Years ago, I started mapping out the evolution of Alibaba with pictures. I was having a hard time keeping all the moving parts in mind. And I was becoming more and more convinced that digital company development is path dependent. What comes next depends on what just happened. Microsoft is only capable of its current […]
In Part 1, I argued that Twitter 1.0 is about supercharging operating performance. That’s what I expect to happen in the 6 months. And it looks to me like Elon is making big changes in the Digital Operating Basics. Specifically, DOB1, DOB2, DOB5, DOB6, and DOB7. See Part 1 for details. I do like that this […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the return of Ant Group after 2 years in restructuring. He talks about Ant’s new international payment initiative, Alipay+, and how it could disrupt the global payments market. He also discusses the challenges that Ant faces in its new incarnation, such as regulatory scrutiny and competition from other tech giants.
A few years ago, I wrote about how Alibaba.com was launching an ambitious global platform strategy around B2B cross-border transactions. Alibaba.com was attempting to build a marketplace platform that digitized and democratized global trade. It was a sweeping vision. Basically, they were creating digital tools and connections that enabled SMEs to buy and sell products […]
This week’s podcast is about Nubank, Brazil’s rapidly rising digital bank. You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts. Here is my new book: Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition Here are my 5 predictions for Nubank 2.0 #1: Nubank Could Offer […]
In Part 1, I went through the basics of Nubank, which is building a digital bank in Latin America. And you can make an analogy between the first digital bank and the first online travel sites. In both cases: A digital business model was taking on long-established physical business models. Digital economics enabled a far […]
A few months ago, I wrote about Stone Co, which is one of the new digital natives rising in Latin America. My thinking on Stone Co is that the company is mostly serving SMEs with a split focus on financial services and enterprise software and services. That is a bit confusing. And their operations reflect […]
In Part 2, I laid out the story of Stone Company, a Brazilian digital native that is building out payment, financial and enterprise services for SMEs. My basic take was: I like the company’s basic value proposition (payment plus working capital services) for smaller merchants, especially compared to what they get from local banks. I […]
This week’s podcast is Brazilian Stone Company (STNE), the Berkshire Hathaway-invested payment platform that has fallen in share price by +80%. You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes and Google Podcasts. Here is my new book (released December 1): Moats and Marathons (Part 1): How to Build and Measure Competitive Advantage in Digital Businesses Kindle Edition […]
Stone Co is a Brazilian company that is attempting to build a payment and financial services suite for merchants in +5,000 cities. And they are targeting the country’s +8M small merchants, many of whom still operate in cash and do not get great services from traditional banks. That is a big, interesting and difficult idea. […]