Business
Apple dives into display-making to cut reliance on Samsung. Apple is a great example of companies that thrive by owning key capabilities and unlocking vertical integration. The challenge for Apple; however, is to retain key personnel across multiple functions and maintain the collaboration to leverage what is an increasingly complex system.
Brian Chesky: I want Airbnb to become a physical social network. I am not happy with the lack of focus from AirBnb on guests. The company seems to constantly talk about what they do for hosts. Hence, I was happy to see Brian Chesky mindful of how expensive his platform has become for guests, especially Gen Z. Plus, his comment on running a business the size of AirBnb as a public entity is very interesting.
Bank of America launches fintech accelerator program. Participants in this program don’t need to give the bank equity in exchange for support and mentorship. What does Bank of America (BofA) hope to gain? I believe that nurturing fintech startups can help improve the deposits now and the future. If your startup already parks money at one institution, you are unlikely to move cash somewhere. Furthermore, BofA can have visibility into what potential technology is on the market. Such insight enables the bank to either build its internal solution or acquire external capabilities.
($) How America’s Largest Restaurant Franchisee Decides When to Raise Prices. Flynn Restaurant Group employs a team of data scientists to maximize revenue by using internal and competitors’ data. ““We had local marketing teams that would go out and steal all the menus and enter them into an Excel file,” said Ron Bellamy, Flynn’s chief operating officer. Data scientists collected prices for individual items across Flynn’s restaurants, then layered on variables that could impact sales, such as bad weather or a change in restaurant hours. They began regularly monitoring prices for competitor restaurants within a three-mile radius of their stores.“
How Bud Light Blew It. The urge to appeal to younger drinkers and stop the brand decline is understandable, but what Bud Light did is an own goal. The brewer could have attacked its marketing problem from different angles like other companies did. It did not need to risk angering a divisive society over a sensitive and polarizing issue. I applaud the marketing team at Budweiser for taking a stand. Had the tactic succeeded, the team would have won accolades. Unfortunately, failure means dismissal and that’s exactly what happened.
Dev Kantesaria – FICO: A High Score Business. This is one of my favorite Business Breakdowns episodes. I learned a great deal about Fair Isaac, the company that is more known for one of its products: FICO score. Sign up for a JoinColossus account to read the transcript if reading is your preferred learning method.
America’s Biggest Bank Is Everywhere—and It Isn’t Done Growing. Read this and the decks that JPMorgan Chase used on its Investor Day this week, to learn about how this monster of a bank is run.
Other stuff I find interesting
A traveler’s dream: Cash-free payment systems link up across Southeast Asia. “For the past several years, the central banks of these countries have been attempting to connect their systems, allowing their residents to use QR payments for cross-border transactions without any fees, generally at better conversion rates than those set by payment processors like Visa and American Express. After running a set of quiet pilot programs and sealing an official agreement in 2022, the system is beginning to catch on, anywhere from island party towns to high-end shops.“
The U.S. Needs Minerals for Electric Cars. Everyone Else Wants Them Too. To avoid over-reliance on China for minerals, the US must work with other resource-rich countries. Africa is the most notable option. The wealthiest country has long neglected to be a key player in Africa. Such an oversight must change.
When digital nomads come to town. This article discusses the pros and cons of having digital nomads. Like they always say, nothing is perfect indeed.
Stats
There are almost 1.8 million apps on the App Store and 37 million registered Apple developers
38% of Americans struggle to make ends meet
6 out of 10 Americans heard of ChatGPT
Target earned $734 million in 2022 from its co-branded credit card issued by TD Bank
12% of all restaurants in the United States serve Asian food