Rishi Taparia - Issue #13
This week: Jeff Bezos becomes the world’s richest man and rolls out a service to enter your house, Uber launches a credit card, Google’s Tez posts some interesting numbers, the iPhone X pre-sale has everyone needing more sleep, Alibaba buys a basketball team (sort of) and more. Enjoy!
Commerce
Amazon reports third quarter earnings after the bell, Jeff Bezos now world's richest man
Amazon posted massive earnings this week, driven primarily by Whole Foods revenues and AWS posting another massive quarter (+42% in sales). The stock jumped massively the next day despite Amazon’s 0.8% operating margin (the lowest posted since September 2014) and Jeff Bezos went to sleep Friday $10bn wealthier and with a new title: world’s richest man.
Big Mall Operator Does the Unthinkable—Builds a Mall
This summer, GGP broke ground on a new shopping mall, a seemingly risky venture in a world where retailers are closing hundreds of stores and malls across the country are trying to reinvent themselves. It could be one of the last enclosed malls ever built in the U.S.
Uber has a new credit card for people who want to earn points
Uber teamed up with Barclays to launch a rewards driven credit card. An effort to cement customer loyalty amid a hyper-competitive market, the new card has no annual fee and offers a bonus of $100 after spending $500 on purchases in the first 90 days. Who bites?
Amazon will start delivering packages into the homes of Prime members
Amazon to offer in home package delivery for its 90m Prime members, smart lock not included. Amazon has introduced it’s own $120 security camera which will monitor deliveries and try and further drive convenience for those who don’t trust thy neighbors. Some are questioning what service comes next…
FinTech
Google reports 7.5m users of its Tez audio QR mobile payments app
Last month Google introduced a new mobile payment service, Tez, in India. This week they announced some early statistics - 7.5mm users and 30m transactions to date. Not to shabby for a months work…
Money 2020: 12 lessons from this year’s conference
Money2020 (aka. Fintech Prom) took place in Las Vegas this week where 10,000+ people (myself included) got dressed up and descended upon the Venetian to talk Chinese wallets, the future of blockchain and who’s Money2020 party will be the best. This post by Allen Miller summarizes a few themes very nicely.
Amazon, Clover Pair On Delivery Via Amazon Pay
Amazon and First Data announced a partnership that will enable a small number of restaurants using Clover can accept orders placed through Amazon’s mobile app. A good step in the right direction for the customer experience, the challenge will be signing merchants up for AmazonPay accounts, a requirement to use the service.
Technology
I Used Gmail's 'Smart Reply' for Every Email for a Week
GMail recently rolled out smart reply in email, leveraging AI and ML to create one touch responses to emails. The crazy thing - it actually does a pretty good job AND adjusts to sound like the user.
Wealthy Families Are Winning Deals Away From Private Equity
There’s more money than ever entering the investing market, with an increasing number of players making direct investments. Once regarded as novices, family offices are looking beyond stocks and bonds to pursue investments in companies and real estate, further increasing competition for the best deals and driving a frothy valuation market.
Apple iPhone X Pre-Orders Sell Out In Minutes, Won't Be Back In Stock Till December
This week was iPhone X pre-order week. Millions of people (yours truly included) around the country staying awake with the hope of getting in on the first set of the new iPhones slated to ship next week only to be greeted by this:
With November 3 shipment selling out in minutes, Apple fans could be waiting until 2018 for the new iPhone X.
Random Tidbits
Alibaba’s Joe Tsai Purchases Brooklyn Nets in $2.3 Billion Deal
What do you do when you’ve helped build a global company at massive scale? Buy a basketball team, duh. Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai has agreed to buy 49 percent of the Brooklyn Nets from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov in a deal that values the team at a monstrous $2.3 billion. Don’t be surprised if you see Jay-Z performing at an Alibaba anniversary party.
Unicorn Startup Simulator
A fun (and depressing) browser based game simulating ‘building startups’. Create a Billion Dollar Start-Up or Die Trying.
This $525M shopping center could be the last enclosed mall built | Retail Dive
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