On Sunday, May 9, Forbes released its fourth annual artificial intelligence (AI) list of the top companies that will shape the future. Questions: As you can see from the list, there is significant breadth and depth of artificial intelligence. Which area do you see as most promising and why? How was the list compiled? How… Read more »
Posts Tagged: business model
Walmart’s Top E-commerce Omni Strategy Executive is Leaving
Questions: When did Mr. Casey join Walmart? What company did he work at prior to coming to Walmart? By how much did Walmart’s global e-commerce sales increase during the nine months ended Oct. 31 as compared with the same period the prior year? What is Omni? Why do you think there is a post-holiday executive… Read more »
The Fastest Growing Retailer in America: Where Wal-Mart Will Not Tread!
According to this article, Dollar General, the fastest-growing retailer in America, is blasting across Middle America opening stores at the rate of three a day in failing towns that Wal-Mart won’t go to. Questions: 1. What is the claim that Dollar General makes about its stores and the population that surround them? 2. What are… Read more »
What a Business Model!
In 2008, a thriving company named Science Care Inc developed a 55-page national expansion plan. Read what happened! Questions: 1. What was the company’s goal? 2. What company did Science Care Inc. model? 3. How much did the company earn From 2012 through 2014? 4. If a person donates a whole body when they die,… Read more »
Xiaomi – Cheap phones online may not be the key to success.
Xiaomi, once hailed as an Apple iPhone slayer in China, now admits that they moved too fast to outpace their competitor. The company’s founder, Lei Jun, wrote his employees this week, indicating that the company needs to focus on the future and long-term sustainability. Questions: 1. Who are the domestic rivals to Xiaomi in the… Read more »
Is this Fair?
Since 2014, a Michigan law has limited Tesla Motors’ capacity to sell in the state, after the Republican-led legislature implemented a statute that banned the company’s only method of selling its cars to consumers. Questions: 1. What are the four states that Tesla has been shut out of? 2. Where did Tesla win its most… Read more »
Another Bubble?
Airbnb’s latest financing round is being led by private equity firm General Atlantic, and includes Hillhouse Capital Group, a Chinese fund manager, and Tiger Global Management, which just led a big $80 million financing for Postmates. The deal is expected to be officially announced today, Monday, June 29. Questions: 1. What is a “private IPO”?… Read more »
Uber: Employees or Contractors?
The California Labor Commission has found that a driver for Uber in San Francisco is an employee of the company. Questions: 1. Why is this such a nightmare for Uber? 2. Discuss how this will change the company’s accounting system and business model if this ruling is upheld and the costs involved. 3. The article… Read more »
No More SkyMall?
The parent company for SkyMall filed for bankruptcy protection on January 23, 2015. SkyMall was the entertaining catalogue of everything you never thought about buying, but was in the seat pockets of every plane. As Farhi said, “the value added to this grotesque shlock was SkyMall’s enthusiastic descriptive copy. SkyMall’s writers never let on that… Read more »
Living without Water
Thousands of people in bankrupt Detroit haven’t paid their water bills. Even some businesses have skipped payment. How is the bankrupt city dealing with the most basic of problems — getting people to pay their bills? Questions: 1. Detroit is the poster child for shutting off water to customers delinquent on their bills. Even though… Read more »