Closing 2025’
I know I was definitely looking for the 🔦 light at the end of the tunnel. Hell, I even spent my New Years Eve ⛄ snowed in at a friend’s Music Studio in Rhode Island, with literally nothing to eat, besides 🍫🍄 mushroom chocolate and infused cookies.

(I suppose there’s worse ways to blast 🚀 off into the new year.)

It actually “almost” made me forget about all the people in 2025’ Who did bad business, had outstanding invoices lied, cheated, stole and — or ghosted me all together…

_{(yes, if you’re reading this and think it’s about you, it probably is.)}

All that said, it seems like last year really knocked the 💨 wind out of people.

It challenged ethics, integrity, character and our ⏳ patience. It tested our love, faith, beliefs, hope and optimism in the world around us. 🕊 ✨ It conditioned us to focus on ourselves, without being selfish or self-absorbed. it reminded us to stop setting ourselves on fire, to keep other people warm. Regardless of it all, lessons were learned, battles were won, new people in, old people out. I feel like I was blessed with some of the new connections I’ve made all year long.

Now the really hard (honest) conversation.

With all the stages I’ve been on and interviews i’ve done i’ve gotten into some really heated and interesting debates, while doing my best to stay mindful and aware. I’ve been ignoring propaganda, media blackouts, people perpetuating false narratives, and the loud apps with a constant demand for attention. Avoiding the noise and static that disrupts your peace is never easy. Being oblivious to what’s happening also isn’t sustainable long term... So I’ve really just been doing my best to focus and stay intentional with things I can actually change. Protecting your energy is real and I hope this is the year you master it.

The next 10 years will be some of the most challenging in human history due to rapid technological shifts (AI), economic volatility, and social disconnection. This period will "break" people who do not have a strong internal foundation. Success in the coming decade will depend on psychological resilience and the ability to adapt faster than the environment changes. I always warn people to not become a product of their environment, and suggest if they don’t like where they’re at, change it (travel/move). So many times I see heros turn to villians, or people staying around just long enough to become everything they hate.

Now It’s okay to be afraid of the unknown, navigating uncertainty comes with anxiety and so many other feelings, but the reality is we’re constantly absorbing new information and riding the waves of unpredictability. To prevent getting overwhelmed and exhausted by it all, don’t forget to breathe and take this to heart:

Most people ask, "How do I get what I want?" while the more important question is, "Who do I need to become to deserve the life I want?" 

Change your story to change your life. For me personally, i’ve been practicing pattern recognition and how to follow certain processes to get specific results and avoid undesirable ones. This has been phenomenal in giving me additional tools to pass on to my clients for consulting, advisory and management. I highly suggest taking a look at what you can systemize in your life to make it better and more efficient so you can do more and think less.

At CES I saw my fair share of flying toasters and self-mowing lawn rovers, white labeled and wrapped products sold at a markup. Tons of “live forever” biohack / health shortcuts. As well as a handful of people that are equally excited about the future as much as they are afraid of it. Robotics and Automation are absolutely on their way and those job losses are not coming back. I’ll give a prime example.

A Restaurant Owner gets a Roomba-Style Waiter Robot, we’ll call it Sam. Sam can take the orders of every table. Return to the kitchen to pick it up and deliver it back to the table, without complaints and pay. Sam can also save each employee on payroll 1hr per shift because he can work overnight on sidework rolling silverware in napkins. Let’s do some basic math. Now let’s say Sam is saving the restaurant 12hrs per week. 48hrs per month 576hrs per year. Now if the wage is $15/hr that’s $8,640 per year saved by Sam The Robot, and wait til Samantha is on the floor too! Now while the owner makes more, the employees make less unless the min. wage is increased to makeup for the lost wages. I can give plenty of addtl. examples from Lawncare to Pool Maint. to even language translation eyewear that’s gonna change the game for people like me who have businesses built on democratizing information. Needless to say, this should have you thinking differently about your occupation, title, role, business and what makes it “recession proof”. Within this is also an opportunity for arbitrage, thinking how to get ahead before we arrive there. Remember, where there’s problems, there’s an opportunity zone for $ solutions.

My goal in sharing this is just to remind you to keep your eyes and ears open as the climate for employment is changing, and you want to take preventative steps to protect yourself in the future if your job or business is at risk.

I’m also happy we’re finally getting to the point of realizing the importance of equity, direct to consumer, ecosystem and ownership. (Things I speak on ad nauseam, all over the world). Alongside the value of community, connectivity and culture. Lastly, we’re also understanding how important it is to diversify your investments across industries that don’t overlap ( uncorrelated assets ) and forced to re-address our survival strategies. AI, Robotics and Automation are going to kill the job markets, making for less roles and more efficiency, regardless of what you do or don’t do. So you may as well do something for your friends, family and future.

🔮
Still With me?

I think everyone is overdue for an amazing year and If you’re reading this, I want to contribute to it. Even if this becomes some weird advice column that occasionally gives you Exclusive and Early Access to Product Launches, Releases, Events, Opportunities, Giveaways, Grants and more.

(Last Year we gave away over $100,000 in free tickets and some of the investment opportunities were life-changing as well.)

If you’d like to join the telegram with over 850+ members of New Friendship Tech, feel free to drop me a message for an invite.

👇 annnnd we keep rolling 👇

Quiet Quitting Los Angeles after 15 Years.

Not sure if this was an Irish Exit or French Goodbye, but it definitely felt weird, considering this has been my home since 22. Back when I was working at Red Lobster by day and throwing my tips at Poker , Blackjack in Hollywood Park by night. Then Producing Raves, Rapping and DJ’ing on the weekends… The stories and impact i’ve had here are absolutely insane (and well documented) most of which will eventually be published in my book w/my music.

If you want to know and see more. www.Eric-Spivak.com/press and Media both have really incredible memories and inspiring work

Why Did I Leave?
Well, I knew with the international growth of New Friendship Tech alongside my Personal Brand receiving a handful of requests overseas the last 4 years, It just made $$$ Sense. Plus i’ve been scaling into these markets almost 5 years now and love being a bridge for Southeast Asia/APAC as much as I do MENA etc. So like that I packed it up and bounced to Southeast Asia for 4 mos. to Host Top Conferences across the Web3/Crypto, AI, Emerging Tech & Innovation space. If you’re not familiar, to my background, you can see some of it here.

annnd what i’m currently building is the equivalent of a SXSW meets ArtBasel meets TED/MasterClass for Los Angeles (then NY/MIA). so it’s important for me to broaden my horizons and expand my imprint and perspectives by having increased exposure to the global audience I want in attendance. Also, outside of my local communities in Art, Music, Fashion, Tech, Culture and Business. I’m also constantly looking for more industry leaders to put on stages and include in programming.

I’m also still taking Investors, Sponsors, Advertisers, Speakers, Exhibitors and Unique Partnerships all of 2026. Reply to this email to shoot your shot.

You can see recaps of some of it here

Taipei • Tokyo • Seoul • Singapore • Ho Chi Minh

They were all absolutely amazing for completely separate reasons.

Some of those reasons being, we produced a mansion party in Seoul, then a private activation at Vogue’s Headquarters in Singapore during the F1 Grand Prix & Token2049. Countless nights spent with incredible people, I honestly couldn’t even tell you where one ends and the next begins but I do know I can’t wait to do it all over again.

Also Learning to navigate, understand and respect how things move in a completely different culture was definitely one of my favorite experiences overall. I now have growing communities for New Friendship Tech in these regions and look forward to going back later this year to contribute more (same with Latin America). If you’re a big community builder, have resources to share or think you’d like to help grow and manage one, reach out so we can chat about some of the upcoming goals in these areas.

_{Putting it out there, I’d also love to have a legit team + investor to exec prod. a Bourdain style series this year.}

Now, you didn’t just come this far to come this far did you?
💰💰💰
I promise there’s valuable rewards toward the end,
if you don’t care about the catch-up and you’re wondering wtf this is, and just really enjoy the events I produce, that you’ve attended and don’t realize I’m behind, that’s cool too.
😉

Back To Reality.

So What’s Next?

Art Basel always wraps up the year for me and between getting asked to DJ N3on’s Yacht Party, as well as blowing up the stage at BitBasel and wrapping up the week with a mansion party at the house they filmed the iconic movie Scarface at. I’d say it was another great success, annnnd maybe this year i’ll play Factory Town with my friends who’ve been shutting it down year after year.

If you have interest in any of this stuff, or just want to geek out on Recaps and more it all of it lives on my socials. CES (Consumer Electronic Show) generally starts the year off in the right direction, so i’m happy I just got to crush it out there as well (despite hitting a straight flush at Venetian at 4am & missing out on a 2.6mil Jackpot bc It wasn’t on the flop.

END:

If you’re looking to bring massive attention to your business or brand this year. Please do not hesitate to hit me up. I’ve got a wide-array of very unique methods to getting you in front of your target audience. Whether through my activations, wheatpasting, billboards, stencils, drone shows, flash mobs and so many other types of rollouts. My teams and I have extraordinary resources to bring in new business.

I’m also always available for Consulting, Marketing, Biz Dev, Partnerships, Hosting, Speaking Engagements, DJ Sets, Branding, Event Production. 

And i’m helping with fills/overflow for various seed rounds for really strong projects that i’ve vetted, if you or someone you know is in the Venture Space (angel, private equity, family office etc, drop me a line as well.)

Let’s Work & Thanks For Reading!

New Partnerships:

Early Access: Voyager

Voyager is an AI-native Web3 ecosystem and multi-asset exchange. Trade digital assets and commodities in one seamless interface. Secure your spot in the Voyager Token Airdrop, get 500 V when you sign up! → voyager.cx

Voyager is backed by top infrastructure partners including Chainlink, Google Cloud, Circle, Fordefi, and Turnkey. Their private beta is set to launch in approximately 4–6 weeks.

Key Features
- Trade real-world assets onchain. Spot and leveraged perpetuals on gold, silver, and platinum, a first in Web3.
- Move across chains and asset classes in a single click with chain abstracted execution.
- Reduced fees and premium access. V unlocks discounted trading, advanced tools, and ecosystem rewards.

Momentum
- Licensed exchange with lead investor secured
- Chainlink BUILD | Google Cloud Accelerator | Circle Alliance
- Hashlock audit complete | CMC listed

Estimated TGE is this Spring, with multiple Tier-1 CEX listings and ChainGPT confirmed for launch. Don’t miss the opportunity to position yourself early with the next top trading platform.

The most valuable opportunities usually don’t come with a big announcement. They come quietly, through people you trust.

A friend of mine is about to take his casino platform out of beta and into full public launch, including entry into the U.S. market. Ahead of that, he’s opened a small, private community round, and allocated a limited number of spots specifically for our audience.

This isn’t an idea-stage project. The platform is live, revenue-generating, and built by an experienced development house with a strong track record in crypto & iGaming. It’s backed by Solana-based angels and positioned to scale quickly as it moves out of beta.

The goal of this round is simple, increase exposure and accelerate growth with you guys behind it!

Because capacity is capped, allocation is first in, best dressed, and the window closes later this month.

If you want to learn more or secure a spot, message the Founder directly on Telegram:

https://t.me/clutchbrandon

Or fill the form

Not interested in investing? That’s completely fine. You can still sign up and participate on the platform. Even if your jurisdiction isn’t currently available, you can register, and still receive rewards. Site: www.clutch.app

Early users are being incentivised heavily, including airdrops and participation in games being built around some of Web3’s largest IP.

_{(No pressure. Just sharing while it’s still private.)}

In Other News

• Vote with your money: Wanna support businesses making positive changes? Learn how to make a difference with your dollar though socially responsible investing.

• anonymous startup has raised $3m… to give it all away. What’s the catch? Per TechCrunch, it’s a customer acquisition play for a TBA fintech product. Investors include Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Allbirds CEO Joey Zwillinger.

• Drink it up: Uber is acquiring alcohol-delivery startup Drizly for ~$1.1B and will integrate the app into Uber Eats. This is a change for Uber’s recent M&A strategy of… selling stuff (to focus on delivery and ride-sharing).

• An OS for the music industry: Music manager and tech founder Daouda Leonard released “Publishing Simulator,” a tool for artists to find out how much publishing income they can earn from streaming. (Check out our Q&A with him here.)

• Tesla is recalling ~135k Model S and Model X vehicles after regulators found problems with the touch-screen display.

• 2021 bingo card: “After Myanmar coup, Facebook removes national military TV network’s page,” per the Wall Street Journal.

• Not peanuts. Kraft Heinz is in talks to sell Planters — the legendary nut brand with the monocled Mr. Peanut — for ~$3B to Hormel.

• Google Cloud Business lost $5.6B last year… but is growing fast (50% YoY) and notched a full year revenue of $13B.

• Taylor Swift became the first artist to claim all 10 top spots on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart’s 64-year history.

• Amazon is now producing daily sports TV talk shows, from 8am to 8pm, moving the company deeper into sports programming.

• An Instagram outage locked some users out of their accounts and caused some people’s follower counts to rapidly drop.

• New-car prices are dropping a bit, but they’re still 33% higher than pre-pandemic prices. In October, the average new car price was $45.6k, down from $46.1k in July.

• University endowments are in the red, following a rocketship year of double-digit gains. The median return in the year ending June 30 was -7.8%.

• JPMorgan Chase is working on a mass-market digital payments platform for landlords and tenants, called Story.

• Paramount Global is adding 6.3k+ CBS episodes to Pluto TV, its free, ad-supported streaming service.

Are you a Founder?

fin.