VC

Three Paradigms for Investing in the Future of Food

Solving the world's future food supply deficit requires innovation to improve the yield, nutrition and sustainability of existing agricultural practices. Why is the current system insufficient, and what areas will investors focus on going forward?

Strategy

Wide of the Prize: Fintech and Retail Investment Platforms

New fintech and traditional retail investment platforms ignore glaring revenue and macro opportunities present in the industry. Efforts focus on selling picks—of varied price—to miners; instead, marketing gold and maps could be a more fruitful course.

Economics

Beyond 2020: The Great Bifurcation

Recessions tend to be levellers, but the events of 2020 were perverse: Those already well-off gained in the chaos. The widening wealth inequality gap presents stark scenarios for how the future will play out.

Life

Adapting to Doing Business in Latin America as a Foreigner

Latin America is an intoxicating region to live and work in as a foreigner, but getting the most out of it requires adjustment. From several years of experience, here are some pointers on how to succeed.

Tutorials

Clues to Spot When Appraising Early-Stage Startup Budgets

Startup budgets in an era of disruption can be anachronistic. Yet, there are valuable qualitative insights to be gained from reviewing forecasts.

Tutorials

Sizing Markets That Don't Exist: TAM Lessons

Market sizing of TAMs is an increasingly popular, yet difficult exercise to undertake. This guide addresses five key dilemmas that arise during client work.

Strategy

Is Luxury Software a Real Thing?

The trend towards niche, premium-priced products aimed at power users, poses a question of whether luxury software brands is a new category in the digital realm.

VC

Farms & Factories: European VC's Divergent Decade

European startups received €159 billion of funding over the past decade. Yet, an increasingly select group of stakeholders drive most of the topline figures.

Strategy

Fatigued by the Subscription Business Model

Are too many consumer products businesses trying to stimulate the recurring revenue characteristics of SaaS by offering subscriptions?

Tutorials

Consultant Toolbox: Frameworks for Solving Anything

Using objective frameworks - over guesswork - to isolate root causes of business problems can glean more insight and plot a clearer path forward.

Economics

Analyzing the Effects of Negative Interest Rates Across Five Economies

Negative interest rates are an extreme form of monetary policy intended to stimulate inflation or defend a currency peg. Five economies have experienced such conditions and their experiences give lessons towards the effectiveness of such strategies.

VC

State of the Venture Capital Industry in 2019

Over the past decade, venture capital funding has risen by 17% annually to a figure of $254 billion. What factors have contributed to this surge and what do they mean for the industry going forward?

Strategy

Treasury Is the Most Underrated Team in Your Company

Treasury teams are powerful functions with the ability to influence all the levers of shareholder returns. Yet, often such teams are structured, staffed, and incentivized poorly.

VC

Revenue-Based Financing in VC: A Study on Playing Averages Over Home Runs

Would investing in startups for a capped return, repaid over time, be a more sustainable alternative to hypergrowth investing?

Life

Should You Go It Alone with a Single-person Startup?

What are the stigmas attached to running a single-person startup, are they valid or just scaremongering? I then present a playbook for potential solo founders thinking about starting a new venture.

Economics

Do Economic Moats Still Matter?

What are economic moats and how are they constructed? Some argue that they are a necessity to retain market position, while others see them as negative and uncreative.

VC

Exploring Evergreen Funds with a VC Investor Who Raised One

Open-ended or evergreen funds can be beneficial for venture capital investing due to the alignment, flexibility and transparency they bring between stakeholders. In a discussion with a GP who raised an open-ended VC fund, the potential of this asset class is explored.

Strategy

Fintech and Banks: How Can the Banking Industry Respond to the Threat of Disruption?

The popular fintech narrative is startups using technology to disrupt incumbent banks. How can banks respond better to the “fintech vs banks” movement?

Strategy

Great Recent Examples of Competitive Strategy Successes

How have Michael Porter's competitive strategy frameworks translated to the digital economy? Three recent case studies are presented and analysed.

Tutorials

TAM Methodology: An Explanation and Example of Total Addressable Market Analysis

Often miscalculated and misused, TAM, SAM and SOM are critical for managers and investors to understand revenue potential, market positioning and competition.

VC

Three Core Principles of Venture Capital Portfolio Strategy

Unlike other asset classes, venture capital returns do not follow a normal distribution curve. Portfolio success is maximized by finding rare deals that bring outsized returns.

Tutorials

Term Sheet Templates - Clauses to Look Out For During Negotiation

Highlighting nine key areas to focus on during term sheet negotiation, this guide explains ownership and financial implications that arise when fundraising.