‘Hi, We Haven’t Talked for a While!’
Artificial intelligence bots that flirt and spit out pick-up lines are taking over the most popular dating sites. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Good Morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
A recipe for restaurant productivity: three guys on the grill, three items on the menu, nine ingredients in the restaurant.
With the housing market stalled, more real estate agents turn to AI.
Would you pay $2 million to bring back the name of a disgraced business?
The undocumented owner of an acclaimed restaurant lobbies for changes to immigration law.
BUSINESS MODELS
Here’s how one restaurant owner created what he calls a cash machine: “By his late 20s, the biggest takeaway [Kevin] Rezvani had from his experience ‘working in every kind of thing in food’ was the industry’s widespread inability to reconcile the art of a kitchen, and the science of a restaurant, with the math of a business. Too many ventures, he says, are not profitable enough to justify all the work hours needed from managers and employees to stay afloat, much less grow. In other words, they fall short on productivity. ‘There’s a very fine line between doing OK, and doing well in this business,’ said Mr. Rezvani, now 36. ‘And if you’re doing OK, it’s not worth your time.’”
“In early 2021, he noticed a restaurant space for lease on East Seventh Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The landlord, desperate for tenants after the pandemic shutdowns, gave him and his new partner a discount. They had to scrounge to make the security deposit, but believed in their bet.”
“Featuring a minimalist menu, hole-in-the-wall square footage, and a limited set of ingredients and produce, 7th Street Burger opened that May and quickly took off. From 40 employees 16 months ago, it has grown into a chain with 330 employees across 13 locations and plans for a national expansion.”
“Some swankier, full-service restaurants in the city with long lists of overhead costs, a fluctuating work force and a set of rarely picked menu options are ‘making 200 bucks an hour’ in sales, Mr. Rezvani argues. But on a good day, he can do $2,000 an hour ‘with three guys on the grill, with three items on my menu, nine ingredients in my restaurant.’” READ MORE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI is taking over the most popular dating apps: “‘Previously I’d had a good relationship for two years, and I realized that I understand what I want, I understand what I don't want, and I understand how we can connect,’ Zhadan, a 23-year-old AI product manager who goes by Sasha, told Forbes from Moscow. ‘I wanted to find the one.’ To cut out some of the time and emotional strain of going on hundreds of dates and sifting through thousands of profiles on Tinder, he built an auto-swiper in 2022 to do some of the work. And when ChatGPT was unveiled shortly after, he started programming it to chat with his matches.”
“In December of 2022, Sasha’s GPT began chatting with a match who lived just outside Moscow, Karina Vyalshakaeva, and they met in-person for the first time in January. At the time, Sasha opted not to pursue the relationship. But a few months later, an improved version of his bot based on GPT-4 resurrected their Tinder chat. ‘Hi, we haven’t talked for a while,’ it wrote. ‘I hope you’re doing well. I was thinking about our conversations and decided to write. How are you?’”
“Karina, who is 22, did not know a bot had slid into her DMs. GPT complimented her photos, and then, thanks to a function Sasha set up for the bot to suggest, after 60 messages, that they move the discussion to Telegram (used there as ubiquitously as we use iMessage to text), they began talking more regularly off Tinder. Similarly, now on Telegram, the bot would ask for a date after 60 messages. And through an integration with Google, it knew Sasha’s schedule and could suggest a restaurant or bar for the rendezvous.”
“Karina had no idea she’d been algorithmically chosen and conversing with AI until more than six months later, in November, when she and Sasha were already living together and he broke the news.” READ MORE
In Los Angeles, desperate real estate agents are turning to AI: “In a hot market, sellers find an agent. In a cold market, agents have to find a seller. The situation is coming to a boil in many areas, such as Leimert Park, where residents have been barraged by agents asking whether they’re interested in putting their homes up for sale. Cold calling is time consuming — and stressful, considering the ire it draws from those on the receiving end. So some agents are handing that thankless task to machines. A handful of companies such as Slybroadcast and Salesmsg offer ‘ringless voicemail,’ a robocall-adjacent tool enabling agents to send pre-recorded messages straight to your voicemail box without your phone ever ringing. The messages are often meant to trick you into thinking you missed a call, saying things like, ‘Sorry I missed you! Give me a call back whenever you get a chance.’”
“Other companies such as VoiceSpin give agents access to auto-dialing software, which, like it sounds, automatically dials numbers from a list. VoiceSpin claims to use AI and machine learning and enables agents to drop voicemails straight into inboxes, record calls or even use local area codes so you’re more likely to pick up. In that case, you’d be talking to an agent, but sometimes you might find yourself unwittingly conversing with a robot.”
“The tech company Ylopo recently uploaded a video showcasing an AI assistant conversing with a potential home buyer planning a move to the North or South Carolina coast. The company said it’s ‘one of thousands of AI calls being made daily already for Ylopo clients.’ Cinc, a real estate lead-generation platform, offers agents an AI-powered digital assistant that purposefully misspells words and uses emojis to make interactions with potential leads appear more human.”
“The NAR itself offers an AI scriptwriter powered by ChatGPT that analyzes housing trends so that agents can appear more knowledgeable about the market. Agents can even choose the tone: professional, engaging or conversational.”
“In 2022, Realtors with 16 or more years of experience made a median gross income of $80,700, according to the NAR. But those with two years or less experience made just $9,600. According to a report from business networking platform Alignable, 31 percent of real estate firms struggled to pay rent for their office in January.” READ MORE
The CEO of OpenAI is again calling for more regulation: “The CEO of OpenAI said Tuesday the dangers that keep him awake at night regarding artificial intelligence are the ‘very subtle societal misalignments’ that could make the systems wreak havoc. Sam Altman, speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai via a video call, reiterated his call for a body like the International Atomic Energy Agency to be created to oversee AI, which is likely advancing faster than the world expects. ‘There’s some things in there that are easy to imagine where things really go wrong. And I’m not that interested in the killer robots walking on the street direction of things going wrong,’ Altman said. ‘I’m much more interested in the very subtle societal misalignments where we just have these systems out in society, and through no particular ill intention, things just go horribly wrong.’” READ MORE
MARKETING
Would you pay $2 million to use the name of a disgraced business? “Last year, troubled Vantage Travel abruptly went bankrupt amid punishing publicity that it failed to refund more than $100 million to customers who paid upfront for ocean and river cruises that never happened. Thousands of bitter consumers deluged the attorneys general offices in Massachusetts and other states with complaints against the decades-old Boston-based company. Vantage Travel was also pilloried on two newly created Facebook group pages as customers who lost as much as $50,000 vented their anger at the company and its founder and owner, Hank Lewis.”
“But now Vantage Explorations, a new company created out of the ashes of the bankrupt company, is embracing its Vantage Travel roots to sell tours around the world, while conspicuously ignoring the bankruptcy and the lost $100 million. Already, Vantage Explorations, owned by a company based in Australia, is sailing guests on polar expeditions of Antarctica and has new cruises scheduled to Latin America and Scotland in the spring and to the Mediterranean next year.”
“In one recent email sent to prospective customers (as well as this Globe reporter), Vantage Explorations extols the virtues of Vantage Travel, a company that indisputably stiffed almost 10,000 customers, including many seniors. The email, festooned with an array of color photos of alluring tourist destinations, begins, ‘For nearly 40 years, Vantage Travel has curated extraordinary experiences, leading over half a million travelers on unforgettable river and small ocean ship cruises, small-group land adventures, and safaris across all seven continents.’”
“The email makes only the most oblique reference, saying Vantage Travel’s ‘assets found a new home’ in 2023 with Pacific Travel Partners, which operates Vantage Explorations and is owned by Australia-based Aurora Expeditions. The company spent $2 million at a bankruptcy auction for what amounted to Vantage’s only asset: its extensive list of customers. It also got the right to use its name.” READ MORE
HUMAN RESOURCES
Here’s why some job candidates feel the search process is rigged against them: “Companies can gain a sense of the marketplace by posting phantom jobs. By the responses, they can determine how much money their competitors offer and whether or not the role is hot. If the company is looking to downsize or cut a few jobs, the phony roles can provide insight into how hard it would be to find a replacement and at what compensation level. Businesses also place phantom job ads to build a pipeline of candidates for the future, with no plan to hire currently.”
“In a 2021 Indeed survey, 77 percent of job applicants said they have been ghosted by a prospective employer. Some companies, lacking in transparency and ethical hiring practices, prioritize their own convenience over candidate communication. Not all companies foster a feedback culture, leading to discomfort or avoidance of giving constructive criticism. Moreover, providing feedback can open companies up to potential legal challenges, even if unintentional. Hiring managers might fear saying the wrong thing that could be misconstrued as discrimination or unfair practice.”
“There is heated debate over the practice of companies prioritizing cultural fit over qualifications when interviewing job candidates. Some business leaders and hiring managers say that cultural fit is an important ingredient in creating a cohesive, collaborative and productive workforce.”
“The counterargument is that cultural fit criteria can be subjective and susceptible to unconscious bias, favoring candidates similar to existing employees and limiting diversity. Employers must strike a balance between cultural fit and qualifications to ensure that the hiring process is fair, inclusive and results in the selection of the most qualified candidates.” READ MORE
Should a failed startup pay the severance it promised? “[Jimmy] Finkelstein could have closed The Messenger weeks earlier and used his remaining cash to pay out his 265 employees, many of whom had severance payments guaranteed in their contracts. Instead, his failed bid to save the site put those promises at risk — a choice that not only cost him his legacy but also abruptly left hundreds of people without work or health insurance two weeks ago. Pushed on how he is trying to make good on obligations to his former employees — some of whom have begun to apply for Medicaid and other assistance programs — Finkelstein suggested, ‘There are some things I might consider doing,’ but he offered no further details. ‘We are gathering all of our assets and we'll see what happens.’”
“Finkelstein declined to discuss how any remaining money would be prioritized over severance payments to various creditors and vendors. Asked why he didn't pay out employees' severance with his own cash, Finkelstein — a multimillionaire who made his fortune buying and selling media assets — said, ‘I put a lot of money into this site at the end to keep it going.’”
“The Messenger has already been sued in a class-action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York by former employees a day after the company shuttered, claiming Finkelstein and the firm violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires large employers to give advance notice of major layoffs.”
“The WARN Act does provide some exceptions for businesses actively seeking to raise capital. Finkelstein would not comment on the suit but said, ‘We are not concerned about that.’” READ MORE
POLICY
The owner of an acclaimed Philadelphia restaurant came to this country undocumented: “It’s been 5,478 days since South Philly Barbacoa owner Cristina Martínez last hugged three of her children. Despite receiving national recognition for her cooking, no award has made it possible for the Mexican native, who came to the United States undocumented, to reunite with her family on the other side of the border without losing everything she has worked for in Philadelphia, the city she now calls home. That’s why, on June 29, Martínez plans to hold a cross-border lunch at Friendship Park — located on the United States-Mexico border between the Tijuana and San Diego regions, and one of the few places in the world where occupants of the two countries can speak face-to-face.”
“The importance of Friendship Park is personal to Martínez, who came to the United States undocumented in 2009 looking for work to fund her daughter’s college tuition. She was previously caught by U.S. Border Patrol and fingerprinted. This ‘unlawful presence’ on her record makes her ineligible for a green card — and unable to visit her children in Mexico without leaving her acclaimed restaurant and life in Philadelphia behind.”
“‘In the kitchens, gardens, and harvests of this country, many immigrants, including myself, work tirelessly, in most cases in precarious working conditions and despite our love for this country, we have been deprived of embracing our loved ones,’ Martínez said.”
“She hopes to move closer to collecting 50,000 digital signatures on a petition calling to have the space in Friendship Park for families to share time together, and in support of immigration legislation that could provide a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants, like herself. Martínez’s wish is to eventually present her petition to Congress.” READ MORE
THE 21 HATS PODCAST
‘I Had to Fire the Guy:’ This week, Paul Downs, Jay Goltz, and Sarah Segal talk about sexual harassment and where you draw the line with employees. Is it sexual harassment for one employee to ask another for a date? Is it sexual harassment to ask twice? Does it make sense to have a policy of zero tolerance? Or is it better to leave room for discretion and judgment? The conversation was sparked by a recent situation Jay experienced with an employee who had been with the company for almost three decades, having started at the age of 17. “It was a very sad thing,” Jay tells us.
Plus: Sarah Segal asks whether it’s better to build her business on a bunch of small clients or a smaller number of large clients. And is being CEO a health risk? We begin the episode by talking about an eye-catching story the Wall Street Journal recently published noting that an increasing number of CEOs have been dying on the job, presumably because of the heightened levels of stress.
You can subscribe to the 21 Hats Podcast wherever you get podcasts.
Thanks for reading, everyone. — Loren