Thursday, January 08, 2015
Fintech disruptors to keep an eye on in 2015
With a prosperous 2015 in mind, we are taking a close look at fintech (Financial Technologies) so that we can help you to properly evaluate potential high growth investments you might want to consider for your portfolio this year.
Fact is, we have seen trends during 2014 regarding fintech that are sure to make a splash in the industry moving forward into the new year and we are hoping to help you to consider these things before they make more of a ripple within the industry.
Banks have been realizing that innovations brought about by competing startups are best met with agility so as to evolve from the old mentality into one that proactively, meets head on, challenges in the market, even foresees them.
1) New payment options:
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been in the news both positively and negatively in the past year.
It's important to note that such new payment technologies, Bitcoin specifically, has been warmly accepted by Governments such as the UK's but not so much by China.
Many believe that interesting new technologies will sprout out of the cryptocurrency/digital payment market with disruptive solutions that will grow very fast.
2) Mobile payments:
Mobile payments has been a hot topic this year. Not only does mobile payment tech make life much easier, but it is set to become standard in the near future. More new entrants than ever before have been springing up with what many consider to be "disruptive" solutions, meaning they are changing the landscape with which businesses traditionally transact.
Some experts believe that Apple Pay has the potential to disrupt the entire sector. Since October 2014, US residents with an iPhone 6 have been able to pay for retailers and restaurants via their fingerprint or by holding their iPhone over an enabled Point of Sale (POS) system.
2015 promises to be a year in which the world of payments will change dramatically. The industry is at the beginning of a period of intense structural change but it is far too early to pick winners and losers in this changing market. At one end of the spectrum, the banks appear to have the most to lose, given the threat to their traditional position that alternative providers of cheap, secure and timely payments can provide. But they have long records of resilience, have strength in their existing customer relationships and reach and should not, therefore, be under-estimated. At the other end of the spectrum, who would bet against Amazon, Apple or Google, given their rapid growth and success in other sectors? And, in between, there are a multitude of offerings that must find a way to carve out a unique, lucrative and sustainable position in an increasingly competitive field.
- Anthony Duffy, Management Consultant in Financial Services in UK & Ireland at Fujitsu
3) Financial Data:
With the accumulation of necessity to store more and more financial information. From front to back-office, trade operations, regulatory controls and risk management, firms have been searching for new easier to manage ways to help them cope with the velocity, volume and variety of big data.
Banks are trying hard to understand their customers better. This, because they have seen disruptive startups creeping into their space with innovative solutions that are well received by consumers. An example of a way that they are trying to utilize customer data is by using it to target people with ads on their bank statements but this targeted marketing method has yet to be evaluated in terms of efficiency.
4) Customer-centricity:
Banks have come to realize that it is better to get to know their clients on a one on one basis rather than clustering them into large categorical groups. Demands for digitalisation and enabling customers to send money on the go is a task that every bank is now undertaking, whether this is through the implementation of a mobile banking app, or providing omni-channel banking over a variety of different devices.
"Embedding client-centricity into a company’s culture is a key differentiator. This is about every employee owning the client experience and using every interaction as an opportunity to delight and strengthen relationships." -Bill Pappas (CIO of Global Wholesale Banking Technology & Operations at BofAML
5) Cloud Migration:
Cloud computing has become far more widely accepted during 2014. Many firms have learned that marketing, collaboration and productivity are more easily managed in the cloud. Cloud adaptation greatly reduces costs and research shows that many companies who have yet to transition plan to do so in the next year or two.
In terms of security however, the cloud still poses some very real risks.
6) Integration and collaboration:
Fact is, so many startups have disrupted the fintech space this year that banks have come to realize that it is a good idea to partner with or buy several of them.
All types of fintech accelerator programs have sprung up looking to help grow innovative entrepreneurs and their ideas.
DevOps is a buzz word that became pretty hot in 2014. DevOps is the fusion of development and operations teams which usually work in sync around a common set of tools. The aim is for developers and operations professionals to work closer together to benefit the business and the result of this union is tighter integration that allows applications to be developed more quickly with better quality results.
There have been many more developments in the fintech space last year but these are the significant ones that are worthy of keeping an eye on.
Monday, January 05, 2015
Friday, January 02, 2015
“We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.” ― André Berthiaume
So I walk around with this mask crazy glued onto my head, and so do you and everyone else.
And it's quite funny to stand behind this mask and analyze things critically. When I say "things" I mean fucking everything.
This leads to openly innovative thought wherever you are. Recently I was on Quora (where I spend most of my time these days) and asked how exactly one can practice to think creatively and remain innovative.
Interesting answers I received.
Really only interested in things that are profound.
My social media interests used to look like this around a year ago:
Reddit.com/r/conspiracy - 70% You can find some thought provoking stuff here (and BS) I am Banned from there.
Facebook - 15%
Linkedin - 15%
These days it looks something like this:
Quora - 80% There are unbelievably smart/sharp sages who hang out here. A very useful tool when on the prowl to feed your sponge with intelligence.
Linkedin - 15%
Reddit 4%
Facebook - 1%
A lot more serious, realizing that reality is easily influenced, like a child. Realizing that only challenges worth fighting for are even worth spending time thinking about.
Very noble and high reaching goals that are disruptive and world changing - not typical.
Interests in new things, for example, taking violin lessons and will soon be able to play this song for you.
Not happy with the status quo but still Tokyo drift style screeching around that old learning curve as to how to strategically change it.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
Monday, December 29, 2014
How To Master Corporate Change - How To Stay @ Prime
One thing that I think is overlooked among many sharp business people today is that it requires an injection of certain vitamins into a stagnant or slow to grow corporation in order for it to thrive in the ever changing business environment today.
And so I introduce the PAEI Methodology by Ichaak Adizes. First of all, one thing about this man. When he was studying business @ Columbia, he came up with this methodology as his thesis. His professor said it was crap and that it would not work in the real world. Through the years, The Adizes Methodolgy has been implemented by many a Fortune 500 and even now, the governments of Brazil, Israel and many other countries. If I'm not mistaken management classes @ Harvard Business School are now taught from out of his books on Corporate Lifecycles and Managing Change.
A close family friend, I once went out to his certification course and was honored to stay at his house in Santa Barbara.
So the jist of it is this:
Every corporation, in order to stay healthy needs these 4 things (among others but most importantly)
Producer:
There always needs to be someone who is continuously producing for whatever strategy is put into place, to prove positive through fruition.
Administrator:
There needs to be a person (preferably a very sharp lawyer) who handles all of the administrative paper work, compliance issues, HR and so on.
Entrepreneur:
Somebody with vision who thinks outside the box. This person would likely be the founder or one of the Co-founders. Continuously seeing opportunity everywhere. Innovating things that weren't before fathomed to be innovatable(?).
Integrator:
This is super important because between some people sometimes there is friction. So the integrator is the one who puts the right ones in the right place to do the right jobs.
Many countries/corporations have come to realize the importance of this and are profiting from it. Now, so can you.
Harvard Business School RESEARCH & IDEAS MOST POPULAR ARTICLES 2014
MOST POPULAR ARTICLES 2014
Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance (How this wasn't already understood by people is beyond me)
New research by Francesca Gino, Gary Pisano, and colleagues shows that taking time to reflect on our work improves job performance in the long run.
Starbucks Reinvented
Nancy Koehn's new case on the rebirth of Starbucks under Howard Schultz "distills 20 years of my thinking about the most important lessons of strategy, leadership, and managing in turbulence."
The Manager in Red Sneakers (Standing out is key, Daniel Son)
Wearing the corporate uniform may not be the best way to dress for success. Research by Silvia Bellezza, Francesca Gino, and Anat Keinanshows there may be prestige advantages when you stand out rather than fit in.
The Role of Emotions in Effective Negotiations
Senior Lecturer Andy Wasynczuk, a former negotiator for the New England Patriots, explores the sometimes intense role that emotions can play in negotiations.
Managing the Family Business: Leadership Roles
Poorly designed leadership roles set up a family business for failure. John A. Davis offers a system that produces the decisiveness and unity needed for long-term performance.
Has Listening Become a Lost Art?
Managers may have ears, but do they use them? Jim Heskett's readers offer opinions on why listening might be a lost art.
The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility
Research by Christopher Marquis shows that a company's degree of social responsibility is affected by a surprising factor-the language it uses to communicate.
Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?
Created in the 1930s, outlet stores allowed retailers to dispose of unpopular items at fire sale prices. Today, outlets seem outmoded and unnecessary—stores have bargain racks, after all. Donald K. Ngwe explains why outlets still exist.
How Grocery Bags Manipulate Your Mind
People who bring personal shopping bags to the grocery store to help the environment are more likely to buy organic items—but also to treat themselves to ice cream and cookies, according to new research by Uma R. Karmarkar and Bryan Bollinger. What's the Quinoa-Häagen-Dazs connection?
Venture Investors Prefer Funding Handsome Men (Look up the Halo Effect)
Studies by Alison Wood Brooks and colleagues reveal that investors prefer pitches from male entrepreneurs over those from female entrepreneurs, even when the content of the pitches is identical. And handsome men fare best of all.
MOST POPULAR FACULTY WORKING PAPERS 2014
Learning By Thinking: How Reflection Improves Performance
Researchers Giada Di Stefano, Francesca Gino, Gary Pisano, and Bradley Staats focus on the reflective dimension of the learning process and propose that learning can be augmented by deliberately focusing on thinking about what one has been doing.
Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors
Conventional explanations for General Motors' decline are seriously incomplete, according to Susan Helper and Rebecca Henderson.
Learning from the Kursk Submarine Rescue Failure: the Case for Pluralistic Risk Management
The failure to rescue survivors from the sunk Russian submarine Kursk is explored by Anette Mikes and Amram Migdalpaper.
Better Deals Through Level II Strategies: Advance Your Interests by Helping to Solve Their Internal Problems (Duh)
While most of us focus on our own interests in negotiation, our counterparts are more likely to say "yes" to a proposal if it meets their interests. Research by James Sebenius.
Facts and Figuring: An Experimental Investigation of Network Structure and Performance in Information and Solution Spaces
How can managers create organizations that bring people together to successfully solve problems? Research on the potential downsides of "connectedness" by Jesse Shore, Ethan Bernstein, and David Laze. 
Source: Harvard Business School RESEARCH & IDEAS
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Gillys 2014 Recap
Figured I'd toss some words around and write about the events of the past year since I'm bored and there were many significant ones.
So on Jan 2nd a bus fell off a cliff and killed 30 people in India Just imagine the free fall and then the power of inertia involved with taking the lives of 30 people. When thinking about this force being stopped it's 10 x worse than a head on collision because their met with the ground, which is firmer.
Around 12 people were chillin eating popcorn in a movie theater on Feb 11th in Pakistan when someone tossed a grenade inside, apparantly peeved about the long previews (jk) and killed them all.
This group Boko Haram thinks the progress of stupidity is a good idea and so they went into a school and killed 50 students in Nigeria on Feb 25th.
On March 1st a group of knife wielding, crazed nutjobs in a railway station in China chopped up and killed 29 people. I mean Jesus, think of a battle scene from out of one of those midevil films and you get an idea what it might have looked like. Compound that with the fact that the victims were NOT armed or even expecting such a thing.
A Malaysian airlines plane stopped blipping on the radar of air traffic commanders screens on March 8th and a long unfruitful search for the plane has been going on since. Later in the year another plane was shot down from the same airline. I think it's a bit of a coincidence that the head of the International Monetary Fund gave a speech a couple months before stressing and repeating the importance of the number 7 (which was in both planes flight numbers) over and over. Whomever might have gained from this act has gotten away with it.
On March 21st Russia decided to flex its muscles and swing its dick around the territory there, officially annexed Crimea, essentially telling Ukraine that they are their bitch. Later Russia, through the use of seperatists (as a front) even invaded and continues to abuse Ukraine.
See the media is awash with crap and so when important messages are delivered, not often are they taken seriously. Don't think that this is a natural phenomena, it is planned, it has been built this way so that when messages like this about what might happen because of climate change in 5-10 years don't cause much of a stir or a panic, as it should. Battles of power for food and water.
So, the worst disaster to ever happen on Mt Everest did this year on April 18th. A wickedly massive avalanche killed 29 climbers including some very well known sherpas/guides. The craziest thing about this event, if you ask me, is the recordings the dead took right before dying.
On April 23rd inertia reared its ugly head again when it killed 60 people in a train crash in the Congo. The driver was speeding when he was met with a curve and flew off the tracks.
On May 6th this guy, who seems very pleased with himself, released a video that I happen to watch at the time. A sick fuck from Boko Haram
On May 26th Ebola became an issue again. When a little girl in a remote village somewhere probably played with or ate a sick monkey. By now it's better contained than the months immediately after when some doctors who were helping out became ill and were brought back to the US. One really weird story about the whole situation is when a whole ebola team, who went to some remote village to collect blood and inform people about what was happening, were brutally killed with clubs by the village people.
Gangnam style is the first video to reach 2 billion views on Youtube on May 31st.
On July 7th Israel launched operation protective edge against Hamas in the West Bank. I have a lot to say about this but I will keep tight lipped so as not to bore you with my opinion which is that Palestinians need a real government who will promote education in schools that are not named after suicide bombers.
Typhoon Rammasun killed around 110 people in the Philipines, China and Vietnam. Musta been a badass storm.
On June 24th 116 people were killed when a plane (with flight number 5017 *cough*) crashed in Mali
On Sept 4th a monsoon killed 400 people in India and Pakistan
Another event not spoken of as much as it should is when 83 MILLION accounts were hacked at Chase bank. I don't know about you, but many people that I know personally have complained about fraud on their cards since. My dad had to replace his twice already in the past 2 months.
On Nov 3rd One World Trade Center finally opened after 13 long years of reconstruction. As a New Yorker, I'd like to say that all I wanted to rest in that place was another new twin towers, not a newly designed building.
In November, kinda like a kids toy, the internet broke a couple times when Kim Kardashian decided to poor champagne on, and show the world her ass and other lady parts.
On Dec 9th the CIA torture report was released. All I can say about that is that it seems the US intelligence community is dumb as wood.
On Dec 13th a Civil rights protest went down in Washington D.C. to say enough is enough over the killings of so many unarmed Americans. What needs to be known about the situation is that in countries like Germany and France the number of people killed by police every year is like 2 or 3. Compare that to hundreds killed here in the US. Reason for this is that when some crazed/angry person comes at them with a knife (not even unarmed like those in US) the police don't freak out, they act cool, put a bullet in the guys leg or arm and two weeks later take him to jail after coming out from the hospital, hmm.
It shouldn't come as a surprise (although a true tragedy) that a couple days ago two cops who were sitting in their car in Brooklyn were murdered by some guy who said hes doing it to avenge Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
Finally, I'd like to add that obviously many other events have gone down this year, many pleasant and many not so much. I'm not mentioning some things/groups because I don't want to stain my page with their names.
All in all, what I can tell ya I learned personally this year, is that the world really is a loud and colorful carnival of madness, and their is a reason for absolutely everything. Also, that often, people interpret clearly spoken words/messages into whatever fits with their unique thinking or beliefs, remaining ignorant to important knowledge being bestowed unto them by someone who is awake.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Something That It Seems The US Intelligence Community Is Willfully Ignorant About
When the British captured senior German officers during WW2, they didn't put them in a prison camp. Instead they took them to a beautiful country mansion, and plied them with magnificent meals and drink, and allowed them to listen to German radio and read newspapers to keep up to date on the war. Each had his own room and were treated like senior officers in the British Army.
Of course, the officers had much to talk about to each other, but unknown to them, the Brits had wired the entire mansion and had a team of intelligence officers working in the basement.
The intelligence they got was far more effective than pulling finger nails. They learnt a huge amount about the relationships between senior commanders and with Hitler. They also learnt a lot about German military strategy and tactics ... From the top.
Now that's intelligence.
Source: Mike Chandler
Origin of the term "Think Out Of The Box"
There is a famous puzzle. 9 dots arranged in a square, like this
Your job is to connect all of the dots using only 4 straight lines without lifting your hand off the paper, crossing each dot only once.
Only click if you tried and are giving up. Wave White Flag/Answer/Solution
Your job is to connect all of the dots using only 4 straight lines without lifting your hand off the paper, crossing each dot only once.
Only click if you tried and are giving up. Wave White Flag/Answer/Solution
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)