Hello Shareholders!
I’m leaving for Portland, Ore. tomorrow and I’m excited to return to a hub of shareholder activity. One of the things I miss the most about Portland is the deep bench of talent I have met there which so often sparks new opportunities.
I’ve known Andrew “AC” Dickson for more than 20 years. I’ve admired his performances, his public speaking, his auctioneering, and his commitment to character while also living a well-balanced life. And now I have the opportunity to formally learn some of those traits.
In exchange for shares he has agreed to teach me in a course of four two-hour in-person sessions, plus mid-week review of public video assignments. You can read all the details about Andrew and our history together and then vote on this self-improvement project.
After the $350 windfall, the shareholders voted overwhelmingly for me to “do something dumb.”
So I’ve been thinking a lot about “my dumb idea” which reminds me of the YACHT song from a few years ago called My Idea directed by Kailee McGee.
It’s not as easy to come up with a dumb idea as you might think, because it needs to be a real idea, not just a gimmick, and the idea should be, of course, dumb.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you… GumDemo.com. Yes, this is just a quickly vibe coded website that imagines an alternate history where KmikeyM came up with the idea of transforming a small soap and baking powder business into the world’s largest chewing gum manufacturer, but that is not the dumb idea. That idea would not require $350.
My dumb idea is to become a gum influencer. I will spend my $350 ill-gotten gains on chewing gum and I will try it out, compare it, research it, and become a subject matter expert on gum. I can think of no greater and dumber idea for spending $350.
For those in, or willing to travel to, Portland… the Shareholder Summit is happening in person on July 11th, 2026. We will be live-streaming but there are limited seats available. Ticket price is $100 but shareholders will receive discount codes (reach out if you need a code!).
I am incredibly excited to announce some of the names of the people who will be speaking. More are being confirmed but your ticket includes a giftbag, coffee, and made-to-order pizza from a man it’s essentially only been possible to be gifted pizza from.
Tickets are now available on Luma (reach out for a shareholder discount code). And the after party is open to everyone and is being co-hosted by Guerrilla Happy Hour (if you’re not up for a day of brilliant talks, pop in and have a drink with us!).
In case you missed it, I was laid off last week.
Blippo+ was nominated for an Apple Design Award!
After Portland I’ll be in Oakland, CA for a while.
It’s going to be difficult to wrap up the last year for the annual report at the Shareholder Summit because so much has happened, but I’m excited to look back and share it with everyone.
Profitably Yours,
-K. Mike Merrill
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