Don't lie

@atlasberry008

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Selling · SaaS › Finance Software

X Money

Why it worked

The video leverages a viral moment (Elon Musk carrying a sink into Twitter HQ) and connects it to the broader narrative of Twitter's transformation under Musk, including the launch of X Money. It also highlights the 'wildcatter' business strategy, which is a compelling concept for founders.

Summary

The video discusses how Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has led to the platform's transformation into 'X Money,' a financial service. It contrasts Twitter's previous struggles with monetization and user growth with Musk's strategy of building a foundation for a bank through paid subscriptions and verified identities, drawing parallels to his past venture, X.com (which became PayPal).

Structure

1Elon Musk's controversial acquisition of Twitter and the "sink" meme.
2Twitter's financial struggles before Musk's takeover.
3The launch of X Money as a financial service on the platform.
4Musk's strategy of building a 'bank' through subscriptions and verified identities.
5Comparison to Musk's previous venture, X.com (PayPal).
6The concept of 'wildcatters' in business, applying it to Musk's approach.

Original caption

X Money went live nationwide this week — deposit accounts, a Visa debit card, peer-to-peer payments, inside the app that used to be Twitter. Look at what Elon actually bought in 2022. Twitter's last quarter as a public company: 238 million daily users growing 15% a year, while revenue fell 1% and costs rose 31%. An enormous engaged audience and a business model that couldn't monetize it. Not dying. Stuck. Every move since built the same foundation — paying subscribers, verified identity, no advertiser dependence. Exactly what you need to launch a financial product. There's a name for this kind of operator. I'm calling them "wildcatters." If you like this kind of thing and want to stay close — join our community Frontier. Link in bio. x money, elon musk, twitter acquisition, everything app, fintech, turnaround, distressed assets, operators, founder, venture capital #venturecapital #startup #founder #fintech #operators

More from @atlasberry008

Their other posts in the index, biggest breakout first.

On-screen text

He Carried a Sink Into Twitter HQ. 4 Years Later, It's a Bank. DON'T LIE WHEN ELON INTO TWITTER WITH AN ACTUAL GRINNING AFTER PAYING $44 BILLION THAT HE ACTUALLY TRIED TO BACK OUT OF ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE MISTAKES IN HIS LIFE X MONEY X Money officially launches in the US with Apple Wallet support after invite-only beta VISA PEER TO PEER ALL INSIDE THE APP AS TWITTER IN TWITTER'S LAST QUARTER AS A PUBLIC COMPANY 237.8 million vs 238.08 million expected, according to Refinitiv Monetizable Daily Active Users (mDAUs): 237.8 million vs 238.08 million expected, according to Refinitiv 238 MILLION ACTIVE USERS GROWING ONLY 15% AND REVENUE BACKWARDS DOWN 1% AND COSTS WERE GOING UP THE COMPANY POSTED A LOSS THE WHOLE SETUP AN ENORMOUSLY ENGAGE AUDIENCE VERIFIED IDENTITIES AND A BUSINESS MODEL THAT COULDN'T MONETIZE ANY OF IT NECESSARILY DYING IT WAS JUST STUCK HE CUT TWITTER LOOSE FROM ALL THE ADVERTISERS Elon Musk Tells Advertisers Boycotting X to 'Go F-ck Yourself' GO F-CK THEMSELVES LINDA YACCARINO THERE TRYING TO CLEAN IT UP THEY PUT A PAYWALL THE CHECKMARK WAS LAUGHING OF THESE MOVES BUILT THE SAME THING PAYING SUBSCRIBERS Paying Subscription THE IDENTITY LAYER Verified Identity Layer AND NO ADVERTISER DEPENDENCE No Advertiser Dependents WHICH IS EXACTLY THE FOUNDATION TO BECOME DRUM ROLL PLEASE A BANK Bank LET'S NOT FORGET Elon Musk's second startup was X .com, an online bank he co-founded in 1999 that later became PayPal. WHO FOUNDED X.COM BACK IN 1999 AN ONLINE BANK THAT ENDED UP BECOMING PAYPAL AND HE'S THIS DREAM FOR 27 YEARS KEPT THE NAME I KEEP SAYING TURING OFFERS OPEN Turing Frontier Fellows Join a community of exceptional leaders across every industry interested in learning how AI is built and applying AI in their work. Access to over $500K worth of AI tools, hands-on workshops, in-person events & fireside chats with the people building the future of AI - all on us. AI UNI BIZ FINANCE MEDICINE LEGAL PHYSICS CHEMISTRY BIOLOGY MATH TOK PM CONSULTING Apply for the founding cohort Nominate a colleague MARKETPLACE IDEAL CANDIDATE BUILT FOR DOMAIN EXPERTS INTERESTED IN AI OF EXPERTS We select Frontier Fellows based on ambition and craft. Interested in learning how AI is built and applying AI in their work. Has 5+ years honing their craft and wants to up-level with AI. Has entrepreneurial drive and a genuine passion for frontier technology Works as a senior operator, leader, or researcher across software engineering, medicine, law, finance, STEM, or other high-impact fields Leads and collaborates across multiple cross- functional teams Can dedicate ~1-2 hours max a week to virtual fireside chats and workshops Turing Is Switzerland: Neutral Strategic Data Partner to All Frontier AI Labs NOW IT'S SELLING TRAINING DATA TO ALL THE FRONTIER LABS FOUR-MONTH PROGRAM FOR A LIFE- LONG COMMUNITY SAME SHAPE THIS TYPE OF OPERATOR DESERVES ITS OWN NAME WILDCATTERS Wildcatter BECAUSE IN OIL WILL BE DRILLING WHERE OTHER MAJORS WON'T DRILLING THAT EVERYONE THOUGHT WAS DRY THE STARTUP VERSION THE COMPANY WROTE OFF AN ASSET THAT NO ONE BOTHERED TO PRICE TRYING TO BUILD Wildcatter BUT THE WILDCATTERS WOULD BE OUT HERE UNDERPRICED ASSET JUST OPERATING ACTUALLY WORTH AGAIN AND WANT TO JOIN OUR COMMUNITY Frontier Signal from the edge. A private network for frontier builders and backers. LAT LON LINK IN BIO

Transcript

Don't lie when Elon into Twitter with an actual kitchen sink grinning after paying $44 billion that he actually tried to back out of. You thought it was one of the most expensive mistakes in his life. But this week X Money went live nationwide. Banking, a Visa debit card, peer-to-peer payments, all inside the app. Formerly known as Twitter. In Twitter's last quarter as a public company, they had 238 million daily active users growing only 15% a year and revenue was going backwards, down 1%. And costs were going up 30%. The company posted a loss. That's the whole setup. An enormously engaged audience, verified identities, and a business model that couldn't monetize any of it. Twitter wasn't necessarily dying. It was just stuck. He cut Twitter loose from all the advertisers. Then told them to go F themselves. And then left Linda Yaccarino there two years trying to clean it up. They put a paywall behind the checkmark. Everyone was laughing. But every one of these moves built the same thing. Paying subscribers, verified identities, and no advertiser dependence. Which is exactly the foundation you would need to become... drum roll please... a bank. A bank. Let's not forget who founded X.com, back in 1999, an online bank that ended up becoming PayPal. And he's been chasing this dream for 27 years. He kept the name. I keep saying, this is the pattern I keep seeing. Turing was a recruitment marketplace that was sitting on a network of experts. Now it's selling training data to all the frontier labs. Same shape. I think this type of entrepreneur operator deserves its own name. I'm gonna call them wildcatters. Because in oil, a wildcatter will be drilling where other majors won't. Drilling in ground that everyone thought was dry. The startup version buys the company everyone wrote off. An asset that no one bothered to price. Trying to build something new. But the wildcatters would be out here buying the underpriced asset, just operating and showing you what it's actually worth again. And want to join our community? Frontier. Link in bio.