Business

Short Term Loans

A common narrative for loan providers is financial inclusion. 69% of global adult population is not covered by credit bureaus. Using non-traditional data (e.g. text messages, location, contacts, call logs), more people can get scored.

How Dentists Rip Us Off. William Ecenbarger. digitalsmiledesign.com . Feb 1, 1997.

Ecenbarger pitch: moving into the area; had done gum surgery; had a direct-reimbursement program to cover expenses; interested in good oral health; no desire for cosmetic improvements

Is Dentistry a Science? Ferris Jabr. www.theatlantic.com . May 1, 2019.

Cochrane Oral Health reviews dental procedures in a systematic manner. Unfortunately, most of the reviews don’t find substantive support for dental interventions.

There is currently no substantive evidence for: binannual cleanings, fluoridation reducing tooth decay in adults; regular flossing combating plaque (gum disease? probably); preventative wisdom teeth removal; tooth-colored resin instead of metal amalgam fillings; crown vs. filling to repair root-canaled tooth.

CityFlo Reduces Google Maps API Bill by 94%

Google Directions API limited their free tier . CityFlo uses this API to calculate ETAs. Initially, CityFlo queried the API every time a stop was registered.

The Submarine. Paul Graham. www.paulgraham.com . Apr 1, 2005.

Many people rely on social proof to form opinions; therein lies the power of PR.

PR firms are not dishonest for they need good reputation with news outlets. But PR firms serve overworked reporters with selective truths.

The firms feed the same story to different publications at once. Readers see similar stories in multiple places and assume a new trend has come.

U.S. Files Criminal Charges Against Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Balwani. John Carreyrou. www.wsj.com . news.ycombinator.com . Jun 15, 2018.

(Ask HN) Holmes has 200 Patents. If tech didn't work, why not noticed? news.ycombinator.com . Jun 18, 2018.

Theranos Lessons. Morgan Housel. www.collaborativefund.com . Jun 19, 2019.

This CEO is Out for Blood. Roger Parloff. www.fortune.com . news.ycombinator.com . Jun 12, 2014.

Holmes and COO charged with wire fraud. Why risk it?

Corporations budget for corporate fines. Executives don’t have any skin in the game.

Layoffs at Watson Health Reveal IBM’s Problem with AI. Eliza Strickland. spectrum.ieee.org . news.ycombinator.com . Jun 25, 2018.

Jefferies gives IBM Watson a Wall Street reality check. John Mannes. techcrunch.com . news.ycombinator.com . Jul 13, 2017.

• IBM acquired Phytel, Explorys and Truven for their troves of healthcare data and proprietary analytics.

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Luxottica - Queen of the Seven Kingdoms

Luxottica owns and licenses Armani, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Chanel, Coach, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Persol, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ray-Ban, Tiffany, Valentino, Vogue and Versace.

Italy’s Luxottica also runs EyeMed Vision Care, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Sunglass Hut and Target Optical. It also merged with the world’s leading maker of prescription eyeglass lenses and contact lenses, to form EssilorLuxottica.

The Shady Economics of Buy-One-Get-One Free Deals. Zachary Crockett. thehustle.co . Feb 17, 2019.

BOGO goods are usually low-demand, non-efficient, lacking in quality and/or close to the expiration date. The BOGO deal is usually a 50% discount off of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). And oftentimes, this price is artificially marked up to begin with.

• MyPillow offered BOGO deal on their pillows, but really just doubled the price of the first pillow.

Law of diminishing marginal utility: consumers will buy two of something when the word ‘free’ is involved, even when they only need one — and the second item often ends up in the trash.

Innovation Africa & Water Availability

Bring in Israeli solar panels and drip irrigation. Pump water from the large reservoirs below. Cost $7,000.

Adapting to community: 6-8 weeks on committees, bank accounts; mobile charging stations and barbershops using solar panels for sustainability. Can’t sell the water, but you can subsidize it with complementary products.

Set up remote monitoring with real time stats in order to schedule maintenance.

Honorable Mentions

Push Party by MSCHF is valued at $200m, led by The Founders Fund.

How to Get Startup Ideas

Err on the side of having competitors, but make sure that you have a thesis that everyone else is overlooking, e.g. Google wasn’t averse to users leaving google.com ASAP.

Consultants are not well suited for strategy (you probably have a deeper understanding). They are also an expensive way of proving your point to management. However, they are good for emergency horsepower, e.g. data analysis, and for primary research within your industry (they probably have a broader understanding).

Having a competitive advantage may reduce the incentive to explore other ideas, especially ones that conflict with your chosen [successful] strategy. Additionally, having to maintain/exceed quarterly numbers dissuade incumbents from risk taking.

20 years later, JetBrains is valued at $7b without taking VC money. HN users praise JetBrains for being user-focused, and the prevailing argument is that VC money comes with growth-hacking attached.

Is the Lean Startup Dead?

Katzenberg (Paramount, Disney Studios & DreamWorks) has raised $1.75b for NewTV, a startup banking on consumers wanting a subscription for 10-minute programs on mobile.

AT&T to pay $60m in settlement for slowing cellphone data on unlimited plans. www.reuters.com . Nov 5, 2019.

• Complaint filed in 2014 by the FTC: AT&T charged smartphone users for ‘unlimited’ data plans, but throttled them after ~2GB within a month.

• AT&T: None of these allegations were ever proved in court. We were fully prepared to defend ourselves, but decided settling was in the best interests of consumers.

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