More on exactly how Dollar Shave Club succeeded, and if it’s replicable. Then, Musk has another inspiring blog post, but is it enough to erase nagging doubts about Tesla?
Dollar Shave Club and the Disruption of Everything
Dollar Shave Club is a textbook example of how the new Internet economy will destroy value in incumbent industries.
Twilio Files for IPO, Building Infrastructure, Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends 2016
An overview of Twilio’s IPO and the role of infrastructure, and then my favorite slides from Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends deck.
Amazon Earnings, Amazon’s Cloud War
Amazon’s earnings were even better than reported: it looks like the retail business is gaining real economies of scale, and AWS was even stronger than it appeared.
Dropbox Leaves AWS, Should UPS and Fedex Be Afraid?
In an inconvenient bit of timing Dropbox announced they were leaving AWS just as I was singing its praises; in fact the storage company’s decision reinforces the benefits AWS provides. Then, why Amazon’s move into logistics makes sense, and how it might play out.
The Amazon Tax
Amazon is building a lot of businesses that look like AWS: taxes on major industries that work to everyone’s benefit. The reason, though, is that AWS is a lot like Amazon itself.
Amazon’s Transformation, Continued; Microsoft’s Transformation…and Threat
As predicted last quarter, AWS is increasingly the engine driving Amazon’s financial results. However, there is evidence the e-commerce side is changing as well. Then, Microsoft has completely changed itself over the last few years, but the company is not out of the woods just yet.
AWS Re:invent, Pure Storage IPOs, Dell to Buy EMC; Enterprise Disruption; Dell’s Logic
Three news events from last week — Amazon’s AWS conference, the Pure Storage IPO, and Dell’s plan to buy EMC — make for a text case of disruption in all its forms.
The AWS Platform, The Liability Shift Has Arrived, Samsung Pay Launches in the U.S.
With all the talk of platforms I’d be remiss in discussing what may be the most vibrant platform of all: AWS. Then, the liability shift arrives today, and a surprising number of merchants aren’t ready. Maybe Samsung Pay had the right strategy after all…or maybe not.
Amazon’s Transformation, The Apple Music Backlash
Amazon turned a surprising profit: was it on purpose? More importantly, what does it say about the fundamental nature of Amazon as a company and as an investment? Plus, why the Apple Music backlash shouldn’t be a surprise, and a survey about meet-ups for this summer.