👋 Good morning. Would you bring an iced coffee to a job interview? That question is fueling a debate on social media after a recruiter in Florida went viral for advising Gen Z candidates to ditch the to-go cups. The discourse has some calling the act unprofessional while others say it's yet another unfair standard set in a brutal job market. Starbucks, unsurprisingly, made its pro-coffee stance known, while “Today” show hosts equated Gen Z’s iced coffees with pacifiers and blankies. We’re pro- anything with whip cream on top.
NEWS FLASH
🖊 The pen is mightier than the AI: Dumb.co, a startup that sells modified flip phones, started requiring handwritten cover letters for applicants to its internship program to fight the barrage of AI-generated slop. Even with the old-school requirement, the company got ~900 apps for four open roles. Love this — as long as they aren’t judging our handwriting…
👩🏻⚖️ Patent no longer pending: Fearn launched an AI-powered patent law firm that helps startups protect their IP and move quickly enough to keep up with the pace of development. Fearn says its tech can file provisional patent applications in three business days for $2.5k, versus the months of waiting and $18k-$40k price tag of a traditional firm. Every application is still reviewed by a former Big Law patent attorney, but the software only requires as little as 30 minutes of their time.
👻 The ghost of retail past: If an orange banner went up in your neighborhood seemingly overnight, Spirit Halloween is likely haunting a vacant storefront near you. The pop-up retailer is opening 1.5k locations nationwide this fall, with 153 locations in former Joann stores, 103 in Big Lots, and 100 in Party City. Now go find that ghoul mask, though nothing is scarier than an empty suburban strip mall.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
-
Eighty-six the lattes: AI insurance company Corgi — which was valued at $4B despite being accused of repackaging open-source software — is laying off employees and nixing plans to open 100 coffee shops in six months across San Francisco.
-
Playing chicken: McDonald’s is gunning for a bigger slice of the fried chicken market, saying it aims to gobble up an additional 1.5-percentage-point share of the global market by 2030 as beef prices rise 20%+ since 2024.
-
Sure, why not?: The biggest complaint about ranch dressing — that it isn’t an unsettling deep black color — will finally be resolved by Hidden Valley Ranch, which is releasing a dyed-dark, Halloween-themed “Spooky Ranch” variant.
- Yikes: Hackers stole a whopping ~$350m from crypto exchange Bitget, which put a temporary stop on customer withdrawals while it sorted out the mess. Bitget has 120m+ global users.
DIG INTO DATA
The business idea problem isn't inspiration… It's evidence
Anyone can dream up an idea. The hard part is finding one with real proof behind it — revenue, customer acquisition, startup costs — before you bet your nights and weekends on it.
Starter Story rebuilt its product into a full research platform for exactly that moment.
What you get inside:
- Thousands of real businesses with verified revenue and growth data
- Filters for budget, skills, and situation
- A built-in assistant to dig deeper on anything promising
- 120+ businesses that launched for under $500 (their latest free database)
The idea is out there. Go find the data first.
THE BIG IDEA
%20copy%203.png?width=600&height=293&name=SF%20TEMPLATES%20TO%20USE%20(3)%20copy%203.png)
Spritz to the top: How a 107-year-old aperitif became a $900m hit
Stroll past a restaurant patio on a hot day, and you'll witness a dizzying swirl of radiant orange, sparkling concoctions sipped from oversized wine glasses.
That's no coincidence. It's an Aperol spritz world, we're just living in it.
Once a quaint regional Italian liqueur, Aperol has catapulted to the top of menus thanks to aggressive marketing and remarkable synchronicity, per The Wall Street Journal.
A splash of history
The Aperol spritz's origin traces back to early 19th-century Northern Italy:
- Austrian soldiers would allegedly spritzen or "splash" the region's strong wines with soda water.
- 1860: Campari becomes a hit in parts of Italy.
- 1919: Luigi and Silvio Barbieri introduce Aperol, a low-alcohol, orange aperitif — soon popular in spritzes.
- 1950s: Aperol markets its spritz with Prosecco and a splash of soda water.
- 2003: Campari Group purchases Aperol for ~$160m.
Campari repositioned the Aperol spritz as a fashionable cocktail, swapping the traditional rocks glass for a branded wine glass and olive garnish for an orange slice. To make the Aperol spritz universally consistent, the company promotes a memorable 3-2-1 recipe: three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, and one part club soda.
Campari Group put its considerable might behind Aperol, first expanding across Europe, then the US in 2017.
To introduce the Aperol spritz to more drinkers, Campari staged branded experiences at festivals like Coachella, offering free samples and merch.
The company also launched Campari Academy with free training for bartenders, who helped promote the drink.
It worked:
- Aperol hit $900m in sales last year
- Saw a 65% increase on US menus since 2022
- Comprises 26% of Campari Group's sales
- There are 1.5B Aperol spritzes served annually today
- Campari sold 8.8m cases of Aperol globally in the past 12 months
The Aperol spritz boom also benefited from several serendipitous factors:
- Since 2009, Prosecco sales have climbed every year, outselling Champagne and offering an affordable, spritz-friendly option.
- The drink's ~9% ABV aligns with the growing appeal of low-alcohol drinks and the daycap.
- The vibrant drink became a regular on TV and social media.
But Aperol isn't alone
Global spritz consumption went from 2.5B servings in 2019 to nearly 4B in 2024. While Aperol commands the lion's share, competitors like the St. Germain-based Hugo spritz are growing.
To maintain its edge, Campari has rolled out the Aperol spritz in cans and on tap, plus the hot-pink Sarti spritz.
So, even if you're not an Aperol spritz fan, they ain't going anywhere anytime soon — at least if Campari has a say.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Stuck in a gift shop T-shirt? This is why airlines lose your bags.
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
%20copy%203.png?width=600&height=93&name=Noteworthy%20Number%20template%20(55)%20copy%203.png)
Cost of a limited-edition “Bezzy” plush toy, a satirical collab between creative studio Basura and music project Big Data that offers a “cuddly introduction to life with a real data center,” per Wired. The smiley, pollution-gray doll is obviously much smaller, softer, and cutesier than the data centers that inspired its design, though it will produce the same “ear-piercing forever hum” heard by residents who live near one of the energy-hungry monstrosities if you hug it. How comforting… Sound like the kind of handholding you need to cope with our bleak AI-powered reality? They go on sale today.
AROUND THE WEB
📅 On this day: In 1941, the Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams played a game that boosted his batting average to .400 — a record he’s held since.
☕ Game: Tend to your coffee shop.
🎵 Bored?: Compose music using just your arrow keys.
🌐 That’s fun: Jump to a random vintage website.
🐕 Aww: Keep the pets coming.
SHOWER THOUGHT
If everyone thinks something is overrated, then it's not. SOURCE
Today's email was brought to you by Ben Berkley, Singdhi Sokpo, and Danny Jensen.
Editing by: Sara "Orange you thirsty?" Friedman.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.
Working on something big?
We've got a whole library of business-building resources for you.
Subscribe to our other newsletters
Grow your business: Starter Story
Stay up-to-date on AI: Mindstream
How to use top AI tools: Futurepedia
Expert insights: Marketing Against the Grain
Sell better: The Science of Scaling