Rishi Taparia - Issue #50
This week we look at Kylie Jenner’s growing empire, Costco’s amazing food court, PayPal’s M&A plans, churches leveraging NFC for donations, the evolution of the dollar bill, psychology and soccer, and more. Enjoy!
Commerce
Costco changes up food court menu, but the $1.50 hot dog deal remains
Even Costco isn’t safe from change! Costco is probably best known for it’s ability to feed, clothe and clean a family of four to forty within a reasonable cost point. It’s also known for amazing pizza and low priced hot dogs (that are delicious!) Alas, changing times means changing menus, with the retail giant selling new menu items meant to appeal to more health-conscious shoppers. Luckily there’s no sign its long-standing dog deal (I mean come on, how do you beat $1.50!) is going away.
How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years
Less famous than her half-sister Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner has built a just, if not more, impressive empire of her own in skin care and beauty. In just 3 years she’s built almost a $1bn in value in an incredibly competitive category.
Now, there was a tremendous amount of hubbub around this article and Forbes calling the 20 year old “self made”. Now, the whole concept of “self made” is a little absurd in my view. I don’t mean to take anything away from folks described as such and the amazing accomplishments they have achieved, but the reality is everyone has received help and support from elsewhere (people, institutions, luck, advantages etc.) It makes for a good story as we like to idolize and ascribe all successes to the individual, but it’s simply inaccurate.
FinTech
PayPal CEO commits to $3bn a year in M&A spending
PayPal’s buying spree doesn’t look to end with iZettle and Hyperwallet. CEO Dan Schulman commented this week that he’s prepared to spend $3bn a year on M&A, making PayPal a very serious buyer in an industry seeing increased consolidation. I’d expect to see more action internationally from PayPal or facing a stark reality of no penetration beyond developed markets.
Grab expands to payments, groceries, food delivery with 'superapp'
Grab, like competitor Go-Jek, is now trying to expand services within it’s core ride-sharing application. Aiming to build an ‘everyday Superapp’, they now offer varying content and services depending on the user’s location. It’s a move that is becoming increasingly common, particularly in emerging markets, where a single app is used for everything from payments to food delivery to even massage booking. Alipay, WeChat, Grab, Go-Jek, PayTM and more are all fighting to be the gatekeepers for users in a global battle for marketshare.
Let us pay: church targets millennials with contactless collection plates
Vicars will use contactless card machines for collections at weddings and funerals as the Church of England tries to reverse its first drop in donations for half a century.
SEC Brings Insider-Trading Suit Against Former Heartland Payment CEO
Talk about a seemingly open and shut case. Former Heartland CEO Bob Carr was charged with insider trading, allegedly giving his girlfriend both money and tips to trade on. From the complaint:
20. On or about November 15, 2015, Carr provided Hanratty with a check drawn from his personal checking account dated November 16, 2015 for $1 million. Carr wrote “loan” in the memo section of the check.
21. Later on November 15, 2015, Hanratty emailed herself a to-do list that included “HPY,” the stock ticker symbol for Heartland, and conducted internet searches on how to buy stock.
23. On November 17, 2015, Hanratty emailed Carr and stated that she had made arrangements to “purchase the HPY [Heartland] stock as soon as the out of state check clears.” In her email she also informed Carr that “I am following your advice to the letter and keeping the amount you suggested in a saving [sic] account for nowthe va
Technology
The rise of 'pseudo-AI': how tech firms quietly use humans to do bots' work
A.I. or just Al from accounting? Training models takes time, particularly for unstructured, unlabeled data sets. The question is whether companies need to disclose it to users. I’m convinced 50+% of the Amazon Go experience is manual.
Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras
Another great piece by the Times looking at the billions of dollars Beijing is putting into facial recognition and other technologies to track and control its citizens. An interesting thing I hadn’t considered was the “shame factor”.
The intersection south of Changhong Bridge in the city of Xiangyang used to be a nightmare. Cars drove fast and jaywalkers darted into the street.
Then last summer, the police put up cameras linked to facial recognition technology and a big, outdoor screen. Photos of lawbreakers were displayed alongside their names and government I.D. numbers. People were initially excited to see their faces on the board, said Guan Yue, a spokeswoman, until propaganda outlets told them it was punishment.
“If you are captured by the system and you don’t see it, your neighbors or colleagues will, and they will gossip about it,” she said. “That’s too embarrassing for people to take.”
Random Tidbits
How the US dollar bill has evolved
A pretty interesting look at the evolution of the dollar bill which, in 2018, 2.2 billion will be made.
Why Does Every Soccer Player Do This?
An amazing end to the World Cup with the trophy going to two-time winner France. This NY times piece explains something you’ve seen it a hundred times in the World Cup: A player misses a shot and his hands (and yours!) immediately go to the top of his head. Why? Psychology has the answer.