Morning Glory < 30 Seconds
November 24, 2020
Daily Deal. GSA was busy yesterday—signed off on Biden transition and under the radar awarded Uber and Lyft an $810 million five-year federal contract for ride-hail services to public agencies, including their 4M+ employees and contractors nationwide. Uber for business strikes me as a real company. I’m passing on DoorDash IPO, internet middleman.
Who hit pay dirt yesterday on the Biden transition—like, for example, Blackwater did when Republicans won—by far was WestExec Advisors, named after West Executive Avenue, the secure road on the White House grounds between the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, as a way to show what the consulting firm can do for its clients. Had a shotgun clause in its office lease—could break with no consequence if Democrats won. Biden chose his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, from WestExec. He went to Jared¹.
Hit rock bottom again. A two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan is now same price as a condo in Inman Park, Atlanta—10-year, lower-Manhattan lease $2,500 per month and it is NYC so with taxes, fees, and paying people off you are looking at $4,000 per month all in.
Same place in Manhattan pre-COVID $18,000 per month. Downside 50 grand per year, upside 200 grand—4-to-1 almost as good as Dollar Store and you don’t have to exploit poor people, just a NY landlord. Jeff F. your CliffCo subscription doesn’t include a vacay and free stay in Manhattan.
Mama he’s crazy—Going in and everybody else heading for big-city exit rows, like Dropbox signed that big boy building lease in downtown San Fran just a couple of years ago and last week the Dropbox founder, Drew Houston, told the team he was moving to Austin and everybody else could work from home. He had to come clean after a crafty real estate agent noticed 3x the normal volume buyers looking at houses > $10M. Turns out, flock of Dropbox executives coming too—Proximity of Power.
Lots of mail on Tower Records, which made me think if we could ever have another beloved brand like Tower with the rise of benevolent extortionists like Glassdoor and SHRM² and the answer is yes.
OD in Denver—“It’s official, traffic is double double animal style right now” Colorado Police tweeted, using some of In-N-Out Burger lingo for first store opening in Colorado. Over the weekend the chain sold 69,900 burgers from the store with a 12-hour average wait for French fries, hamburgers, and shake. Simple and honest.
Side Deal. FDA emergency authorization meeting is Dec 10th and they will first green light Pfizer’s vaccine followed by Moderna—delivered to humans 24 to 48 hours later.
Down low—before this vaccine, Moderna never sold a dime of drugs.
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IPO Glow—I’m all in on thredUP IPO—wired the money in holding pond. ThredUP is not a middleman but a benevolent dictator over a universal flea market.
If they don’t accept your hand-me-downs you have to pay to get your clothes back. That’s called standards. By the way, they take four out of 10 pieces of clothing mailed to them in a bag you buy.
Entries/Exits—
Headline: Warner Bros. Television strikes overall deal with activist and "I’m Not Dying With You Tonight" author Kimberly Jones—Jim Kelly, who wrote the hate mail on me inviting her twice and partnering with CliffCo, seems like somebody else agrees with me.
P.S. Trevor Noah will host 2021 Grammy Awards.
P.P.S. John E and Bill—sell you the whole chain and you cut me out! But I'm still here to help. Clint, you live in Panama City?
Wayback Burgers has two existing locations in the Panama City Beach area that are looking for a new owner.
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