Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - July 30th, 2021

edition of Bloomberg Business Week. It was a week chock full of big tech earnings and also continued Chinese crackdown on its technology and education sectors that unleashed shock waves across global markets, erasing at one point more than seven fifty billion dollars in value from US listed Chinese stocks

over the course tim of just five months. Yeah, you mentioned a huge week of earnings on learnings front, Caroll, Tesla beating and that included its first one billion dollar quarter of net income, and yet Elon Musk's comments on chips supplies and production hurdles bummed out investors. One investor who's owned Tesla shares and its cars ways in. He's really well known to our audience. We're talk about Rosco,

where he's always a fun and engaging conversation. We also got to talk about what's going on in the Amazon rainforest and why it's a problem for us. All I've got to say this story is a dark one. It's entitled Last Days of the Rainforest, and both you and I, um, we're really upset about it. Yeah. It's one of those stories that you read and you think to yourself, what could I be doing to actually help this situation? Because it's a global story. It affects all of us, even

though it's based in the Amazon exactly. And what's interesting is, you know, we talk about climate change, the importance of companies, institutions, government. This is the Brazilian government though, making it possible from more deforestation to happen. You know, one point that I found really interesting and to be honest, deeply troubling. Carol

I tweeted about this. Some scientists are suggesting that the Amazon is is now close to a tipping point at which it will become a savannah rather than a rainforest. So what that means is it's going to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere instead of pulling them down in These so called flying rivers are bands of moisture in the air that bring rainfall to the continent. Those are going to dry up. As many as ten thousand species

maybe at risk of dying off. It's awful. Yeah, it's terrible. Listen. We're going to hear more from the reporter a little bit later on. Jessica Bryce, she's going to join us, but this is really a problem for us all. We're also gonna hear from Harvey Mason Jr. The CEO of the Recording Academy. He's going to talk about a new tune and tone for the Academy. They've had their own problems to him. We know the Grammys, which has come under some criticism in terms of diversity inclusion. So we're

going to find out what he's up to. All of that to come, and we begin though with a look at this week's issue of Bloomberg Business Week magazine. The cover story. We're gonna talk a lot about this later on. It's all about Beijing sweeping crackdowns on its tech and education sectors, and also the Chinese media and regulators trying to walk it back a bit to calm investor concerns. This cover could not be time better for what we've seen in the Chinese markets over the last couple of weeks.

To cover itself, moved, asked, and obey the party. This was one of our main market stories this week. How many times did we live on air through our market closes talk about what was going on with Chinese companies listed here in the U S A d r s that sold off and they bounced back because of the oversight, increased government oversight when it comes to Chinese big tech,

and also they're at private education companies. And then it was interesting that all of a sudden they started to walk it back a little bit because I think they got a little bit nervous about the international investment community maybe pulling back and looking at China differently from an investment perspective. Yeah, we did just see also some of those concerns a little bit of contagious sweep into US

markets and global markets as well. And I think there are some really interesting questions raised in the piece about what it means for American tech companies and what U S regulators and US investors can learn from the way that Chinese regulators are cracking down on these companies. What does it mean in the evolution of megacap tech companies, how they're treated here in the US and the story Chinese maybe going in their own direction, setting up their

own new code. Speaking of new codes, we are still trying to figure out how the heck do we get back to work. Okay, we're here, we are here. We've been here for months during the pandemic. What's interesting is we were all looking at companies increasingly saying, hey, workers,

fall is coming, we want you back. You're going to be back, And then all of a sudden, we started to see speaking of walking back things companies, whether it's Google, whether it's Apple, whether it's Twitter, walking back expectations for

when they want their workers back in the office. I think there are a lot more questions right now than there are answers about what a distributed workforce looks like, what it means for people to be back in the office, when they'll be back in the office, who they're going to be around. One of the most sought after management jobs right now. There's an article about this in the current issue of Bloomberg Business Week. It's about people who

are leading large, far flung teams through uncharted waters. It's the remote works are and it's potentially a shortcut to the c suite for rising professionals right and as our reporter writes about it, it's not a job you could have predicted six seen months ago. But here we are. And of course, the reason we're talking about this and companies walking back their expectations for opening up their offices is because of the rise of COVID cases, because of

the delta variant. We've seen it in the hot spots around the world, and we're seeing in hot spots around the United States as well. I saw tweet from one of our colleagues. She wrote on Twitter, it was nice for that little two week period when we thought the pandemic was behind us, and it certainly feels like in recent weeks it hasn't been. And that's because of the rise of the delta variant, the changes in CDC guidance that we got earlier this week, and as you just mentioned,

the way that companies are responding. Sorry, if you're really down and depressed, don't go anywhere, because we have some uplifting things we're going to cover as well, people who are disrupting our world. Check out the magazine because in this week's issue, in the Pursuit section is some fun things to maybe bring a smile to your face, including can I get drunk on this? Yeah, A heap of new alcohol infused ice creams are cooling down summer just

in time for August. We're talking about boozy ice creams. Uh. And so what's really wonderful is our k Crater, who is our food editor here at Bloomberg Pursuits, basically giving you some recipes to make some really cool boozy drinks. Ice cream included, yeah, ice cream soda. We can also make an ice cream sandwich, milkshake, and of course the

whiskey vanilla ice cream. We also take a look at some other things in Pursuit, talking about the travel agent being back on certainties and the friendly skies is forcing vacation planners to rethink the value of a professional long thought departed. How many times you want to go on a trip, you just loook it on an app And that's how we've been doing it. But because of the pandemic, because of other situations, it's trickier and so maybe we

need to travel agent again. All that and more in the current edition of Bloomberg Business Week, and that new issue it is on news stands, online and on the Bloomberg We're gonna cover some of the stories over the next couple of hours, but be sure to pick up the magazine as well. You are listening to Bloomberg Business Week coming up, Tesla beats Elon tweets well, Tim, that's always a giving and one Tesla shareholder weighs in on the tech company that makes evs, at least that's what

he calls it. This is Bloomberg, This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim Spinovik from Bloomberg Radio. Among the big earnings this week, Tesla, even with second quarter profit in sales exceeding estimates. Tim, it was CEO Elon Musk's cautionary hints from the investor call that really swede investors kind of sent the stock

a little bit lower. Musk also highlighted the unpredictability of chip supplies and the hurdles he expects in ramping production at two new factories in Austin and Berlin later this year. It was though the electric vehicle maker's first one billion dollar quarter of net income. A favorite voice of ours to talk about Tesla as Ross Gerber He's president and

CEO of gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment management. He did talk all things Tesla, Carol, but we did get him to weigh in on the moves in Chinese stocks and Beijing intervention as well. Take a listen. I think one of the main things Tesla does differently is they make a lot of their own stuff. You know. It was like,

if something they're lacking, they'll just make it. So they can make chips, they can make parts, they can make seats, and so they're very adaptable to the environment that they're in. And they also have I think of superior positions with their supply chains because they tend to order very aggressively in long term, so they're sort of an advantage to

keeping Tesla happy in the supply chain. This bitcoin related impairment of twenty three million dollars seems like not a lot when they've got cash and cash equivalent of over sixteen billion. But how should we as investors, How should we as Bloomberg Radio listeners, how should we read that um I would pay almost zero attention to the bitcoin element of Tesla. I think it's a distraction from what

they're real success really is. Right now, Bitcoin's rally back now to forty, so you can say that he's up on this bitcoin now from when this was even reported. But because it's so volatible in the way it's accounted for as an intangible asset these these it's sort of irrelevant. I think, Okay, well, that's good to know. UM expects car deliveries to grow more than fifty percent this year, on track to build the Model Y in Austin Berlin

this year. Part supply has strong influence on deliveries. I'm just reading through raw some of the headlines working to drive down costs, increase production rate. What's what's important there? Well, this is really where Tesla gets interesting, because if you've seen recently, they've really added a little bit to the price of the Model Y and the models and and and so they're able to that's basically margin increase versus

what I thought was really offsetting an increasing costs. So I think what we're really seeing is Tesla hitting on all cylinders from a production level and efficiency level. What about shifting the launch of the semi truck program to two. I mean, this is a company in kind of the earlier days, right, we would often see delays and changes in terms of getting stuff out there. How important is that to the company going forward, and does it delay bother them? I mean, it doesn't bother me because I

expect it. I think it's annoying because obviously the product is a transformative product in a very important market. You know, as an investor in my firm and now my new e T F g K, we're very into this climate change trade, which is investing in things they're gonna make our climate better, and the semi truck is one of the more important products to really help climate because of the enormous pollution, enormous deed for transportation across the country.

So so every day that that's you know, delayed, is in a way a cost to Tesla because the demand will be so huge for these vehicles. But the problem is they need the new cells to be working to really get the performance out of the semi truck, and that's why it's delayed, because they really need to get this this new cell production line up and stable, uh, and that will really allow the truck to be just

mind blowing. So so it's annoying in one sense, but on the other sense, the ultimate result will be amazing. So it's just part of the Tesla experience and you just you know, chill and wait for tapp you know, listen it will help. I'm going through too. I'm looking through our blog for what's going on in China specifically, what are you hearing, what are you seeing? What do we need to be smart about when it comes to what's expected to be and should be right? A really

important market for this company. It does make me worried that China is such a huge market for several of our positions, Apple and Tesla, for example. But I also think that this is more about power than hurting let's say US companies for no reason. This is about she keeping control in China from the billionaire capitalists that have been so successful and keeping people in check more than I think hurting let's say a US company that's providing a lot of benefits to China in the e V

business and through the technology sharing that they're having. So I'm worry need a little bit about Apple and Tesla in particular some of the businesses we do in China, but but not so much so in that I would take any action from it. But we're watching it closely. But if you're in these Chinese companies, I mean it's you've got to move on it's not a good situation.

What if the Chinese market ultimately isn't as open for Tesla going forward, How does that fundamentally change the dynamics of a company that is now a six hundred thirty three billion dollar market cap company. Well, I think it would ultimately just hurt China because Tesla will sell their cars in Europe, the US, Latin America, in the If China wants to be a competitive market, they need to

be in the evy game. And they're also in the e V game simply because of the weather and the the effects it's had on China, whether it be flooding or other issues that they're having. So China has a huge incentive to keep EV market growing and to be a leader in this market. And so if they create issues for Tessa, that would actually hurt there to be leaders in this market. So I see it as the opposite.

I think they're trying to stay real cozy with Tesla to learn as much as possible to be to dominate this technology and become a massive EV player in China. EV companies are the best in the world behind Tesla. Yeah, all right, So that's a really really good take on that go back to Chinese companies US investors. Do you think ultimately that's not going to be a place for

them to be or not a smart place in your view. Well, we were debating as this a buy or to sell right, stox got real cheap, and we like to buy stocks when they get real hammered. And everybody thinks the world's ending. Um. But I'm not a big fan of foreign investment in general because of the lack of visibility, especially in China, that firms like mine have. Like I can go to Tesla's factory right now, they'll show me all around, just like they show you. But I can't go to a

Chinese factory and have them show me around. Um, they won't do that in most cases. So I think that we've entered this point where the communist control of China is more important than promoting capitalism. And and this shift that we've been seeing from she whether it's aggressive approach to Hong Kong and certainly Taiwan, um, it's almost a belligerence to the rest of the world's capitalist system. And and I think investing in China has a new risk. And also what really was the thing at my firm

was the E s G side of it. Just basically owning these companies is just not right because the Chinese government is just it's not the form of capitalism that we invest in. So I think investors need to assess whether or not they can make money. Here is at the issue if do I want to be a part of it. That was Ross Gerber, president and CEO of

Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. Still ahead on Bloomberg Business Week, we take you to South America af stating and disturbing story in the magazine, a crisis for natural

resources in the Amazon rainforest. That's next. This is Bloomberg broadcasting from the financial capital of the world, Bloomberg Eleve in Frio in New York to Washington, d C. Bloomberg to Boston, Bloomberg one O six one to San Francisco, Bloomberg nine sixty to the country Sirius XM Chado one nineteen and around the globe the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg Radio dot Com. This is Bloomberg Business Week. Okay, this may rightfully freak you out. It is about the

last days of the rainforest. Yes, that rainforest so crucial to the global environment. Many species on Earth. I mean, it is so important to all of us living on Earth. Yeah, it is something that affects the entire planet, not just Brazil in South America. The story in the magazine is about how the Brazilian Amazon is approaching the point of no return and the government there is fanning the flames. Here's more from Bloomberg Senior editor for Latin America Jessica

Bryce and Bloomberg Business Week Magazine editor Joel Weber. This is a gut wrenching story. I kind of can't think of something that has bigger global implications than um losing the Amazon. And what Jessica's story shows is that it's actually it's really nuanced, and I think that is one thing. If you spend some time with the story, you will come away with some of that nuance. And the story started as a as a data project and then became probably one of the most compelling stories UM I've ever

published as the editor of Business Week. You know, the thing that I think it shows more than anything is that there is a official land grab policy that is happening in Brazil, and it's allowing the rainforest to basically get turned into grassland where cattle can be raised, which is about the worst one eight that we can do for the planet, as you can imagine. So, so Jessica, walk us through, um where you started this object and

what you learned along the way. Yeah. I started the project really looking at the data behind DeForest Station, trying to figure out, you know, we've been struggling with this issue for decades now, and why is it still something that we're we're seeing? Why is why is it not something that the world is able to to stop? Why is the Brazil government not stopping it? Um? So I started looking at the data of who's actually doing it, and it took me in directions that I had never

really expected. I mean, it's it is such a nuanced story to such a complicated story. And what it comes down to is, you know, the folks on the ground, uh, for decades, they've been told that deforestation is a good thing, that they need to deforce the land, and in fact, in some cases, um, they were you know, handed plots and if they didn't deforce the land, they risk losing those plots. And so that culture has really stuck in the Amazon and the folks there now, which a lot

of them are incredibly poor. The government keeps that policy alive because it helps pump this and this cleared land into industrial farming operations that feed the world. This is such a big part of it, right, supporting the people who live in a country and area, right. And so there's as you just explained that on one hand, but at the same time we're talking about the existence of the global population and protecting the rainforest. It's a policy

that's not just from President Bosonaro. It's been around for a while. It has been around for a while. Um during the dictatorship of the government really prioritized giving it to big landowners, big industry. Um. And then so you have this population of people who have been working the lands for for generations and they and so when the democracy came about, uh, the government decided to give them small plots of land. So that was in the constitution.

What we saw is that to governments prior to Bolsonado, they moved the needle for they said, okay, so will amnesty more recent deforestation, will amnesty bigger deforestation. Now, what the government wants to do is sort of take that too, like uh, just a very scary, a very scary next step and say, okay, we're going to start amnestying more recent defour station as recently as two thousand and twelve. Both Sinnardo did wanted amnesty as recently as two thousand eighteen. Um,

but we're not even going to check it. We're going to do it all by satellite. And so it really opens the door to almost sixteen million hectares of of of new Amazon land that could be amnesty. Basically, this is stolen public land that could be amnestying. Can you make the connection for people who live thousands of miles away from the Amazon about just why it is so important not just for Brazil, but for our own health, because that was one of the most striking parts of

the story for me. Right, So, we're reaching a point where the Amazon, which has always been considered sort of the lungs of the world, it's turning into savannah. It's that it's at risk of turning into savannah, and instead of of cleaning the earth air, it's actually accelerating climate change and in some cases where the burns are the worst, it's actually pumping more carbon dioxide into the air than

it can absorb. Um. Now, if it turns into savannah, what happens, we lose ten thousand species are at risk. But also the Amazon helps regulate the entire the weather patterns here in the in in South America, and South America produces a lot of food for the world. There's a combination of factors that are really sort of scary. Not only does it, you know, contribute to climate change, it can you contributes to more pollution in the air, but it also changes our weather patterns region that makes

a lot of food for the world. And so it is quite shocking what what we're looking at. And that's Bloomberg's Jessica Bryce and Bloomberg business Week magazine editor Joel Webber highly recommends you read the entire story. It's online on the Bloomberg and on newstands. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. Up next, the pandemics impact on the recording industry and moves to make it more diverse and inclusive, lead by one of its most influential figures, Harvey Mason Jr.

That's coming up next. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim Stenovik from Bloomberg Radio. Well. Some research out last month and painted a pretty worsome picture when it came to diversity in the music industry. The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examined over four thousand execs found that only were from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and even fewer as you

move up the organizational ladder. It's among the many issues that have contributed to a call for change in the recording industry and at the organization which represents performers, songwriters, producers, engineers and more, The Recording Academy, which is probably best known for overseeing the annual Grammy Awards or more. We talked with Harvey Mason Jr. He's CEO of the Recording Academy. He also gave us a sneak peek of the Aretha

Franklin biopic. First up, though, more on what's going on at the accadem and a couple of years ago, I really saw an opportunity to really level up what we were doing at the Academy, and I saw it being a timely issue, something that we had to take responsibility for.

So I ran for chair on kind of a platform of change and improvement, and that was I think two and a half years ago, and then I was put in as a CEO on interim basis about eighteen months ago, And at that point we really started looking at everything we were doing, is you know, pulling back the curtain. How can we be more reflective, more representative, more diverse, and more relevant. And there was a lot of things

that needed to change at the Academy. There's a lot of things we did really really well that we also needed to talk about and amplify and share with our members and the general public and music consumers. But we really looked at everything we're doing. We were also the tiny little thing called COVID had a lot of impact on what we were able to do. Obviously had a

huge effect on our membership in our music community. We were some of the first people to be out of work and will definitely be some of the last come back. We've been really hyper focused on trying to serve our members around the needs. There. You took us there at the pandemic. Let's go there, Uh, the financial impact of the pandemic on the music industry. How would you quantify it? Um? No word there that we can use and we've created that can can show exactly the impact that it's had.

It's been catastrophic, it's been critical, it's been something that no one's ever expected. I can tell you through our Music Cares organization, which is the part of the Academy that gives back to music people who need help. Typically in the normal year will be five six million dollars of service needed people who need help with rent or bills or medical care. This year where well right around

thirty million dollars services provided. So we've never seen anything like this, A huge event like Hurricane Kundry and put people out of work for over a period of time nine eleven for a period of time, but nothing has had the impact the COVID has had on our industry. You are, It's really interesting. I think there are times that boat look at the music industry and they just assume everybody is really successful. It makes a ton of money.

I remember in college being part of our radio station about jazz performers and and a lot of them were just barely getting by. And not everybody in the music industry makes a ton of money. No, in fact, just the opposite. Most people in the industry are making less the medium income. And I think there are a small percentage of people that are making you know, hundreds of

thousands of dollars, it's a tiny amount of people. Most of us are working day to day musicians or writers, or producers or crew members or you know, gaff riggers things like that. So it is an organization with the Academy that represents the whole spectrum. Of course, some of our members get more visibility than others on the show, but it is our responsibility to look out for our

all of our members. But even more importantly than that, the whole music community and zooming out maybe a click further than that, it's our responsibility to utilize the power of music and the leverage our brand at the Academy and the Grammys to try and make change, try and improve things, try and bring people together, try and fight for things that are wrong, and just make a difference. And that's really kind of where I hope we can

go in the future. I mean, if there's one thing you could right now change for your industry, make it better,

make it more inclusive, what would it be. Well, I think it starts with being more inclusive and being more diverse and hearing from all the right voices, make sure people have a voice and our seat at the table at at every level, both on the creative side, on the executive side of the decision making side, and also making sure that the income and the payouts are equitable and fair in regards to the creators and partnership with the streaming companies and the labels and the publishing companies.

Is a lot of money being generated by the consumption that we've never seen music consumed at the rate we're seeing it now. But there's not a lot of clarity on how that music gets or the money gets split out, and how do we monetize this art that these people are creating. That's something that we need to figure out.

One of the things I wanted to ask you, Harvey, and thanks for staying with us, is you guys and you speci fickly in your team focusing on keeping the music you know, community want to make sure it is inclusive representative of all kinds of individuals. Uh. And how did it get to a point because you would have thought music creative um that it would be diverse and inclusive by its nature, and yet it wasn't. How did

it get to be that way? Hard to predict, only because I haven't been here that long carel but I think some of it. But you understand the music industry, you've worked within it for a long time totally, and the music industry has a lot of diversity in its creative side, uh not so much on the business side. So I think there's something to be said for people being aware. It just may not have understood or been cognizant of the fact that they could be involved in

the academy. And maybe that holds true for some other parts of the business. I know for us, I think there was just we didn't amplify what we did as an academy, and we didn't talk about all the other services. We just talked about the awards. So people just felt like, well, the academy may or may not be for me. I know, I'm a creator, but I don't know if I should be involved in the academy side. I think if you know project that out, maybe the same thing how true

for the industry. But it's really hard to predict. What about the rest of the music industry though, right, so many your members and outlying companies, and you know, whether it's recording companies, labels and so on and so forth.

You know what more can they do? And I do this, I'm pushing you a little bit, but you know, we've done it with the sports industry and how they ultimately during the crisis of the last year where they're stepping up and providing stadiums for people to vote like that was huge and was significant for the industry to take a step. What's what's that moment for you guys? Well,

first off, there I love you pushing me. I have no problem with pushing myself and I'm pushing everybody that we can at the Academy because there is this is important, and I think music serves a really unique role, much like sports people listen to creators or music people people listen to athletes. So I think if we can start to do things the right way and continue in the direction we're headed, we can make a bigger impact on not just the music industry or not just the music community,

but you know, our society at large. And that's the goal for us at the Academy is to really utilize the opportunity that we have, the influence that we have, and to really make a difference. And like I said, zoom out a little bit from just thinking so much about what can we do today for our Grammy Awards

or what can we do? You are there? All that is very important, very important, but it gives us the opportunity to do more, all right, And I love that you mentioned the Grammy Awards because I think when we think about the economy, that's what we so many people understand. I mean, that's the thing visually that we all relate to specifically, but it is such a visual medium, right, And so what you put out there, um, tell me about some of the conversations you're having about how you

think about how you produce that show going forward. Well, we wanted to be the most entertaining show we can. You know, last year we did something very drastically different because we couldn't have fans in the audience, and our creatives and artists were unsure, unsecure how they could be around each other. So we set up a format that

gave them safety and comfort and confidence. Whether or not we are able to continue in that type of format or we go to a new format, it will all really be dependent on COVID and the protocols and what we're allowed to do here in l A County and statewide, federally but our hope is we can bring great musicians and creators and artists together and make a show that is not only entertaining, but healing and bringing people together and uniting people and showcasing how we all can work

together and how different genders and races and sexual orientations can all join forces to accomplish something great. And that's I think the power of music. You mentioned creative types. You are creative type. You've worked with Penn, produced songs for Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariyah, carry outon John and of course Aretha Franklin. You've got an amazing movie coming

out in August, Um, tell me about this. And having seen Aretha Franklin five, there's there was nobody like her, oh Man, nobody like her, right, So she was incredible. I was so fortunate to get the chance to work with her for thirteen years or so over the course of her career and she was very very special to me, but just especially to all of us. And she's on August thirteen, the Respect movies coming out. It's about Rita Franklin in her life. It's she's being played by Jennifer Hudson.

It's in theaters only, which you know now is always a conversation point, and hopefully the COVID allows us to go to theaters August thirteen. But I'm very proud of the movie. A lot of great music and also a very important story that most people don't know about Miss Franklin, and that were that was the trials and tribulations that she suffered going through early in her life to become, you know, the queen of soul, of the iconic voice that she was. It's so important to tell those stories.

And I think that is again something that we just assumed somebody was popular or famous or successful, right, and you just think it was easy, and that's not the right assumption, just quickly, definitely not. And most people nowadays don't realize that. They see the TV shows where you sing and you get voted on you're a millionaire, you know, and they don't know that Arita actually had a lot of hurdles and obstacles she had to overcome to become

who she was. She she was one of the all time greatest voices in our in our history, but yet she had not found her voice for the first six or seven records of her career. So I think people will enjoy this story of triumph and what she has accomplished in her life. That's Harvey Mason, Jr. CEO of the Recording Academy and founder and CEO of Harvey Mason Media. That wraps up the first hour of the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. I'm Tim Stinebeck

and I'm Carol Masser. Ahead in our next hour. Now, the Martin Guitar Company is continuing to make guitars after a pandemic and after nearly two hundred years. Your husband has a Martin guitar, Right he does. It's one of my favorites. Love the acoustic. Also disruption in swimsuits and more. Tim, your wife has a bathing suit, right she does? You have? I do too? And this one from the co founders of Somersault. It's a company that's attracted VC money from

the likes of founders Fund and Steve Case. All of that ahead. This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business Week inside from the reporters and editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus global business, finance and tech news as it happened. S Bloomberg Business Week with Carol

Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Hi, I am Carol Masser and Tim stock Plenty ahead in our second hour of the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week, The biggest online Retailer's forecast ms IS estimates as the pandemic online bump fades and yet doesn't really matter. We've got some insights from the author of The Everything Store and Amazon on bound. We're talking about our own Bradstone,

plus the president of c F. Martin and Company. It's a family owned guitar maker that's been in business for more than a hundred and eighty years. Jackie Renner joins us in just a bit, and two women committed to disrupting the women's swimwear business. We'll hear from Lori Coulter and Raishma Chamberlain. They are the co founders of the

director consumer sustainable brand Somersault. But first up this hour, this week's cover story we talked about it earlier in the show was also a most read story on the Bloomberg this week, all about Beijing's crackdown on its big tech companies and how it's ushering in a new era and potentially a new model. Listen, you and I both

love this story. It really explains so much of what's been going on, particularly this week, the last couple of weeks, with China's increased oversight of their big tech companies, and this story really got into what's going on. The story starts off in the Cayman Islands and it's by Bloomberg News technology reporter Austin Carr, who joined us along with Business Week editor Joel Weber. Just up top. I I should note that I am in Los Angeles reporting, not

in the Cayman Islands on the beach tomorrow. How do we know that? Sounds like I learned the surf in the back can either confirm nor to that. But I do agree. This is one of the big stories of the year that we're really eager to focus on when it comes to Silicon Valley versus China, because for so long they were sort of emulating the model that the

US had done with their tech industry. For every you know version of Facebook, there was a version of that in China, or there was buy You the Google of China, or d D the Uber of China, and until just you know, about October or so, that model had just continued growing and growing and they were becoming more global competitors.

But what with these recent crackdowns on d D, on Ali Baba, on the education industry, on Matuan, we're seeing a very a lot of up people in that model, where China is basically saying to its entrepreneurs, no, this has got to stop. No more, you know, freewheeling capitalism. We're going to rein you in a bit and we're going to do a lot faster than the U S

regulators can do it in the US. And I think the big standout thing for me, and we can talk more about the new model for China um, but the big standout thing is that going into this, I assumed we'd feel here a lot of negative reaction of the government intervention in China, and it was actually quite the opposite.

We actually heard a lot of positive reactions, especially from the startup in VC community, that felt like this was going to level the playing field in the China texting in a way that won't happen in the the U

S texting for many years. Why is the Chinese government no longer taking a permissive approach, Austin, when it comes to big Chinese tech companies, you know, there's definitely a sense that these companies were getting too powerful, um Ali Baba being a prime example, where it was acting with a lot of monopolistic behavior, alleged monopolistic behavior towards some of the startups, forcing them on their platform, forcing smaller players to sell out, taking advantage of their data, and

really behaving in a way that was in the corporate interests but not necessarily in China's national interests. And I think that's really where the big pivot is happening in China right now. When we think about anti trust cases in the US, that's often to protect the consumer, but

in China it's increasingly to protect national policy. And so when these companies were vieering off track, not behaving in a way that was in the in China's national interest, that's when the government has stepped in and say Ali Baba or two D D or may twin that they

have to behave differently. You know. Reading the story Austin and and just hearing you describe it like that, I think some some critics of US tech companies could say, hey, wait a second, this is what we see US tech companies doing to to their smaller competition, correct, I mean

we we did hear that. I mean one person had told me that, uh, you know, China was able to reign in Ali Baba within four months, whereas it's going to take US regulators, you know, years and years, if not longer, to rain in a company like Facebook or Google about their alleged you know, privacy issues. Um. And So basically what we have to look at is what is the outcome of these two different approaches to regulation.

On the one hand, critics and observers believe that US tech companies might have a bit more of an edge in the global theme. They will Facebook the same companies will continue to grow at a more global scale, where China's model is now becoming increasingly China centric and also

less founder centric. In other words, sort of the sort of heroes of the tech industry and Silicon Valley like Ali Baba co founder Jack Ma might not be as vocal or as present as sort of their counterparts in the US like Elon Musk will continue to be UM

and so there's just a given take there. On the one hand, China might have less global champions but perhaps they they that sort of braining in the top players allows a new generation of startups to grow, whereas in the US startups are finding it difficult to grow without being swallowed up by the bigger players. Austin, what have you not said that you needed to say? I have not said that I will be filing an expense report, you know, like I better get to the Grand Games

just to do some last minute fact checking. Okay. You know it's interesting. I read your story and I was thinking, Okay, the EU was leading when it comes to climate change regulatory moves. I feel like China is now leading the way when it comes to big tech oversight. You know, what's the US role in all of this and what does it mean for US big tech companies? I think the US is still figuring that out. I mean, we

we We've seen so many hearings. We've seen sort of fines levied in the EU in the US towards certain companies, but it has not played out as aggressively, uh in the US as it has in UM the in in China market. That was Bloomberg News technology reporter Austin Carr, who joined us along with Business Week editor Joel Webber. I still think he was in the Cayman. He wishes he does. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week coming up.

It wasn't just big tech in China on our radar this week, so too was us big tech as Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon all reported quarterly results. It was a crazy week, tim, It was a crazy weekend for the biggest online retailer. Some disappointment in the results, although perhaps we shouldn't see it that way. As your own brad Stone, who has written two books on Amazon, provides perspective like he only can.

He's always thinking long term with this company. I don't know if there's anyone apart from Jeff Bezos, who actually knows more about Amazon than Brad Stone. I so agree. All right, that's coming up next, and this is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovik from Bloomberg Radio. So, as we mentioned earlier, it was a really big week for big tech earnings. That included results from Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Google,

and Amazon. And there was some disappointment him with the overall results. For example, Amazon gave me lackluster sales forecast for the current period, suggesting the world's biggest online retailer's rapid growth through the pandemic that could be waning as people get back to old shopping habits. You know, Carol, go into these old fashioned brick and mortar stores. I remember them, I have to say. You and I talked about it. During the week. I've gone to more stores

than I have in a long long time. Well, our go to on Amazon, especially when it comes to the company's story, strategy, founder, and future is Brad Stone. He's Senior executive editor of Global Technology right here at bloom He's also the author of the Everything Store, Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, and his update to that just out this year. It's called Amazon Unbound Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire. Too Fantastic Books.

Here's our chat with Brad just after Amazon reported earnings this week. Look, I've been covering Amazon for a long time. You know, they're they're always these these unexpected fluctuations, sometimes below expectations, sometimes above. You know, I read this is probably maybe a bit of an indicator that at least that at one point the pandemic for Amazon was ebbing and customers had more choices, right, and they were going

back into stores. Um. I think the company increasingly thinks they'll be shopping elsewhere, have other options, and so that's why the guidance for the third quarters a little bit weak. Um. You know, Aws basically hit its targets. So you know, the most profitable and powerful part of Amazon's business is forging ahead. But you have they're a little light here on net sales. Um. They've got that massive distribution center that's basically been a cost during the pandemic, and they're

building more fulfilment centers and distribution hubs. So you know, they missed a little bit and there's a little bit of a course correction. But the one thing that I've learned covering Amazon is that these things happen in the moment and then by the end of the week, everybody forgets about them, because, look, this company is growing much faster than retail overall. It's still selling hundreds of billions

of stuff. Brad, I mean the numbers. I always feel like there's a couple of companies like an Apple or Amazon that their numbers are just off the charts. I mean, seven percent growth for you know, a company that is valued at one point seven or maybe one point eight trillion dollars, it's still extraordinary. But that other category where the AD revenue is tucked is you know, they've they've now twenty five years into the company's existence, are minting

yet another powerful revenue stream. So it'll be interesting to see, uh, you know so many things, including how that develops, what the FTC does with the proposed MGM merger, um, and then how Andy Jesse's leadership style diverges from Jeff Bezos. Well, let's talk about that a little bit. What is the task that he has out ahead of him now to to continue with what Jeff Bezos did for for more than twenty five years at Amazon. Yeah, I would put

it into three buckets. Um. One is continuing, uh, to invent, to to nurture a culture of inventiveness. You know, in my two books, and particularly An Amazon and Bound as I, as I went and kind of did the archaeology on projects like Alexa or the Amazon Ghost Store, it always starts with Bezos and an idea from Bezos, Bezos pushing a team and you know, Jeff isn't going away, but

he's going to be arguably less involved. So how does Jess continue to make Amazon an inventive company without the founder and you know, chief nerd in the halls the whole time. The second thing is corporate culture, right, It's like, you know, we can argue whether Amazon needs to fix it, but certainly it needs to evolve it. You know, they have more than a million employees, lots of work work, warehouse workers feel trot and upon. You've got unionization efforts

at the door. So he's got to he's got to create a new contract with employees. And then the third thing really quickly is is just the antitrust scrutiny, right, and Jason will present a kind of humbler target. I think that Jeff Bezos the richest guy in the world, but contending with basically attacks on all fronts from State A, G S to the FTC and d O J to the European Union, and a kind of growing bipartisan sense of the big tech companies have too much power and

it needs to be curtailed. Bred Amazon slib Services AWS is just a massive business and for years it's allowed Amazon to invest in in other things, those things like Alexa um what is the next driver of profit at Amazon. Is there another AWS that they're working on? Is Alexa that you write about so much in your in your most recent book, Is that starting to show results at least on the top line? Yeah? Is Alex starting to show results? I mean, I think the answer to that

is we kind of don't know. Um, you know, the they opaque right to the financial statements are opaque. Um Amazon alexis so tied in with other parts of the business. Um. Uh, probably not, I would say, I mean, maybe it's close to break even. But but you know, one thing that you mentioned is like AWS, it is quite profitable, but by and large goes to build more AWS. Right, They're building data centers around the world, and you know, trying to expand into new services, making big investments in AI.

I think that the powerful kind of profit machine here is advertising, and those dollars are being used to buy UH, to license more TV shows and movies, to create more to buy MGM. And then there's lots of other things that we frankly don't know about. I mean, we do know that they've got a satellite initiative called Project Hyper

that will compete with Starlink. A bunch of things in healthcare, probably a bunch of things in the device business, like a home robot they've been working on for a couple of years. But we don't quite know what the big next hit will be it what will be the role? I guess that is what I want to get to is of Jeff Bezos in this company. Obviously it's his baby, and even though he's stepped back and there's a new officially a new CEO, does he still kind of poke around?

Does he still kind of get involved in things? And will that be problematic to Jesse or is that necessary to kind of keep Amazon being innovative in some ways? So, Carol, my perspective on this has changed a little bit. I was in the wonderful town of Van Horne, Texas last week to see uh Bezos blast off in the sky top his um, let's just say, imaginatively shaped rockets, and one of the things he said, yeah, one of the things we don't need Fred here, I'm just gonna say anyway,

Family Radio. One of the things he said in that press conference is that he was going to spend the majority of his time on Blue Origin of Space Company and on the Bezos Earth Foundation, And it really made me think that he is giving jasse the running room to go operate on his own, and then maybe he's going to minimize his time. He's a board memory, he's the chairman of the board, but I don't expect him

to really be patrolling the hallways of Amazon anymore. So I think, you know, that's going to be probably in some ways of blessing for Jessey gets to put his own stamp at the company, but you know, also a little bit of a curse, because obviously a lot of the success of Amazon over the past twenty five years derives from Bezos's relentlessness and the halo of the founder that he has at the company and how he manages to push her forward. That's Brad Stone, Senior Executive editor

of Global Technology at Bloomberg. Brad's also the author of the Everything Store Jeff Bezos in the Age of Amazon, and his update to that just came out a few months ago. It's called Amazon Unbound Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire. Still to come on Bloomberg Business Week, Getting through the pandemic and finding innovation at a nearly two hundred year old company that's been putting guitars in the hands of Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson and

my husband and anymore you can. I mean, he's pretty much on par with those guys, right he wishes. This is Bloomberg Broadcasting from the financial capital of the World, Bloomberg eleven Frio in New York to Washington, d C. Bloomberg to Boston, Bloomberg one oh six one to San Francisco, Bloomberg nine sixty to the country Sirius XM Chado one nine team, and around the globe the Bloomberg Business app

and Bloomberg Radio dot Com. This is Bloomberg Business Week. Well, earlier this year, you might recall, back in January, we caught up with a member of the sixth generation of the Martin family, Chris Martin. We're talking, of course, about the Martin family behind the Martin Guitar Company, which has been making guitars to him for nearly two centuries, and it's a family business that's still run by the family.

This time around, you checked in with Jackie Renner, who's president and f c F Martin and Company, to talk all about life during the pandemic, finding workers and innovation in the guitar industry during the pandemic, people found follow us and learning to play new musical instruments in a younger generation really started to embrace the instrument. So we've been expanding, we've been supplying, and it's uh, it's we hope it's gonna it's gonna last for a good number

of years. Right now. We're so thrilled that so many people want to get engaged with music. You said the word supplying, which we have been nutty about, like supply chains. You're supply chain. Do you have all the woods, the stuff that you need to make guitars? So would we we keep strategic inventories of our words the precious and you've got to be you know, you can really have to think long and hard about the force when you get to some of the other parts and pieces that

go into guitars. Um. Yeah, we're we're suffering from the same supply chain challenges that I've been listening to on the radio for the last several months, and there's we really think that's going to continue for a long time, not only because of the supply chain disruptions globally, but also because the ever increasing demand for guitar parts throughout the industry around the world. Well, it's interesting, what about workers.

Remind everybody a lot of guitars. I mean, I knew you guys think increasingly some is automated, right, and but tell me how that works and whether or not your need for workers, whether it's being met or if you're having to pay up to get them. So, first of all, we have two factories. We have one in Mexico and we have the original factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Which is obvious we've been monortized over the last couple hundred years.

Now we do automate things where it improves the quality and the outcome of the guitars, things that you couldn't do if you're just you bet, building a guitar from hand. But craftsmanship and hand building is still important in both of our factories. So with the increased demand we have, we have added a second shift in Nazareth. We've always had a second shift in Navajoa, and we continue to hire.

It is challenging to get people to come into a manufacturing environment, but because of who we are in the legacy we have in the guitar industry, the people that have a passion for music and want to get involved in Martin Guitar. Do come and worked at our actory. So we continue, we continue to staff up in both factories, all right, continue to staff up. You have to pay

more to get them. We have shortened the probationary um pay piece, but not really so then you in other words, the workers you want, you can get without having to you know, the stories, um jackie that are out there of even whether it's fast food chains or restaurants or

you know, obviously the you know, financial sector. We talk a lot about investment, banking, bonuses and things like that, but even in some of the service jobs where people are paying up and offering bonuses and other perks and benefits, you don't have to do any of that to get workers. So what we do is at Martin Guitar, you come and you join a family. We are not the kind of company that will hire when we're going up and

fire when we're going down. When we went through a downturn in the guitar industry in ten, we all went on shared work. We all hung in together, and that that's a really really important part of being part of the Martin Guitar family. In addition to that our company has profit sharing and has had profit sharing for over thirty years. So when the industry is doing good and we have a lot of demand, we are competitive in our pay and we're very good about our benefits for

our employees. And it's a stable place to work, so people will decide one one or the other. Warehouse. You can get warehouse work, and you might get it at a couple of dollars more an hour, but when the business turns down, it's gone. What has changed in your thinking as a leader, how you manage, and maybe how you approach your business going forward. For me, Carol, what's come to the four is the absolute importance of being agile,

being able to adapt, and be willing to test. And if you think about Martin Guitar being an almost two hundred year old company full of tradition in the ways we've always done things, the pandemic actually gave us an opportunity to take those shackles off and say, what could

we really do better? So there were more leaders within our organization that organically sprung up more new skills that people embraced much more readily than they would have pre pandemic, And our challenge now and our opportunity now is really to continue to embrace that and to continue to have a curious mentality for improvement and evolution inside the company and with our customers. That's Jackie Renner, President of c F Martin and Company. All Right, you don't play guitar,

but any instruments. No piano, no nothing. I I took lessons when I was a kid. Uh for piano. I love to play in piano. I just it just never stuck. Okay. Yeah. I tried guitar though, Carol. Yeah, and you gave up. I gave up. I was in banned in middle school. Everybody was in banned in middle school. All Right, you're listening to Bloomberg Business were coming up swimsuits for women of all shapes and sizes, manufactured with a commitment to sustainability.

The co founders of the direct consumer brand Summer. So I'll join us next. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovik from Bloomberg Radio. All Right, recently I got the mail a Summer Salt catalog. They're definitely doing swimsuits differently Tim it's not just though about swimsuits. They are building a lifestyle brand like a lot of other companies, and lifestyle products now count for over thirty of their business.

That's according to the company's co founders, who also say that business saw year over year growth for more. We talked to Lori Coulter and Ratimo Chamberlain, co founders are the direct consumer brand Summersault like everyone else, the past year has been an absolute wild ride. But we're really fortunate to be in a space where the consumer has responded.

We are, you know, met her win where and how she wants to be spoken to with with truly an exceptional product, and it's it's you know, in the end, it's been a fantastic year for Summersault, but not without its challenges. For well, absolutely and you know, I was looking at some some staff. That's the global swim wear market. I mean that's probably taking everybody into account, is something like eighteen nineteen billion dollars. It's a lot. Raci mccamon

in on this. You guys are doing it differently. Tell us about your approach, so it's all about the customer. For us, we always put her first swim were had been done in the most antiquated way for generations and decades. Right, no one was thinking about what women really wanted. We wanted swim where that was functional, comfortable, sexy on our own terms that summersault, we used ten thousand women's body scans at one point million measurements to really define our fit.

And then we want to speak to her in a way that she wants to be spoken to. We want to see ourselves reflected in the marketing that tells us what we should wear or give us ideas. And so we've recently launched Everybody Is, a summer salt body campaign that really showcases the incredible diversity that our customer represents. And in the end, we do it all for her and are inspired by her. Well, and it's interesting, Laura, I mean, you've been in the swimsuit business. You know,

before you understand it, you've seen different cycles. Both of you understand and it I mean, I I was thinking about preparing for this. It's all that fit fabric. Uh, everybody's ever gone bathing suits shopping at swimsuits shopping, it can be an incredibly frustrating event because not you know, typically it's not always for all kinds of body sizes, your approaches, and having looked at your catalog, I was kind of blown away. You really embrace everyone who's out there.

So so really, our goal along has been to inspire joy in the lives of our consumer and if you think back how to how we all felt at the beach as children, it was really about engaging with life fully having fun and a swim suit should be fun and it it really had been done in this antiquated way that Rushma reference over sexualized and dated by the way, that doesn't look very modern on social media in the

way that many women are finding brands today. And so there was just such a huge white space for us to go out and present our product in a modern way that really resonated with consumers. And we're really grateful to see, you know, just how much the brand has taken off, and by the way we're doing it in the right way, you know, across the board, from an environmentally friendly approach to the way we're presenting a diverse

set of women, you know, in every way. Well, and it's interesting that you talk about I mean, you're using recycled, a recyclable materials. I mean, I've been talking to chief sustainability officers at Walmart, at Cisco, at a lot of different places. I mean this is increasingly a part of

the DNA of companies UM Fresh. You are the chief brand officer, I mean, how much does your consumer care about not only great fit and function UM and looking good, but how much in terms of what the company stands for and how they make the product? How important is that well, equal friendliness and sustainability. We believe our table stakes, but we also believe in UM working towards a not

perfectionist approach, if that makes sense. A lot of people have big bars that they cannot reach, and then the consumers can kind of sniff out in authenticity as Summer Souls is all about being incredibly honest with our consumers, saying, hey, give us suggestions to do better here. We're asking the right questions to all our vendors. We're focusing on sustainability and equal friendliness and sharing kind of the true nature of where we are in our journey with our consumer.

It's really not about perfectionism. And this is truly a unique approach a Summer sold Whether that's about inclusivity, whether that's about sustainability, it's a truly human approach, because any company that says that they're perfect and this is not really being authentic. And we really believe in being honest and truthful with our consumer as we kind of navigate this journey together. But it truly is table stake because

companies begin to kind of become the next generation defining businesses. Laurie, it's Bloomberg. We like to know about a company's velocity. Give me an idea. You started back in May seventeen, so here you are, what four years in. Tell me about the growth in the business that you've been seeing. Well, it's been and out an absolute rocket ship and a pleasure just to be part of something that's so much

bigger than any of us are individually. But we've seen that rapid growth that pusses on the top one of venture capital, that consumer facing startups you know, worldwide, which is just phenomenal. And we continue to experience a percent your growth through through the COVID year. It was just unbelievable and and are seen that kind of same accelerated pace throughout. So Richmo does it stay digital our stores likely at some point. Well, it's all about giving our

customers unique experiences. So when we think about retail versus digital, it's all about new and unique ways in which our customer can interact with our brands. So when we think about retail, we really think about truly experiential retail where we can provide something more than just commerce, where we can provide placemaking, community building, and creating a true experience for our community to connect with each other and with

our brands. So when we think about retail, we're really thinking about creating something extremely extremely new, fun and a concept where we can blend hospitality and retail. What does that mean and does that mean stores eventually down the road? Yes, it absolutely means stores down the road. It's really interesting to think about DTC one point two point or brands

that had to build stores to acquire customers. For us, we really had an incredible, thoughtful customer acquisition, incredible organic growth. So when we think about retail, it's going to be about place making and we're really excited to take that next step. What's the best way to do that? And Laurie maybe come on in on this. Is it to do it as stand alone your own own stores or is it to do it as shops within major retailers

or department stores, or a little bit of both. I think we're committed to the vertical retail UM path, so

that would be standalone stores for the most partner. Again, it's about that one to one relationship with our consumer moving forward and in as Rushma mentioned, creating that place where she experienceds Somersault UM as a complete lifestyle and so we're really excited to take it to the next level UM as we think about, you know, the next twelve eighteen months, Well lord, what is that next level?

Because I mentioned you know, swim you know you're a swim um where a brand, but you really are looking to do it and you did during the pandemic. You moved into pajamas like, you know, things that people were needed at home at that point, and you pivoted pretty quickly.

So so what's interesting is we had already entered many of the apparel categories UM that accelerated through COVID, So we were fortunate to already be in pajamas, cozy, comfy lounge where at leisure as well as as everything cozy Kashmir.

And what's what's interesting is that sometimes people like to refer to it as a pivot, but we were actually already in those categories and we're able to build it out um due to our supply chain speed really rapidly and um certainly you know, over thirty of our revenue UM comes already from apparel, and so as we contendue to build out new categories, that that percentage continues to climb, which was you know, phenomenal. Where do you see it all going? Um, Rachma, Is it eventually an I p O?

Or how do you guys continue to you know, provide the momentum, provide the capital. Can you continue to do it in the private markets? Well, for us, it's really about branding the next generation defining brand and really kind of marching to creating that brand that people have in every corner for a wardrobe. Um. For us, it's not about you know, Laurie and I built two businesses before,

and we never set out to do something small. For us, it was really creating a brand that people in my home country of India can recognize and UH in the smallest towns in Missouri know about Somersaults. So for us, it's about infiltrating essentially every wardrobe in America. And the world, and that's what we're here to do, right and this is I mean this, everything that you're doing, um Laurie,

is on a global level. Correct. Um, yes, we are selling globally, although on a little secret watch what we have coming in the next a few From that perspective, that more is coming. Okay. One thing I wanted to ask both of you. It's something that we talk about a lot on Bloomberg and certainly within the venture capital world about you know, the lack of women in senior VC positions, the lack of capital often for women lead

or women created businesses. Um Laurie, what's been your experience. Well, I think what's fascinating, and most people don't realize is that only three percent venture capital dollars goes women founders, and you know, certainly even less it's going to founders in the Midwest. So we're really proud of the fact that we've been able to break through. And I think what investors need to understand is that women founders that are breaking through and getting to the level that that

we're at with Somersault. From attraction perspective, these are these are truly breakout companies, not only from a revenue perspective, but also from you know, just the just the drive to break through and talk to the you know, hundreds of investors that takes to real to circle that dollars. Now, what's interesting now is that Somersault receives you know, almost an endless number of inbounds and regards to you investors looking you know, to fund the next level of growth

for a Somersaults. So from that perspective, we've really reached the threshold. But you know, we believe it's our job as bloom founders to really boarded the path for those that are coming from from behind us and to really help draw attention to the fact that the three percent number has got to change. That was Lori Coulter and

Ratima Chamberlain co founders would be direct to consumer brand Somersaults. See, we promised we would end up with some lighthearted stuff after it felt like a little bit of a downer. It's it's been a heavy week, Yeah, it absolutely has. All right. That wraps up the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Carol Masser and I'm Tim Steinovik. Could be sure to tune into our Bloomberg Business Week daily show Monday

through Friday. It starts at two pm Wall Street Time on Bloomberg Radio. Definitely join us. You can also watch us on our daily broadcast on YouTube. Just search Bloomberg Global News. Also check out our Bloomberg Business podcasts. You can find that at Bloomberg dot com, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Bloomberg Business Week It is available on newsstands, now, at Bloomberg dot com, and always on

the Bloomberg terminal. You can also see me at Bloomberg Quick Take available at Bloomberg dot com, slash Qt, and streaming platforms like Roku, Apple TV, Samsung TV and more. Have a great weekend. He will not be playing guitar, nor will he be wearing a bathing suit. I promise have a great weekend everyone. This is Bloomberg