📱 Tooth fairy 2.0

Plus: Some very choiceful consumers, a deep dive, and more.  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

You're just 3 referrals away from earning a Hustle Essentials kit. Check out all of our prizes here. Share your link: https://thehustle.co/join?ref=7598767985 Share The Hustle: https://thehustle.co/join?ref=7598767985 Check your referral progress & prizes here 👋  Good morning. Here's some drama that'll make yours feel like small potatoes: After Hasbro announced plans to move its HQ from Rhode Island to Boston, two state lawmakers are pushing to remove Mr. Potato Head from RI license plates. The $40 specialty plate has been around since 2002, with half the proceeds going toward the Rhode Island Community Food Bank — nearly $60k so far — but legislators say it's time to stop advertising a company that's leaving town. STARTING UP One startup sniffed out a smarter solution to quality control  ❌  The problem: Smell-based quality control is used across manufacturing sectors, but many companies still rely on humans, who have imperfect noses which lead to inconsistent results. 💡  The pitch: Bangkok-based MUI-Robotics developed an electronic nose that can deliver AI-powered quality control odor sensing. Its e-nose uses machine learning to mimic human smelling capabilities and detect contamination with 98% accuracy. Not only is the robot nose more accurate, but it keeps more delicate human noses out of peril when sniffing dangerous chemicals or unpleasant odors (no one wants to nosedive into a sewer line).   🚀  The outlook: The company is raising funds to expand into health monitoring and early disease detection. One day, it hopes to integrate its tech into smartphones, allowing doctors to "smell" a patient's breath to diagnose health conditions. NEWS FLASH   Buc-ee's, the Texas gas station chain with a cult following, is expanding to eight new states: Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. It's also opening its largest store yet in Florida, featuring 120 gas pumps.  Hollywood vs. AI: Over 700 creatives, including Scarlett Johansson, R.E.M., and Vince Gilligan, joined the "Stealing isn't Innovation" campaign to demand AI companies only use their work or likeness with proper consent and licensing. Bojangles opened its first NYC location in Brooklyn. Marshall Scarborough, VP of menu and culinary innovation, told Business Insider that while New Yorkers love a bagel, Bojangles may turn heads with its buttermilk biscuits, chicken, and recipes modernized from Southern chefs… including grandmas.   OpenEvidence, a medical AI startup, has doubled its value in three months to $12B. The company says its platform — billed as an AI copilot for doctors, in partnership with trusted medical journals and organizations — is used daily by 40%+ of US physicians across 10k+ medical facilities.  AFFORDABLE EXCESS Attention-grabbing stunts (on a budget) "Vibes are a bigger deal than a lot of people think. I think in B2B we're very numbers-driven, and vibes are very discounted, but increasingly it's a battle for attention top of funnel." - Jessica Jin, head of growth @ Clay   So, three branding principles to live by:  Safe = ignorable, and the presence of haters is a positive.  Ship fast. Do it, then redo it better (quit overthinking).   Be memorable. Make 'em say, "They did WHAT??" Jessica's handbook clarifies how to capture hearts and minds by being smarter, stranger, speedier, and not necessarily richer than the competition. Stunt on a budget   THE BIG IDEA The tooth fairy gets a digital upgrade   While Santa's out here still using animal power to get around, the tooth fairy has been busy keeping up with the times. Take inflation for example: In the US, the average tooth fairy payout in 2023 was $6.23, not the $1.30 it was in 1998 or the measly quarter you probably got as a kid.  Now, the dreamtime dentist is staying current with a digital transformation through Tooth Fairy Tracker — a website that makes the whimsical tradition more digitally connected and oral care a bit more magical.   How it works After a kid loses a tooth, parents can enter their email and child's name on the website to receive updates from Kiki, AKA the tooth fairy, as she begins her journey to collect the tooth — no account or app needed. Updates include selfies, videos, and make-believe insights like flight speed. Evening updates, founder Oliver Finel told TechCrunch, help prepare kids for bedtime and encourage them to brush, while morning updates reveal what happened overnight as they uncover the gift left under their pillow.  Launched in October, Finel is already planning a 2026 redesign that includes more personalization, more characters, gamified and interactive experiences, and content on healthy oral care habits.    While it's currently free, the updated version will require a paid subscription.   After that, the goal is to "create a dental universe" by partnering with dentists, adapting the product to new markets, and, eventually, introducing branded merch.    Tech-driven whimsy   However the digitization of childhood wonder makes you feel, these are, after all, iPad and ChatGPT babies we're talking about.    And with tech only creeping further into our lives, it makes sense that the tooth fairy isn't the only magical character that's been reimagined in a way that feels native to a digital-age upbringing.    There are several Santa trackers with maps featuring "real-time" updates on the man with the bag's whereabouts during the holiday season, as well as an Easter Bunny Tracker app that offers similar functionalities in the springtime, plus games and more. AI Santas are now aplenty, offering kids who can't make it to the mall a chance to videochat with him at home.   While it seems the Sandman has yet to receive the same digital treatment, we gotta say, he'd be perfect for a children's sleep tracker, should someone think to dream one up.    🔗 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED   The most overlooked path to wealth? Possibly the "boring" business of franchising that's turning regular people into millionaires. NEWSWORTHY NUMBER How many times the term "choiceful" was mentioned across 43 S&P 1500 investor calls in 2025, up from 36 times in 2024 and 27 in 2023, according to a FactSet analysis via The New York Times. The word has become popular among the corporate world in recent years, used to describe budget-conscious consumers' more deliberate spending habits and, one retail analyst told NYT, as coded language to justify public companies' underwhelming sales.    Fun fact: Its first known use dates back to a 16th-century poem about a butterfly. So, in a way, it's still being used to construct creative narratives, just in less romantic contexts.    AROUND THE WEB 📆  On this day: In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive a medical degree in the US, despite considerable backlash. She founded a hospital in New York before moving to London and becoming a professor of gynecology.  🎟️  Save your spot: We're sitting down with Alex Lieberman of Morning Brew and Tenex to discuss the trends and tactics founders need to know in 2026.  🤿  That's cool: A deep dive on dive watches. 🗞️  Newsletter: Get Snacks, a daily dose of financial news and fresh takes to start your day. 😴  Aww: A life of luxury. SHOWER THOUGHT In the not so distant future a written note or talking to a friend will be more factually reliable than a photo or video. SOURCE Today's email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah and Singdhi Sokpo. Editing by: Sara "Tooth be told" Friedman.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. Working on something big? We've got a whole library of business-building resources for you. Subscribe to our other newsletters Stay up-to-date on AI: Mindstream  |  Expert insights: Masters in Marketing  |  Sell better: The Science of Scaling Follow The Hustle on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. HubSpot Media, 2 Canal Park, Cambridge, MA, 02141, USA, +1 888.482.7768 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and Unsubscribe.