PLUS: Jersey ads, death businesses boom, and high-tech chopsticks.
High school referees vs. nasty parents is a rivalry as old as time, and data shows that refs have had enough. Between 2018 and 2021, ~50k high school referees quit, citing verbal abuse from parents as the top reason why.
In today's email:
Traffic lights: They're getting smarter.
Chart: Jersey ads are coming for American sports.
Digits: "Stranger Things," cremation, and saltier salt.
Around the web: The history of world's fairs, website accessibility tips, an unusual glossary, and more cool internet finds.
🎧 On the go? Listen to today's 10-minute podcast to hear Jacob discuss how the business of death is seeing its biggest shift in centuries, plus riffs on the future of traffic, cringeworthy Bezos videos, and more.
The big idea
The future of traffic lights
Traffic lights were 1st used in 19th-century England, but the gaslit bulbs were hazardous and prone to explosion.
In 1914, Cleveland installed the 1st electric traffic light. The classic 3-colored lights emerged in Detroit in 1920.
Today's innovations? Using AI to make our traffic lights smarter.
How it works
LYT (pronounced "light") is an intelligent connected traffic tech provider. Basically, its software uses data and machine learning to manipulate traffic signals and improve the flow of traffic.
Cities often have traffic sensors, while emergency vehicles, public buses, trains, and even our phones are all equipped with GPS. This forms aggregate data about what traffic looks like at any given moment.
LYT gathers all available data in a central cloud-based system, which "allows us to take that information and turn it into a single story," CEO and founder Tim Menard explained to The Hustle.
That story is like a real-time, bird's-eye view of the road
But the AI also learns from past traffic patterns. For example, say there's a city bus that's off schedule.
LYT's AI would take:
Historical information (e.g., how long the bus typically waits at a stop
Real-time data (i.e., where the bus actually is)
LYT then sets up a "green wave," in which the bus hits green lights as it needs them.
"Then people who are taking the bus are… less stressed because those buses feel like trains, where they only stop at each bus stop," Menard said.
A pilot program involving 17 intersections on a San Jose bus route shortened travel times by 20%.
It works on emergency vehicles, too
In Fremont, California, LYT is being used to improve response time.
Principal transportation engineer Eric Hu says that because AI can respond to approaching emergency vehicles at greater distances, it allows "crossing motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians to clear the intersections ahead of time," improving safety.
Other benefits include:
Less pollution from stop-and-go traffic (and increased efficiency in EVs)
Less overall congestion and reduced wait times for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians
And less stress — especially if you're not sitting in your car trapped in traffic.
BTW: For more, check out this video on smart lights in the Netherlands.
SNIPPETS
Lulu+: Lululemon announced it's launching a $39/mo. membership that includes access to live events, fitness classes, and early access to new products.
Level up: Levels, a startup that pairs software with continuous glucose monitors to help users improve metabolic health, raised$38m in a Series A round. The Hustle previously spoke with Levels co-founder Josh Clemente here.
Stripelaunched a feature that lets businesses pay users in crypto. The 1st company to utilize the function is Twitter, which will allow creators to get paid in crypto for Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows features.
Starlinked: SpaceX signed a deal with JSX, a semi-private jet service, to equip 100 aircrafts with its Starlink WiFi terminals. It's the 1st such deal for Starlink.
Amazonacquired GlowRoad, an Indian startup that helps a network of 6m+ resellers sell products over Facebook and WhatsApp. The acquisition will help Amazon push into social commerce in the region.
Business opportunity: Alabaster is a startup that turns Bible scriptures into photo-heavy, Instagram-ready books. See how other books can use their own modern makeovers on the Hustle blog.
Home improvement retailer Tractor Supply is seeing an increase in sales as Americans move from urban to rural areas, fix up their homes, and adopt pets. #ecommerce-retail
#ecommerce-retail
A community of fully electric, net-zero homes in Maryland uses solar power and passive heating/cooling. It's predicted to save tenants ~$1.5k a year in utilities. #clean-energy
#clean-energy
Bot buy: Intrinsic, Alphabet's robotics arm, acquired Vicarious, a Bay Area AI/robotic intelligence firm specializing in automating warehouse and logistics tasks. #emerging-tech
#emerging-tech
Pixel time: Google filed a trademark for the Pixel Watch, its smartwatch answer to the Pixel smartphones. Details may be revealed at Google I/O in May. #big-tech
#big-tech
MFM: Six profitable business ideas to start in 2022. #mfm
US sports take a page out of Europe's business playbook
Jersey ads rake in massive dollars for European soccer teams. Manchester United alone pulls in $185m per year.
Unsurprisingly, American leagues want in on the action.
Per Axios Sports, the era of jersey sponsors is upon us — ¾ of the Big Four sports leagues are either already offering jersey ads or planning to start in the next year, with big-time revenue implications.
NBA jerseys have had sponsor patches since 2017, pulling in an estimated $225m this year
NHL helmets already feature ads, and the addition of jersey ads next season is projected to generate $160m-$320m
MLB jerseys will begin offering patches in 2023, and expect to bring in $240m-$300m annually
The jersey-as-billboard model is already boosting valuations, with the value of MLB teams up 5% YoY.
With that kind of capital at stake, it's only a matter of time before American teams follow Man U's lead and offer up the rest of their jersey real estate.
Free Resource
Why you should drop a business podcast
Over 100m Americans listen to podcasts every week.
Whether on-the-go or working remote, podcasts have become a daily fixture to help us learn, laugh, and pass the time. If you've ever thought about reaching your audience on-air…
… you're only fashionably late. And you've delayed long enough that there are now comprehensive resources to help you prep for lasting success. Procrastination as a positive.
More like "Expensive Things," amirite? (Ricardo Ceppi / Stringer)
Digits: 'Stranger Things,' cremation, and saltier salt
1) The 4th season of Netflix's "Stranger Things" has a per-episode cost of $30m. Hopefully they can make up for that with a lower-budget, high-performing show like "Is it Cake?," where people guess if something is cake or not.
2) Six decades ago, fewer than 5% of Americans were cremated. Around 20 years ago, the number was 27%. In 2020, it hit 56%. By 2040, it's projected to be ~80%. For cemeteries, that means business models and physical properties could look very different.
3) Japanese company Kirin said it developed a pair of high-tech chopsticks that employ electrical stimulation to make food taste 50% saltier. This reminds us of DouxMatok, an Israeli company that raised $30m to develop a sweeter sugar and saltier salt.
4) A new analysis of 22 major US firms found that, over the pandemic, their shareholder wealth grew by $1.5T — 57x the amount of additional worker compensation distributed among their 7m+ employees, which grew less than 2%.
5) By 2025, legal marijuana sales are pegged to hit $45.9B. Edibles are a big part of that growth, though some worry their packaging could confuse children, and candy companies are annoyed about copycats.
AROUND THE WEB
🎳 On this day: In 1947, President Harry S. Truman inaugurated a 2-lane bowling alley in the White House's West Wing. In 1950, a White House Bowling League formed with teams of groundskeepers, Secret Service agents, and other staff.
🎡 That's interesting: World's fairs used to celebrate human achievement and potential. So, why don't we have them anymore? Smithsonianexplains.
🤣 Haha:Words for That is a place where you can suggest and vote on terms for specific scenarios. For example, "dust horizon" for the line of dust you can never quite sweep into the dust pan.
😊 Useful: This site offers simple ways to make your website more accessible to users.
