Good Morning! Jerome Powell warned that holding rates high for too long could jeopardize economic growth. Hedge funds posted a mediocre H1 2024 and top CEOs aren’t giving to either Biden or Trump. Theater owners are worried about the Paramount-Skydance merger and the private equity bubble is about to deflate. Plus how to use the five-minute snowball rule to find cleaning motivation, and Whole Foods CEO’s least favorite type of worker.

Looking for niche private market opportunities led by a Wall Street veteran with skin in the game? Check out today’s sponsor, 10 East.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

NYC Social Clubs Hunger Games

Exclusive Ivy League clubs in NYC used to be harder to get into than the Surf Lodge on the Fourth of July. If you started your career in NYC, you probably remember how stuffy some clubs like the Princeton Club and Yale Club were... serving their Ivy League alumni and maintaining an exclusive facade.

But fast forward to 2024, and these clubs are bleeding money and practically begging new members to sign up. 

Some of the key pain points - membership fees, dress codes, mediocre food, etc. just aren't worth it to Gen-Z and Millennials anymore, who are turning to newer clubs like Soho House and Zero Bond that have more coworking spaces as well as amenities like rooftop pools.

The Princeton Club foreclosed on its property last year, and other clubs are trying to stay alive. Some are waiving the alumni rule - for example, anyone can join the Yale or Cornell Club now. Other clubs are finally begrudgingly waiving their traditional dress codes, and some are even offering speed dating.

Takeaway: Social clubs play a crucial role in helping young professionals connect in major cities like NYC. However, Ivy League clubs, with their strong emphasis on tradition, might be neglecting the business aspect and the necessity of attracting the next generation.

Many social clubs, such as Soho House and Zero Bond, had to increase their memberships to recover from Covid-related losses. Yet, Ivy League clubs, with their centuries-old traditions in NYC, might be facing an existential crisis—and they can’t just slap a Harvard sticker on that.

_{PRESENTED BY 10 EAST}

Where Sophisticated Investors Access Private Markets

10 East, led by Michael Leffell, allows qualified individuals to invest alongside private market veterans in vetted deals across private credit, real estate, niche venture/private equity, and other one-off investments that aren’t typically available through traditional channels.   

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Powell says high inflation is no longer only risk for U.S. economy (Axios)

• Pershing Square USA announces launch of IPO roadshow (SA)

• The unemployment rate is just 0.1% from causing a major headache for the Fed (YF)

• Hedge funds post mediocre first-half performance (CNBC)

• Most top CEOs aren’t giving to either Trump or Biden (YF)

• The private equity bubble is about to deflate (BB)

• Why McDonald’s killed salad from its menu (YF)

• Theater owners are worried about the Paramount-Skydance merger (CNBC)

• Venture capital is increasingly becoming a haves and have-nots industry (WSJ)

• The German government owns around $2B in bitcoin, it’s freaking out investors (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed another record close as the Fed calls out the risks of keeping rates high.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Jumia ($JIMA) +30% after Benchmark initiated coverage on the tech stock with a buy.

• (–) UiPath ($PATH) -7% after the company announced it is planning on reducing about 10% of its global workforce.

• (–) Helen of Troy ($HELE) -28% after the Hydro Flask maker posted an earnings miss.

Private Dealmaking

• HarmonyCares, an in-home care provider, raised $200 million

• ZwitterCo, a water treatment developer, raised $58.4 million

• KarmaCheck, an employee background check startup, raised $45 million

• Nala, a remittance and B2B payments startup, raised $40 million

• Form Health, an obesity care provider, raised $38 million

• Canoe Intelligence, a workflow automation software provider, raised $36 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Kiss Me In The Coral Lounge

Welcome to the Coral Lounge, a room in Helen Ellis’s New York City apartment painted such an exuberant shade that a Peeping Tom left a sticky note asking for the color.

It is in the Coral Lounge where all the parties happen: A game called “What’s in the box?” makes its uproarious debut, the Puzzle Posse pounces on a 500-piece jigsaw of a beheaded priest, and guests don blindfolds for a raucous bridal shower.

When the pandemic shuts down the city, the Coral Lounge becomes a place of refuge, where Helen and her husband binge-watch Joan Collins’s Dynasty, dote on two spoiled cats, and where Helen discovers that even twenty years into marriage, her husband still makes her heart pitter patter.

"Ellis is one of our greatest living humorists.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

US Energy Production Higher than US Energy Consumption

For the first time in more than 60 years, US energy production is now higher than US energy consumption

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Imperfection

Perfect is the enemy of done. Leonardo da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." If he couldn't achieve perfection, what chance do we mere mortals have?

Instead of chasing an impossible ideal, strive for excellence. Ship your work. Launch your idea.

Perfection is a mirage, but progress is real.

Consider the startup mantra of "minimum viable product." Companies like Airbnb and Uber started with imperfect versions of their services, but they launched and iterated.

Your imperfect action trumps perfect inaction every time.

Remember, done is better than perfect. Your work, your ideas, your growth - they're all works in progress.

Embrace the beauty of the unfinished.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• How hybrid work has changed meetings forever

• Use the five-minute snowball rule to find cleaning motivation

• How to let people fail so they can succeed later

• If you use these phrases, you’re mentally stronger than most

• Whole Foods CEO’s least favorite type of worker

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day