The Snowman That Beat McDonald’s 🍦👑

Plus: Self-driving trailers, AI funeral planners, and Reddit’s surprise 20th birthday party. It’s a weird one. Buckle up.

Author

Daniel Pereira
May 17, 2025

Biz Analyst Club Newsletter
by The Business Model Analyst

Hello, Biz Enthusiasts!
There’s a new fast-food king in town — and it’s not who you think (unless you guessed “Chinese boba empire with a snowman mascot”). Meanwhile, Walgreens is going full robot and a startup just made cancer screening as easy as using a tampon. Welcome to the future — it’s fast, AI-powered, and slightly ridiculous. Let’s dive in.👇

Hot Takes 🚀

1. Elizabeth Holmes Is in Prison. Her Partner Is Pitching a Blood-Test Startup 🩸🤔
Theranos may be dead, but the startup spirit lives on… in her husband. Billy Evans is now raising $50M for a diagnostics company promising “human health optimization.” First step? Testing pets. (Because starting with humans would just be too on the nose.)
👉 Yes, it’s called Haemanthus — and yes, that means blood lily

2. The World’s Most Popular Fast Food Chain Isn’t McDonald’s Anymore 🍔❌
Say hello to Mixue — a Chinese ice cream and boba chain with 46,000+ outlets and a snowman mascot that just dethroned the golden arches. You’ve never seen it, but your Gen Z cousin in Bangkok probably has.
👉 How Mixue quietly became a global giant

3. Teal Health’s At-Home Cancer Test Just Got FDA Approved 🧪🏠
Teal Health launched the first-ever FDA-approved cervical cancer screening you can do at home. It’s 96% accurate and uses a wand that works like a tampon. Healthcare, meet your DTC era.
👉 Why this startup is shaking up women’s health

4. Walgreens’ Robot Army Fills 16M Prescriptions a Month 🤖💊
The pharmacy giant is expanding its robot-run micro-fulfillment centers — freeing up pharmacists to do more “human-y” tasks while bots handle the pill-pushing.
👉 Inside Walgreens’ automation comeback strategy

5. This Self-Driving Camper Trailer Can Hitch Itself 🛻✨
Startup Pebble just launched the Flow — a smart trailer that hitches itself, parks itself, and even adjusts the temperature for your glamping needs. Can it make coffee too?
👉 Check out the world’s laziest camping setup

Quick Hits 📰

CASE STUDY: Amazon Prime – From Logistics to Loyalty Engine

This isn’t just free shipping.
And it’s not just a perks program.

Amazon Prime is a masterclass in business strategy — the kind of membership that quietly redefined customer loyalty, logistics, and recurring revenue at global scale.

This premium case study is our first MBA-grade business deep dive, crafted specifically for educators, consultants, and strategy pros who want more than buzzwords — they want models, mechanics, and actionable insights.

If you teach, consult, or just geek out over genius strategy moves, this is your new favorite case.

Ready to dig into the Prime effect?

Feeling dizzy from all the AI breakthroughs, robot pharmacists, and self-driving camper vans? Same. Take a breath, adjust your smart collar, and brace yourself — because somewhere out there, a snowman mascot just dethroned McDonald’s, and a basketball star is building funeral-planning software. The future isn’t just fast — it’s fabulously unhinged. Let’s ride.

❝

You can’t make anything viral, but you can make something good.

Peter Shankman

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