CNH's Profile

Great post, Pasha! I completely agree with the idea that having an appointment with someone is a great motivator for getting up in the morning and trekking over to the gym – if I look out the window on a day when it’s pouring outside, I am very unlikely to leave my apartment for a workout. However, if I have made a commitment to someone, that’s a totally different story. I think one way personal trainers can use technology is to use heart rate monitors and other devices that can put some data behind the workouts. Fitness studios like Orange Theory have starting tracking how effective workouts actually are, which can help customers motivate to work harder and figure out ways their respective bodies respond to different types of exercise. This might be a good way for fitness instructors to prove their value proposition to customers, so people do not turn around and blame the program if they do not see the results they were looking for.

Great post! In line with thinking that it might be time for eBay to focus more on customers than on making sellers happy, I feel like some image revamping is in order, as many online shoppers still associate eBay with “used” goods as opposed to thinking of the platform as an alternative to shopping on Amazon or directly from retailers. I personally have found it difficult to navigate eBay and challenging to figure out whether a seller claiming something is “new with box” has actually worn the item before or not. Perhaps by standardizing the buyer experience and more clearly segmenting out the “new” from the “used” goods could help eBay attract new customers in this very competitive space.

Very interesting post! I echo some of the other ideas voiced in comments above and definitely think it could be a good idea to try to organize events and find other ways to connect users with similar interests. Perhaps The League could try to attract more paying users by deploying a program similar to that of Match.com, offering to pay back some portion of the membership fee if a match is not made within a given time frame.

Interesting post, Jessica! Although it is possible that Correlation Ventures is able to identify strong investments using this model, I wonder what the value prop is for entrepreneurs who might be looking for investors who can facilitate networking and provide operational know-how. I’m also very curious to understand how robust this model would be for seed/early stage investments where data is incredibly limited, as well as for new technologies for which historical and comparable competitive information does not exist.

Great post, Eliza! Although I LOVE Sweetgreen and have used the app for take-out orders and to avoid the long lines, I wonder if the chain will ever launch full-service mobile delivery. I find that using Postmates and Uber Eats to order Sweetgreen usually means an extra 10-15 dollars above and beyond the price of the salad (in many instances the fee amounts to more than the salad itself), which often leads me to order from somewhere else where no fee is involved. Given the annoyance of long lines and over-crowded tables at every physical Sweetgreen location (which has not been resolved by the mobile order/ self-pick-up app), I wonder if offering delivery at peak times could help capture lost sales from those of us who are too impatient to stand around for 20 minutes (slash too lazy to leave the couch).

Great post and I agree completely with JC’s comment above. Squadhelp should definitely work on refining the incentive model, and I also wonder how the company could work attract participants with more branding experiences to increase the quality of ideas. Perhaps Squadhelp could expand the platform a bit to offer services like logo creation through third party sites, and encourage those branding platforms to contribute name ideas as payment for logo leads or something of that nature.

Really interesting post! I did not realize more beauty brands were employing similar strategies to Glossier’s, and I love the story of the Mission Brows. I wonder if Volition could boost engagement and brand recognition by partnering with celebrities or other women who represent the brand’s values and leaning on them to spread the word. I do share your concern about beauty brands being able to maintain high levels of community activity in today’s e-commerce world, given millennial consumers shopping online are often less sticky than with traditional retail models – especially when there is always something new and exciting to try!

I 100% agree that Esty will be able to stick out the fight – I would never think to have a dialogue with an Amazon seller, nor would I trust the quality of a customized/personalized product sold through the platform in the same way I would on Etsy. I would argue that despite the fact that Amazon has various types of memberships for customers, whereas Etsy does not, only the latter feels like a true community. Etsy merchants are often willing to negotiate prices, take additional photos of products upon request, and customize items and shipping options depending on a customer’s needs. Although mom and pop retailers may not stand a chance against Amazon in the long run, I believe Etsy will continue to attract artisans and customers looking for unique and hand crafted products.

Great post and interesting insights about Thumbtack’s challenges! I have used Thumbtack a couple of times for building Ikea furniture was well as for moving between apartments, and found the quoting process to be very confusing. I agree that the Instant Match feature might help with some of the quoting issues and would also be interested to see if the platform would get more repeat customers if Thumbtack steps up efforts to prevent hidden fees a lot of the professionals try to sneak in after a quote has already been accepted.