Author Archive for Michael Moosa

Duolingo’s Success

Posted by Michael Moosa 
· Monday, December 2nd, 2019 
· 11 Comments

Duolingo is the most popular and downloaded language learning app in the world. It has been valued at over $700 million and had revenues of over $40 million in 2018. The company is currently private, but possibly plans to go public in 2020. Duolingo was founded in Pittsburgh by Luis von Ahn, who is the CEO and also a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon.

Luis von Ahn traces his roots back to Guatemala City, where he grew up. Many people there were hungry to learn English so they could land a job in America and live a better life. Language learning software was extremely expensive at the time. Ahn recognized a need for low cost to basically free education that people who did not have a lot of money could use. This is where the inspiration for Duolingo came from. Duolingo aims to not just make learning a new language a hobby, but an everyday activity for people.

Luis von Ahn has been an entrepreneur all his life. As a young boy he figured out a way to bypass copyright laws on video games, and created his own video game exchange, where he would make copies of games and exchange them with new ones that he wanted. Later at Carnegie Mellon, Ahn developed the popular Captcha and ReCaptcha software, which he later sold to Google for tens of millions of dollars. Ahn’s new wealth allowed him the ability to pursue the creation of Duolingo.

Duolingo today has millions of users all over the world, and some schools and universities have adopted the program into their language departments. Duolingo is a great free program that helps people learn. The founder did not intend for Duolingo to be a money making service, but simply wanted people to have affordable access to education. This is inspiring because it shows that as an entrepreneur you do not need to have a business model that is only about making money in order to be successful.

11 Comments
Categories : App

Michael Dell and the PC

Posted by Michael Moosa 
· Monday, November 18th, 2019 
· 2 Comments

The late 1980s and early 1990s was a time in America full of new revolutionary technology and thriving energy from Silicon Valley. The computer boom was an interesting time in America, and while many associate Steve Jobs of Apple and Bills Gates of Microsoft as the faces of that era, one man is less talked about. Michael Dell is one of the most important entrepreneurs of the 20th century, completely shaping how the world uses and buys computers.

Early on, Dell found that he had a passion for computers, and before he even left college he was a successful entrepreneur. Dell began tinkering with PCs at college when he would buy used pcs from local retailers and rebuild and upgrade them, then sell them out of his dorm room. Almost immediately there was real interest in what Dell was doing, and he decided to start a business and drop out of school. In the first month of summer following his freshman year, Dell made $180,000 selling PCs. Based on high interest in his business, Dell concluded that PCs would soon become a hot commodity. Before Dell, computers were mostly sold and assembled through middlemen, and were far too expensive for the average household. Dell decided that instead of following this business model, he would create his own. Dell found that by buying the parts separately and assembling the computers himself, he could make a computer much cheaper than a manufacturer. He would then sell the computers at a 15% discount direct to consumers versus what established brands were charging to consumers.

This technique came to be known as the “direct model of selling,” and helped make Michael Dell a multi-billionaire. Dell officially named the business PCs Ltd. Instead of creating one computer model that would be mass produced, Dell focused on creating customized personal computers and selling them directly to consumers. In the first year of business, the company pulled in $6 million in sales. In 1987, Dell changed the name of the company to Dell Computer Corp. By the end of 1988, Dell’s sales exceeded $159 million, and Dell was rapidly becoming one of the most popular names in America. At the end 1992, Dell saw sales of over $2 billion, and was a true and solidified force in the computer industry.

As Dell grew rapidly, the entrepreneur began to face many challenges. A sharp decline in Dell stock, the departure of the CFO, and poor production of its new computers all found the company within a few years. Facing a decline in business, Dell was forced to rethink many aspects of the company. He first decided completely revamp the executives, bringing in former computer and technology designers and CEOs from big name brands to help straighten Dell Corp. Dell also decided to stick with his direct to consumer approach, a risky move in the highly competitive PC market. Within a year Dell was back to normal and enjoying healthy profits.

I admire Dell for his perseverance and creativity. Dell completely re-imagined the PC market through direct to consumer selling and customized computers. Dell faced many hardships throughout his life, and instead of backing down from challenges he innovated and fought for his business until he prevailed.

2 Comments
Categories : Uncategorized

From Entrepreneur to Billionaire Mayor

Posted by Michael Moosa 
· Monday, November 4th, 2019 
· 2 Comments

Michael Bloomberg is one of the most respected men in the State of New York and in New York City. Bloomberg was born in 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts to Polish immigrants. His father was a bookkeeper and his mother was a secretary. Bloomberg put himself through Johns Hopkins university and from Harvard in 1966 with a Masters in Business Administration. Shortly after school Bloomberg found a job with the red hot investment banking firm Salomon Brothers and quickly rose to partner in 1972. After Salomon’s demise in 1981, Michael Bloomberg received a large partner buyout in excess of $10 million.

Michael Bloomberg decided to use his newfound wealth to start his own business, and in 1981 he formed Innovative Market Systems, which he would later rename to Bloomberg. The company originally sold computer terminals to Wall Street investment banks that would provide market news and stock data. The Bloomberg Terminal was a dual screen standalone, portable, and “open,” or PC-connectible software that provided premier multimedia news, electronic communications, specialized financial computation services, financial pricing, advanced data analytics, and data for all major global securities markets. Early on, Bloomberg did not have many customers, as the Bloomberg Terminal was seen as a futuristic and ambitious concept. Nevertheless Bloomberg was able to secure a sale of its new, (not yet completed terminal), from Merrill Lynch ONLY if Bloomberg could deliver the terminals to Merrill Lynch within 6 months.

Upon delivery of the Bloomberg Terminal, Merrill Lynch was so impressed that they ordered 20 units for their traders, and agreed to purchase a 30% stake in IMS for $30 million. With fresh funding, and the expertise of Merrill Lynch elite traders, Michael Bloomberg was able to develop and improve his terminal system to appeal to the broader market. In 1984, Bloomberg brought his Terminal to the world market, but faced over 20 different competitors who were supplying similar services to top Wall Street firms. However, what set Bloomberg Terminal apart from the competition and allowed for the company to capture the market was its ability to go beyond surface level data. For example, on the Terminal, a trader could access roughly 40 links to in-depth information on any bond, which were displayed around a central chart displaying the bond’s current price. The Terminal also provided in depth and colorful data analytics that was unrivaled by any other analytics firm.

In 1986, Michael Bloomberg officially changed the firm’s name to Bloomberg L.P. Soon after changing the name and receiving much success on Wall Street, the firm experienced explosive growth. Today Bloomberg L.P. has millions of Terminal subscribers including The White House, the Vatican, Bank of England, and virtually every large financial services company in the world. Bloomberg’s news service has over 150 bureaus 73 countries worldwide. The firm boasts revenues of $10+ Billion. Michael Bloomberg’s personal net-worth is estimated around $56+ Billion.

What I learned from researching Michael Bloomberg is that you can never be too old to start a business. Bloomberg was 39 when he started IMS, and has never stopped innovating. Bloomberg never stopped developing his terminal system, and I admire him for completely transforming the way people receive and perceive their news and market data. The Bloomberg Terminal at the time revolutionized the way traders received news and market data, and helped traders make better decisions for themselves and their clients. Bloomberg had the passion and drive to change the way Americans, and the world views news and data. Bloomberg news has a large influence today on millions of Americans, and continues to influence market data by providing second by second in depth information on market news combined with data analytics.

2 Comments
Categories : News, Online Companies, Technology

Jack Ma and Alibaba

Posted by Michael Moosa 
· Sunday, October 13th, 2019 
· 1 Comment

Jack Ma: Founder of Alibaba

Jack Ma’s story of rags-to-riches as a young man from China is one of the most inspiring entrepreneurial stories there is. Ma was born in Hangzhou, China to a poor household. As a young boy Ma always wanted to learn English, because he sensed that the language would one day be important on a national level. After failing two entrance exams, Ma ultimately made it to college and graduated from Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. Ma then worked as an english teacher at a university prior to launching his entrepreneurial career.

Upon visiting America in 1995, Ma discovered the Internet and was in awe at the potential of the World Wide Web. Ma also noticed the rise in popularity of online selling by American companies, and realized that China did not have anything similar. After returning to China, Ma became inspired by what he saw in America and drew up a plan to create a Chinese e-commerce company, which he called, “Chinapage.”

After a failed attempt at growing Chinapage to the scale and power that Ma wanted, he left the company and took a job in the Chinese government. Ma made many connections in the government, but still had a grand vision for creating an e-commerce company in China, and left his government job in 1999 to start Alibaba. Ma’s goal was to create a company that would empower small and medium businesses in China to facilitate international trade without the intervention of the government. Ma was initially denied by silicon valley investors before receiving funding from both Softbank and Goldman Sachs to help fund Alibaba. After many years of Alibaba remaining non profitable, the company’s business model prevailed and the company overtook eBay as the largest e-commerce site in China.

While Alibaba faced many challenges throughout its history, the company was able to overcome those challenges to become china’s largest e-commerce site and one of the largest in the world. Alibaba faced lack of funding, slow growth, lack of an international appeal, and much more. In an interview, Ma stated: “Instead of learning from other people’s success, learn from their mistakes. Most of the people who fail share common reasons(to fail) whereas success can be attributed to various different kinds of reasons.” This is incredibly profound, as one of the most important lessons entrepreneurs are taught is that failure is ok. Ma exemplifies what it means to show perseverance, entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity. I learned from reading about Ma that failure is ok, and that you might have to fail many times before you succeed. I also learned how important it is to show perseverance, and trust in your business plan.

1 Comment
Categories : Asia, Business, eCommerce, Great Ideas, Online Companies

The History of Etsy

Posted by Michael Moosa 
· Sunday, September 29th, 2019 
· 2 Comments

Rob Kalin, Founder of Etsy

Etsy is an online marketplace where buyers and sellers can connect from all over the world to exchange unique handmade and vintage products. Etsy’s niche market attracts buyers who are looking to purchase personal handmade and vintage products that cannot be found anywhere else. Robert Kalin, Haim Schoppik, and Chris Maguire are three entrepreneurs and friends who founded Etsy in 2005. The trio wanted to build a business that catered to sellers and allowed for sellers to advertise their products as they pleased. The idea for Etsy was that a group of sellers would generate more interest from potential buyers than a single seller would selling handmade products.

The idea for Etsy was born out of Kalin’s need to find a marketplace for his wooden computer cases. Kalin was working on building a forum for woodcrafters around the same time, and saw that crafters were desperately looking for a way to sell their goods. Kalin immediately recognized the need for a marketplace that could cater to artisans and small businesses. Etsy was able to capture hundreds of thousands of sellers within months due to many different factors. Etsy mostly was able to attract feminist crafters from a growing feminist movement in the early 2000s and was also largely seen as a more seller friendly alternative to eBay. In addition, Etsy was able to appeal to the masses who were anti-establishment and anti-consumerism by selling handmade and vintage goods.

Etsy did have it’s shares of challenges in its early days. In an interview Kalin stated: “the launch actually wasn’t going quite fast enough, so Maguire and Schoppik ended up basically moving into my apartment and we spent a solid six weeks working on it day and night.” I admire Etsy’s entrepreneurs because they demonstrate work ethic and doing whatever it took to make sure Etsy had successful growth. I also like how the company took a bold stance on its views and appealed to certain niche markets as opposed to the masses. Kalin, one of Etsy’s chief founders demonstrates that determination and focus is needed to drive growth. Etsy’s founder’s have taught me that identifying issues can lead to innovation and creativity.

2 Comments
Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Art, Creating, Decor, eCommerce, Great Ideas, Vintage, Vintage Clothing

Chewy: Changing the Way We Shop for Our Pets

Posted by Michael Moosa 
· Sunday, September 15th, 2019 
· 5 Comments

In 2011, Entrepreneur Ryan Cohen was shopping at his local pet shop when he suddenly had an epiphany. The pet shop owner had always known Cohen and his pet by name, and Cohen realized that he had always trusted the owner. Why couldn’t Cohen bring the same level of care and trust he felt from his local pet shop to millions of pet-lovers? Cohen then decided, along with his friend Michael Day, to set out and create what would become the largest e-commerce pet business in the world.

After the failure of Pets.com in 2000 following the dot.com bubble, there was no real player in the online pet industry that consumers felt they could go to for convenience. Of course, companies like Amazon had come to offer millions of pet products online, but could not replicate the level of service that consumers typically experience when they go to their local pet store. Cohen realized there was a perfect opportunity to create a business where pet owners could take care of their pets without ever leaving their homes.

Chewy was founded on convenience and customer service. Cohen became obsessed with customer service, and wanted his customers to feel as if they were actually at a pet store when they went to shop online. Some ways that Chewy sets itself apart from competitors include: sending customers handwritten holiday cards, sketches of their pets, and flowers when their animals pass away. Additionally, a 24-hour customer service line promises to answer any call within six seconds. As for convenience, Chewy also revolutionized the pet industry by bringing a subscription based model to the e-commerce company, which accounts for almost two-thirds of revenue. Customers can set up instant reorders of pet foods, medicines or supplies that they use on a regular basis.

While Chewy has endured immense success unseen before in the pet industry, the company faced many challenges in its early days. In an interview with Inc. Magazine, Cohen talks about Chewy’s humble beginnings: “I couldn’t fund the business for the first few years,” Cohen says, noting that more than 100 investors passed on the opportunity. “And they were right. We were going head-to-head against Amazon, there was Pets.com–we know how that worked out–and selling 30-pound bags of pet food and shipping it across the country isn’t the highest-margin business.” Chewy also started in Florida, hundreds of miles away from Silicon valley, not the most ideal place for a startup looking to raise capital.

What inspires me most about Cohen is his perseverance and love for the pet industry. Despite the many challenges he faced when starting Chewy, Cohen continued to focus on his customers, and his business model. Cohen is among America’s richest young entrepreneurs thanks in part to Chewy’s listing on the NYSE in 2019, which valued the company at $8.7 billion. The company became so successful that is was acquired by Petsmart in 2017 in what was called “the largest e-commerce acquisition in history.” This success shows how important it is for entrepreneurs to take risk, and truly invest 100% of their time and resources in a business they want to grow. Cohen never backed down from his competitors, and proved that hard work and dedication will eventually pay off.

Sources:

https://www.inc.com/emily-canal/petsmart-acquires-chewy.html

 

5 Comments
Categories : Blog, eCommerce, Pets