🛫 Gen Z is a flight risk

As a kid, did you ever stand outside collecting rain or snow on your tongue? Look, it’s OK if you still do.

Richard’s Rainwater turned it into a business, selling still and sparkling rainwater in recyclable aluminum cans and glass bottles.

The backstory

Frustrated with well water’s effect on his hair and laundry, founder Richard Heinichen began collecting rainwater for personal use at his Austin, Texas, home in the ‘90s.

He later built a “tank town” to harvest larger volumes of water and, in 2002, received a license to bottle and distribute what he called “cloud juice.” Heinichen has since retired.

Today…

… in addition to Tank Town, Richard’s Rainwater has two brewery partners: Lazy Magnolia in Kiln, Mississippi, and Faubourg Brewing Co. in New Orleans.

CEO Taylor O’Neil told The Hustle that collection systems, located on the breweries’ roofs, connect to existing stormwater management systems.

Sensors note when a rain event begins and, because rain events cleanse the atmosphere, eschew the first 0.2 inches.

The rest goes into collection tanks. A proprietary zero-waste, chlorine-free filtration system removes biological or particulate contaminants before the water is bottled on-site.

• For every 1k square feet of collection area, an inch of rain generates ~550 gallons of clean water.
• The company anticipates harvesting 4m+ gallons in 2023 for an estimated $10m+ in sales.

The goal…

… is to build collection sites nationwide, with immediate sights set on Oregon and North Carolina. Sites that offer ample surface area and precipitation are ideal.

“Every new site will enable us to move water [shorter distances] from where it’s captured to where it’s consumed, create new jobs, and be a better example of renewable water in more communities,” O’Neil said.

BTW: O’Neil said even dry places could collect rain for drinking water or other purposes. Because when it does rain, it can overload ill-equipped  systems, spread contamination, and make my commute very soggy.

Generational fears are a neat thing. Thirty-three percent of millennials, for instance, say they’re more afraid of credit card debt than death or war. Gen Z, on the other hand, certainly doesn’t appear to be afraid of spending.

Visa found the cohort to be the only age group that, in any given month in the past 2.5 years, was spending more than they were a year prior.

Instead, today’s youths appear to be most afraid of not spending their money on the right things. How mature!

So, what are the right things?

Well, think about it — this is a generation where three in four of them prefer a better quality of life than extra cash in their bank accounts, one that was stuck at home taking classes on Zoom, that spent the pandemic saving up money…

They’re traveling.

Recent data from Morning Consult found 52% of Gen Z adults are now frequent travelers, versus 41% of Gen X and 35% of baby boomers.

Further, across income brackets, Gen Zers are more likely to travel than other generations, and 61% of frequently traveling Gen Zers last year came from households with incomes of less than $50k.

As for whether Gen Z’s spending spree will lead to a “sticky inflation” doom for us all, as some suspect — well, that’s another discussion.

For all the social stigma surrounding infertility, you may expect it to be more of a rarity, yet the latest WHO data shows 17.5% of adults report challenges in conception.

As infertility awareness grows, so too has the number of women undergoing egg-freezing procedures, doubling between 2015 and 2020, per The Washington Post. Embryo freezing similarly rose ~60%.

And wherever there’s a trend, there’s often ravenous tech startups ready to modernize the way it’s done.

Enter TMRW Life Sciences

TMRW’s flagship product, CryoRobot Select, was built to improve upon the error-prone storage drums that have long housed frozen eggs and embryos.

The automated cryostorage device — cleared by the FDA — offers high-tech solutions to archaic systems:

• Radio-chip labeling allows for a full digital chain of custody.
• Manual handling is replaced with a robotic management system.
• TMRW provides 24/7 real-time monitoring and grants patients access to their data via app.

Increased transparency and safety in this ever-sensitive industry are welcomed, but while consumers long for both, the pressing question is…

… Can they afford it?

Prices have skyrocketed — preservation costs increased ~40% YoY, according to The Washington Post. TMRW storage starts at ~$600 per year.

Coverage for egg freezing remains rare — just 15% of US employers offered the benefit in 2021 — and fertility businesses say insurance rates, inflation, and supply chain issues are forcing them to raise prices.

• Also, you know, money always wins: The fertility industry projects a $41B worth by 2026, VC money in the space has doubled since 2019, and consumer demand is up.