2014 Mar 24

The Difference Between Experience and Cynicism

There was an extended article in the New Republic recently on the rampant "ageism" in Silicon Valley. In some ways, it isn't surprising. Start-ups can be brutal on a family, so having less (or no) family to worry about makes it somewhat easier. Ironically, the culprits in the article don't view those in their 60s or 70s as being discriminated against, but rather those in their 30s and 40s, those with real hardcore experience.

2014 Mar 21

Is Visa Purchase Insurance for Bitcoin?

Goldman Sachs estimates that Bitcoin could bring potential savings of $167.5BN per year in regular transactions, ignoring the much higher savings in remittances. Where did it get that number? And how will payment firms - Visa, MasterCard, AmEx - respond? GS's number is straightforward. Look at the following graph: If retail and ecommerce together are just under $11TN in 2013, typical processing fees are 2.5%-2.9%, and typical Bitcoin processing fees are 1.

2014 Mar 19

Always Clean Up

A few days ago, I made a family affair, about 150 people, in a local neighbourhood hall. We rented the hall, photographer, music and caterer separately. The hall is part of a larger institution, so there is a manager who handles all of the day-to-day functions, like opening and closing, and managing cleanup. When the caterer was ready to start setting up at about 4:00pm, we met the manager and caterer at the hall.

2014 Mar 17

Does a 3D-Printed Car Matter?

I guess it was inevitable: 3D-printed cars, courtesy of Local Motors, who has announced that they will begin selling them in September 2014. Personally, I think the idea that you can 3D-print a car to be fascinating. The list of things that can be built using 3D-printing keeps on growing; I await the day when we hear that the US Navy will launch the USS Printed, a 3D-printed nuclear-powered aircraft carrier!

2014 Mar 14

Web Economics Boards the Plane

For almost 20 years, an extensive onboard entertainment system has been a minimum requirement for any long-haul flight. Anyone who has flown an old airplane internationally knows the level of discontent with the airline, and the many passenger promises never to fly them again. As a result, airlines have spent millions of dollars per airplane - every few years - revamping those in-seat video screens to add higher resolution, touch screens, more movie capabilities, more games.

2014 Mar 12

Weddings, Dresses and Diamonds

What is the value of a wedding dress? In most stores, it is several thousand dollars. H&M, the global Swedish retailer, on the other hand, says it should be worth $99. Clearly H&M is using a lower quality fabric, since the article cited above quotes fabric cost of $500, and we can be fairly certain H&M is not selling the dresses at negative 80% gross margins. It is also using mass manufacturing - which doesn't necessarily mean lower quality; when is the last time bought bespoke jeans or T shirts?

2014 Mar 10

Let's Just Talk... Maybe Not

It is accepted common sense that sometimes, if you just can talk face-to-face, you can resolve everything. I have believed that at times, and have successfully used it... when the issues are a question of common language and understanding, not fundamental. For example, one time when I negotiated a contract, the messenger got in the way; I sat directly with the principal on the opposite side and resolved all of the open questions.

2014 Mar 6

Don't Always Expect Them To Be Rational

Every day, every one of us performs myriad instances of sales. We sell ourselves as a potential employee, a proposal for a new initiative, a co-worker on a new software architecture, a board on new investments, and, for a small percentage of us, a potential customer on whatever product we, as titled salespeople, are selling. When we sell, we expect our customers to be rational and self-interested. Dan Ariely may have done a pretty good job questioning that assumption, but we still expect it to be true.

2014 Mar 5

How to Sell More Coffee

Question: What do iTunes, coffee and HP have to do with each other? Answer: digital restrictions, digital rights management or DRM. DRM is the attempt to control distribution of digital media - files, applications, music and movies. Apple's iTunes DRM was famously called FairPlay (which led many of its workarounds to be called, "PlayFair!"). While Apple removed it from music in early 2009, they continue to use it on movies.

2014 Mar 4

If Your Customers Are Angry, Does It Matter?

Whole Foods, home of organic food, gluten-free bread, vitamins... and the angry customer? Nils Parker says that Whole Foods seems to attract the angriest customer segment. Of course, I enjoyed the story because (spoiler warning) the jerk got a nice zinger right back at him. But more important is that Parker appears to be doing, probably unintentionally, what every good marketing exec should do: build and understand their customer personality (the cool words nowadays are "