The 2017 tech year-in-review

The year is about to come to an end and I wanted to jot down a few thoughts about some of the events that I have found most significant in the tech and startup spaces over the last 12 months.

(1) Amazon goes brick and mortar

 If there is one major corporate transaction that I would highlight that would be Amazon's $14bn purchase of Whole Foods. We are all well aware of Amazon's clout and how much many of us rely on it for buying and selling stuff. This acquisition is a game changer and, even more importantly, it seems like it is not going to be the last of its kind, as in recent weeks there have been multiple rumors, in particular around French leader Carrefour, about Amazon acquiring in Europe.


As NYU Stern's professor Scott Galloway usually says, Amazon is slashing value out of traditional retailers and is likely to become the first $1tn company in the world.  Interestingly, he also points out how Amazon is a threat for competition and advocates for antitrust action that could easily to breaking the company up in different pieces.

Even in such a scenario, Amazon is a global "darling". Case in point: the beauty pageant / auction launched by Amazon among American cities for the purpose of erecting its second American HQ. An astonishing 238 proposals have been received. Game on.

(2) The crypto hype
As blockchain technology evolves, 2017 will be remembered as the year when cryptocurrencies became a new hot thing in tech. I would not dare say the became mainstream but it is obvious that when your mother asks you what bitcoin is and how she can invest in it, there is something going on. I already blogged about this some months ago.

The main cryptocurrencies (in particular bitcoin and ethereum) have had dramatic price increases (chart below; source: Coinbase), which has led to lots of market debate as to whether we are in a new bubble or if, on the other hand, bitcoin is for instance the new refuge replacing gold. There are arguments and interest of all kinds. From Jamie Dimon's - JPMorgan Chase's CEO - calling people "stupid" for buying bitcoin to the CME Group's launch of bitcoin futures a few weeks ago.

But this crypto frenzy has gone past bitcoin and ethereum. ICO is the acronym of the year and funds raised through this mechanism have exceeded $3bn. We have seen a proliferation of new ethereum-based tokens relying, in many cases, in dubious business models.

I took the time this year to learn a bit about all these topics and decided to invest (ie. gamble) some money in various cryptocurrencies to give this thing a shot. It did not go badly, although I am kind of expecting a short term correction and have therefore cashed in for the most part. In any case, in spite of diverse theories, I'd argue nobody has a real clue about how to value these new assets and how things are going to go down the road.

(3) The Uber crash

Uber has been for years the darling among startups and venture capital investors. Aggressive growth all over the world, increasing valuation round after round, huge losses relying on future market domination...and all of this relying on a "bro-kind-of culture" of work hard play hard.

In 2017 the foundations of Uber became under substantial scrutiny as a result of a very unfortunate  sexual harassment scandal which, rather than an isolated event, proved to be part of the company's culture itself. The whole thing led to CEO Travis Kalanick's resignation and to significant user backlash...and planted the seed for the #MeToo movement - which Time magazine has fairly acknowledged as "person of the year" - that exploded with the whole Harvey Weinstein "plot" .

I am very curious to see how Uber recovers under new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi after having moved into such a slippery slope. Corporate culture matters and now that culture-related scandals are reportedly bringing valuation down, executives will most likely pay more attention to it.

(4) Disney threatens Netflix

Star Wars: Episode VIII premiered in L.A. on December 9 and just a few days later in Europe. But this was not the only surprise that The Walt Disney Company had for us before the year end. On December 14 it was announced that Disney would be acquiring 21st Century Fox film and tv studios for $66bn (including debt) which, among others includes the FX and National Geographic networks, a large additional stake in Hulu and valuable franchises such as Alien and Avatar, or TV shows such as "How I met your mother". A massive move that I expect will change the playing field very significantly in the coming years.

I have thought for a long time that entertainment consumption has changed forever and that TV as we have known it is doomed. Disney has understood this and in the last year they have amassed a ton of content on top of their traditional stuff, including Marvel, the Star Wars franchise. Now it is this bold move.

In the last months there have been rumors about Netflix being a target for Disney. However, this may no longer be the case. After deciding to pull content from Netflix, all points in the direction of launching its own service, either from scratch or on the back of Hulu. If you add sports content (i.e. ESPN) to the mix, we do have a new streaming battle ahead. Watch out Netflix, Amazon.

(5) The advent of fake news

2017 has been the year when fake news have become a major threat globally. It all started at the time of the US presidential election in late 2016. As it has been proven, Russia played a a central part in creating fake news that substantially contributed to changing public perception and generating opinion in favor or Trump. Upon becoming president, Trump started a PR war accusing CNN and others of being fake news. Several examples of this unacceptable activity followed for instance with the French election and, more recently, with the pathetic allegations against Spain's democracy fabricated by the Catalonian pro-independence block (and the likes of Russia and Venezuela) supporters) in their crazy and illegal pursue of independence.

Fake news are a 21st century weapon aimed at bringing down the foundations of democracy as we know it. And it is in this instance that technology companies - in particular Facebook and Google given their size and business models - have a huge responsibility to prevent, or at the very least minimize, fake news from happening. They have the budget, the resources and, increasingly, the technology (e.g AI) to address this. I am hoping that they honor their duty.

It's been an interesting year. I am sure 2018 is going to be a ride, which I am going to have to follow even closer. More to come soon.

Happy holidays!

My summer vacation and the sharing economy

Speaking about the sharing economy is nothing new. However, when you think about it, it has not been around for such a long time even though we may feel that it is indeed the case. But the truth is that the first companies of this kind were born less than a decade ago - do you remember (some are still around) Ecomodo (2007), Crowd Rent or Share Some Sugar (2008)? Neither do I...

In short, technology has disrupted several industries by making them more efficient, in a way not seen before. This video explains in three minutes the fundamentals behind the rise of the sharing economy, being efficiency the key word at stake.  

But in addition to increased efficiency, the sharing economy as untapped multiple regulatory issues. At the end of the day, the regulator runs always behind the market - you cannot regulate something that has never existed before - and the incumbents in the market are not happy when the, in many cases, quasi-monopolies they enjoy are threatened. The legal issues that, even today, global sharing economy leaders such as Uber (drivers employee status, antitrust issues vis-a-vis taxi drivers) and Airbnb (apartment owners crackdown) are facing in key markets such as the U.S. and Europe have been notorious.

In my view, certain trends cannot be stopped, even more so when users love the service. Incumbents, adapt or get ready to die.

Spain has been, and still is today, a particularly tough market for sharing economy companies. However, little by little the latter are finding ways to overcome legal hurdles and to adapt their business models and operate. And for those of us willing to use them they are increasingly becoming irreplaceable.

A good example of how relevant they have become to me has been my latest summer vacation: Car2Go, Uber, Airbnb, Blablacar. I have used them all and they all have had a common denominator: cost savings + convenience + addressing a need. In other words EFFICIENCY:

(1) UBER: I used it to kick off my vacation in style, by getting from work to the train station. I had to make a stop on the way to pick up some stuff and, even with such a stop, I saved 30% over a regular cab (I hate it when cabs charge you an extra just because you are getting to/from a train station).

After multiple regulatory issues and fights with traditional cab drivers, UberX is finally running in Madrid. The service differs slightly from that in the U.S., as drivers need a specific license to operate (therefore, not anyone can be an Uber driver). Brand new cars in great condition, friendly drivers, increasing supply of cars and competitive pricing. Bye bye taxi!

(2) BLABLACAR: for the second phase of my summer vacation I needed to get from a town in the province of Almeria to another town in the province of Cadiz, both in Southern Spain. In the absence of my own car, I had two alternatives - bus and train - each involving a 5h+ trip and approximately €20. I took a Blablacar for €10 and within less than 2 hours I was at my destination. Plus I shared the ride with three very friendly people.

I have recently become a Blablacar user. It essentially saves me time and money on frequent routes (I still sometimes feel like traveling on my own using "traditional" means, though), and I have now realized that it may be a life saver on less common ones.

(3) AIRBNB: finding a nice and affordable place to stay at a popular spot on the second week of August - peak season in Spain - a week in advance may be impossible. You either sacrifice quality or price. Airbnb did it for me: I found a room at a great house next to a golf course and 10 minutes away from the beach at a very low price.

I have been using Airbnb for many years, mainly for leisure trips and renting the whole place for myself. However, over the last six months I have gone a step farther, using it for work travel and renting private rooms within a larger house. So far so good.

(4) CAR2GO: I used it upon my return in Madrid to get home, instead of taking a cab (or Uber). There were cars available nearby at the time and I was not in a rush to get anywhere. A very cheap and enjoyable drive in an empty Madrid to get ready to get back to work.

The new electric car-sharing platform that has been around in Madrid since last November has become a must for me. It is one third cheaper than a cab, it is convenient as you can park anywhere for free, plus you are "in control" as you drive yourself. A perfect subway match to move around the city and to prevent you from the temptation of buying your own car.

Well, it seems like these four guys are gonna stick around for quite some time. I am sure others will be joining soon too.

Learning from tech leaders I admire

Today I have read a very interesting piece that Fast Company - one of my must-read publications -  has recently produced on Uber and its CEO Travis Kalanick. It is priceless to better understand the company's ethos and driving forces. This has led me to think a bit about some of the people in tech I admire.

When it comes to leaders in the technology space, a few names come to mind quickly to the general public. A simplified classification I have come up with - Forbes, for instance, has its own ranking of "The Richest People in Tech" - would break down such leaders in three groups:

(1) those who are no longer active or in executive roles but whose influence is still undoubted today (Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates);

(2) those who have rather recently disrupted the world (and continue to do so) and have already significantly cashed out (Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, Mark Cuban); and then

(3) those whose companies are on the verge of becoming - to some extent they already are - the next big thing (Travis Kalanick, Elon Musk, Brian Chesky)

Week-in week-out I read a lot of stuff about many of them. And there is always stuff you can learn and try to apply to your more mundane existence. Some takeaways for my own sake are the following:

- long term vision vs. short term profit: I love Amazon's Jeff Bezos' approach to this and how he continues to drive innovation at Amazon by continuing to invest heavily in new services and products (Prime, Amazon Web Services, you name it...), instead of giving in to The Street's pressures for boosting the company's present stock price. At the end of the day, and as obvious as it sounds, the latter will be accomplished if things work out just fine - the last months' stock price evolution being a good example.

- challenge the statu quo: I am gonna go with Uber's Travis Kalanick. I love his strength to challenge what is widely perceived as a legally-protected dated monopoly (i.e. cab service) in pretty much all countries around the world. When customers love your service the regulators can do nothing but ultimately changing the rules of the game.

- dare to dream: nobody in my view is better at this than Elon Musk. From the hyperloop train to life in Mars; from space "tourist" travel to the perfect car. If I had to pick one guy as "the" visionary, I'd pick him. Such "visions" are sometimes broadly praised and some other times hammered. However, few people feel indifferent.

- learn, learn, learn: when Mark Zuckerberg started to take the stage as Facebook's CEO and main spokesperson he was widely criticized for his relative weakness with presentation and public speaking skills. He has invested time and effort in getting better and the results have been evident, his notorious recent presentation in Chinese being a great example. Just because one is at the top of the world does not mean that he knows it all. Be humble and never stop getting better.

- be generous: you can call tax planning...or you can call it giving back to the community. Or you can argue that it is a bit of both. But the huge contributions that the likes of Microsoft's founder Bill Gates continue to make to try to make the world a slightly better place should not be unnoticed.

These are just some ideas. There are a zillion others. But I do know that working for and/or with someone you admire and look up to makes your work more rewarding. Plus it commands an extra "something" that at the end of the day results in self-improvement, additional commitment and increased loyalty.