Sultana Vukor-Quarshie's Profile

This was super interesting to read! A reason often touted for high drug prices is the costs associated with production and pharma companies need to recoup losses from drugs that did not pass the development phase. If this tech is able to help reduce those costs, I wonder if some cost-savings can be passed on to the end consumer.

This is a really interesting post. I am always intrigued by agri-tech solutions and how they can be deployed in the developing world to increase yields. Similar to the leapfrogging we saw with mobile phones, would be interesting to see how this technology deployed on a wide scale would dramatically increase food output and reduce food insecurity for some of the most vulnerable world citizens.

Thanks for this post! I love shopping on ASOS – the 2 day shipping especially makes it hard to resist. As an avid user, I can see how their technology has improved over time, but I also think there is a lot more they can be doing from a filtering perspective. With over 100K SKUs, going through the website is a mess and with the amount of things I have bought from and returned to ASOS, they should have a really clear profile of me and a strong picture of what I like within a 80% confidence interval. They have definitely come a long way and I look forward to seeing how they continue to leverage technology to improve their platform.

What is interesting about this is none of these actually depict a “career” or profession. Seems fluffy / vague with random presentations. Consulting maybe? 🙂

This is interesting! Shows you the limitation of AI. I found the 2nd and 6th pictures interesting – seems like there are people in those pics. The AI made some connection between a home and people, but clearly did not do a good job.

This is fascinating! I wonder what sources the AI was drawing on for this – why Trump vs Biden. Is there a skew in the sources the AI pulls from?

In my previous line of work, I covered the payments space and it’s been fascinating to see the rise of Square. Payment infrastructure required to accept payments has historically been expensive and a barrier for small businesses to accept payments. Square came to the market with an easy DIY pack that made it incredibly easy to manage payments. What is fascinating about their business though is the ancillary services they provide that make the lives of small business owners so easy (inventory management, working capital, etc.). Incredible story on how to create value in a highly commoditized space like payments.

Love this post! As someone who loves wine, Vivino has come in handy many times. I feel like knowledge of wines has always been shrouded with mystery and Vivino definitely demystifies the wine scene. As people become more conscious about getting the most value for their money when it comes to alcohol, I see a world in which Vivino expands to Gin, Tequila, Mezcal. Very scalable business model that uses social network element to build buzz around a fun topic – wine.

Thanks for your post. I never really got into Peloton but from a business model perspective, I was always curious about the high barrier to entry for new consumers (aka the price of the bike). During the pandemic when people were stuck at home, investing in a $2K bike seemed like a great idea, but in a post pandemic world when there are many cheaper ways to exercise, the value prop feels shaky.

I like that Peloton was able to diversify its business model to include offerings like classes and programs that are not dependent on the purchase of the bike.

Great post! Payments are such a big part of our lives that it is great the be able to witness these technological advancements as they happen.

I remember just a few years ago, when I was leaving the country I would have to call my bank and let them know the dates I was going to be away and what countries I was going to. They would then put a “travel plan” on my card, which meant that my card would not be blocked. If I did not do this, my bank would automatically block transactions.

These days, with the advancements in technology, we no longer have to do this and the card companies and banks have ways of determining whether transactions are fraudulent or not using sophisticated ML models.

Great post!

Something I have always thought of is if and how algorithms can be trained to show empathy and act ethically. Your point about Uber being able to selectively surge charge brings back memories of Uber surcharging during mass shootings. I wonder if at some point algorithms will be able to cross reference what is going on in the public domain (news, online, etc) with location info and at some point make these ethical decisions without human intervention.

Hi LMB,

Thanks for sharing. It has always been interesting to me how before there was AirBnB, there were sites like VRBO and Homeaway essentially doing the same thing but in a less “pretty” way. The beauty of AirBnb is that it has been able to use the data it has on consumers to effectively to create an experience. I do struggle with its viability going forward in terms of pricing. We see this across many industries where the disruptor comes in cheap and eventually has to raise prices to create a sustainable business model. In today’s economy where consumer’s are price sensitive, I wonder if AirBnb’s use of data effectively will be able to protect it from complains about rising hidden costs. Link below to an interesting article.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-chores-cleaning-fee-11663269029