In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the rise of “digital sin stocks” such as Skillz and Electronic Arts. He explores the factors that have contributed to their success, such as the growth of mobile gaming and the increasing popularity of esports. He also discusses the risks that investors face when investing in these types of companies, such as the potential for regulation and the addictive nature of their products.
The Didi financials are finally out. And they are an interesting mix of good and bad. Didi has market dominance and tech leadership in the largest market for shared mobility. But it is also chronically unprofitable. For investors, this could be a fantastic opportunity. Because Didi’s ongoing losses will scare off investors and likely lower […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses why Didi Chuxing, the dominant ride-hailing company in China, is still unprofitable. He explores the factors that have contributed to its dominance, such as its scale and its network effects, and he discusses the challenges that it faces in becoming profitable. For example, he discusses how Didi has to invest heavily in research and development, and how it has to compete with other ride-hailing companies that are also losing money.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the three types of network effects: direct, indirect, and standardization and interoperability. He explores how these different types of network effects can create value for businesses and consumers, and he discusses the challenges that businesses face in building and maintaining network effects. For example, he discusses how businesses need to invest in marketing and advertising to attract users, and how they need to keep users engaged with their products and services.
Network effects are the brass ring of the digital age. Companies and investors, especially venture capitalists, are actively reaching for them. And, like platform business models, they can have multiple important effects. Creating surprisingly durable competitive advantages is one of them. First some general comments and then I’ll go into three types of network effects. […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the competitive landscape in smart IoT logistics, comparing the strategies of JD Logistics and DHL. He argues that JD Logistics has a number of advantages, including its large network of warehouses and delivery drivers, its data-driven approach to logistics, and its focus on customer experience. He concludes that JD Logistics is well-positioned to win the race to become the leading provider of smart IoT logistics services in Asia.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses how Adobe has been able to maintain its dominance in the software industry despite the rise of cloud-based alternatives. He argues that Adobe’s success is due to its focus on old-school software economics, such as network effects and recurring revenue. He explains that network effects make it more valuable for each user to join a platform as more users join, and that recurring revenue provides a steady stream of income that can be used to invest in new products and services.
Take-Away 1: Adobe Inc. is a good example of many of the strengths of traditional software economics. It has evolved and expanded over decades to become a full suite of creative tools. It is now trying to expand from creative tools to operating tools. Take-Away 2: However, purely digital companies need to protect their attractive […]
It’s easy to get lost in all the factors and phenomena emerging as digital and data technology transform industry after industry. As I have argued before, there are actually four things happening at once: Accelerating digital transformation and / or disruption. New digital tools and data technologies keep emerging. There’s big data and AI. There […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses Baidu’s key strategic questions, including its best growth opportunity, whether it needed to go into content, and how it can compete in the attention market. He argues that Baidu’s best growth opportunity is in the cloud, but that it needs to be careful not to overextend itself. He also believes that Baidu needs to focus on its core search business and not get distracted by other ventures.