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Predictive Analytics at Intel: Using data analysis to boost sales team performance
GA
Last modified on November 21, 2015 at 10:43 am
Intel’s sales organization contacted the IT division to help them optimize and improve sales. They wanted to be able to identify which of their customers had the greatest potential for increasing revenues, when was the optimal time in their buying [...]
Applause: Solving testing pain point with the power of crowds
GA
Last modified on October 31, 2015 at 10:41 am
Doron Reuveni met Roy Solomon at a party in Israel in 2007. Both worked in tech businesses and discovered they shared a view on a critical pain point for many companies: they have to build apps to reach millions of [...]
PlayStation: How Sony came to dominate the gaming industry
GA
Last modified on October 4, 2015 at 11:59 am
Game consoles had been around for a while. During the 80’s, Atari and Nintendo dominated the industry and during the first years of the 90’s, Nintendo and Sega were the key players. But it was not until Sony’s entrance to [...]
Kodak: The fall of a giant
GA
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 9:42 am
Who doesn’t remember going on vacations and having to pack tons of little film rolls along with your camera? (which, as a kid, I opened and unrolled several times to see how pictures look like in there, ruining them!) Or [...]

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On November 22, 2015, GA commented on Big data to transform agriculture :

Interesting post Charles Poblets! Although the idea and technology Aerofarms has developed sounds amazing, I agree with you that the economics are not attractive today. Do you have an idea on how are they working on it?
Another difficulty for Aerofarms is to get customers to accept the product, and buy it for a premium. The fact that Aerofarms can “play” with the flavor and texture of the leaves, may discourage some customers to buy them. If you tell me you can make an “indoor” lettuce that tastes better that a common lettuce, my first impression is that this product is “fake”.

On November 22, 2015, GA commented on Nike: A Full Stack Athletic Performance Company :

Great post AJT!! I totally agree with you that Nike+ changed the way Nike interacts with its customers and that it changed the way running was viewed by many people. Even if you don’t want to get “social” and share your performance with friends on social networks, the data Nike gives to the users is enough to make you compete against yourself! You can also use Nike+ to train for a race and the app keeps “motivating” you for the whole process. I think is a great way of using data to create value for the customers, and also Nike benefits from it: people gets more involved in running, and wants to buy better gear. Who do they think about when they have to buy? For sure Nike is top of mind for them!

On November 22, 2015, GA commented on IBM Marketing Gets Tennis Moneyball Rolling :

Great Post Vlad! In your opinion as a tennis player, is this data really useful for a player to improve his/her skills? Are coaches and players using it? If this is the case, I agree with Noam that players could be willing to pay to get these information, and IBM or other company could have a great opportunity here. One of the drawbacks of having this data open for everyone, is that you could analyze your rival’s data, to find his/her weaknesses… I think this could take away some of the beauty of the sport!

On October 31, 2015, GA commented on Can the HBS case method for learning be exported to earlier stages of education? :

Great post Ximena! I agree with you that the HBS learning method could give a set of skills to young students that are very useful for their college or professional lives. On the other hand, its hard to overcome the fact that this method works well here because people have experiences and insights to share with the class. I think that there are some fields of study, like social sciences, where this method could work, especially in high school. Students with a base on many fields are in position of developing opinions that may contribute to their classmates’ learning, while, as you say, developing skills themselves. Interesting topic!

On October 31, 2015, GA commented on Crowdfunding in Agriculture: Feeding the World :

Very interesting approach Charles! Sounds like a great solution to increase efficiency in small farms and give small farmers the chance to earn higher income, while keeping the economic activity of these locations, with local suppliers for bigger farming or industrial processes, keeping overall costs lower. Do you know who developed and organized this model in Argentina? Was it the government or private parties? In the Argentinian experience, are all these small farms next to each other? How far away can they be in order for the model to work?

On October 31, 2015, GA commented on Cumplo.cl: Debt crowdfunding in Chile :

Very interesting post Gonzalo! Access to credit in Chile is a huge pain point, especially when you come from a vulnerable background. Since your risk profile is very high, rates offered by banks or retailers are prohibitive. Cumplo acts as a middle man to manage risk and offer rates that give many small businesses the only chance to get the funds they need to build their companies.

On October 4, 2015, GA commented on Amazon – how one controversial decision ignited massive growth :

Great post Oded! Completely agree with your post, in the sense that Amazon is for many users (including myself) the first place to search for a product in the buying process. By looking at Amazon’s “#1 Best Seller” and customer’s reviews, you save a lot of time in researching for the perfect product. This is one of the most important features of Amazon. It’s nice to have 2 days shipping and stuff like that, but the real competitive advantage is that Amazon is the best place to search for whatever you need, and select it in little time.

On October 4, 2015, GA commented on TripAdvisor: A Network for Vacation Bliss :

TripAdvisor has done an incredible job in creating a platform to take out the middle man and give users tons of information and reviews over everything you in need for a trip. As you say, direct network effects are clear in this platform, and even though people that posts are not travel experts, people relies in those opinions. I think this is mainly driven by the fact that professional opinion is not always the most important to you. Hearing from “real” users, gives you a different taste of how things are. TripAdvisor saw this value, and used it smartly.

On October 4, 2015, GA commented on Easy Taxi: “Disrupting minimizing the disruption” :

Very interesting post! The fact that Easy Taxi is using “real taxis” as drivers has helped them a lot in not encountering resistance to enter new markets. Uber has failed in some countries because of the strength of taxi drivers unions, and having them by your side has been a key point in their fast growth.

On September 14, 2015, Gustavo Alcalde commented on Open English: Among the highest growth potential companies in digital consumer business in Latam :

Very interesting post! OpenEnglish managed to come from nothing to a well known company in LATAM based on creative marketing. In the first TV ads you could see 2 guys (since they were low on budget the founder was one of them) doing a really ridiculous sketch. People remembered OpenEnglish just because of this ridiculous ads! They got viral and people watched them just because they were funny.
This was all that they needed. Just being remembered by people, so when someone wanted to learn english, OpenEnglish will be a name that could come up easily. By being a top of mind company, they reach the amazing numbers you show!

On September 14, 2015, Gustavo Alcalde commented on BlackBerry: Why Even the “CrackBerry” Addicts Quit :

Very interesting topic! I was a heavy blackberry user until it was impossible to defend it. Switch to iPhone in 2013.
I think Blackberry rested in their laurels and were unable to identify possible threats that were rising in the market. They were really confident that people was going to hate the touchscreen qwerty keyboards, because the physical one was much better. Even though I agree with this (I loved the blackberry keyboard), the other is good enough, and with all the additional features the new phones had, it was very logical to switch from blackberry to iPhone/Android. I agree with you that BB’s response was very slow, but it also wasn’t good enough (the product “hardware” was ok, but the software wasn’t able to catch up with the others). It reminded me a lot what happened to Palm, which were the top handhelds before Blackberry came and destroy them. Ironic…

On September 14, 2015, Gustavo Alcalde commented on Airbnb has truly challenged the status quo of the travel industry :

Great post Ximena! Internet gave customers the power to give their opinion to other in a very simple way. As you mention, tripadvisor and other web services let you have very accurate information about places and hotels that were totally unknown for most of the people years ago. This tools turned into an amazing substitute to travel agencies (another loser in this digital era), which had agreements or incentives to send you to the regular big chain hotel. Airbnb is a great example of how a well fed community can help you discover new products or places in this case.