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Here’s a fun one for Friday, FutureParty people. Researchers decided to rub tartrazine, a popular food dye used in Cheetos, on mice, and… well… they started disappearing. We’re not kidding. Upon contact, the mice’s skin became translucent, revealing their muscles, organs, and blood vessels in action. This could be an odd breakthrough for studying mice used for lab testing… but it’ll also definitely inspire more than one person to rub Cheetos dust all over themselves. You know, just to check.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

MrBeast Buys A Marketplace Of Creators

Courtesy of Vouch

MrBeast, the most-followed YouTuber on Earth, has acquired the creator-focused job search platform Vouch to help connect influencers with potential team members.

The Big Picture: Hiring in the creator economy is a wild west of DMs and emails. A one-stop shop for prospective employees who want to work in the space to show their CVs could be key for creators to build out their operations.

Between the Lines: Vouch, founded by ex-Cameo employee Marty Pesis with funding from investors like Seven Seven Six and Shrug Capital, is now under new management.

  • MrBeast’s Beast Industries has acquired the startup for an undisclosed amount.

  • Creators can create hiring profiles and list job openings (like, you know, an actual business), while prospective employees can share their CVs, share skills, and list references.

  • Vouch also has an AI-powered recommendation system for matching creators with job candidates and pages where influencers can highlight their team members.

  • MrBeast already plans to use Vouch for his own internal hiring. Creators like Yes Theory, the Stokes Twins, and Danny Duncan have also used it.

Closing Thoughts: With Goldman Sachs estimating that the creator economy will be a $480 billion industry by 2027, platforms like Vouch hope to bring organization around hiring and job openings — essentially a LinkedIn of the creator economy. We wouldn’t be surprised if some universities offering creator-focused majors move fast to ink a partnership with Vouch in an effort to establish a bonafide “career path” for students.

Together with Brad’s Deals

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QVC Bags Pickleball

Lights! Camera! Swing! // Illustration by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E 3

Live-shopping broadcaster QVC has struck a deal with the USA Pickleball league for everything from streaming rights and original content to, of course, merchandising.

The Big Swing: Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the US, so clinching exclusive rights is a big win for such an unconventional player… opening up the possibilities for other niche companies to take a swing in the sports space.

Behind the Scenes: QVC is getting out of the studio and onto the court.

  • QVC will stream all of the league’s tournaments live on QVC+ and HSN+ and will also show BTS content and other pickleball-focused original programming.

  • The company will put its sales prowess on the sport through “curated shoppable entertainment” around matches and a pickleball shopping collection that could get around-the-clock coverage.

The Future: While QVC and pickleball seem like a strange partnership, it actually makes a lot of sense when you consider the main audience for both — women over 50. Demographically, it’s an ace. If fans embrace watching and shopping all things pickleball on QVC’s platforms, bigger leagues may make a “shoppable component” a key deal point in their next broadcast contracts.

DEEP DIVES

Do you play pickleball?

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66.5% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Are you into Formula One?

“Not interested, no matter the sponsor.”

“Ugh, cars.”

“Yes, and have been since the Michael Schumacher days.”

“My husband got me into it; then I saw Drive to Survive on Netflix. And with Lewis Hamilton fighting to diversify the sport? It’s a wrap, I’m hooked, watching races at 5am 😂.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Technology

🚗 Uber has struck a deal with Avride (formerly Yandex) to bring autonomous ridesharing and food deliveries to Austin, Texas, followed by Jersey City, New Jersey, later this year.

🧐 The EU wants a lot more information on how the algorithms of YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok work, especially when it comes to mental health risks for users.

📸 License-plate cameras are unwittingly creating the largest-known database of bumper stickers in the US.

→ Creator Economy

🧑‍💻 Twitch is making it easier for livestreamers to hit partner status by making viewership from “raids” eligible to be counted toward viewership requirements.

📱 Stapleview is building out its original long-form programming slate on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube with five new shows set to premiere this fall.

📏 YouTube Shorts is chasing TikTok again by expanding runtimes to three minutes.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

🍣 Luxury seafood chain Sushi Club is collabing with Nike on a limited-edition capsule at its NYC location, including a special “Sushi Force One” sneaker.

👕 Uniqlo’s Gen Z-focused sister brand, GU, is opening its first store in the US in NYC’s Soho neighborhood.

👟 Target is selling a sneaker that expands as your feet grow. Trippy.

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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.

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