R&D and Strategy for the Digital Economy
Sonder is a hybrid between Airbnb and hotels. What started out as Flatbook in 2012, a service where they marked-up sublet apartments in Montreal on Airbnb, was rebranded to Sonder in 2016 and now worth more than a $1bn. We will find out why the combination of enhancing the experience […]
#Housing What is Coliving? Quick Pitch – Coliving is a more communal way of living, where costs and space are shared in such a way that residents feel an enhanced quality of life and a greater sense of community. It is part design and part financial, as shared spaces help […]
Is ‘Financing (for) the New Economy’ finally here? According to Clearbanc, the answer is yes. Backed by @chamath and Social Capital, who has shed light on the fact that ~40% of VC dollars go to Google and Facebook Ads, Clearbanc is planning on outlaying $1bn in Growth Capital (non-equity, non-loan) […]
#FinancialServices Bitcoin.org Quick Pitch – Bitcoin is an innovation, an architecture for digital money and commerce that doesn’t rely on any central authorities to run. It’s a stateless, trustless financial protocol whose security is guaranteed by miners and whose value is determined by market participants. How does Bitcoin make money? […]
With Bitcoin – a currency, a commodity, digital gold, or all of the above – set to be regulated by the highest levels of monetary authority, the question is whether there will be a Domino effect among nation-states trying to regulate a stateless, decentralized asset? For the first time in […]
The Millennials (those born between 1980 and 1996) and Generation Z (those born between 1997 and today) will comprise 50% of the global workforce by 2020 and 70% by 2025. Given the profound difference in values and beliefs between these two generations, we look at what we can expect during […]
#Housing SpotAHome.com Quick Pitch – SpotAHome is an online mid-term rental platform where tenants can rent rooms in European cities from abroad without having to view the room. SpotAHome’s main innovation to date is video viewing of the flat/room. How does SpotAHome make money? When a tenant makes the booking, […]
#Fintech N26.com Quick Pitch – N26 is ‘the Mobile Bank,’ one of the world’s top challenger banks based out of Germany, offering the ability to open a bank account in ‘8 minutes’ and use the N26 card almost anywhere with no fees. How Does N26 Make Money? N26 offers a […]
#Fintech Revolut.com Quick Pitch – Revolut is a digital, branchless challenger bank based in the UK that offers frictionless low-fee banking and free intra-currency transfers for both consumers and businesses. How Does Revolut Make Money? Revolut offers free Basic bank accounts, and subscription Premium accounts that cost £6.99 per month/£70 […]
A business model is defined as: “the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value.” Alex Osterwalder et al invented the Business Model Canvas to help individuals and organizations conceptualize how to analyze, create, and develop business models. ANDROID BM CANVAS ORIGINAL POST “Android, Google’s open-source mobile OS […]