BlogHide Resteemsmattward (25)in network • 7 years agoWant Results? Just Tell People What They Want to HearThere are two ways to interpret that: outrage and intrigue. The best headlines do both. The world is a game of selling, especially in business. VCs sell money to founders, founders sell dreams to…mattward (25)in techgiants • 7 years agoHow Today’s Tech Giants are Beating Startups at their Own GameProfits accrue to people on top. That’s the way most markets work, especially those with strong network effects (for more on 5 types of network effects and how to hack them, see this post). As an…mattward (25)in google • 7 years agoGoogle vs Uber — The Battle for the Autonomous OSSource: IqbalPost Uber’s the most successful pre-IPO startup in history. Google is insanely profitable as the operating system of the internet. Both these tech giants overcame huge odds to get to…mattward (25)in venturecapital • 7 years agoThe Memorable Elevator Pitch that VCs Can’t IgnoreSource: The Elevator Pitch (Sundance) Those words terrify entrepreneurs. You get one chance to make a first impression. And fear of failure often ruins that. Overconfidence is equally harmful…mattward (25)in business • 7 years agoDon’t Mine for Gold When You Can Sell ShovelsSource: FanArt Get rich or die trying — that’s a common mantra among entrepreneurs, gangsters and drug dealers. I know that was my mindset. How can I hustle my way to a million bucks? That was…mattward (25)in startup • 7 years agoStartup Fundraising 101: The Pros and Cons of Angels, VCs, Angel Groups and SyndicatesSo you are raising money for your startup. You have a product and a little traction — now you need to grow. Who do you talk to? How do you get the round closed as quickly as possible without…mattward (25)in startup • 7 years agoStartup Pirate Game Theory“If you’ve got a dream and your dream doesn’t require a team, you need to dream bigger.” — Unknown When working with startups (both as an investor and advisor), I like to focus on incentivizes. The…mattward (25)in syndicate • 7 years agoThe Syndicate Year in Review: Cryptocurrencies & ICOs, AI, The End of Uber and Apple and Much More…Both professionally and personally, 2017 has been an amazing year. I set the goal of becoming a full time angel investor and startup advisor after transitioning out of my last business I sold.…mattward (25)in ecommerce • 7 years agoThe Broken Business of Ecommerce and Why Your Startup Won’t Be The Next CasperIf you haven’t heard, Amazon won ecommerce. Bezos’ juggernaut is the most powerful marketplace and brand the Western world has ever seen (get my analysis here as an ex 7 figure Amazon seller). But…mattward (25)in google • 7 years agoThe Death of Google and End of AppleApple and Google are two of the strongest, most profitable tech giants today. But both are in for a kick in the ass, here is why. Disruption is the name of the game. Great businesses die from one…mattward (25)in network • 7 years agoNetwork Effects, Unstoppable Monopolies and The End of InnovationWith great power comes great profit, and then even the innovative get fat and lazy. This was the paradigm pre 2000s. Rome rose and fell. Microsoft’s monopoly was cracked.Kodakcreated the digital…mattward (25)in amazon • 7 years agoAmazon is Killing Ecommerce: Insights from a 7 Figure SellerJeff Bezos is the Terminator… and he is killing competition and ecommerce faster than Arnold can say “I’ll be back” Hope you are hooked. Let’s go for a ride. My background is ecommerce. Before…mattward (25)in amazon • 7 years agoProduct to Platform — Inside Amazon’s DominanceHow to Build a Powerful, Profitable Platform from Scratch Bezos builds businesses like no one else — and arguably better than anyone. Each of Amazon’s 5 major divisions would be multi-multi billion…mattward (25)in amazon • 7 years agoThink you understand network effects? You don’t.Lessons from Blue Apron, Uber, Amazon, and Facebook Remember the beach? It was always a battle to build the best sandcastle. But inevitably the tides turned and waves washed away your creation… you…mattward (25)in cryptocurrency • 7 years ago12 Top Crypto Influencers Share Thoughts on the FutureThe internet is filled with spammy top 10 lists. Unfortunately clickbait seems to be all anyone is interested in publishing. I decided to dig deeper. Information is power and while “influencers”…mattward (25)in google • 7 years agoGods of the Valley — Part 2: Google — The All Knowing AlphabetWe are entering into an era of unparalleled tech dominance. Companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple control more and more of our everyday lives — owning our data and everything around it.…mattward (25)in google • 7 years agoFREE GAFA BOOK (Until 3/22) - Gods of the Valley - How Today's Tech Giants Monopolize the FutureI have been writing extensively on the topics of tech innovation, monopolization and aggregation theory (ala Ben Thompson) and realized I had to write a book. cover.jpg Today’s tech monopolies…mattward (25)in startup • 7 years agoGods of the Valley — Part One: Amazon — The Company that Consumes the WorldToday Amazon feels unstoppable. The company Bezos built to sell books online is now arguably the most dominant and diversified company on earth, and the odds on favorite to crack the $1T market…mattward (25)in bitcoin • 7 years agoBitcoin — Store of Value is a Useless Use CaseWhy Digital Gold Won’t be a Thing Prior to August 15th, 1971, a US dollar was worth 1/35th of an ounce of gold — known as the gold standard (actually the Gold Window, FDR had started the process of…mattward (25)in ai • 7 years agoArtificial Intelligence and The End of Everything — The Skynet DebateRecently, I had the opportunity to attend a debate on the future of AI at ETH university here in Zurich, Switzerland. It was a fascinating discussion between Robin Hanson, author of The Age of Em…
