BCA's Profile

While I agree that broad based adoption of 3D printing across both performance and non-performance shoes is unlikely in the near term, I think this is a tremendous opportunity across all types of footwear in the medium term. Given that price points will be very high during the ramp up phase, it makes sense to start with performance footwear, a sub sector in which branding and sponsorship can have a large impact on consumer price elasticity. Once manufacturing costs begin to decline, the non-performance footwear space presents huge addressable market. Given the high barriers to entry imposed by 3D printing, Adidas can ultimately use additive manufacturing to further penetrate the non-performance shoe market at scale.

Thanks for this great read. As someone who lived on Second Avenue for 5 years, I have witnessed the inefficiency of this specific process firsthand. I believe this is a great opportunity for a public private partnership to catalyze innovation. Though not a public private partnership yet, Elon Musk’s Boring Company is good example of the impact an innovative private company can have on public infrastructure. It was created from a bottoms up solution to a resident’s pain point (Musk sitting in endless traffic). While the goals of the company are aligned with the public’s for the time being, purely private innovation is primarily driven by commercial opportunity. A public private partnership adds a certain level of alignment while maintaining incentives for innovation.

Thanks for the great post. I share your concern about Chanel risking harm to its brand by leaning into 3D printing across its lines too aggressively. However I think the first mover advantages and manufacturing learning efficiencies that come from upfront investment in 3D printing far outweigh the potential brand risks. Is there a way they can develop the technology in a more private way in house in order to slowly gauge what public perception will be over time?

Thanks for the great post Sam. Following the Whole Foods acquisition, Amazon has thus far held off on making significant changes to the brand or strategy. How do you think an integration as radical as the one you outlined above would play out in an established brand? regarding your question about the shift in consumer preferences towards online grocery shopping vs. in store, I think this innovation allows Amazon to capture a part of the majority of the grocery market as it shrinks while being in a perfect position to dominate the online delivery market when it matures.

Thanks for the great read Ali. Given how quickly the music landscape is changing, I think it is too late for Soundcloud to pivot to a pure streaming model and go after the same consumers as Spotify. In order to monetize their huge non-paying user base, they will need to either improve their ad monetization model or offer a different (and more compelling) subscription tier and / or value proposition.

In my opinion the best way to do that would be to target independent artists (who need to use 3rd party services to put their music on Spotify) and offer ancillary services (such as marketing and promotion) that are not currently part of the platform today.

I am a big believer in Whoop’s value proposition for individuals based on the information you laid out above. However, I do have concerns as it relates to the sensitivity of the data they collect. Even before they decide whether they should “open up” their data, how does the company deal with the issue of sharing an athlete’s personal data with teams? Would an athlete want his or her data to be shared with a team ahead of a big contract negotiation? Further, who would have access to an individual’s data outside of a team context?