retail therapy

Why do commercial spaces sit vacant?

Why do commercial spaces sit vacant? “in many cases, lowering the rent on a building will force the bank to foreclose on it.” The piece explains why a half-empty storefront can still make more sense to the owner and the […]

retail therapy

Go unsexy.

Go unsexy. “Go for those categories that are ripe for disruption that really need someone smart representing the needs of the consumer.” PrettyLitter scaled past $100M in sales with about a dozen full-time employees and only $1M raised, before selling […]

retail therapy

Walmart’s drones are coming.

Walmart’s drones are coming. “Walmart is bringing its Wing drone delivery service to the Philadelphia region.” Living in Austin and seeing Waymos drive around everywhere feels like the future. Hard to imagine delivery drones on top of that, but it’s […]

retail therapy

Stories without amplification are hobbies.

Stories without amplification are hobbies. “Stories without amplification are hobbies.” Avinash Kaushik’s take on TikTok: organic reach hits a ceiling, so you need to pay to amplify the right creator stories, at real scale. ~ learn more

retail therapy

Ford’s IPO was a circus.

Ford’s IPO was a circus. “The syndicate will include just about everybody who’s in the business and who isn’t, or hasn’t been, in jail,” a Blyth vice-president told John Brooks. In 1956, Ford’s IPO needed a 722 firm syndicate, mailed […]

retail therapy

Why airlines are always going bankrupt.

Why airlines are always going bankrupt. “Airlines are the classic example of an “empty core” industry: an industry that is structurally incapable of reaching competitive equilibrium.” The piece argues that the sector can be profitable or competitive, but not both, […]

retail therapy

Anthropic says your SPV is BS.

Anthropic says your SPV is BS. “Anthropic is calling them out *specifically*, by name, and essentially *saying* 100% of these are illegal.” A thread on what it could mean if a private company treats secondary transfers as void, and how […]

retail therapy

Consumer attitudes toward Al customer support.

Consumer attitudes toward Al customer support. “When the choice is ‘wait 15 minutes for a human or get help from AI right now,’ 44% switch to AI.” In this survey, baseline preference for AI is only 7%, but the moment […]