Modern MBA

From 1 year ago...

Artificial intelligence is the latest tale spun by Silicon Valley to sweep prior failed trends under the rug, keep valuations high, and sector sentiment positive. Every startup is now an “AI company”, every Fortune 500 needs an “AI strategy”, and every product is an “AI” product.

Before AI, there was crypto, web3, blockchain, virtual reality, big data, IoT, and wearables - all supposedly revolutionary technologies that have never once lived up to the hype.

In this episode, we explain the market dynamics that push companies and individuals to jump headfirst into tech trends, how this all started with big data, and why AI is ultimately just another pump-and-dump.

1 month ago | [YT] | 167

Modern MBA

The biggest fashion brands today are not British, American, French, or Italian, but instead Spanish, Japanese, and Swedish.

In this industry, success is difficult to achieve and even harder to maintain. Fast fashion is a case study on evolution as much as it is about moats. In business, how you view competition is the difference between fleeting success and sustained success.

In this episode, we’re diving into how UNIQLO, H&M, and Zara conquered the fashion industry, the strategies that have brought them to where they are today, and what could one day topple these modern-day empires.

1 month ago | [YT] | 92

Modern MBA

Since the debut of self-checkout machines, retailers from Kroger and Walmart to Target all peddled that self-checkout is faster and that these machines were there not to replace workers.

Their stocks collectively grew as Wall Street applauded these investments, believing that tech innovation would unlock unprecedented efficiencies and profits for the age-old, overhead-intensive business of retail.

Ultimately, the retail industry is just as confused as everyone else as there’s no clarity in the data. Is getting rid of a few part-time, $10-15 hourly cashiers actually even meaningful if you end up hiring full-time loss prevention? Did retailers who installed self-checkout end up saving money or improving their profits?

Has anyone’s fundamentals actually changed before and after self-checkout? And how did such a conservative industry get caught up in this hype?

1 month ago | [YT] | 82

Modern MBA

In the late 2010s, Impossible Foods, Oatly, and Beyond Meat captivated consumers. They represented a paradigm shift in the world of consumer packaged goods.

Yet the plant-based revolution lasted just 5 years. These companies lose millions of dollars every year as their products seem to have lost their luster with retailers and consumers alike. If these brands with their virality can’t survive, then how can anyone else else make it work?

Vegans and environmentalists in response, claim that the game is rigged. Until governments provide the same benefits to vegan startups, plant-based products will forever be too expensive for regular consumption.

In this episode, we’ll look at Oatly and the dairy industry to see if the cards are actually as stacked against vegan companies as they say, and what a plant-based future would really look like if vegan products were treated like the essential commodity that meat and dairy are today.

1 month ago | [YT] | 124

Modern MBA

The movie industry is dominated by the “Big 5” of Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, Warner, and Walt Disney - who collectively eat up over 80% of the box office. But in this present-day era where awards are meaningless, streaming has replaced DVDs, and talent no longer moves the box office.

Hollywood has devolved into non-stop superhero movies, nostalgia, and formulaic sequels to existing franchises where the ROI is safer and risk is much lower than any real original endeavor.

In this episode, we’ll cover the rise and fall of Lionsgate - Hollywood's once-darling indie movie studio and known best for John Wick and Hunger Games.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 167

Modern MBA

We're sad to share that Ross and Melanie, the owners of Cookie Good, have lost their home in the LA fires. Their store is thankfully undamaged. You can find their official statement on their Instagram.

Ross and Melanie are some of the kindest and warmest people we've ever met. They opened up all the books, answered every question, and hid nothing about their business - going so far to break down their margins and earnings with us year by year. The unfortunate reality is that most owners that we engage with are not like this.

If you have the resources and/or enjoyed the episode, please consider buying some cookies from Cookie Good for yourself or a friend at cookiegood.com/. It would help them get back on their feet in these times - they ship nationwide direct.

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3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 2,389

Modern MBA

The best haunted attractions can gross over $1 million dollars in just 4 weeks. Dive into America's best haunted houses and work alongside their owners in the trenches to see how they innovate and scale in a cutthroat, seasonal business.

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 101

Modern MBA

You see their footage, but never their faces, voices or names. Dive into the hidden world of nightcrawlers where we ride along with Los Angeles's leading team to understand what it takes to succeed in this invisible profession.

3 months ago | [YT] | 125

Modern MBA

Credit cards in the modern day have become a game where casual consumers obsess over points, spend hours researching their next card, and fixate on getting the best rewards possible. All this gamification exists for a reason as credit cards are a lucrative business. Getting people to project their vacations, lifestyle, and social status onto these tiny pieces of plastic and metal is all part of the plan.

Even though the industry has been around since the 1950s, power has rested in the same hands. On the network side, it’s a duopoly with Visa and Mastercard. When we look at the companies that issue credit cards, the lion’s share of profits go to the Big 4 American banks.

Even fintech startups for all their talk of disruption, have not been able to crack this power structure. In this episode, we’re diving into the conspiracy and gamed economics of credit cards through the biggest players in Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

3 months ago | [YT] | 151

Modern MBA

Exotic vehicles are the ultimate status symbol for athletes, artists, and international students. Yet that exclusivity is as much a business liability as it is the foundation to their appeal.

There’s only so many people in the world with the pockets and lifestyle to afford their impracticality - and even they are not buying a new Ferrari every year. It’s a departure from the traditional auto industry where manufacturers compete to deliver the most cars.

How can these exotic manufacturers sustain such tiny volumes? How can they all survive fighting over the same pool of high-net-worth individuals? In this episode, we’re diving into the economics of luxury cars through the lens of Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley, and Maserati.

4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 103