DOCSLIB.ORG

Download Our Research Here: Relationships in Singapore

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Download Our Research Here: Relationships in Singapore I’m not a driven businessman, but a driven artist. I never think about “ money. Beautiful things make money. Lord Acton I am not a businessman, I am an artist. “ Warren Buffett I didn’t want to be a businessman, because all the businessmen “ I knew I didn’t want to be like. Steve Jobs Thank you so much for your help with this book: Sergey Leontiev Jeremy Berger Timur Khamitov Igor Pesin Jim Marous Dmitry Solodkiy Oleg Karaev Vladimir Belyakov and my friends, colleagues, mentors – Chris Skinner, Brett King, Reggy de Feniks, – who inspired me a lot. Illustrations: Eugene Kiselev, Vladimir Belyakov, Oleg Karaev. Typesetting: Nikita Shekhovtsov. Contents 4 Intro: From Book to Bank in 12 Months 17 It’s a Revolution, Not an Evolution 21 Part 1: On the way to the first fintech bank 26 1.1 The main fintech battle is about the land of big data 41 1.2 Money as the new language for communication (not for remittance) 52 1.3 The power of the crowd: fintech bank as a “Tinder for money” 66 1.4 Fintech is about how to earn more rather than to pay less 77 1.5 Insurtech is the new fintech 84 1.6 Neobanks as front-end interfaces for fintech banks 94 1.7 Co-working space as fintech bank's branch 115 Part 2: Building the puzzle of the ecosystem 123 2.1 Open architecture nature of the fintech bank: BaaS as a base 134 2.2 The next: wave of mergers and acquisitions, rather than new startups 141 Part 3: Customers for fintech banks 142 3.1 Why Zuckerberg, Gates and Omidyar invest in fintech for poor? 148 3.2 Fintech banks for “Snapchat generation” 152 3.3 GIG economy is on the rise 173 3.4 Occupy fintech: who and where can build the first fintech bank? 176 3.5 “Dances with drums” by banks 191 3.6 Why you should hire an artist as your next business consultant — the modern CEO should be “Designer in Chief” 196 3.7 Sweden and India as two examples of real fintech hubs 201 3.8 China shows the way 210 P.S. 22 business books that blew my mind 4 Intro: From Book to Bank in 12 Months Intro: From Book to Bank in 12 Months Intro: From Book to Bank in 12 Months 5 Having summarized my limited 5-year ex- perience in fintech and intuitive guess- es on the next industry trends almost a year ago in September of 2017, I presented my first book “The First Fintech Bank’s Arrival.” It was some- what overly ambitious on my part since I’m no writer and I have never viewed myself as one and still don’t (and those who know me personally know that I cannot even string a sen- tence together correctly in English). When people say “the first book” they casually hint at the second and third book. I hope that in my case I will not bore readers anymore and won’t clutter the informa- tion space with new scribble. So I’m a dilettante in everything - I’m always interested in something new, I’m asking an infinite number of ques- tions, and I’m not afraid to share the answers found. I have never laid any claim to any fundamental novelty or significance of my ideas; rather, I share my experience with the hope of saving time and energy of other dilet- tantes like myself. 6 Intro: From Book to Bank in 12 Months Quite to my surprise, the book re- ceived a positive response: more than 11,000 followers on our Face- book page, followed by invitations to present the book at 15 events in across eight countries (Singapore, the Philippines, Portugal, Be- larus, Spain, USA, Dubai, and China), even some fintech experts, bank heads and regulators found it use- ful and recommended it to others to read. Especially flat- tering and humbling were the invitations from two prestigious business schools - INSEAD and Wharton! And I’m very grateful to them all and those who asked me questions personally or online. Many times, I heard the same question: “Why don’t you want to build the bank you wrote about yourself?” The world knows only a handful of coach- es who can play well on the field themselves, so at first, I could not garner enough audacity to change investor shoes into startup sneakers and run out onto the field. One can say that our project was born from the question “What if?” - although at that time it was not yet conceived. In October and November 2017 (a month or two after the book was pub- lished), my colleagues and I were attacked not only by applicants for in- vestments or advisory services representing hundreds (nope, thousands) of newly-born ICO startups, but also by several “happy” dozen of the “lucky” ones who had already successfully “raised millions in investments” through a new way to raise capital (and, unfortunately, often deceiving investors in return), and had faced the problem that their banks do not open ac- counts or freeze and close accounts of their companies. Their common question sounded very stupid to me at that time: “Do you know any bank, anyone, from anywhere, that could open an account for us?” It was late 2017, amidst tons of rapturous articles both about the bright prospects of blockchain technology in general, and the success of specific companies in particular, such a question came up from “the most progressive inno- vators.” At first, I did not take it seriously. I thought that brilliant physicists (i.e. successful newly-born ICO millionaires) might not know how to cook soup (i.e. open a bank account). But the more often I heard this question the more I realized that this was not a joke. Intro: From Book to Bank in 12 Months 7 NYC-based Metropolitan Bank has ceased all cryptocurrency-related international Crypto-related clients wires eective immediately. The bank could not verify the compliance of international wire transfers for cryptocurrency accounts. It “does not accept cryptocurrency-related wire transfers from non-U.S. entities.” Coinbase is among are playing cat and the companies that use Metropolitan for wire transfers, deposits, and its Shift bitcoin debit card. mouse with banks Tether’s primary banks in Taiwan were being blocked by U.S. correspondent banks. Cryptocurrency trader called out National Australia Bank, ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac for freezing customer accounts and transfers to four dierent bitcoin exchanges. An Israeli company has gotten its business rejected by all 11 banks in the country. British banks are shunning companies that handle cryptocurrencies, forcing many to open accounts in other countries. British lenders have distanced themselves from Cryptocurrency companies have traditionally had a hard time engaging with cryptocurrency companies and digital coins in general, because of nding banks to accept them as customers. Almost all crypto- their reputation of being used in illicit activity. related customers aren’t accepted by traditional banks (even by newborn neo or challenger banks). Almost all major banks South Korea banned its traditional banks from dealing in virtual currencies. refuse to accept money after the conversion of the cryptocurrency. Singapore’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry Association had heard from 10 companies which had encountered problems with their banking If you want to know more - you can download our research here: relationships in Singapore. https://goo.gl/e2p6Pn Finnish company Prasos has had four accounts closed. One of the Nordic region’s Traditional banks keep biggest Bitcoin dealers has one lifeline left. freezing and closing accounts of crypto-related The Thai central bank has prohibited financial institutions in the country from five key cryptocurrency activities. customers Crypto exchanges BTCXIndia and ETHEXIndia have informed their customers via email that they are stopping trading activities, citing the “stress” on their business caused by governmental actions discouraging crypto. I gathered a small team and we spent the autumn of 2017 focusing on the validation of the problem. We asked a lot of large and small, technological- ly advanced and unadvanced banks from different countries whether they opened accounts for this kind of customers (no), and if “not”, then why and under what conditions could they open accounts for them. It would seem that a relatively small number of players have accumulated a total of several billion dollars, which they can not normally put in a bank account and use them for their business development – these potential customers are yours for the taking. But it turned out that even though banks want their billions, they can not accept them. I will not list here all the problems, causes and other obstacles “why not” - if you are interested, I can devote a separate text to all these meetings and insights received. I believe one of the most productive meetings I had was the one with Car- los Torres, CEO of the BBVA banking group, which took place on Novem- ber 1, 2017, in my office. He summarized the essence of the problem very well and, at the same time, the prospects for its solution. I suppose this was the moment when my team and I decided to build such a bank ourselves (since no one else for some reason has done it). That’s how “dilettante for life” turned into a “startup willy-nilly.” Frankly speaking, while we have been dealing with the problem of bank rejection of crypto-related companies, we have found out that a large number of people and businesses were bereft of love (or more precisely, understanding) by banks.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Financial Technology Sector Summary
    Financial Technology Sector Summary June 3, 2015 Financial Technology Sector Summary Table of Contents I. GCA Savvian Overview II. Market Summary III. Payments / Banking IV. Securities / Capital Markets / Data & Analytics V. Healthcare / Insurance I. GCA Savvian Overview GCA Savvian Overview Highlights Firm Statistics GCA Savvian Focus . Over 225 professionals today Mergers & Acquisitions Private Capital Markets . Full spectrum of buy-side, sell- Agented private capital raiser Headquarters in San Francisco and Tokyo; offices in New side and strategic advisory York, London, Shanghai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Osaka . Equity and debt capital markets . Public and private company advisory services experience . Provides mergers and acquisitions advisory services, private . Core competency, with important capital & capital markets advisory services, and principal . Strategic early-stage growth relationships among the venture investing companies through industry capital and private equity defining, multi-billion dollar community transactions . Over 550 transactions completed . Publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (2174) Senior level attention and focus, Relationships and market extensive transaction intelligence; a highly experienced team in experience and deep domain insight the industry Global Advisory Firm Market Positioning Bulge Bracket Growth Sector Focus Transaction Expertise . Senior Team with . Growth Company Focus Unparalleled Transaction . Sector Expertise / Domain Experience Knowledge . Highest Quality Client . Private Capital
    [Show full text]
  • Culture Club Zappos Has a Unique Approach to Building Customer Loyalty: It Starts Internally, by Focusing on the Company’S Culture, Which Is Defined by Its Employees
    CultuRe CluB Zappos has a unique approach to building customer loyalty: it starts internally, by focusing on the company’s culture, which is defined by its employees. Jennifer Lowney learned more from Zappos’ Robert Richman Early in its 12-year history, Zappos.com, one of America’s leading online apparel and footwear retailers, made a decision that its business and its brand would be defined by superior customer service. In Zappos’ lingo, it would deliver “WOW through service.” But unlike many other companies which view customer service through the lens of returns policies, loyalty programs or discounts, Zappos believes that its culture is the foundation for its brand and commercial success. In his book, Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, Tony Hsieh, the CEO says, “We thought that if we got the culture right, then building our brand to be about the very best customer service would happen naturally, on its own.” Honest communication Zappos, which had annual sales in excess of $1bn in 2010 when it was acquired by Amazon for $1.2bn, set out to translate that core belief into successful commercial reality. While culture and values are routinely defined by the corporate communications teams at many companies, Zappos involved the entire company in the process of defining its values. Five years into its existence, Zappos used that input to create a “culture book” – first used as an orientation tool but now available to anyone who wants one, inside the company or out – to provide employees with a forum to articulate their views about what Zappos’ culture means to them.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mastercard Compliant Service Provider List
    The Mastercard Compliant Service Provider List A company’s name appears on this Compliant Service Provider List if (i) MasterCard has received a copy of an Attestation of Compliance (AOC) by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) reflecting validation of the company being PCI DSS compliant and (ii) MasterCard records reflect the company is registered as a Service Provider by one or more MasterCard Customers. The date of the AOC and the name of the QSA are also provided. Each AOC is valid for one year. MasterCard receives copies of AOCs from various sources. This Compliant Service Provider List is provided solely for the convenience of MasterCard Customers and any Customer that relies upon or otherwise uses this Compliant Service Provider list does so at the Customer’s sole risk. While MasterCard endeavors to keep the list current as of the date set forth in the footer, MasterCard disclaims any and all warranties of any kind, including any warranty of accuracy or completeness or fitness for any particular purpose. MasterCard disclaims any and all liability of any nature relating to or arising in connection with the use of or reliance on the Compliant Service Provider List or any part thereof. Each MasterCard Customer is obligated to comply with MasterCard Rules and other Standards pertaining to use of a Service Provider. As a reminder, an AOC by a QSA provides a “snapshot” of security controls in place at a point in time. Service Provider Name Region AOC Date Assessor DESV 1&1 Internet SE (1&1, 1&1 ipayment, Europe 05/09/2016 Security Research & Consulting GmbH ipayment.de) 1Link (Guarantee) Limited SAMEA 11/17/2015 Trustwave 1Shoppingcart.com (Web.com Group, lnc.) US 04/13/2016 SecurityMetrics 1stPayGateWay, LLC US 05/27/2016 IBM Internet Security Systems (ISS) 2138617 Ontario Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Financial Technology Sector Summary
    Financial Technology Sector Summary October 9, 2013 Table of Contents I. GCA Savvian Overview II. Market Summary III. Payments / Banking IV. Securities / Capital Markets / Data & Analytics I. GCA Savvian Overview GCA Savvian Overview Highlights Firm Statistics GCA Savvian Focus . Over 225 professionals today Mergers & Acquisitions Private Capital Markets . Headquarters in San Francisco and Tokyo; offices in New . Full spectrum of buy-side, sell- . Agented private capital raiser side and strategic advisory York, London, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Osaka . Equity and debt capital markets . Provides mergers and acquisitions advisory services, private . Public and private company advisory services experience capital & capital markets advisory services, and principal . Core competency, with important investing . Strategic early-stage growth relationships among the venture companies through industry capital and private equity . Over 460 transactions completed; over $100Bn in transaction defining, multi-billion dollar community value transactions . Publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (2174) Senior level attention and focus, Relationships and market extensive transaction intelligence; a highly experienced team in experience and deep domain insight the industry Global Advisory Firm Market Positioning Bulge Bracket Growth Sector Focus Transaction Expertise . Senior Team with . Growth Company Focus Unparalleled Transaction . Sector Expertise / Domain Experience Knowledge . Highest Quality Client . Private Capital Access Service . Late Stage Private
    [Show full text]
  • Apple Strategy Teardown
    Apple Strategy Teardown The maverick of personal computing is looking for its next big thing in spaces like healthcare, AR, and autonomous cars, all while keeping its lead in consumer hardware. With an uphill battle in AI, slowing growth in smartphones, and its fingers in so many pies, can Apple reinvent itself for a third time? In many ways, Apple remains a company made in the image of Steve Jobs: iconoclastic and fiercely product focused. But today, Apple is at a crossroads. Under CEO Tim Cook, Apple’s ability to seize on emerging technology raises many new questions. Primarily, what’s next for Apple? Looking for the next wave, Apple is clearly expanding into augmented reality and wearables with the Apple Watch AirPods wireless headphones. Though delayed, Apple’s HomePod speaker system is poised to expand Siri’s footprint into the home and serve as a competitor to Amazon’s blockbuster Echo device and accompanying virtual assistant Alexa. But the next “big one” — a success and growth driver on the scale of the iPhone — has not yet been determined. Will it be augmented reality, healthcare, wearables? Or something else entirely? Apple is famously secretive, and a cloud of hearsay and gossip surrounds the company’s every move. Apple is believed to be working on augmented reality headsets, connected car software, transformative healthcare devices and apps, as well as smart home tech, and new machine learning applications. We dug through Apple’s trove of patents, acquisitions, earnings calls, recent product releases, and organizational structure for concrete hints at how the company will approach its next self-reinvention.
    [Show full text]
  • Investor Report for Arqiva Group Parent Limited
    INVESTOR REPORT FOR ARQIVA GROUP PARENT LIMITED SCHEDULE 7 Three month period ending 30 September 2020 Date: 23 November 2020 0103110-0000010 ICM:30666316.10 1 FORM OF INVESTOR REPORT/QUARTERLY INVESTOR REPORT To: The Issuer Security Trustee, the Rating Agencies and the Paying Agents GENERAL OVERVIEW Arqiva is one of the UK’s leading communications infrastructure and media services providers , with significant investments in essential communications infrastructure. The Group’s core business compris es of Broadcast and Utilities markets. It generates predictable earnings, supported by strong market p ositions, diverse revenue streams, long-life assets and long-term inflation linked contracts. The sale of the Telecoms business was successfully completed in July as detailed in this report. The Group had a contracted orderbook of £4.0bn as at 30 June 2020 for the remaining business after the Telecoms sale. Recent developments Corporate updates Sale of Towers business and repayment of debt On 8 July 2020, Arqiva successfully completed the sale of the Telecoms business by disposing of Arqiva Services Limited and five smaller entities to Cellnex UK Limited. The sale included c.7,400 sites and contractual rights to market a further c.900 sites across the UK. The majority of the sales proceeds were used to repay senior debt and derivatives, resulting in a stronger capital structure for the remaining business. The Group committed to repaying a minimum of c£1.8bn debt and derivatives and this has now all been completed as follows: • £550m of bank facilities, £90m ITL, £18m EIB loan and £515m private placements (net of cross- currency swap gains); • £566m to partially pay down IRS and ILS swaps and all of the cross-currency swaps held at year end; and • Less than £100m for associated break costs The Group’s operations and asset separation relating to the Telecoms sale has largely been completed although work continues on the transfer of site leases to schedule whilst the ongoing trading agreement for access to sites between Arqiva and Cellnex has now commenced.
    [Show full text]
  • Mobile Payment Transaction Services Market Size, Share, Analysis, Report and Forecast to 2022
    Feb 01, 2017 01:32 EST Mobile Payment Transaction Services Market Size, Share, Analysis, Report and Forecast to 2022 As such, a horde of mobile money propositions like carrier billing are still highly pertinent to consumers with no credit cards or as a expedient way of purchasing apps in app stores and online content. Money transfer segment accounted for more than 50% share of the mobile payment transaction market in 2014. On the other hand, merchandise purchase segment is expected to gain grip during the forecast period. More than 20 percent of mobile payment users utilized selected online wallets such as PayPal or Google Wallet in the United States. Rising NFC option is how retailers are utilizing mobile money together with other key retail elements like, rewards, offers, and loyalty to remain significant on the high street. With huge sections of the population unbanked so far vigorously using feature phones to access mobile money services and pay for physical goods, bill payments, money transfer, or accessing digital goods and services persist to rule. Some of the key players in global mobile payment transaction services market are Braintree, Clinkle, Google Wallet, MasterCard, MoneyBookers, Paypal, SinglePoint, Venmo, Visa, LevelUp and WorldPay. For More, Please Visit:http://www.strategymrc.com/report/mobile-payment- transaction-services-market Purposes of mobile transactions Covered: • Ticketing • Money Transfer • Merchandise Purchase • Bill Payment • Other Purposes Technologies Covered: • WAP/ WEB • USSD • SMS Mobile Payment Transactions
    [Show full text]
  • Meditative Story Transcript – Angela Ahrendts Click Here to Listen to The
    Meditative Story Transcript – Angela Ahrendts Click here to listen to the full Meditative Story episode with Angela Ahrendts. ANGELA AHRENDTS: I stand mesmerized seeing this eagle soar and dive, soar and ​ dive. At this moment it’s the strangest thing, an inner peace takes over me with each breath. I feel this sudden clarity, this deep confidence. An idea quickly builds inside of me: I am not a tree; I am not supposed to stay permanently fixed and rooted where I am. My three babies will fly the nest. They’ll be gone. The eagle is my sign in my storm. I am supposed to fly. ROAHN GUNATILLAKE: Angela Ahrendts is best known in the business world where as CEO ​ of Burberry she turned the company around, and then stepped out of the number one position to help Apple reinvent its famous retail store environment. But the Meditative Story she shares today couldn’t be further from the high-flying worlds of fashion and technology – it’s about finding sanctuaries that we can turn to for clarity when new direction and new possibilities show up in our lives. In this series, we combine immersive first-person stories and breathtaking music with the science-backed benefits of mindfulness practice. From WaitWhat and Thrive Global, this is Meditative Story. I’m Rohan, and I’ll be your guide. The body relaxed. The body breathing. Your senses open. Your mind open. Meeting the world. AHRENDTS: With a blanket tucked beneath my arm, I head out into the backyard, ​ basking in the warm afternoon light.
    [Show full text]
  • Dodo Brands FY 2020 Earnings Release
    Kirill Vyrypaev, CFO [email protected] Dodo Brands Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2020 Results Moscow, Russia - 6 April 2021 11:00 AM GMT - DP Global Group Limited (“Dodo Brands” or the “Company”), home of Dodo Pizza, the largest pizza chain in Russia and the fastest-growing pizza chain in the world, announces its financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended 31 December 2020. Key Financial Highlights ■ Global system sales increased by 38.2% in the fourth quarter; 27.1% in fiscal 2020. ■ Added 28 net new units in the fourth quarter; 103 net new units in the fiscal 2020. Finished the year with 679 units in 14 countries. ■ Eurasia (Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus) comparable system sales increased 17.6% in the fourth quarter; 5.3% in fiscal 2020. ■ International Master Franchising (IMF) comparable system sales increased 33.9% in the fourth quarter; 11.3% in fiscal 2020. ■ Adjusted EBITDA (ex. IFRS 16) increased to RUB 202 million for fiscal 2020 vs negative RUB (12) million for fiscal 2019. ■ Free Cash Flow of negative RUB (28) million for fiscal 2020 vs negative RUB (41) million for fiscal 2019. ■ RUB 111 million net cash (ex. IFRS 16) as of end of fiscal 2020. Significant Events ■ Dodo Pizza was recognized as the fastest-growing pizza chain in the world by Technomic. ■ Dodo Pizza shared the #1 position as the most trusted foodservice brand in Russia as per the Romir agency. ■ Launched the first franchised Dodo Pizza unit in Munich, Germany, our 14th market of presence.
    [Show full text]
  • Lean Startup Labs Summit Series 2016 Sponsorship Opportunities
    LEAN STARTUP LABS SUMMIT SERIES 2016 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Overview Lean Startup Company is producing a brand new series in 2016 called Lean Startup Labs. Fueled by demand from the Lean Startup Community, the series will showcase a variety of specialized summits across the country. The mission of Labs is to share cutting­edge ideas and stories while making ​ Lean Startup methods more accessible to a wider audience, providing education and resources to ​ serve entrepreneurs, startups, accelerators and large companies. Capped at 200 participants per summit, each event offers an intimate atmosphere and an opportunity to learn, connect and find real solutions to challenges. Labs agendas will be very active and experiential with less passive listening. Programming includes talks, collaborative sessions and workshops based on Lean Startup principles. And, every summit will have it’s own special twists added in such as offsite immersions, topical dinners and surprise guests. The series debuts with the NYC Enterprise Summit on February 24­25, 2016 where a group of ​ ​ intrapreneurs, corporate innovators and leaders tasked with transformation in an established organization will gather. This event will focus on applying Lean Startup methodology within large, complex organizations and features road­tested insights along with practical tools and best practices. This spring we’ll host a startup, education and social good summit in New Orleans, and in summer 2016 a startup summit in Detroit. These events will host a mix of startups, entrepreneurs, accelerators, education, government, social­mission and non­profit, enterprise companies and more. Events-at-a-Glance You now have the opportunity to sponsor a single summit or the entire Lean Startup Labs Series.
    [Show full text]
  • Service Provider Name Region AOC Date Assessor DESV
    A company’s name appears on this Compliant Service Provider List if (i) Mastercard has received a copy of an Attestation of Compliance (AOC) by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) reflecting validation of the company being PCI DSS compliant and (ii) Mastercard records reflect the company is registered as a Service Provider by one or more Mastercard Customers. The date of the AOC and the name of the QSA are also provided. Each AOC is valid for one year. Mastercard receives copies of AOCs from various sources. This Compliant Service Provider List is provided solely for the convenience of Mastercard Customers and any Customer that relies upon or otherwise uses this Compliant Service Provider list does so at the Customer’s sole risk. While Mastercard endeavors to keep the list current as of the date set forth in the footer, Mastercard disclaims any and all warranties of any kind, including any warranty of accuracy or completeness or fitness for any particular purpose. Mastercard disclaims any and all liability of any nature relating to or arising in connection with the use of or reliance on the Compliant Service Provider List or any part thereof. Each Mastercard Customer is obligated to comply with Mastercard Rules and other Standards pertaining to use of a Service Provider. As a reminder, an AOC by a QSA provides a “snapshot” of security controls in place at a point in time. Compliant Service Provider 1-60 Days Past AOC Due Date 61-90 Days Past AOC Due Date Service Provider Name Region AOC Date Assessor DESV “BPC Processing”, LLC Europe 03/31/2017 Informzaschita 1&1 Internet SE (1&1, 1&1 ipayment, Europe 05/08/2017 Security Research & Consulting GmbH ipayment.de) 1Shoppingcart.com (Web.com Group, lnc.) US 04/29/2017 SecurityMetrics 2138617 Ontario Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Review: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh I Have Been Learning About Tony Hsieh and His Enthusiastic Embrace O
    Book Review: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh I have been learning about Tony Hsieh and his enthusiastic embrace of new ideas for the past few years, but I had never really considered reading this book until it was recently recommended to me. What I did know about his life—that he is an advocate of a flat organizational hierarchy called Holacracy and is dedicated to the creation of a vibrant and dynamic Las Vegas downtown—certainly piqued my curiosity, and made me want to learn more about his philosophy and how he thinks about business. Delivering Happiness does just that. The Making of an Entrepreneur Like a lot of business books written by people that run or have run companies, the author walks us through his early life and first business experiences. These stories set the tone very early with the three characteristics that define Hsieh. One, he is very intelligent, and was put in a position to succeed via traditional path. He went to excellent schools growing up in the Bay Area, studied Computer Science at Harvard, and excelled in these settings. Two, he nevertheless has a real drive for experimentation and has no desire for safety. A prototype of the entrepreneur, Tony was selling a variety of products all throughout his childhood. Worms, buttons, pizza, since pre‐adolescence he’s been creating businesses and making sales, and he has walked away from stability multiple times in favor of the next engaging opportunity. Three, he is radically people‐focused. He has a great curiosity about others, and this combines with his intelligence and entrepreneurial inclinations for a fascinating set of motivations for a business person.
    [Show full text]