Like Netflix, but for business nerds.
Short addictive breakdowns of weirdly profitable and interesting companies.
Take their tactics. Apply them to your business or career. Scale smarter than your competitors.
Archive
Owning the Inputs Isn’t the Same as Owning a Moat
Yandex sold its Russian super-app and re-emerged as an AI infrastructure company, Nebius. Nebius has money, GPUs, and data centers. That buys speed, not a structural competitive advantage. This profile explores why input control is a weak long-term moat and what operators should learn before copying this strategy.
Why BJ’s Makes More per Dollar Than Costco but Keeps Less
BJ’s and Costco both sell bulk and memberships, but they do so in very different ways. BJ’s leans into groceries, coupons, and flexibility, while Costco runs a powerfully simple machine. The contrast explains why their margins look so different.
The Business of Broken Cell Phones
As consumer electronics, in particular cell phones, have proliferated, there is a growing industry to deal with the acquisition, repair, and selling of these products. That is what ATRenew does. They are an interesting case study when it comes to managing consumer trust while at the same time optimizing their systems and pricing algorithms.
I had a realization as I was shopping today
Today's post is going to be different. I'm going to focus on an experience I had today trying to visit two local aquarium retailers that are no longer in business. I think there's a better approach to their business model than opening a retail store. Check out my thoughts below.
How Selling Systems Changes the Economics of a Business
When selling common components, you end up fighting on price. Acuity shows what happens when you bundle hardware, software, and distribution into a system customers value more than the parts themselves. This can be applied to a lot of companies/industries.
The Cost of Leaving Your Lane
Blend built sticky software for banks, then stepped into a low-margin, people-heavy business at the top of the cycle. The result was years of cleanup, layoffs, and write-downs. There are some expensive lessons here for founders thinking about “strategic adjacencies.”