The Hedonist's Stone

What do Cluely, OnlyFans, Pump.fun, AG1, and Whop all have in common?

Anyone who’s spent any time online (pretty much everyone) or in certain social circles over the past few years has probably noticed something interesting happening. Certain products, communities, platforms have compounded to become attention/spending blackholes, often from unexpected places.

Zyn/Lucy nicotine pouches have become ubiquitous on college campuses and in corporate offices. AG1 green powder ads dominate every podcast you listen to. Whop has quietly built a marketplace valued at $800 million that most people have never heard of. OnlyFans has become a cultural phenomenon that's reshaped entire industries and is reportedly in talks to sell for $8 billion. ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history, helping drive OpenAI to a $300 billion valuation. Pump.fun has turned memecoin creation into a viral social activity while generating over $700 million in revenue in just one year.

These products seem completely unrelated. Health supplements, digital marketplaces, AI tools, adult content platforms, nicotine products, and cryptocurrency platforms—what could they possibly have in common (besides attention)?

But when you look closer, a pattern emerges. Each of these products has gone viral both online and in real life by selling the same fundamental promise: maximum reward for minimum effort. They've all discovered what I call The Hedonist's Stone.

Just like the mythical Philosopher's Stone promised to turn lead into gold, the best viral modern consumer products promise to transform our base desires into golden outcomes with minimal work. Want perfect health? Take this powder. Want wealth? Buy this course. Want focus? Pop this pouch. Want intelligence? Use this AI. Want intimacy? Subscribe to this platform.

The Perfect Storm

What makes the Hedonist's Stone so powerful in 2025 is that it's perfectly calibrated to our current moment. We're living through a unique convergence of factors that make these shortcuts irresistible:

Attention collapse: We're living through an unprecedented collapse in attention spans. The average human attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to roughly 3 seconds today. Meanwhile, our exposure to novel products, information, and content has increased superlinearly. We're drowning in options, overwhelmed by choice, and our brains are literally rewiring themselves to crave instant gratification. When you can't focus for more than a few seconds, the promise of instant results becomes incredibly appealing.

Economic anxiety: We’re experiencing a continuous devaluation of fiat currency and thus traditional career paths. Inflation has made homeownership a pipe dream for most young people. College degrees no longer guarantee stable employment. The social contract that promised "work hard, play by the rules, and you'll be rewarded" has been broken. Most people, especially Gen Z and millennials, are disillusioned with structured, traditional paths to success (hence why you see the glorification of people/companies like streamers, Brezscales, Roy Lee from Cluely, etc.)

Information overload: We're exposed to more information, products, and opportunities than any generation in human history. This creates a paradox of choice that makes decision-making exhausting. Simple solutions that promise to cut through the complexity become incredibly valuable.

Social media comparison: We're constantly exposed to curated versions of other people's success (TikTok, Insta, Twitch, etc.), which creates a sense that everyone else has figured out shortcuts that we haven't. This drives demand for products that promise to level the playing field.

Technological enablement: For the first time in history, we have the technological infrastructure to deliver on some of these promises. AI really can make you appear smarter. Trading platforms really can give you access to sophisticated financial instruments. Digital platforms really can help you monetize your knowledge.

My framework for the Hedonist's Stone

This creates a perfect storm. You have a generation with shortened attention spans, increased exposure to "get rich quick" schemes, and genuine economic anxiety about traditional paths. These are people that saw their favorite content creators flying in private jets at young ages, achieve their dream physiques, etc. but when they do the math of what it takes to get there, nothing checks out. They're primed to seek products and services that maximize the perceived effort-to-reward ratio.

The world has become exhausting to live in, and the products that are absolutely crushing it right now are the ones that promise shortcuts to our deepest desires while appealing to our most primal instincts.

The numbers tell the story of a massive shift in consumer behavior, and they're staggering.

Digital Goods, Digital Creators

If you haven't heard of Whop, you should pay attention. Founded in 2021 by two 25-year-olds who started selling sneaker bots as teenagers, Whop has quietly built a marketplace that jumped from a $300 million valuation in February 2024 to $800 million by July 2024, according to PitchBook data.

Here's how it works: Whop provides a platform where creators can sell digital courses, tools, and specialized knowledge to help both creators and users monetize their skills or gain valuable insights. The platform hosts everything from day-trading algorithms and sports betting analytics to social media growth strategies and lifestyle optimization content like "The Truth," which promises to "upgrade every conceivable metric of your life as a Man and allow success to come naturally" for $50 a month.

Good example of the Whop vibe

The numbers are impressive. According to The Information, Whop tripled its annual revenue run rate to $90 million by early 2025, up from $25 million the previous spring. The platform processed almost $300 million in payments in 2024, while taking just a 3-4.5% cut of each transaction. The company has raised approximately $80 million in total funding, with the most recent Series B led by Bain Capital Ventures.

What's particularly interesting about Whop's model is how it has democratized the creator economy. Traditional business education and consulting required significant credentials or track records. Whop allows anyone to become an educator or consultant, while promising buyers access to specialized knowledge and strategies that might otherwise be difficult to obtain.

The creators on Whop are "overwhelmingly male, young (17-25), and hungry for two things: to be their own boss and to make serious bank," according to their own executives. These are entrepreneurs who want to "go off the beaten path" from traditional careers, often because traditional career paths feel less reliable or accessible than they once did.

Their customers are seeking access to specialized knowledge and proven strategies, often willing to pay for what they perceive as insider information or tested methodologies that could accelerate their own success. The platform succeeds because it connects people who have achieved results in specific areas with those who want to replicate those results.

Whop represents a fascinating evolution in how knowledge and expertise are packaged and distributed. Rather than traditional educational institutions or corporate training programs, it offers a marketplace model where success stories can be directly monetized and accessed. The platform works because it's addressing a real demand for practical, results-oriented education in an economy where traditional credentials may feel less valuable than demonstrated results.

But if Whop has mastered appealing to our desire for financial shortcuts, there's another platform that's taken an entirely different human desire and turned it into an even bigger business.

OnlyFans and the Intimacy Shortcut

If Whop appeals to greed, OnlyFans has mastered the art of appealing to lust—but not in the way most people think.

Yes, OnlyFans is known for adult content, but what it's really selling is something much more fundamental: the promise of intimacy and connection without the effort of actual social interaction. It's the Hedonist's Stone for human connection.

The numbers here are even more staggering than Whop. According to Reuters, OnlyFans owner Fenix International is in talks to sell the platform to a Los Angeles investment group at an $8 billion valuation as of May 2025. OnlyFans generated $6.3 billion in gross revenues in 2024, according to Matthew Ball's analysis, up from just $300 million five years earlier—a 2,000% increase. The platform now has over 300 million registered users and 4.1 million creators.

What's particularly striking is the platform's profitability. According to Multiples.vc, OnlyFans achieved $1.6 billion in net revenue in 2024 with a 49% profit margin. The platform paid out $5.3 billion to creators in 2023 alone—more than the entire NBA, Premier League, and NFL salary caps combined.

But here's what's really interesting: over 60% of consumer spending on OnlyFans now comes from transactions, not subscriptions. These aren't micro-transactions either—they're add-on purchases that can cost dozens or hundreds of dollars. Users are paying premium prices for personalized content, custom messages, and the illusion of one-on-one interaction.

OnlyFans has succeeded because it's offering a shortcut to something that traditionally required significant social and emotional investment: intimate connection. Instead of developing social skills, building relationships, or navigating the complexities of dating, users can get a curated, personalized experience that feels intimate without any of the vulnerability or effort that real intimacy requires.

The platform is slowly consuming the entire adult entertainment industry because it offers something traditional pornography can't: the illusion of authentic, personalized connection. Creators can make more money while having greater autonomy, and consumers get experiences that feel more "real" and differentiated than mass-produced content.

But OnlyFans is just the beginning. The rise of AI companion platforms (like Nectar AI) is taking this even further, offering hyper-personalized virtual relationships that promise all the emotional benefits of companionship with none of the complications of actual human interaction. These platforms are the logical evolution of the Hedonist's Stone for intimacy: promising perfect connection with zero effort.

The success of OnlyFans reveals something uncomfortable about our current moment. We're so starved for genuine connection and so overwhelmed by the complexity of modern relationships that millions of people are willing to pay premium prices for the simulation of intimacy rather than invest in building real relationships.

This pattern of promising complex solutions through simple consumption extends far beyond digital intimacy. In fact, one of the most successful applications of the Hedonist's Stone principle can be found in an industry that's literally built on the promise of effortless transformation.

Supplements and Sloth

The supplement industry might be the purest expression of the Hedonist's Stone in action. It's built entirely on the promise that you can achieve optimal health through consumption rather than lifestyle change.

Take AG1 (formerly Athletic Greens), which achieved a $1.2 billion valuation in 2022 after raising $115 million in funding, according to TechCrunch. The company is projecting $600 million in revenue for 2024, as reported by Forbes—up from $160 million in 2021. Their marketing spend is massive: they invest $2.2 million per month on podcast advertising alone and work with hundreds of podcasters simultaneously, according to OptiMonk's analysis. Their message is seductive in its simplicity: why worry about eating a balanced diet, getting proper sleep, exercising regularly, and managing stress when you can just drink this powder and get "complete nutrition in one scoop"?

AG1's success reveals something profound about how we think about health in 2025. The company has built a billion-dollar business by appealing to sloth—our desire to achieve results without effort. While some supplements genuinely provide health benefits, AG1's marketing promises comprehensive wellness through a single daily ritual, bypassing the hard work that actual health requires.

The broader supplement market tells the same story. The global supplement industry was worth $177.5 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $758.99 billion by 2034. That's not growth—that's an explosion. And it's happening precisely because supplements promise to solve complex health problems with simple solutions.

Consider Bryan Johnson's Blueprint protocol. Johnson, the tech entrepreneur obsessed with reversing aging, takes over 100 supplements daily and has turned his routine into a business selling "shortcuts to longevity." His products promise the benefits of his extreme lifestyle optimization through simple pill and powder consumption. It's the ultimate Hedonist's Stone for health: promising to turn the lead of your current physical condition into the gold of optimal wellness through consumption rather than lifestyle change.

The supplement boom isn't happening because people don't know that diet and exercise are important for health. It's happening because diet and exercise are hard, and supplements promise to deliver the same results with minimal effort. In a world where people are working longer hours, sleeping less, and dealing with unprecedented stress levels, the promise of "health in a bottle" is irresistible.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: while some supplements provide genuine benefits, the industry as a whole is selling the illusion that complex health problems have simple solutions. It's appealing to our deepest desire to have our cake and eat it too—to maintain poor lifestyle habits while achieving optimal health through supplementation.

The success of companies like AG1 reveals how desperate we are for shortcuts in an increasingly complex world. When everything feels overwhelming, the promise of comprehensive wellness through a single daily ritual becomes incredibly appealing, even if it's not actually delivering on that promise.

But if supplements represent the promise of long-term health optimization through simple consumption, there's another category of products that's taken the concept of chemical shortcuts to an even more immediate level.

Lord Forgive Me, For I Have Zynned

Nothing illustrates the power of the Hedonist's Stone quite like the explosive growth of modern nicotine products. Companies like Zyn and Lucy have taken a centuries-old addiction and repackaged it as a convenient, socially acceptable shortcut to focus and stress relief.

The numbers are mind-blowing. According to Philip Morris International's earnings reports, they sold 223.4 million cans of Zyn in the first quarter of 2025 alone—a 53% increase from the same period the previous year. The company projects shipping 800-840 million cans in 2025. The global nicotine pouches market was worth $5.39 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $25.40 billion by 2030, representing a 29.6% compound annual growth rate. Philip Morris International's stock has hit record highs largely because of Zyn's success, with the company investing over $800 million in new US factories to meet demand.

But here's what's fascinating: these aren't traditional tobacco products. Zyn pouches are small, discreet, and don't require smoking or vaping. Lucy offers flavored nicotine gum that "upgrades" traditional nicotine replacement therapy with "stronger flavors and better texture." Both companies are selling nicotine as a productivity tool rather than a vice.

The marketing is brilliant. Instead of selling addiction, they're selling optimization. Zyn positions itself as a clean, convenient way to get nicotine without the "hassle" of smoking or vaping. Lucy markets itself as "intelligent nicotine alternatives" for people who want the cognitive benefits without the health risks. They've turned nicotine consumption into a lifestyle choice for busy professionals who want instant stress relief and focus enhancement.

This represents a fundamental shift in how we think about substances and productivity. These companies have successfully reframed nicotine—one of the most addictive substances known to humans—as a tool for optimization rather than a vice. They're appealing to our desire for instant gratification while promising that we can have the benefits without the downsides.

The success of these products reveals something uncomfortable about our current relationship with stress and focus. We're so overwhelmed and overstimulated that millions of people are turning to addictive substances for relief, but we're packaging that choice as "optimization" rather than acknowledging it as what it is: a chemical shortcut to managing the demands of modern life.

Lucy's founder, John Coogan (formerly of Soylent), explicitly positioned the company as creating "better nicotine" for a generation that wants the benefits without the traditional delivery methods. It's the Hedonist's Stone for stress management: promising to turn the lead of anxiety and distraction into the gold of focus and calm through simple consumption.

The rise of these products coincides perfectly with the attention crisis I mentioned earlier. As our ability to focus naturally deteriorates, we're increasingly turning to chemical solutions that promise instant results. It's not just nicotine—it's caffeine pills, nootropics, and a whole category of "cognitive enhancement" products that promise to solve complex neurological challenges through simple consumption.

Hyperspeculation

The explosion of platforms that have made sophisticated financial instruments accessible to everyday users represents another fascinating application of the Hedonist's Stone principle (and I wrote about this in my last piece: https://x.com/sanlsrni/status/1940824199099981930). Pump.fun, Hyperliquid, Robinhood's 0DTE options, and Stake have fundamentally changed how people interact with speculation and risk.

Let's start with Pump.fun, the Solana-based platform that allows anyone to create and trade memecoins instantly. According to Blockworks, the platform has generated over $700 million in cumulative revenue since launching in early 2024 and is doing a $1 billion token ICO at a $4 billion valuation. The platform has made it possible for anyone to launch a cryptocurrency project and potentially benefit from viral adoption, facilitating the creation of nearly 11 million tokens.

Hyperliquid represents the sophisticated end of this trend—a decentralized trading platform that's become the largest on-chain perpetual trading platform by offering 100+ trading pairs with sub-second block times and up to 100,000 transactions per second. It’s quickly become one of the most popular perp venues globally (and just announced an integration with Phantom to offer it to every perp user). Currently. Hyperliquid’s FDV is around $40B

Robinhood has expanded this democratization with their 0DTE (zero days to expiration) options trading. These are options contracts that expire the same day they're purchased, allowing traders to capitalize on short-term market movements. 0DTE volumes hit record highs in 2025, partly because Robinhood expanded access to these products to a broader audience, making sophisticated trading strategies available to retail investors.

Stake has taken a different approach, revolutionizing online gambling by making it socially acceptable. The platform generated $4.7 billion in revenue in 2024, up from $2.6 billion in 2022. CoinCodex estimates Stake's valuation could be as high as $23.5 billion. The platform has succeeded by combining traditional gambling with modern technology and social features, creating a more engaging and accessible experience.

Content from a Drake Stake stream

What all these platforms have in common is a single fundamental promise: we can make you rich in one trade). While these platforms (except maybe Stake) can be consistent PnL generators for traders/speculators that understand what they’re doing, on aggregate most users on these platforms lose money. Yet they play for the variance and the possibility that a single memecoin, a single perp trade, a single 0DTE or a single Crash game could 10x their money in a very, very short time frame. Combined with a level of hypermimetics (streamers on Stake/PF, traders posting PnL cards on X and other platforms) and you have your own slice of an entire creator economy around speculation fueled by greed

The success of these platforms reflects a broader shift in how people think about financial opportunity and risk. Traditional investment approaches often require significant capital, long time horizons, and patience for compound growth. These newer platforms offer more immediate engagement with potentially higher returns, though typically with correspondingly higher risk profiles. They’ve succeeded by appealing to new generations that feel locked out/higher urgency.

Borrowed Intelligence

Perhaps no category of products better exemplifies the Hedonist's Stone than AI tools, because they're selling something even more seductive than wealth or health—they're selling intelligence itself.

ChatGPT has become the fastest-growing consumer application in history, reaching 400 million active users and generating $2.7 billion for OpenAI in 2024—a 285% increase from the previous year, according to Business of Apps. CNBC reports that OpenAI hit $10 billion in annualized revenue by June 2025, helping drive the company's valuation to $300 billion in a March 2025 funding round. But ChatGPT's success isn't just about utility—it's about how it makes users feel.

The platform appeals directly to pride and envy. It promises users much quicker, faster, and often more intelligent output than they can produce themselves, but they view it as an extension of themselves rather than a separate tool. When someone uses ChatGPT to write an email, solve a problem, or generate ideas, they're not just getting help—they're getting the feeling of being smarter, more articulate, and more capable than they actually are.

This becomes even more explicit with platforms like Cluely, which TechCrunch reports raised $15 million from Andreessen Horowitz in June 2025, just two months after raising $5.3 million in seed funding. Sources estimate Cluely's post-money valuation at around $120 million. The platform's tagline is brutally honest: "cheat on everything." Cluely is an AI that "sees your screen, hears your calls, and feeds you answers in real time." Their manifesto is equally direct: "We want to cheat on everything. We built Cluely so you never have to think alone again."

Cluely represents the logical evolution of AI as the Hedonist's Stone for intelligence. It's not just helping you be more productive—it's promising that you never have to struggle with intellectual challenges again. Job interview? Cluely will feed you the perfect answers. Difficult conversation? Cluely will tell you what to say. Complex problem? Cluely will solve it for you.

Taken from Cluely’s viral teaser.

The platform appeals to both pride (the desire to appear more intelligent than you are) and envy (the resentment of others who seem naturally smarter or more articulate). It's selling the promise that you can have all the benefits of intelligence without any of the effort of actually developing your intellectual capabilities.

The explosion of an AI creator economy mirrors this. There are whole communities monetizing (often on platforms like Whop!) around promising people to make them better at prompting, giving them n8n workflows that can help automate virality of make money via TikToks/reels, promise to help them use AI to better themselves as a fundamental humanbeing.

But here's what's really powerful about AI as the Hedonist's Stone: unlike other shortcuts, AI tools actually work in the short term. ChatGPT really can write better emails than most people. Cluely really can help you perform better in interviews. AI homework tools really can solve complex problems instantly.

This creates a dangerous feedback loop. Users get immediate validation that the shortcut works, which reinforces their belief that they don't need to develop the underlying capabilities themselves. Why learn to write when ChatGPT can write for you? Why develop problem-solving skills when AI can solve problems instantly?

The success of these platforms reveals something troubling about our relationship with intelligence and learning. We're so overwhelmed by the complexity of modern life and so insecure about our own capabilities that we're willing to outsource our thinking to machines rather than invest in developing our own intellectual abilities.

AI tools are the ultimate Hedonist's Stone because they promise to turn the lead of our intellectual limitations into the gold of apparent brilliance, without any of the effort that real intelligence requires. And unlike other shortcuts, they actually deliver on that promise—at least in the short term.

Harnessing the Hedonist’s Stone

When you step back and look at all these companies together, the pattern becomes impossible to ignore. Whop ($800 million valuation), OnlyFans ($8 billion sale talks), AG1 ($1.2 billion valuation), Zyn (driving Philip Morris to record highs), Pump.fun ($4 billion planned valuation), Hyperliquid (estimated $12+ billion market cap, ~$40B FDV), Robinhood (facilitating record 0DTE volumes, as well as massively outperforming this year), Stake (potentially $23.5 billion valuation), ChatGPT (part of OpenAI's $300 billion valuation), and Cluely ($120 million estimated valuation)—they're all selling variations of the same thing: the promise that you can have what you want without the traditional effort required to get it.

These aren't just successful products—they're broader representatives of where we’re going. The Hedonist's Stone works because it's not entirely fake. These products do deliver some version of what they promise, at least in the short term. The problem is that for most people they're optimizing for immediate gratification rather than long-term development, and they're appealing to our worst impulses rather than our best ones.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that understanding the Hedonist's Stone is crucial for navigating the next decade, whether you're building products, investing in companies, or just trying to make sense of the world around you.

If you're an entrepreneur or product builder, the pattern is clear: some of the most successful products of the next five years will be the ones that can authentically promise maximum reward for minimum effort while appealing to fundamental human desires. But there's a catch—they have to actually deliver on that promise, at least partially. The days of pure snake oil are over; consumers are too sophisticated and information travels too quickly.

The key is finding areas where technology can genuinely reduce the effort required to achieve desired outcomes without completely eliminating the value creation. AG1 works because it really is easier than planning and preparing a perfectly balanced diet every day. ChatGPT works because it really can help you communicate more effectively. The successful Hedonist's Stone products aren't scams—they're genuine innovations that happen to be perfectly aligned with our psychological weaknesses.

If you're an investor, this framework can help you identify opportunities before they become obvious. Look for companies that are promising shortcuts to fundamental human desires in areas where technology can genuinely reduce friction. But be careful—these businesses can often have regulatory risks, ethical concerns, and sustainability questions that traditional businesses don't face (+ attract a higher rate of potentially griftier founders as well).

If you're just trying to navigate the world as a consumer, awareness is your best defense. Once you understand the pattern, you can make more conscious choices about which shortcuts are worth taking and which ones are likely to make you worse off in the long run.

I'm not arguing that all shortcuts are bad. Some of these products genuinely improve people's lives. AI tools really can make you more productive. Some supplements really do provide health benefits. The problem is when we start to believe that shortcuts are the only way to achieve our goals, or when we become so dependent on them that we lose the ability to do things the hard way.

The most successful people I know use Hedonist's Stone products strategically—as tools to amplify their existing capabilities rather than as replacements for developing those capabilities in the first place. They use AI to enhance their thinking, not to replace it. They use supplements to support a healthy lifestyle, not to substitute for one. They use trading platforms to diversify their investment strategies, not as their primary path to wealth.

At the end of the day, the real Hedonist's Stone isn't any individual product—it's the ability to recognize when shortcuts are helpful and when they're harmful. In a world that's increasingly optimized for instant gratification, the people who can still delay gratification, think critically, and work toward long-term goals will have an enormous advantage.

Whether that advantage is worth the effort of developing it the hard way is a choice each of us has to make. But at least now you know what you're choosing between.

The Hedonist's Stone is real, it's everywhere, and it's not going away. The question is: will you use it, or will it use you?