WEBVTT - Jobs, Tech Layoffs, and Baby Formula 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.960 Welcome to the Bloomberg Markets Podcast. I'm Paul Sweeney, alongside 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:06.840 my co host Matt Miller. Every business day, we bring 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:11.440 you interviews from CEOs, market pros, and Bloomberg experts, along 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:15.480 with essential market moving news. Find the Bloomberg Markets Podcast 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:18.360 on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts, and 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.040 at Bloomberg dot com slash podcast. Let's get to this 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:23.200 job Stata, let's get to this economy. Let's get to 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:25.880 this federal reserve. Jeff Cleveland, chief US economists have paid 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:29.520 in in regal Jeff. I don't know what your forecast 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:34.080 was for the job's number, but good morning. I can't imagine, Jeff, 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.000 he has five seventeen thousand dollars in your model five 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:40.360 seventeen thousand jobs. I had plus two twenty three. I'll 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:43.760 admit that, so I goes a little above consensus. But wow, 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.960 this just blew me away. I think my initial reaction was, wait, 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:51.159 what exactly is that an error? I mean, I love 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:54.880 reports like this. It completely up ends the narrative I've 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:57.080 been getting from clients and colleagues, you know, the talk 0:00:57.120 --> 0:01:01.320 of an imminent recession. Uh, it's hard to find something 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:04.520 that I don't like in this job's report, it's hard 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.720 to I guess what I've been saying, maybe just because 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:10.360 I don't know. It's tough to forecasts of recession when 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:14.080 everybody's got a job, isn't it. Absolutely? I mean, at 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:15.560 the end of the day, when we look at things, 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.319 if if people are employed, they're working more hours average, 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:20.640 I only earned is still growing at a pretty decent clip, 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:24.119 plus over four percent year on year. Uh, that's your 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:28.120 spending power and to consume the economy of seventy consumer. 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.360 So ultimately you can't be too barished in that situation. 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.080 The time where we would get much more bearished would 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.479 be if aggregate incomes are dropping. And you know, that's 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.320 what you saw before two thousand and eight, and we're 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:44.240 not seeing that here in this data. So I mean, 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:46.080 what does it mean to the Fed? What does this 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:49.800 mean to Jerome Powell, who like doved out on Wednesday, Well, 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:51.680 it kind of explains a lot. Like he strode out 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:53.360 to the podium, right, and he and he was getting 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:55.600 pushed back right for some of the reporters, and he's like, okay, 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:57.680 you have your forecast, I have mine, all right, we'll 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.040 see And he was sort of you know, he and 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.200 pushed back heavily, and the market took that as devilishness. 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:04.880 But you know, now that you see this data report, 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:08.320 it's like, oh, okay, yeah, he has his forecast and 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:12.000 he they said ongoing increases, So a couple of more 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:15.200 rate hikes get you up over five. I think with 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:18.200 this data that's a slam dunk. I mean, so he 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.240 was he kind of knew, Um, the economy is so strong, 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:23.600 we're really going to continue. We'll say we're data dependent 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:27.080 so we don't freak the markets out. Yeah. I mean, 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:28.440 I don't know if you had this in hand, but 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:30.839 I'm just saying, like, now in retrospect, it seems much 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:34.160 more like, you know, he didn't need to aggressively push 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.480 back and try to you know, try to lecture anyone. 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.000 He's like the way of one other question that I'll 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:44.920 put to you, uh, Jeffrey Um, as an economist, how 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.880 accurate are these jobs numbers? I mean I have heard 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.840 that there is a margin of error of around two 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.160 hundred and fifty thousand. I haven't heard anyone say that 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:56.320 for ten years. But is that the case or you know, 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:58.960 in the tents, we would say, you know, the number 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.720 could come out anywhere between plus one hundred thousand and 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:04.520 plus three hundred thousand, and it would be within the 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.400 realm of possibly that would be accurate. So there are 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:09.840 pretty pretty decent error bars on this UM. But you know, 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.920 they revised these things annually. They mark them to tax 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.959 uh tax rolls. So I think this is uh the 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:19.360 as far as the economic data goes, this is pretty solid. 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:23.640 I'd rather relye on non foreign payrolls than purchasing manager 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.560 and disease, you know, surveys like that, So I think 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.080 this is I think this is pretty good. All right, Jeff, 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:31.239 thanks so much. We appreciate that. Jeffrey Cleveland, he's the 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:37.160 chief EOS economist of Payton and Regal. Our C suite 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:41.120 conversation today, Matt Calkin, CEO of apien UH joins us 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:43.960 to talk about his company, talk about tech, talk about 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:48.200 the tough year two that was for tech stocks. UM. Matt, 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:52.760 thanks so much for joining us here. Apien nasdac happien 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:56.560 ap up on your phone, okay, cool? Appien app N 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:59.520 is the ticker to put into your Bloomberg terminal of 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.160 the stock trade on NASAC. UH. Just give us the 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:05.480 thirty second kind of elevator pitch. What is apping? What 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:07.320 are you guys doing? Where do you play in this 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.720 tech stack? Sure it's good to be on. Hey, we 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:15.080 do process automation. Process automation means that we are organizing 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:17.599 a process from the very beginning to the end through 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.960 an organizations. You plant, you program it, you automated, you 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.400 execute it, and you revise it. Everything to do with 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:27.120 the process, and that's that's how organizations make the changes 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:30.200 and automate the behaviors that they do. So processes are 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:34.600 really central to the way large organizations behave and automation, well, 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:37.080 that's just uh, that's just when software helps you do 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:39.120 the work. Usually software is kind of a tool, like 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.839 if you use a product, it's helping you. But automation 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:44.400 is when software literally does the work. So we're talking 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:49.279 about artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, tools and rules that 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:53.200 allow you to delegate your work to software. So, uh, 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:57.320 last year was tough for tech companies and as we've 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.520 been saying, there's a real turnaround this year. Stock is 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:04.200 no different. It just goes up and almost a straight 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:06.400 line at the beginning of this year. What do you 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:10.080 think has made investors reconsider was it just like tax loss, 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.679 harvesting and December that they're coming back to buy now. 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:16.680 It's kind of funny. And I heard you talking about 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:18.680 Apple a moment ago, and I think the same phenomena 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:21.280 is happening across the tech sector right now. We're seeing 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.159 the prices have been driven more by mood than by 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.920 the underlying value of the organizations, and so Apple can 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:30.640 deliver a result which you could question, and yet the 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:34.719 stock is up and Appen stock has been rising on well, 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:37.360 not very much news, and I think it's just an 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:40.520 alleviation of some of the mood that's been holding holding 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:44.200 stocks where they were. So give us your sense of 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.440 kind of what you're hearing from your customers in terms 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:50.040 of how they view kind of their their tech spend. 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:52.480 Here there's you know where it definitely concerned about a 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:56.000 recession in the general economy in twenty three and what 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.000 a discussions you're having to your clients about what they're 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:01.120 doing with their tech spend. Yeah, that's right, Well, there 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:04.240 is concerned about a recession, and I think that particularly 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.360 when there's a recession, that the high rates to come 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.960 with that are a weight on tech stocks, particularly because 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:11.800 so much of the value of the tech stock is 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:13.960 out in the distance, so you have to depreciate it 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.040 according to whatever interest rates do you think we're going 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:21.960 to prevail. We see customers right now trying to moderate 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:25.279 their risk, trying to plan for change, and and also 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.200 they're worried about productivity in the labor market. There's a 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:30.320 lot of volatility right now in that and of course 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:33.039 we've got this big job's number just recently, but we 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.480 don't know where the labor market is going. We don't 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:37.840 know about the supply of jobs right which is how 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.080 many jobs the employers are willing to create. But we 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.120 also don't know how about the supply of labor, which 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:45.000 has been unusually volatile since COVID, and it's still up 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:47.320 in the air. And we don't know about the productivity 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:51.800 which may change post COVID, according to people working in 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:54.880 a dispersed way or people being augmented by other technologies 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:58.080 like AI. AI is a huge topic right now here. 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:00.000 Everybody talking about it, and I think that the last 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:02.839 cold months has been a unique to break through in 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:06.560 the history of this technology. It's it's still a demo, honestly, 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:09.040 it's just a really good demo at this point, things 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:12.480 like chat, GPT and UH and Dolly are showing that 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:16.400 AI is extraordinarily powerful. And the other shoe that's waiting 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:19.680 to drop, that everybody's asking about talking about is when 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:22.880 will this move human productivity numbers? When are we going 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:26.440 to see this effected businesses instead of just just a 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:28.480 great demonstration of its power. When is it going to 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:32.440 be truly meaningful? Uh to the to the income statement 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:36.000 and and it's coming. So when will it beat you 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:39.560 at a board game? I can do it already had 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:43.280 a good really, so listeners may not know, but Matt 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:47.840 is um. He's authored several award winning board games, and 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:50.040 he's often the top finisher. Have you won the World 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:54.360 Board Gaming Championships? My best finish was third? Okay, So, 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.840 but there's there are apps out there that can beat 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.520 you and complicated I mean, is there AI out there? 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:01.400 Excuse me? They can beat you in a complicated board 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:05.920 game at chess or go absolutely and I think at 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:08.080 poker at this point there and then much better. And 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:10.160 it's the other games. The only reason why it can't 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.440 beat me is that no programmer has bothered to put 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.240 the time into it. AI at this point is exceptionally 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:18.600 good at systems in which the rules don't change quickly, 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:23.560 like driving or playing chess, or interpreting a photograph to 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:25.840 see how much damage there is to your car or 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:28.520 whether there's a kitten in the picture. AI is really 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.200 good when the rules don't change. The only hope for 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:34.000 us humans is that that that the rules in our 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.839 world change pretty fast. So, Matt, you've got we've got 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:39.400 just thirty seconds here, But are you putting this to 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:43.240 work at Appian? Are you using AI as well? Oh? 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:47.680 Absolutely absolutely, we were already integrating uh chat yv team. 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:51.840 We've had a AI for years, particularly for interpreting documents, 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.440 but it's one of the core things that our customers 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:56.640 are asking of us now. All right, Matt, thanks so 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.560 much for joining us. Really appreciate it. Uh, Matt Calkins, 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.559 He's see you on founder of Appian, the nastack symbols 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:06.040 a P P and plug into your Bloomberg terminal. Uh, 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:10.520 really interesting company. All right, let's get back to the uh. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.839 The job's number, the payroll number again, the raw number, 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:17.360 the top line number, seventeen thousand jobs added. That gets 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:19.959 your attention. Unemployment rate down the three point four percent, 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:23.800 another headline number, that gets your attention and average hourly 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:26.600 earnings up four point four percent. Let's break it all 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:28.959 down like we like to do when we get these 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:32.120 numbers with Tom Gibble, founder and CEO of Lasal Network. 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:37.680 Lassal Network is a national staffing recruiting firm. Uh, Tom, 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:40.880 just blow out numbers. Help us find some perspective here. 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:44.199 Everybody's wrong and nobody gets it. My man, there you go. 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.320 What what did you take away? I took away that 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:49.880 the economy is extremely healthy, and I think what you 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:51.680 see with the stock market going down is that what 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.560 everybody knows is that the Fed's gonna raise interest rates. 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:57.439 And what nobody's saying is the Fed's gonna raise raise 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:01.280 interest rates because they can because the economy will tolerate it. 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:06.240 Because this economy is is so strong with labor and 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:11.439 jobs and wages increasing that companies can afford to borrow 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:15.480 money and actually pay for it versus zero percent. And 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.520 I think that raising interest rates is making up for 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:22.360 what wasn't done during the last decade. And we've got 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:25.840 a really strong economy. So you go back into Oh 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:30.240 recession was based purely on academic analytics. Analytics of two 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.840 consecutive negative GDP quarters, but you were comparing it against 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:37.720 the best year ever, because it was compared to the 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.000 worst year ever, And so you know, we're really just 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:44.200 at a really strong standpoint and a half a million 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:49.480 new jobs is awesome, And does that seem in line 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:52.959 with what you expect to keep happening? Are we I mean, 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.839 maybe we won't see five hundred thousand again, but are 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.640 we gonna keep seeing two D three D over the 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:02.040 next coming months? Yeah, I think you're gonna see see 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.520 you know, two hundred thousand, give or take, meaning you know, 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:06.600 maybe you have one fifty, maybe you have to fifty, 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.000 but but I think on average will be will be 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.120 in that that two area code. And I think that 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:14.800 the point of that is saying that small and medium 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:18.400 sized companies, which everybody has always said drives the economy 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:20.839 and it drives hiring, and now it really is. As 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.520 we see big tech laid people off, and we see 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.880 some other companies lay people off, and guess what we're 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:28.360 gonna see over the next six to nine months. We're 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:31.600 gonna see the beginning of the infrastructure package, and there's 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:34.120 gonna be those jobs that are gonna becoming good. So 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.960 I think we're gonna have a relatively healthy twenty three 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:40.880 tom Any regionality to the labor market here. Sometimes you know, 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:43.520 when you see you might see the Sunbelt do better 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:45.600 than you know, the Rust Belt in those types of things. 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:48.400 Are we've seen that this time around. Yeah, I think 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:51.880 we're we're we're getting We're continuing to see the rise 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:56.240 of the of the of the Southern states from Texas 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:59.280 to Florida and everything in between. And you're seeing you know, 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.920 big tech in California and and letting people go in 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:05.400 that way and where the laws are. And I think 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:08.559 we'll continue to see the evolution of Red States in 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:12.040 the service level economy. I think we're gonna see, uh, 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.360 really a growth in in in cities like Birmingham and 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.040 in that Raleigh, Durham and that Charlotte. You're gonna see 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:21.839 Miami continuing to get great. I mean, I'm seeing more 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:24.600 and more companies that are doing hiring in Tampa. I 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.440 think you're seeing that evolution that that those cities in 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:30.520 those in those Red States are are going to continue 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.480 to be where companies want to hire people in the 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:39.640 service business. And what has historically been a manufacturing car manufacturing, UH, 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:43.120 furniture manufacturing area, will we'll move into a white collar 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:47.000 service area. What's your take time? On wages, we saw 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:50.839 average hourly earnings four point three percent year over year, 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:54.600 so a slight climbs zero point from um last month? 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:58.559 Are workers getting enough to you run on the leading 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.640 placement firms in the country. Are the people you're placing 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:06.439 happy with the pay they're getting? Well? I think I think, 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:10.520 uh uh. If you ask an employee if they're happy 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:13.440 with their pay, no matter what the number is the 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:17.280 majority and we're gonna say no. Um, it's like a 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.720 divorce settlement that one party is always gonna think they 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.760 paid too much, one party is always gonna think they 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.560 got too little. And and I think that that's what 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:27.800 what wages are. However, what I mean, though, is do 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.240 they have enough money to keep up with inflation? Or 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:33.800 are they having to say, you know, cut money on 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:37.079 their food bill or you know, drive a loss. But 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:39.480 answer it this way and say, I think they're in 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:42.800 the exact same boat that they were three years ago 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:46.679 before inflation on lower wages. What we've done is is 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:50.000 just changed the narrative. So you're making more things cost more, 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.240 and before you were making less and things cost less. 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.840 People are in the exact same boat as they were before. 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.360 What they're complaining about is saying I should be able 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:02.719 to do more because I'm making more money what they did. 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:06.360 What the layman doesn't realize is when wages rise as 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:09.559 fast as they have, things are gonna cost more. This 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:11.520 is economics one O one that should be taught in 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.000 high school that people are now learning in real life. 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.319 And that's the problem, uh in the ballot box to 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:21.280 grocery aisle and what we're dealing with now. And I 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:24.000 think that that's the standard situation. And I think that 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:26.720 you're not gonna see wages increase. I I don't. I 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:29.200 don't think so. I think they're gonna level off. And 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:31.720 what we're seeing with the tech layoffs is that the 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.120 tech companies continue to hire. They got rid of their 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:36.600 poor performers, and if they bring people back, they're not 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.400 doing it at the exuberant wages that they were twelve 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.720 months ago. Tom, you're a proud graduate of the University 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:45.600 of Colorado. How fired up are you for coach Prime? 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.880 Let me tell you something. I have not had my 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:52.040 phone buzz more than it has in the past sixty days. 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.000 And we are not only gonna win the Pack twelve, 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:58.720 we are gonna be an elite power five and within 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:01.920 two years will be the playoff. There you go, and 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.640 that is a sentiment. I've never seen a coach is 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:09.000 hiring have more of an impact on an institution than 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:11.960 Dion Sanders at the University of Colorado. So, Tom, thanks 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:13.720 so much for joining us there. Tom is a founder 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:17.600 and CEO of LaSalle Network. UH, big big national staffing company. 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.560 And you know he's been bullish about this job market 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:23.200 for the longest time. Uh, and he's been right, been right. 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:28.000 Let's get to the story that we were talking about 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:30.360 a little bit last year. At one point, you know, 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.600 you think we had so many shortages of so many products. 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:36.160 One of the more serious ones was uh, baby formula. 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:38.920 And at the time we spoke to Laura Modi, CEO 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:42.040 and founder a baby formula company Bobby Uh. She joins 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:44.080 us again today, So Laura, thanks so much for joining 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:46.200 us here. Can you give us an update on kind 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:50.680 of the baby formula market supply, demand, availability? Where are 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:52.880 we right now? Yeah? Good to charge you guys again. 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:55.600 I look, it has been a long year. I mean, 0:15:55.640 --> 0:16:00.000 you can coin last year's formula the shortage with severe 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:02.120 and it really was one of the most serious shortages 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:04.400 we've had in a long time. I would say, while 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:08.920 the shortages coming to a close, it still remains a crisis. Fundamentally. 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:12.720 We have not addressed the problem, which is domestic supply, 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:18.120 domestic manufacturing. So until we both stir our domestic manufacturing practices, 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:21.960 we may be in this crisis for a long time. So, um, 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:25.480 what does it look like then out there for mothers 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:29.520 who need formula? Are they able to get any formula? 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:33.760 Is it just um, you know, high quality formulas in 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:38.160 short supply or what's what's it look like? We're coming 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:42.440 up on a year since the Abbot recall happened, and 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:46.000 since the shortage started, and as of last week nearly 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.000 a heard of households with the baby under one that 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.520 they still had trouble finding formula. Yes, some high quality 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:56.760 ones and some very sensitive formulas as well. So where 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:58.800 are we kind of just give us the sense of 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.840 kind of domestic duction, domestics supply kind of where are 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:08.800 we today? Where should it be in your opinion? Yeah, Look, 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:11.840 this is I believe the cause of what is being 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:15.919 just concentrated and in many ways the complacency of a 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:21.360 concentrated industry. Of the market is dominated by two players, 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.159 and those two players have owned been conforming in the 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:29.040 markets for over forty years, very little innovation and no competition, 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:32.120 which has resulted in the complacency that we see today. 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:36.000 And your company, just to refreshes you, guys, are direct 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:38.280 to consumer. Talk to us about your company, Bobby, and 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:41.679 kind of how you're playing in this market, which I 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:43.760 guess a lot of us who don't have children maybe 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:47.800 forget how critical it is for so many families. That's 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:51.199 r right. Look, intanporta is an essential good. This is 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.400 not a typical pantry product. It's not a granola bar. 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:57.679 When you start your baby on formula, you need to 0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:02.280 make sure that you have the product available. Bobby is 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:05.560 a direct to consumer formula company. We also now sit 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:08.959 on target shows. But we have built some models that 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:12.000 when you subscribe to if we subscribe to you, which 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:15.200 essentially say you come in in your first month, We're 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:17.399 going to make sure that we have the supply for 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:21.600 you for your entire journey. And just having that model 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.160 gives that peace of mind to parents this no matter 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:26.640 how bad the shortages get, we're going to make sure 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:30.439 that you have your supply. How concerned our parents. We 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:33.719 were just talking, uh Paul and I about how you know, 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.480 back in the day, kids would just walk to school 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:40.040 by themselves, but now you know, not until you're eighteen 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:43.080 are you allowed to be loose in the city. Parents 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:46.920 really care Now My parents just ignored me until it worked, 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.200 until I got a job. But you know, parents these 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:53.520 days are very serious about child well being in health, 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:58.040 and so is Bobby, you know, getting taking full advantage 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.160 of that. I mean, what's what's what's your say else? 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:04.639 Look like the sales are good? You know, we have 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.160 gotten to a place now where we're serving four percent 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:11.080 of the nonwick market in the gusts of two years. 0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:13.480 So it has been a very fast growing two years, 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:17.000 the fastest growing formula since the eighties, and now the 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:21.640 fifth largest formula company in the US and hard to believe. 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:24.360 And yet I think it's also just another big wake 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:27.240 up call to how badly the formula industry needs to change. 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:31.480 And look as Terence ourselves, I've made this formula because 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:34.400 I wanted it for my own kids. We went with 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.000 a better for you infant formula, clean ingredients left out 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:41.960 the corn syrup, And you're totally right. Parents have changed 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:44.919 their own eating habits. They're buying organic for themselves, so 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:48.720 obviously they want to do that for their child. And frankly, 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:51.680 the US, as the first world country, should be putting 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:54.399 out the best intoint formula. We deserve to do it. 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:58.040 It's also great to have women taking control of this. 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:02.800 I followed the she media like crew and uh, you 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:05.560 know they're doing this future of helping at south By Southwest, 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.000 Is it is? It? Is it? Um? This is helpful, 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:15.560 this kind of networking for women in business. Yes, and 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:18.000 you know we need to get more women behind the 0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:23.200 wheel driving businesses that represent their needs. You know, we're 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:27.359 we're selling an alternative to breast milk. I don't believe 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:30.080 anyone else should be behind the wheel. And yes, I'm 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:33.119 still the only female CEO of an infant formula company. 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:37.800 It's insane. That's insane. It's insane. It is absolutely insane. 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:41.760 So I'll challenge any of those male CEOs out there 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:45.640 against what we're doing. No, I I am very excited 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:49.440 to see see the rise of more female founders and CEOs, 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:53.000 especially in industry that they think and doctors right, right, 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:57.399 because um, Laura, there are so many issues that affect 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:01.480 women during pregnancy and as their nurse saying that are 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:07.800 just under researched. Um. You know, and I hope that 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:11.120 you work with doctors and and female doctors are able 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:13.679 to do research that that male doctors for decades or 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:18.679 centuries haven't done. That's exactly it. I mean, up until recently, 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:22.240 women were treated as smaller men when it came to 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:26.479 the research side of and anything in the world of 0:21:26.480 --> 0:21:29.920 pharma and food and anything that women were consuming. Well, 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:34.359 we now need to look at women and gender very differently, 0:21:34.920 --> 0:21:37.640 and I believe women are driving that movement. Laura, thank 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:39.919 you so much for joining us. Really appreciate chatting with 0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:42.479