AI hearing aids, investing in women's sports: Asking for a Trend

On today's episode of Asking for a Trend, Host Josh Lipton breaks down some of the top stories and themes of the trading week.

Daymond John, FUBU and the Shark Group founder, and Brandon Sawalich, Starkey CEO, discuss how Starkey is using AI to revolutionize the hearing aid industry.

John explains that he uses Starkey hearing aids, and explains, "they're way more than something that I just use to amplify hearing, which is probably the most important part. But now I can use them for so much more." Sawalich explains that Starkey is "redefining hearing aids and eliminating the stigma of what hearing aids is." He continues, "It's not about amplifying sound. You have a mini computer inside your ear where basically the ear is the new wrist, and helping people be the best selves they can be each and every day." The technology can be used for things like listening to music, sending messages, and translating languages. Sawalich even calls it "your personal assistant."

Women's sports have captured investors’ attention as WNBA viewership soars to a record high amid the WNBA Finals. Fortuna Investments CEO Justus Parmar breaks down why the venture capital firm is investing in women’s sports. Parmar outlines his view that sports is an emerging investment area with women’s sport representing an especially attractive investment opportunity. “It's a very unique asset class. So you've got the big four men's clubs. Those are kind of the blue-chip stocks of the portfolio. You've got men's baseball, men's basketball, men's football, obviously, and NHL hockey… When it comes to women's sports, it's much like a, I don't want to say a venture or a growth investment, but you know, some people think it's underrepresented.”

Finally, Josh Lipton breaks down what to watch next week, from Tesla (TSLA) earnings to fresh housing data.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl

Video Transcript

Hello and welcome to asking for a trend.

I'm Josh Lipton for the next half hour.

We're breaking down the trends of today that's gonna move stocks tomorrow.

There is a lot to keep track of.

So we're focusing on what you need to know to get ahead of the curve.

And here's some of the trends.

We're gonna be diving into the Dow and S and P closing at new all time highs again, the S and P extending its streak of weekly gains to six in a row and that's the longest of the year it comes as earnings season ramps up and we have a look at what you need to be watching next week to make smart moves for your portfolio and a look at how A I and new technology disrupting the business of hearing aids.

I'm gonna be speaking with shark tech star, Damon John and the CEO of one of the top companies in the space to learn more about this trend and how big tech names including Apple may be stepping in.

Plus betting, big on women's sports.

We have one investor who's backing the W NBA and we're looking at where the growth and opportunities are artificial intelligence is everywhere and companies are constantly looking for ways to incorporate A I into their businesses.

But if you listen closely, you might just hear about a company using A I to revolutionize the hearing aid industry.

And joining us now is Starkey Ceo Brandon S WIC and Damon John Fubu and Shark group founder and Starkey ambassador.

Gentlemen, welcome to you both, Damon.

I wanna start with you.

Um You know, in your own life, Damon, you had a range of hearing aids.

You, you could have chosen, you chose this one.

Why Starkey?

Well, I, I really didn't know about the value and uh how, how great hearing devices, amplification devices were until I actually started working with Starkey because of their sharky hearing cares where they were giving away so many amazing devices to people in need.

And then I started to uh understand that I needed them myself.

And uh this relationship started probably about 10 years ago.

And as uh you know, the relationship grew, the technology and A I and everything else grew and I didn't only need them.

What I felt for hearing.

I felt that I was getting the edge.

Now, one of the people with the language translation and the way to hear have things streaming to me.

So now they're way more than something that I just used to amplify hearing, which is probably the most important part.

But now II I can use it for so much more.

Brandon.

I, I wanna get you into the conversation as well.

Walk us through Brandon.

What makes your product different?

What's the competitive advantage?

Well, I think we're thinking differently.

We're taking, uh, you know, we started this journey seven years ago.

A I is a lot of hard work for the last seven years of bringing A I and advanced technology to hearing aids where we're redefining hearing aids and, you know, eliminating the stigma of what hearing aids is.

It's not about amplifying sound.

You have a mini computer inside your ear where basically the ear is the new wrist and helping people uh be the best selves they could be each and every day a and Brandon, you know, there was an interesting piece in the New York Times recently.

I don't know if you saw it, but it went into the role Apple could play here and how consumers um are gonna be able to use Apple's airpods pro two earbuds to bolster their hearing.

I'm curious, Brandon, what do you make of that?

What could Apple stepping in here?

What could, what could it mean for your business?

What could it mean for the broader market?

Well, our hearing aids connect with Apple devices.

So we work with Apple in a different function.

But I think it's great because you have, you know, 44 million people with hearing loss, low penetration because of the stigma, a tech giant like apple coming into our uh uh you know, announcing and talking about hearing and hearing aids.

You know, it helps the conversation, it starts making what I think hearing technology being cool.

So they're a tech giant and uh I applaud them Damon.

You know, it's, it's curious Brennan mentioned that word stigma there.

I mean, do you, do you also believe that there is a stigma still attached to the traditional hearing aid?

There's a massive stigma attached to it and it's absolutely wrong when you think about it 30 years ago, we talked about uh you know, we gave people uh there was a stigma if you wear glasses, now, it's how cool your glass is.

Uh you know, washes where to set time and now today is to measure things.

Um and we are walking around with these but you know, I can sit in a meeting with these and Brandon says if I have both of these in, you're gonna get mad, you're gonna say this person doesn't care about them, right?

So pick that out.

But now all of a sudden, look, you wouldn't be able to tell that I have this.

Why do I have these?

So I think the stigmatism is false and I think that it's, it's a narrative that needs to be changed because we're walking around with uh forms of communication in our ears.

But this one can let you hear some music.

This one can tell you if your parents fall or not and send you messages and translate languages.

So these are just so much more advanced and I think this is where we are going, Brandon, what about the process of securing hearing aids?

How has that changed over the years?

Well, I think, you know, there's a lot of different forms of people can get hearing aids.

You see your audiologist, your doctor, um, you know, really with hearing health care, as Damon mentioned, you know, and, and Josh, I appreciate the interest on this because, you know, more and more people need it.

And, you know, you have your local audiologist here, a healthcare provider, uh, different forms where it's really going away from, you know, hearing aids to hear tech and it's your personal assistant and people what it does, you know, it's that word hearing aid, you know, it's really your personal system and that's what we got to look at is it's gonna help people do more for society be the best they could be, you know, in their job and for their family.

And it's not just about being old, it's getting back in the game a and Brandon for people who aren't aware.

I mean, your, your company has been around a long time.

How big Brandon is the market you're addressing here and how fast is it growing?

Well, it's growing, you know, very quickly and, and, you know, the less the stigma, the faster it grows, there's you know, five hearing technologies in the world, um very companies in the world and we are the only us, owned and operated uh company.

And, you know, we're growing, um, you know, since we've, we've launched and, and, and, and introduced A I and uh more technology over, you know, 50 percent.

We're, you know, doing great.

And to me that's not about the numbers of the revenue, we're in the people business, we're helping people.

And you know, that's the way I gotta look at it and the way I look at it with each product and, and product technology we come out with and, and Damon, you, you're, you're a starky ambassador when you think about what got you invested in the company.

I mean, was it the company the people, was it the business model?

Was it the tech?

Well, first of all, I thought it was, the company was amazing.

But then I started to realize it takes 10 years for some way to realize that you have hearing loss and the amount of conflict in my life and other people's life that reduces when you realize that you were having arguments and challenges that you actually didn't hear the people correctly.

And that how it, it helps uh you know, prevent the things like Alzheimer's and things like that nature from people, you know, shutting away from crowds.

I found that in amazing.

But I also, you know, I am uh who I am because I want to surround myself with the best.

And I consider Brandon, I consider him the Steve jobs of this, this area.

You know, when, when we were, when Steve was talking about computers, he was talking about how technology is gonna change everybody, not just what's in a computer.

And I find that it's a reverse mentorship.

So, you know, I don't learn anything from my fellow sharks, but I need somebody to learn something from.

So, you know, II, I go to Brandon when I want to know about technology and I, I consider this, this guy the leader in this and groundbreaker.

And so it's a, it's a symbiotic relationship.

I'm enhanced here in my powers here and then here mentally, I, I get to, I get to learn from them, the one of the best in the business or the best as far as I'm concerned, Damon, I, I correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the new season of Shark Tank, I believe premieres tonight.

Um So I am curious while I have you um beyond Sharkey a any other trends themes, Damon?

That, that you're curious about right now that you're particularly interested in.

Yeah, you know, it, it is just like starting democratizing various things and information and it's the way that we are.

Uh the everyday consumer is now utilizing information from the A I perspective.

I think the walls are broken down.

I think if you want somebody to make newsletters or create, you know, uh be a secretary for you.

I think these consumer type of goods are their A I or whether it's Elon Musk saying I'm not to have a, a robot uh you know, clean your home or I think that uh I'm really excited about all the new technology and how the everyday entrepreneur and person are putting those things to use.

Uh So that's really, really exciting because it's no longer, you know, making the day will come.

The people are now have the power to make that change.

Damon Brandon, thank you both for your time.

That was a great conversation.

Enjoy the weekend.

You do too and coming up, the W NBA could be crowning its newest champion tonight.

But investors behind the growing league have been winning all season long.

We're asking for a trend right on the other side, the W NBA could have a new champion tonight with the New York Liberty on the verge of their first title taking on the Minnesota links in game four of the W NBA finals.

However, the W NBA is already a big winner this year.

Regular season viewership up 170% compared to 2023 playoff viewership up 100 and 42% and game three of the finals average 1.4 million viewers making it the most watched W NBA game of all time on cable.

Many investors believe the league and women's sports in general are only just getting started and join me now is Justice Palmer for Tuna investments, ceo Justice.

It is good to see you.

Um maybe to start high level justice, you know, you, you're a VC, a venture investor, you could have put money to work in, you know, any number of, of sectors, industries, verticals, companies, but you're interested in women's sports.

How come Justice ma make the investment case for us?

Well, that's just it.

And so thanks Josh for, for having me and I've been, we've been very active in, in many different sectors such as clean energy, battery technologies, the space industry, we've done exceptionally well.

We've got a great track record in all these emerging areas and industries.

And when it comes to sports, sports is also an investment, it's a very unique asset class.

And, and, and again, so you've got the, you know, big four men's clubs, those are kind of the blue chip stocks of the portfolio.

You know, you got men's baseball, men's basketball, men's football, obviously.

And NHL hockey, you know, these clubs are 56 even $7 billion in value.

And so those are blue chip stocks and, and blue chip assets, they're very, very unique.

And so when it comes to women's sports is, it's much like a, I don't wanna say a venture or growth investment.

But um you know, some people think it's underrepresent of, you know, there's only 5% of fortune 500 companies that advertise in women's sports.

I actually think that's a huge opportunity.

The ceiling is so high for this.

And relatively speaking, the buy in is actually significantly cheaper.

So it's a great time to be alive.

It's a great time to be an investor.

It's a great time to be looking and backing some of these in, you know, unique companies and, and assets and individual players and teams because the sky literally is the limit for them and justice.

Why then the Waw NBA specifically there?

And how are you investing there?

Are you investing in the teams?

Is it the infrastructure behind the teams?

Yeah, it's a great question.

And so the w I mean, a couple of things, right?

And so, I mean, women's sports is a very broad, broad, you know, playing field, right?

And so the W NBA in particular, it's, it's got a lot of unique advantages and, and things going for it these days.

I mean, number one, it's owned majority by the NBA, over 50% owned by the NBA.

So it's got the backing of Big Brother, Big Sister.

It's not going anywhere, it's here, it's here to stay.

So I think that's a really good, you know, point in that.

Um and, and it carries a little bit further than that too because when they're negotiating TV rights and, and, you know, corporate sponsorships and things like that, it's actually quite nice to have the power and the backing of the NBA, I think obviously, at some point in time, if, if things go the way they may go, there may be a little bit of a divergence.

So they're still not lockstep and barrel together, but it's a really good thing to have that sort of backing behind that and that muscle behind it.

And so that's 0.1 um 0.2 is so myself and a group of uh backers and investors were actually uh bidding and backing on uh one of the expansion teams that are looking to come to market.

Uh team number 16, which we were playing in the 2027 season.

We're very, very optimistic about our bid.

We, we love the city that we're, that we're backing.

We think it ticks all the right boxes uh for obvious reasons.

I can't get into too much detail about what that city is and what that looks like.

But um you know, we're set up really, really good and I, I think the future is extremely bright and we should mention here, justice, you know, Yahoo Sports has its own uh women's sports portal uh just for viewers.

But another question I had for you was um one justice, how much capital are you deploying here?

And two when you talk to your LP S were, were they as, as as excited as you are?

So, I mean, a couple of things.

So we, we, we, we, we run actually as more of a family office where it's our internal capital, it's our partners capital.

Um When we make these investments, they're more atypical like SPV type of investment.

So we'll put our own money up.

Um Initially, we were looking to deploy 50 million.

We've actually gone up closer to about $100 million that we're actually looking to deploy at the current moment.

Um You know, so we've got, you know, we've got capital, we've got a big rack.

Uh, we've got some great external partners, some very name brand, folks, household names that you, you may know of, um, who have really taken a liking to what we've been doing.

Um, so, yeah, I mean, the, the future is really bright.

We're, we're getting this all put together, I think we're still very, very early days and, um, it's an exciting time to be in this arena and justice.

Uh, quickly here.

I, it's the W NBA.

Now you think down the line are there other women's leagues you'd be curious about?

Absolutely.

I mean, and, and, and again, it's such a broad spectrum, right?

So you gotta start somewhere, you can't do any, you know, everything and anything.

Um, the interesting thing is there, there's, there's, uh, you know, pe firms are sprouting up.

They're, they're totally dedicated to women's sports like Monarch and a bunch of these players.

Um, so it's a very broad arena we ourselves are, are, are starting in the w we like to start in the W NBA.

Uh, the women's soccer is taking off if you take a step backwards and, and go back to the Olympics.

For example, women's gymnastics was the number one draw out of any sport, men's or women's.

Right.

So the viewership is there, when the viewership is there, the fans show up, the fans have extraordinary voting and, and, and political capital and then the corporate sponsorships generally show up.

And so that's kind of the trajectory.

But II, I think across the board bar none.

Um I think there's, there's a tremendous amount of room to grow the these women.

And again, this is not a, I don't wanna say, you know, charity endeavor or, or DD I type of, you know, let's empower these people for the sake of doing it.

These women are extremely talented.

They're the games are, I don't know, Josh, you got a chance to watch some of these games.

I know it's game four tonight, maybe the liberty, close it out at home tonight, maybe that goes to a game five, which would be very exciting, but these are extremely, extremely exciting things and it's drawing a lot of fans in.

And my last point is I've got a lot of, you know, friends in New York.

I'm down here in Miami and some of my friends tell me these are wealthy guys, hedge fund managers and folks like that.

They're saying, hey, you know, I'd love to take my family to the Knicks game cost me, you know, between the four tickets, popcorn, booze.

You know, I'm into this thing for $2000 2500 bucks.

I can't do that every single Sunday.

And so the value that you're getting, you know, with the, the, the liberty and things like that you can take your whole family for a couple of $100.

Have a fantastic game day experience.

It's, it's a no brainer for me.

Justice.

Super interesting conversation.

Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Appreciate it.

Pleasure is mine.

Thanks Josh.

And coming up, it's what two watch for Monday.

I'm gonna tell you everything you need to know to kick start your trading week.

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Join us on Yahoo finance.com, the Yahoo Finance app or wherever you get your podcast time now for to watch next week, starting off in the earnings front, a lot of big names reporting next week including Coca Cola gmups and the first of the magnificent seven stocks, Tesla.

It has been a busy month for Tesla company reporting third quarter deliveries which came in above estimates and of course, the results come on the heels of last week's Robo tax event which was a disappointment for investors taking a look at the fed.

We're gonna be getting some fed commentary throughout the week from fed presidents Laurie Logan and Patrick Harker.

It's coming after comments this week from fed Governor Christopher Waller suggesting a more gradual pace on interest rate cuts going forward and moving over to housing monthly home sales data coming out next week.

Economists forecasting existing home sales to tick up to 3.88 million and new homes to study at 716,000 for the month of September.

That is a wrap on today's ask for a trend.

Be sure to come back Monday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern for all of the latest market, moving stories affecting your wall.

Have a great night.