🟢 8-Figure Robot Startup

Hello Thursday. I’m picking up my 10 year old son from summer camp on Saturday morning. I miss him. He's only written us two letters 😂! WTF!

The past four weeks have given me a tiny glimpse of life after kids leave home. Weird. I'm getting old.

Typically, I lie in bed next to my son each night for 20 minutes before he goes to sleep. Setting a terrible example, I watch TikTok videos as he reads a book.

Kids always want the thing that's the hardest to give, time.

I started the Charlotte Agenda when my son was 2 months old. When I sold it, scaled it, and it sold again — it felt awesome. But not as good as dad stuff.

I used to say, "This business is my baby." I no longer believe that. Babies are much cooler than business. Anyways.

💼 Hot Job: Associate Director, Communications at Huntington Bank ($93K – $189K). Lead corporate comms. Work with Chief Communications Officer Tim Miller.

💰 Number: $1.25M. Amount that 24 Hours of Booty will raise this weekend. Expect 1,000 bike riders, walkers, and ruckers. Well done Spencer and Katherine!

👨 Shout-out: Jesse Cureton, former Novant exec and all-around good dude, for being named the new president of Queens University.

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

BULLISH

29-year-old CEO has robotics startup on pace for "8-figures" in revenue, up 250% YoY

While attending Davidson College, Andrew Ashur watched window washers get whipped around on a building and thought, “There's got to be a safer and more efficient way to do this.”

Revenue: Fast forward to today and Lucid Bots is on pace for its first 8-figure revenue year, growing 250% YoY.

Products: They’ve got 2 robots right now, with more in development.

What's next: "People think we’re just a cleaning drone company," Andrew told me. "But cleaning is only chapter one. We’re building a LEGO-like modular robot platform, already moving into painting and beyond."

Funding: Raised a total of $18.5M in total from fancy VCs.

Big opportunity: “Autonomy. Advancing from operator-assisted to fully autonomous robots will deepen our short customer payback period, accelerating adoption and recurring revenue growth."

PRESENTED BY AROUND THE CROWN 10K

Secure your spot for Around the Crown 10K Together with Truist, opening I-277 to thousands

Around the Crown 10K, North Carolina's largest running race, takes place Sunday, August 31. Secure your spot or sign up to volunteer!

Participate: Race registration costs $66. Use code "TinyMoney" for $10 off (valid for 24 hours). Let’s gooo!

GROWTH MODE

29-year-old author sells over 100,000 copies of self-published novel, earnings top $500K

"I was going through a breakup," Alissa told me. "I wanted to write a book about the messy truth of what actually happens."

Debut novel: Alissa self-published Call It What You Want on Amazon. It immediately took off, selling 1,000 copies in the first week and hitting No. 1 in New Adult Fiction.

Market size: Romance novels generate over $1.44B in annual sales.

What's next: Alissa will release her second novel How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle next summer.

TINY MONEY JOB BOARD

Who’s hiring in Charlotte? 5 Trending jobs

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Hunting? View all 77 open jobs on the Tiny Money Job Board 🚀

MONEY TALKS

42-year-old marketer doubles pay by going "client side" — now making $260K

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

Salary: “I'm a marketing exec at a healthcare company. I make $200K in salary, plus a 15-20% bonus, and $30K/year in future stock options.”

Children: “2 kids in middle school. We spend about $450 per month on extracurriculars like music class and sports, plus another $4,000 each on summer camps.”

Debt: “Between a debt consolidation loan, mortgage payment, car payments, and student loans — it totals $4,100/mo.”

Giving: “We budget to give away about 8-10% of our income. Giving to charities, GoFundMes, or neighbors when they're going through a tough time.”

Splurge: “We spend about $10-15K per year on vacations. Not bougie. Stuff like theme parks, beach trips, and cruises. While the girls are still at home, we're investing in this.”

Worst money decision: “Not contributing to our 401(k) for the first 7 years of work. If I had contributed just 5% my whole career, I'd be close to $1M. I could cry!”

Rich in Charlotte: “I feel like we're wealthy in most real-world circumstances, but a drive around SouthPark would make you think you need a $10M.”

Full story: Marketer making $260K shares investment breakdown and $50K side hustle

MONEY SNACKS

5 other financial headlines I’m snacking on

HOUSEKEEPING

Cheers to Brendan and Chris for opening McHale's Pub in NoDa tomorrow!

Opening: McHale’s Pub opens tomorrow in NoDa next to Haberdish. "We're all about providing a cozy, welcoming pub feeling," Kyle told me. "NoDa's living room!"

Pub economics: Target profit margins are 15-20%. "We want to be busy 7 days a week." And they’re hoping that busy weekends can generate $30-40K in top-line sales.

Programming note: No newsletter next week! I’m traveling to Vermont for a family reunion trip at a resort named Basin Harbor. Expecting very fresh maple syrup.

– Ted

MONEY POLL

Last week’s poll results: Do you plan on using a business coach or career coach over the next 12 months? (10,079 subscribers)