Business
A Divorce With Apple, Internal Strife: How Goldman’s Main Street Bet Failed. First of all, someone at WSJ needs to elaborate on what they mean by “selling customer data”. Financial services are highly regulated. Is it legal to just sell customer data? Plus, what data is sold? To whom? I work in the credit card industry and I never hear about selling customer data. Additionally, the more this saga unfolds, the more it shows that the blame is more on Goldman Sachs. Look, things between the bank and Apple likely would have been better if Apple had not been such a tough negotiator, but everyone is out for their interest. Goldman Sachs negotiated a deal, didn’t put enough resources behind customer care and made bad decisions one after another (GreenSky). In the end, they realized that consumer lending was not in their wheelhouse and they didn’t have the patience to see it out.
Some interesting context on what led to the current state of Citi Bank. It does seem like a massive job for Jane Fraser.
The Rise of Temu’s Chinese Parent Will Reshape E-Commerce. “At home, PDD’s Pinduoduo app has outshone more established rivals like Alibaba and JD.com. At a time when Chinese consumers are more price-sensitive, Pinduoduo’s reputation as the platform selling goods at affordable prices—after years of offering discounts and rebates—gives it an edge. The company has also cultivated a network of low-cost manufacturers targeting budget buyers, particularly in clothing, allowing it to maintain low prices on its platform. That’s a key difference with Alibaba’s Taobao, which has long operated primarily as a pure market—and focused less on directly building up suppliers itself.“
Amazon tests grocery subscription service for Prime members. I fear that it’s not going to work for Amazon. The subscription itself looks appealing: $10 a month for unlimited free delivery $35+ each. The challenge is the grocery selection at Whole Foods. It’s expensive. In a challenging time like now when inflation is high, not a whole lot of people will like to pay more to have expensive groceries delivered to their door.
Amazon will no longer accept Venmo as a payment option starting next month. I’d love to know why the partnership doesn’t work out. Is it because of the bureacracy at the two companies that took the integration more than one year to complete? Is it too expensive for PayPal and the new CEO didn’t like it? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Prime customers like to return stuff and Venmo is not suited for it?
PayPal tackles chargeback fraud. First-party fraud is a major concern for businesses, especially SMBs. But it’s a tricky issue. On one hand, you want people to check out as much as possible. On the other hand, you need to be able to curb friendly fraud to protect your business. A possible solution is to leverage data. PayPal has a great chance here since with millions of merchants and users, it has a lot of data at disposal to thread that needle and help its clients battle fraud.
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
Behind the Tragic, Instagram-Perfect Life of an Ex-Disney Executive. The life of social influencers is not always rosy. The story of Dave Hollis is an unfortunate example. He was a high-level executive at one of the biggest and most iconic companies in the world. Money was not a problem. Yet, he got suck into the social media world which eventually took his life.
How the world’s newest island explains Japan’s approach to life. “Home to roughly 10% of the world’s active volcanoes and enduring an estimated 1,500 earthquakes each year, in many ways, Japan is a rumbling, grinding, geological laboratory shaped by mighty forces. And over the centuries, the same forces that have shaped Japan physically have also shaped its unique worldview. Despite – or perhaps because of – their history living atop a highly active fault line, Japanese people tend to have a strong sense of resilience, a deep respect for the natural world and a belief in the power of impermanence. There’s a commonly phrase in Japan: “shou ga nai”, which is best translated as “it cannot be helped”. You might hear someone utter this when they’re caught in a rainstorm without an umbrella, when there’s ice on the road or when a small tremor delays their train. While it’s easy to liken this phrase to the French c’est la vie” or the English “it is what it is”“
The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets. It’s interesting to see some research-based tricks by all-you-can-eat restaurants to fill customers’ belly as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Frugal vs. Independent. It’s fascinating to read about how some very rich people found happiness in helping others, not in indulging in luxurious lifestyle. I have been often told to own a house because that’s the way to build equity and to have an American Dream. I admit that I was tempted at times, but I realized that living in a bigger house under a lot of debt wasn’t for me when I cat-sat for my friends in their house. The place is much bigger than my tiny apartment, but my wife and I didn’t use even close to 25% of the space and we weren’t happier at all. Hence, it’s crucial to listen to your inner voice, not let others’ opinions drive your decisions.
Stats
Temu is estimated to have 52 million monthly active accounts in the US
3,200 venture-backed firms in the U.S. have gone out of business in 2023
Minh Quang Duong 
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