Tag: ecommerce
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Positioning Your Startup to Conquer Your Archenemy: The Ultimate Branding Exercise
I was recently advising a client in an incredibly competitive industry – think hundreds of millions raised, huge players in every major market, multi-billion dollar valuations… Suffice it to say, it’s a pretty crowded space they’re trying to break into. To make matters worse, they weren’t all that differentiated… their USP was weak. Which was […]
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Copy/Paste Commerce: Inside Facebook Growth Strategy of Stealing Startup Ideas and Why You Should Too!
“There’s nothing new under the sun.” We’ve all heard it… but what then is creativity, what is inspiration? Is it the artist or entrepreneur creating something completely unique, or combining previously separate things in new and innovative ways? Does it matter? Whoever said creativity was the key to success? The starving artist is a trope for […]
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The Halloween Costume Strategy for Company Branding
Trick or treat. It’s Dia de los Muertos. Amidst costumes and candy, you’re focused on building your business. Can’t blame ya. If you aren’t, no one else will. And today’s the perfect day to talk branding. It’s a day branded like none other where the strange and supernatural reign. But it’s also a day of […]
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How to Build Impact Businesses that also Make Money
Founders can change the world and still profit in the process There’s a growing trend in startups to actually give a shit, to make something that unlike the next photosharing app, actually makes the world a better place. Call this milleniallism, call this common sense… whatever it is, it’s a good thing. Whether it’s TOMS, […]
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Crypto, Decentralization and the Big Four: Blockchain vs. Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple
In the eyes of experts, when it comes to blockchain, there is often no middle ground — it will either be boom or bust, nothing in between. I for one have become a big proponent of blockchain technology, especially the crypto-economics used to jumpstart powerful network effects. But with so many opinions and noise floating […]
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Facebook: The King of Communication
We are entering an era of unparalleled tech dominance. Companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple control more and more of our everyday lives, owning our data and everything around it. The inherent network effects and flywheels these companies built are unprecedented both in their scope and ability to stave off competition. This is the 3rd […]
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Don’t Mine for Business Gold When You Can Sell Startup Shovels
Get rich or die trying — that’s a common mantra among entrepreneurs, gangsters and drug dealers. I know that was my mindset. How can I hustle my way to a million bucks? That was the question I asked myself every day, and night. Looking back, this was the wrong question to ask. But as Kanye says: “Money […]
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Uber is Going to Zero and Benchmark Knows It!
“Moving first is a tactic, not a goal….It’s much better to be a last mover.” — Peter Thiel On the surface this seems contrarian. When is being last better than being first? Steve Jobs understood this. Apple didn’t make the 1st MP3 player or the 1st smartphone. Yet in consumer tech, Apple is synonymous with both. That was no accident. […]
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Ecommerce is Broken and Here’s What its Future Looks Like
If you haven’t heard, Amazon won ecommerce. Bezos’ juggernaut is the most powerful marketplace and brand the Western world has ever seen (get my analysis here as an ex 7 figure Amazon seller). But it isn’t the only game in town. Every year new startups appear, looking to compete and grab their piece of the […]
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Marketplace Monopolies and the Cult of Crypto and ICOs
As an angel investor, I am always looking for transformational businesses. And marketplaces are arguably one of the strongest and most time-tested business models of all time. From early Rome and milenia earlier, merchants conducted commerce in markets. Thanks to efficiency gains for both buyers and sellers, the market thrived. Sellers could set up shop […]
