CDOQ

In-Settings Marketing :)

Things you want to see tend to become more visible. 

Yesterday, I met the governor of Okinawa, Japan,  The Honorable Denny Tamaki , who is visiting the US to gain support for decreasing the US military presence in Okinawa.  Governor Tamaki, who is half American, has a really hard job. Relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma has been in works for the last five decades. The Okinawa people don't want the base to be relocated to Henoko Bay within Okinawa for various reasons. The Japanese central government says that the current Okinawa governor has to honor the agreement signed by the previous governor who agreed to the relocation. The US government says that it is an internal Japanse matter and they don't want to interfere. 76% of the Okinawa population expresses opposition to building of a new base in Henoko Bay. What is a governor to do? He is traveling in the US to convince the congressmen and political advisors to gain support for the move of the US Futenma base outside of Okinawa. Maybe to Guam.  ...

There are a few rare occasions in life when you meet someone and feel connected with them spiritually. The effect is immediate. You can feel the energy. Len, father of my dear friend, Wendy Hoffmann, was one of those people. I am fortunate to have met Len. My conversations with Len are highlights of my visits to Los Angeles. We share common interests in the arts and philosophy. I adore the paintings in his apartment. And, he is one of the few people in the world who has read Bhagavad Gita, a seminal Indian text on how to live life. Len was one of the most thoughtful and kind people I ever met.  May Len rest in peace. 

We define the Direct To Consumer (D2C) category and discuss the value chain of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies and how D2C startups are disrupting that value chain. Also, how the D2C category includes products beyond CPG. What made it possible for D2C companies to come to life and differences between US and European D2C markets.  Useful links: 1.  D2C landscape (2017) 2.  Analysis of 14 D2C Companies  Subscribe to the podcast  here . See the notes from the previous podcast  here . 

In this episode we discuss market segmentation, business model innovation, and scaling. How and why Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) focus is the best way to build sustainable businesses. We also discuss, after a startup has achieved Product Market Fit (PMF), how you scale a business and  what do you do differently in the post PMF phase.   Useful links: 1. Customer Facing Devices  2. Why do we buy things? 3. Decision making for startups Subscribe to the podcast  here . See the notes from the previous podcast  here .