Podcast Summary
Perspective from a businessman on China and America: Investing in informed perspectives and staying connected with the world can lead to success, despite the challenges of modern technology and society.
Treating a hobby like a job can lead to failure, but having an informed perspective and investing in what one believes in can lead to success. I had an intriguing conversation with a businessman who runs a large tech company in China and employs thousands of people there and in America. He challenged the common belief that China will "crush" America in the next few years and encouraged investing in American equities due to the hard work and innovation of Americans. I also finished reading John Steinbeck's memoir "Travels with Charley," where he expressed concerns about Americans becoming too focused on technology and losing touch with their country in the 1960s. This resonated with me as we continue to navigate the complexities of modern technology and society. Overall, it's important to seek out informed perspectives and stay connected with the world around us.
Understanding Marketing Trends and Financial Concepts: Stay informed about marketing trends and financial concepts like short squeezes to optimize marketing efforts and make informed business decisions.
Staying informed about the latest marketing trends and understanding concepts like short squeezes in the financial world are crucial for business success. The HubSpot 2,024 State of Marketing report provides valuable insights into effective marketing strategies, while a short squeeze occurs when investors betting against an asset are forced to buy it when the price rises, leading to a significant price increase. By being aware of these trends and concepts, businesses can optimize their marketing efforts and make informed financial decisions. Additionally, Bitcoin's recent price surge can be attributed to a short squeeze, where massive short positions were liquidated, causing a rapid increase in price.
The Future of Industries: Smart Contracts and the Need for Engineers: Smart contracts, written in Solidity for Ethereum, eliminate intermediaries and their fees, creating a high demand and shortage of engineers to write them. This shift offers a more efficient, cost-effective, and secure way of conducting transactions in the crypto world.
The future of various industries, particularly in the realm of cryptocurrencies, lies in the development and implementation of smart contracts. These digital agreements, written in the programming language Solidity for Ethereum, eliminate the need for intermediaries and their associated fees in transactions. As a result, there is a high demand and shortage of engineers who can write smart contracts. An idea proposed is to create a boot camp for existing engineers to transition into this field and meet the growing need for smart contract developers. This shift not only has the potential to disrupt industries but also to create new opportunities for engineers. Smart contracts offer a more efficient, cost-effective, and secure way of conducting transactions, and their importance in the crypto world cannot be overstated.
Creating a niche education business for engineers: Maximize profits by charging a premium price and partnering with companies for bulk purchases in a niche education business for engineers teaching smart contracts and Solidity.
There's an opportunity to create a niche education business focused on teaching engineers how to write smart contracts and Solidity, similar to Lambda School, but with a more specific and in-demand skillset. However, the success of such a business could be compared to Coursera, which initially struggled but experienced a resurgence during the pandemic and now has a significant revenue and valuation. To maximize profits, charging a premium price for the courses and potentially partnering with companies for bulk purchases could be effective strategies. It's essential to note that this business model might not be suitable for a large-scale venture but could potentially generate substantial income for a small team. Additionally, the speaker expresses skepticism towards Lambda School's business model, as it relies on referral fees, and predicts that it might not be successful for most startups. However, this prediction is not a definitive one, as every business has unique circumstances.
The Unexpected Challenges of Large Companies and the Power of Authentic Engagement: Even large companies can face unexpected challenges, but authentic engagement and a unique online presence can lead to unexpected opportunities.
Even large, well-funded companies can face unexpected challenges and potential failure, as seen in the case of a company with a $100 million investment. However, an amusing anecdote about a Twitter account named Greg, who replies to celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Chamath Palihapitiya with endearing messages, showcases the power of authentic engagement and unexpected opportunities. In a different context, the discussion also touched upon Y Combinator (YC) and its role in startups, including providing a valuable stamp of approval and coaching services. While the company discussed is not an early-stage startup, its potential vulnerability serves as a reminder that any business can encounter unforeseen circumstances. The story of Greg, on the other hand, demonstrates the potential rewards of authentic engagement and the power of a unique online presence.
From unfunded to funded: A course offering clear transformation: Courses offering clear transformations or changes are more appealing to buyers than those just providing knowledge. Success-based business models can align providers' incentives with students' success.
People are more likely to buy a course if it offers a clear transformation or change, rather than just knowledge. For instance, a course that helps a startup go from unfunded to funded in a short period could be highly attractive. The founder of such a course, who has raised $20 million and helped numerous founders secure funding, believes they could help a founder get their first round of funding in a month. This would involve intensive workshopping of the founder's pitch deck and story, as well as teaching them the sales process of investing. The course could be offered on a success-basis, similar to Lambda School, where the provider's financial incentive is aligned with the student's success. The founder mentioned that their previous course, which focused on power writing, generated $127,000 in top-line sales, falling short of their initial expectation. However, they learned valuable lessons from the experience, including the importance of offering a clear transformation and the potential of a success-based business model.
Creating an Online Course: Significant Costs and Time Investment: Despite the high costs and extensive work required, creating an online course can provide high value to students and result in positive feedback and high net promoter scores.
Creating an online course involves significant costs and time investment. The speaker spent around $85,000 on production costs, Maven's fee, and payment processing fees, leaving a net income of approximately $105 after serving 320 students. The students showed high satisfaction, with a net promoter score of 9.1, and reported an average value of 10x the course price. However, the biggest downside was the extensive work required, which the speaker underestimated, taking around 50 to 100 hours to create the content. Despite the challenges, the speaker was pleased with the positive feedback and high value students received from the course.
Learning through Doing: The 'Do, Learn, Redo' Method: Effectively teach by setting clear expectations, providing guided practice, and offering constructive feedback. Use the 'Do, Learn, Redo' method for hands-on learning, where students write, share, receive feedback, and rewrite to improve.
Effective teaching involves setting clear expectations, providing guided practice, and offering constructive feedback. The speaker described a method he used for teaching cold email writing, which he called "do, learn, redo." In this approach, students were asked to write a cold email during the first part of the session, share it with the group, receive feedback from the instructor, and then rewrite the email based on that feedback. This method allowed students to see tangible improvement in their work and reinforced learning through hands-on experience. The instructor also emphasized the importance of rehearsing and refining the teaching approach before presenting it to a larger audience. While the method was intensive and required significant time and effort, it resulted in successful outcomes for both the instructor and his students. Additionally, the instructor plans to continue teaching and exploring new topics while evaluating the demand and enjoyment level of each course.
Understanding customer preferences leads to unexpected success: Being open to change and understanding customers' needs can lead to unexpected business opportunities
Adapting to customers' preferences and market trends can lead to unexpected success. This was evident in the speaker's experience with live courses versus recorded content and in the emergence of Swimply, a platform for renting private pools. Initially, the speaker believed recording content would save time and offer a more polished product. However, customers preferred the authenticity and perceived value of live sessions. Similarly, Swimply, which the speaker once dismissed as a ridiculous idea, has experienced exponential growth by catering to people's desire for outdoor activities and access to swimming pools. The lesson learned is that being open to change and understanding customers' needs can lead to unexpected business opportunities.
Underestimating innovative business models in the sharing economy can lead to missed opportunities: Stay open-minded to innovative business models in the sharing economy, as companies like Cozy, NABOR, Neighbor, Imove, Kazoo, Picasa, Resort, and Every.co have proven success despite initial skepticism
Underestimating innovative business models in the sharing economy can lead to missed opportunities. The speaker initially dismissed the idea of companies that allow renting out homes for coworking or subscribing to multiple online courses as stupid, but was proven wrong as these companies, such as Cozy, NABOR, Neighbor, Imove, Kazoo, Picasa, and Resort, have seen significant growth and success. The speaker himself even proposed an idea for a ClassPass-like service for online courses. Another example, Every.co, which offers a subscription service for newsletters, was also initially dismissed by the speaker due to perceived payment complexities, but he acknowledged the potential and admired the team behind it. These companies' successes serve as a reminder that it's important to stay open-minded and reevaluate initial judgments.
Bundling newsletters for shared value: Bundling newsletters allows writers to share subscription value and consumers to access a variety of quality content for a flat fee, potentially creating a more sustainable and enjoyable experience for both parties.
The future of newsletters might lie in bundling rather than individual subscriptions. This model, inspired by Marc Andreessen's idea of bundling and unbundling, allows writers to contribute to a shared subscription pool, reducing the pressure of consistently producing high-quality content on their own. This approach not only benefits the writers by sharing the subscription value but also provides more value to the consumers, who get access to a variety of quality content from multiple writers for a flat fee. This concept, while not guaranteed to work, shows promise in creating a more sustainable and enjoyable experience for both writers and readers in the newsletter space. It's important to remember that treating a hobby like a job can lead to failure, and finding the right balance between maintaining the joy of creating content and the responsibilities of a subscription-based platform is crucial for success.
The Future of Gas Stations: Adapting to Electric and Self-Driving Vehicles: Gas stations may need to adapt to electric vehicles and self-driving cars by offering new services like entertainment hubs, charging and maintenance centers, or face potential obsolescence.
With the rise of electric vehicles and self-driving cars, the future of gas stations is uncertain. Gas makes up only a third or less of profit for gas stations, with the majority coming from sales inside. Elon Musk's recent trademark filing for restaurant services aimed at electric vehicles suggests Tesla's plans to change the game. As electric vehicles can be charged at home, gas stations may need to adapt and convert to other uses, such as entertainment hubs or self-driving car charging and maintenance centers. Additionally, self-driving cars may reduce the need for parking garages and street parking, leading to a potential reallocation of city real estate. The shift towards electric and self-driving vehicles presents challenges for traditional gas stations, but also opportunities for innovation and adaptation.
Discussing opportunities in electric vehicle charging: Explored everyday charging solutions and optimizing charging for ride-sharing companies, plus creating charging stations as tourist attractions.
My cousin was developing technology to create a robotic arm that could automatically plug electric vehicles into charging stations. However, I advised him that self-driving cars were not yet a reality and building such a complex machine for a future market was risky. Instead, we discussed the opportunity in optimizing charging for electric vehicles for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. We brainstormed about creating an app that could determine the optimal time and location for charging based on traffic and electricity costs. I also mentioned the potential market for charging stations as tourist destinations, comparing it to Buc-ee's, a popular gas station chain in Texas known for its clean bathrooms, unique food, and fun trinkets. In conclusion, the takeaway is that there are opportunities in both everyday charging solutions and optimizing charging for ride-sharing companies, as well as creating charging stations as tourist attractions.
Balancing technology and personal interaction in businesses: Businesses in the food and beverage industry must find a balance between technology and personal interaction to meet evolving consumer needs and preferences.
The future of businesses, particularly in the food and beverage industry, is heading towards a blend of technology and personal interaction. Some businesses may opt for a quirky, nostalgic branding and become tourist destinations, while others may fully automate their operations for efficiency and cost savings. However, there seems to be a middle ground where businesses can offer a variety and quality of products that cannot be replicated by machines. Cafe X, as an example, aims to serve Starbucks quality coffee faster and cheaper by using automation, but it may not fully succeed due to the lack of personal interaction. Starbucks, on the other hand, offers a unique experience of getting out of the house and interacting with people, which cannot be replicated by a machine. Ultimately, the success of these businesses will depend on their ability to balance technology and personal interaction to meet the evolving needs and preferences of consumers.
