🟢 New Celebrity - Tiny Money

Presented by:

By Ted Williams

Hello Thursday. You all clearly loved my Uchi reservation scoop — the Plaza Midwood restaurant now has 0 prime time reservations remaining! It opens Tuesday.

As a big-time LinkedIn influencer, the Uchi team rolled out the early red carpet for me last night. I ate my way through the menu. Power rankings👇

$14 Gyutoro – 72-hour sous-vide wagyu served as nigiri
$23 Hama Chili – yellowtail sashimi with Thai chili
$21 Walu Walu – oak-grilled escolar with candied citrus

I’m going back on Tuesday night for a double date with my pediatrician friend. He’s got mediocre chatter, but his wife is cool. Anyways.

Melt in your mouth $14 Gyutoro at Uchi, $8 grilled oysters in the back

💼 Exec job: Chief Financial Officer at Lucid Bots. Yesterday, this AI robotics startup secured a $20M Series B. Big fan of 30-year-old CEO Andrew Ashur, a Davidson grad.

🏠 Zillow stalking: Briar Farm asks $4.5M. Timeless "Federal-style” architecture. Featured in Southern Living Magazine. Modern barn. Tasteful pool. Set on 6 acres in Fort Mill.

👨 Shout-out: Rich Moyer, owner of Hoppin', for throwing an 8-year anniversary party this Saturday. 50 free trucker hats. Scratch-offs with $250 gift card prizes. Last year's party did $39K with 2,337 guests.

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

S&P 500

6,592

-3.89%

Nasdaq

21,930

-5.62%

NEW CELEBRITY

Tomi flooded with 300 daily leads after WSJ calls him "Car dealer’s worst nightmare"

New Charlotte celeb Tomi Mikula, CEO of Delivrd

Badass: 33-year-old Tomi Mikula charges car buyers $1,000 to buy a car for them. He often livestreams his negotiations to 650K followers on TikTok and Instagram.

Tomi lives in South Charlotte. He enjoys golf, sushi, and works out of his Harry Potter-themed home office.

Making money: Tomi and his team of 5 negotiators were doing around $2.4M in annual revenue. That was before the WSJ profiled him — now he’s getting flooded with over 300 inbound leads each day 🤯

Assuming a 50% conversion rate, that’s an additional $150K in daily revenue.

Car buying: Tomi thinks it’s absurd. “You’re hiring a middleman to deal with the middleman to make the middleman more efficient.”

PRESENTED BY SPRINGDALE

English countryside-inspired home hits the market at $2.49M on Friday

444 Hunter Ln, new 4,654 square-foot custom home with 5 bedrooms

Coming soon: An English countryside-inspired home with a modern twist hits the market this Friday in Sherwood Forest.

Custom millwork and cabinetry, site-finished hardwoods, copper gutters, chef’s kitchen with scullery, butler’s pantry, and main-level primary suite.
Timeless character with everyday livability from Springdale Custom Builders.

Interested: Email listing agent Mel Sapia before it hits the market at mel(at)nestlewoodrealty.com

NEW VENTURE

Couple builds $250K “dream” baseball facility on Monroe Road

Whitlock family at their son’s recent baseball tournament

Opening soon: A 13,000-square-foot baseball training facility named Training Camp HQ opens within the next 90 days on Monroe Road.

Inside you'll find a flexible space with 6 batting cages, gym, turf field, and clubhouse.
Cages will have high-tech Trajekt pitching machines, used by MLB teams, throwing 40-90 mph.

Price check: Founding Memberships start at $199/month for one session per week.

Founders: Josh and Brittany Whitlock. The 38-year-old husband-and-wife team met at WVU where he played baseball and she was a sprinter. The Cubs then drafted Josh.

Idea: "This is a 15-year dream," Brittany told me. "I told Josh this was the year we finally put it in motion after watching our own sons (7 and 10) start to move through the baseball system and seeing the gaps in the training."

Josh has his MBA and works as a sourcing consultant at Principal Financial Group. Brittany runs a boutique ad agency named Big Mood.

Market: Over 6,000 Little League players live within 15 miles of the facility. Zooming out, US youth baseball is a $5B market growing at 10% YoY.

"We’re creating a true clubhouse feel with a study hall, a team room for film review, and opportunities for mentorship, including talks from former big leaguers."

TINY MONEY JOB BOARD

Who’s hiring in Charlotte? 5 Trending jobs

Director of Agentic Digital Operations at Red Ventures ($122K – $183K plus equity). Hybrid. Part of their growth team.
Director, Social Media at Atrium Health ($142K – $213K). Develop enterprise-wide social strategy. Manage budget.
Lead, Connectivity Partnerships at Scout Motors ($140K – $170K). Hybrid. Identify partnerships. Plaza Midwood HQ.
Paid Media Manager at West Shore Home ($85K – $95K). Own performance marketing. Work with VP Josh Leibner.
Marketing Manager at Black Wednesday ($60K – $70K). Lead strategy. Amazing founder and CEO Corri Smith.

Hiring? Post a job

Hunting? View all 129 open jobs on the Tiny Money Job Board💰

MONEY TALKS

33-year-old teacher making $56K builds rental portfolio generating $350K

$38 Outlaw Fajitas at Paco's Tacos, this teacher's No. 1 spot

Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate.

Job: “Teacher. I make $56,000. My wife is a fantastic stay-at-home mom. She was a nurse for 5 years beforehand.”

Salary journey: “When I became a teacher 8 years ago, my starting salary was $46,000 — so it’s gone up $10,000 in that stretch.”

Side hustle: “I make most of my money from our 4 rentals. $350K in gross revenue. We fixed up our first home in 2017, bought another house, and rented it out. HELOC for financing. Just purchased in Hilton Head.”

Work-life balance: “I try to spend as much time as possible with my kids. I struggle with it being countercultural and conflicting with my drive to achieve. I try to be present.”

Splurge: “Giving. We know we are called to give. It develops our faith when we see how He uses it for His good.”

Net worth: “$2.3M. 80% real estate equity and 20% brokerage. I have a high risk tolerance so I have at least 50% in individual stocks or 3x leveraged ETFs.”

Rich in Charlotte: “Queens Road West. Those houses are beautiful. We like Providence Plantation, as well.”

Full story: 33-year-old teacher uses 8 credit cards and $3M in mortgages

MONEY SNACKS

5 other financial headlines I’m snacking on

Brick home on coveted Maryland Ave asks $2.5M. New England style curb appeal. 6 bedrooms. $15K under Zestimate.
Seemingly Overzealous debuts super cute $10 mini ice cream cakes. Go with the vanilla cake topped with Oreos.
Heron House opening in charming Dilworth house in the next 75 days. Founding rates for the mahjong club are $99 per month.
Garden installation business for sale asking $150K. Revenue $112K. Cash flow $72K. Recurring consulting revenue.
Tasteful Figure 8 mansion with sweeping Intracoastal views hits the market at $6.5M. Fully renovated "from the studs."

HOUSEKEEPING

DOZO debuts $14-$19 bento box lunches

Go with the $19 Spicy Beef Yakiniku bento box

Chopsticks: DOZO, the new Japanese American restaurant in Dilworth, just debuted a selection of 8 bento boxes for lunch, ranging from $14 eggplant to $19 beef.

Spicy beef is the most popular, followed closely by the chicken thigh — but don’t sleep on the salmon sashimi.

Happy Thursday! Credit to me. I’m persevering through the pollen this afternoon to tee it up at MPCC where I’m predicting a score of 76 followed by fire pit Juicy Jays, men’s locker room hot tub session, and Tuna Nachos.