SortiPreneur

Sequels and Startup Clones

I was just browsing Google Zeitgeist 2011, and noticed that 7 out of top 10 movie searches in Turkey were sequels.  I thought, "ah, shame on the Turks, for not rewarding originality".  Then I made my way to the list top grossing movies globally, and immediately apologized from my fellow Turks: All but two of the global list are sequels. In fact, the top seven are all sequels!

Thinking of this phenomenon reminded to a popular topic in internet ventures.  In our industry, adaptation of successful, proven business models, in new markets or verticals is often scorned.  Entrepreneurs are chastised for their lack of originality and innovation.

I think there's a key difference between sequels and internet clones.  Film is a creative industry.  Formulaic churning of unoriginal content in a creative industry may very well be a strategic business choice by content companies, and while it may make business sense, it certainly erodes value from the "creative" industry.

In my opinion, internet businesses have no obligation to be creative.  Their objective is value creation: preferably, defensible, sustainable, "thick" value.  There may be a thousand eBay clones around the world, but if each marketplace is reducing commercial friction among buyers and sellers, then each of the one thousand  clones is creating value.

Anyway, food for thought...

Here's the sappy Google Zeitgeist clip:

 

Inspired by Kaka

Milan's Brazilian superstar Kaka just rejected $700K per week in wages to stay at his club, turning down a transfer bid from Manchester City.  It is a truly inspiring move and I had to mention it.  And, it's not entirely unrelated to this blog's main themes.

I try to focus my blog on value creation.  Wrongly, value creation is solely associated with transaction value.  However, time plays a tricky role in calculating the total value of any deal.  With his decision to stay at Milan,, I think Kaka's made the value maximizing choice for his career.

Obama

I remember the pain I felt the day after the 2004 elections.  I had felt as if America, my then adopted home, had failed me.  Today, far away at my real home, I feel redeemed.  Today, Obama's election as the next POTUS will restore my faith in America.

Today is an important day.

In New Orleans

I am in New Orleans at Auren Hoffman's Dialog event.  It's an interesting and eclectic group of participants.  I am looking forward to the discussions of the next few days.

Happiness

Fabrice Grinda is becoming an expert on happiness (there I contribute to the trend :)), and here are some thoughts on what it takes to be happy:

1. Don’t equate happiness with money.
2. Don’t commute.
3. Exercise regularly.
4. Have lots of sex.
5. Devote time and effort to close relationships.
6. Pause for reflection, meditate on the good things in life (in other words be grateful).
7. Seek work that engages your skills, look to enjoy your job.
8. Give your body the sleep it needs.
9. Don’t pursue happiness for its own sake, enjoy the moment.
10. Take control of your life, set yourself achievable goals (in other words have goals).
11. Have an optimistic attitude and outlook on life.

On a more serious note, a previous post by Fabrice refers to a recent Harvard Magazine article, dealing with the issue.

Diesel Global Warming Ads

Diesel has created an ad campaign with global warming as its central theme.  I really like the photography, especially this one, set in London.

Acumen Fund Seeking Fellows

Acumen Fund is an extraordinary organization that takes a disciplined approach to create sustainable philanthropic ventures. They are seeking a new class of Acumen Fellows. The ideal candidate looks like this:

Who should apply? Only those individuals with exceptional business skills, proven international interests and a great ability to work with people. Acumen Fund Fellows have the talent to do almost anything in their careers, and the vision to see themselves making significant change to challenging social problems. Fellows have the maturity to work with independence in Africa or South Asia. They are communicators and team players. They are individuals who do not accept the status quo. They are problem-solvers and listeners. They have a sense of humor. Previous international experience helps. So does a track record that demonstrates not only innovation and imagination but also the ability to work with teams and in diverse situations. In short, we are looking to identify some of the world's next generation of leaders.

Here are the instructions for potential applicants.

Signs and Soccer

I have been meaning to blog about this article since having read Freakonomics, probably the best non-fiction I read this year.  The article deals with the curious phenomenon of why elite soccer players tend to have birthdays concentrated in the first three months of the year.  Worth a read.

Lots of Right-wing Babies

Auren has a thought provoking post on the correlation between optimism and fertility.  It immediately reminded me of the recent debate on the "Fertility Gap" between liberals and conservatives.

Can we now deduce that liberals are pessimists and conservatives are optimists?  If yes, does that not clash with the truism that one tends to get more (politically) conservative as one ages?

I suspect that it is more of a geographic bias, as I would guess there are higher birth rates in the red states.

A Disaster Makes One Think

I wonder if Katrina had hit exactly a year ago, and given us a chance to observe the Bush Administration's handling of a natural disaster of this caliber, would we have John Kerry in the White House today.

Some people may feel it's distasteful to rush into political commentary on the heels of something as horrible as Katrina, but this picture in Fred Wilson's blog made me do it!..  So fitting.

For NYers who agree with the first paragraph, today is a chance to do something in the right direction and vote for Andrew Rasiej.