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- NFR #19 - eCom takeover
NFR #19 - eCom takeover
A new eCom twist, check it
☕️ Morning Inspiration:
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
- Helen Keller
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🤖 eCommerce News:
“San Francisco-based Heyday — which buys up and then grows direct-to-consumer merchants and brands that have found initial traction, leveraging the Amazon marketplace — has raised $555 million, a Series C that it will be using to continue expanding its technology, investing in business development, and to buy up more assets. Specifically, it will also be deepening its engagement in Asia (with a seventh office in China); hiring more brand management experts and other talent; investing in more product development; and building out its marketing, supply chain, data science and M&A tech stacks.”
“Berlin-based Hive announced $34 million in new investment Wednesday as it continues developing its technology that provides direct-to-consumer brands an alternative way to manage operations. The company was founded by Oskar Ziegler, Franz Purucker and Leo von Kleist in July 2020 to offer software and operational services, including transparent cost structures, special features and sustainable packaging and shipping.”
“Oxygen, a startup that is bringing digital banking services to freelancers and micro- and small-sized businesses, is in talks to raise a new round at a valuation of over $500 million, two sources familiar with the matter told me.”
“Husband-and-wife co-founders Daniel and Brenna Stitzel are developing a way for foodies to monetize their culinary creations and closed on a round of $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to officially launch Foody.”
“While Alt’s initial focus was sports cards — a category that founder Leore Avidar knows quite well — it has recently expanded to support other types of trading cards. Poke around its exchange and you’ll already find first edition Charizards and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in the mix with rare Kobe and autographed Kaepernick cards. In time, they’re looking to expand beyond cards and into other alternative assets.”
“We last heard from Ometria, an “AI-powered” customer marketing platform allowing brands and retailers to personalize marketing messages, in 2019 when it raised $21 million in a Series B. It’s now completed a $40 million Series C round, led by InfraVia Growth, with participation from existing investors Octopus Ventures, Sonae IM, Summit Action, Adjuvo and Columbia Lake Partners, as well as several early investors, including Chairman Lance Batchelor. This brings its total funding to over $75 million”
“Linktree, the popular “link in bio” service, is launching a Shopify integration to give users a way to promote their businesses and products directly on its platform. With this integration, Linktree users can launch a Shopify storefront on their Linktree to showcase their products and services to drive more sales.”
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📈 Trends Of The Week:
Niche Adventure Sports Get Off the Bench
“The Signal: Interest in outdoor adventure sports is soaring. The climbing and fishing subreddits are closing in on 1m members each. Google searches for “hunting near me” are on track to reach their highest peak yet.
The Big Picture: Spurred on by the pandemic, consumers have been flocking to nature-based activities -- something we pointed out in our human rewilding signal.
One year on, demand for outdoor recreation has continued to explode. From apps to accessories, niche sports provide numerous opportunities. Three particularly high-growth areas:
Mountain adventures / indoor climbing
Fishing
Hunting”
Doing Less Is More Popular Than Ever
“Microsoft found that as much as 41% of the global workforce could be considering resigning, and entrepreneurs can assist those looking to do less by creating:
Apps that gamify boredom (e.g., points for not looking at your phone when walking/in the bathroom/in a waiting room)
Paid online/in-person anti-productivity communities
Minimalist “tang ping” vacations and experiences (read: “budget, but trendy”)
Tang ping audit tools and calculators, like Marie Kondo but for tasks/activities. For example, scheduling apps that help people classify tasks according to a number of different measurements such as happiness, relaxation, healthiness, kindness, and productivity”
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🛍 Marketing highlight of the week:
‘The Simpsons’ Meet Balenciaga at Paris Fashion Week"
Balenciaga: “Iconic French fashion house defined the concept of modernity and elegance through the mastery of techniques and the use of innovative fabrics” Source
During the recent 2021 Paris fashion week the brand premiered a bespoke episode of the Simpsons in which Homer gives Marge a Balenciaga Birthday gift, which smashed down the barrier between fashion brands and the entertainment industry.
I think this a perfect example of what the brands looking to stay relevant & keep the attention of the consumer amongst all the noise will have to do.
Link to the 10 minute episode here: (Video)
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❓Quotes that make you think:
“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are” Roy Disney
"Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like." Brian Chesky, Co-Founder & CEO, Airbnb
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Confucius
“If it entertains you now but will bore you someday, it's a distraction. Keep looking.” Naval Ravikant
“‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.” Tim Ferris
“$1,000,000 in the bank isn’t the fantasy. The fantasy is the lifestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows.” Tim Ferris
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.”Chinese Proverb
“An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.” Chinese Proverb
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⛓ Mental Model Of The Week:
The Mere Exposure Effect
“The mere exposure effect describes our tendency to develop preferences for things simply because we are familiar with them. For this reason, it is also known as the familiarity principle.
The mere exposure effect can result in suboptimal decision-making. Good decisions are made by evaluating all possible courses of actions based on their effectiveness, not their familiarity. When deciding between alternatives, we shouldn’t be choosing the familiar option, we should be choosing the best option. This is because sometimes the best option is not the most familiar one. Sometimes the most effective course of action is the one that is unfamiliar to us. Moreover, sticking with what we know limits our exposure to new things, ideas, and viewpoints. This limits the range of choices we are able and willing to consider when making future decisions, and narrows the perspective from which we make them.”
Link to learn more about this mental model: (Source)
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📚 Book I'm Reading:
The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing
“If there are laws of the jungle and laws of the universe, there should also be laws that marketing professionals follow. These are the 22 laws of marketing.”