Are Raisinettes even candy?

Hey movie theaters, if we wanted fruit, we would’ve gone to Whole Foods. [The Hustle]( Mon, Mar 27 Hollywood’s givin’ the people what they want Or at least it’s trying. Studios are finally moving forward with plans to release movies for streaming at home less than 45 days after they premiere in theaters. And the rumor is it’ll be available by the end of the year for somewhere between $30-50. After [years of failed attempts]( to shorten the release window, the only questions left aren’t whether or not “Premium video-on-demand” will happen, it’s when and on whose terms. Why is this so hard to pull off? Premium VOD is a major upheaval of the Hollywood business model, which involves lots of moving pieces and more conflicting interests than you can shake a stick at. While the 6 of the 7 biggest Hollywood studios have publicly advocated for shortened release times, theater owners have been a hard sell. Most theaters won’t screen movies that are released sooner that the typical 90-day DVD release cycle for fear they’ll lose out on ticket sales. Thing is, that’s happening either way. And, with ticket sales on a [15-year decline]( it seems like they might finally be ready to come to a compromise. However, agreeing on which movies should be eligible, and how long to wait before releasing them, is tricky -- especially since antitrust laws prohibit studios from talking strategy. Kind of like playing Marco Polo with your ears plugged. Meanwhile, Netflix is making it look easy They’re producing shows for an [increasingly international audience]( and [pumping out Sandler movies]( like nobody’s business (people love ‘em, let’s face it). Oh, and they already release their original movies for streaming the same day they debut in theaters. But that’s the thing -- unlike Hollywood’s complicated model, the only people Netflix has to please are its viewers. And if big studios can’t give the people what they want, you can bet Netflix will. [Long as we can still get Sno Caps]( “Hey rock, meet bottom” Theranos, the Silicon Valley equivalent of a jock that peaked in high school and now sells used cars behind the mall, offered to [triple investors’ shares]( if they promise not to sue the company or the founder. The new shares will come out of founder Elizabeth Holmes’ personal stake in the company and will cause her to lose majority ownership of the company. Which, at this point, is kind of like owning half of the Titanic 5 minutes after hitting the iceberg. Oh, how the mighty have fallen Once valued at $9B, the blood-testing company had raised $686m, and Holmes enjoyed her 5 minutes as the world’s [youngest self-made]( female billionaire. Then, yadda yadda yadda, [she was banned]( from labs for 2 years, [Walgreens sued them]( for $140m for breach of contract, and Rupert Murdoch [sold his $125m stake]( in the company for… $1. You read that right. A single George (Washington). Turns out Rupe would rather take a $125m loss so he can save millions in taxes on other income. And, technically speaking, he can’t claim the loss unless he makes an exit -- hence the sale. [Better off buying a scratcher]( Mi casa, su startup Last year, Airbnb’s experimental design studio, Samara, [secretly explored]( more efficient ways of manufacturing small guest houses for people’s backyards. Which is pretty f*ckin’ smart. But apparently, the project’s been [put on hold](. And, while more companies than ever are dabbling in the construction of cheap, well-designed homes, so far there no clear winners, and a whole lot of losers. Who else has their hat in the ring? For one, Google Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs (classic) is casually talking to real estate developers about buying a factory in Brooklyn to build apartments. Then there are a slew of little guys trying to make it, like 3D-printing startup, Apis Cor, which recently [“printed” concrete walls for a small house]( in less than 24 hours, or [Kasita]( which assembles 352 ft2 homes (what is this, a home for ants??) in-factory for around $139k. And the construction industry is prime for #disruption It’s operated the same way for decades, using trucks to transport materials to housing sites. Wood, hammer, nails, etc. As a result, the number of houses built per hour hasn’t increased since 1945 -- unlike construction costs, which have grown 25% since 2014 in places like San Francisco. It’s also got a ton of red tape. Building codes, construction union specifications, and local politics vary from city-to-city, so obtaining rights to construct can be just as tricky as the methods themselves. Which means the construction startup graveyard keeps growing Zeta communities [shut down last year]( after raising $10m to construct cheap apartments in the Bay Area, while Blu Homes [closed its only factory]( after raising $160m due to rising costs and regulatory hurdles. Guess it’ll be a while ‘til we get that sick pool house we always wanted… [Or a pool]( And the fastest growing app in America is… Bitmoji? That’s correct -- at least according to [a new report]( from comScore comparing app’s percent change in unique monthly visitors over the past 2 years and obviously not including games. The custom emoji app increased their users over 5,000% since 2015, but there’s a big ol’ asterisk next to that number. As you may remember, [Snapchat bought]( their parent company, Bitstrips, for $100m back in March 2016. That acquisition helped them go from [1.2m to 15m downloads]( in a year. Turns out having one of the hottest social media apps pushing your product is a great way to get new users. Shocker. Second and third place weren’t even close The e-commerce marketplaces, [OfferUp]( and [letgo]( grew by 1,213% and 1,085%, respectively. Compare that to the mainstays like Venmo (677%), Uber (443%), and Tinder (166%), and it’s pretty clear who the new up-and-comers are in the app game, even if they still have a long way to go for total lifetime downloads. But the app gold rush might be coming to an end The big takeaway of comScore’s [2016 U.S. Mobile App Report]( The average smartphone user downloads zero, maybe 1 app a month. Which makes sense when you think about it -- when was the last time you added a totally new app to your regular rotation? As companies go more and more niche, the name of the game now is who can best improve “[real-world engagements]( like, say, hailing a cab, going on a date, and buying a lightly-used sectional. Or cartoon caricatures of yourself doing weird stuff. [That always works too]( monday morning review A trip down the email rabbit hole Today we’re going to talk about deliverability. It’s something we wrestle with on a daily basis and, considering you’re reading this email, it affects you too. Deliverability is the magic that happens between hitting the send button and that new message ding. In an ideal world, the email shows up on time, in pristine condition, between a message from dad and 20% off at Gap. But, if you’re like us and send hundreds of thousands of emails a day, sometimes the internet service providers (e.g., Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL) hold your sh*t hostage without telling you the ransom amount. It can get pretty frustrating... Mostly because there are certain rules everyone has to follow (like using only specific HTML code), but the rest is pretty much a black box. We’re doing our best to minimize the variables on our side -- like consolidating to dedicated IP addresses, cleaning up the code, and dotting our t’s, so please bear with us. In the meantime, we need your help If you ever have issues with receiving your daily dose of The Hustle, try one (or all) of these potential fixes: - Drag and drop the email from ‘Promotions’ or ‘Spam’ to your main inbox. It should ask you if you want to do this permanently. Say ‘Yup.” - Reply back to this email with your first name. We’ll respond back with a joke. Then you reply back with your rating of how good the joke was between 1 and 10 (10 being snorting milk from your nose). Apparently emailing back and forth 3 times is a helluva signal to Google that we’re friends. Plus, jokes. - Go back through and open a bunch of our past emails. It’ll help us pad our stats… I mean, show your email provider that you like our content. - Start screaming and throwing your hands in the air. The larger the scene you make, the better chance some knowledgeable IT professional will come to your rescue and give advice on firewalls and such. IT’s our only hope. Good luck and let us know if it works or not. And you’re welcome for that nerdy Star Wars pun. - John, SVP of Guessing WTF is Wrong This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by The secret to increased productivity... Is beautiful office art. That’s why [CanvasPop]( creates office art solutions for companies like Nike, Shopify, and VaynerMedia, which, if you didn’t know, are all crushing it. We have our mission, goals, values on the wall over here at Hustle HQ thanks to [CanvasPop]( seriously makes a big difference. How’s it work? [CanvasPop’s]( office art program pairs you with your own personal art consultant, who comes up with an inspiring theme and layouts for any office space. Then, they ship the product. Easy. And if you don’t love it? They’ll make it right, no questions asked. That simple. Dealtime CanvasPop is giving Hustle readers a code for a free 8”x10” canvas print or $49 off your order. Your code is HUSTLE6GH5. Head to [CanvasPop]( and get going… it only lasts for 72 hours. [SUBSCRIBE]( [JOBS]( [ADVERTISE]( [EVENTS]( Lindsey Quinn WRITER John Havel WRITER Isaiah Lilprair CURATOR OF DIONNE WARWICK STUDIES Sam "Art makes me feel like an adult" Parr OLD, DANGEROUS PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT You opted in by [signing up]( entering a [giveaway]( or through [divine intervention](. [1381 9TH AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, UNITED STATES]( • [415.506.7210](tel:+1-415-506-7210) Never wanna hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](.