This presentation distills the essence of the following blog posts into a presentation format. The target audience is early-stage startup founders, and investors. Economic Moats Blog Post Series Network Effects Switching Costs Intangibles Efficient Scale, and Cost Advantages Connecting The Dots #OpposingViewpoints: Do Economic Moats Happen By Accident?
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How To Make Africa More Innovative And Entrepreneurial
Note: This blog post is a consolidation of a 4-part series I wrote for Tekedia. They were published between June 10, 2012 and July 22, 2012. This version is substantially identical to the originals from which it is compiled, with only non-material updates. My exam is behind me now, and I can turn my attention […]
Revisiting What I Know About Efficient Scale, Cost Advantages, & Early Stage Technology Startups
This is the fourth post in my series of blog posts on economic moats. I have already written about Network Effects, Switching Costs, and Intangibles. In this post I will discuss how Cost Advantages and Efficient Scale might develop as an early stage startup travels through the discovery phase of its life-cycle. ((Any errors in appropriately […]
How Studying Bankruptcy And Working On Two Turnaround Assignments Prepared Me To Become An Early Stage Venture Capitalist
When I started business school at NYU Stern in the fall of 2005 my plan centered on taking every class in Bankruptcy & Reorganization, and Distressed Investing that I could. I took 3 elective classes in that area; Bankruptcy & Reorganization with Prof. Ed Altman, Case Studies in Bankruptcy & Reorganization with Prof. Max […]
Notes on Strategy; Where Does Disruption Come From?
Marc Andreessen’s brilliant explanation of @claychristensen‘s disruptive innovation theory in 15 tweets: pic.twitter.com/3ic1teQbRW — Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) June 24, 2015 Introduction You can imagine my surprise when I was browsing my Twitter feed one night last month and came across one of Marc Andreessen’s tweetstorms. This time he was tweeting about Clayton Christensen’s Theory of […]
Notes on Strategy; For Early Stage Technology Startups
Alternate Title: What Can 24’s Jack Bauer Teach a Tech Startup Founder About Strategy? Running a business without a strategy is like breathing air without oxygen. The purpose of this blog post is to attempt to synthesize certain fundamental lessons on strategy that are relevant for anyone trying to build a business. ((Let me know […]