Month: May 2014

What do Uber & Google have in common?

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Just as two people can have similar personalities, two companies can have a remarkably similar approach to business. Google may be more than 15 years old and a search-and-advertising behemoth, and Uber may be a five-year-old startup remaking urban transportation. But they think the same.

Google came of age when search was inefficient and cluttered, and made it simple and easy to find what you wanted online. Then everyone got broadband, and Google could use speed as a strategic weapon. It saved copies of the most-searched pages so it could serve them up even faster. The cost to search in terms of time and effort became infinitesimal. Then Google used data on how and what we searched, and went on to become even better at predicting what we wanted. “I’m feeling lucky” isn’t an accident but rather a lot of data used smartly.

Uber, like Google, is taking a highly

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Work
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Gucci rips off

Whoscopyingwhom

Big brands always get away with ripping up small brands, who have less marketing muscle. I don’t expect GQ or Esquire, who are beholden to Gucci pointing out that Gucci ripped off a design from Canadian company, Arc’tryx Veilance, who make some fantastic technical clothing and have perfect the art of minimal style. A little twist here and there and Gucci can pretend innocence. But the photo says it all — at least to me! (Thanks to Fashion Redef for jogging my memory.)

TheDailyOm
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Beats by Apple

It is not a surprise to me that this $3 billion deal is all about Beats Music. Others seem to agree. The way I see it, Apple CEO Tim Cook is trying to replace some of Steve Jobs’ skills by bringing in the best in business. Angela Ahrendts has the chops to take Apple retail into a new territory. Jimmy Iovine will be running Apple’s content side of the house. Jony Ive is still a powerhouse in design. This is a good approach.

Some say, Apple paid about 2x revenues for Beats from its overseas stash of cash, so it isn’t that expensive a deal. It also allows them to extend into non-Apple markets. That said, despite all the hoopla, Apple’s music business doesn’t make them as much money. And the problems for Apple are elsewhere.

Apple’s Achilles heel is its inability to come to terms with a world where, data,

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TheDailyOm
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What I am reading today

Bonus Link, behind paywall.
TheDailyOm
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Not everyone wins

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“That’s probably how we built our business. We don’t have an environment where nobody fails in our company. Most companies do, they just move people to the corner. We have a different scenario here. If you’re not going to make it, you move on. We understand that. If we don’t make it, we’ve got to move on, our sponsors expect that from us. And I think that I’m no risk, no reward.” — Roger Penske, Penske Racing.

TheDailyOm
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Slots, Subprime, Startups

“People with money are going to figure out ways to invest their money to make more money. If you look at finance, like when credit-default swaps were huge, right, everyone was investing in that. And when subprime was huge, people were investing in that. Now, it’s Silicon Valley. It’s like Vegas. The excitement of winning far exceeds the downside of losing.” — Jordan Metzner, co-founder of Washio in New York magazine.

Pretty much sums up the mindset of many in Silicon Valley!

TheDailyOm
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