Do vanity plates bring serious business? | Mostly Growth

In this Thanksgiving-week Mostly Growth episode, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar ditch the serious finance talk for a looser, drinks-in-hand conversation with Ben Hillman, bouncing between CJ’s nostalgic emo-punk concert adventure, the curse of vanity license plates, and the epidemic of “Y-axis crimes” in founder charts. They riff on Spotify Wrapped copycats, YouTube becoming living-room TV, kids’ YouTube empires, and the game theory behind The Traitors and the Monty Hall problem before shifting into real-world pricing: newsletter perk economics, the pitfalls of hourly consulting, and why value-based packaging always wins. The episode stays playful but still sneaks in sharp insights on growth, psychology, and how weird the business world can be when you actually pay attention.

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LINKS:

Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

Brian Balfour: brianbalfour.com

Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/

Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/

Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/

https://x.com/parikpatelcfa/status/1992706757073023191?s=46

https://www.wired.com/story/null-license-plate-landed-one-hacker-ticket-hell/

https://x.com/im_roy_lee/status/1992692253257855261/photo/1

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/16/the-traitors-a-reality-tv-show-offers-a-useful-economics-lesson

https://www.cdccard.com/

https://nyulangone.org/news/one-third-americans-are-trying-avoid-gluten-it-villain-we-think-it-is

https://x.com/techsalesguy3/status/1991585201601016161?s=46

https://www.fletchpmm.com/

https://paintvine.co.nz/blogs/news/the-legend-of-picassos-napkin-sketch?srsltid=AfmBOooiyTYGfUdKJZLpblbQAcJzQLg011Os_xeyaCgSpEIXrtIuD6hH

https://cityfeedandsupply.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cj-gustafson-13140948_started-from-the-email-now-were-here-activity-7397607230600126465-iVPv/

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018731-buttermilk-brined-roast-chicken

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026610-porcini-ragu

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Is a weekly martini ARR? | with Dave Kellogg

https://youtu.be/Yb1lUQLJ6qw

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Special Message

00:00:35 Preview and Intro

00:01:41 Sponsors – Pulley & Metronome

00:04:01 Mostly Drinks Episode

00:05:14 Concert Stories & Pop-Punk Nostalgia

00:08:05 Concert Parenting & Full-Circle Moment

00:08:36 Business Blunders Begin

00:10:26 License Plate Fails & Accounting Humor

00:12:08 Y-Axis Crime Chart Review

00:14:21 Global Podcast “Success” & Listener Jokes

00:16:00 Spotify Wrapped: Retention vs. Acquisition

00:17:04 YouTube as the Future of Podcasts

00:17:56 Kids’ Shows, Blippi & Creator Economics

00:18:55 The Traitors Show Overview

00:20:30 Game Theory & Winning as a Traitor

00:22:46 Monty Hall Problem Setup

00:24:27 Game Show Logic & Gambler’s Fallacies

00:26:09 Pricing in the Real World

00:27:03 Community Discount Card Business Model

00:29:09 Newsletter Perks & Subscriber Value

00:30:34 Marketplace Discount Math

00:32:01 Negotiating Like a CFO

00:33:00 Gluten-Free Nights & Pricing Strategy

00:35:24 Outbound Pizza as a Go-to-Market Play

00:37:03 Outbound Pizza Tuesdays to Gluten-Free Tuesdays

00:37:37 Pricing Services: Value vs. Hourly

00:40:47 The Picasso Pricing Story

00:42:55 Harvard Business School Case Study & Kim K Photo

00:44:02 Thanksgiving Cooking: Roast Chicken & Porcini Ragu

00:44:56 Wrap & Credits

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