In this Thanksgiving-week Mostly Growth episode, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar ditch the serious finance talk for a looser, drinks-in-hand conversation with Ben Hillman, bouncing between CJ’s nostalgic emo-punk concert adventure, the curse of vanity license plates, and the epidemic of “Y-axis crimes” in founder charts. They riff on Spotify Wrapped copycats, YouTube becoming living-room TV, kids’ YouTube empires, and the game theory behind The Traitors and the Monty Hall problem before shifting into real-world pricing: newsletter perk economics, the pitfalls of hourly consulting, and why value-based packaging always wins. The episode stays playful but still sneaks in sharp insights on growth, psychology, and how weird the business world can be when you actually pay attention.

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SPONSORS:

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LINKS: 

Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/

Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/

https://x.com/parikpatelcfa/status/1992706757073023191?s=46

https://www.wired.com/story/null-license-plate-landed-one-hacker-ticket-hell/

https://x.com/im_roy_lee/status/1992692253257855261/photo/1

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/16/the-traitors-a-reality-tv-show-offers-a-useful-economics-lesson

https://nyulangone.org/news/one-third-americans-are-trying-avoid-gluten-it-villain-we-think-it-is

https://x.com/techsalesguy3/status/1991585201601016161?s=46

https://paintvine.co.nz/blogs/news/the-legend-of-picassos-napkin-sketch?srsltid=AfmBOooiyTYGfUdKJZLpblbQAcJzQLg011Os_xeyaCgSpEIXrtIuD6hH

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cj-gustafson-13140948_started-from-the-email-now-were-here-activity-7397607230600126465-iVPv/

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Preview and Intro

00:01:06 Sponsors – Pulley & Metronome

00:03:26 Mostly Drinks Episode

00:04:39 Concert Stories & Pop-Punk Nostalgia

00:07:30 Concert Parenting & Full-Circle Moment

00:08:01 Business Blunders Begin

00:09:51 License Plate Fails & Accounting Humor

00:11:33 Y-Axis Crime Chart Review

00:13:46 Global Podcast “Success” & Listener Jokes

00:15:25 Spotify Wrapped: Retention vs. Acquisition

00:16:29 YouTube as the Future of Podcasts

00:17:21 Kids’ Shows, Blippi & Creator Economics

00:18:20 The Traitors Show Overview

00:19:55 Game Theory & Winning as a Traitor

00:22:11 Monty Hall Problem Setup

00:23:52 Game Show Logic & Gambler’s Fallacies

00:25:34 Pricing in the Real World

00:26:28 Community Discount Card Business Model

00:28:34 Newsletter Perks & Subscriber Value

00:29:59 Marketplace Discount Math

00:31:26 Negotiating Like a CFO

00:32:25 Gluten-Free Nights & Pricing Strategy

00:34:49 Outbound Pizza as a Go-to-Market Play

00:36:28 Outbound Pizza Tuesdays to Gluten-Free Tuesdays

00:37:02 Pricing Services: Value vs. Hourly

00:40:12 The Picasso Pricing Story

00:42:20 Harvard Business School Case Study & Kim K Photo

00:43:27 Thanksgiving Cooking: Roast Chicken & Porcini Ragu

00:44:21 Wrap & Credits