It’s that time of year again!

We’ve got some exciting news, people… Hustle Con is here! Be sure to read today’s review at the bottom of this email and stay tuned for more in the next couple of days… [The Hustle]( Mon, Mar 13 The secret life of FB This February, Facebook celebrated its 13th birthday by inviting representatives of positively influential groups, like the Dallas Amputee Coalition, to their headquarters to talk about the “positive, sometimes life-changing things that quietly happen in Facebook groups.” No question these groups are powerful, but, as recent news proves, whether they’re used for good or evil is completely up to their creators. So, we’ve got a roundup of stories that expose the hidden underbelly of these groups, and the extent they’re used to bring people together -- for better, or for worse. The (semi) good: Arcade City In the vacuum left by Uber and Lyft [pulling out]( of Austin last year, numerous community-driven ridesharing startups like RideAustin and Fare have cropped up to fill the need. Among these was an informal Facebook page called “Arcade City,” launched by former Uber and Lyft drivers, where people could post their location and destination, and [drivers could bid to drive ‘em around](. The group, [now 41k members strong]( was a super smart way to leverage the 10k drivers the rideshare giants left jobless -- it’s also kind of illegal. And, following a string of undercover stings, complaints of shady drivers, and accusations of its founder, Christopher David [taking investor money under false pretenses]( it seems the community might not be the knight in shining armor Austonians (that’s a thing, right?) we’re hoping for. The bad: Marines United Actually, to call this group “bad” would be an understatement. Last week, an investigation by the US Department of Defense uncovered a secret Facebook group called Marines United, that [facilitated the sharing of nude photos]( of female service members, unbeknownst to them, between its 30k members. And it turns out, this group was just the tip of the iceberg. [Business Insider reports]( that nude photo sharing goes far beyond the group, to a site called AnonIB, which has a board dedicated to personnel across all branches of the military to request naked photos of specific female service members. So horrendous might be more appropriate. The trippy: The Psychedelic Society Forget Airbnb, Facebook is the new home for “guided trips.” And by that, we mean doing acid in a tent in the woods. Groups, which once existed mainly on anonymous forums like Reddit, have now migrated to the ‘book, to facilitate people seeking enlightenment through psychedelic drug experiences led by a designated “spirit guide.” [The Psychedelic Society]( for example, “advocates the careful use of psychedelics as a tool for awakening to the unity and interconnectedness of all things.” Man, to be a fly in that tent… [Get your chakras together]( “What keeps you up at night?” If you’re Sir Martin Sorrell, the real-life Don Draper, and CEO of WPP, the world’s largest advertising agency, the answer is Amazon. Why? Because the ad world is scrambling to adapt to yet another platform… And it has old school madmen like Sorrell waking up in a cold sweat. Shut the front door… Amazon’s doing advertising now? Yup. Last year of the $60 billion brands spent on digital advertising 65% went to Facebook and Google. But now, Bezos and company are stepping it up. After all, Amazon has [nearly]( 70m people coming to its site every day… And, unlike Google and Facebook, they’re coming to make a purchase -- which means they’re especially susceptible to ads and retargeting by retailers. “Oh, you bought Half Baked on Blu-Ray? Why not throw in this giant tub of cheese puffs?” So, similar to Amazon’s Web Services, which make up the bulk of Amazon’s profit, its ad business could very well grow to become a key revenue stream to support its e-commerce segment (last year it earned them a cool $1.3B, up 60% from 2015). But they’re not the only ones… eBay’s getting in the game too. In fact, in 2016 less than 20% of items sold on eBay in the fourth quarter were used and only 13% of total sales came from auctions. The rest of revenue come from new items and branded stores from companies like [Toys “R” Us](. To make this happen, eBay is starting an internal sales team to sell ads on the site. [eBay’s hiring, yall]( China’s gettin’ busy The results are in: China’s new two-child policy seems to be working. According to a statement by the National Health and Family Planning Commission [this weekend]( the country has recorded nearly 18.5m births since 2016, the largest annual number of newborns since 2000. Which is huge because, over the past four decades, it’s notorious one-child policy threw a ton of things out of whack. Yeah, wait, backup… That’s not a thing anymore? For those who missed it, [China lifted the 38-year-old policy]( banned families from having more than one child as of last year, to finally address its negative economic and societal impacts. Topping the list of issues is China’s rapidly aging population. By 2050, demographers predict China will have 349m people over the age of 65, and while the working-age population continues to shrink -- creating a serious labor shortage, and putting tons of pressure on its already strained pension system. Chinese officials also hope it will help even out [the country’s gender imbalance]( (In 2016, the country had 30m more men than women) caused by families preferring boys over girls in the face of the ban. But, is it really working? Sources [like Fortune]( are questioning the impact of the policy, pointing out that birth rates in major provinces like Jiangxi and Shaanxi have barely budged (Jiangxi rose just 0.2 births per 1k people from 2015). This could be because the mentality that children = happiness has changed, as many people -- especially women -- have used the policy to their advantage to focus on their careers. Unfortunately, all those ladder-climbers can’t use that excuse anymore when it comes to talking about kids with their significant others… In other words, there are a lot of many conversations going on right now. “Honey, of course I want more kids, but that dang policy -- Oh, that’s over now? Coooool cool cool cool…” ["Let’s just take a step back here…"]( monday morning review Hey folks, It’s Sam, CEO of The Hustle. I’ve got exciting news. This Wednesday, we’re announcing the first wave of speakers for Hustle Con. Oh, what’s Hustle Con, you ask? Great question. Hustle Con is our big ole’ annual conference where we find the world’s most successful startup founders, put them on a stage, and have them share their stories -- along with the tactics they used to start and grow their company (even though most of them can’t code). It’s all going down on June 23 in Oakland, California, about 5 miles from our [office]( in the Paramount Theater, a gorgeous historical music venue that Prince played in just last year (RIP). Hustle Con is our chance to celebrate entrepreneurship, learn from world class founders, and, most important, party with all you crazies out there who’ve helped make this community what it is (there’s nearly 300k of you now!). So, who are these mysterious speakers? They include: - The founder of the world’s fastest growing food startup (took him 5 years to get $400m+ in annual revenue) - An ecommerce startup that did $2b in gross revenue within 4 years of launching - An ex-consultant who raised $84m to make exercising easy - A YouTube star with over 6m subscribers who changed media with his daily vlog - And more...surprises, surprises. OK. So be ready on Wednesday at 9:00 am (or whatever time you typically get The Hustle). Like our [crowd equity round]( tickets will go fast, so be ready as I really want to see you there. Talk then, Sam This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by Once upon a time… Eric Bandholz was a financial advisor at a big bank, where everyone wore a suit and tie and shaved on the daily. He hated it. So he quit and started a career as a designer. He also grew out his beard. But when he went to meetings, people would always say something like, “Sup, Grizzly Adams?” They thought his beard meant he was super outdoorsy, in a biker gang, or homeless. But he wasn’t. He was just a guy with a beard. Determined to shift the public perception about men with beards, Eric started [Beardbrand](. Together with his two co-founders, they reached profitability through entirely bootstrapping, and even got on Shark Tank. Got a beard? Check out [Beardbrand’s]( class-leading facial hair products. Don’t have a beard? That’s cool, because [Beardbrand]( has plenty of products for regular hair and skin, too. Like this [Utility Balm]( for keeping your hair velvety soft and your skin moisturized and healthy. Or this [Sea Salt Spray]( to keep the locks lookin’ luscious. We love [Beardbrand](. We love you. So, it’s only natural the two of y’all meet. 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