PA's Profile

It is quite incredible that Maison Me has been able to develop a system for delivering made to order dresses to customers with unique design elements in only 15 days. I think this inherently poses a challenge with their ambition to scale widely and compete with mass retailers such as Zara. The value proposition I see from Maison is their ability to leverage artificial intelligence to complement human designers and create unique pieces for consumers who want their dresses to fit perfectly and standout from a design perspective, which is contrasts with the mainstream offerings mass retailers provide. I wonder if they would be better served scaling at a more moderate pace and instead focus more on positioning themselves as key partners to in-home smart devices that can understand a consumer’s unique fashion preferences and work to make daily recommendations.

Great article, Billy. I knew the NFL had taken actions to address the increased public pressure surrounding this topic but had no idea they had started crowdsourcing to develop a player helmet solution. I think there is value in the NFL partnering with other sporting organizations whose players similarly face risks of concussions such as the NHL, MLL and potentially even rugby leagues around the world. This will allow these organizations to pool their resources and hopefully have them stretch the reach of the research/innovation further. The challenge in adding additional groups is it makes decision making difficult, but that might be a necessary cost to try and reach a solution.

This was a great read! Thank you for sharing insight into how the military is making use of additive manufacturing today and listing some of the possibilities for its use in the future. If the technology advances to a point where front line soldiers are able to utilize 3D printing for additional ammunition / weapons, I wonder how the army would think about ensuring that technology does not fall into the hands of enemies who do not have the ability to innovate with the resources of the U.S. military? How do you weigh that against the benefits that having such technology on the front lines would provide?

Great article highlighting how Benfica has leveraged machine data to adjust their strategy as a club and improve player performance over time. I think this use of data analysis is incredibly unique in the footballing world and over time will be seen across most of Europe’s top clubs. Given the initial repository they have built up, do you think Benfica should license their model to other clubs to establish it as the gold standard? I wonder if other clubs build their own proprietary models that emphasize different variables, Benfica’s primary means for negotiating player transfer fees might be questioned.

Interesting article! It is clear that 3D printing could be the catalyst to improving performance at GE’s manufacturing operations starting with the aviation division. I also suspect given the amount of capital investment required GE has bought themself some time wherein this can be a significant competitive advantage relative to peers. One area I think would be interesting to assess is the efficacy of 3D printed parts relative to their traditional counterparts given existing products still heavily rely on majority traditional components.

Tas – thank you for providing such interesting insights into how Volition is aiming to disrupt traditional players in the beauty industry through crowdsourcing new product ideas and ultimately idea selection. Inherently by going this route, Volition has given up some control in the process but I wonder if they would be better served by reclaiming some of that control through mechanisms to free themselves to pursue alternative product options.