Iterate Weekly - Issue 29
This week we get $50M for Nothing, put a price tag on YouTube back catalogs, McDonald's launches the McPlant, is SiriusXM cool? And Seth Rogen's Storytime is here!
Welcome to issue 29 of Iterate Weekly!
Just a reminder that you can always reply to this email or leave a comment on the web version. I do read all of them and I appreciate the feedback, questions, and insights from all of you.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖Tech
$50 Million for Nothing
Yeah, that headline was too good to pass up. And no, I’m not sure why they have ladybugs humping on top of their product shot here. I honestly didn’t even notice them until just now. Let’s carry on shall we?
Nothing is a company that I’ve had my eye on since they launched and they just secured another $50 million in funding. They were founded by former OnePlus executive Carl Pei. I’ve had several phones made by OnePlus and they’ve always struck a great balance of affordability and innovative features not found on other smartphones. The pop-up selfie camera on my OnePlus 7 Pro is a perfect example!
Also, earlier this year Nothing acquired fledgling smart phone maker Essential. Essential was lead by the creator of Android himself, Andy Rubin. I personally atteneded the launch of the original Essential Phone at their offices in Palo Alto and thought they were destined for big things. Alas, getting a tech company off the ground is fickle. Rubin was hit with all sorts of bad publicity and the company abandoned what they were working on.
To this point, Nothing has only put out one product, the cool translucent headphones in the picture above. But rumor has it that they are planning to resurrect some of the tech that essential was working on. A new phone could be released by early 2022. I’m not saying it will take over the world, but any opporunity for more competition in the smartphone industry is a great thing.
Let’s hope that Nothing becomes something.
🎓Arts & Education
The price of YouTube back catalogs
I work with YouTubers on a daily basis. I’m helping them turn their creative passions or hobbies into real, predictable revenue. Usually that comes from sponsorships and brand deals, but I love stories like this that show creative ways to monetize existing content.
A company called Spotter is paying creators for their old videos that may not seem to have much value on the surface. Spotter pays these creators a lump sum to obtain control over their back catalog of videos for a given time.
Let’s say that you have 1,000 videos in your catalog. Depending on the topic, some of those old clips could be very irrelevant today. They may not be getting a ton of views on their own. A company like Spotter can come in and offer real money for those videos in order to help you fund the future of your channel.
Creators like Dude Perfect, MrBeast, and Donut Media are already on board with Spotter.
Personally, I think the idea is really smart and can see plenty of other creators taking advantage of this. I’ve heard the stories of YouTubers struggling to get loans and work with traditional banks. It’s not the type of occupation that traditional industries look fondly on.
Having a way to quickly gain some capital to build the future of your business is important. Kudos to Spotter for seeing this need and giving creators more opportunities to control their financial future.
🩺Health & Nutrition
McDonald’s launches the McPlant
McDonald’s has been toying with veggie burgers for years. But it sounds like they’re really going to get serious about it this time, at least in the US.
The latest iteration of their plant-based offering is appropriately called the “McPlant". I’m not sure I love the name. It has be thinking of burger implants or a fern that grows in M-shaped humps. But I digress.
Right now the plan is to test the McPlant in eight US cities to get a sense of how it is received. As a side note, I’m always so fascinated by the small towns chosen for testing out new products. WIll fast food aficionados flock to places like Carrollton, TX or Jennings, LA to be the first to try the McPlant? Market testing tourism intrigues me.
The patty itself is developed by Beyond Meat and claims to features peas, rice, and potatoes. It’s also important to note that these restaurants will be cooking the burgers on the same grills as the traditional beef versions. So they likely won’t be 100% vegetarian with some grease mixing in there.
McDonald’s is likely feeling the pressure to nail their veggie burger option after Burger King has done so well with their Impossible Whopper. It’s not easy to develop a signature taste and texture for a new product that also appeases longtime fans of the restaurant. As we’ve seen in the past few years, meatless options are here to stay in the fast food industry. Here’s to hoping that McDonald’s doesn’t screw this one up.
🛍Grab Bag
Is Sirius XM Cool?
Is SiriusXM a cool brand? It’s clear that they are trying to become more engaged with a younger, hipper audience, but I’m not so sure.
I’ll be honest, when I starting subscribing to SiriusXM a few years ago, I was conflicted. Was I becoming an old man? Was it worth paying for something like the radio? After all, it’s a medium that feels like its been on its death bed for 50 years but keeps on living.
Sirius always hooks you when you get a new car. You test out the radio for a month or two and you start to appreciate the simplicity but also the variety it gives you. Variety that is more restrained than the unlimited choices of streaming music platforms. Maybe it does have a niche after all.
The company has made inroads with a younger audience in recent years. FIrst, they developed a solid app experience. You no longer need to own a car or a traditional “radio” to listen to the service. It can be streamed right to your device with no other confusing equipment. The app gets even more interesting when they started to put out exclusive performances on it. Recently they also launched the Tik Tok radio station to feature artists who have gained succses on the social platform.
Then there was the acquisition of Pandora. For a certain generation, Pandora was the gem of the music streaming movement. It really got things started for the industry. Now, it’s recommendation engine is powering the SiriusXM app. Sadly, many users jumped ship after the acquisition, but it seemed like a necessary acquisition for both sides.
They weren’t done just yet. Sirius made a $75 million dollar investment in SoundCloud in 2020 as well. For those of us who grew up through the early music streaming wars, it’s like Sirius is just the street sweeper coming down the street to clean up all the discarded streaming platforms that couldn’t make it on their own. It’s sad and beautiful at the same time.
So yes, I still listen to Sirius. In the car, sometimes on the app, and often on my smart speakers at home. It’s the perfect way to listen to live sports when you’re not near a TV or can’t watch on your phone (yes, people may not be in that scenario very often, I understand). I like listening to games on runs or dog walks when I can’t be staring down at a screen.
I’m not sure if the brand will ever be that cool, but it’s remaining relevant in a very crowded landscape.
💬Quote of the Week
“For things to reveal themselves to us we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
📺Content Recommendation
Storytime with Seth Rogen
A while back, I wrote about how much I enjoyed listening to Seth Rogen’s audiobook “Yearbook”.
It makes sense that Seth is parlaying that success into his own new podcast. It’s called Storytime with Seth Rogen and I highly recommend you check it out.
Seth brings on friends and famous folks to tell their funny, genuine, or outlandish personal stories. He comes along for the ride and shows legitimate interest as the listener. The chemistry between Seth and the storytellers really sell the concept. If you’re a fan of Seth, you’ll love it. If you’re a fan of good narrative storytelling, you’ll also love it.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!