Eddy Badrina

For my new followers, here’s the lowdown: ➡️ First act was in government. Middle East analyst for the State Department, pre and post 9/11. Ended up as POTUS 43’s Asian American policy surrogate. ➡️ Second act was an entrepreneur. Co-founded and bootstrapped @buzzshift in 2010. Sold it in 2016. Bought back in 2017 for an ungodly low sum. Sold it again. ➡️ Third act is CEO of a a growth stage agtech company @edengreentech. Vertical farming, but in a greenhouse. “Profitable unit level economics” is my mantra. ➡️ Bonus: I curate The 100 Best Rap Songs Of All Time playlist on Spotify. open.spotify.com/playlist/1Kn78… I tweet on all these things, and I’m right 50% of the time, 100% of the time.

I'm recommending everyone I know to read this. Including my teenage kids. It's *that important* of a signal.

BIG NEWS for Texas today! @NYSE is launching NYSE Texas in Dallas. This will cement Texas' position as a national and global economic powerhouse. Texas will be the financial capital of America.

If you are a marketing agency with a website dev service offering, you might want to jump on this one. If you haven't already.

My wife asked to see the credit card statement so she can figure out why we don’t have any money and I told her very sternly that she is a danger to democracy

It's becoming clearer and clearer that we're looking at a seismic shift in the US's relationship with the world, between: 1) The US dismantling its foreign interference apparatuses (like USAID 👇) 2) Marco Rubio stating that we're now in a multipolar world with "multi-great powers in different parts of the planet" (state.gov/secretary-marc…) and that "the postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us" (foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…) 3) The tariffs on supposed "allies" like Mexico, Canada or the EU This is the US effectively saying "our attempt at running the world is over, to each his own, we're now just another great power, not the 'indispensable nation'." It looks "dumb" (as the WSJ just wrote) if you are still mentally in the old paradigm but it's always a mistake to think that what the US (or any country) does is dumb. Hegemony was going to end sooner or later, and now the U.S. is basically choosing to end it on its own terms. It is the post-American world order - brought to you by America itself. Even the tariffs on allies, viewed under this angle, make sense, as it redefines the concept of "allies": they don't want - or maybe rather can't afford - vassals anymore, but rather relationships that evolve based on current interests. You can either view it as decline - because it does unquestionably look like the end of the American empire - or as avoiding further decline: controlled withdrawal from imperial commitments in order to focus resources on core national interests rather than being forced into an even messier retreat at a later stage. In any case it is the end of an era and, while the Trump administration looks like chaos to many observers, they're probably much more attuned to the changing realities of the world and their own country's predicament than their predecessors. Acknowledging the existence of a multipolar world and choosing to operate within it rather than trying to maintain an increasingly costly global hegemony couldn't be delayed much further. It looks messy but it is probably better than maintaining the fiction of American primacy until it eventually collapses under its own weight. This is not to say that the U.S. won't continue to wreak havoc on the world, and in fact we might be seeing it become even more aggressive than before. Because when it previously was (badly, and very hypocritically) trying to maintain some semblance of self-proclaimed "rules-based order", it now doesn't even have to pretend it is under any constraint, not even the constraint of playing nice with allies. It's the end of the U.S. empire, but definitely not the end of the U.S. as a major disruptive force in world affairs. All in all this transformation may mark one of the most significant shifts in international relations since the fall of the Soviet Union. And those most unprepared for it, as is already painfully obvious, are America's vassals caught completely flat-footed by the realization that the patron they've relied on for decades is now treating them as just another set of countries to negotiate with.

In a ZIRP environment, there was no incentive for them (or InFarm or Aerofarm or Kalera) to focus on unit level economics. The winners are figuring that out first before going on a capex spending spree. And believe me, there will be winners in the CEA space. Macro trends (environment, supply chain bottlenecks, market demand for affordable, safe produce) are all enduring.

@lifeofbi Paging @eddybadrina for comment

Bowery, vertical farming, shuts down after $700m raised from First Round, General Catalyst, Google. Is it the consumer still isn't interested in paying a premium for sustainability?

Amazon is a logistics company with ecomm capabilities

Election night challenge: Every time a state is called, drop and do that number of electoral college votes in pushups (🟥) or squats (🟦). Then take a shot of your favorite liquor. R or D, they will both do your body good. Bonus: you won’t feel it until at least late tomorrow morning.

What Chris has endured here on X is sobering. The truth always comes out, and I’m so proud of the way my friend is handling such a stressful situation, not only for him but also his family and colleagues at Fort Capital. Proud of you, @fortworthchris.

A remarkable photo captured by my former White House Press Corps colleague Doug Mills. Zoom in right above President Trump’s shoulder and you’ll see a bullet flying in the air to the right of President Trump’s head following an attempted assassination.

If you think the Trump shooting was staged, you're an idiot. Multiple reports have the shooter as dead, and the former president was hit an inch away from his brain. That's not a "staged false flag," it's an assassination attempt. And it's repulsive and undemocratic.

In moments like this I thank god @elonmusk bought @X so that we have an unvarnished access to real-time events Rather than this complete bullshit from MSM

So, who’s been in charge all along?

Listen, I get it. Leaving? It’s a business. I get it. To your in-state rival? Bitter, but I can take it. Smaller, elite school, deeper pockets. Okay. Lying? Unacceptable. Par for most politicians, but sucks when it’s coaches. Coaching your boys up in the final game, knowing you are leaving 24 hours later? Ugh. And recruiting with your whole staff since April/May for your future team, while you all are still being paid by your old team? Yikes.

@eddybadrina @TexAgs Classic lil bro response

BREAKING: Jim Schlossnagle is reportedly leaving Texas A&M after three seasons to join the University of Texas: texags.com/s/60210/jim-sc…

@stephenolmon @jspujji Among my colleagues, I would recommend Arama Kukutai at Plenty. Amongst investors, the folks over at L Catterton have made some interesting investments in the future of food.

@jspujji Hmm any thoughts here @eddybadrina

FUTURIST wanted. I am on the board of a large regional grocer. They are looking for a couple "futurists" who can help them think about how things will be in ~20 years. Anyone out there you'd recommend? Or is this you? DM me.

Way to go, Dallas weather. Proud of you. #SolarEclipse2024

@drantbradley We decided on a local all-boys prep school here for our rising 9th grader. Couldn’t be more excited for him.

If your 5th-grade son visits a school like Northwood as you plan his 6th-grade year, he’ll likely beg you send him here. The #BoyCrisis is put to death at schools like this. The classroom is designed for boys’ thriving. No need to hold them back a grade. If you can afford it…👇🏾

@jcolesimpson Love to see this! Way to celebrate and mark the milestones. Probably one of the most difficult things to do when we are wired the way we are.

530k In debt and a 250k month In May 2023 I signed a franchise agreement for Mighty Dog Roofing I had been searching for a business to acquire for 6 months but after a few deals didn’t working out I got impatient and wanted to start building something I heard of Mighty Dog in April, in May I signed I used an SBA loan, put 20% down (about 120k) and borrowed 530k to start my franchise I started in October Today, 5 months later, I made the last draw on that 530k (which means I’ve officially used my entire loan, to be clear a good bit of that money is in my account) This month we’ve done a little over 250k in revenue, hopefully we can finish closer to 400k Our goal is to hit 10 million this year (or at least be on a 10 million dollar run rate If you’re searching I’d encourage you to take a hard look at franchising You might be able to build what you’re looking for faster and with less money And it’ll put you in a position to be a better acquirer long term Anyways just a cool full circle moment today Glad I signed in May, excited for what the future holds

"Always more audacity." - Winston Churchill That's it. That's the tweet.