This is Nick, and this is Jack, Meet the Guys Who Changed Financial News

 

“This is Nick, and this is Jack, and you're listening to snacks daily… snackers, this is gonna be the best one yet”...

With an intro like that, you might expect to be getting updates on what’s hitting grocery aisles near you, but that’s the sound bite that greets the thousands of listeners, dubbed “Snackers”,  that tune into a financial news podcast every morning. “Snacks Daily” aims to deliver “digestible financial news” and promises a breakdown of 3 top business stories in around 15 minutes. It’s a format that works, as the podcast is consistently in the top ten on both Spotify and Apple podcasts, and currently ranks #2 in the Business News category. But before snacks was a podcast, it was a humble daily newsletter dreamed up by two men who wanted to make finance more accessible to all. The success of this newsletter and podcast must be attributed to the unique personalities behind it. So let’s meet Nick and Jack. 

Nick Martell and Jack Kramer were random roommates freshman year at Middlebury college. The pair jokes that they met while drinking the same protein shake… and the rest is history. While they eventually went their separate ways, they became roommates again in New York City working their first jobs in the financial industry. It was 2012, occupy wall street was in full swing and Europe was experiencing a banking crisis. Nick and Jack walked to work every day a little ashamed to be wearing their suits. At night, they debriefed their woes over a beer. Part of the problem, they reasoned, was that finance was “too boring, jargon-filled, and inaccessible” especially to millennials.  So the pair set out to fix it. They took their inspiration from “The Daily Show” which presented political news in a way that was fun and satirical. So they started a newsletter “MarketSnacks” that would cover “Bite-size business news” and do so in a way that was engaging. The email newsletter was wildly successful and soon they were receiving sponsorship offers. From there they continued to grow, making several TV appearances to tell their story and getting featured on Forbes “30 under 30” list. On these shows, their chemistry caught the eye of a podcasting company who encouraged them to convert their product into the podcast that engages so many listeners today. Another huge boost came when they were acquired by Robinhood, an investment company with a similar mission to make the financial industry more accessible to all. 

What makes Snacks Daily so great? Not only have Nick and Jack managed to make financial news and investing accessible, but they’ve made it entertaining. From the legal disclaimer/theme music RAP to their snack fact of the day, they’ve created a perfect package for delivering the day’s top stories. The comedic, light-hearted summary allows listeners to feel like they know what’s going on in the markets and requires just 15 minutes. The pod fits perfectly into a morning commute or breakfast time and is peppered with corny inside jokes that keep “snackers” coming back for more.  The creators also make sure to engage with their audience. Both are incredibly active on social media and each podcast ends with a “snackfact” submitted by one of their listeners as well as an ever-growing segment where they congratulate listeners on everything from birthdays to engagements to passing their LSAT. In the early days of the pandemic they encouraged listeners to share what they could get done during a podcast, to which one man shared a video of him planking for 17 minutes straight… Needless to say, these segments have created an incredibly loyal group of connected listeners. 

The dedication to the quality of their podcast is evident, and despite it being a side-hustle for both, they never miss a day. The pair share a pretty unique routine that allows them to do this. Their creative process involves a LOT of collecting during daily sessions they call “Headline Hammer”. They spend a short period of time in an intense brainstorming session. “We research, like, dozens and dozens of resources and primary sources, and then we curate them and pitch them to each other,”. This period reflects the divergent and generative portion of the geneplore model. Anything and everything is on the table. Then they move into the convergent and interpretive phase where they come together to evaluate what they’ve come up with in the brainstorming session. In these evaluative sessions that they engage in the strategy they credit as the key to their success: The One and Done rule. If one disagrees, they don’t argue with it, they side with the objection and they move on. This system may not work for everyone but it works perfectly for them and allows them to move quickly, a very necessary pace as this project is still their side-hustle. 

In addition to this, they credit their success to their friendship and experience playing team sports. Both played sports in college while they roomed together at Middlebury and in the words of Nick “I think we’re both very comfortable with knowing how teams have to work when they’re in either times of crisis or tensions- how you have to be accountable together.” Additionally the pair agrees that their friendship has helped rather than hindered their success. They have always been able to agree that their relationship is more valuable than any joke and that allows them to produce better material and jokes in the long-term. 

Another thing they acknowledge is that podcasting takes a lot of motivation. Most people that start a podcast quit before they gain any renown. It’s clear that both Nick and Jack are very intrinsically motivated to produce this podcast. Despite their massive success at the end of the day, they still consider this a “side hustle”. They created the newsletter and podcast while pursuing their MBA’s and now both hold other jobs in the financial industry. Even on the way to Jack’s bachelor party they stopped at the airport Cinnabon to record the next day’s podcast. 

This motivation and collaboration has led to a fantastic product enjoyed by thousands of listeners and changed the way people present financial news. Since Nick and Jack’s success with “Market Snacks” other newsletters and podcasts have popped up trying to do a similar thing, make news digestible, and deliver it quickly. But no one does it quite like Nick and Jack, and their active fan base proves it.  They are their main differentiator. Besides their ability to breakdown financial reports, headlines and stock percentages into something comprehensible, their chemistry and humor keeps the show engaging. The two play off one another so well that it gives the podcast an authentic and unscripted feel despite delivering loads of fast-paced information. If you’re looking for an energetic and informed start to your morning I highly recommend adding snacks to your routine. Oh, and ask your friends HYHYSD? (Have you had your snacks daily?) this is gonna be the best one yet…. 

Want to listen to snacks? You can find it here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snacks-daily/id1386234384

https://open.spotify.com/show/5RllMBgvDnTau8nnsCUdse?si=B9oqCIdDS8Wmr1RIoUD6Fg

Here’s an interview with them:

https://www.bullhorn.fm/sternchatsamazingstoriesofthen/posts/nick-martell-and-jack