Technology
The cost of one more customer is the whole question here: ad-supported social networks, delivery apps, action cameras, police body cameras, and the AI trade. Each case study is a Modern MBA episode in writing — the same numbers, on the page.
12 case studies
Case study — TechnologyWhy Insta360 beat GoPro at its own gameGoPro invented the category. A startup took 82% of the market and now owns a future that nobody thought was possible.10 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy the AI boom is the dot-com bubble againDifferent technology, same house of cards — and this time the pump happened in private, where nothing is marked to market.10 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy police departments can't quit AxonForced by regulators to put a camera on its own weapon, Axon found the business that replaced it.12 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy Twitter never made moneyA Facebook user was worth $8 to advertisers. A Twitter user was worth $2.75. Everything else follows from that.12 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy the scooter startups all went bankruptA Bird scooter grossed $2,000 a year, cost $1,300 to buy and $1,000 to maintain. It lost money on every vehicle, always.15 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhat happened to GoProIt invented the action camera and then spent a decade learning what an action camera is for.11 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy Temu and Wish can't make moneyWish spent 90 cents of every revenue dollar on ads to buy customers worth $10. AliExpress never profited either. Temu is next.15 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy Opendoor and Zillow failed at flipping housesIt needs to flip 60,000 homes a year to break even. It flipped 21,000. The rest is debt and vocabulary.12 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy AI is just big data againBig data was sold for a decade and produced nothing. The same players are running the identical playbook with AI.15 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy Facebook bet everything on the metaverseOne iOS setting cost $10 billion in profit. The metaverse is what a company does when it cannot own the device.9 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy food delivery is never profitableUber admits in its filings that it has never charged enough to cover the cost of an Eats delivery. It is not alone.11 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy Casper lost money on every mattress it soldBuy a mattress for $400, sell it for $700, spend $300 on ads and $300 on overhead. Lose $200 a mattress.10 min read