TOM student's Profile

wow! super interesting.
I had no idea such correlations between films and drug use and between fries and intelligence are even studied.
Like others who commented, I agree that the more accurate companies can predict the risk the less insurance needed.
On the other hand, I believe insurance is not always logical. It feeds on people’s fears and behavior, which in my mind in not going to change much even when information is more accurate. I agree that the industry will have to adapt , but I don’t think people will stop fearing the worst or price it differently. Hence, I wouldn’t be so quick in burying the multi billion industry just yet.
Thanks for sharing. great post.

Great post! super interesting how different company’s are trying to cut out the “middle man”. Another trend in the real estate sector is figuring out how to cut out the Broker in a rental transaction. Whoever experienced the “one month” broker fee when moving in to a new apartment knows exactly what I’m talking about. As information is more accurate and available to customers, I actually believe the middle man will be cut out of these transactions. In my mind the question is not if but when. Charging a percentage base fee for the same time and work is just unjustified. I am certain that this market is about to change sooner than most think.
Thanks for sharing!

Craig-list is a beast. It allows its customers to basically buy and sell anything from an old piano and used bikes to services of any kind. As someone who spent sometime on the site looking for an apartment and some furniture, I am a bit concerned about the company’s ability to control the quality of its ads.
In the apartment housing sector for example, one can search for a “no broker” listing and still find himself speaking with a broker at the other end of the line. This is exactly the kind of “quality controls” the company lacks. The thing the company has right now is scale. The network effect, as mentioned above by others, has made Craig-list the beast it is today. I believe that long term, if the quality issue of the lists don’t improve, customers will just move to different platforms that are built in a way that provides quality adds and scale.

Interesting article! I was first introduced to Amy when trying to schedule a meeting with a friend. The experience was so natural and human I actually though he had a personal assistant. 🙂
I agree that X.AI should also expand the functionality of its free offering to build out greater scale.
In my eyes, the potential is in the information the company is gathering. Imagine that base on your schedule Amy would recommend to meet in a cafe shop which will not only save you time due to its location but will also offer you a free coffee?
The potential is enormous, and this is why I support the notion that the company should focus now on scale rather than profitability. the information is the key. Companies who will control it will have an advantage to offer different services.

Interesting article! I also agree scaling is a major challenge for the 80 personal company.
A great source of elite cyber-security experts could come from foreign ex-military special units. One example is Israel’s 8200 unit which by now is well known in the startup world.
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbehar/2016/05/11/inside-israels-secret-startup-machine/#60f4aaee157d]
Many who served in the unit go and start their own cyber security ventures. If companies such as root9B tap in to the unit’s network there is much to gain. As mentioned in the prior comment, the company has some offices overseas. Expanding to Israel sound like a great option for cyber security company looking to scale.

Hey will,

Found your post super interesting!
The question remains, how do you influence the minds of conservative Americans who have historically been resistant to climate change acceptance? Is raising awareness enough?

Dear “BM”,

Great post! Do you see any risks in diversifying the raw materials Levi’s uses to manufacture its products?
I agree that this should be explored but I would do so with caution. Changing the material for the core product might create an extreme backslash from consumers.

Hi Noah, great post. I had no idea the ski resort industry was strategically shifting from snow activities to different attractions.
How do you see Vail’s tactic to aggressively expanded their sales of “season passes before the season starts” in the long term? will it continue to be effective once the site has lost its snow?

Hey Ben,
Loved your post. I had no idea McDonald’s France is doing so much do address climate change. I was surprised by the innovative program aiming at recycling the deep fry oil to power trucks. Has this kind of program been successfully implemented elsewhere?

Super interesting! I think your spot on regarding the issue of different pests and parasites that might proliferate and attack tomato crops.
Why do you think the company hasn’t changed the way it’s peeling its tomatoes? if indeed the new technique developed by the Agricultural Research Service saves water and saves treatment costs, wouldn’t Heinz be adopting it already?
Might there be other reasons why the company would be concerned about this new technique?