It’s an essential habit for the 21st century. A principle I have to learn and re-learn: No matter what challenge you have, anything. Google is your friend! Have a problem with your computer? Google it and find a solution. Don’t know how to disable the answering machine? Google the manual and get it done. Annoyed…
Category: Wealth
Give up your storefronts?
An increasing number of hairdressers and manicurists are giving up their studios in China. They get booked via app and do home visits instead. This is called Online-to-Offline (O2O), and it’s booming in China. (Link / Link). Tired of bathing your dog? Hire a dog bather that comes to your home. Too busy to pick…
China vs. Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is mission-driven, pure, about making a dent in the universe. Abundance mindset. Copying is shameful. China is market-driven, hyper-competitive, survival of the fittest. Scarcity mindset. Culture of copying. In Beijing entrepreneurs often joke that Facebook is the most Chinese company in Silicon Valley, for its willingness to copy and its fierce competitiveness. While…
The Power of Defaults
You can 9x your results by choosing the right default, as shown by organ donation statistics: If people need to check a box to not donate (“opt-out”), the consent rate is between 85% and 99%. If people need to check a box to donate (“opt-in”), the consent rate is between 4% and 27%. “Opt-in” vs….
The Lindy Effect
I love simple heuristics. Here is one: The Lindy effect is a concept that the future life expectancy of some non-perishable things like a technology or an idea is proportional to their current age, so that every additional period of survival implies a longer remaining life expectancy. In other words, the longer a product/company/idea already…
Don’t listen to what people say. Watch what they do.
Don’t ask your money manager for stock recommendations. Ask him which stocks he owns personally. Don’t listen to the theories of your business school professor. Ask him about his own industry experience. Don’t ask for advice. Ask for a demonstration of their methods. Don’t listen to what people say. Watch what they do. (I learned…
Deferred gratification
Recently I watched this Q&A with Charlie Munger. Pure wisdom, and two hours very well spent. He talked about a key principle of (value) investing: Deferred gratification We live in a world of instant gratification. It’s very hard to get rich if you eat your seeds, instead of planting them. That’s what makes value investors…
Don’t overpromise
Two cautionary tales: Theranos was a privately held health tech company, becoming infamous for its false claims to have developed blood tests that only needed very small amounts of blood. I recently read Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, detailing this whole story. Pretty scary stuff. Robinhood recently announced a new Checking & Savings service with…
Alternative VCs
I love the idea of reinventing venture capital. Here are some great examples: Patagonia’s venture capital fund: invests in environmentally and socially responsible start-up companies, providing long-term, patient capital. I highly recommend reading Let My People Go Surfing by founder Yvon Chouinard. Y Combinator: invests small sums at the seed stage, but in large batches…
The Edison Technique: The Best Way to Invent Anything
How to innovate: Build a prototype, and then keep iterating. Each time, only change one single thing. Then you see exactly what caused the improvement or failure. That way you build a huge bank of knowledge, and after many iterations, end up with something unique. James Dyson used this method to create over 5000 prototypes…