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Day: January 8, 2022

Data Update 1 for 2022: It is Moneyball Time!

by Aswath Damodaran

Happy New Year, and I hope that 2022 brings you good tidings! To start the year,  I returned to a ritual that I have practiced for thirty years, and that is to take a look at not just market changes over the last year, but also to get measures of the financial standing and practices of companies around the world. Those measures took a beating in 2020, as COVID decimated the earnings of companies in many sectors and regions of the world, and while 2021 was a return to some degree of normalcy, there is still damage that has to be worked through. This post will be one of a series, where I will put different aspects of financial data under the microscope, to get a sense of how companies are adapting (or not) to a changing world.

The Moneyball Question

When I first started posting data on my website for public consumption, it was designed to encourage corporate financial analysts and investors alike to use more data in their decision making. In making that pitch, I drew on one of my favorite movies, Moneyball, which told the story of Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt), the general manager of the Oakland As, revolutionized baseball by using data as an antidote to the gut feeling and intuition of old-time baseball scouts.


In the years since Beane tried it with baseball, Moneyball has decisively won the battle for sporting executives' minds, as sport after sport has adopted its adage of trusting (Read more...)

The Simplicity Tradeoff

by David Cummings

Last week I was looking at the pricing plans for a startup and it screamed complexity. Tons of plans, tons of upsells, tons of dimensions — it felt like optimizing for the business as opposed to the consumer. Of course, we see complexity on a regular basis (healthcare invoices, etc.), unfortunately making them feel more acceptable.

Instead of having 50 questions on the quarterly survey, have the 10 most important.

Instead of having six pricing plans, have three and a “call for custom” option.

Instead of providing a four page menu, have a two page menu with the best items.

The simplicity tradeoff is worth it.

Yes, some money might be left on the table. Yes, some options will have room for more variability.

Fight the urge to optimize. Fight the desire to add more complexity.

Instead, focus on reduced friction. Focus on higher effort to value for everyone involved.

Erring on the side of simplicity is worth it. Similar to the famous quote, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”, take the time to cut out the complexity and make it simpler.

The Simplicity Tradeoff

by David Cummings

Last week I was looking at the pricing plans for a startup and it screamed complexity. Tons of plans, tons of upsells, tons of dimensions — it felt like optimizing for the business as opposed to the consumer. Of course, we see complexity on a regular basis (healthcare invoices, etc.), unfortunately making them feel more acceptable.

Instead of having 50 questions on the quarterly survey, have the 10 most important.

Instead of having six pricing plans, have three and a “call for custom” option.

Instead of providing a four page menu, have a two page menu with the best items.

The simplicity tradeoff is worth it.

Yes, some money might be left on the table. Yes, some options will have room for more variability.

Fight the urge to optimize. Fight the desire to add more complexity.

Instead, focus on reduced friction. Focus on higher effort to value for everyone involved.

Erring on the side of simplicity is worth it. Similar to the famous quote, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”, take the time to cut out the complexity and make it simpler.

A Couple Of Interviews I Did – Animal Spirits and The Non-Technical Pod

by Howard Lindzon
This post is by Howard Lindzon from Howard Lindzon

Happy Saturday everyone.

Recently, I sat down for a couple podcast interviews.

The first was with my friends Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson on their popular podcast ‘Animal Spirits’. They went way back to my childhood and how I got started in the financial industry as well as how I started Wallstrip and Stocktwits. You can listen here.

The second was completely different. I chatted with comedian Alexis Gay on her ‘Non-Technical Pod’ to talk about some more silly and philosophical stuff. Here is a sample of her hysterical work on the topic of NFT’s. Alexis and Ellen say I was funny. You can listen to our conversation here.

Have a great weekend.

Coming soon

by Seth Godin
This post is by Seth Godin from Seth's Blog

The phone is ringing. Your ice cream is melting. Next month’s rent is due. There’s a useful workshop coming up in a few months. Your hard drive will fail before the end of the year. College tuition will need to start being paid in five years. Your back tooth is going to need a crown in 2030. New York City is going to be underwater in 2050.

When is soon?

Every one of these things is something we can choose to pay attention to right now. Each one is either urgent or important, it’s up to us. Paying attention to something when the problem is still small makes it far less of an issue later.

The ringer on a phone was designed to establish urgency. And social media has optimized for that itch as well.

But it’s not up to them.

[For your calendars, two updates:

I’ll be doing a live event with Chip Conley, bestselling author, impresario and big thinker (and my first co-author, from 1986!) in a live chat (with QA) about jobs, learning, wisdom and making a ruckus. Today! Just hours from now.

All the details are at this LinkedIn post.

In addition, I’ll be joining the other Akimbo teachers for an online free-for-all and jamboree on Tuesday, January 11th. Hosted by Ramon Ray, I’m looking forward to joining my friends online. I hope you can come. It’s free and you can sign up for it here.

Hope to see you there.]

From Greek to Latin: Visualizing the Evolution of the Alphabet

by Omri Wallach
This post is by Omri Wallach from Visual Capitalist

Visualizing the Evolution of the Alphabet

From Greek to Latin: Visualizing the Evolution of the Alphabet

Over the course of 2021, the Greek alphabet was a major part of the news cycle.

COVID-19 variants, which are labeled with Greek letters when becoming a variant of concern, normalized their usage. From the Alpha variant in the UK, to the Delta variant that spread from India to become the dominant global strain, the Greek alphabet was everywhere. Seemingly overnight, the Omicron variant discovered in South Africa has now taken the mantle as the most discussed variant.

But the Greek alphabet is used in other parts of our lives as well. For example, Greek letters are commonly used in mathematics and science, like Sigma (Σ) denoting a sum or Lambda (λ) used to represent the half-life of radioactive material.

And the study of linguistics shows us why using Greek letters in English isn’t completely farfetched. This visualization from Matt Baker at UsefulCharts.com demonstrates how the modern Latin script used in English evolved from Greek, and other, alphabets.

It’s All Proto-Sinaitic to Me

Before there was English, or Latin, or even Greek, there was Proto-Sinaitic.

Considered the first alphabet ever used, the Proto-Sinaitic script was derived in Canaan, around the biblical Land of Israel. It was repurposed from Egyptian hieroglyphs that were commonly seen in the area (its name comes from Mount Sinai), and used to describe sounds instead of meanings.

Proto-Sinaitic Letter (Reconstructed Name)Original Meaning
ʾalpox
baythouse
gaml throwstick
dagfish
haw/hillulpraise
waw/uphfowl
(Read more...)

Ianacare Co-founder Jessica Kim on Translating Personal Experience to a Startup

by Jaclyn Robinson

The Crunchbase “Female Founder Series” is comprised of stories, Q&As and thought-leadership pieces from glass-ceiling-smashers who overcame the odds and are now leading successful companies, or investing in them.

Jessica Kim is the co-founder/CEO of ianacare—a company on a mission to encourage, empower and equip family caregivers with practical tools and communities needed, so no one does it alone. The platform leverages a powerful combination of technology and caregiver coaches to organize and mobilize layers of support. 

Kim’s dedication stems from her experience as the primary caregiver for her mom who fought a 7-year battle with pancreatic cancer. She is a 3x startup founder, speaker and caregiving advocate. Kim was honored as Crain’s Top 40 under 40, Woman in Digital Health Award 2020, and currently serves as a venture partner at Praxis Labs, the inaugural Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Presidential Council adviser at Brown University, and board member of Be the Bridge for racial reconciliation and justice. 

In this Q&A, Kim shares her journey to entrepreneurship, experience raising a just-announced Series A, how she’s integrated her values into company culture, and more.

Q: Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Not at all. I didn’t even know what an entrepreneur was. I didn’t come from a family of entrepreneurs. My dad was a psychiatrist and, early on, I loved studying people, cultures and human behavior. My deep curiosity in people and anthropology drew me to understand human problems. The desire to solve these (Read more...)