Chapter 6 - lipid (part 2)

“What’s the most pressing, expensive problem in America, Em?”

Despite her rather comically exaggerated body type and the general state of disarray of her appearance, May’s presentation voice and energy were calm, crisp, and professional.

“I don’t know, climate change?”

“Not a bad guess,” she said somewhat officiously, “but with current federal and local policy pathways, we’re on track to limit global warming to about two degrees celsius.”

She paused, stifling a burp for a moment, and then continued:

“More importantly, many of the societal trends we would want to see in place -- falling battery prices, conversion of vehicles, and development of local manufacturing -- are already well underway.”

Her audience of one shrugged.

“I’m not sure then.”

The slide advanced to an image of one young woman standing next to another.

The difference between the two was striking. The one on the left was a brown-skinned, slightly chubby young woman with dark black hair who appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties.

The one on the right had a similar skin tone but was vastly larger. Where the image on the left had comfortably large breasts that sat above a small, rounded little belly, the woman on the right had a wide, hanging gut that extended down to fully cover her groin. Cantaloupe-sized breasts extended perkily from her chest, framing a doughy décolletage that ran up into a wide-set neck, an impressive double chin, and a moon-shaped face. The body types could not have been more different, and yet the eyes were identical.

As the realization dawned on Macey, her presenter re-entered:

“This is a before and after photo of one of TikTok’s most famous content creators, ‘MegaMadelline.’ These images are two years apart, and showcase her gain of almost two-hundred and fifty pounds in that time.”

Macey let out a small whistle.

Next slide.

A series of charts showed hockey-stick graphs with headings like, “Obesity Rates of American Men by Age,” all neatly arrayed in a grid.

“America, and the world, for that matter, continue to get fatter every year. MegaMadelline is only one example of how increasing food availability and the growing convenience of everyday life, especially because of work-from-home policies, automation, and changes in city-planning, are making it harder and harder for anyone to stay thin.”

Another slide flashed.

“In 2008, scientists from the American Obesity Treatment Association published in Nature modeled that, based on trends at that time, by 2030, 86.3% adults will be overweight or obese; and 51.1%, obese.”

Next slide.

“We ended up crossing those estimates two years earlier than expected, and the pace of weight gain in this country, and around the world, has only increased since then.”

Another slide flashed a list of medical conditions and other, related challenges associated with being overweight or obese.

And then another showing dollar figures associated with this to American healthcare costs.

Next came a series of complex actuarial equations and financial models showing the level and types of investment needed to respond to this; hundreds of billions of dollars in new healthcare technologies and services, and, in the aggregate, trillions of dollars to retrofit buildings and vehicles to suit the needs of this larger and larger population.

May’s excitement reached a crescendo:

“All of this work represents the single largest investment opportunity since reconstruction after World War Two!”

Another slide transition, this time flashing another grid, this one of photographs of technologies, inventors, and a panoply of fat to very fat people all smiling and using various pieces of equipment.

“However, to really take advantage of this opportunity, investors need to be able to move quickly and draw on specialized, in-house expertise around bariatric medicine and other obesity-related issues.”

A slide that was markedly different flashed now. A simple light blue background highlighted the word from the first slide again.

“I give you, Lipid, the world’s first purpose-built venture capital fund focused entirely on obesity-related technologies and services.”

May now dove into details around investment approaches and funding structures, highlighting how CALPers and a variety of other public sector pension plans, with both an interest in return on investment, and, having a higher share of obese beneficiaries than another type of fund, could massively benefit from a new vehicle like this.

The presentation closed with a bevy of enthusiastic graphs that talked about long-term profit projections and the overall potential of this approach. And like a conductor bringing a Mahler piece to a conclusion, she waved her hands with a flourish and a wide smile.

“What do you think?!,” she concluded, as Macey realized she was now breathing somewhat heavily, apparently the excitement of her information somewhat exceeding her lung’s capacity to release it.

“I have to admit, I’m impressed.” And she was, in a sense.

I also can’t believe you got this fat and decided to turn it into an investment opportunity, rather than lose some fucking weight.

But she didn’t say that.

“I’m glad, because I’m actually not done yet.”

“Oh?”

Another slide came up on the TV, this one showing both of their faces inserted into little circles, with one line of text beneath each of their heads.

May Khoe, Chief Investment Officer
Macey Abelman-Martinez, Chief Operational Officer

“May, what the hell is this?”

A devious smile crossed the mega-belly babe’s face.

“Our future.”