📉 Ozy Media’s implosion

PLUS: The pea protein craze. October 4, 2021 [The Hustle]( Damn, we screwed up… again. Yesterday’s fantastic Sunday story -- on the quickie-wedding capital of the world (Las Vegas) -- was written by the talented Zoë Bernard, not one of our staff writers. Help us make it up to Zoë by reading the [piece](. Today’s rundown: - Ozy Media’s collapse: The story of how a media startup with $70m+ in funding imploded over 5 days. - Pea prices: Soy milk. Almond milk. Now, pea milk? Yep. - Digits: Beehive fences, squid imports, toilet paper, and more wild numbers. Let’s do it. The Big Lead [Ozy Media gif]( A somewhat ironic clip from the featured video on Ozy Media’s YouTube page (Source: YouTube / Ozy Media) The Ozy Media collapse, explained A week ago, The New York Time’s Ben Smith [published]( a shocking story: The COO of Ozy Media impersonated a YouTube executive in an effort to secure a $40m investment from Goldman Sachs. Absurdly, the Ozy exec’s deception included the use of a voice modulator app. Goldman eventually reached out to YouTube and -- when the parties uncovered the potential securities fraud -- they contacted the FBI. Ozy framed the episode as a “mental health issue” but the blowback from the report was immediate. On Friday, Ozy Media shut down. How did it happen so fast? Axios’ Sara Fischer [says]( the company was built on “years of lies” pushed by its CEO Carlos Watson and COO Samir Rao. To close advertising deals and attract talent, Ozy faked audience numbers: - 95%+ of the traffic to Ozy’s flagship YouTube show (“The Carlos Watson Show”) was paid - A 20m+ email list was created by “dubious” marketing means, and reader requests to unsubscribe were ignored - Attendee numbers for its live event (Ozy Fest) were grossly inflated - The following on its social channels (i.e., Twitter, Instagram) were almost all paid for and showed very little engagement Ozy Media was founded in 2013 to great fanfare Helmed by Watson -- a Black American entrepreneur with Harvard, Stanford, MSNBC, and Goldman Sachs on his CV -- the media venture has raised [$70m+](. Its backers included heavyweights like Laurene Powell Jobs (Steve Jobs’ widow), Ron Conway (VC legend), and German publishing giant Axel Springer. Pitched as a destination for undercovered news stories, Ozy eventually became a vehicle to raise the profile of Watson, with millions in marketing dollars put behind his YouTube show. The ‘cult’ of Carlos... … is how a former employee explained the toxic work environment to [CNN](. In addition to fake traffic figures, management lied about lucrative TV deals with the likes of Amazon and A&E. The house of cards collapsed after the NYT story: - Ozy’s chairman stepped down - Katty Kay -- a star journalist who joined Ozy from the BBC -- resigned - Conway’s fund (SV Angel) gave back its shares in the company, which is almost unheard of in the VC world Watson himself pulled out of hosting duties for an Emmy’s awards program and left the board of NPR. Now, he will unwind the company, leaving its [75]( full-time employees in search of new jobs. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+Ozy+Media+collapse%2C+explained%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F10042021-Ozy-Media-collapse%3Futm_campaign%3DOzy%2BMedia%26utm_content%3D10042021-Ozy-Media-collapse%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS NEW! Introducing our new and improved [Snippets](. You can now get extra snippets on your favorite topics. Follow the button below to get started. (It takes less than 30 seconds!) The Pandora Papers: The Guardian is [publishing]( details of leaked offshore data (the largest dump ever) from the world’s most powerful people including 100+ billionaires and 30 world leaders. EV truck startup Rivian filed to go [public](. The startup is backed by Amazon and Ford, but its revenue is $0 with a net loss of $944m. Opening the floodgates: Apple [rolled out]( the ability to review its built-in apps in the App Store. Creator stimulus: Patreon [announced]( plans to invest in creators ahead of its potential IPO. Bezos’ space company Blue Origin has seen a string of high-profile resignations. One reason: some employees describe the work environment as “[toxic](.” Interactive pods: Spotify [launched]( new Anchor features that allow podcasters to run polls and Q&As. Update: NBCUniversal has [reached]( a deal with YouTube TV and its content will remain on the platform. You can read our previous coverage [here](. Join the 107,201 others who are now enjoying extra, personalized snippets. Click the button👇 to choose your favorite topics and see your list grow in tomorrow’s email. [Personalize Your Snippets]( Pea Prices [Ripple beverages]( Easy peasy (Source: Ripple Foods) Peas are a hot plant protein, but they may soon cost more Peas are a buzzy alternative protein, but one supplier says bad weather may cause a price hike ultimately shouldered by consumers. Roquette Freres is a French vegetable processing company that supplies, among other things, pea protein. It [says]( bad weather and low yields in Europe, combined with a drought in Canada, have: - Reduced the pea supply by 45% - Caused prices to increase 120% from last year Roquette thinks the “dramatic increase in prices will inevitably lead to costs being transferred to customers.” At the same time, the demand for plant-based and alternative proteins has increased. A recent study [suggests]( alternative proteins could account for 11% of the global protein market by 2035, compared to 2% in 2020. Milk is one of the most popular uses for pea protein Its market value was $122.9m globally in 2019, and it’s expected to reach $251.2m by 2027, [per]( Allied Market Research. Meanwhile, Ripple Foods, a frontrunner in the pea-based dairy industry, just raised $60m in Series E to expand, [per]( Bloomberg. What exactly is pea milk anyhow? You don’t get pea milk by mashing a bunch of peas. As journalist Larissa Zimberoff explains in her book, [Technically Food](, the peas are first shipped to a manufacturing plant -- often in China. There, the molecules are split into protein, fiber, and starch. So what pea milk is actually made from is a pea protein isolate powder. You’ll probably be really popular at parties if you share that factoid. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Peas+are+a+hot+plant+protein%2C+but+they+may+soon+cost+more%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F10042021-pea-protein%3Futm_campaign%3DOzy%2BMedia%26utm_content%3D10042021-pea-protein%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Free Resource One week until INBOUND 2021 INBOUND is the 3-day summit for every business builder. Did you grab [your free Starter Pass](? That’s your ticket to the entire diverse lineup of entrepreneurial icons like Oprah, Spike Lee, Hasan Minhaj, Cynt Marshall, and David Chang. If you want to reap the works, Powerhouse Passes cover the full event suite, live and on-demand forever: - HubSpot Podcast Network Live: Entrepreneurs on Fire, MarTech Podcast, The Salesman Podcast, and My First Million - Breakout strategy sessions: AMAs, case studies, and keynotes from leaders at LinkedIn, Google, AWS, Atlassian, Hopin, and more - Curated meetups: Networking opportunities to enable your growth INBOUND kicks off on Oct. 12. Hosted with orange hearts, by HubSpot. [Ticket to INBOUND →]( By The Numbers [Burlington]( Digits: Beehive fences, squid imports, toilet paper, and more. 1) The Burlington Coat Factory made a good decision renaming itself to Burlington Stores in 2009, given [just 5% of its $5.8B in 2020 revenue]( was from coats. 2) A new study of 50k monuments in the US found there are [22 statues of mermaids and just 2 of congresswomen](. Also interesting: Polish revolutionary war officer Casimir Pulaski bested Thomas Jefferson 51-36 in memorial count. 3) Across Africa and Asia, farmers have deployed[~10k beehive fences at a cost of $1.2k per acre]( to keep elephants from eating crops. It’s incredibly effective, with 61% of farmers saying it’s better than other measures (no duh). 4) Consider Squidward impressed. Or scared? The US [imported $314m of squid]( in 2019, with ~50% of it coming from China, much of it likely caught illegally. 5) One thing that unites Americans: our love of toilet paper. Globally, it’s a $26B industry, and the average American [uses ~140 rolls each year](. If only everyone started using the enormous [Forever Roll](, meant to last a month. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Digits%3A+Beehive+fences%2C+squid+imports%2C+toilet+paper%2C+and+more.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F10042021-digits%3Futm_campaign%3DOzy%2BMedia%26utm_content%3D10042021-digits%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( AROUND THE WEB 🛰️ On this day: In 1957, Soviet satellite Sputnik [launched]( from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, triggering the space race. 🚂 Wow: [Miniatur Wunderland]( in Hamburg, Germany, is the largest model railway in the world at 16k+ sq. ft. It contains 1k+ trains, 9k+ cars, and 52 planes. To see it in action without leaving home, check out this 20th anniversary [video](. 🎵 That’s cool: Many of Spotify’s songs get little to no play at all. [Forgotify]( finds those tracks for your listening exploration. 🎨 Art: California-based artist Esther Pearl Watson has [painted]( one scene every day of the pandemic, juxtaposing day-to-day activities against a changing world. 🤝 How to: Sure, there are a lot of articles about how to get along with your co-workers. But [these tips]( on building rapport come from a former CIA analyst. 🦕 That’s interesting: Scientists on the British Isle of Wight recently discovered the remains of a 30-foot-long dinosaur they’ve nicknamed “the [hell heron](.” Meme of the day [meme] Source: [Pinterest]( SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? Just refer 3 more friends to The Hustle and we’ll send you our curated set of interviews with founders from brands like Zola, AWAY, Vungle, Bonobos, and more. Here’s a message you can use to share with your friends: Hey! Do you read The Hustle? It’s the best daily business newsletter out there -- only takes 5 minutes to read and you’ll sound like the smartest person in the room. Sign up here, it’s free: [ P.S. You can always check your referral count [here](. [Share The Hustle →]( How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [Trung Phan](, [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Rob Litterst](, [Sara Cravatts](. Editing by: Brad “Ozy Ozy” Wolverton. [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Trends]( 25 FIRST ST. 2ND FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02141, UNITED STATES  +1 888 482 7768 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle). [The Hustle](