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Business Strategy

How companies create, capture and defend value. Real cases of competitive advantage, business models and decisions that defined entire industries.

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Strategy

Netflix: Cannibalizing Yourself Before the Disruptor Does

In 2007, Reed Hastings had 6.7M DVD subscribers and the best retail margin in America. He chose to kill his own business. The story of 4 decisions and the book Hastings read as a survival manual.

Micael Jardim18 min read
Strategy

Uber: The Race to Liquidity in Two-Sided Marketplaces

Why Uber subsidized drivers before riders, why it chose SXSW Austin as its second city, and why "liquidity" is the only metric that matters in the first 24 months of any marketplace.

Micael Jardim17 min read
Strategy

Spotify: How to Build Defensibility Against an Incumbent With 800M Credit Cards

In 2013, Apple was preparing Apple Music. Spotify had less cash, less distribution, less time. It won by applying Rumelt's isolating mechanisms: data, personalization, and freemium as a cultural moat.

Micael Jardim17 min read
Strategy

Cristiano Ronaldo: The CR7 Business Empire and the Architecture of a Personal Brand

The difference between "Cristiano Ronaldo" (the athlete) and "CR7" (the platform) is worth hundreds of millions. How Keller's brand equity pyramid, the Nike lifetime deal, and post-career vertical integration built the most profitable personal brand in sport.

Micael Jardim17 min read
Case · Africa

M-Pesa: How Kenya Built the World's Largest Mobile Money System

In 2007, Safaricom launched what looked like a simple microcredit tool. Eighteen years later, M-Pesa moves more than half of Kenya's GDP. The story of 4 strategic decisions that redefined financial inclusion.

Micael Jardim 18 min read

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