the seedless watermelon. The new animal that is now alive and well is a woolly mouse. A woolly mouse. It is one part little mouse, one part wild. Wooly Mammoth. It's like Minnie Mouse and Dumbo the Elephant at a baby.
Jack, could you please sprinkle on some contacts to that fantastic visual? We've told you about Colossal, which is a genetic engineering startup. We've covered it a couple times on the pod. Colossal, they're trying to bring back the Wooly Mammoth naturally. Their business model is basically the plot of Jurassic Park. Yeah, like an animal's extinct.
They want to resurrect it using DNA found in fossils because life finds a way. Well, their first animal is the woolly mammoth. Good choice. But Jack, to get to the first step to reach that woolly mammoth, what do they do? They have to see if the woolly mammoth gene can survive in a mouse. Well, spoiler, it can. The woolly mouse is alive and it is well and it is woolly right now.
You got to see a picture of this. It looks like a regular mouse, except with a lot more hair and a lot more weight. Did we mention it's woolly? Yeah, we mentioned the hair. Now, ironically, adding DNA of an extinct animal to a non-extinct animal, that's the plot of Jurassic Park 2. Paging Dr. Grant.
But instead of a vicious genetically modified dinosaur, they made a precious genetically modified mouse. It feels like the woolly mouse should get their own Disney movie, by the way. I mean, Jack, I'm looking at this thing. It's cuter than Baby Yoda. I want one. Let's just leave it at that, Jack. Hey, Klausel, we found your new business model, Wooly Mice Pets.
Let's make it happen, Jack. Let's hit our three stories. First, a quick word from our sponsor.
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