Good Morning and Happy Friday! Reddit crushed its IPO, its stock surged 48% and Sam Altman’s stake is now worth over $600 million. The DOJ is taking on Apple, accusing the tech company of operating an illegal monopoly over smartphones. Barclays will cut hundreds of investment bankers, and private equity is cautiously stepping in to help troubled banks. Plus the top 10 cities where a salary of $100k goes the furthest, and 3 strategies for making better, more informed decisions.

If you are interested in getting in front of a smart, young audience of business leaders, bankers, investment professionals, policy influencers of over 600,000 people, then fill out this form, we’ll be in touch.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

HP Offering Printing Subscriptions

If you’re a 20s or 30s-something working in the corporate world, chances are you don’t own a printer. After all, you can probably read anything you need from the comfort of your phone. If you’re anything like us and really need to print something - you can always just use the one at your office and pretend it’s not for personal use.

But HP is one of the world’s largest technology firms, and they want to address an untapped market - the millions of millennials and Gen-Zers who aren’t buying printers. And for $6.99/month, they're launching a subscription model where you get a printer and ink sent to your house and a 20-page-per-month allowance.

If you’re a CEO trying to reach consumers, chances are a consultant has whispered subscriptions in your ear. Investors love the steady, predictable revenue - and they’ve become the dominant way that Americans are buying online products. A subscription model has done wonders for Amazon with Prime, as well as Netflix and Adobe. 

But, for whatever reason, consumers still see hardware and tech as an upfront purchase. HP is betting that, with a subscription model, the company can reduce the barrier to entry for purchases you otherwise wouldn’t buy like a printer. 

Some of the pain points? A lot of young people don’t see the need for a printer as our world becomes more digital, and replacing ink is annoying and too expensive (with the subscription, HP would send you ink on auto-ship).

Takeaway: The annoying thing about a printer is that you don’t realize you need one until you actually do. And, at that point, it’s probably an emergency - like scrambling to print something for a vacation or apartment lease. But it’s an interesting bet. HP knows they don’t necessarily make the most popular products, and this might be a Hail Mary to reverse years of declining printer sales.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Reddit surges as much as 70% in NYSE debut (CNBC)

• DOJ takes on Apple in landmark antitrust suit (YF)

• Barclays preparing to cut hundreds of job cuts in investment banking (BB)

• Private equity cautiously steps in to back troubled banks (WSJ)

• The top 10 U.S. cities where a $100,000 salary goes the furthest (CNBC)

• Intel prepares for $100 billion spending spree across four US states (Reuters)

• Insiders are split on the plan to return ESPN to dominance (CNBC)

• Shein to market its unique supply-chain technology to global brands (WSJ)

• The US economy is nowhere near a recession, Goldman Sachs says (CNN)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed at fresh highs as Reddit sparks IPO enthusiasm.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Sunnova ($NOVA) +19% because Goldman Sachs maintained its buy rating.

• (+) Micron Technology ($MU) +14% after the semiconductor company reported a strong AI-driven earnings beat.

• (–) Chewy Inc. ($CHWY) -10% because the pet food company issued disappointing guidance.

Private Dealmaking

• H.I.G. Capital bought the professional services outsourcing unit of Alight for $1.2 billion

• Wonder, Marc Lore’s food delivery startup, raised $700 million

• Mirador Therapeutics, a precision medicines developer, raised $400 million

• Radia, a developer of the world’s largest airplane, raised $300 million 

• Hippocratic AI, an LLM developer for health care, raised $53 million

• Carlsmed, a developer of personal spine surgery tech, raised $52.5 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

David And Goliath

Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won.

Or should he have?

In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.

Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms—all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.

In the tradition of Gladwell's previous bestsellers—The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw—David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.

“Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

DeFi Total Value Broke $100 billion Again

Total value locked in decentralized finance Oct 1, 2023 to Mar 20, 2024

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Unhealthy Habits

Changing unhealthy habits goes beyond sheer willpower; it hinges on understanding the routines deeply embedded in our daily lives. Research indicates that while many of us attribute actions, such as drinking morning coffee, to a need for alertness, habits are just as influential, albeit often overlooked.

These habits are not just about the actions themselves but are formed and triggered by specific environmental cues, making them resistant to change. 

The automatic nature of habits means they can be hard to break, as they operate largely outside our conscious control. Effective change, therefore, involves manipulating the environmental cues that trigger these habitual actions or introducing friction to make undesirable habits harder to perform.

Recognizing the role of habits—rather than relying on willpower alone—opens up new avenues for making lasting changes in our lives, from improving health and wellness to addressing larger societal challenges.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• The case for being less serious

• Mark Cuban looks for 2 qualities in employees

• 3 strategies for making better, more informed decisions

• Consumer brands and essential inputs

• How to develop a strong sense of self

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day