Legal Gambling Age In Michigan Varies, But Online Bets Are
Legal Gambling Age In Michigan Varies, But Online Bets Are
Is Legal Gambling Age 18 Or 21 In My State
What Is the Legal Gambling Age in Metro Detroit?
What is the legal age to gamble in Michigan? - Answers
Legal Gambling Age in Michigan | Michigan Legal Gambling Age
How Old Do You Have to Be to Go to a Casino and Gamble?
Legal Sports Betting Age By State | Legal US Gambling Age
How Old Do You Have to Be to Gamble? Gambling Age Worldwide
Michigan Legal Gambling Ages | Minimum Michigan Gambling Age
what is the legal age to gamble in michigan
what is the legal age to gamble in michigan - win
The #1 online casino company $RSI is primed for autism
Positions: $RSI 30 03/19 30C Proof: https://imgur.com/a/swCCMjz *This post is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice.* TLDR: Rush Street Interactive ($RSI) is the #1 nationwide online casino company and the #3 or #4 sports book depending on the state. Short selling, unwarranted institutional wariness of share dilution and the general market focus on sports book instead of online casino has left $RSI grossly undervalued. A massive blow out at Q4 earnings will result in analyst upgrades and a rapid repricing by market makers and institutions seeking exposure to the emerging sector. **Overview** "Sports book is really just kind of a warm up in a lot of ways for an online casino where the real money is made" - Niccolo De Masi, CEO dMY technologies Rush Street Interactive ($RSI) operates the BetRivers.com online casino and sports book. They are now fully licensed and operating in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia. They own and operate a casino in New York and already have a New York license making them well positioned for liberalization there. They merged with a dMY Technology Group SPAC on Dec. 31st 2020 with 240 million on the balance sheet to spend on growth. The online casino business is fundamentally more profitable than sports betting because the average value of a casino player is estimated at $600 while a sports book player could be as little as $20. Estimates put the online casino market at DOUBLE the size of the online sports book market and the online casino industry is really just getting started as more states liberalize. $RSI is expert at new market entry; they have been first to market in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, and Colorado and even when they aren't first they are capable of capturing market share in competitive markets such as New Jersey. They also have products which women play which accounts for at least half of the market in online casino. The female market is one that the pure sports book plays miss out on. Also for some fucking reason they operate a casino and sports book in Colombia (rushbet.co) and may make large expansions into other parts of south America as legalization continues. This means they have the expertise necessary for global expansion in the future although the states remains their primary focus and growth driver. **The Financials and Strategy** Unlike other companies in the space Rush Street is already profitable in 2020 and has a strong focus on Return On Invested Capital (ROIC). Q3 gross revenue was $71.9 Million. Q4 revenue is going to be a blow out. Combing through state gambling revenue data and breaking that down by market share my estimate is that Q4 revenue could be as high as $120 Million. Paired with this blow out will be a **guidance raise to $500 Million for 2021**, which is 2/3 of DraftKings 2021 guidance of $750M. https://imgur.com/a/xkfcayC What is striking when compared to $DKNG is that their advertising spend was only a quarter of revenue in Q3 while $DKNG spent 155% of their revenue. This will change as they begin to focus on growth, but it shows they are very good at getting return on ad spend. This company should actually be valued close to $DKNG based on growth potential once guidance is raised. https://imgur.com/a/RQQXtGg Their focus on attracting **female gamers** is also important to their long term growth potential. The sports book plays with cross sells to casino such as $DKNG will not be able to grow through the female demographic in the same way. **This cannot be understated** as one of the major strategic advantages of $RSI. https://imgur.com/a/xzJj26n As I said before I expect their trend of rapid growth to continue for Q4 earnings, certainly going to be a blow out based on looking at state gambling revenue numbers. My estimate is that their revenue will be around 110M for Q4. I also expect guidance to be raised to 500M for 2021 due to strong performance in existing markets and the recently opened Michigan market as well as their sports book launch in Virginia. https://imgur.com/a/ckTqHhh **Short sellers have entered the chat** The short interest on $RSI sits at 5.08 M shares as of 01/14/21 representing a 30% increase. Now why would a company already valued at 2.8 Billion and with a comparative valuation of 8-10 Billion compared with $DKNG and $PENN be so heavily shorted at such a low market cap? My conclusion is that an institution with 10s of millions to throw at shorting this stock wants to take advantage of fear of share dilution from warrant calling or to establish a better entry prior to earnings. **Commander in GILF Cathie Wood is Bullish on the sector** On Feb. 2nd ARK disclosed that they had purchased 620,300 shares of $DKNG. This is extremely bullish for the sector. I am highly confident that after Q4 earnings ARK will be purchasing shares in $RSI as well due its strategic advantages relative to $DKNG and exposure to the female demographic. For such a small market cap company this will be a major catalyst. **Institutions are bullish** Fidelity has increased their holdings to 14% as of today: https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001793659/8f10b0d8-a3d2-447c-bc75-87587d0a4670.pdf Alliance Bernstein holds a 6% position reported today: http://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001793659/e883778d-e759-4a85-91c1-3242ed110720.pdf **Final notes** Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, Steelers legend and hall of fame running back, is their brand ambassador... This company knows their target audience and how to appeal to them, likely more 'classic' ambassadors to come to attract even more boomer and Gen X degenerates. Keep in mind these are the gamblers with big money to spend, the average age of an online casino gambler is 42. This stock has been grossly underpriced due to short selling. The terms of the SPAC deal were not unfavorable and all the insiders held their shares through the merger banking on growth in the market - **management owns 77% of the company**. This is a true value play on a well managed company in an emerging industry with a market size in the hundreds of billions. I plan to hold shares long term. I will post a part 2 breaking down their latest S-1 filing and Q4 revenue by state when they release their Q4 earnings date. Do your own research. References: https://www.legalsportsreport.com/sports-betting/revenue/ https://fintel.io/doc/sec-rush-street-interactive-inc-ex991-2021-january-05-18632-947 https://s26.q4cdn.com/794539746/files/doc_presentations/2020/RSI-Investor-Presentation-15-Oct-2020.pdf https://ir.rushstreetinteractive.com/news/news-details/2020/RUSH-STREET-INTERACTIVE-ANNOUNCES-THIRD-QUARTER-2020-RESULTS-AND-RAISES-FULL-YEAR-GUIDANCE/default.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQWEhWuPmzU https://www.thestreet.com/investing/draftkings-surges-as-stake-bought-by-ark-next-generation Positions: $RSI 30 03/19 30C I will be adding 04/16 25cs each week until earnings. Exit strategy: "What's an exit strategy?" - u/deepfuckingvalue Update 021321: IMPORTANT after a commenter pointed out that technically they could report as late as April 2nd I AM RECOMMENDING THAT EVERYONE ROLL OUT TO APRIL 16TH 35Cs
The #1 online casino company $RSI is primed for ingress.
Positions: $RSI 03/19 30C Proof: https://imgur.com/a/swCCMjz This post is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as investment, financial, or other advice. TLDR: Rush Street Interactive ($RSI) is the #1 nationwide online casino company and the #3 or #4 sports book depending on the state. Short selling, unwarranted institutional wariness of share dilution and the general market focus on sports book instead of online casino has left $RSI grossly undervalued. A massive blow out at Q4 earnings will result in analyst upgrades and a rapid repricing by market makers and institutions seeking exposure to the emerging sector. Overview "Sports book is really just kind of a warm up in a lot of ways for an online casino where the real money is made" - Niccolo De Masi, CEO dMY technologies Rush Street Interactive ($RSI) operates the BetRivers.com online casino and sports book. They are now fully licensed and operating in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia. They own and operate a casino in New York and already have a New York license making them well positioned for liberalization there. They merged with a dMY Technology Group SPAC on Dec. 31st 2020 with 240 million on the balance sheet to spend on growth. The online casino business is fundamentally more profitable than sports betting because the average value of a casino player is estimated at $600 while a sports book player could be as little as $20. Estimates put the online casino market at DOUBLE the size of the online sports book market and the online casino industry is really just getting started as more states liberalize. $RSI is expert at new market entry; they have been first to market in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, and Colorado and even when they aren't first they are capable of capturing market share in competitive markets such as New Jersey. They also have products which women play which accounts for at least half of the market in online casino. The female market is one that the pure sports book plays miss out on. Also for some fucking reason they operate a casino and sports book in Colombia (rushbet.co) and may make large expansions into other parts of south America as legalization continues. This means they have the expertise necessary for global expansion in the future although the states remains their primary focus and growth driver. The Financials and Strategy Unlike other companies in the space Rush Street is already profitable in 2020 and has a strong focus on Return On Invested Capital (ROIC). Q3 gross revenue was $71.9 Million. Q4 revenue is going to be a blow out. Combing through state gambling revenue data and breaking that down by market share my estimate is that Q4 revenue could be as high as $120 Million. Paired with this blow out will be a **guidance raise to $500 Million for 2021**, which is 2/3 of DraftKings 2021 guidance of $750M. https://imgur.com/a/xkfcayC What is striking when compared to $DKNG is that their advertising spend was only a quarter of revenue in Q3 while $DKNG spent 155% of their revenue. This will change as they begin to focus on growth, but it shows they are very good at getting return on ad spend. This company should actually be valued close to $DKNG based on growth potential once guidance is raised. https://imgur.com/a/RQQXtGg Their focus on attracting **female gamers** is also important to their long term growth potential. The sports book plays with cross sells to casino such as $DKNG will not be able to grow through the female demographic in the same way. **This cannot be understated** as one of the major strategic advantages of $RSI. https://imgur.com/a/xzJj26n As I said before I expect their trend of rapid growth to continue for Q4 earnings, certainly going to be a blow out based on looking at state gambling revenue numbers. My estimate is that their revenue will be around 110M for Q4. I also expect guidance to be raised to 500M for 2021 due to strong performance in existing markets and the recently opened Michigan market as well as their sports book launch in Virginia. https://imgur.com/a/ckTqHhh Short sellers have entered the chat The short interest on $RSI sits at 5.08 M shares as of 01/14/21 representing a 30% increase. Now why would a company already valued at 2.8 Billion and with a comparative valuation of 8-10 Billion compared with $DKNG and $PENN be so heavily shorted at such a low market cap? My conclusion is that an institution with 10s of millions to throw at shorting this stock wants to take advantage of fear of share dilution from warrant calling or to establish a better entry prior to earnings. Cathie Wood is Bullish on the sector On Feb. 2nd ARK disclosed that they had purchased 620,300 shares of $DKNG. This is extremely bullish for the sector. I am highly confident that after Q4 earnings ARK will be purchasing shares in $RSI as well due its strategic advantages relative to $DKNG and exposure to the female demographic. For such a small market cap company this will be a major catalyst. Final notes Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, Steelers legend and hall of fame running back, is their brand ambassador... This company knows their target audience and how to appeal to them, likely more 'classic' ambassadors to come to attract even more boomer and Gen X degenerates. Keep in mind these are the gamblers with big money to spend, the average age of an online casino gambler is 42. This stock has been grossly underpriced due to short selling. The terms of the SPAC deal were not unfavorable and all the insiders held their shares through the merger banking on growth in the market - **management owns 77% of the company**. This is a true value play on a well managed company in an emerging industry with a market size in the hundreds of billions. I plan to hold shares long term. I will post a part 2 breaking down their latest S-1 filing and Q4 revenue by state when they release their Q4 earnings date. Do your own research. References: https://www.legalsportsreport.com/sports-betting/revenue/ https://fintel.io/doc/sec-rush-street-interactive-inc-ex991-2021-january-05-18632-947 https://s26.q4cdn.com/794539746/files/doc_presentations/2020/RSI-Investor-Presentation-15-Oct-2020.pdf https://ir.rushstreetinteractive.com/news/news-details/2020/RUSH-STREET-INTERACTIVE-ANNOUNCES-THIRD-QUARTER-2020-RESULTS-AND-RAISES-FULL-YEAR-GUIDANCE/default.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQWEhWuPmzU https://www.thestreet.com/investing/draftkings-surges-as-stake-bought-by-ark-next-generation Positions: $RSI 03/19 30C I will be adding 04/16 25Cs each week until earnings Exit strategy: "What's an exit strategy?" - u/deepfuckingvalue Forgot to add: http://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001793659/8f10b0d8-a3d2-447c-bc75-87587d0a4670.pdf Fidelity just doubled their position to almost 15% Update 021221: Everyone that went in on my initial entry is down 40% right now. As I said I plan to continue to buy 03/19 25Cs each week until earnings. If you’re worried about further losses wait until the day before earnings to load up, you may miss a run up though. Update 021321: IMPORTANT after a commenter pointed out that technically they could report as late as April 2nd I AM RECOMMENDING THAT EVERYONE ROLL OUT TO APRIL 16TH 35Cs
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1. https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%) NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar. https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866 NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis !!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should. In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase. Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below: https://www.playboy.com/ https://www.playboytv.com/ https://www.playboyplus.com/ https://www.iplayboy.com/ Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success. “Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.” https://www.scientificgames.com/ https://www.microgaming.co.uk/ “This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.” https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/ As per their SEC filing: “Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1 They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon. https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again: https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea “Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.” “According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently: https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress. Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait. https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/ Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05 Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing: “For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.” “In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.” They are profitable across all three of their current business segments. “Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world. "Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.” Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame: “As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn. The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :( He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :) Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw. I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003 Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this: “Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy. “Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative. https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html Y’all like that China money? “Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.” Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose. I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing “Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.” “Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.” Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong. Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will. Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way. Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains. TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here: WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf Or here: https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.” STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon. Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.
Name: Michael "Michigan Mike" Basara, Jr. Age: 52 Appearance: Mike is a pretty normal looking middle aged guy - he looks like a jolly dad, which is indeed what he is. He's pretty big, standing at about 6'4" with a heavyset build, and has dark skin and a shaved head with a salt-and-pepper goatee. He usually wears polo or t-shirts, jeans, and work boots or sneakers while out and about, but can be found just as often in his mechanic's jumpsuit. Every once in a while, he'll throw in a baseball cap, too - either one representing a Detroit sports team, the Michigan State Spartans, or a custom trucker hat advertising "Michigan Mike's Auto Repair". Personality: Mike is a laid back and very friendly guy to basically everyone, always happy to be a Good Samaritan and help out people who need it if he can. He's practically a repository of fatherly advice, even unprompted and to people who are not his son. He loves cars and food, especially American cars and American BBQ, and he's a devout Christian. Really, he's a pretty simple guy, in the most positive way there is. Background: Michael Basara was born in 1968, right in the aftermath of the riots in Detroit; his dad was a worker at the local Ford factory, but ended up getting laid off when the auto industry crashed, leaving both of his parents bouncing from job to job to try and feed Mike and his siblings. Though his family was poor, he still generally had a good upbringing and was brought up well. He was a football star in high school, even getting a scholarship to Michigan State, but his dreams of going pro were crushed when he suffered a knee injury that still hasn't quite recovered. After that, he got into street racing for a few years to make money, but as the stakes got higher and some of his fellow racers started getting arrested, he decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to stay in the game, even if he didn't think it was morally wrong. He ended up getting a job at a local auto body shop to keep working with the cars he loved so much, and soon enough, he worked his way up to manager (and eventually just bought the business himself by his mid-40's). When Mike was out and about one day in November of 2000, he stumbled across some decidedly abnormal crying coming from a dumpster - and found an abandoned baby boy inside. It was a pretty strange looking kid, too, with yellow eyes, dark fur, and faint nubs of horns sprouting from the forehead; even if the infant looked weird, though, and even if it wasn't human at all, Mike wasn't about to just abandon it to die in the garbage. He took the infant back home, and ended up simply raising it as his own son. He named the boy Jackie, and for over a year visited doctors who simply weren't sure what to do. Eventually, he was referred to a scientist of metahuman physiology in Chicago, who confirmed that the impish looking toddler was indeed a meta. One with never before seen mutations, granted, but still a human at the root of it all. Jackie grew up, and Mike tried his best to raise him right and keep him out of trouble (which isn't easy if you're raising a kid in Detroit). His son dropped out of school after 8th grade when bullying got too much to handle, and while Mike understood, he wasn't going to let his kid go out into the world with no education or skills. So, to make sure he would at least have the latter, he started teaching his son about his own job, and had him start working around the shop. Jackie got good, but his real passion was music - which, while apprehensive at first, Mike soon started to encourage. By the time his son moved to Paradiso at age 20 to further his growing career, Mike couldn't have been more proud of him. Now, Jackie and his new girlfriend have been encouraging Mike to move out there himself, and even offered to help out some with money to give him a reason to leave Detroit for somewhere so much more pricey. As much as he loves his hometown, Mike decided that after 52 years, a change of scenery might be nice. Palm trees seemed cool, beaches by the actual ocean sounded fun, and half a century of Michigan winters were starting to get to him - so he took them up on the offer, sold his shop in Detroit, and bought a new business and new house in Paradiso. Now, Michigan Mike's Auto Repair is newly open for business on the East Side. Mike is hoping the gamble pays off, but even if it doesn't, well, the palm trees and beaches were even nicer than he thought. Resources: A modest house, a few cars (one of them's a lemon, but he's working on restoring it), and a decent income from owning and operating the newly opened Michigan Mike's Auto Repair on the east side of Paradiso.
POWERS AND SKILLS
Power Descriptions:
Unpowered: Mike is not a meta, does not know magic, and while he's a reasonably smart guy, it's by no means to a superhuman or genius level.
Power Drawbacks: Mike, being a normal human with no powers who only has weapons at home, would be easy prey for most other characters on this sub if they got to fighting. Skills:
Music: He may not be a musician by trade like his son, but Mike is very knowledgeable about music, especially 20th century soul/R&B/Motown. He also has a great baritone voice, and has been known to enjoy singing just for fun every once in a while.
Driving: Owing to his street racing days back in his youth and a lifetime of experience with cars aside from that, he's great behind a wheel.
Machines (Specialization - Vehicles): Thanks to decades of practice and work, Mike is an expert mechanic, able to fix plenty of devices and appliances with ease. He's generally very handy. However, most of his knowledge applies to trucks, cars, and motorcycles. It's not to a superpowered extent, but he's been working with automobiles since the 80's. He most definitely knows what he's doing.
Cooking: The man knows how to work a grill. Burgers, franks, ribs, shrimp, fish... it's getting grilled all the same. And it's coming out delicious. His absolute specialty are Detroit style Coney dogs, though.
Equipment/Weaponry: He owns a pistol and a shotgun and knows how to use both, even if he doesn't like violence one bit. He's had to use them a few times back home to scare off thieves breaking in, and while he hopes there's no need for it in Paradiso, he still made sure to bring them with him.
ATTRIBUTES/FEATS
Strength: He's pretty strong (there's a good amount of muscle under his chub), but it's nothing out of the ordinary. He doesn’t work out or anything. Agility: He's an aging fat guy with a bad knee. Basically every single character on the sub could probably beat him in this regard, although his reactions are still decent for a normal guy. Intelligence/Wisdom: It's nothing superhuman, but Mike is a smart guy in general, even if he never finished college. In particular, he's a wizard with machines, vehicles in particular. Defense: Not much. He owns a couple guns for home defense. Offense: He can throw an alright punch, is a big guy in general, and has a couple legally owned guns in his house, although he doesn't usually carry them.
A Cliff Notes Summary of the First One Out Interviews
If you haven't had time to listen to seven hours of podcast interviews, or you didn't retain everything you heard, here are some key points. I didn't think to do this until just now, so I'll be posting it as a work in progress and updating it throughout the afternoon. That way more people will have a chance to read up before the premiere. Karishma Patel, 37, Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, Houston, TX -First generation Indian-American Her mom was as a legal assistant, and got her a filing job at her law firm when she was 14. "I didn't have other options. I was basically told I was going to be a lawyer and I didn't disagree."She has watched every season and regularly listens to RHAP. She sits close to the TV to study the inflections on people's faces when something is said to them, so that she can think about what that means. But, her parents and husband don't share her enthusiasm for the show. Asked if it's her dark pleasure she says, "It is completely bright. It is a beautiful pleasure of mine, but it is mine and mine only. I haven't been able to find people to share it with." -Doing the show has caused her conflict. "Not only is it not expected, it's not allowed. It's kind of like being a disobedient Indian girl. You're not supposed to be doing this. What you're supposed to be doing is having babies. But I don't care. I'm a risk taker. I'm here to prove to myself that I don't need to listen to anybody else. I don't need permission from anybody else. This is my journey and I'm going to take it. I hope that people watching out there can see that an Indian woman's value does not come from doing what she's told." -She doesn't currently have children, and she says she has some decisions to make as she enters a crossroads and the next stage of her life. -Her law firm told her they'll replace her if they're able to find someone, and she can have her job back if they don't. "I didn't flinch." -Her strategy is to be non-threatening and play a social game. She doesn't look 37, and she wants to use that youthfulness to be disarming. She wants to build relationships other people believe in. She defines success by other people vouching for her loyalty when they go off and have private conversations with one another. "That means I got 'em, because it's actually the other way around." Asked if she wants to find someone she can trust, "I'm not going to be capable of it. I'm too skeptical for that. I overthink things, so I'm not going to be able to trust somebody the way I want to be trusted... If I do, that's the end of my game." My take: Oh my God. Poor Karishma. Her story hurts my heart. She reminds me so much of myself in her isolation, her defiance and her deep feelings. I worry that her fear of trusting people could get in the way of her forming genuine bonds. But, there's nothing she can do. Society has made her the way she is. I hope she gets a lot of screen time so she can be a star of her favorite show. Missy Byrd, 24, Military Veteran/App Developer, Tacoma, Washington -Originally from Georgia. Her family was 'decently poor.' She played basketball for the Air Force Academy because she thought it was her ticket out. -She had a brain tumor. She stopped menstruating for a year and two quarters. "I'm not dating anyone but I have breast milk. I'm a literal cow... I would look down and my shirt would be wet, and I thought, 'Dang you're clumsy. I knew you were clumsy, but you're clumsier today than you were yesterday. But it was - it was - uhh - milk." She had crying fits. She developed a stutter and couldn't look at people. Doctors told her she was just stressed. When her dad died she couldn't process emotions normally. She was about to go to the French version of the Air Force Academy, École de l'air, after graduation but because of her mental instability she was removed from school. The military shipped her to the same Air Force base as Sandra (Fort Lewis.) "I don't want to be there. Super sad. Check into the post office - fuck this. Check into the dorms - hate that." The doctor there found the tumor. She got an MRI and all weekend she believed she might have cancer. Over the next year and a half she eliminated the tumor and the symptoms using vitamins. She enlisted and worked logistics. -She made a list of the things she wanted to do now that she was going to live. "The first thing was go see Beyonce. Beyonce costs way too much money for a normal person to go see, but if you've just almost had a near death experience you go see Beyonce, bro!" She was feet away. She drove across the country. She tried weed. -She had an idea for an app, but didn't even have the computer literacy to use social media. She found a veteran's association and asked if she could intern. "They said, 'No, you should build this out yourself. We want to work for you.' I said, 'No, the fuck you don't. Okay, lemme call my grandma.'" She wrote a grant proposal and won a $1,500 office space in the center of Seattle. "Just to do whatever I want. It was like a laboratory for a child. I had Play-Dough up there. I had a white board... Just mind blowing shit when I could have been dead." -She'd seen every episode of Survivor at least three times. She started watching because her Air Force Academy basketball team was getting decimated, and she related to Foa Foa getting decimated in Survivor: Samoa. She added the show to her list. Josh suggests, "The bugs are eating you because they want some of that magic." -She isn't going to tell people her story until she's in the Final 3. "That's that Final 3 magic." She doesn't want to overly rely on strategy. She doesn't want to win individual challenges. She to build a social game and find ways to relate to everyone. My take: She's so full of exuberance. There's not a negative bone in her body right now. She's too young and her life experience is too necessarily limited to talk around three years of her life. If she shares her story, the beauty of her perspective will cause everyone to fall in love with her and want her to do well. If she doesn't, people will sense that she's hiding a lot. I think she'll figure that out and course correct within the first day. Since she was at the same Air Force base as Sandra and she was a massive fan, does that suggest she knows her? Ronnie Bardah, 35, Professional Poker Player, Henderson, Nevada-Born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, 20 minutes south of Boston. They were the only Israeli family in town. 50% of the people in Brockton were from Cape Verde, and he considers himself an "honorary Cape Verdian." A couple of his friends were shot and killed at a young age. -He was a good kid and had a good heart, but he was always hustling. In Junior High he was flipping Oatmeal Cakes and Fudge Rounds for a profit. Slinging baseball cards. Both his parents gambled. They were always at the dog tracks or Mohegan Sun. He had his friend make him a fake ID and got stuck with the name Alaja Jones. He went by Al and started playing the casinos. Quit his job at Sears Automotive to play poker full time.-He played Atlantic City, Vegas, then internationally. He had his first big score in 2010 when he took 24th place in the main event for $320,000. Got to keep $150,000 after taxes. "Poker's a hard way to make an easy living. Lots of people try. We risk every day. You have to get to a point when you can manage your bankroll and I've never gone broke in the 16 years I've played." -In one of the most viewed poker hands of all time, he was bluffed out of a million dollar pot by a supermodel on a poker TV show filmed in Monaco. "She made a sick play. She had no idea what she was doing but all the stars were aligned."-He watched Borneo when it aired and got back into it when fellow poker player Anna Khait was on. He calls Jean-Robert, "kinda a lazy guy...He's really good at befriending multi-millionaires." "Anna Khait... is probably the least poker player out of all of us. She played for a couple years." "And then Garrett - He's a very, very smart, smart kid... Self-made millionaire. One of the very, very few." -He only drank water for 7.5 days and lost 25 pounds for his health and to get an idea of the conditions of the show. He thinks he'll thrive in the survival situation. "People like being around me. I like to fucking bust balls and joke." He thinks old school alliances are a good plan, but you have to adapt. He says that like in poker, Survivor players can have every advantage, but they have to really smell it. -He wants Vince out. "There's an Asian Zeke in there. What value does he bring besides ruining people and getting in people's heads? He's a liability in challenges. He looks like a little corn puff. We gotta get him outta here. Sorry to sound so mean but it's the truth." My take: Ruuuuude. He has no way of knowing how other people on the cast are talking in their interviews, and may assume the trash talk is standard. If he were playing on some seasons it would be. But, in this particular season it sets him apart in an unflattering way, and it seems a part of the tough persona he's built up to escape a scary situation growing up and enter a fantasy career. We'll see whether his tribe thinks he's a straight talking character or a jerk. Tom Laidlaw, Former NHL Player, Brampton, Ontario, Canada -He was with the New York Rangers for 7 years and the LA Kings for 4. Now he has his own podcast, True Grit Life (truegritlife.com). Does it with a friend, Kevin Allen, who writes for USA Today. Does motivational speaking. -Growing up on a dairy farm outside Toronto there was a pond to water the cows. It froze over in the winters and he'd play hockey because there wasn't much else to do. Went to Northern Michigan University - four year hockey captain, ranked #1 team in the country. Drafted as a 20 year old. "My buddy had a horse farm. We were cleaning horse shit out of the stalls. There were no cell phones back then. This is 1978. My father got a call at our farm house from the New York Rangers at the draft. Back then nobody went to the draft - it was just teams. They said I'd been drafted in the sixth round. He calls the farm house where I'm working. They bring me up. He says, 'Son, you've been drafted by the Rangers.' I said, 'Great. What do I do now?' He says, 'Finish cleaning the shit out of the stalls.'" -When he played intimidation and fighting was strategy. There were guys tougher than him, but he could fight and he could also play. Problem was, he fought a guy once, and from then on the guy wanted to fight him over and over. -Jerry Bruckheimer, big hockey fan, called the NHL and wanted to get some players on the Amazing Race. Tom had kept himself in shape, he had his passport. They ended up asking him about Survivor. He'd watched it before but not for a while. He wasn't so sure he wanted to play a game where you hurt other people, but friends helped him get his head around it. He was very impressed by Christian's toughness in the endurance challenge. To prepare for the show he studied how he reacted to different situations, how to control his heart heart, etc. He wants the mental challenge. My take: Tom really ticked me off when he spoiled a couple of outcomes of this season. That's a betrayal of the producers, his cast and the viewers. But, if that hadn't happened I would like him. He's an easy-going, charming guy. His life experiences are a bit different than anyone else who's been on the show, which is what you want. Vince Moua, 27, Admissions Counselor, Merced, CA -His family is Hmong. His parents lived in Vietnam in the destruction left by the war - dead bodies, guns, people who wanted to kill them. They went to refugee camps in Thailand. Then his dad became a Montana farm hand. He met Vince's mom in the US, but she came from the same place. -Vince is from small town Merced, California - the 209. Few people he knew went anywhere but the UC system and community college. He went to Stanford, one of only 7-10 Hmong. He realized the significance someone can bring to people from the same community. He tried to be pre-med but realized "no, not today." The issues of access he cared about came well before people got to the hospital. He ended up going with education. His mom was a teacher, "But when I was growing up she said, 'Yo, if you become a teacher Imma disown yo ass.' To all of us. But, that's always kinda been my jam." -He lived in South Korea for five years. He taught English in a town. Then in Seoul ahed worked with low and middle income students who wanted to study outside of Korea. -He's a Survivor superfan, who even mentions on his Tinder account that he plans to be on Survivor. His parents were worried about him doing TV because he's not out as gay to his extended family. He comes from a clan where his dad is the "top dog" and Vince is "the next top dog." In the Asian American/Pacific Islander community when you come out, it's your family who faces - in a sense - dishonor. For a long time he distanced himself from his family, hoping they'd all be less hurt if they found out and disowned him. He always tried to find friends who would be there for him should his parents not be. A year ago his mom asked him rhetorically if he was gay. "I was try'n to go around it. I was like, 'Gurl, you don't wanna know! Yo ass keeps asking!' But she kept asking, asking. So finally I told her 'Yeah, I am!' and she was crying. My dad was like, 'Oh, my son!'" But, Vince is fine with who he is and wants to show kids like him that "let's hope that it gets better." Now his parents just want him to win. -He'd like to play an old school strategy but "I'm not afraid to cut a bitch." With the tribe he's going to be Homeboy Vince from the 209, but when he talks to the camera he's going to tell people "Don't underestimate your narratives." This past year with Crazy Rich Asians, he wants people to know that there are some Crazy Hood Ass Asians. My take: What a character. Vince has a clear point of view - Hmong, blue collar, gay - which is unique to him in Survivor lore. Even though double minorities have sometimes had trouble fitting in socially on Survivor I think somehow he's going to pull it off. As unlikely as this sounds I could even see him being a Cochran-esque winner. Aaron Meredith, 36, Personal Trainer, Warwick, Rhode Island -He's very keyed up at Ponderosa. Rambling so fast it sounds like you're listening to 1.5x. He's read four books so far - Relentless by Tim Grover, Can't Hurt Me by Dave Goggins, Iron Cowboy by James Lawrence, Harry Potter. -He was an engineer at a building insulation plant. He was miserable, too antsy sitting at a desk. Couldn't focus. So, he drove up and down the East Coast popping kettle corn - from Maine to Florida - traveling with carnies. Bartended for a while. He'd played college football and baseball, lifted since high school, and he and his friends wanted to get "huge and jacked and ripped." The owner of the gym suggested he become a personal trainer. He ended up working mostly with middle aged women and it taught him empathy. Now he owns two women's-only fitness studios. He puts supportive women around one another and offers them the positivity to seek self-growth. -He's also a party boat emcee. Lights, DJ, bar, drinks. He's an extremely social person. -He'd first applied at 23 - 6 or 7 times over the years. He was in the mix for Cook Islands and David vs. Goliath. -He's been married 7 years and has a 5 year old son. His son is a huge fan of Survivor. Libby Vincek is his favorite player. Kara Kay was his next favorite. Aaron is already sure Molly will be his son's favorite. "He has a type. He He likes the attractive blondes. He says, 'I like them because they have a nice face.' I like mommy because she has a nice face too." The boy was very concerned about his dad going on the show. He said, "Dad, I don't want anyone to laugh at you and make fun of you." Aaron said he wanted to win. His son said, "But you might not win." When they watch the show he'll always ask, "Do they like him? Do they like her?" If Aaron is portrayed in a negative light he'll have to sit down with his son and talk. He doesn't want to play a deceitful game, but he will, because he doesn't care how he's portrayed. My take: His story about his son is one of my favorites from all these interviews. I hope he gets to work with Molly. His adrenaline is too high. I hope he calms down a lot when the game starts. But, someone so social and sweet hearted who can win challenges and take themselves to the end has got to be a contender to win. Chelsea Walker, 27, Digital Content Editor, Los Angeles, CA -Chelsea just took the cast photo and they put her in the third spot from the bottom, a good omen because a weird number of winners have been in that position. "Your girl's number three. I got this!" -She's a Jersey girl. She went to the University of Maryland. "I didn't do Survivor: Maryland or anything." She studied Broadcast Journalism. She knew the generic emails for NBC Universal and emailed random people until someone replied. Now she's been in LA a year. She did coverage of award shows. Now she works at IMDB, where she helps Kevin Smith with his show. She just interviewed people at SXSW. -She's been watching Survivor since she was 8. She's cried in every interview because this means so much to her. She's trying to explain that at the point she starts crying again. "It's been such a dream of mine and To be told no year after year after year - these past six years have been a total mindfuck. I've basically been called every single year. I've been to finals three times. Survivor is my one true love, but the one year they didn't call me I got really pissed off so I tried out for Big Brother. I ended up becoming the alternate and got my key being filmed and all of that crap. But I don't like that show anyway." -In September 2017 she was at a WeHo bar for her friend's birthday when, "Oh shit that's Jeff Probst." Her girlfriends all know she's obsessed, so she pulled the waiter over and asked what that guy was drinking. So, Chelsea sent another one over. "I told my friends, 'Take my credit card. Split the bill, because I can't come back after I do this. As soon as the waiter drops off the drink I'm like, 'Jeff, this one's on me. You can buy me the next one at finals.' And I just walked out of the restaurant... That was a big move!" They didn't call her again that year, but Jeff still remembered when they talked this year. -She's been working out at four different gyms - weights, pilates, yoga. Push ups. Memorized puzzles. Reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, which she keeps in.a Bible sleeve so people will think she's religious. She also carries Harry Potter because she would trust someone who read HP. She wants to keep it cool. Make one on one connections. Eventually find idols - and not tell anyone she has one - and make calculated moves. "I don't want to be a Jacob. No offense." My take: Hearing this girl cry from joy because she's so happy to be on the show makes me emotional. She's a real go getter. I wish I were that damn fearless. Truly, I wish I were more like her. I hope her pure zest for life comes across on TV and she doesn't get stuck with a purple edit just because of her age and gender. I also hope no one decides to get threatened by her as a competitive girl and vote her off premerge. I think she'll go far. Hope so. Dean Kowalski, 28, Account Executive, New York, New York -Referring to himself in the third person, "Dean is 28 years old. As we mentioned, he lives in New York and he prides himself on being a well rounded person when it comes to interests, abilities, personalities... If I'm listening to Drake and Lil Wayne, I gotta go home and cry to This Is Us.. I can play basketball but also think about our place in the universe." He likes to tag basketball courts with a peace symbol with a ball on it which he makes using a stencil. -He structures most of his interview with Josh around an Outwit, Outplay, Outlast format, explaining why he excels at each. -He grew up in an affluent suburb. His dream was to play in the NBA. He was 5"9 3/4, so he set his eyes on college basketball as a realistic alternative. In order to get looks from colleges he went to a school 30 minutes away - top five in the country, Nike would fly them around for games and give them free Jordan sneakers. He was one of only 4 white guys in the whole school and the only one on the team. He played with Kyrie Irving, the #1 overall draft pick. "My friend said you look like the Make a Wish Kid who just wants to be on the team for a day." He played at Colombia University, where he was co-captain his senior year despite averaging two minutes a game. He became a teacher, then did sales for a tech startup in New York. He now sells ads for Google. -He's a fan, but far from a superfan. He started watching Brenda's season. (He thinks it was Nicaragua, but it was actually Carmoan.) He works with a superfan who freaked out when they had a meeting at H&R Block with Carolyn Rivera and they went out to Bourbon Street with her. He kept watching for five years and thought he could do well. He hates when people are all talk, so he sent in a tape. For the video he interviewed random strangers on the street, who had never met him or seen the show, and asked them, "Why am I going to win it?" A barber, a construction worker. He's going to tell people he's in marketing, not sales - people have sales. My take: I'm just not that into him. Elaine Stott, 41, Factory Worker, Rockholds, NY -When Josh asks her not to touch the table she asks him, "You seen that Bart Simpson commercial, right? Don't touch my Butterfinger? I'm already hungry thinking about it." -"I had a pretty rough way to go growing up." Her single dad raised her and her three brothers. She was the youngest. "I was raised like one of the boys. Know what I mean? Daddy didn't know how to raise no little girl." He worked 16-17 hour days. The kids raised themselves. "When little children make their own decisions, they make poor ones." She was a hellion. -She's originally from Woodbine, Kentucky, Nick Wilson's hometown. Her god sister went to school with him and she knows him through the grapevine. "We rode on different sides of the track. 20 years ago he coulda been my lawyer, because I was on the other side of the law. I'm not bad. I've just done some things." Public intoxication several times. "I come from a dry county. It's like Footloose. We cross the state line to get a beer and when you come back you're in trouble." She stole a newspaper stand once and had to do community service. "I was a little bit mean." -She went to live with her grandpa and cleaned her act up, by which she means that she started smoking a little weed and playing sports - basketball, softball, track. She played softball and judo in college. "I couldn't do nothing real technical. We had Brazilians on the team who could do flying arm bars. But if I got these claws on you and got ya on the ground I'd waller you to death." In casting she put this guy Will in an armbar. She was gonna choke him but didn't know if she should. -When she graduated, her girlfriend was a college Freshman so she went to all the same parties and ballgames for four years. Then she realized she needed a job. Now she drives a Ford truck for a factory. She's been there 15 years. She works 12 hours, 7 days a week. -Growing up her mom "was always in my life in some sense. She'd never miss a birthday. She'd be homeless, but she'd still call." Elaine and her brothers bought her cars, and places to live, and got her jobs. "In a sense I've been mourning the loss of my mom my whole life." Once Elaine was homeless herself and there was snow on the ground. It was cold, and her teacher took her in. Gave her Christmas presents. Made her go to prom. Survivor was a thing they shared, and the teacher was gonna be Elaine's loved one. But within a one year period the woman lost her daughter, her husband, her dog and then had a stroke. Now "she walks like Frankenstein" and can't go. Elaine got Probst to talk to her, and she can't wait to watch. In October Elaine's biological mom went into a coma. She was on life support, but Elaine wouldn't unplug her. Her mom came out of it and seemed to be doing a lot better only to die very suddenly of a heart attack. -Her girlfriend and her girlfriend's two sons are gonna be watching. The 18 year old doesn't know because he can't keep a secret. The 13 year old helped her lose 20 pounds doing crossfit to come out here. She wants the money, but she really wants "some of that soul searching, that life adventure, that life changing - some of that. You know what I mean? Gimme some of that soup! Lemme eat some of that up! I want this show to build me up, because I feel like it can. I sure hope to hell it don't tear me down." My take: About 12 sobbing emojis in a row. She's my favorite. If she gets voted out premerge I'm going to go into mourning. And how can you not sort of expect that? I am going to be so upset if they just dismiss her because she's older and looks out of shape and sounds country. If that happens, I want another Second Chance season next year. Elizabeth Biesel, 26, Olympic swimmer, South Kingstown, Rhode Island -Josh says that Elizabeth was outright identified by one of the other contestants because they'd been watching YouTube videos about how to be a better swimmer. Others guessed she was an Olympian based on her rings tattoo. -She's from the Ocean State. They lived a block away from the beach, so they wanted her to take swimming lessons. She was a rambunctious child and swimming was the only way they could calm her energy. She started breaking records when she was 7 or 8. When she was 13 she made her first national team. At 15 she went to the Olympics. She got good early. Women peak around 22-23, and she ended her career at 24. You couldn't make much money doing it. She swam one of the longer, more grueling races, and her body said "no more." She listened to her body and retired. Some athletes lose their love for swimming because they're embittered by losing by 1/100th of a second, or they leave injured. She left on a good note. Still, if she could swim competitively for the rest of her life, she would. Now she doesn't know who she is or what she's going to do with the rest of her life. Every hour of the day used to have a purpose. Now her days are wide open. She can't keep eating 5,000 calories a day. "It's sort of like I'm mourning the death of Elizabeth Biesel the swimmer." -She was a Survivor fan as a kid because Richard Hatch was from Rhode Island. In her area "Every single household that had a television set was watching Survivor." When they asked her if she'd do the show, she felt pure joy. She said absolutely right away. She's excited about the competition of Survivor. No heated Olympic pools. You're stripped down to your core. She's amazed by the scope of the production apparatus. She's not a schemer. She wants to be a challenge beast - not the best woman but the best overall. She'd love to have a Wendell and Dom relationship with another woman. But, she wants to avoid the drama as long as she can. My take: Could Chelsea be Wendell to her Dom? She's so wholesome. She's just so "Olympics." I love her and everything she represents. I'd love to see her rocket through the swimming competitions, lapping everyone else. Go Elizabeth.
Although in November 2018 the voters backed a state amendment restoring voting rights to over one million felons who completed their sentence, State Governor Ron DeSantis and State Secretary Ken Detzner said it would not be active in time for the February elections. This contradicts the directive from the Florida Department of State. https://theintercept.com/2019/01/08/florida-felon-voting-rights-amendment-4-2/
Ahead of 2018 election, election board seeks to close 7 of 9 polling locations because they are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, rather than improve disabled access https://thinkprogress.org/ada-voter-suppression-cd7031080bfd/
7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019 upholds Federal ruling blocking Indiana law to purge voter registrations without verification or notice, solely based on Crosscheck https://apnews.com/48214553535a404aac3376451387190a
DMVs give false information up until two days after registration deadline, telling citizens that they can only vote for federal offices, not state. Kobach had declared voters cannot vote for state offices back in June 2018, despite two court orders to register thousands of suspended voters https://www.kcur.org/post/kansans-got-wrong-information-dmv-until-voter-registration-deadline
Self-branded investigator of Voter Fraud and Kansas Secretary of State and Chief Elections Officer Kris Kobach driven to recuse himself in 2018 after the Secretary of State's office reported multiple election discrepancies from county tallies, where he claimed victories that county clerks claimed he lost. He stated however he would not recuse himself should there be a recount. https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/09/politics/kris-kobach-kansas-republican-governor-primary/index.html
3 Federal Judges in 2019 rule Michigan map is unconstitutional for gerrymandering, following email leaks of GOP staffers admitting to intentional gerrymandering, describing a finger-shaped district as "giving the finger to Sandy Levin... I love it," and strategist Robert LaBrant being concerned a 10-4 seat advantage would be too "blatant." On May 26, 2011, LaBrant wrote “We needed for legal and PR purposes a good looking map that did not look like an obvious gerrymander.” Each year the GOP took 9 of 14 House seats despite getting only 46% (2012), 47% (2014), and 48% (2016) of the votes. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/michigan-gerrymandering.htmlhttps://www.bridgemi.com/public-sectoemails-suggest-republicans-gerrymandered-michigan-weaken-dem-garbage
In 2016, suits challenged Voter ID laws and state gerrymandering. On the floor, House Rep David R. Lewis, chairman of the redistricting committee, said “I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats ... so I drew this map in a way to help foster what I think is better for the country.” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/us/north-carolina-voting-rights-redistictricting-battles.html
Democratic governor accuses GOP of blocking both 2018 investigation and interim Board of Elections after the North Carolina Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement declined to validate the election results. The investigation was forced to dissolve and the Republican chair is declining to nominate for the interim board, resulting in no investigation hearings https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/north-carolina-gop-accused-of-derailing-investigation-into-election-fraud/
"I don't want everybody to vote... As a matter of fact our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." -Paul Weyrich, co-founder of Heritage Foundation and ALEC, 1980 “Look, if African Americans voted overwhelmingly Republican, they would have kept early voting right where it was,” Wrenn said. “It wasn’t about discriminating against African Americans. They just ended up in the middle of it because they vote Democrat.” -Carter Wrenn, Republican consultant in North Carolina “There's a lot of liberal folks in those other schools who that maybe we don't want to vote. Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult. And I think that's a great idea.” -Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican Senator of Mississippi, 2003 Seeking more examples, if you have them. Get out and vote. https://www.vote.org/
All the dirt you want to know: 6 more MLM's exposed!
I've done a few posts exposing some of LuLaRoe's shady practices so I thought I'd do a few more MLM's. The complaint posts and memes in this group are great (and sometimes funny) but I hope we can also devote some time to exposing all of the shit that MLM's try to hide from people who might join. If anyone has any other MLM's or extra information they want to add, please put it in the comments! Mary Kay
F.A.C.E.S.(Families Against Cult-like Exploitation in Sales) is also a great resource. Check out their post on the husband unawareness plan to see just how far they're willing to go to manipulate their buyers and consultants.
Pink Lighthouse has a wealth of stories from former consultants and how they were often lied to in order to suck them in.
Here an eBay seller talks about being sued by the company for selling makeup on eBay.
Lawsuit against a consultant who sold Mary Kay at a "retail location".
Complaint regarding Mary Kay trying to pass their products off as cruelty-free when that was a lie. They tested on animals at the request of the Chinese government so they could make products in China.
Hey - Pat here with another interview. Today's interview is with Johanna Denize of Clever Travel Companion, a brand that makes Clothing for travelers. Some stats:
Product: Clothing for travelers.
Revenue/mo: $50,000.00
Started: August 2011
Location: Remote
Founders: 2
Employees: 2
Hello! Who are you and what are you working on?
My name is Johanna and I own and run the Clever Travel Companion together with my husband. We are originally from Sweden. Nowadays, we live an entirely location independent/nomadic or whatchamacallit lifestyle together with our eight year old son. It has taken a number of years to get to this point, but the goal when starting our company was always to be able to live off of an online based business so we would never be tied down to any one place or work location. Starting and being successful with our company has enabled us to live the life we want. That said it was not always easy and it has taken a lot of work to get here. Today the Clever Travel Companion funds our travels and our lifestyle and it enables us to spend a lot of time with our son. We do not work full time on our company any longer and we have two employees who help us out with administration. We do all product development and business development and also a lot of press ourselves. On the other hand we work all the time, and are never off. Finding a balance between free time and work is hard when you run your own business. There are always new product ideas, new projects and new business opportunities to explore. Wherever we travel, we also work, sourcing products and ideas and meeting manufacturers etc. We are just about to set sail actually - we have spent 6 months getting our teak laden (which sounds fancy but to sailors just means a lot of work) sailboat ready. As soon as hurricane season is over we are heading south to the Caribbeans and then who knows where! As long as we can get access to the Internet, we are free to go anywhere. We purposefully set out to design our life and business in order to be free like this. It took us many years and lots and lots of hard work, but we can finally say we are successful and have accomplished our goals. We are still growing our company (and working on many other business ideas) but we do not go to an office, we do not have meetings, we have no set schedule and we completely control our own time and life. That was always the goal, rather than making a fixed amount of money or being ‘rich’. That said the Clever Travel Companion is doing well, $50,000 plus a month and growing. We started the company in a niche we know well - travel. Having been pickpocketed ourselves on our travels we decided to design products that would prevent other travelers from meeting the same fate or from simply misplacing or dropping their money or passports somewhere off the beaten path. Our products include underwear, t-shirts, leggings, hoodies, dresses and scarves, all with secret, zippered pockets to hide a travelers’ valuables. We have all seen the Amazing Race and how almost every season a team misplaces their passports, and went on to lose the race, right? If they had only had one of our products that would not have happened. After all, no one misplaces the clothing (especially not their underwear) on their body! Our best seller these days is our circle scarf with two secret pockets that hide passports, cell phones, cash and credit cards. No pickpocket can get to the traveler’s valuables when zipped and hidden in any of our travel products with secret zippered pockets.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
I have always loved to travel. In fact I met my now husband when we were both studying in Moscow. We are both from Stockholm, Sweden, where we had never met, even though we had friends in common. We were in our early twenties and decided to travel together. We went backpacking across Asia, and started out with taking the Trans Siberian railroad from Moscow to Beijing. It was quite an adventure and definitely not luxurious at all. This was in the early nineties and Russia had just opened up. I ended up getting things stolen from me on the train to my great chagrin as we were both poor students at the time. Earlier, when I was 16, I had spent an entire summer delivering newspapers, starting at 4 in the morning, every single day. I had saved up to go to London. In London I had my money in my inside pocket, yet somehow a pickpocket got to me. I lost my entire savings in a matter of seconds (there were no credit cards in those days for kids). I was pretty devastated. After these incidents I tried all the regular travel safety stuff, such as neck pouches and money belts, but they were just not any good. They are cumbersome, sweaty and just not doing it for me. I have spent many nights in hostels fretting about my stuff - at 17 I went to Greece with some girlfriends and we stayed in these funky hostels on the roof of a house. It was basically just bunk bed after bunk bed and a shower room. People had their stuff stolen regularly - there were no lockers, nowhere to hide anything. So we walked around with all our money and passports on us at all times and we slept with our bags in our beds. It was exhausting trying to make sure everything was safe all the time. For years I had this idea of making better travel safety gear but life got in the way: university, work, etc. We both worked in venture capital and the startup world prior to the 2000 .com crash. It was fun and we learnt a lot super fast. As young, newly graduated ‘professionals’ we got to do what usually takes years to do: we were CEOs of startups, we had employees, offices abroad and managed a lot of money. Unfortunately it all came crashing down and we never lucked out and cashed out as many others had time to do. We still had to work and were broke again. For many years we worked as consultants to startups and we also tried, to various degrees of success, starting new ventures. When our son was born we decided we did not want to ever go back to a 9-5 desk job or live conventional lives. We wanted our freedom and most of all we wanted to spend time with our son, not have him taken care of by others every day and only see him at night. We also wanted to see more of the world. We wanted to travel. We decided to overhaul our life and become nomadic for real, rather than try to find somewhere to settle down. We had tried settling down and renovated house after house in hopes that it would be the one. Alas we always felt a need to move, to see more. So we decided to become nomadic. To do this we needed a business that would comply with our lifestyle. We decided it was finally time to start our travel safety company. We had already designed the first products. We had been to China a few years earlier looking for bag manufacturers and we knew a lot about the sourcing process in China. We started working on all levels at the same time developing the product and building a website and all that comes with a startup. As for validating the product, we based it off our own experiences and also talking with fellow travelers. We had thought about this product line for years and we knew the market and that it was a good idea. It is funny, in the nineties it cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to build an ecommerce platform for a startup and it took months to complete. With today's ecommerce software it is is just around 30 dollars a month, and you can have a rudimentary looking store up and running in a day. It is amazing how this sector has developed. After some research we decided to go with Shopify. This was 2011 so even Shopify was pretty new at the time. Setting up the store was easy, it is pretty much self explanatory. Getting the first shipment of products however, took much longer. We went through many iterations and quality checks for the first products, until we finally had what we wanted. Our first products were mens and womens underwear with two secret hidden pockets to store money, credit cards and passports. Why underwear? Our initial thought was that the traveler needed to be able to completely hide the valuables and to also be able to sleep with the stuff hidden and never misplace them. After all, who misplaces underwear? Our research showed that upwards of 50% of travelers at some time either lose or get their belongings stolen when traveling. It is a huge problem for insurance companies, reimbursing theft and loss. We decided that our first product should be something that truly worked and that would be fun for the press to cover. We initially did everything ourselves, the site, the designs etc. We are completely self funded, and we ran, and still run, everything very lean. There is not much one cannot do or learn to do with some effort put in. I clearly remember our first sale. Everything was set up, the site, the logistics, and I had started doing PR by emailing travel writers. Our first article mention was in Australia, in the Sydney Morning Herald. We woke up one morning to several orders from Australia but we couldn’t find the source online. It turned out there had been a small notice in the offline newspaper and that tiny notice worked and immediately translated to sales. After this initial small success, getting more PR was our goal. I emailed everyone I could find. I sat down and researched travel writers names and emails. It took forever and it was just hard work. Many writers do not offer their email addresses online if at all, and it takes quite a lot of research work to find them I reached out to hundreds of writers. Eventually it started to pick up steam - the travel editor at LA Times covered us for a gift guide just before Christmas and that really helped. It was very, very slow going and I spent countless hours doing media outreach, mainly just emailing writers and bloggers. Most never replied, most ignored me, and many probably never even opened the email (these days I use MailTrack.io so I know who reads what, whereas in those days it was really cold emailing) but some responded and asked for samples and covered us. Of course some just wanted free stuff and never wrote anything.
Describe the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the product.
The hardest in getting a new product to market in our experience is finding and settling for a manufacturer. There are so many out there and so many shady or just bad quality manufacturers and sourcing partners. We initially used an American sourcing company. We wanted to start small, with a small batch and most manufacturers have minimum order quantities that they require. In regards to clothing that means that the buyer needs to purchase a certain amount of fabric in order to make the order viable. Initially, we did not want to / could not do that. So we found a sourcing company from China with US offices (they don’t exist anymore hence we cannot give a recommendation) that could help us with a smaller order. That meant using existing colors and fabrics of course. We initially ordered 5 color sets and 500 of each for both women's and men's as a trial. The price was way higher than what we pay today, which is normal. The smaller the order the more you pay. The first order took forever: I am not a designer and we did our first order based on rudimentary drawings off of products I found in stores and basically drew instructions on. We then drew and sew on them and sent the ‘finished’ prototype to the manufacturer who made the first real prototype. These went back and forth several times until we were happy. We then placed our first order for 5,000 products in all. As we were just starting out we did not want to get a warehouse for fulfillment just yet. My sister who lives in the UK was our first fulfillment partner. She stored all the products in her garage and fulfilled all orders for us. We thought we would start with Europe and grow from there, but from day one we have sold much better in the US and Australia than anywhere in Europe. We now have a professional fulfillment partner in the US fulfilling all orders. We quickly realized what worked and what didn’t based on the first batch. We realized that men only want black, gray and white underwear. Colors look great on the site but no one buys them. Women want pink and black and gray. When we knew the idea was working, we knew we needed to expand the product line. People clearly liked our idea and saw a need for our product, they got it and just like us they did not like money belts or fanny packs. So we expanded and designed tank tops and t-shirts with pockets. As these took off, we soon developed new designs. For every order of new stock (we place 2-3 large orders a year now) we have added a new design. Our last addition was a t-shirt dress with two secret pockets. Before that we added circle scarves and leggings, We are currently working on about 5 new designs. These days we are much more professional, both in regards to design and in regards to the tech pack (i.e. size charts, quality, sewing instructions etc.). We have learnt it on the job and now know quite a bit about both fabric and sourcing. When starting out the most difficult thing was finding the manufacturer and especially one that would supply consistently high quality. We are on our fourth manufacturer now. The first in China started delivering lesser quality by the third order. We then, though recommendations from a friend at a Swedish children's clothing company, found a manufacturer in India. They did an excellent job for 3 years but their staff turnaround is huge as all the competent project managers leave to get married. Last year they failed to meet all delivery times and also messed up some sizing so we have been forced to look elsewhere. When looking for a new manufacturer we sent them some samples and asked to copy them exactly and give us price quotes, we then wear and wash and dry the samples repeatedly to check quality. If they stack up, we proceed with a smaller test order. After all, this is a lot of money per order and we need to know the manufacturer gets it all right; from quality to sizing to colors to packaging to shipping. Just packaging products for shipping, is a whole side career: you have to get SKUs, packaging labels, quantities, sorting just right. Many fulfillment centers, and especially Amazon, get very upset if the packaging, documentation or labelling of incoming shipments is not exactly right, which translates to more costs. Last year our Christmas order arrived in February, making us miss out on the Christmas sales. That can not happen again. So we now have two manufacturers, one in India and one in Turkey. Many people, especially in the US, want to manufacture in the US. I get that it is a pride, a solidarity thing and I completely understand that. That said, we are not Americans and we have no greater loyalty to any one country - we sell all over the world and I believe all counties can do an equally good job and also deserve the jobs equally. The quotes we did receive from American companies were so high they would simply not be feasible for us at our size anyways. The US quotes are more than double what India can offer including shipping and customs. Our startup costs were low. We have no office. No fixed staff. Initially we did everything ourselves, absolutely everything from site design, to photography, to product design to accounting to legal. The only fixed start up cost was setting up the LLC. The other costs were getting our first prototype and buying lots of samples to test out. Setting up the store was 30 USD. Of course the first order was a huge cost. We paid about 30,000 USD for it. It was a gamble and scary but in the end it worked out! These days we have two staff. One works on fulfillment and manufacturing and one works with administration/customer service. Both travel full time and the work is completely online. We also hire freelancers through various freelance sites for site design, photo editing, bookkeeping, etc. We use a fulfillment center in the US called Efulfillment Service INC out of Michigan. It is our third fulfillment partner. The others were ok initially, but they both got sold to larger entities and completely lost their customer service and response times and they also kept increasing shipping and packing costs.
Describe the process of launching the online store/business.
Creating a website is easy and inexpensive these days - it is the easiest and most fun part of launching a store I think. The site we have now is our third design. It is completely focused on our target audience, which after a few years of being in business, we now know are not city people, overly trendy people, but regular folks, who worry a tad when traveling, middle to high income, friendly, open minded. The design reflects this and we have purposefully set out not to be especially trendy in the design, by this I mean adopting the omnipresent minimal hipster design. We aim to appeal to a large set of audience in design of site and products, and also in regards to product design and sizing, for example we have sizes ranging from XXS to XXXL. We have worked in the startup business before but always in larger companies as part of a venture capital group. The Clever Travel Companion is a mom and pop shop and completely lean, leaner than anything. It was entirely funded by our own money: when we decided to leave Sweden and travel, we sold our house. That money funded the company and we basically used it all to live off of whilst launching: had it not worked we would have been broke. Again. It was a few hard years getting things to where they are today, where we can live comfortably and not be completely financially exposed all the time.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
When we started in 2011 social media was not as big of a thing as it is today when it is completely ubiquitous. Initially we only had the site, but we soon started Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram accounts. We have never really used Twitter. Pinterest never did much for us. Facebook is what works best, but that too is slow compared to selling via the site and Amazon. Facebook ads can work but they take a lot of work tweaking to get it right and maintain good ROI. Google ads are the same, a lot of work and money in order to see results. Since day one we have worked on getting press coverage. It is a lot more difficult today than it was just a few years ago. Journalists and bloggers are inundated with press releases and request for coverage, making it very hard to be seen and stand out. It takes a lot of work: First finding appropriate writers and blogs and then finding contact information, writing appropriate and personalized emails and then following up. That said, it is totally worth it. Our growth is mainly based off of press coverage. Our customers are not as active on social media as let’s say the younger generation is. We track our sales and see where they come from - it is about 75% directly derived from reviews. Of course everyone wants an ad or coverage that goes viral, or for Oprah to put you on some list, and so would we, but it is difficult and it is not something that you can count on. We just keep plugging away at the press as it consistently delivers, press coverage is what works and every press mention is directly transferable to an increase in sales. We also work on affiliates - we have close cooperation with some bloggers and they plug our products in exchange for a percentage of sales. We do not pay for coverage. Many, many bloggers do want money in exchange for coverage, but we want honest, real reviews of our gear. We want the people plugging our gear to know what it is and actually like it. We supply free samples of course. We have a pretty good SEO set up at this point: Our favorable press coverage and our blog, which we really try to work on. We write about anything travel related and we try to be relatively SEO focused. In sum, we focus on organic growth rather than paid marketing and so far we have been pleased with the results. That said, we are always open to trying new strategies, apps and what not. Getting press is never ending and it is crucial to always be seen in new places, in order to increase sales.
How is everything going nowadays, and what are your plans for the future?
We have a steady stream of customers and we are slowly but surely growing every day. We are always thinking of new products. The only thing slowing us down is the design and the prototype process which is slow. We have to find manufacturers and then make our designs come to life. It takes many reiterations to getting things right. We will be launching 5 new product in the next year or so. We are also transitioning staff. Our current admin/service rep is moving on to another project with us and we are welcoming a new addition. We would like to see sales increase and are constantly working on that. Eventually we would like to discuss a sale or merger. We are entrepreneurs and love coming up with and starting new concepts. As the Clever Travel Companion grows it takes more of our time, leaving less time for developing new ideas and projects.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
There is no golden rule for starting a business. Read all the entrepreneurial books you want, but in the end it is all about getting things done, getting up and doing it. Anyone can do it, but I think many people do not realize how much work it entails to get a business off the ground. We just see the Shark Tank and Silicon Valley success stories, and they make it look so easy, and fast. But that is not reality - most businesses are small, family run, time intense projects. It takes work! We are grateful and happy to be where we are today with The Clever Travel Companion. That said, we have worked very hard and many, many hours to get here and to have the lifestyle we now get to enjoy. The worst aspect in my opinion is dealing with unreasonable customers. Most people are friendly, nice and understanding but every so often we get difficult customers and there is really no way of dealing properly with them. No matter what you do they will give you bad reviews and mess things up. For example one customer was very upset that we shipped her order with UK mail rather than USPS to Australia (even though UK mail was cheaper and faster). She messaged several times a day and was very angry and demanded discounts and all kinds of things. When the package arrived (one day faster than estimates) she was furious that the package was left on the porch. Because of all this she gave us scorchingly bad reviews everywhere she could. Now of course we tried to explain that we cannot control Australian mail services but she blamed us for everything. This is just one example but all companies get customers like this. They take a lot of time. A lot. And they always leave bad reviews no matter what one does. We have a policy to always reply same day to all messages. Always. We are always polite and helpful and if a customer is unhappy we do everything we can to fix it. If a package gets lost we reship, if a product doesn’t fit we exchange/refund it etc.. But for some people it just isn’t enough, they want to yell and scream and mistreat someone. We still haven’t figured out how to manage it. It is time consuming and unpleasant. On the other hand, many customers expect to be treated badly by online retailers and are surprised that we actually care and just by listening and trying to help in any way, many customers end up pleased and friendly. We get many return customers simply through providing great customer service. This often takes the edge out of complaints and anger that the customer has saved up. We try to make every single customer happy. Also, we get the scammers. People claiming things never arrived or that things arrived broken. Yes, things get lost, but not often. All our products are inspected before shipping so the chance that they arrive default is slim. We still get people demanding refunds and claiming things are broken. And despite tracking info saying items were signed for and delivered people demand refunds saying their package never arrived. We just chalk it up to losses and expect it, but unfortunately this happens more than we would like to think. Another negative is dealing with large corporations, such as Amazon. It can be very time consuming and frustrating.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
There are so many great tools out there but we try to keep the ones we use to a minimum. Many tools can make you and your business a lot more efficient but too many tools can also create issues by themselves. There are always compatibility issues when different tools do not update on the same schedule, some needs integrating with other tools etc. Shopify is our "home" and we try to keep integrations to a minimum. That said, we have great use of the tools that we do use and change them from time to time when something that solves a certain issue better comes along. We mostly sell through our own site and through Amazon and are now starting to really get into wholesale as well. We have also tried selling through eBay and have "stores" on Pinterest and Facebook but that is not really working well for us at this point. You can’t really talk about selling online and not mention Amazon - Amazon probably has an impact on every single e-tailer out there, either as a sales channel or as a competitor. Amazon is amazing at driving sales but selling through Amazon adds to the administrative burden and, above all, raises the frustration level. We already sell all over the world through our own site but also through Amazon in various countries. We do sell quite well through Amazon, but working with Amazon is a mess: Their system is cumbersome and honestly, completely messed up. Getting changes on the product listings is impossible. We tried Amazon Vendor Central, where Amazon purchases stock directly from you. That did not work well for us and slowed sales markedly. Unfortunately, after we went back to Fulfillment by Amazon and regular Amazon sale, i.e. where we sell and fulfill ourselves, Amazon has completely messed up our listing and we are having to spend a lot of time getting our own listings back in order to clean them up. Issues like this is something you will always have to deal with, every time a third party gets involved, so much work and time is taken from real stuff, like developing the business. Honestly, we would love not to sell on Amazon, but they have too many customers for that. The Amazon customer service for sellers is non existent and they do not help in any way which is sad; I truly believe that Amazon could increase their own revenues to even more epic levels if they worked more actively with streamlining and simplifying the system for sellers (as well as themselves). Here are the bulk of the other tools we use:
Store: Shopify (and few of native apps like product reviews)
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
We have read all the typical books; Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, startup and entrepreneur magazines and blogs. They are inspirational of course, they get you pumped up and excited and makes anything seem possible and attainable. But they are not real life, and there really are very few books with concrete advice for small, lean, one or two person, organically growing, self funded companies like ours - which is probably the most common type of company. What is lacking in my opinion is information on how to do it: We have spent so much time researching and solving problems. Problems that I know many others have already solved. I would like to see a book with real, hands on advice, step by step how to’s: how to get press, how to talk to customers, how to get prototypes made, how to successfully buy ads on Facebook and Google - with real examples, not fantasy ones. Most companies do not blow up and grow to millions in sales in a few years, most companies grow steadily over years. Most books only say "do lots of PR", do Google ads and “it will happen”. Yeah, right, I know that, but how exactly? No one says how to reach the journalists in this day and age, no one explains how ads really work and what pays off. So anyone writing a book, use more examples, interview more real entrepreneurs on how it is really done in small, one or two man run operations where the founders do it all, where there is no marketing team or PR team, just you doing all the grunt work yourself. We would love to read more real life stories with concrete information on how to take the business to the next step. That said we purposefully do not want to grow in regards to staff and size, we want to keep it lean and easily manageable. More staff does not always translate to more sales, but more staff does translate to more time, more problems and more costs. So we want to grow the Clever Travel Companion as much as we possibly can within in the confines of keeping it small.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Initially we worked every day and every evening. It was very hard work. Some people just do not get how hard it is to make a product visible - there is so much stuff out there. Yes, some companies are lucky and hit the jackpot and get excellent coverage from a major source early on, but it is seldom a cinderella story and certainly not something you can count on happening - you just have to do the work, the press reach outs and it takes effort and time. If you have a good product, don’t give up, keep at it! The main mistake we see others doing is spending too much money: They hire consultants and specialists for everything. That way the company will take forever to be profitable. Keep it lean, learn to do things yourself and, above all, get to know your business with all the processes involved, your products and certainly your customers - without knowing that there is not way to hire help should you want to, you need to know the basics to be able to be in control. The concept is easy, the plugging away is not. That said, we are working for ourselves and building something for our family. If we had regular jobs we would be spending just as much time, but we would be making money for someone else. So why not go for it and work for yourself? It’s your life, take control of is so that you can live your own life rather than someone else's.
The legal gambling age for casinos in Michigan is anywhere from 18-21. It all depends which games the gambler is interested in playing. These ages are for land-based casinos but they should also be considered the same for internet casinos even though there are no Michigan based online casinos for residents to use. Legal Sports Betting Age By State. For many new sports bettors, the minimum age requirement for legal sports betting is one of the single biggest concerns. Even at legal sports betting venues in 2021, underage gambling is viewed as a major offense that can prompt heavy fines or even jail time for sports betting operators, so sportsbooks are extremely strict about who they allow to gamble. Legal Gambling Age in Michigan has been determined by Michigan lawmakers, and Legal Gambling Sites adhere to it. Find the Michigan legal gambling age and sites that take residents old enough to legally gamble in Michigan. How old do I have to be to gamble online in Michigan? The legal gambling age at Detroit casinos has always been 21. That’s true for Greektown Casino, MGM Grand Detroit, and MotorCity Casino, which are regulated by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Since online gambling will be governed by the MGCB, too, the legal gambling age for Michigan online players has a similar 21-and-older age requirement. Legal Gambling Age: 18 to 21. Michigan casinos located outside Detroit are all authorized under compacts with Native American tribes. Each tribe is considered a sovereign nation, free to establish a minimum gambling age of 18 or older at its casino. This means the minimum gambling age varies by casino. Legal Gambling Age: How Old Do I Need to Be to Gamble in Each State? As mentioned, the legal gambling age will vary across different states in the USA. Each state is its own jurisdictions and, while federal laws apply, gambling is a strict state affair. Therefore, lawmakers are free to seek consensus on the gambling age. To gamble for real money in the United States today you have to be either 18 or 21. We have compiled the legal gambling ages in every state, so we recommend you take a look at these before you start to gamble. It's best consult your local laws to find out the gambling age after you have checked with, and at least are old enough to gamble at the online casino or sportsbook you have chosen. The legal gambling age in Michigan is 21, unless it's a tribal-run casino, in which case, it is 18...drinking still 21, however. This rule goes for all provinces except for Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec where the official legal age to gamble is 18. Gambling Age by Country in Europe Every country in Europe has its own set of gambling laws and regulations, as well as rules on how old do you have to be to go into a casino.
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