How to get from insight to market in a complex, sometimes chaotic, fast-moving world.
Strategy
Direct-to-Consumer startups (DTC, or sometimes DTM for direct-to-market) were all the craze mid-2010s. Heralded by businesses like Casper, Away, or Warby Parker the core strategy was very seducing. Take an old and proven retail idea (selling mattresses) and make it as simple as possible in every way possible to disrupt
Weak Signals
Launched 2 years ago, Disney+ 152 million subscribers are now creeping up on Netflix's 223 subscribers. And while it would an endless debate to compare both streaming services' features, catalog content, brand value, or pricing, let's say that from now on, the future of Netflix
Strategy
Startups are all about one big, hyper-focused core bet on the future. The lack of resources and time when you're starting a tech venture from scratch means you can only have this one bet. It works, or you crash. For multinationals? The innovation logic is vastly different. It&
Strategy
To properly manage a corporate innovation portfolio, I often refer to the "120 Rule", to explain that innovation is a quantitative game. A few days ago, I picked up the following data on the gross multiple U.S. venture capital firms would get on their initial startup investments.
Newsletter
Many budget cuts may be underway for innovation departments in the following months. Blame poor visibility of your actions, the abrupt end of a golden age, or the poor example that major tech companies have been lately. The question is, what could you do about it?
Strategy
For years, Apple has been vastly underrated in many sectors, such as mobile or games, and now as an ad or financial service company. Mostly the reason is that Apple until it's late in the game, doesn't game a significant market share. Their focus is never
Strategy
We talked many times over about network effects and their indisputable power. The question today is: Is there a self-defense manual against them? Or "How to kill a Facebook"?
![🟢 [ Looking back at ] how platforms and big tech scale](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1577071835592-d5d55ffef660?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=MnwxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDl8fGdvb2dsZXxlbnwwfHx8fDE2NjI1Mzk1MTE&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&w=600)
Strategy
Pursuing my [ Looking back at ]Â series today by curating about digital platform scaling strategies, why network effects matter, and what we still have a hard time understanding about them (especially if you're a regular multinational in defense mode).
![🟧 [ Dutch week ] ASML, the most strategic European giant you've never heard of](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1543727166-222902a0c7d2?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=MnwxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDh8fG1pY3JvY2hpcHxlbnwwfHx8fDE2NjE2Njc0OTM&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&w=600)
While most of you are probably returning to work this week, I've decided to share a few insights about the Netherlands' tech, design, and innovation. As a country which is only twice as big as London, it makes few headlines, so this might be an interesting exercise. Here goes...
Strategy
We make a lot of fuss about innovation frameworks and strategies, whereas innovation is a simple mechanism. It's about Reimagining, Diversification, and from time to time a rare but groundbreaking Reduction.
For the last years, most startup ecosystems accepted that trying to birth the next Facebook was mission impossible. The password to the future was deeptech. Not anymore. Let's try to understand why "diptech" is the new black.
Strategy
On the surface, the success of the Citroën AMI as a light electric car is endearing. But despite its promises it might be a cautionary tale for the rest of us in the industry.