Primer

Happy Monday everyone, thanks for tuning into this week's update. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platformIn this episode, we dive into Ant Group, the highest valued fintech company in the world. Ant Group dates back to 2004 when Alipay was created at the beginning of E-commerce to solve the trust between buyers and sellers in online transactions. Sort of like an Escrow service where it would hold the cash to ensure that products or services were delivered. This allowed e-commerce to flourish, it solved one of the largest problems. The company was previously held under the Alibaba Umbrella owned and Co-Founded by Jack Ma and was spun off in 2011 from Alibaba. Alibaba does have a 33% equity stake in the business.Ant Group divides its services into three main categories. CreditTech , InvestmentTech, and InsureTechIt was supposed to be the biggest IPO of a company, Ant Group - To the point where Hong Kong stockbrokers were so confident in Ant Group’s blockbuster IPO that they offered retail investors to buy the stock with as much as 20x leverage some reports saying even 30x leverage. Due to a reflection of fierce competition for finance and trading fees. Ant planned to do a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai and was expected to raise at least $35B. Hong Kong has more than 700 brokerages but only 14 generate more than half the city's daily stock turnover. Loans increase the odds of winning an IPO allocation and amplify gains when the stock rises after listing. Using the 20x leverage, if the stock declined 5% then their entire investment would be wiped out. Regulators told the company that the online lending business world faces greater scrutiny. Most brokerages said they would waive handling fees and interest rates on margin loans for investors who had subscribed to the share. Bright Smart, a brokerage said that listed companies should be required to compensate investors in such situations, other major lenders like HSBC and BOC Hong Kong Holdings said they would still charge interest on margin loans. Check out the acquired episode on Alibaba Here:https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/season-3-episode-5nbspalibabaWe also talked about Edtech, This industry is growing in the united states, it is called Edtech. It is comprised of PreK-12, post-secondary, and corporate training. Research made by Grandview estimated the global education tech market to be around 76.4 billion dollars in 2019, and they expect a CAGR of 18.1% from 2020 to 2027.  The K-12 sector is being the most explored, with 42% of total revenue from the industry Preschool expected to have the highest CAGR 2020-2027 (20%) North America is the region that is focusing the most on EdTech, 38.2% of 2019 rev. American Edtech companies raised around 1.5 billion in 2018. This number increased to 1.7 in 2019 (deals dominated largely by series C)Emerging Technologies are creating a new environment for companies. We can divide those supporting technologies into 4 different industries (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Blockchain) AR/ VR: Labster, which brings virtual laboratory simulations for STEM students (a great solution if properly executed), raised $21 million for its series B. Owl Ventures led the round.   AI: Kidaptive, an adaptive-learning company that uses their platform combined with 3rd parties’ solutions (such as iPad-games) to capture and share data collected on the students to help educate companies to increase their learning outcomes. Raised $19.1 million in series C in 2018.  Robotics: Roybi and Robotify Blockchain: Credly, which I would say is a section of itself, structuring a skills-based currency for workers where badges are given to you based on your skills and shared with companies. 

Happy Wednesday everyone. Today we have a great interview with Morris Amiri, Founder, President, and Chief Investment Officer of Sunset West Advisors (www.sunsetwestadvisors.com). Sunset West Advisors is a wealth management firm based in Beverly Hills, California. They help their clients crystallize their unique financial objectives and offer comprehensive solutions for how to best achieve them. If I had money to be managed Morris and his team is the first place we would put it. In this podcast we talk about our history, Connor met Morris while bussing tables at Toca Madera while attending Santa Monica Community College. That interaction led to Morris mentoring Connor around Real Estate, Finance, and most importantly the foundation of being not only a great businessman but a good person. We also dive into his past of working at Bear Sterns, RBC, and now owning his private wealth management firm. We also talk about the opportunities in real estate right now and how COVID has affected our lives. We hope you enjoy it!

Happy Monday everyone. Hope everyone was safe and ready for November. Today's topics include Dunkin Brands Group being acquired by Inspire Brands. We are also looking into the Pokemon Card Market as it is very interesting to hear about this wave of alternative investments. Europe is also locking down again and there may be some consequences associated. Continue to be safe and we will see you Wednesday for a special episode. Diving into in, Dunkin Brands Group being potentially acquired in an 11.3B cash buyout by Inspire Brands, which is owned by the Rowark Capital. Dunkin or Dunkin Donuts (changed due to a focus on coffee), also owns Baskin Robins restaurants international and abroad. Dunkin Brands runs on a 100% franchise business model where their sources of revenue come from royalties, franchise payments, licensing, certain product sales, and advertising fees. Dunkin has had a great year as stock when compared to other QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) in the space like Mcdonalds, Chipotle, and dominos (even compared to Starbucks, Dunkin has done great). Over the previous thinking, we would assume that restaurants would get hit hard. Inspire Brands currently owns brands like (Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Rusty Taco, Jimmy Johns, and Sonic Drive-in. Inspire Brands was on a purchasing spree and has developed a lean portfolio of the franchise and multi-location restaurants that is diverse (Arbys - Fast Food, BWW - Sports Bar, Jimmy John's - Sandwiches, Rusty Taco - Mexican, Sonic: Drive-In) when adding Dunkin and Baskin they are very diverse. It will be interesting to see what Inspire Brands does with this acquisition and to see if they make more acquisitions in the future.We also look into the pokemon card space. There are some things to be learned from this even if pokemon cards are not a credible investment by some standards. Trading Cards, Collectables, Clothing, Sneakers are all products that have seen a huge growth in recent years, especially pokemon cards most recently. Pokemon is the largest grossing media franchise. We talk about the pitfalls of investing in this type of asset class and the issues with the overall market. We also look into the EU and their lockdowns. Although GDP in Europe has grown, so have the cases in the country. This action shows the intensity of what is going on not only there but what has been occurring in the world. Government aid should be arriving but we are curious to see how the United States moves. The elections are coming up and it will be interesting to see what happens. Stay safe out there!

Happy Monday ! In this episode we break down Peloton, Goldman Sachs & Data Ethics. Peloton is a fitness technology company that is leveraging hardware and software by producing high end fitness products and a SaaS business model to boot. John Foley is the CEO and Founder of the brand where he was previously the President of E-Commerce at Barnes & Noble. The company has seen amazing growth at a market Capitalization at a rate of over 380% since their IPO. YUGE. The company, like Zoom has seen huge growth and has taken advantage of the COVID-19 Pandemic as consumer behavior is shifting. Goldman Sachs was involved in the 1MDB Scandal (1 Malaysia Development Berhad Scandal) which is one of the biggest financial scandals of all time. This Scandal involved the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund and then Prime Minister Najib Razak who was accused of moving $700M from the 1MDB to his personal bank accounts. Goldman Sachs led the fundraising for 1MDB and had to pay over $2.8B. Jho Low is A Malaysian businessman and is an international fugitive for his connection in the 1MDB scandal and was supposedly the mastermind behind the process. Data Data Data! Luca is looking into the startup world at the company, Mine. Mine is a company that brings the ownership of data back to the user. With Mine, you can enjoy the internet feeling safe and secure where it gives the power back to you. They use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to discover what companies are holding your data by analyzing your emails’ subject lines. Mine makes it easy to reclaim your data. Mine Recently raised a Series A of $9.5M. Mine is an Israel company. The company was founded by CEO Gal Ringel, CTO Gal Golan and CPO Kobi Nissan. Ringel and Golan are both veterans of Unit 8200, the cybersecurity unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. 

Happy Friday. In this episode, we explore BaaS (Banking as a Service). These new types of companies are bridging the older established banks with newer financial technology by using their software to make transactions and management of their services seamless. There is also current business news regarding Facebook and Twitter censoring the prudential candidate Joe Biden. Finally, we will be speaking about Dan Bilzerian and his company Ignite.The company recently appointed a “New” President, who is also the COO. What's going to happen to his company? They are igniting their cash on fire! Follow us on our instagram: @Primerpodcasting Please leave us 5 Stars 

Happy Monday! On this podcast we are discussing square purchasing $50M worth of bitcoin to add to its balance sheet. The company owned by Jack Dorsey has been an advocate of the cryptocurrency and even allowed users of its CashApp to purchase the currency in 2018. There was also a lot of other news this month with Brian Armstrong of Coinbase releasing his memo around their company's mission. Andreeson Horwitz also released a documentary called crypto startup school. We are also talking about Triller, the tiktok alternative, us based content app. The company is estimated to be worth over $1B. We finish off talking about some new ipos that are happening this week featuring Array Technologies (ARRY) which is founded to develop integrated ground mounting systems including steel supports, electric motors, and electronic controllers called single-axis trackers. 70% of all ground-mounted solar energy projects in the UNited States are built with tracker systems in 2019. We also talk about Miniso Group going public which is a lifestyle retailer with several thousand stores in China. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and share with your friends!@Primerpodcasting

Happy Friday, in this episode we are speaking about J.P. Morgan and their spoofing issue. The CFTC has charged J.P. Morgan for around $1B. This was the largest amount of money charging a bank for spoofing. We also talked about Forbes AI 50 list with the help of sequia and other VCs. Ghost is a driverless car company looking to take on Tesla and AMP Robotics is looking to change recycling with robots doing recycling. We also talk about the debate and what could potentially be happening to this world!

Happy Monday! On today's episode, we talk about Quibid. Quibi is trying to create the first entertainment platform built for easy, on-the-go mobile viewing, allowing today's leading studios and creative talent to tell original stories in an entirely new way. It also develops short-form media content designed for smartphones. They have raised $2B so far and currently are having some issues. We feel as if Quibi might come back into a topic as some rumours are spreading about a potential merger or acquisition or a public offering through a potential SPAC. Facebook is also going through some antitrust issues. It seems as if Facebook has constantly had a target on its back. With the social dilemma and Are we going to have a Face App and Book App? Is Facebook the New Standard Oil? We are looking into Tech potentially overreaching or is the government overreaching with their claims?  We also talk about Taiwan and Asus as they plan to create new manufacturing processes. The process involved machines that leverage AI and Machine Learning in order to do more tasks. This is huge because this can lead to more education of the population. Asus has already said that there is a 5% yield increase through these new productions. This seems to be the way innovation is taking place on a manufacturing standpoint. 

Happy Friday! In this episode we talk about Palantir Technologies. Palantir develops and builds data fusion platforms for public institutions, commercial enterprises, and non-profit organizations. They use multiple data points to create additional  data that has a greater value when its put together. We also talk about Opendoor which transforms the current selling process of listing, showings, months of uncertainty and makes selling a home a few clicks online. Opendoor is going public via a SPAC, or a blank check company. We also talk about the EU and Google beef that is going on. We also have some breaking news on the podcast! If you enjoy or learn anything from the podcast, be sure to share it with friends.

On this episode, we have Kyle, a guest on the show, who goes to Loyola Marymount University and studies Marketing. We first dive into Mcdonalds and their partnership with Travis Scott. He is a music artist that has recently also done different collaborations including one with Fortnite. We also talk about social justice that professional sports leagues are promoting. We are also talking about amazon’s hardware event where they release many different items. We finish off the podcast talking about space travel and the companies that are pioneering this industry including Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Blue Origin. Rate us 5 Stars on Apple and Follow us on Spotify - but most importantly share this podcast with a friend!

Happy Friday everyone! On this podcast, we are going to be talking about Electronic Payments, The Social Dilemma (Data/Privacy and the future of consumers view on their own data), and some news coming out about the stimulus checks that might be here soon. Electronic Payments are very fascinating. As we evolve to using different methods to complete transactions and trade, will physical money ever become obsolete? We are also talking about data/privacy and how future consumers might take a different stance to companies taking their data. Dan also brings us some information about the stimulus bill that may be getting passed soon. YUGE Episode. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @primerpodcastingBe sure to follow us on SpotifyBe sure to rate us 5 stars on AppleAnd most importantly, have a great weekend :)

Happy 21st Episode! Our podcast is officially an adult in the podcasting space. But in all seriousness, we spend today's episode talking about Tesla Battery Day. Tesla Battery Day is going to be held on September 22nd after 1:30 PM PST (after their shareholder meeting). This will be a Livestream event. We are looking for more information about their Roadrunner Project, Battery Cell Technology, The Chemistry, The Continuation of the Vertical Integrated Manufacturing, The Million Mile Battery and many other potential areas that can lead to innovation that will be showcased. But most importantly this will give investors the opportunity to judge the pace of their innovation. We are also talking about the  Workhorse potentially winning the bid to update USPS’s fleet of vehicles. This is a multi-billion dollar contract that would be amazing for Workhorse. We are also going to be speaking about bribes given to Amazon employees in return for giving competitor data to third parties. In addition to this, they would then have accounts leave bad reviews on competitor products. This opens up the discussion on the products we trust on these websites that hold no responsibility on their stock of goods on their marketplace. Big Big Big episode. Be sure to share this podcast with your friends, and rate us 5 stars on apple. Have a great week! 

Happy Friday everyone, in this episode we are talking about the Tiktok troubles not only oracle but everyone seems to be having. They have not totally closed the deal for tiktok, so there is a chance that the company does not continue to operate in the U.S. if there is an upset. We also talk about the Apple hardware event. In this event the main things shown were the Apple Series 6, Apple Watch SE, IPads, Apple Fitness +, Appe One. A bunch of new products from Apple. We also talk about 5G and its time of arrival. 5G has the potential to change the way we live and we work. Luca has all the information on it! I hope you guys continue to have a great weekend. Follow us on instagram: @PrimerPodcasting

Happy Monday Everyone,In this episode we have a fellow listener, student and friend with us, Catherine. We start this episode talking about women in business and the stereotypes, obstacles, and culture that women are facing right now. We also dive into ARM Holdings potentially being sold from Softbank to Nvidia. This merger will further consolidate the chip making industry and will allow Nvidia to compete for government contracts. We also took a look into the Venture Capital world with Covid and the numbers behind the industry during this period. Luca also talks about Conduit and Matchbox.vc as alternative ways to meet and network if you are in venture capital or a founder. Dan also brings us some information regarding corporate bonds and their sudden emergence as money starts flowing into them as times become more uncertain due to covid, international tensions, and the elections coming up. Football is also back and the contracts with cable providers are running out. We wish everyone luck on their fantasy leagues if they have one. If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend about it. Enjoy the week-Primer TeamInstagram: @primerpodcastingTwitter:@Primer_Podcast

Happy Friday everyone! In this episode we dive into the Hindenburg Research document, Huawei, Asana, LVMH, Tiffany & Co, and other electronic vehicle companies. In a recent short seller document, he claims that the company especially, Trevor Milton, has deceived investors. Nikola stock was down 10% on Thursday September 10th.We also talked about China and their ramp up of software and technology. Does them having their own software create a threat to the United States dominance in technology and innovation?Asana is scheduled to IPO through a direct listing on September 30th on the NYSE. Asana is a web and mobile application designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work. Be Sure you follow us on our Instagram @Primerpodcasting, and Twitter @Primer_Podcast

Happy Labor Day! In this episode, we dive into Soft Bank, a Japanese conglomerate, headed by CEO Masayoshi San (Masa Son). News recently came out that he had purchased call options and stocks in individual companies and the overall market accounting for a rumored 4 billion dollars. These bets have led to over $50B of exposure through options. Tesla was also not added to the S&P500. This may be in part due to them using tax credits to sustain their profits and is not a reliable source of cash flow. The stock Tesla ($TSLA) is very volatile and has increased significantly this year. We also talked about a weird thing that is happening to people in the United States that are receiving seeds from China. It is said that people in all 50 states have received these seeds and the items have been identified but still pose a threat. Gamestop is also looking to be a potential short squeeze. Chewy CEO recently acquired 9% of Gamestop through his investment fund. We also talked about Snowflake and the IPO and the S1 that they released. Going to be interesting to see another largely funded company go public in a pandemic. 

Happy Friday Everyone! In this episode, we have some discussions around the market correction that occurred Thursday. Will the stock market change as we go into the weekend? In addition, we speak about oil and the future state of it. How long till how is obsolete? We also speak about Apples new privacy initiatives and how other app developers are trying to compromise with google as a lot of them will not be able to make money off of advertising.... Facebook... Then we spoke about Starlink, a project from Spacex that is supposed to bring wifi to everyone in the world. They recently just shot up their first public satellite. Please be sure to follow us @Primerpodcasting on Instagram. 

Happy Monday everyone!Disclaimer: Welcome to Primer! This podcast is not meant to be investment advice or gudiance and is only opinions stated by people who are NOT professionals. Do not take anything as we do not know anything. We may or may not own stocks in the companies we talk about.Updates:    -Dan came into the studio and we now have three hosts    -Guests are starting to come onIn this episode we dive into nerualink, one of elon musks babies that is trying to help people with nerualogical issues live better lives. We also talk about the tech heavyness of of the S&p500 and how other companies will need to adapat. We then talk about Apple and all the events happening around them. Today they have the stock split along with Tesla, but in addition to that, they are potentially creating a new search engine, ios14 is out for Facebook and they recently took out Epic Games by deleting their app store developer account for the time being. We then talked about the Wuhan Pool Parties and how they have free water parks for the rest of 2020. We end off by talking about other Macro problems like trash during covid and how the defensive players are actually pretty strong choices for stocks.

Happy Friday Everyone! We start this podcast talking about the fed chairman, Powell, and his decision to approach inflation that could keep rates lower for longer. The shift on the inflation goal is seeking to keep interest rates lower for the foreseeable future. Bonds don't look attractive. We also talk about Tik Tok. The acquisition talks between so many different companies over the course of the past 30 days. The real companies that seem to be talking are Oracle trying to purchase Tik Tok are Walmart, Microsoft and Oracle. There were talks of Google going in and speaking with Tiktok with Soft Bank’s help. Even recently the CEO of the company Kevin Mayer had left the business due to political issues and the trump administration planning on banning the company in the U.S> unless a Technology company purchases it. Supposedly we should hear back in 48 hours regarding the deal. We also talked about SPACSs being used as a very attractive financial instrument. People like Bill Akman are cashing in on the opportunity to raise funds with their experience of being in a mergers and acquisitions field, private equity, or other operation expertise to run a business after it gets acquired. We also talked about 3d printing and the digitization of employees. Please follow us on Instagram @primerpodcasting and be sure to rate us 5 stars!

In this episode we are talking about the new covid-19 convalescent plasma therapy that got emergency authorization as part of the Trump Administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” program. The trials that they are using to prove the efficacy of the process has seen mortality decreases of 35%. The recent authorization has also seen backlash from Fauci, saying that the data is too weak to promote it. Futures at the time of writing this are around .3% positive. We also talked about Lambda school and their series C raising 74M. This will allow them to operate more efficiency by allowing them to take on more students. Lambda School is a 18 month course that allows users to learn programming and get a job that pays a salary of at least $50k where students do not pay the tuition until they land a job above $50k. We also discussed some leaked information that was discussed in a TechCrunch article around Palantir’s financials. They had revenue of over 700M a growth of 25% from the previous year (2018), but their losses are 500M leaving a -78% profit margin. The company is over 10 years old with 125 total customers bringing in an average of 7.4M per employee. The company should be releasing their real S-1 soon and we will bring you the information about that. We also talked about Osmind, which is a software for mental health providers and their patients. Their software and data insights improve clinical care while advancing research towards new treatments and precision health. We finally talked about our final topic in regards to how we see the market and how we are investing. Be sure to follow us on our Instagram @Primerpodcasting and follow us on Linkedin, why not?-Connor & Luca