Here is what we have been into recently
Doom and Gloom in the tech industry (aka RIP Good Times II) - looks like every VC is writing a memo on how to navigate these tricky times and there is a lot of bad news from crashing stock prices to people getting laid off. One of the now famous documents about this comes from the legendary Sequoia Capital. They released a 52 page deck. Key takeaways for operating a tech business in this environment 1) this is not going to be a quick turnaround so brace for long pain 2) cash becomes king - be ready to cut, have a plan 3) expect raising money to be ‘ much’ more difficult, easy money is gone 4) growth at all costs is over - the Uber playbook is out the window 5) Eventual reversal of power from the employee to the employer - with hiring freezes, lay offs etc. it becomes easier to recruit talent. (bad news if you happen to be an employee - might pay off to make your move now and fast).
Talking about bad timing - Mike Novogratz is a billionaire Crypto hedge fund guy. It turns out he also has bad taste and - arguably - bad judgement. He has the below tattoo on his arm. And below that is the Luna performance. We are not giving our money to Mike. (p.s: he probably made a bunch of money from Luna, still not giving our money to Mike - not sponsoring bad taste)
NFTs looking for redemption: NFT market crashed along with pretty much everything else. However businesses are still exploring practical applications of the technology. As an example, Starbucks is planning to leverage NFTs to launch a loyalty program powered by collectibles. It will provide exclusive access to ‘experiences and perks’ - like gold sparkled vanilla latte (made this up but quite pleased with the idea tbh,). The elephant in the room is - why do you need NFTs to power this or why do you - as the consumer - care about the technology powering the loyalty program. In short - you don’t. While the NFT technology adds value in the back end (blockchain recorded proof of ownership etc.) that’s about it. The actual value lies in what you provide to the members. As the market matures the tech layer should disappear for the end consumer.
Film of the week: “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch” The documentary portrays, once a trendsetter and an exclusive brand Abercrombie & Fitch’s strategies to success and how it resulted in major failures. (i.e. numerous lawsuits in sexual abuse and as well as racial discrimination). Even though the critics have mixed reviews, the success of the film is that it shows how racism and discrimination within a very successful company can be the end of it. Also, it's a glimpse of the 1990’s: when companies could get away with discrimination and sexual abuse. But there were also brands like United Colors of Benetton who were and avid advocate of human rights, and diversity. It’s a contemporary story which follows a trendsetter company, and the hubris of the company will result in the eventual downfall.
Book of the week: Radical Candor by Kim Scott. This is quite well known and turning into a bit of a cliché to the point where the author had to address the perception of the book in popular culture in the intro of the latest edition. The core premise of the book is simple - to have a healthy, high performing business culture you need to 1) care about people 2) be direct with them, be able to challenge them. To be honest there is much more in the book beyond the idea about how to manage people in high performing (mostly tech) environments. There are lots of small case studies, lots of name dropping (the author worked at Google in early days, talks about Larry Page etc..), mentions of the author’s multiple failed businesses but if you can look beyond all that it’s actually quite good.
Enjoy and if you do (or don’t) please feel free to share!