“Cord-Cutters” and “Cord-Nevers” Increase Pressure on the Traditional Television Market

More than 1 million consumers cancelled their cable or satellite subscriptions in the third quarter of 2018, dramatically increasing the pressure on cable and satellite providers to generate new revenue streams. Satellite operators, DirecTV and Dish Network Corp. (“Dish”), lost the most customers with more than 725,000 subscription cancellations between the two giants. The total 2018 subscriber loss for cable and satellite television providers amounts to more than 2.8 million.

I’m sure most of you have heard the term “cord-cutter,” which describes the phenomenon of consumers cancelling traditional pay-TV subscriptions in favor of cheaper streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu. However, as more and more young consumers enter the marketplace (millennials, if you were wondering), the term “cord-nevers,” may be more appropriate.

DirecTV and Dish have responded to traditional subscriber losses by launching their own streaming services, known as “skinny bundles.” Dish launched one of the first skinny bundles, Sling TV, back in 2015, with DirecTV launching its skinny bundle, DirecTV Now, in 2016. Skinny bundles are hybrid digital media packages which provide streaming services, like Netflix, but also pay-TV “multichannel” services, like traditional cable or satellite. 

Apple Hits $1 Trillion

To say last Thursday was a good day for Apple Inc. may be the understatement of the century. On August 2, 2018, Apple became the first U.S. company to surpass $1 trillion in market value. Think about that for a minute. In 1997, Apple had just cut a third of its workforce and was about 90 days from going broke. Twenty-one years later, that same company is worth $1,000,000,000,000. 

Apple’s meteoric rise has been driven, in large part, by the sustained success of its blockbuster product, the iPhone. In the first quarter of 2018, iPhone sales accounted for approximately 70 percent of Apple’s total revenue. In total, Apple has sold more than 1.4 billion iPhones worldwide (three of which were sold to the author of this blog). I think it is safe to say that the iPhone has completely changed the way we live (an analysis on the societal impact of smartphones is beyond the scope of this post). 

The $1 trillion milestone reflects Apple’s explosive growth and its role in the tech industry’s rise to the forefront of the global economy. Unsurprisingly, the five most valuable U.S. companies (Apple, Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc.) are all technology companies. Apple and Google combined now provide the software for 99 percent of all smartphones. Facebook and Google take 59 percent of online advertising revenue in the U.S. Okay, enough statistics. We get it. The tech industry is king and Apple wears the crown (for now). 

What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong

Sometimes knowing what not do to do is just as, if not more, valuable than knowing what to do. I came across an interesting article recently in the Harvard Business Review related to this very topic. While this article, titled “What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong” was published a few years ago, its practical advice is as relevant now as ever.

What I like about this article is that it deviates from the notion that entrepreneurism is, for lack of a better term, all “rainbows and butterflies.” The article outlines common pitfalls that entrepreneurs face when launching their business and provides strategies for overcoming such obstacles. (Can you tell this blog post is written by an attorney?) 

The authors surveyed 120 entrepreneurs from around the world and examined the mistakes they cited most frequently, focusing primarily on the sales aspect of entrepreneurism. 

If you are an entrepreneur just launching your business, or are interested in sales strategies in general, I would highly encourage you to read this article!

A Room with a View (or an Air Mattress): Airbnb celebrates its 10th anniversary

Spring is almost here! For many, this means travelling with family or friends to a warm destination for a weeks’ worth of fun in the sun. Interestingly enough, Americans owe this annual rite of spring break to ancient Greece. Originally called “Anthestreria,” it was a festival dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and “ritual madness.” For three days, local Greeks would come together to dance, sing and drink wine. More than two thousand years later, the ritual of Anthestreria remains, in many respects, unchanged. Recognized, almost universally, by primary through post-secondary educational institutions, spring break provides families and friends time to relax and recharge (and sometimes even get a little crazy). 

Given that many of us will be travelling in the next month, I thought it timely to recognize one of the most disruptive and innovative companies in the history of the modern tourism industry, Airbnb, Inc. The tourism industry is one of the world’s largest industries, with an overall global economic impact of more than 7.6 trillion U.S. dollars in 2016. According to the U.S. Travel Association, the 2016 economic output in the United States alone was $2.3 trillion. As with any large market, it is ripe for disruption by 
enterprising entrepreneurs. This is exemplified by the wild success of Airbnb.

2018 marks Airbnb’s 10th year of operation. And what a 10 years it has been for the San Francisco-based tech start-up! Founded by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk in 2008, Airbnb (in case you have been living on Mars) operates an international online marketplace for short-term lodging, offering a much-desired alternative to traditional hotel accommodations for guests and a source of income for hosts. Airbnb is merely a broker. It provides a platform for home owners, “hosts,” to rent out their properties to short-term guests. The company generates revenue by charging both its guests and hosts service fees. 

A New Way to Interact With Your Favorite Furry Friends! - Pet Tech Start-up Takes the Pet Products Industry by Storm

As a dog owner, the hardest part of my day is seeing those sad puppy eyes every morning when I leave for work, so naturally I wanted to find a solution to this heart-wrenching problem. I researched dog-walking services and “doggy daycare,” but these options were expensive and the thought of letting a stranger into my apartment every day was less than appealing.

Luckily, my friend (also a dog owner) told me about a new pet camera, called Furbo, which not only allows you to keep an eye on your pet during the day, but also provides interactive capabilities. While the concept of pet cameras is not exactly new, the interactive features of Furbo really set it apart. Furbo is much more than a camera synced to an accompanying smartphone application. It is also equipped with two-way audio so you can talk to your furry friend. The device even sends push notifications to your cell phone that notify you when your dog is barking. The best feature, though, is the device’s treat-tossing system, which allows owners to toss treats to their pets from the mobile app.