Social Currency?

?? Check Out Our Latest Social Currency Newsletter! Our newest edition is out (https://lnkd.in/dTY6AbZJ), packed with valuable updates across business, economy, culture, entrepreneurship, and wellness. Here’s a quick preview of what’s inside: ?? Business & Economy:? Mango is using AI-generated models in some of its ads? (https://www.bloomberg.com) Goldfish is trying to win over adult snackers (https://lnkd.in/e3TvWCm) ?? Entrepreneurship: Kay Koplovitz Wants to See More Entrepreneurs Who Look Like Her (https://www.nytimes.com) ??♂? Becoming a Better You: This guide offers practical strategies for coping with anxiety (https://hbr.org/2024/11/) Dive into the full newsletter for these insights and more! https://lnkd.in/dTY6AbZJ

?? Check Out Our Latest Social Currency Newsletter! Our newest edition is out (https://lnkd.in/gfjCJH4c), packed with valuable updates across business, economy, culture, entrepreneurship, and wellness. Here’s a quick preview of what’s inside: ?? Business & Economy:? Where Some See Taboos, They See Opportunity (https://lnkd.in/gAB4fs99) Every Company Wants to Put on a Show Like Apple (https://lnkd.in/g9CAuHqh) ?? Trends & Style:? A peek behind the curtain: How do trends happen? (https://lnkd.in/g5YxhCuX) T-shirts for the Female Gaze (https://lnkd.in/gtbKf3z4) ?? Entrepreneurship: A Roadmap for Starting a Consulting Business (https://lnkd.in/gr4wEAP9) ??♂? Becoming a Better You: A creator who helps you to organize your life, via notion templates and lots of other tools (https://julesacree.com/) Dive into the full newsletter for these insights and more!

Patagonia is an estimated $3 billion company that created a Black Friday ad that specifically told people to *not* buy their product. And what happened next isn’t what you’d expect… their sales increased by 30% over the following months after the ad went live. Patagonia is industry-leading in their commitment to sustainability: ??Their Worn Wear program sells used articles of their clothing, so people can buy secondhand Patagonia products through their own website. ??They donate 1% of sales (not profits!) to environmental groups through the ‘1% for the Planet’ initiative. ??They have a robust clothing repair program, where they will repair most items for basically free (there’s a small fee for shipping). ??And one more item that I didn’t have time to cover in the video is their Patagonia Provisions Provisions arm, which focuses on regenerative organic agriculture. So they’re also trying to fix our food systems too.

craigslist is one of the simplest business models in Silicon Valley. Craig Newmark created the company in the ‘90s. They’ve barely changed in the almost 30 years that they’ve been in business, yet they’re a company that has brought in billions in revenue. They monetize by charging a low fee for job postings and housing rentals (along with a few other categories). Although they’ve lost some marketshare to competitors in recent years, it’s still an incredibly impressive story.

Halo Top Creamery was on the TIME ‘Best Inventions of 2017’ list. It had a blowout year with revenues topping $350 million and had dethroned Ben & Jerry's and H?agen-Dazs Shops as the #1 best selling ice cream in U.S. grocery stores. Shortly after their peak year, competition stepped up a notch, and similar low-sugar/low-calorie options flooded the market. In 2019, Halo Top was acquired by Wells Enterprises, the manufacturer of Blue Bunny ice cream products. This story is an incredible case study on how becoming a wildly successful CPG product can put you in a vulnerable position when competition becomes fierce (and consumer preferences change).

Particl is a competitive intelligence platform designed to help e-commerce brands make smarter decisions. It helps to provide insights into: 1) competitor sales, 2) top-selling products, 3) pricing strategies, and 4) market trends. If you’re an early stage founder of a CPG company, using this tool is extremely helpful. #ad #sponsored

Yellowstone Club is the most exclusive club in America. It’s located in Big Sky, Montana, and has a membership list ranging from Mark Zuckerberg to Tom Brady. Membership initiation fees are $300k and houses in the community start at around $20 million.

The Starbucks Reserve stores have been around since 2014, and they provide a completely elevated experience to Starbucks customers. After recently stopping by a Reserve Roastery, I was really impressed with how they’ve created these unique experiences that are centered around their coffee drinks (a Pumpkin Spice Latte experience, anyone?). Should Starbucks try to expand this program in the U.S.? I think so!

lululemon acquired Mirror in 2020 at the height of the at-home fitness craze for $500 million. By the end of 2020, the company brought in $170 million in revenue, but the following year, their revenue had fallen to $130 million. By the end of 2022, the company had lost 88% of its value. This is a cautionary tale on the struggles of big company acquisitions.

The Taylor Swift Effect is extreme and has a tremendous ability to impact a company’s trajectory (for the better). Fazit saw a 2,500% increase in sales within 13 hours of Taylor Swift wearing their signature product, sparkle freckles. Taylor has been known to promote many women-owned businesses, and this is just the latest example that she’s been photographed in.