1. A coffee controversy
is brewing tonight.
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2. A new shop in Los Feliz is
calling itself "Dumb Starbucks."
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3. Dumb Starbucks.
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4. Dumb Starbucks.
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5. Dumb Starbucks.
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6. Dumb Starbucks.
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7. Dumb Starbucks.
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8. Dumb Starbucks.
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9. Dumb...
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10. Dumb Starbucks.
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11. Its origin and owner
are a mystery.
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12. My name is Nathan Fielder,
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13. And I graduated from one
of Canada's top business schools
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14. with really good grades.
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15. Now I'm using my knowledge
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16. to help struggling
small business owners make it
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17. in this competitive world.
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18. This is
Nathan for You.
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19. Elias Zacklin is the owner
of Helio Cafe,
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20. a small coffee shop
in East Hollywood, California.
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21. And he prides himself on doing
things a little bit different.
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22. The atmosphere's
very eclectic.
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23. You don't walk in and—
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24. Actually, there's even—
not even a menu in my shop.
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25. And that's been done
purposefully.
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26. But in a world
where one company
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27. has practically perfected
the coffee experience,
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28. going against the grain has
caused Elias' shop to be empty,
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29. so I paid him a visit with a way
for him to finally compete
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30. with the big players.
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31. The problem with you
is you have great coffee
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32. but just no one knows
what this place is.
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33. - Correct.
- No one—
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34. You don't have a brand
that people recognize.
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35. - Absolutely.
- But maybe there's a shortcut
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36. to actually having
brand recognition.
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37. Using a little something
called parody law.
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38. Parody law.
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39. Often used by artists like
"Weird Al" Yankovic
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40. and shows like
Saturday Night Live,
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41. parody law allows you
to use trademarks
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42. and copyrighted material as long
as you're making fun of them.
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43. So if Elias could find a way
to make fun of Starbucks,
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44. he'd be free and clear to borrow
their valuable corporate name
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45. and image for his store.
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46. The plan:
turn the Helio Cafe
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47. into the world's first
parody Starbucks.
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48. So how do you make that
a parody without it—
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49. You just not mimicking
their brand?
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50. Like, the coffees could be
"Dumb Grande,"Dumb Venti"...
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51. - Yeah, I got you.
- "Dumb Frappuccino."
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52. Gotcha.
Okay.
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53. I mean, as a whole, the store
could just be called
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54. - "Dumb Starbucks."
- Right. That's—
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55. Okay, I see what you're saying.
Right.
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56. But the "Dumb" could be small
so people could come in
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57. thinking it's
an actual Starbucks.
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58. Huh.
It's smart, I just don't know
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59. if people would get it.
You know.
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60. I don't know if people are,
you know...
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61. Well, do people get
what you're doing now?
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62. - You're not that popular.
- Right.
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63. - You have no menu.
- That's true.
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64. I mean, what do you have
to lose by trying?
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65. I mean, what do I have
to lose?
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66. I... I don't know actually.
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67. Elias was on board, but
he did have one major concern.
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68. I definitely could not afford
a lawsuit from Starbucks.
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69. Definitely not.
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70. Based off what I read on
Wikipedia,
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71. it seemed like my approach
was legal.
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72. But just to be sure,
I retained the services
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73. of attorney Peter J. Marx
to guarantee we were protected.
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74. "Dumb Starbucks"?
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75. But the "Dumb" would be
smaller so people
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76. would still think
it's a Starbucks.
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77. If people think it's a
Starbucks, you've got a problem.
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78. It's not really a parody then.
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79. Apparently, my legal footing
wasn't as solid as I thought.
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80. But then Peter brought up one
way I could cover myself.
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81. Let's say you had a reputation
as being a—
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82. Yeah.
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83. someone who does
lots of parody.
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84. Then they know, oh, he's just
making fun of Starbucks,
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85. because this is what he does.
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86. So I have to become
a parody artist.
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87. It wouldn't hurt.
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88. It seemed like I still had
some work ahead of me.
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89. But before leaving, I needed
to be sure I was protected.
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90. So if I do all this,
then Starbucks can't sue me?
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91. This is America.
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92. People file lawsuits
at the drop of a hat.
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93. But if they sue,
you're liable too, right?
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94. - Who's liable?
- You.
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95. - Me personally?
- Yeah.
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96. Not unless I'm involved
in— in viola—
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97. in infringing
their trademark, no.
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98. Yeah, the appearance release
you signed before had a clause
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99. that you would be liable too,
if Starbucks sued.
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100. I don't agree to this at all.
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101. I do not agree to pay
all legal fees and damages from
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102. legal action because
I have no control
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103. over what's being released.
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104. Well, why did you sign
that, then?
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105. Yeah, I signed it. And I
signed it because I didn't have
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106. a chance to read it
and I thought—
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107. But you're a lawyer.
Don't you read things
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108. - before you sign them?
- I do read things—
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109. I try to read things but you
wanted me to shoot and I glanced
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110. at it and this was my mistake.
I'll acknowledge that.
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111. Okay. Well, you signed it so I
guess you can give that back.
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112. Well, I-I'm not gonna give it
back because I'm going to—
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113. Well, I handed it to you just
to look over, but you already—
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114. No, I'm not gonna
give it back to you.
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115. I'm protecting myself and,
frankly, you from a nightmare.
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116. Well, you signed it.
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117. We have you on camera
signing it.
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118. So it still holds up in court.
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119. You don't have me on camera
signing it.
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120. Yes, we do.
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121. What kind of lawyer am I?
Signing I haven't read.
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122. Well, if you do, that's fine
then you— then you'll know
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123. how the terms—I'm gonna put it
in my pocket.
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124. Well, no, we don't want it
in your pocket.
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125. I— We do want it
in my pocket.
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126. Please.
Please, you're in my office.
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127. I'm very serious. And I don't
know if you're really trying
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128. to do this just for the show,
but I'd like you
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129. to get off my desk and I'm gonna
ask you to leave the office.
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130. I was disappointed that Peter
was trying to back out
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131. of the deal he signed.
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132. But our producers were
eventually able to calm him down
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133. enough to keep shooting.
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134. They just said they need to
get a shot of the— an insert
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135. of the document.
Like a shot of it.
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136. It's staying—
It's staying in my pocket.
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137. - It's not going anywhere.
- Well, we just need to get
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138. a shot of the clause
for the scene.
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139. - I-I—
- On the document.
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140. You can hold on to it.
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141. Just hold it out
like you'd had and then—yeah.
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142. This camera needs to get it
out here.
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143. Okay, that's how I had it.
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144. And then you can—
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145. just make sure you get an insert
of the actual—
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146. You know, I'm about to— I
don't know if you're provoking
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147. me or not, but I'm— I'm not—
I'm getting tired of this.
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148. I'm not gonna be responsible
for your conduct, okay?
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149. My plan to have Peter share
liability didn't work.
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150. So it was more important
than ever that Elias and I
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151. take his guidance
to protect ourselves.
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152. It would just be helpful,
legally, if we had a history
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153. of being parody artists.
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154. Okay.
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155. I told him we'd only have
two weeks
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156. to make as big of a splash
as possible.
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157. So we got to work coming up
with some songs
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158. that we could perform
around town.
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159. So the easiest thing that
anyone would recognize
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160. is a Stones song,
a Zeppelin song.
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161. Yeah, maybe we could, like,
skewer them for being old.
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162. Right.
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163. I can't get an erection,
but I try, but I try.
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164. Or something like that.
You know, I don't know.
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165. We had our first song,
and after finishing the lyrics
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166. I booked us a spot
at a local open mic night
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167. so we could begin building
our legal defense.
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168. Elias and I are big fans
of the Rolling Stones.
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169. But, you know, we were talking
lately and we thought
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170. "You know, these guys are kinda
getting a little old," so...
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171. Our first performance actually
went pretty well.
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172. But after our set, Elias
expressed some reservations.
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173. Are you not confident
in the lyrics?
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174. Okay.
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175. He was too nervous
to get on stage again.
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176. So after writing more songs,
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177. I had to do the next open mic,
on my own.
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178. I thought the show went okay,
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179. but unfortunately,
the audience didn't agree.
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180. I didn't really like that
at all.
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181. It's not really my cup of tea.
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182. He sucked.
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183. Maybe musical parody
just wasn't in style right now,
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184. because when I looked online, no
one was writing about my work.
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185. So I called Elias
with a change of plan.
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186. I was thinking maybe, you know,
we move into some more visual
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187. parody and do, like,
a more formal art show.
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188. Are you saying that this is
not your priority right now?
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189. Or what are you saying?
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190. Elias said he didn't have time
to help.
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191. But I knew this
was my last shot
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192. to become known
as a parody artist.
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193. So I spent the rest of the week
generating art pieces.
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194. And booked a gallery space
in a hip neighborhood
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195. to display my work.
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196. And after passing out flyers to
make sure I had a crowd...
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197. - Friday night at 7:00?
- Yeah.
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198. I can make that.
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199. my art show
was ready to begin.
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200. After putting the final
touches on my parody art,
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201. we opened our doors
and right away I could tell
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202. people were digging my work.
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203. America being mostly about war
and Bank of America
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204. being about profits
and money as well, I just—
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205. I actually like that one.
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206. The meaning of this is
actually just, like, you know,
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207. you put your money in the bank.
It's really safe.
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208. Like a tank.
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209. Okay.
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210. I'm just curious, like,
what in your opinion
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211. makes this piece worth $2,500?
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212. Like, what did you put into it
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213. that would make it worth
that much?
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214. Unlike my songs, my visual
pieces seemed to be making
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215. the impact I needed them to.
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216. As people were taking me
seriously as a parody artist...
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217. Well, this catches my eye.
Yeah, I feel this.
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218. the night was a success.
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219. And best of all,
I now had the evidence to argue
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220. that Dumb Starbucks was just
another one of my art pieces.
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221. But as the show was winding
down, I found myself frustrated
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222. that Elias didn't even bother
to show up.
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223. I was working night and day
to help his business
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224. and he didn't even seem
to care.
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225. But I wasn't gonna let an idea
this good go to waste.
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226. So the next day, I returned to
the Helio Cafe with my lawyer
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227. to make things fair.
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228. Basically, as I understand it,
what Nathan has related to me,
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229. is that he has done
the lion's share of the work
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230. in setting up the business.
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231. Not only creating the concept,
coming up with it...
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232. Peter went on to say
that Elias would no longer
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233. be a part of Dumb Starbucks,
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234. that I would be opening up
a new shop on my own,
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235. and that Elias
would be getting nothing.
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236. Do you have any questions
of me at this time?
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237. I— not— not at this time.
Not at this time.
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238. After severing ties
with Elias,
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239. I could now proceed without
his dead weight slowing me down.
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240. So I rented a vacant retail
space in Los Feliz, California,
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241. that would serve as the location
for the first Dumb Starbucks.
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242. This reminds me of the metal
in my house.
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243. You have metal in your house
like that?
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244. - Yeah.
- Oh.
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245. Construction began
immediately,
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246. and it would take at least
a week to build the shop.
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247. So in the meantime,
I posted an ad on Craigslist
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248. seeking baristas
with Starbucks experience.
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249. And after receiving
some responses,
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250. I met with the applicants
to see if they'd be a good fit.
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251. When you're interacting with
customers, you know,
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252. it's important to have a good
sense of humor.
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253. Mm-hmm.
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254. Do you have
a good sense of humor?
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255. Yeah, I think so.
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256. So, let's see some of that.
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257. Hi.
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258. Hey, how's it going?
How's your day?
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259. Great.
Yeah, it's going well.
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260. It's going well?
How's the weather?
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261. - You enjoying the weather?
- Yeah.
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262. Yeah, that's cool.
I'm not.
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263. It's just too warm.
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264. And I'm getting over
a sickness too,
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265. so it's even more warm
than I'd like it to be.
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266. - That was funny.
- Yeah, thanks.
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267. Jeremiah was perfect
for the job.
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268. I also hired Amber since we
seemed to have a lot in common.
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269. What would you say
is your greatest weakness?
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270. My greatest weakness
is that I'm too nice.
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271. That's so funny, that's— it—
that's my greatest weakness too.
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272. - Really?
- Yeah.
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273. And with the store set to open
in less than 24 hours,
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274. my crew and I put
the final touches on making
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275. my parody Starbucks
look as authentic as possible.
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276. Before long,
everything was complete.
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277. And after giving Amber and
Jeremiah their official uniforms
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278. we had our first
employee orientation
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279. to go over
some company policies.
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280. So because of the size
of the company,
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281. I am also
the HR department here.
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282. So we need to go over the code
of conduct when it comes to
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283. telationships in the workplace.
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284. The rule of thumb is,
if you begin dating
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285. another employee here,
it has to be reported to HR.
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286. Also, because sexual tension
is something
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287. that's very distracting
in the workplace,
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288. if you find yourself attracted
to another employee,
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289. that also needs to be disclosed.
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290. Um, Amber,
do you want to go first?
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291. Wow.
Okay.
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292. Well, I mean,
everybody's different.
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293. So, like, for me personally,
attraction is more than just—
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294. I mean, who out of the people
you work with
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295. are you attracted to
the most?
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296. Including bosses.
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297. Uh, wow.
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298. Okay, I'm gonna—
I'll go with you.
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299. - Me?
- Yeah.
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300. So out of everyone
you work with,
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301. you're most attracted to me?
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302. Right.
And you heard that, or—?
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303. Yeah, I heard that.
Yeah, loud and clear.
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304. So mine,
I guess would be you.
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305. And Jeremiah,
I guess, no one picked you.
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306. But, um, for the record I guess
I do need to know
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307. who you are most attracted to.
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308. Um, just say her.
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309. - Amber?
- Yeah.
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310. Okay, well, obviously,
you know, she did pick me—
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311. - Yeah.
- so that is unlikely to happen.
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312. But it's good that I do know
that for the record.
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313. And I think the fact that we've
talked about it,
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314. now we can continue working
as peers
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315. without there being
any awkwardness.
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316. Okay.
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317. After our employee
orientation,
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318. I showed Amber and Jeremiah
around the shop.
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319. And got them acquainted
with all the items
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320. Dumb Starbucks has to offer.
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321. The only thing left to do
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322. was unveil our new sign
to the world.
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323. - Ready?
- Yeah.
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324. - Ready.
- All right.
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325. Oh.
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326. Yay, all right.
Yeah.
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327. - Pretty good, huh?
- Yeah.
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328. And with that,
Dumb Starbucks
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329. was officially
open for business.
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330. With our sign now on display,
my plan quickly began to work,
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331. as people started coming in
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332. thinking it was
an actual Starbucks.
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333. Oh, Dumb Starbucks.
Okay, okay.
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334. Oh, you thought
it was Starbucks.
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335. I did.
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336. But the few customers we did
get seemed to have trouble
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337. understanding what we were
all about.
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338. I mean, legally speaking,
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339. this store has to be categorized
as an art gallery,
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340. so we don't have to abide
by the same health regulations
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341. as a Starbucks would.
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342. I mean, we don't want any of
our customers to get sick.
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343. But if they do,
technically,
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344. that's part of
the artistic experience.
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345. Things were off
to an okay start.
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346. But as the day progressed,
I became frustrated
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347. we weren't getting the amount
of customers I expected.
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348. So I headed out to a nearby
coffee shop
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349. to try and spread the word
about my new business.
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350. Just so you know,
there's a Dumb Starbucks
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351. that's opened up
down the block.
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352. - Okay.
- Okay.
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353. It's basically the same coffee.
Cheaper prices, and—
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354. - Dumb Starbucks?
- Yeah.
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355. Today, you know, you can have
a free coffee on me.
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356. I understand you're trying
to promote your company.
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357. - Right.
- I admire that.
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358. But that's great.
You can't do it on
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359. - Starbucks' property.
- And I admire you.
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360. - And I will be—
- And every time I step back,
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361. - you keep taking a step forward.
- No, I haven't moved.
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362. You have.
We started over here.
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363. No, we started right here.
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364. - But you need to walk that way.
- Okay, I will.
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365. Unfortunately, my marketing
efforts were cut short.
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366. But I was at least able
to get some free supplies.
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367. With an underwhelming
launch day,
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368. I began to feel like I put in
all this effort for nothing.
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369. But the next morning
things changed.
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370. Jeremiah called me to say
there was a line
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371. of over 15 people at the store.
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372. Then I saw photos
of my shop posted
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373. on a straight body building
message board.
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374. But I couldn't have foreseen
what happened next.
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375. A new coffee shop
with a familiar name
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376. creating quite a stir
in Los Angeles.
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377. The coffee shop— get this—
is called Dumb Starbucks.
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378. That looks exactly
like a Starbucks.
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379. The logo, the lettering,
the green coloring—
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380. How do they get away
with this?
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381. Because they put the word
"Dumb" on top of Starbucks,
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382. so they're parodying
Starbucks.
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383. A coffee chain notorious
for suing imitators
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384. may have finally
met it's match.
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385. At the counter, customers
can order a "Dumb Venti"
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386. Or buy a CD
of "Dumb Norah Jones Duets."
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387. Some people waited in line
for up to an hour.
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388. It's an art gallery where
coffee is considered art.
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389. What's the point of the art?
I mean, what's the message?
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390. I don't know.
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391. I was stunned.
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392. We had more customers
than I ever dreamed of.
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393. And within 24 hours,
Dumb Starbucks
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394. had become
a worldwide sensation.
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395. Yeah, there's absolutely
artistic value here.
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396. To me, this is a protest.
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397. This is a protest
against the big fish.
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398. The leviathans of Starbucks.
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399. It was cool that people
could draw their own meaning
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400. from a business that
was just there to make money.
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401. There's a rumor
that it might be Banksy
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402. and we're all really excited
about that.
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403. I had inadvertently
created something
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404. that was on par with one of
the world's greatest artists.
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405. Something tied to an art
installation.
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406. Maybe this is Banksy.
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407. Before I knew it,
cups from my shop
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408. were selling on eBay
for $500 a piece.
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409. And swindlers were even trying
to cash in on the hype
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410. by hocking fake merchandise
outside the store.
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411. By the end of the weekend
I realized that Dumb Starbucks
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412. was a bigger idea
than I ever thought it could be.
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413. So I gathered the worldwide
media to announce
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414. that we were expanding.
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415. Hi.
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416. I'm proud to announce
that we'll soon be opening
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417. a second Dumb Starbucks location
in Brooklyn, New York,
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418. within the next two weeks.
Copy !req
419. My business was not only
a bona fide success,
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420. but for the first time
in my life
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421. It felt like people actually
wanted to be around me.
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422. Whatever I had done
resonated with the entire world.
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423. And the attention
was like sunlight on my soul.
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424. My entire marketing plan
depended on using
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425. their corporate logo
to get attention.
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426. And the only way to legally do
it is by using "Dumb."
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427. Every major network in America
wanted to know my story.
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428. Nathan Fielder.
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429. I was invincible.
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430. And I have to admit, the view
from the top was pretty nice.
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431. We're also famous
for our pastries.
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432. I brought you some, actually.
- Oh, okay. Yeah, great.
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433. I brought some
of our pastries, yeah.
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434. Oh, those look great.
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435. What do you call these?
Are these those—
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436. - I brought muffins too.
- Oh, look at that.
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437. - These are our famous pastries.
- Isn't that weird.
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438. It says Vons on the side.
Copy !req
439. I was all smiles
and my head was in the clouds.
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440. Then all of a sudden,
reality hit.
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441. The coffee shop called
"Dumb Starbucks"
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442. that popped up in Los Feliz
this weekend is now closed.
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443. The Los Angeles Health
Department shut down
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444. Dumb Starbucks yesterday because
it did not have proper permits.
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445. Right now, the future of
Dumb Starbucks isn't clear.
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446. Being shut down by the Health
Department was the worst thing
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447. that could happen to me.
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448. I was at risk of losing
everything.
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449. And I realized that maybe I knew
less about running a coffee shop
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450. than I initially thought.
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451. But then I remembered,
there was one person I knew
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452. with the knowledge
to get me out of this.
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453. I can do the training
and I can source the beans.
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454. The Health Department will have
to come in, do a plan check.
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455. - Okay.
- That I can do.
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456. When I returned to Elias
to ask for his help
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457. he wanted nothing
to do with me.
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458. So you think we're— we're not
friends and we're not—
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459. My friends don't hire lawyers
to come and sign contracts.
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460. I thought—I thought
we were friends or—
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461. But my friends don't have
cameras and lights and lawyers.
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462. And producers.
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463. That's not how you establish
a friendship.
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464. Elias' words hit me
like a ton of bricks.
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465. And in that moment, I realized
that in building Dumb Starbucks,
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466. I became someone
that I never wanted to be.
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467. I began all this trying to help
a struggling coffee shop
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468. gain recognition.
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469. And in my scramble
to make things work
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470. I put myself
before my fellow man,
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471. time and time again.
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472. In the end, I got everything
I could have ever dreamed of.
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473. But what does success mean
if the road that got you there
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474. is paved with broken hearts?
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475. They say that the devil
is an artist.
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476. And if that's so, then maybe I
was his greatest piece yet.
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477. So rather than fighting
the Health Department,
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478. I decided it was time
for Dumb Starbucks to end.
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479. It may have been impossible
to right every wrong,
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480. but it wasn't too late
to begin doing what was right.
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481. Jeremiah, I'd like to give you
my blessing
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482. to pursue Amber,
if that's what you want.
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483. And whatever happens after that,
happens.
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484. Wow.
Okay.
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485. Bringing people joy
is my true calling.
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486. I might have lost my opportunity
to help the Helio Cafe
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487. in the way I intended.
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488. But with the world's eye still
on me, I could at least
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489. draw their attention to the
place that needed it the most.
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