I found these notes in one of my old notebooks . . . as I was reorganizing my desk a few days ago, after taking the CFA Level III exam for a 4th time early this month. I do not have any answers written down, but I assume I wrote them down as a starting […]
Competitive Strategy
“Liking” Facebook’s Business Model – The #EconomicMoats Remix
Note: I published “Liking” Facebook’s Business Model on December 26, 20011 at Tekedia. This article updates that discussion by incorporating developments since then. It also folds in discussion of the economic moats that Facebook has developed around its business. Large segments of this article are exactly identical to the post that was published by Tekedia […]
Connecting The Dots: Economic Moats & Early Stage Technology Startups
I started writing about economic moats in September 2014. Since then I have written about Network Effects, Switching Costs, Intangibles, and Efficient Scale and Cost Advantages. The purpose of those posts was to outline how I think about economic moats while I am studying a seed stage startup and trying to determine how things might unfold […]
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 […]
Notes on Strategy; Michael Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies for Early Stage Tech Startups
Running a business without a strategy is like breathing air without oxygen. My post Notes on Strategy; For Early Stage Technology Startups led to follow up questions from a handful of readers who asked for additional posts with more explanations and examples. ((Let me know if you feel I have failed to attribute something appropriately. Tell me how […]
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 […]