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Well, well, well…What the actual F-…. just happened??? (errr, is happening?)

Not even the Oracle from The Matrix could have seen this coming. As a business, or an investor, you can prepare for a lot of eventualities, but rate hikes designed to stem inflation wiping out entire banks is not one anyone could have prepared for really.

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How about a big hand for Joseph Gentile! Chief Administration Officer at SVB. Whether he can be to blame or not, seems curious that his resume also includes a high level decision maker position at another massive bank that also collapsed in cataclysmic proportions. That's right, he was CFO of Lehman Brothers right before the sub-prime mortgage fiasco toppled that Jenga tower. Coincidence? Or, where there’s stink there’s poop? Whichever the case, he certainly seems to possess a particular skill set, and many feel this was very much a leadership issue.

Where does this leave us? The speculation over last weekend was another big bank would swoop in and buy it, but none wanted to run toward the fire. Opting instead to put their communications and marketing departments on alert.

Is this a systemic banking issue? Doesn’t appear to be. Was it a bailout? No, not really. Was it the best solution? Possibly not, but it was the quickest way to suture the wound before the patient bled out on the table. Time will tell.

• Here's a nice little explainer video from WSJ if you want a quick recap
• Read why Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO, says more could follow​

As the fallout continues to dominate your news feed, I know it seems hard to believe that other things are actually happening in the world - here are some things you may have missed…

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News, Views & Interesting Stuff

• Ryan Reynolds might just be the world's best marketer! Deadpool just sold Mint Mobile to T-Mobile for 1.35 Billion, yes, BILLION with a B!

Ryan Reynolds @VancityReynolds I only want the best for Mint Mobile customers. Think I’ve found it. pic.twitter.com/nSNmGKLmN2 March 15th 2023 374 Retweets 5,311 Likes

• Should we worry when the Swiss get involved? Credit Suisse is making headlines again for all the wrong reasons. All those old memes from last year are coming up again, you know the one with the flag with a minus sign?​
• Pssshhhht! Codename? P92 Mission? Destroy Twitter! It seems Meta smells blood in the Twitterverse and is planning to launch a similar text-based app via its Instagram platform.
• Stonk Update: AMC has approval to sell more shares! and a 10 for 1 reverse stock split.
• Seemingly at the speed of sound, ChatGPT-4 is here, and it's wicked smart! While the report states 'it “hallucinates” facts and makes reasoning errors', it outperformed GPT-3.5 in almost every test category, some quite significantly, like the Uniform Bar Exam in which GPT-4 scored in the 90th percentile compared to a paltry 10th percentile from GPT-3.5. Read the report here.

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Mckay Wrigley @mckaywrigley Greg Brockman (@gdb) of OpenAI just demoed GPT-4 creating a working website from an image of a sketch from his notebook. It’s the coolest thing I’ve *ever* seen in tech. If you extrapolate from that demo, the possibilities are endless. A glimpse into the future of computing. twitter.com/i/web/status/1… pic.twitter.com/1QB6wbQkld March 14th 2023 1,076 Retweets 6,266 Likes

• And if that wasn't cool enough, you can now have ChatGPT on your wrist with a smart watch version.
• Buuuut wait. Don't count Google out! Microsoft and Google are like Mercedes and Red Bull competing for Ai supremacy. Google may have just leaped ahead with the announcement of an Ai addition to Workspace.

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🏠 Meanwhile in Real Estate

• Gandhi said “To lose patience is to lose the battle.” In the age of lifestyle investing and wanting to build wealth, but also experience it more immediately, cap rate decompression can sink an entire portfolio and squash dreams, patience grasshopper.
• Could the dumpster fire in the banking world lead to lower mortgage rates? Buyers should plan for rate volatility and think long term.
• According to Zillow, experts think 2024 home prices will begin to rise again.

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Members Only👇

Not a member? Fix that and join the waitlist here.​

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Great chats and threads from the Discord you may have missed…

• Dana started an interesting conversation about boosting testosterone levels, the results and effects, and how to do it without any therapies.
• Travis posted an older but timely article about deposit insurance and how it works.
• Richard started a conversation in the Crypto channel on USDC in the wake of SVB collapse and sparked a decent thread where many of our Crypto experts weighed in.

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In the forum...

• Elena posted a 13 year old content website for sale in Member Dealflow ​
• The latest digital acquisition deals posted in the Marketplace​
• ​New investment opportunity in a successful gelato brand. Members can see the deck in the Forum
• Some of our members have added their favorite subscriptions to Taylor's post from last week.

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Disclaimer: Not financial, investing or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly for information, entertainment and education purposes. Nothing in here is investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your professional advisors. Do your own research.

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