Pass the Chips, Former Disney CEO Makes Meta Moves, CarDealership Guy

March 29, 2022
It’s a good (maybe great) day to make some trouble this fine Tuesday morning as we talk about moves to make the US more chip-friendly, the former Disney CEO who is betting big on metaverse swag (can you make us a flat-brim hat?), and the anonymous twitter account allegedly run by a dealership operator that is Trouble-with-a-capital-T.
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Pass the chips: US Senate passes and sends $52B bill to House to vastly increase the strength of US semiconductor chip production

  • In the early 2000s, US accounted for 40% of chip production, today it is only 12%
  • Subsidies, grants, and environmental provisions are included in the bill which could pass sometime in June
  • One of the most vocal opponents is Independent Senator Bernie Sanders who believes “"The financial gains made by these companies must be shared with the American people, not just wealthy shareholders,"

Former Disney CEO, Robert Iger, joins new metaverse creative company, Genies who allows creates tools for users to develop clothing, fashion items, and interactive experiences for avatars.

  • His first move since leaving Disney (2005-2020). “Mr. Iger said he was attracted to Genies because he believes the ability for anyone to easily create and sell virtual goods will change the entertainment industry and be a key component of the metaverse, a term used to describe developing virtual worlds where people are expected to work, learn and socialize”
  • ““Imagine, you know, letting someone buy a Mickey Mouse avatar and customizing it in a way that not only would we never allow it before, but it was kind of hard to do in the physical world,”
  • Genies recently raised 100M and employs 100 people

@cardealershipguy is tearing it up. Troublemaker to the bone. We’re not saying that the account is run by us, but we are saying that we’ve never been seen in the same place at the same time. Same logic goes for us being Batman.

SPEAKERS

Kyle Mountsier, Paul Daly, Isaac Donath

Paul Daly  00:21

Yo, what is up? It is Tuesday, March 29. No crisis can when it's a good day to make some trouble. We're talking about the metaverse, we're talking about CHIP, billion chip, we're talking about this Twitter guy. And we're talking about service experience. I want to talk about the people really want to call Tuesday.

Kyle Mountsier  00:39

You know, the service experience thing, I think on the podcast like eight times now,

Paul Daly  00:44

no, well, I'm gonna I'm gonna pull a Kyle mounts here, caught out right now. Here's the problem.

Kyle Mountsier  00:52

Here's the thing.

Paul Daly  00:54

Here's the problem. Is it still going on?

Kyle Mountsier  00:59

Oh, man.

Paul Daly  01:00

Well, look, okay, so I was a service writer. And so I understand what's happening. So but I've been really taught. There's a dichotomy in service experiences I have I have a 2018 navigator. And I have a 2020 Kia Telluride. And I will tell you that the Lincoln service experience makes me book service so much more, because I can just schedule it on the app. Right, and it actually transfers, kiya I literally, my screens don't work sometimes, like 20% of the time, I just still don't want to say, I still have it bookstores because I call the place. And I get put in a queue. And then I talked to someone who doesn't know about Kias at all and they're like, well, we'll service you. And they're putting me in a big block of time. And it's just like, it's just annoying. It's just annoying. Not to mention the Lincoln service has concierge so they will pick it up. And so I'm like, Just do it. I literally was like, when's the oil change? Do? They're like you're not due yet. I'm like, I'm doing like 1000 miles, like just do it now. Right? I'm like speeding up my service cycle because it's so easy.

Kyle Mountsier  01:58

Look, I went to I'm serious. If you came if you called me and said Your Do you want me to pick up your car today, tomorrow or the next day, I will be like, I don't care. I sit in this desk all day every day. So just the key I'm going to put the key in little lockbox, you guys figure it out, bring it back, make sure it's here by the time you need to

Paul Daly  02:16

leave. So I went home to pick up mine last night because I was like, I'll just bring the loaner back to you because it just worked out better that way. I get there. I needed a running board. lubed it wasn't and then I realized the tires, I got swapped over the summer tires, or my tires. I was like, Hey, these are my tires. Last year, like they were freaking expensive. Like 20 inch navigator tires. I was like I didn't factor this into the budget.

Kyle Mountsier  02:45

Right? Alright, so wait for those that because I live in the south. I just need everyone to know that that Southern born that lives in California. I didn't know this for years and years and years. But these people up north, they do this thing called Switch. They switch tires twice a year. They are tires and winter tires. It's nuts. They got storage facilities the whole night. It's a whole nother business model for all these northern dealers that some dealers couldn't even dream of.

Paul Daly  03:13

Yes. And if you're Yeah, you should be jealous because it's like, it's not twice the tires, though. Like people are getting twice the tires like not really because if you drive a car 50,000 miles before you let it go, right, you're still kind of the same level of tire there's more tired than usual. Did you know that in Canada, it is the law that you put snow tires on? You're getting? Yeah, we'll get Michael Cirillo on here to verify that. But it is verifiably if you're driving after a certain date with all seasons on you're getting a ticket. No way. Yes.

Kyle Mountsier  03:42

I mean, it makes sense, right? Yeah, they don't need a whole bunch of accidents up in here safe. All right. All

Paul Daly  03:47

right. Check out if you haven't checked out the Instagram and the Tick Tock and the Facebook feeds because we're posting a lot more to social media and LinkedIn actually, we have a great LinkedIn group search it asoto on LinkedIn. But people are starting to post pictures of the swag they're getting which is so much fun. You know the post we got some hats and some mugs and people we got we got the we got the troublemakers really stacking up in the mornings and starting to post all Gera looking good. Goes look nice cap. So let's go t two he's kind of going on. And that's a serious trouble making face I must say I've ever seen one. Also, hey, if you're on the email list a soda calm if you're not, we're just having so much fun producing this email. And we have an amazing group of sponsors and partners who are helping us make that possible for you helping us bring on some great people to help make the content better and richer. So if you're on there, show him some love we have a really great health care company today. Yes, a health care company making it cheaper and better to get dealer so check it out on the email today. And yeah, we got we got some fun news today know

Kyle Mountsier  04:57

what this is what I'm gonna say this I'm oppressed. This, this, I'm just gonna throw this out there. If you are on the email list, and you have the capacity to refer others to that, I highly recommend that in the next three days you do that

Paul Daly  05:14

there may be an email that you're gonna like just, I need you

Kyle Mountsier  05:17

to know that in the next three days, the quality of the referral that you will receive back in, in in Thanks from all of your friends. And street cred is like exponentially higher than it has been in the last two months since we started that program. So tell all the people is what I'm trying to tell.

Paul Daly  05:38

And once you get a couple referrals you do get free swag like stickers and this man I didn't I'm surprised I like this pin so much. This is an awesome thing. Yeah. Why? Because now I can just wear like a dark grey hoodie and I slap the pin on. And I feel like I'm I'm dressed up

Kyle Mountsier  05:53

y'all classed up

Paul Daly  05:55

ready for work on business clothes right now. It's my clothes. All right, let's talk about some news. A bill passed the Senate yesterday to move to the house to get voted on or probably worked out in the details but $52 billion of stimulus in order to increase chip production in the United States. So I didn't know these percentages automotive news story this morning. So in 2020, remember 2020 I do our producer Isaac, Isaac pop in here for a second? Can you? I don't know if he's going to or not. He's he better be paying attention. There is no other industry. This is Isaac was born.

Kyle Mountsier  06:34

Oh, no. This is dangerous. Born after I graduated high school before so are you 2000. Let's see. I'm gonna go 2000 After

Paul Daly  06:46

I graduated high school, well,

Kyle Mountsier  06:48

we know that. Sorry. 2000 303 

Isaac Donath  06:53

How old do you think I am? 

Kyle Mountsier  06:57

Like, don't call me old like that. Oh my god.

Isaac Donath  06:59

2000. Exactly. 2021.

Kyle Mountsier  07:02

Year 2000. Yeah. Do you remember? Oh, hold on. 2000. Do you remember this from Jimmy Fallon. It's the greatest greatest sketch. I haven't heard the word 2000 in a long time and just got thrown

Paul Daly  07:18

out there. But but that's. So in the year 2001, Isaac was born, the US production of chips accounted for 40% of the global supply for zero, this last year, this current year 12%. And guess what our reliance on it is exponentially higher. So the point of this bill is to incentivize companies to increase chip production, right? We have grants, and we have stimulus money. And you know, so the pastor the house, there is more of a procedural vote to get it to deliberations in Congress. But you know, you have people, it seems like a lot less people on the side that want to hold it up. And the people that do want to hold it up, have like qualms with it, because there's, you know, some environmental issues wrapped up in there. And you

Kyle Mountsier  08:00

know, that was wrapped. I mean, fits $2 billion, you got to wrap a few fun things in there, right? And

Paul Daly  08:07

this and this, and this, and this, and this and this and this. And maybe they'll miss it. Maybe they'll miss it when they're reading that 20,000 page document or whatever. And our friend, the independents, Senator from Vermont, Mr. Bernie Sanders says, he says, that way, I got to quote him, the financial gains made by these companies must be shared with the American people, not just wealthy shareholders. Right. So that's pretty good.

Kyle Mountsier  08:36

All you needed was some mittens.

Paul Daly  08:42

This is social media fun right now. But I gotta agree with them. Hey, capitalism is a great thing. Right? Well, obviously. But I really liked it when you know, when the US bailed out the automaker's and we're like, hey, when you come back, we're gonna make a little bit on this. There should be returned because that's capitalism. So I don't know if Bernie understands what he's doing right now. But actually, that's a very capitalistic state, but to me, absolutely. Is it's, there's profits, they should be distributed amongst the people who invested in the company. So yeah, so I don't know. I'm excited about chip production in Syracuse. They're building a new chip production facility out there probably building 20 of them near you, I guess.

Kyle Mountsier  09:23

Absolutely. Look, they're building so much stuff in Nashville. It's kind of ridiculous. I mean, Oracle is coming in here. So you know, they're gonna be producing something, right? They've got this massive land grab, and you know, they're big data company, but when you got data, you gotta have technology or hardware around it. So, yeah, I'm excited about the, I mean, the US should own more of the manufacturing, in my opinion, and it just it It allows us to be more nimble in times of duress, right. I mean, we talked about we're looking at that we had an article actually in the in the newsletter this morning about the oil dependency and actually how US oil provides a lot more a crop overseas then than it has in the past. And we're pressing even more into that. Right. So not just being an import country, but an export country. And And when we're talking about chips, chip production, you know, it's a timely, timely message.

Paul Daly  10:17

Yeah. And I think we have, I think we have a great opportunity in the US, the more independent we are like, this whole Russia Ukraine thing, a lot of people are saying, hey, like, the global economy is not going back to where we thought we were just on the verge of right. We thought we're on the verge of like, this whole global economy is obvious right now. That's not going to work. And so I do you think the responsibility by which the US typically goes be about manufacturing, and even oil exploration or all this stuff, like the oil has got to come from somewhere, and I'm pretty confident the way we're going to do it here in this country is probably a lot more responsible than where it's done in most other places. So I think it's a good thing. I think everybody can win. Hey, so did you ever read the book by camera what it's called now, the book by the Disney CEO, Robert Iger, what is it called? Strangely enough, hold on. It's sitting around here somewhere. I

Kyle Mountsier  11:07

had one read someone find it in his office.

Paul Daly  11:10

Here we go. What I own it, but I read, I actually read the first like two chapters, but either way, so Robert Iger, ran Disney from 2005 to 2020, did a lot of amazing things. He really kind of modernized the business, he brought it into the modern media production and distribution world with like streaming and all that stuff. And he has made his first move that he's made since leaving the company a couple of years ago, investing in and sitting on the board of a company called genies, who allows and creates tools to help people like make stuff like swag and a fit avatars in the Meta Verse. There it is the ride of a lifetime. There's a great story about when he first takes the position. And he goes to, you know, like, they take him into this, you know, hotel area, and he give him his wife a break. And the room is just like, full of like Disney stuffed animals. You know what I mean? And yeah, and, and he and his wife were like, Uh, okay, this is our life now. Right? And they're like, We didn't know what to do with all this stuff. So we just left it. Like, I have a hard enough time, like getting something home from a trade show. Oh, yeah. No, it's not possible. Yeah. That's why we give away gift cards these days. Yes, exactly. It's so um, yeah. So this company is 100% focused on, like, increasing or like enriching the metaverse experience, right? Like, you can make hats. You can make clothes, you can interact with other people. And he says, quote, imagine, you know, letting someone buy a Mickey Mouse avatar and then customizing it in a way that we would never allow it before. Right? Like Disney's got the lock on the IP. He said, also, it'd be kind of hard to do in the real world. You're not just Disney stuff. But any stuff like it's a world of personalization. And my question is like, can we make some asotu flat brooms as soon as possible?

Kyle Mountsier  12:54

Let's get on that. I was actually thinking about that this morning. I was like, man, we really need to do a swag line in the metaverse and I think I think it would pop I think it would be more than just automotive and it'd be really cool to see what, like how people are attached to the troublemaking theme for sure. Yeah, I think. I think actually, I've had this conversation with a couple people when when they see the like, the no crisis can win or the pushback shirt. Right. I'm all swagged up today, right?

Paul Daly  13:21

But hold on. Hold on. Liza says I need to get my referral gear ordering today. has got all the referrals in place right now. Is Lisa in first place because we were just bragging on on uvita first place to Patrick Abad last week. We have a couple people that are close by Liza took the cake. Order the referral gear, you're getting extra stuff. Anyway, there's something about being an investor. So I don't know if you're going to see that comment because we're a little delayed here. Okay, so I'm sorry, I digress. I just had acknowledge

Kyle Mountsier  13:50

that. Yeah, but I mean, I, you know, you just think about like the all the swag is, when I've talked to people and when they're like, What is that no Kreskin, when what does that push back? And I describe it. And they're like, Oh, we feel that way in our industry, too. Right. Yeah. I mean, we talked about yesterday how taxis and streaming and all this type of stuff. Every industry is dealing with this modernization of the industry and how to approach it, how to attack it, how to be energized by it. And it's a theme that I think businesses in general carry so I'm excited to see what we do with it.

Paul Daly  14:24

I am too Isaac for the picture of the Brian Kramer sent us this morning. I don't know if that's Brian Kramer's avatar. But but he got it wrong. If it is because Brian Kramer's muscles are way bigger than that, but that'd be awesome rockin and asotu hat right now. And I don't know if you've seen the back crane America industries this may or may not be somewhere in the metaverse that may or may not somehow be a part of cramers life. Okay, we get enough of the picture. It's too secret. It's too secret. We can't talk about CR America industries. We can't we just get Yeah, good luck. You have to realize this for people like us and people like the troublemakers and the investors that enjoy like, just exploring the space of life in business. There's always something going on that we don't know about.

Kyle Mountsier  15:14

I know that there's always you know what I I'm was watching a video from Gary Vee yesterday I sent this to you. And that someone asked him the question like, do you have too many irons in the fire? Is there too much going on? Are you paying attention to too much right? He's on like 18 boards has seven companies. He's doing NF T's in the metaverse is building brands with NF TS has a wine business as a side wine business, right? All of this type of stuff. And it's just because he's interested, I think that's the nature of troublemaking is you're just interested in finding out all of the cool ways to interact and engage with the world. And so whether it be businesses or speaking events, or opportunities to look at things in a new way, like we're just we're just interested, we're intrigued at the way the world operates. And that's just, that's just by nature, who we are. And I think a lot of the people in the asotu community are that same way. Without

Paul Daly  16:07

a doubt. I think there are just a lot of dealers and a lot of tech partners that are the same way. Right? Even though the auto retail auto dealer world is the space we play him. There are so many places to go from there. So many places because cars touch every part of life that we have here. Every I love Gary's opening line, I'm going to cut the expletives out. But he said I'm the most unfocused focused the expletive that you've ever met. So it looks on focus, but actually it's really focused in the highway is going in the same direction. We only have Yeah, we're already over time. So we do have one other thing that want to mention. So there is this guy on Twitter at car dealership guys linked up in the comments. And he's just tearing it up. It is a dealer operator, someone's been in the industry and he's just like sharing all the knowledge very polarizing amongst the dealer community. Some people like them, people hate them. You know, people are like, Is this a real guy? What's actually going on? And when he gave this tip, I knew he was legit. He said, This is the best way to get a car FOB, a replacement car FOB. Call your local dealership and have them refer their car FOB vendor to

Kyle Mountsier  17:16

you. Save 50%

Paul Daly  17:21

Right. Like I actually is in the dealership every day. He knows he knows this stuff. Yeah, he knows the secrets and coming from like that reconditioning vendor background. I was like, Alright, I see you. I see you. And so Oh, somebody thinks there's an architect. Yeah, there is right. And so this guy's tearing it up. Check them out a car dealership guy. I'm not saying that this account is run by us. I'm just saying that we've never been seen in the same place at the same time. There we go. Same Same logic apply for Batman. I'm not saying I'm just saying you've never seen he and I in the same place. Oh, but either way. Look, you know why I like a troublemaker is you're never gonna make it. Look, some of our investors are polarizing people. Not everybody.

Kyle Mountsier  18:08

Sometimes we're polarizing, but that's okay.

Paul Daly  18:11

Absolutely. And that's, that's kind of the element of the community of troublemakers, right? We make trouble together. We're not always going to get it right. We're not always going to agree but we are going to agree on one thing that when dealers band together, no crisis can win. So whatever you're doing today, go make some trouble care for other people. And let's have a little fun too.

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