$79M back, a Belfast gym-kit maker, and Waymo's first loan - Oct 12

$79 million. That is how much tariff money Levi's got back in one quarter. It helped push its gross margin (the share of each sale left after the cost of making the product) from 61.7% to 66.2%. If you import, know exactly what you paid in import taxes, and whether any of it can come back. Sources: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000094845/000009484526000048/exhibit991-3q2026pressrele.htm My take: if you import anything, call your accountant this week. Some of that money might be yours.

Greg Bradley, Blk Box (Belfast). He makes strength-training equipment for gyms, far from the usual startup hubs. Revenue rose from £11.9 million in 2022 to £26.7 million in 2025, it is profitable, its kit is in more than 600 PureGym sites, and it is now growing in the US. Proof that a "boring" product sold to businesses can grow fast and make money at the same time. Sources: https://www.blkboxfitness.com/blogs/blog/blk-box-delivers-record-year-of-growth-and-profitability and https://athletechnews.com/belfast-blk-box-fitness-strength-equipment-us-expansion My take: Belfast is not a startup hub. Greg did not wait for permission. Boring sells.

RIND closed its online shop to make food for other brands. The snack brand cut its range down to Apple Chips and is putting its resources into manufacturing. It now belongs to Keep It REAL Foods, a group that makes its own products and other brands' too, and is bringing a 140,000 sq ft Wisconsin plant online next year. Sometimes the factory is a better business than the brand. Sources: https://www.nosh.com/news/2026/rind-closes-online-store-reduces-sku-count-as-focusing-shifts-to-manufacturing and https://www.nosh.com/cpgweek/mind--mood-on-display-maha-vs-maga My take: the factory is less glamorous than the brand. It can be the better business.

How I Built This, "Advice Line with Nick Green of Thrive Market" (44 min). The co-founder and CEO of online grocery club Thrive Market takes calls from three small founders with real problems. Start at 17:42, on funding a mission-driven coffee brand through subscriptions (timestamps may differ by app). Link: https://podwise.ai/episodes/9078103 My take: real founders, real problems, no script. Start with the coffee call at 17:42.

"Ebel" is an acronym for a couple. The Swiss watch brand was founded in 1911 by Eugene Blum and Alice Levy, partners in life: Eugene Blum Et Levy. This week, 115 years later, Movado agreed to sell 95% of Ebel for $66.5 million to a group led by Montres Journe, with Chanel. A brand with a real story keeps its value. Sources: https://www.fhs.swiss/eng/2011-10-25_918.html and https://fashionunited.com/news/business/strategic-acquisition-montres-journe-and-chanel-invest-in-ebel/2026100975115 My take: put your story in the name. It compounds for 115 years.

Chapter 11: a type of US bankruptcy where a company keeps running while it reorganises its debts and finds new money. This week, LIV Golf lined up up to $300m from BC Partners inside its Chapter 11 case. Run-rate revenue: what a company would earn in a year if this month's sales stayed the same (this month x 12). AI leaderboard Arena said its run-rate hit $100M in June, up from $30M in January. EBITDA multiple: a price shown as how many years of operating profit a buyer pays. Sportradar sold Atrium Sports to Teamworks for $170M at what it called "an accretive double-digit EBITDA multiple", so more than 10 times yearly operating profit. Sources: https://insidersport.com/2026/10/06/liv-golf-300m-bc-partners-bankruptcy/ and https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/08/popular-ai-leaderboard-arena-nearly-doubles-valuation-to-3-1b-valuation-in-10-months/ and https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001836470/000110465926114201/tm2626951d1_ex99-1.htm My take: learn these three once. You will hear them all month.

Fitness racing is becoming its own sports business. It is a set course of runs and gym exercises raced against the clock. HYROX was valued at around EUR 600 million when an L Catterton-led group bought a majority stake; its co-founders have now invested in rival XENOM; and ATHX went from about 2,122 racers in 2023 to more than 10,000 in the first half of 2026. When a new sport takes off, kit, gyms, coaching and apps follow. Sources: https://athletechnews.com/hyrox-founders-invest-in-xenom-fitness-competitions-strike-partnership/ and https://athletechnews.com/hyrox-acquisition-l-catterton-led-group-co-founders-wndr-infront/ and https://hybridfitnessmedia.com/2026/05/19/athx-growth-continues-fitness-racing-expands-europe/ My take: first the race, then the kit, the gyms and the apps. Pick your layer early.

Off the Record, by Ron Masas. A Mac app that reshapes your voice in real time so people on a call can understand you, but AI note-takers struggle to transcribe you (the maker's claim). It works with Zoom, Google Meet and Teams, and it is free for one hour a week. It launched on Product Hunt this week. In a feed full of AI tools, a tool that protects you from AI stood out. Source: https://www.producthunt.com/products/off-the-record-2 My take: AI that reads your meetings became a category. The pushback is becoming one too. Day 15 of 100. Still building FOUNDERS out loud. This newsletter gets a little sharper every week.

Waymo borrows $5 billion, its first-ever debt financing. Alphabet's self-driving company took a term loan led by PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street to grow its robotaxi service in the US and abroad. Once a business has steady revenue, borrowing can fund growth without giving away more ownership. Sources: https://waymo.com/blog/2026/10/waymo-closes-5-billion-debt-financing/ and https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/08/waymo-locks-in-5b-loan-from-blackstone-pimco-to-fuel-robotaxi-expansion/ My take: equity is not the only fuel. With steady revenue, debt can be cheaper than selling pieces of the company.

The earn-out. A buyer pays part of the price when the deal closes and promises more later, but only if the business hits agreed targets. This week, Constellation Brands paid $75 million for year-old SpikedAde, plus up to $278 million more over five years "based on performance". When you sell young, much of your price may depend on what happens after you sign. Sources: https://www.fooddive.com/news/constellation-brands-buys-spikedade-75-million/832374/ and https://rbj.net/2026/10/07/constellation-brands-acquires-spikedade-rochester My take: the number in the headline is not the price. The price is what you collect.