Wednesday, 09/23/2020
18:26 notes on social
tik tok
https://blakeir.com/Alex-Zhu-TikTok-4631f80fdcc4423a845e145e807d8e2b i want to build a startup; a platform for networking and a platform for users i watn to build a personal data management service first; this is our initial value after this, it expands in a community
building an influencer communtiy is a lot like discovering new land
build centralized economy, favoring few people
they become role models for the country
create the dream and demonstrate why they succeeded
focus on utility first; without it you won't receive initial users
give all users satisfaction in creating content; make a 'middle class'
the ads business is an excellent business virtual gifting is excellent way of monetizing the key power is the influence over culture; need monetization ecosystem to reward creators and influencers
musical.ly uses music as a raw material, not the end product - not competing powerful distribution network
stripe
venture capital! none are part of the same company but portfolio can share aspects valuations are healthy, serial acquirers do so at a certain evaluation Danaher lean acquisition strategy doesn't apply to tech huge amount of expertise in the firm that you can unlock when they invest in you! think about SVs best practices and getting them out to millions of internet businesses
stripe success -- early decision to start form the ideal api and work backwards things will shift! a majority of commerce will become internet enabled people spend lots of time thinking about first order effects of tech changes
returns to writing well are really high asynchronous communication is so so so important! do not underemphasize crism written communication
speak up to the reader - don't dumb things down!
it's much easier to get fast work done than a small team than a large team
'lean' methodology - when launching new things, start small and make them earn their way
most markets are not like the US
bottoms up and top down businesses; visa integrations vs top down strategy of the company vs the technological issue driving systemic change
startup company needsi
the way we build adn deploy software now is now where it will be we have regressed - harder to build a consumer startup! have to build platforms! standards are higher for what you have to show!
capital has moved to intellectual capital and intangible capital the best is that software that has been developed in house by the business
it's really easy to think about tangible capital, but terribly hard to value the intangible! hard to think about hte profitability of the business in its knowledge (how much is investment in future systems?) have to split out lines of business and categorize them
how much are you investing in a long lived technological advantage? how much does it cost to operate the business? it is so hard to measure the outputs of software engineering
book recs
the outsiders : case study of CEOS who are great capital allocators amazon probably most efficient allocators allocating scarce resources is the name of the game internally and externally the outcome for the company really depends on how good of a job they do! placing resources towards the rate of highest future return influences all businesses
Softwar - like a letter to the editor
Cable Cowboy - the rise of the mobile cable business; rhymes with tech shifts we see stripe is a part of all of this!
advice
be willing to go down the rabbit hole. all of the institutions want to bring you on the normal track allow people to dive further down the rabbit holes it is so important to learn, learn, learn. to go deep