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By Ted Williams |
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Hello Thursday. Want to hear something crazy? My monthly health insurance premiums went from $2,215 last year to $2,935 this year, a 36% increase! Itās the same mediocre Blue Cross Blue Shield plan that I buy for my family of 5.
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Iām a hot take blogger, not a policy nerd, so I donāt really understand whatās happening.
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Itās horrifying for all sorts of reasons, but one of the unintended consequences I hate is that it keeps employees from becoming entrepreneurs. Anyways.
š¼Ā Hot Job:Ā Product Manager at Fastbreak AI. Equity package. This sports startup just raised a $40M Series A. CEO John Stewart previously sold MapAnything to Salesforce for $262M.
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š«Ā Number: 75. Student cohort in Elon's new full-time law school on the Queens campus in fall of 2027. Youāll graduate in 2.5 years instead of 3.
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š©Ā Shout-out: Dre Fox, Charlotteās go-to influencer with 154K followers, for securing the exclusive āFirst Lookā inside Mi CariƱo. The bougie Mexican restaurant opens January 30 in the South End.
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MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE
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S&P 500 |
6,927 |
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Nasdaq |
23,481 |
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A TIKTOK STAR IS BORN
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32-year-old banking VP goes viral rapping children's books to his 5-month-old son
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Austin Wade, a new dad, TikTok star, MBA grad, and bank VP
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How it started: Austin had 17 followers on TikTok when he posted a video rapping Llama Llama Red Pajama to his newborn ā it quickly blew up and hit 7.6M views š¤Æ
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Austin was a theater kid in middle school and admits to having shut down a karaoke bar or two.
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In less than 90 days, he's hit 107K TikTok followers and 80K Instagram followers.
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Now with 8 videos over 1M views, it's clear he's not a one-hit wonder!
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Coworker reaction: "It's absolutely a topic of office watercooler chit-chat," says Austin, who works at Wells Fargo. "It feels embarrassing for no good reason!"
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TikTok money: Austin receives between $0.05 – $0.20 per 1,000 qualified views as part of TikTok's Creator Rewards Program. So if a video hits 1M views, he earns about $125.
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"This truly is just a fun and silly hobby for my family," said Austin. "Part of my appeal is that it's wholesome content."
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But given the success, he is taking a few meetings with agent-types who have reached out. Dude is talented!
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Restaurant pick: "Taco Mama in Dilworth because it's affordable and they LOAD UP your tacos," explained Austin, whose rapping skills may soon make him Steak 48-rich.
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PRESENTED BY CABIN
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Cabin Consulting growing 5x YoY ā hiring top strategy and technology talent
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Cabinās cool South End office
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Growth: Cabin, a digital product consultancy, grew 5x YoY. Amazing team.
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āFor those looking to build things that matter, come join us in South End,ā CMO Brad Schmitt told me.
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Cabin blends human craftsmanship with AI to build digital experiences that move enterprise organizations forward.
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Join: Open positions include Client Executive, Senior Product Designer, Innovation Strategist, and Full-Stack Software Engineer. Join Cabin.
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SIDE HUSTLE DIARIES
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Fed up with DMV wait times, aspiring vibe coder uses AI tools to build alert system making $30K
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"With AI tools, I can now act as a developer, marketer, and copywriter"
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Idea: "My wife and I experienced insane DMV wait times," 34-year-old Matt Shapiro told me. "So out of frustration, I built a simple alert service that texts people when earlier appointments open up nearby."
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Matt named it DMV Appointment Finder and priced it at $19.99 per month.
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He posted it on a few Facebook groups and word quickly spread. In just 5 months, it's served 1,769 customers and hit $30K in revenue.
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"I've found the strongest traction with parents trying to book teen permit appointments."
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What's next: Matt just expanded to New York and will add another batch of states soon. His goal is $100K in revenue in 2026.
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Investment: Just $500. "I used no-code and AI tools, primarily ChatGPT for website copy, SEO, paid and social content, and Claude for both frontend and backend code."
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MONEY TALKS
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46-year-old quits $265K job due to "horrific" work-life balance
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$295 Bone-in Wagyu Tomahawk at Steak 48 ā her No. 1 spot
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Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate.
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Living situation: āWe own a home that we bought 10 years ago and refinanced in 2022. Our mortgage is 2.5%.ā
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Job: āI quit my job which paid $196K salary (plus 35% bonus and 25% equity). Work-life balance was horrific. I saw my children for less than 1 hour per day.ā
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Worst expense: āHealthcare. I'm Canadian, where healthcare is free (publicly funded). I make less here when you look at the costs of health insurance.ā
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Net worth: ā$1.1M. No financial advisor. We put money into the kids' college plans each month. About $600K of this is in my former employerās 401(k).
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Retirement: āOur goal is to hit $3M. Ideally we'd love to have a cashĀ flowingĀ side hustle, live near our kids, and travel 4x per year.ā
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Rich in Charlotte: ā$10M given the cost of housing. We're from Toronto and I'd say rich there isĀ $25M.ā
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Full story: 46-year-old turns to consulting, Etsy, Upwork, and reselling
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MONEY SNACKS
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5 other financial headlines Iām snacking on
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The Dawson's Creek house hit the market in Wilmington, NC for $3.25M. It's on 1.7 acres along Hewlett's Creek.
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Palmetto Bluff debuts new Anson Point golf course. Full golf membership initiation is $200K with annual dues run $22K.
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Emmy Lou's releases $30 "Girl Dinner" spread that includes pasta salad, veggies, meat, cheese, tiramisu, and half pour of wine.
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Exterior home services business for sale asking $170K. 29 years old. Revenue $575K. Income $53K. 4 FTEs. Owner retiring.
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Eggroll Company opens in Camp North End. Go with the $10 Chicken Bacon Ranch eggroll.
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HOUSEKEEPING
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Uchi anticipation hits fever pitch as our cityās No. 1 most anticipated 2026 grand opening
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Uchiās trendy West Hollywood location, adored by foodies
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Bullish:Ā Uchi plans to open within the next 120 days in Plaza Midwood. Itās the undisputed No. 1 most anticipated restaurant opening of 2026.
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Itāll be the award-winning sushi restaurantās 10th location.
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Expect reservations to book out for months at this 175-seat space.
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Signature dish is their $23 Hamachi Crudo.
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Sleeper pick: I canāt wait for DÅZO to open in the former Fern space in Dilworth. The local Japanese-American comfort food spot will likely open in the next 30 days.
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Happy Thursday! No newsletter next week š¢. Iām traveling to Vero Beach, FL to hang out with my mom and tee it up at Red Stick, Windsor, and Riomar. Weāre also playing in a pickleball tourney!
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– Ted
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MONEY POLL
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Do you consider Charlotte an affordable city?
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Last weekās poll results: Would you prefer a $240,000 in-office job or a $120,000 remote job? (12,369 subscribers)
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