LVMH’s worldwide artisan search
November 30th, 2023
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Is it Christmas yet? No, but Spotify Wrapped is here, and it kinda feels like it is. While we’re sure Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Drake made it on most people’s lists, we’re curious to see where you landed. Email us with your Wrapped, and we’ll give you our honest assessment. Your move, Apple Music!
In other news… CRISPR is having a moment, LVMH is kinda not, and millennials have housing regrets.
Top Trends
YouTube → The Book of Clarence Google → Post Malone | Reddit → Good Burger 2 TikTok → “Real Love Baby” Spotify → “I Will Remember You” |
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HEALTHCARE
CRISPR approval could rearrange the health market
The Future. The first treatment using the gene-editing tech CRISPR has already been approved in the US and UK for patients suffering from sickle cell disease. There are still a lot of kinks to work out concerning costs and patient safety in the broader market, but the health industry may be close to having treatments that can tackle notoriously challenging diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Bio-hacked
CRISPR, which WSJ describes as “a molecular pair of scissors that can be used to cut and modify a DNA sequence,” is almost ready for prescription.
The UK has already approved CRISPR-based treatments from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Crispr Therapeutics that tackle sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.
The US FDA is set to approve a treatment for sickle cell disease created by Bluebird Bio sometime early next month.
Both use a process called “ex vivo,” which involves collecting cells from the patient, shipping them to a manufacturing facility, genetically manipulating them in the lab with CRISPR, and shipping them back to the hospital. That process is a bit complicated.
So, some firms like Intellia (co-founded by Jennifer Doudna who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry) are working on a therapy for ATTR that’s “in vivo” — meaning the therapy is delivered directly to the patient.
Those approvals could open the floodgates for a variety of new therapies, especially since CRISPR tech is apparently easy to use and administer. The best part is, by changing a patient’s genome, the disease should be cured in one cycle.
It’s a little early to call CRISPR therapies “miracle drugs,” but they’ll still likely create some new powerhouse pharmaceutical companies in the process. Even pharmaceutical giants are opening their wallets to acquire firms working in the space. No one wants to catch a case of being behind.
HOUSING
Millennials are no longer sure about those pandemic moves
The Future. The pandemic, remote work, and the desire to take advantage of low interest rates sent some people off into the woods (the suburbs and semi-rural areas), looking for houses they could finally afford and made sense for their lives… and now they kind of regret it. The next few years could see the return of many of those homesteaders, who’ll now have to contend with higher rents than when they left.
Housing existential crisis
For some people, moving to get that four-bedroom, two-bath house isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Millennials have, by and large, been late bloomers when it comes to establishing their careers, moving into homes, and starting families… so when the opportunity to skip ahead a few years arrived, people jumped on it. (Heck, even Gen Z did.)
How many did so, really? The National Association of Realtors found “54% of homebuyers between the ages of 31 and 40 bought homes in a suburb or subdivision, while 31% opted to buy in a small town or rural area.” So, yeah, it was a migration.
But, many are now reporting whiplash — more difficulty in finding community, both professionally and personally, and lacking amenities and “third spaces” they enjoyed in the city (where millennials have typically gravitated).
Why such a jarring change? Because, even with the low interest rates, millennials still had to move far outside of cities to afford homes. For most, the American Dream is only possible by going very, very remote.
Invest before the window of opportunity closes today
Missing out on legit investments can be a bummer. So, listen up: RYSE, the startup smart shade company, is onto something. How do we know? They’re launching in 100+ Best Buy stores. That’s how. They also scored offers on Canada’s Shark Tank.
Remember when the original Shark Tank crew passed on Ring’s 10% for $700,000, which later turned into $10 million for Amazon? Ouch.
Early investors in the smart home industry have hit it big, and the Sharks see potential in RYSE. So, don’t wait.
FASHION
LVMH crosses the Atlantic for artisans
The Future. Fashion giant LVMH, like many others in the luxury goods industry, is facing a major worker deficit. So, instead of waiting for recruits that may never come, LVMH is going out and finding, training, and supporting a new generation of future artisans. Coupled with the creation of a new luxury destination in Paris, the push to educate a digitally-raised populace about opportunities in fashion could inspire people, who are looking for a livelihood that feels more tangible, to apply.
Stitch up the ranks
Facing a shortage of 22,000 workers by 2025, LVMH wants to craft the next generation of luxury artisans with a novel apprentice program… well, novel in the US.
LVMH is facing a shortage of 22,000 workers by 2025 — two-thirds of that number will be salespeople, while the other third will be highly skilled artisans who create handmade goods for the fashion conglomerate.
That spells a looming crisis for LVMH, which won’t be able to keep up with the demand for luxury goods if they don't have people to… you know… make them.
So, LVMH is on a mission to find and train would-be designers and artisans — tactile professions in which people have generally lost interest and barely know the opportunities that exist.
The apprenticeship program, dubbed the “Métiers d’Excellence,” hopes to identify potential workers while they’re still students (as early as high school). The program is already training 700 people this year.
While most apprentices are based out of Italy, Switzerland, and, of course, France, the US has been a tougher nut to crack because apprenticeship isn’t really baked into the culture (save for professions in construction or plumbing) or subsidized by the government. So, LVMH is building the framework from the ground up.
Energy on the go
The best way to energize your day? GORGIE — the energy drink with benefits that are the perfect blend of clean and delicious.
GORGIE comes in six sparkling flavors: Watermelon Crush, Peach Tea, Paradise Punch, Citrus Burst, Mango Tango, and Electric Berry. With 0g of sugar, five calories, a burst of flavor, and 150mg of green tea caffeine, GORGIE is packed with all the good and none of the nasties. Plus, it has added benefits like biotin, B vitamins, and L-theanine.
So, why settle for coffee or afternoon slumps when you can have pure energy in the palm of your hand?
YOUR DAILY POLL
We ask the hard-hitting questions.
Spotify or Apple Music? |
Most of you voted Black Friday on yesterday’s poll: When have you spent the most money since Thanksgiving?
“The most wonderful time of the year.”
“This wasn’t so much an effect of the days but more that I had to get some shopping done and Saturday was a better option. I generally shop small when I can.”
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
According to the annual Spotify Wrapped breakdown, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, Drake, and Peso Pluma rounded out the top five most-streamed artists of the year. Read More → thr
Bob Iger is walking back his comments that signaled Disney’s linear TV networks — ABC, ESPN, FX, etc. — were for sale, claiming the hypothetical was just a test of Wall Street’s reaction. Read More → deadline
Netflix is bringing three classic Grand Theft Auto games to the streamer at no extra cost to subscribers… only for mobile at the moment. Read More → variety
Fashion & E-Commerce
Apple is cutting up its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs after a rocky rollout. Read More → wsj
DoorDash is collabing with Best Buy on an on-demand tech delivery service — in case you need a TV right now. Read More → theverge
Fashion tech startup Les Aimants wants to give brides a new way to try on wedding dresses — scanning your body from the comfort of your home to order a custom fit. Read More → bof
Tech, Web3, & AI
In partnership with Roots
Stability AI is reportedly on the auction block as investor Coatue Management calls for CEO Emad Mostaque to resign. Read More → bloomberg
Google is launching a dedicated “.meme” URL as a go-to domain to host online jokes. Read More → engadget
In a surprise move, OpenAI said it won’t offer board seats to investors because doing so would be a conflict of interest with its nonprofit’s mission (but Microsoft is set to become a “non-voting observer”). Read More → theinformation
Invest in the only real estate portfolio that creates wealth for you and its residents. Say “bye bye” to old real estate investing stereotypes. Roots built a win-win ecosystem for both investors and residents. Learn how this model has investors up 40% since July 2021.
Creator Economy
Back to Spotify’s Wrapped — the top rising podcast creators include Jemma Sbeg (The Psychology of your 20s), comedians Bobby Santino and Bobby Lee (Bad Friends), and Steven Bartlett (The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett). Read More → insider
Travel startup Layla’s app mixes a chatbot concierge with a curated collection of creator videos to help users craft the perfect itinerary. Read More → techcrunch
Emma Chamberlain and Warby Parker want to make putting on glasses the new romantic comedy makeover. Read More → variety
JOBS OF THE WEEK
Explore a weekly curated list of the latest and greatest opportunities in business, tech, and entertainment. For more listings, check out the complete job board.
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Live Nation
Nashville, TN
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New York, NY
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Philadelphia, PA
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Fanatics
New York, NY
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Boye Fajinmi. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.
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