no. 20: pistachios and partiful.

all the trends as of late.

i needed a week off to intellectually marinate, but i am back! i want to start kicking off my newsletters with what’s actively on my mind as of late, then a deep dive on a startup that’s catching my attention, and end as always with what i am reading and links to some articles i like.

so with that, here is what has been on my mind as of late:

• set x parke launched a collab - it’s almost like i predicted this one months ago. the highly anticipated launch between chelsea parke and lindsey carter of set acticve has taken over my tiktok feed by storm. i truly think that parke has her own algorithm and all the content underneath it gets shown to me and thousands of other users. the same sensation i’ve noticed occurs for other brands that were “built” on tiktok like the nitro bar and lil’ sweet treat — and that is insane to me.

• billions is the word right now for openai and perplexity - openai just added a $4 billion credit line on top of their $6.6 billion investment round. perplexity is also in talks for a whopping $9 billion valuation. my working analogy to explain these two companies to a 10-year-old is that openai is to google as perplexity is to a verified wikipedia. (i can be poetic sometimes)

• pistachio is the new it girl - pistachio has long been a staple in my household regardless of the form it comes in. now, americans have taken a typically seen in middle-eastern and desi flavors and injected it into everything: see tache pistachio milk and a pistachio butter that i saw in an edition by

  Ochuko Akpovbovbo
  . wait till they start putting cardamom and rose into everything, too.

  

• the pumpkin spice latte can’t even save starbucks right now - sales are down for the company for another quarter in a row, despite new collabs like their one with ag1 and fall drinks. they might need to call in some help…

• i have been following transcendence, a coffee syrup startup, for a while - i think starbucks could use a tip, and they could be getting bolder with their flavors. i love transcendence’s selection of flavors and their marketing. they make globally-influenced flavored syrups with whole spices and no preservatives. if i could invest early, i would be placing my bets here. i am also dying to try their gulab jamun syrup and of course, the persian pistachio.

  

this pistachio trend really triggered a tangent of related things from me, but i will try to keep this more industry-agnostic in the future.

partiful is a startup i am a huge fan of right now.

so, what is it? partiful is an app that helps users plan social events, send invitations, and keep guests updated via text messages. so it is basically like a modern-day gen-z eventbrite. the app is beautifully designed, user-centric, and just really simple.

partiful was birthed after the pandemic — “the pandemic made it especially clear how important (and irreplaceable) in-person time is to our well-being.” they recently closed a $20 million series a round, led by andreessen horowitz. partiful was founded by shreya murthy and co-founder joy tao.

i think why so many people are using the app right now are because it is simply super aesthetic and super simple to use. it’s proving the theory that taste, or design, is becoming wildly important. and second, that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to do consumer tech well. murthy, the founder stated “i think anyone who’s feeling like they’re sick of the old guard is gravitating towards a very different type of visual language. is that a radical departure and an idea very obviously worth $20 million? maybe not.” the blunt awareness of the founders coupled with their strong eye for design and visual aesthetic proves that things don’t need to be complicated. and i am a huge fan and avid believer in this.

let me know if you like this new format, if you have any startups you want me to talk about, and if you enjoyed this piece. i thought it was fun. see you all next week! — zoya from on my mind as of late

1. starbucks falls after warning that sales slump Is getting worse

2. nytimes on partiful

3. the internet but for hot people on the rise of partiful by the atlantic

4. openai raising even more money