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ehyeh-joshua · 4 years ago

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Understanding the coming 2021 Economic Crisis.

TL;DR - the banks and hedgefunds have been screwing the US economy over and merely repeating what happened in 2008 is a good outcome at this point, with the worst case scenario being the complete collapse of the United States Dollar, and with it the entire global economy.

It's not an accident that Bank of America and JPMorgan have both issued Bonds totalling $15 billion and $13 billion dollars - both record breaking amounts - at the same time Warren Buffet has sold 100% of his JPMorgan stock.

To explain why goes back into the history of Wall Street greed; for decades they have been targeting companies to short-sell their stock (where a share is borrowed and sold, and replaced later at the lower price, causing a profit of the sale of the original share minus the cost of the replacement share and the interest fees on the borrowed share, which can be more profitable than holding the share for the person being borrowed from) on a massive scale; the goal is to make the victim company into a worthless penny-stock, and then force the company into bankruptcy by not having enough liquidity to pay off things like toxic debt, default on issued bonds.

They will even do it to their own; this behaviour was what truly killed Lehmann Brothers and Bear Sterns - Wall Street made hundreds of millions of dollars shorting those two all the way to the ground. In total, they made well over a trillion dollars shorting businesses that went bankrupt as a result of 2008.

There are hundreds of public companies - especially brick and concrete building based companies - that are affected by this, right now, on the stock exchanges; they've been hit hard during the last year, and Wall Street is betting that they will fail between Covid and the shift to online retail.

Then the second side of the attack comes in - they will replace the old leadership with their own team and blame the previous team for all the problems, ride the short term boost in confidence, then control the collapse of the business.

And knowing that the business will go bankrupt makes it safe to do a much more risky and profitable version of short-selling - counterfeit short-selling.

The difference between the two is that in a normal short sell, there is a share that is actually borrowed from someone else in order to be sold; in a counterfeit short-sale, they get a friendly market-maker - a company with the authority to create counterfeit shares as a normal part of trading (make a million of these IOU shares, and fill them with a million real shares milliseconds later in order to create liquidity in a stock, which is hedged by the sale of calls and puts options) to create these counterfeit IOU shares.

They can do this because in the actual transaction, although the money transfers instantly the actual shares transfer on a T+2 settlement system (day of the trade, plus two days) - it's a relic of the old days when physical share certificates had to be moved around.

The IOU share is treated as a legal share - to all legal purposes, you own the share. This is not a "Contract for difference" arrangement, in which you are just betting on the stock going up; this IOU, this synthetic share, is a legal share that is meant to be replaced by the real share during the T+2 system. When it doesn't deliver, it is called an FTD; a 'Fail to deliver".

But it is a fake share - instead of there only being X shares in existence, there are now X+Y shares in existence. This devalues the stock due to increasing the supply.

This is why the news media is going on about meme-stocks - a bunch of 4Chan and Reddit "retarded apes" figured it out and YOLOed their savings on these stocks, and because they refuse to sell the stocks and have bought as many of these counterfeit shares as they can afford (and a few actual retards have bought more than they can afford) and now Wall Street has been caught counterfeiting at least 140% of the shares (the absolute minimum, based on SEC fillings for institutional ownership of GME stock, which necessarily does not include the retail investors) ever issued by GameStop. If you go through the SEC's published data on FTDs, you see that typically hundreds of thousands of shares have failed to deliver each day in the case of GameStop. Hundreds of thousands of fake shares that have been sold and are now trading on the market, in dark pools or sat in some Ape's account.

Now, GME is not going to crash the economy, and this is from someone who fully believes the hype about a million dollars a share not being a meme; there aren't nearly enough retarded apes to make it so big that the dollar will crash, although I do think that GME will temporarily cause the dollar to halve or drop to a third of present value before it all gets spent as apes pay taxes and buy Lambos and houses and continue to make the badly judged options bets that made r/WallStreetBets famous.

The real big nuke is that Wall Street has been shorting the US Treasury Bonds market. Worst case scenario is seven times more Treasury Bonds - especially the ten year Bond - are trading than were ever issued by the Federal Reserve. Best case scenario they've only managed to double the Bonds in existence.

To explain just how terrifying this is:

Imagine that you are a major bank. You need liquidity - you have customers in so many sectors that you have departments to track what departments you have covering different sectors of finance.

So, you use the Treasury Bond; they are backed by the government so they can't go wrong. You buy them when you have money, sell them when you need cash; these things trade typically in total values of trillions of dollars each day. The whole system works because Bank A borrows from Bank B to pay Bank C who owe a Bond to Bank D who need a Bond for Bank E who owe Bank A a Bond; all the time all the members stay afloat, they can play hot potato with the Bonds.

As soon as one goes down, the dominoes fall.

"But what on earth could take out a Bank?"

The Mother Of All Short Squeezes.

GameStop going boom to a thousand dollars a share might take out a single hedgefund, but the damage stops there. And back in January, $1k per share was a meme amount even to the most dedicated autistic retard ape. These days, the apes realise that the economy is as screwed as it was in 2008, and they are using GME to hedge against another global financial crash, which contributes to why they want millions - it's no longer about Lambos and YOLO options bets, but about making sure their families don't lose their homes when banks go boom and the housing market crashes because the bubble pops. Its about having support systems for people who will be left with nothing.

Back in January, apes thought that it was just Melvin Capital - a single, not particularly big hedgefund only worth ~$20 billion in Assets Under Management. Subsequently, they discovered how deep in this Citadel group are; a group of companies that is ultimately worth a trillion dollars and handles 46% of all trades on the New York Stock Exchange.

Citadel are backed by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. Bank of America is involved as part of their own short-selling position on GME.

When GME squeezes, the US stock market will crash as the Depository Trust Clearing Corporation margin call small fry like Melvin Capital, large players like Citadel and eventually major banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan. (Goldman Sachs have hedged their short position and will survive, the other two however...)

How do I know this?

Last week, the Biden administration appointed Gary Gensler - who oversaw the fallout from 2008 - to being the head of the Securities Exchange Commission; the organisation who regulates the US securities markets.

Six months ago, the Trump administration gave the US markets a respite on collateral to be deposited to be held to cover investments on margin.

The SEC has been kept up to date with the situation - once apes figured out that this was going to cause a 2008 style collapse they started sending it all in to the SEC; sure, they want Lambo and tendies, but they also want the economy to survive. They've watched The Big Short, and serveral times a day you'll see the Don't ****ing dance" quote cited because they've realised that they have discovered what Michael Burry found out back in 2005. They are terrified. I've had sleepless nights over the last month, and I'm long GME because I think it is the only hedge against the economic collapse that could be on it's way. I don't want to imagine what someone who knows about this stuff and isn't long GME is thinking.

What gives me hope is that the SEC are rapidly changing the rules - there have been three massive legal developments since I started following the situation - in order to contain the damage that can be done from GME going off. I believe that the SEC is coordinating with long institutional investors - particularly BlackRock and Fidelity - GameStop's leadership (who are pushing to turn the company around and need this dealt with so that they can move forward) crypto-currencies experts and the Federal government to ensure a situation where retail gets paid (roughly a hundred thousand Chinese people and a Chinese investment fund are long GME - the US government cannot afford to give the CCP the propaganda coup of betraying the principle of free markets, the US economy would never recover from the blow) and the system has a systemic crash this year and rebuilds much better now that a decades old criminal practice is gotten rid of and the shares system is converted to blockchain and instant settlement to make sure the factors that led to this disaster aren't repeated. I.e. I become a millionaire and retire at 28, buy the dip knowing that things are going to recover from a massive but temporary crisis.

A "normal" bad situation, where this does not completely worst nightmare wrong? I walk away from GME a billionaire, but a loaf of bread costs a million dollars.

Worst case? Well, the bit before Jesus' return in glorious victory is seven years of hell on earth, under an economy where no one can buy or sell without the beasts involvement. How you get that is you arrange a global financial crisis to bankrupt nations all over the world and make your centralised one world economy look like the saviour.

Whatever you do, don't rush to pull money out the banks - that only screws everything over guaranteed because if everyone has a run on the banks you immediately get a short squeeze on the Treasury Bonds, which nukes everything. If everyone pretends that life goes on as normal and the Fed gets away with giving Treasury Bonds to those who need them to complete their chains then only GME goes boom, and the economy survives, and therefore hundreds of thousands of people will not lose their jobs and houses. But they need GME to go boom so that they can use it as a cover story so that they can get away with covering up the Treasury Bonds problem.

As always, none of this is financial advice, and while I'm not a cat, I'm also not a financial advisor, and this is written by a guy who has 19 tickets on rocket built by self-proclaimed retarded apes knowing he only knows of one actual physicist among them, having YOLOed his savings on hope that his affordable investment won't lose value even in the event of 10,000% inflation.

This is going to be my last post on the subject, because frankly, I'm scared. I've seen the Cthulhuoid monster lurking in the depths, and I hope and pray I'm wrong.

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smokeybrand · 5 years ago

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Bad Manager

Story time. All this talk of Karens has got me reminiscing about my time in retail. Way back in the wild of my youth, before my chick and i really started getting heavy into out relationship and she mellowed me out, I was a manager at the most ghetto Gamestop in the greater Sacramento area. I actually got the job like i got most things back then; After an argument over Dragon Ball Z. That’s actually how i met my chick, and argument over DBZ, but i digress. I had a thirty minute debate with the assistant manager at the time and he immediately gave me an interview with the store manager. This is, of course, before i found out how sh*tty Gamestop corporate is in real life. In about a year, I worked my way up from seasonal part-time, all the way to Store Manager and i have a Karen story for each phase of my brief career.

Seasonal Part-Time: When you’re a part timer at the ‘Stop, you are basically house b*tch. They make you do the most mundane bullsh*t. Clean the bathrooms, take out the garbage, vacuum the stores, etc. B*tch sh*t. The most mundane task you have, though, is f*cking alphabetizing the goddamn game racks. I HATED that sh*t. it was tedious and f*cking stupid. Once, it took me my entire four hour shift just to properly arrange the PS2 rack. Sh*t was whack, son!

So i finish this sh*t early one day, probably about an hour and a half before i’m off, and this Karen comes in with her kid. He wants a PS2 game. Fine. This little asshole f*cks up the entire system because he can’t find his game. I kept telling the little sh*t that everything was in alphabetical order but he ain’t care. He’s an idiot. After about ten minutes of watching this bundle of cooties and Capri Sun ruin my hard work, i ask him if he knows what “Alphabetize” means and his mom blows up! She accuses me of being cruel and how i had no right to chastise her child and that she would have my job.Obviously, this dumb b*tch escalated the scenario and i had to get my manager. She actually demanded a free game because i asked if her kid understood the order of his ABCs.

Full-Time: Once you graduate to full-time, you get to be looked upon like you are a responsible individual and not house b*tch anymore. There’s usually new part-timers for that. I became third key, a person who’s basically management but gets no management pay, after the ASM who hired me, left. Everyone moved up a rank after that. I started getting opening shifts and sh*t. This is before i was disillusioned with work life and still applied myself for faceless conglomerate who see you as expendable numbers. Don’t worry, we’ll get there soon. Since i’m Third Key, i get opening shifts now. Still don’t do payroll or take corporate calls, but i do everything else management does. As such, thee are days when it’s just me in the store. I’m the proxy manager because the two others above me make too much hourly and it’s cheaper for me to act as management instead of paying actual management.

It’s, like, six minutes before the store closes. My pat-timer is winding down their ABCing busy work because corporate decreed it so. I’m closing out one o the registers and setting the alarm on the safe to open because that sh*t takes, like, 30 minutes and my ass wants to go home ASAP. We are breezing, man, and about to be out this b*tch in record time. NOPE! Six minutes, man. I remember very distinctly because i glanced at the little clock on the register. Six minutes. This wild Karen rushes my door with her four goddamn crotch spawns six goddamn minutes before lock up! They destroy my store. My part-timer and eye can only watch in dismay. all that work. all that prep. all of it, mute. The f*cked up thing? This b*tch ain’t even buy nothing. We were located next to a Togos.She had the audacity to walk up and small talk at me about how they were waiting for their sandwiches to finish and just needed to kill time.

I tell her that we were closing and she told me, and i quote, “Not with me and my kids in the store.” 9 rolls around and tell her we have to lock the doors and she’s like, “Go ahead.” I explain to her that i’m not legally allowed to lock up the store with customers on the premises. She looks me dead in the eyes and says, “ Well i guess you’re gonna get some OT tonight then, right?” I’ll never forget that sh*t. That was the first time i felt Retail Rage. I wanted to murder this b*tch. Straight up keelhaul this hoe and set her little monsters on fire. I maintained my composure and after about forty extra minutes, they left. I ended up finishing the close by myself because i had to sen the part-timer home. that’s ABCs, Shelving, closing registers, re-timing the safe, etc. I didn’t get ot of that store until about 11 pm. And had a morning shift at 7. All because a Karen turned my store into a waiting room/playground six minutes before close.

Assistant Manager: My Store Manager got into some sh*t with corporate and they fired him on straight BS. Probably time card fraud, i dunno. I do know he had been with the company for eleven years so f*ck em. I got bumped up to Second Key. Got a little it of a raise. Made schedules now, officially, even though i’d been doing that sh*t since i was Third Key. It’s fine. I can do refunds now and give discounts. I’m “The Manager” and, boy, do you hear about it!

Gamestop is about money. They never want to lose a sale. As such, we have a POS system that let’s you look up merchandise throughout the district. If we don’t have something, we can send you to another store that does. That’s how this story starts. I get a call from another store asking about a game. We have one copy left. They tell me to hold it because someone is coming to get it. Fine. Karen comes in a backpack full of trade-in to pay for this game and get a few extra credits for a birthday gift. Whatever. Back then, we had to test every game that came i. This b*tch had, like, 30. Fine. She also had an old, ratty, PS1. The rectangle ones. That was going to be an argument because she was only getting, like, four dollars for it. She kept gloating about how she got it at launch when she was young and what not. Motherf*cker was as old as Jesus. Also, it rattled. We found out later that was because there was dead roaches in it but that’s a story for another day.

I finish this ridiculous trade in; Tested all the games, made sure they read on both PS2 and PSOne. a few were too scratched to read so i had to run them through the disc cleaner and they ended up being viable after. I trade all of this sh*t in, and the b*tch gets upset when i tell her she’s walking out with less than a hundred in credit and even less than that in cash. She blows up on me, demands to see my manager. I tell her i am the manger, and she just starts going in. I immediately disengage and become visibly indifferent because, if i don’t, i would have beat that b*tch up in front of her children. Like, straight up curb stomp cunts and sh*t. She berates me for being an hourly employee and how she makes more than i do the entire year in a week and all this other sh*t. She just kept getting more and more upset at the fact that i was indifferent to her bullsh*t. B*tch even drops the n*gga wit hte hard “R” a few times, like i didn’t notice. I maintain through all of this racist disrespect. That ain’t what she expected and it definitely wasn’t the reaction she wanted. She demands the corporate number, takes all her games, leaves the Sony RoachMotel, and storms out. I get written up a week later for being an asshole to the customer. I literally just stood there while she turned bright red racist hulk, all over my person, but i’m in the wrong. Okay, Karen.

Bad Manager: My Senior ASM quits because Gamestop is on that bullsh*t so now i’m big man on campus. My DM is forced to promote me to acting Store Manager. Basically, i’m responsible for everything the actual manager does, but i don’t get paid what the manager i pad. It’s that Third Key bullsh*t but, you know, not. By now, it’s been about six months and i do not care. Full on disillusioned and well on my way to outright militant. That’s what Retail does to you. It slowly kills your joy and makes you hate people. I already hated people but this? This sh*t just effortlessly validated why. So it’s me and the other ASM in the store. I hire some regular to round out the staff an change literally everything about the store.

First thing to go was that whack ass dress code. I believe you do your best work when you’re comfortable so it had to go. The next thing i nixed was the ABCs. That sh*t was stupid and a waste of time. As long as the helves were neat, we were good. The next thing i did was spread the reserve and sh*t around. I held a meeting and everyone agreed that was best for the entire store. Numbers were met and no one straggled. Everyone got to keep their jobs and i didn’t have to cut hours. The last major change i instituted was letting staff play games, in store, during downtime. If everything was legit int the store and it was slow, go ahead, pop one of the used titles in a test station, and have a blast. I don’t care. Just don’t be a dick to customers because i don’t want to get hassled. I don’t want you to get hassled. No one wants t get hassled. The time that i was in charge of that store, our numbers were spectacular and we killed even the richest stores in the district. It’s dope how well a team works together when they have high morale ya dig.

One day, i get a call from my new Third key. He and his part timer, his wife at the time, were opening. I wasn’t scheduled to come in that day but he was hysterical. Apparently, this Karen didn’t like her trade in quote and called the f*cking cops. Sac PD was in my store, intimidating the sh*t out of my staff, all because this b*tch thought she deserved more than 20 dollar for her used Gamecube or some sh*t. I walk my ass all the way to work, on my day off, and diffuse the situation with the cops. I explain that prices are set by corporate and there was nothing we could do about the trade in value. I then ask way the f*ck they were even giving validity to this crazy b*tches allegations when she freely admits nothing of hers was actually stolen. Cops didn’t like my questioning their motives and hassled us for another thirty minutes but whatever. They left eventually. I left. The Karen left. The it came back.

This b*tch was in my store for a total of three f*cking hours, trying to sabotage every transaction throughout my Third Key’s shift. Eventually, he clocked out and left. His wife stayed for a few extra hours and this Karen b*tch took the opportunity to just assault her with insults. My part-timer maintained a strong facade. I was so proud of her, man. A lot of the sh*t said was very cruel personal attacks about my part timer’s heritage and status. She was a Ukranian refugee, came over to escape Russian aggression. Gorgeous chick, for real. Very funny. Very affable. Bluest eyes i’ve ever seen on a person. They were unnervingly clear and mad piercing. She was also dummy thicc. Like, she had that super stronk Snow Bunny charm. Let’s just say i made sure to schedule her for a full shift when the Madden and 2K reserves went live.

Anyway, the actual scheduled ASM just hid in the back room while this assault was occurring because he was weenie. Sweet kid, total puss. Karen was going in on how immigrants were the worst and that since she couldn’t understand my part timer’s accent she didn’t deserve to be in the country or have this job. She effectively called her a slut, several times, by insinuating she probably “F*ck your big black boss for this job.” My part timer endured for hours. When she took her break, she immediately called me in tears. She filled me in on the situation. I couldn’t make it back to my store fast enough, man. i blew up on this Karen. I called her out on her elitist bullsh*t, her classist ignorance, and the fact that we didn’t need her stupid f*cking business. I attacked her appearance. infantilized her entire lifestyle. I told her she was a depleted cum-dumpster jealous that my part timer was so vibrant with because her genuine shine reminded the Karen of everything you lost by being a suburban cliche. A middle class punchline. I banned her for being a toxic b*tch. She left my store in gross, sobbing, tears. No one f*cks with my crew like that. I got written up again.

The next day, i was on shift and the Karen bought her husband in to “speak” with me. Part timer and i opened and this big ass, corn-fed, white boy, walks in, bobbing his head around like a rooster. I’m half-sleep behind the register because insomnia, so i let my part timer do her thing. I’m over yonder, full Sith mode, Decepticon hoodie full cowl and bad attitude, wishing a motherf*cker would. And a motherf*cker did. This motherf*cker is right red, trying to assail my part timer, again, just like his wife did before.Speaking of Karen, she’s out front, pacing the entrance like a shark, expecting the fireworks her beau was supposed to bring. Not today, Satan. My part timer was standing her ground, using a lot of firm language, but this motherf*cker is big and i start seeing him using that size to intimidate.

I, immediately, physically step between dude and my part timer. He’s about three inches taller than i am so he presses my gangster. I pull back my hood, and tell him i’m the manager of the store but i can clock out and just be a n*gga in the street if he wanted the Smoke. He didn’t want the Smoke. I called him a b*tch to his face, his wife a cock-gobbling hoe, and his mother a slut. He still did not want the Smoke. He bailed. His wife started gassing on him for being a b*tch as they both shrunk away like the cowards they really were. Never saw either one after that. I didn’t get written up for that though. No f*cks given. Bad Manager life. Gang gang, n*gga.

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thebestbusinesspodcast · 4 years ago

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How to Sell Your Business: 17 Types of Billion and Million Dollar Exits with Steph Sharp

Have you ever thought to sell your business and start anew? It’s challenging to know how to sell your business at a good price and deal. Studies have shown that business owners have a success rate of 5% in selling their businesses! It’s not just about the exit; you need to have a good strategy.

In this episode, Steph Sharp joins us to talk about how exits start with knowing how your business works. An attractive business can operate and thrive without its owner. Steph also shares exit strategies and common pitfalls you might encounter while you try to sell your business.

If you want to learn how to exit your business, then this episode is for you!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

Understand the ways you can make your business transferable and scalable.

Learn how to make your business attractive through the right pricing, business model, terms, and documentation.

Discover the different ways you can exit and sell your business.

Resources

Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosaki

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Built To Last by Jim Collins

Follow Steph’s work on Millionaire Exits and Facebook.

You can also reach Steph through her email [email protected].

Episode Highlights

Knowing Your Business Inside and Out

Steph shares her story of starting with small businesses, investment banking and capital markets, and eventually negotiations.

There are five types of businesses: charity, hobby, job, basic business, and transferable business.

Understanding your type of business makes it easier to know what exit strategies to employ.

For example, most basic businesses are profitable. However, people cannot come in and do your work.

Scalability and transferability are important aspects of exiting a business. Hear Steph’s in-depth discussion in the full episode!

There Is Always A Way Out

We don’t need to be trapped in a business for life. There is always an opportunity to create a way out.

Step back and ask yourself: why do people buy a business?

Most people don’t buy a business because it can make money. People buy a business because they believe it can make money.

Knowing this, you need to show how your business drives profits.

Make sure that your effective systems can be repeated and transferred to another.

What Are You Transferring?

Legal documents and paperwork are not the end-all and be-all to sell a business.

Transferring a business is about making sure it does not fall apart after getting sold.

The research shows that business owners finance as much as 80% of their businesses.

Financing, Earnout, and Capital Markets

Earnouts occur when owners get paid for their exit over time. This deal can create the problem of a buyer backing out a year into the contract.

When you sell your business to people who don’t know how to run it, you may eventually have to come back to take over again.

Seller financing is also a popular option for selling businesses.

Capital markets are often in the hunt for good business deals.

Listen to the full episode to get a clearer understanding of how to market your business.

Common Pitfalls of Business Exits

Steph shares that one of the biggest mistakes when you sell your business is not having an adequate financial record.

Proper business documentation is also necessary. This document should be the operating manual which details costs, clients, and the like.

When owners think of selling their business, they're often at a point where the business is deteriorating.

You need to make sure your business is attractive to potential buyers.

Typically, a business is worth about a third to half of what the owner thinks.

Profit Is Not Cash Flow

Remember that profit is affected by depreciation and other non-cash variables.

On the other hand, cash flow is how the buyer will pay off the loan for buying the business.

You need to be able to answer how many years they will be paying for the loan before they start earning money.

Disconnect Between Owner and Business

A lot of owners think they have employees, coaches, or contractors who will buy their business. This is not the case.

People will often choose to start their business rather than buying one.

This is also applicable to employees: how do you make sure your employees stay and don’t start their own thing?

Rather than just sell your business, you also need to think about how you want your lifestyle to change after the exit.

Exit Strategies

Business owners often don’t have exit plans for their business.

Exit strategies are crucial for emergencies. If you are the focal point, what happens when something happens to you?

Ultimately, you need to craft a business that can continue to work and thrive without you.

One exit strategy is going public. This causes a significant boost to your business value.

Tune in to the full episode to hear more about exit strategies!

Expected Timeline of An Exit

Steph shares that you can expect 3-4 months to pinpoint what you’re selling exactly.

Spend some time structuring your selling process.

Get attention and attract buyers quickly.

Steph’s 100% sell rate is due to the attention to correct pricing, terms and expectations, and good business documentation.

What the Data Shows

Financial statements often break down costs for labour, fuel, operation, and others.

You need to make sure your statements can show how the business operates clearly.

Too much information and detail can clutter your documentation and financial statements.

When selling, you need to be able to pinpoint patterns and trends.

It’s Not the End, It’s A Transformation

People often put off selling due to the fear of letting go of something integral to their identity.

Look at exits as an opportunity for new growth, business, and life instead!

5 Powerful Quotes

“We have no condemned people. There’s always a way out — we just have to create it. . . It used to be that we could get trapped. But with the internet, with technology today, there are so many ways out now.”

“If you’re not ready for that exit, if you don’t have a business that’s- if you don’t know how you’re going to transfer that out. . . You’ll wake up in three and a half years and you’ll look around and you go, ‘Oh my gosh, look at all these businesses for sale. How am I gonna sell mine?’”

“Sometimes it’s simply a matter of sitting down with them and clarifying what their business model really is. What drives the profitability, how do they actually do the pricing? Just because it’s in someone’s head, doesn’t mean it’s going to take you months to get it out of their head.”

“People, when they start thinking about selling, it’s often they’ve thought about it, and they leave it too long.”

“People get told they should go down a certain pathway — like franchising, like an IPO, whatever. And it doesn’t suit them personally; it’s not aligned with who they are and how they want to spend their business life.”

About Steph

Steph Sharp has been involved in $20 billion deals and worked with over 400 clients in every industry. Her experience spans professional and health services, utilities, ferry operations, technology, retail food processing, and finance.

Steph’s finance career specialized, particularly in exit transactions. She has worked with Goldman Sachs Bank of America, CNBC, corporations, individuals, private equity funds, and venture capitalists. Over the last 20 years, she has trained hundreds of entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals worldwide to successfully exit their businesses.

Interested in Steph’s work? You can follow her on Millionaire Exits and Facebook.

You can reach Steph through her email [email protected].

Enjoy the Podcast?

If this podcast inspired you to know more about how you can become a successful entrepreneur, then hit subscribe and share it with your friends.

Rate us! We would love to hear from you. Leave us a review and help us reach more people aspiring to become successful entrepreneurs.

For updates and more episodes, visit our website. Subscribe and tune in on Apple Podcast. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram.

P.S.

Do you already have a successful business that is up and running, able to pay its bills with profit left over?

Are you interested in growing your business, automating or streamlining things, and staying one step ahead of your competition?

📨 If your answer is YES to all three questions, visit https://www.members.bestbusinesscoach.ca/problems-we-fix/ to see if we can fix what's holding you back.

Check out this episode!

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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

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Everything you need to know about how a Reddit group blew up GameStop's stock

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Everything you need to know about how a Reddit group blew up GameStop's stock

Who’s the monster and who’s the hero, in this case, depends entirely on your perspective.

We’re now, potentially, at the climax of this movie: GameStop is up more than 1,700% since the start of January. Some trading platforms, including TD Ameritrade and Robinhood, are restricting trades on AMC and GameStop. The SEC and the White House on Wednesday both said they were monitoring the situation.

Here’s the background you need to know.

Why GameStop?

The popular Reddit page WallStreetBets is fond of targeting short-sellers. If you’ve ever played craps, these are the guys betting against the table, and their tactics, while often lucrative, have burnished their reputation as bloodsuckers and other, unpublishable, names. (More on that later.)

It’s not hard to understand why someone would short GameStop, however. The company is expected to lose money this year and next. Sales growth is sluggish because gamers no longer need to go to the mall to buy games or consoles. That said, some investors have argued that GameStop was seriously undervalued, especially when video games have become staples of the stay-at-home pandemic era.

The GameStop stock surge began for a legitimate reason: The company announced on January 11 it had added three new directors to its board, including Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen. Investors liked that Cohen brought digital experience to the table, something the largely brick-and-mortar GameStop desperately needs, as video games go digital and malls continue their unending slump into irrelevance.

GameStop’s stock rose a little less than 13% that day. But this wasn’t a normal, momentary stock surge. Two days later, it rose 57%. Then 27%. The next week, it surged 10% twice and 51% another day. This week, it rose another 18% then 93% and more than doubled today.

The reason is two-fold, both of which are far removed from anything related to the company’s fundamental strength: Investors following the Reddit group bought a ton of GameStop options, and short-sellers had to buy shares to cover their losing bids.

On Wednesday, while all three major stock indexes tumbled, GameStop finished up a mind-boggling 134%.

For perspective: One year ago, a single share cost about $4. It’s now $200.

Not just GameStop

A similar story was playing out with shares of AMC, the movie theater chain that’s been devastated by the pandemic.

Shares of the new WSB plaything were up more than 200% Wednesday after members of the Reddit board and investors on Robinhood were touting the stock. The hashtag #SaveAMC was trending on Twitter.

Both AMC and GameStop spiked so rapidly Wednesday they triggered automatic halts designed to protect against volatility.

Why is this happening now?

The way people trade stocks has been upended by the rise of no-fee apps like Robinhood. That technology has democratized investing, giving armchair investors far removed from traditional banks free access to sophisticated trading instruments, like options.

You could pay an analyst to tell you what stocks to buy, or you could create a Reddit account and follow forums like WallStreetBets. Millions of young people are opting for the latter, which is partly why the sudden surges in GameStop and AMC have caught Wall Street veterans by surprise.

What’s an option?

Options are bets investors place on a stock, allowing them to buy (a “call” option) or sell (a “put” option) at a particular price. That allows people to wager on whether a stock will rise or fall.

Investors can place relatively inexpensive options bets and sell those options as they rise in value when the stock price gets closer to their wager. Although buying and selling options isn’t the same as buying and selling stocks, big options volumes can drive a stock up or down, typically because options traders buy or sell the stock itself as a hedge.

In the case of GameStop and other stocks targeted by WSB, traders keep buying options, forcing the investors selling those options to hedge their bets by buying up GameStop stock.

What’s a short?

Short-sellers are investors who bet that a stock is going to fall. They borrow shares to sell on the market with the promise to buy back those shares at a later date. If they win the bet, they sold high and bought low, and they walk away with money in the bank.

If they lose the bet, that’s called a short-squeeze, and they often hedge their losses by buying more shares of the company they bet against.

Short interest in GameStop surged toward the end of the year, as investors bet against the company’s earnings potential. With a mega short-squeeze taking place, short-sellers began to hedge their bets, buying more stock to make up for their mounting losses.

Fueling the fire

WallStreetBets, which has more than 2 million followers, is littered with posts cheering the stock gains and no small amount of righteous indignation.

“What I think is happening is that you guys are making such an impact that these fat cats are worried that they have to get up and put in work to earn a living,” a moderator in the group posted this week.”That fuzzy sensation you are feeling is called RESPECT and it is well earned. Wall Street no longer dismisses your presence anymore.”

Elon Musk appeared to join the pile-on Tuesday with a single-word tweet — “Gamestonk!!” — that linked to WallStreetBets. Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya dipped his toe in the frenzy, buying call options on Tuesday but closing his position Wednesday, he told CNBC. Palihapitiya said he would donate his profits to charity and defended the retail-investing phenomenon playing out on Reddit.

“Instead of having ‘idea dinners’ or quiet whispered conversations amongst hedge funds in the Hamptons, these kids have the courage to do it transparently in a forum,” he said. “What it proves is this retail [investor] phenomenon is here to stay.”

Isn’t this a bubble?

It sure is.

There’s an argument that GameStop was undervalued, but hardly anyone believes that GameStop, BlackBerry, Macy’s, AMC, or any of the other companies that WSB is promoting have fundamentals to support these surging stock prices. At some point, reality has to set in.

But that’s the problem with bubbles — get out too early, and you lose at a chance to cash out on top. So GameStop keeps surging … until it won’t anymore.

The GameStop saga is a battle of new school vs. old school, amateur vs. professional, rebels vs. the establishment.

At the moment, the kids are winning. But, like all bubbles, this one’s going to burst at some point.

— Appradab Business’ David Goldman and Paul R. La Monica contributed to this report.

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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Everything you need to know about how a Reddit group blew up GameStop's stock Who’s the monster and who’s the hero, in this case, depends entirely on your perspective. We’re now, potentially, at the climax of this movie: GameStop is up more than 1,700% since the start of January. Some trading platforms, including TD Ameritrade and Robinhood, are restricting trades on AMC and GameStop. The SEC and the White House on Wednesday both said they were monitoring the situation. Here’s the background you need to know. Why GameStop? The popular Reddit page WallStreetBets is fond of targeting short-sellers. If you’ve ever played craps, these are the guys betting against the table, and their tactics, while often lucrative, have burnished their reputation as bloodsuckers and other, unpublishable, names. (More on that later.) It’s not hard to understand why someone would short GameStop, however. The company is expected to lose money this year and next. Sales growth is sluggish because gamers no longer need to go to the mall to buy games or consoles. That said, some investors have argued that GameStop was seriously undervalued, especially when video games have become staples of the stay-at-home pandemic era. The GameStop stock surge began for a legitimate reason: The company announced on January 11 it had added three new directors to its board, including Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen. Investors liked that Cohen brought digital experience to the table, something the largely brick-and-mortar GameStop desperately needs, as video games go digital and malls continue their unending slump into irrelevance. GameStop’s stock rose a little less than 13% that day. But this wasn’t a normal, momentary stock surge. Two days later, it rose 57%. Then 27%. The next week, it surged 10% twice and 51% another day. This week, it rose another 18% then 93% and more than doubled today. The reason is two-fold, both of which are far removed from anything related to the company’s fundamental strength: Investors following the Reddit group bought a ton of GameStop options, and short-sellers had to buy shares to cover their losing bids. On Wednesday, while all three major stock indexes tumbled, GameStop finished up a mind-boggling 134%. For perspective: One year ago, a single share cost about $4. It’s now $200. Not just GameStop A similar story was playing out with shares of AMC, the movie theater chain that’s been devastated by the pandemic. Shares of the new WSB plaything were up more than 200% Wednesday after members of the Reddit board and investors on Robinhood were touting the stock. The hashtag #SaveAMC was trending on Twitter. Both AMC and GameStop spiked so rapidly Wednesday they triggered automatic halts designed to protect against volatility. Why is this happening now? The way people trade stocks has been upended by the rise of no-fee apps like Robinhood. That technology has democratized investing, giving armchair investors far removed from traditional banks free access to sophisticated trading instruments, like options. You could pay an analyst to tell you what stocks to buy, or you could create a Reddit account and follow forums like WallStreetBets. Millions of young people are opting for the latter, which is partly why the sudden surges in GameStop and AMC have caught Wall Street veterans by surprise. What’s an option? Options are bets investors place on a stock, allowing them to buy (a “call” option) or sell (a “put” option) at a particular price. That allows people to wager on whether a stock will rise or fall. Investors can place relatively inexpensive options bets and sell those options as they rise in value when the stock price gets closer to their wager. Although buying and selling options isn’t the same as buying and selling stocks, big options volumes can drive a stock up or down, typically because options traders buy or sell the stock itself as a hedge. In the case of GameStop and other stocks targeted by WSB, traders keep buying options, forcing the investors selling those options to hedge their bets by buying up GameStop stock. What’s a short? Short-sellers are investors who bet that a stock is going to fall. They borrow shares to sell on the market with the promise to buy back those shares at a later date. If they win the bet, they sold high and bought low, and they walk away with money in the bank. If they lose the bet, that’s called a short-squeeze, and they often hedge their losses by buying more shares of the company they bet against. Short interest in GameStop surged toward the end of the year, as investors bet against the company’s earnings potential. With a mega short-squeeze taking place, short-sellers began to hedge their bets, buying more stock to make up for their mounting losses. Fueling the fire WallStreetBets, which has more than 2 million followers, is littered with posts cheering the stock gains and no small amount of righteous indignation. “What I think is happening is that you guys are making such an impact that these fat cats are worried that they have to get up and put in work to earn a living,” a moderator in the group posted this week.”That fuzzy sensation you are feeling is called RESPECT and it is well earned. Wall Street no longer dismisses your presence anymore.” Elon Musk appeared to join the pile-on Tuesday with a single-word tweet — “Gamestonk!!” — that linked to WallStreetBets. Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya dipped his toe in the frenzy, buying call options on Tuesday but closing his position Wednesday, he told CNBC. Palihapitiya said he would donate his profits to charity and defended the retail-investing phenomenon playing out on Reddit. “Instead of having ‘idea dinners’ or quiet whispered conversations amongst hedge funds in the Hamptons, these kids have the courage to do it transparently in a forum,” he said. “What it proves is this retail [investor] phenomenon is here to stay.” Isn’t this a bubble? It sure is. There’s an argument that GameStop was undervalued, but hardly anyone believes that GameStop, BlackBerry, Macy’s, AMC, or any of the other companies that WSB is promoting have fundamentals to support these surging stock prices. At some point, reality has to set in. But that’s the problem with bubbles — get out too early, and you lose at a chance to cash out on top. So GameStop keeps surging … until it won’t anymore. The GameStop saga is a battle of new school vs. old school, amateur vs. professional, rebels vs. the establishment. At the moment, the kids are winning. But, like all bubbles, this one’s going to burst at some point. — CNN Business’ David Goldman and Paul R. La Monica contributed to this report. Source link Orbem News #blew #GameStop'sstockissoaring #GameStops #group #investing #Reddit #stock #thankstoReddit.Here'swhy-CNN

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riichardwilson · 5 years ago

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How Entrepreneurs Can Win During A Recession

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The COVID-19 pandemic ended a record 11-year bull run of the U.S. stock market. This, coupled with an oil price crash instigated by Saudi Arabia and Russia, has all the signs of an imminent global recession. Depending on who you trust with your forecasts, most experts are predicting a global contraction that can last anywhere between 6 months up to 2 years.

The word ‘recession’ strikes fear in the hearts of startups and established businesses alike—and for good reason. Long-running studies from dozens of countries indicate that global recessions drive a doubling in bankruptcy and unemployment rates, as well as a sharp decrease in the number of new businesses formed. On the other hand, new evidence is now showing that—over the longer run—recessions do not impact the eventual success of a business. In a study by the Kauffman foundation, 8,464 U.S. companies were analysed against a backdrop of nine recessions, and found that their propensity to do an initial public offering was not impacted by economic contractions. In fact, powerhouse tech and non-tech firms such as Apple, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Walt Disney and Krispy Kreme can trace their origins back to various recessions.

As part of my consulting practice, I work closely with entrepreneurs, CEOs, and PE and VC boards over a wide range of corporate strategy and organizational change topics. These days, their number one concern is about making the right strategic calls now so as to better navigate the upcoming recession and come out of the other end poised for growth. To ensure that there was enough scientific rigour in my feedback to them, I conducted extensive research literature review, analysed dozens of companies that bounced back successfully from the 2008 financial crisis, and interviewed several entrepreneurs on how they are adapting to these changing times successfully.

Here are the four insights that stood out the most:

1. One strategy does not fit all, especially for smaller firms

Given the current news cycle, it is easy to imagine that a recession hits all businesses equally, resulting in similar levels of underperformance. Studies show that this assumption could not be further from the truth. Some businesses do suffer from a sales downturn thanks to a recession, while others end up with a sharp increase in sales. Furthermore, the popular doctrine of small businesses being especially vulnerable to recessions is open for debate as well. What small businesses lack in resources and cash, they more than make up for in terms of speed and flexibility. We can be sure of one thing: Irrespective of size, your company’s ability to adapt quickly is your biggest defence against a recession.

Therefore, make sure you are fully aware of the forces that your business will be exposed to during this time and then pick your battles strategically. You can do so by tracking the health of your biggest customers and their changing needs, investigating the stability and relevance of your existing supplier base as well as deepening your understanding of your company’s competitive advantage in this new world order. Work with an independent sounding board—say, an advisor or a mentor—who can analyse and co-create your new strategy with you. The last thing you want to do is to make big decisions with a lens of either excessive pessimism or optimism without checks and balances for either in place.

2. Aim for transformational jumps in productivity—not just cutting costs

Recessions are usually triggers for large-scale layoffs and cost cutting, irrespective of sectors and company sizes. In fact, as of now, the US is tracking towards historic unemployment levels in the face of the COVID-19 lockdown. Ironically, in research done on recessions by HBS, it becomes quite clear that following a single-minded, “cost cut only” strategy is a recipe for disaster. This is because such an approach assumes that talent, technology, and opportunity would be easily available for a company once the recession is over. This is usually never the case, and a company that only follows a cost-cutting strategy will struggle to regain capabilities and capacity when the economy returns to normal. That’s why performance never bounces back to pre-recession levels.

It is much better to gear up your organization for a sharp jump in productivity during this lull period. So how do you begin? Start off with the customer. Which of your current customer-facing operations can be simplified or digitized to deliver products and services faster, cheaper, and better? Can you simplify propositions and sunset underperforming product lines? Can you invest in technology, equipment or training that will improve performance reasonably quickly? Such a strategy will not only lower your cost structure, but will help you leapfrog your competition thanks to better-quality products and services. During this process, you will need to let go of some employees who you no longer need. However, these number are likely to be lower than what you would have lost if you were just cost cutting.

3. Be strategic when discount shopping for assets

Companies, buildings, equipment, and land—all of this become cheaper to acquire during a recession. However, just because an asset is cheap does not mean you should buy it. For example, retail stores losing sales to ecommerce companies should not go on a shopping spree to buy more low-cost store locations—even if the prices appear to be a steal. Such purchases will become a drain on cash and managerial focus when the economy bounces back, creating a drag on your company’s performance. Instead, such retailers could use this time and resources to invest in upgrading their technology stack and digital talent. In the process, they’ll accelerate their shift towards an ecommerce-centric business model.

4. Selectively increase R&D and marketing agency spend

As with the point above, doubling down on all pre-recession R&D and marketing agency spend is not a good idea. However, if done selectively, increased spends in these areas are incredible drivers for growth. When it comes to R&D, increase spend on projects that help you double down on your relevant competitive advantage in the new world order. For example, if you are a furniture producer and your customers have become both fashion- and price-sensitive thanks to the recession, now would be a good time to invest your R&D budget in to exploring new material types and production equipment that can help deliver lower priced, but fashionably made pieces of furniture. On the other hand, doubling down on R&D regarding premium materials would not be such a good idea.

The same holds true for marketing agency spend. If it is not relevant to solving customer problems from the lens of the economic crises, do not put marketing agency dollars behind it. If your spend is solving customer problems, double down quickly for market share gain. A good example is Hyundai’s Genesis, which became a runaway success during the financial crises thanks to a clever marketing campaign and a sharp positioning towards ‘accessible lUXury’—something the other car manufacturers simply could not follow at that time. Hyundai won the prestigious North American Car of the year award in 2009 and gained record market share and increased shipments in the face of an otherwise shrinking automotive market.

The best time to change is now

Recessions are a tough time for most businesses and many companies will fold during this period. Recessions are, however, also an incredible time to drive change in your organization—for the better. We all have many things to improve on or many promising opportunities to explore, but we hadn’t had the time to do so before. With the status quo effectively now over, we should use this time to take some creative risks and take our companies’ long-term performance up a notch.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

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source http://www.scpie.org/how-entrepreneurs-can-win-during-a-recession/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/615405737480421376

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douglassmiith · 5 years ago

Text

How Entrepreneurs Can Win During A Recession

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Here are the four insights that stood out the most:

1. One strategy does not fit all, especially for smaller firms

2. Aim for transformational jumps in productivity—not just cutting costs

3. Be strategic when discount shopping for assets

4. Selectively increase R&D and marketing agency spend

The best time to change is now

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

Via http://www.scpie.org/how-entrepreneurs-can-win-during-a-recession/

source https://scpie.weebly.com/blog/how-entrepreneurs-can-win-during-a-recession

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scpie · 5 years ago

Text

How Entrepreneurs Can Win During A Recession

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Here are the four insights that stood out the most:

1. One strategy does not fit all, especially for smaller firms

2. Aim for transformational jumps in productivity—not just cutting costs

3. Be strategic when discount shopping for assets

4. Selectively increase R&D and marketing agency spend

The best time to change is now

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-entrepreneurs-can-win-during-a-recession/

0 notes

laurelkrugerr · 5 years ago

Text

How Entrepreneurs Can Win During A Recession

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Here are the four insights that stood out the most:

1. One strategy does not fit all, especially for smaller firms

2. Aim for transformational jumps in productivity—not just cutting costs

3. Be strategic when discount shopping for assets

4. Selectively increase R&D and marketing agency spend

The best time to change is now

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-entrepreneurs-can-win-during-a-recession/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-entrepreneurs-can-win-during.html

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technicalsolutions88 · 5 years ago

Link

Tempo wants to be the Peloton of barbells. It’s a 42-inch tall screen with 3D machine vision that tracks and teaches you as you workout. The giant upright HD display makes it feel like your personal trainer is right there with you while you compete with others in live and on-demand classes.

Tempo’s Microsoft Kinect-esque motion sensors scan you 30 times per second and notify you if your form is wrong. It’s all housed in a sleekly designed free-standing cabinet that neatly stores the included barbells, dumbbells, attachable weights, workout mat, recovery foam roller, and heartrate monitor.

Tempo opens for pre-orders today for $1995, requiring a $250 deposit and $39 monthly content subscription before shipping this summer.

“Every single product in the market took a piece of equipment out of a gym and slapped a screen on it” says Tempo CEO and co-founder Moawia Eldeeb. “You need to be able to see a user to actually be able to give them guidance so they can work out safely. We wanted to build a fitness experience from the ground up with training and form feedback at the core of it.”

I demo’d Tempo this week and found the in-home convenience, motivational on-screen personal trainers, and the real-time posture corrections gave me the confidence to lift weights without the fear of injury. It might not feel quite as fun and addictive as Peloton, but it offers a facsimile of personal training that’s more affordable than in-person classes that cost $100 or more.

The idea of democratizing access to trainers is what convinced Eldeeb and the Tempo team to stretch its initial $1.8 million in seed funding for four years. While collecting data from its SmartSpot in-gym weight lifting assessment device, Tempo survived long enough to build this prototype.

“Most investors had given up on us. We built this product and had just $700,000 left” Eldeeb recalls. But once people could try Tempo, “we pitched 10 investors and got 9 term sheets. It got very competitive.” The startup recently walked away with a $17.5 million Series A round from Founders Fund, DCM, and Khosla Ventures. Now Tempo will pour that cash into marketing, retail distribution, R&D, and content production.

A founder’s journey out of homelessness

Tempo’s mission is to change people’s lives for the better like personal training did for Eldeeb. “Training is what took me out of a homeless shelter and got me to where I am I today” he reflects.

Tempo co-founder, CEO, and CPO Moawia Eldeeb

Eldeeb’s family immigrated to the US from Egypt when he was nine. But after an explosion leveled their building, they wound up in a homeless shelter. Eldeeb eventually dropped out of middle school to work in a pizza parlor and help pay the bills. But personal trainers at a local YMCA took him under their wing. He eventually paid his way through a computer science degree at Columbia University by working as a personal trainer to his eventual co-founder and CTO Josh Augustin. “Having trainers say you’re getting stronger taught me I could do something for myself.”

While at school, Eldeeb was developing an idea for a physical therapy wearable while Augustin was building 3D sensors for guiding robot perception. They soon realized that a combination of these ideas “offered us the possibility to deliver on the promise of guiding your form and tracking your progress accurately.”

In 2015, they started a company called Pivot to build SmartSpot — a similar looking upright screen that was designed for gyms. It could track users, but only output raw data about their form, like how bent a user’s knees were during a squat. It then worked with trainers to annotate the data to determine what movement patterns were safe and which were dangerous.

Gym owners bought in because it let them track which trainers were actually helping customers improve. “It held trainers accountable. If you weren’t delivering results, it’d be obvious” Eldeeb tells me. The company built up a dataset of over from over 1 million 3D tagged workouts, from hundreds of gyms, overseen by thousands of trainers. That formed the basis of the artificial intelligence that would let Pivot pivot into Tempo.

Pumping Iron With Tempo

At first, Tempo’s giant screen and black or white armoire can feel a bit daunting. The thing is about six feet tall, though it only takes up as much room as a large chair. It makes efficient use of space, with the barbell and dumbbells racked on the back, an internal shelf for the foam roller and mat, and a soft-closing cabinet on the front with the rubber-coated weight set. Keeping everything together means you won’t have to go digging in your closet to start a work out.

Tempo walks users through an initial computer-vision fitness assessment to understand your strength and flexibility so it can set base levels for its exercises. If you have an injury it needs to nurse, Tempo connects you to a human personal trainer that helps customize your workout plan. Otherwise, it uses your goals and data to set out a progressive regimen that gets a little tougher each day. It even blocks you from jumping into later classes so you don’t strain yourself.

Your workout plan begins with tutorial sessions that teach you to do the exercises with safe and proper form. When I was hunching forward during my squats, Tempo’s computer vision would ding me with instant feedback to keep my knees back and chest up. Then once I’d corrected the issue, it congratulated me with little green checkmarks. “Any product that doesn’t offer that is no better than a DVD or YouTube videos” Eldeeb remarks.

From there I could choose between a variety of class styles and lengths, ranging from high intensity interval training circuits to isolated sessions focused on particular muscle groups. In each, you watch a near life-size personal trainer doing the routines right in front of you while they demonstrate form and drop inspirational quotes.

Tempo is producing seven live classes per day from its San Francisco studio which you can also watch on-demand. You can compete against friends or strangers, and Tempo compares you rep for rep so it’s more about perfect form than reckless speed or weight. The live trainers can actually see all your data and your mistakes on a dashboard as they lead classes, and can call you out for screwing up (though you can deactivate this shame mode). Eldeeb says “knowing the trainer can possibly see your numbers will motivate you to actually do this right.”

The class selection interface is suspiciously similar to Peloton’s, though that at least will make it familiar for some. Over time, you build up an immense collection of data on your performance in each work out, excercise, and muscle. Unlike hitting the gym by yourself, you’ll never struggle to remember how much weight to use or whether you’re improving. Classes are soundtracked with dancey remixes sourced from a partnership with Feed.fm to avoid the royalty issues with original songs that slapped Peloton.

Tempo gives feedback when you’re doing exercises wrong, and when you correct yourself

For a 14-person startup, Tempo is trying to do a ton and that can leave some rough edges. The bluetooth armband heartrate monitor can have connectivity issues and the computer vision doesn’t always register every rep, especially if your posture is off. Classes also fail to include enough stretching to prevent strains, instead devoting the start of classes to warmups that ease you in but might not protect your muscles well enough. My quads were destroyed after my demo.

Tempo still achieves its primary objective: it makes weight lifting accessible. No need to drag yourself to the gym or be beholden to a trainer’s schedule, where I’d always end up arriving late and wasting 25% of my session. The form feedback fixes my core complaint about remote personal training app Future I’ve been using for nine months, which can’t see you. That’s led to minor injuries from bad sit-up posture and other incorrect movements. Tempo can’t catch everything, but it can nip some of the most common mistakes in the bud.

Eldeeb was blunt when asked why Tempo is better than well-funded competitors like $3000 Tonal’s wall-mounted resistance cable-based training system or the $1500 Mirror’s massive screen.

“The biggest problem with Tonal is two-fold. Cables and motors do not last. I want this product to be in your house for 10-plus years. [Tempo] is in gyms running 24/7 in for 3 years and it’s still working. The second biggest thing is just feedback.” While Tonal does include a camera and microphone it might employ in the future, it’s not scanning you to detect when you’re lifting weights crooked like Tempo.

As for Mirror, “What is the difference between ClassPass Live and Mirror? It doesn’t come with any equipment, and there’s no training. It’s just a two-way mirror and a Samsung LED panel behind it with an arduino board” Eldeeb rails. He claims it can’t actually monitor your workouts and that his team’s tests found Mirror would say they’d burned 500 calories when they were literally just sitting on their couch in front of it.

Eldeeb demos Tempo

If the software proves to have high retention so people actually recommend Tempo to friends, the biggest hurdle will be its price. You can buy a couple dumbbells for $50 or get a barbell weight bench for a few hundred. Even if Tempo’s $55 per month financing option plus $39 subscription makes it cheaper than a single personal training session or on-par with a gym membership, it could still seem like a serious commitment.

That feeling is magnified by how all of its equipment and classes and data can feel a bit overwhelming. The startup might have to spend a fortune on retail establishments that can guide users through their first Tempo experience. There’s also no mobile version yet, so you can’t bring the work outs on the road with you.

Eldeeb seems guinely motivated to keep improving the product so it’s better than commuting to work out. “Getting to the gym or class is often half the battle. By bringing the gym to you and structuring the classes to be as efficient as possible, Tempo not only makes improving your health more convenient, but it gives you back your most precious resource: time.”

For those comfortable lifting the cheap weights they have at home or hitting up a budget gym, Tempo might seem needlessly overwrought and expensive. But for anyone who needs more instruction or wants to get a Barry’s Bootcamp-worthy workout at home, Tempo might be just their speed.

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sheminecrafts · 5 years ago

Text

Tempo reveals $17M-funded $2000 weight lift training screen

Tempo opens for pre-orders today for $1995, requiring a $250 deposit and $39 monthly content subscription before shipping this summer.

A founder’s journey out of homelessness

Tempo co-founder, CEO, and CPO Moawia Eldeeb

Pumping Iron With Tempo

Tempo gives feedback when you’re doing exercises wrong, and when you correct yourself

Eldeeb was blunt when asked why Tempo is better than well-funded competitors like $3000 Tonal’s wall-mounted resistance cable-based training system or the $1500 Mirror’s massive screen.

Eldeeb demos Tempo

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magzoso-tech · 5 years ago

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Tempo reveals $17M-funded $2000 weight lift training screen

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Tempo reveals $17M-funded $2000 weight lift training screen

Tempo opens for pre-orders today for $1995, requiring a $250 deposit and $39 monthly content subscription before shipping this summer.

From homeless to in-home gym

Tempo co-founder, CEO, and CPO Moawia Eldeeb

At one point, Eldeeb was living in a shelter without even a middle school education. But personal trainers at a local YMCA took him under their wing. He eventually paid his way through Columbia University by working as a personal trainer to his eventual co-founder and CTO Josh Augustin. “Having trainers say you’re getting stronger taught me I could do something for myself.”

Pumping Iron With Tempo

Tempo gives feedback when you’re doing exercises wrong, and when you correct yourself

Eldeeb was blunt when asked why Tempo is better than well-funded competitors like $3000 Tonal’s wall-mounted resistance cable-based training system or the $1500 Mirror’s massive screen.

Eldeeb demos Tempo

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jobsearchtips02 · 5 years ago

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24 products individuals waste too much cash on that you need to stop purchasing right away

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DVDs are almost obsolete– and there’s a huge reason.

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images.

Some items we’re used to purchasing every day can in fact be a huge waste of money.

Store-bought greeting cards, physical books, cable television, and premium gas are just a couple of examples.

Bigger purchases, such as a boat or a time-share, often aren’t worth the expense either.

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We make so lots of purchases that we do not always understand what we are purchasing– and how we might be conserving money.

Lottery tickets

Lottery tickets are a waste of money.

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson.

Lots of lottery game players purchase tickets every day with the hope of striking big, but video games of possibility are preventing you from having more cash, not less. You are expected to lose money if you play the lottery and there is no guarantee you will even keep earnings.

Water bottles

Water bottles are a substantial waste.

Pete Norton/Getty.

As Americans became more health conscious and began drinking less soda, beverage companies needed a new plan. It worked as Americans now consume more mineral water than soda, although it costs $1.22 per gallon for a commodity that can be accessed for next to nothing.

Trademark name drugs

Opt for standard brand names.

AP.

For most products that are precisely the exact same, customers would typically choose the more affordable choice. This does not apply for trademark name drugs, which consistently outpace sales of their generic equivalents in spite of having the very same components and effects. Save yourself some money and buy the generic ibuprofen instead of Advil.

Cinema concessions

A cinema.

Kevork Djansezian/Reuters.

Movie theaters do not make benefit from film tickets, but instead through food sales The over-inflated popcorn and costly sweet is a dupe considering you can purchase the same products at the grocery store for much cheaper and lots of theaters do not care if you generate your own snacks (as long as you clean up after yourself).

Café coffee

A barista in a cafe.

REUTERS/Jason Redmond.

Prior To Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts were on every street corner, people brewed their own coffee in the house This is still somewhat popular– particularly with coffee pods– however coffeehouse have actually taken a lot of the business. With pricey price and long waits, it’s a marvel why everyone isn’t relying on homebrew.

Books

A woman at a bookstore.

Mike Segar/Reuters.

A library is the very best way to save cash on a pricey hobby. Libraries are totally free and featured countless books, DVDs, and other products for you to borrow.

Boats

Boats can be truly expensive.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

One indication of wealth is cruising on an individual yacht, however that might be a better indicator of squandered wealth. Boats are pricey by themselves, however as Saltwater Sportsman states, costs for storage, gas, upkeep, and electronic navigation increase the initial expense.

CDs and DVDs

Stacks of CDs.

Reuters.

CDs and DVDs are ending up being obsolete, however lots of people still pay out money for hard copies of albums and movies. Like books, CDs and DVDs can be rented at libraries, but the majority of people now stream entertainment on apps like Spotify and Netflix for a regular monthly rate that costs less than a single disc.

Cable Television

Cable TV has been mainly replaced by streaming services.

Joe Raedle/ Personnel/ Getty Images.

Like music and movies, television is moving from more traditional modes to online streaming. Considering that cable packages make you pay for more than you desire, a pick-and-pay model may wind up costing you less.

Welcoming cards

Welcoming cards are overpriced.

Shutterstock/lentament.

Make your own– it’s more meaningful if you gift an individualized card and you’ll save the $5.

Gift cards

Present cards typically go unused.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Present cards aren’t as popular a present as you might think.

Gym subscription

Health club memberships can cost you.

Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

Gym subscriptions can be costly, so if you’re not a regular visitor, you’re simply wasting cash. Thankfully, there are ways to be healthy and workout beyond a gym.

Premium fuel

Premium gas isn’t worth it.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria.

Regular will do simply fine. For the majority of vehicles, there is no need to spend more at the pump for premium gasoline. The additional cost is not worth it, so save up at the tank and select the most economical fuel.

The most recent gizmo

Upgrades often do not make a difference– stick to your older design.

Justin Sullivan/Getty.

The old and brand-new version will probably be really similar and the most recent design may have kinks to work out.

In-game purchases

In-app purchases can build up.

Carlo Allegri/Reuters.

Those complimentary games you play on your smartphone need to get money from someplace It turns out these video games are extremely addictive and designed with mental techniques so you will spend the most cash to get to the next level.

Express shipping

Conserve your money and just get basic shipping.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

Online merchants can make a great deal of money charging customers huge fees for fast shipping. But while the basic option may take a bit longer, the cost savings is worth it.

Full-priced clothes

Await your favorite products to hit the clearance section.

Shoshy Ciment/Business Expert.

Not just do most in-store clothes items eventually go on sale after a few weeks, however there are countless other ways to get brand-new clothes for less.

Heading out to consume

Eating out is very costly.

Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images.

Everyone understands that going out to eat is costly. According to the Bureau of Labor Stats, the average American family invests about $3,000 a year dining out. That’s a substantial expenditure. According to a short article by MoneyUnder30, this number far surpasses just how much it costs to prepare food in your home. The typical rate of a meal out is $13 On the other hand, the cost of purchasing groceries and making a meal at home is around $4 per plate– a whopping $9 distinction.

Alcoholic drinks in restaurants

Mixed drinks and white wine are overpriced in a lot of dining establishments.

andrea federici/ Shutterstock.

While an entire bottle of red wine at your local alcohol store might cost anywhere between $10 and $15, you can anticipate to pay a minimum of $ 8 or $9 for simply a glass at a restaurant. Mixed drinks can cost much more, regardless of only consisting of a shot or 2 of alcohol per serving. Save your cents and buy a soda the next time you head out to eat.

Food shipment

Shipment charges can rise to $8.

Katie Canales/Business Expert.

Companies like Postmates, Caviar, Seamless, GrubHub, and more enable you to enjoy your preferred restaurants from the conveniences of home– for an added charge.

High-end charm items

Drugstore products work simply as well.

Bethany Biron/Business Expert.

Pharmacy makeup has come a long method over the last few years, to the point where they measure up to higher-end brands. The actual differences in between products you discover in CVS and Sephora are nearly slim to none– so don’t pay more for the high-end brand names.

Features Spending Retail Method

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topicprinter · 6 years ago

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Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Michael Hagen of Hagan Ski, a brand that sells backcountry ski touring equipment.Some stats:Product: Backcountry ski touring equipment.Revenue/mo: $35,000Started:Location: BreckenridgeFounders: 1Employees: 1Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?Hagan makes ski mountaineering gear—exclusively. We focus without distraction on alpine ski touring. We don’t make downhill skis, clothing, hiking boots, or running shoes.Our focus is entirely on backcountry ski touring/ski mountaineering — especially light and fast backcountry skiing. Hagan skis are intended for the alpine lifestyle — long and adventurous ski touring. To the big companies, ski mountaineering is a curious, insignificant aside. They make a few products and stick them at the back of their catalogs. Ski Mountaineering isn’t insignificant to Hagan. It is all we do — our life blood. We have the world’s widest selection of mountaineering skis.Our focus on high-performance ski mountaineering gear is recognized and appreciated by devoted backcountry skiers and has 50% annual growth in recent years. Hagan is Pure Ski Mountaineering.imageWhat's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?I remember “learning” to ski in the backyard at about the age of 3. My initial love of skiing came from stories my parents told of skiing in Colorado in their 20s. We grew up on a farm in very flat south central Minnesota. It was almost two hours to the nearest ski hill (valley) so I spent a lot of time skiing behind a snowmobile, making jumps in the fields. Being pulled by a rope engrained a back seat skiing style that I am still fighting to this day.When my brothers and I got older, we took a few family trips in our station wagon to Colorado and I was hooked. I couldn’t believe how big the ski areas were. Extremely impressive coming from farm land so flat I could see three towns from our house. For several years I read every single word, including the ads, of Ski and Skiing magazines.I served in the U.S. Army for 23 years, primarily as strategic intelligence and special operations. While in a Special Forces unit I learned and then taught ski touring and winter warfare techniques. I also began competing in triathlon and had some higher level success.I was proud to represent the U.S. at the World Military Championships and regular World Championships several times. Towards the end of my Army career, I taught physical education at West Point and then commanded the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (a program to train Soldiers for participation in the Olympics).When I retired from the Army I started coaching endurance athletes of all stripes, which I still do today, including quite a few ski mountaineering (Skimo) racers. I race regularly myself.While I first learned ski touring in the Special Forces (on old style and dangerous Ramer bindings) it wasn’t until I met my wife Eva in Austria that I became hooked on backcountry ski touring. Her entire family ski tours and exposed me to experiences that were simply wonderful, not just for the skiing but also for the lifestyle. Her father skis regularly, usually over 100 days a year and last used a ski lift in 1962 when he was ordered to during his mandatory military service.Growing up a flatlander in rural Minnesota I dreamed of spending time in the mountains. Now my family (my wife is from the mountains near Salzburg, Austria) and I live in the mountains and follow an alpine lifestyle where almost all of our leisure activities involve skiing, bicycling, running or hiking in the mountains. Starting Hagan Ski Mountaineering (and coaching endurance athletes) enables me to combine business with passion, and helps justify the significant time and energy investment.Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product and launching the business.Our race ski is what helped me establish my initial foothold in the North American market. I brought Hagan to the U.S. just as SkiMo racing was taking off and found a very receptive audience for a quality, lightweight and excellent handling ski at a price much lower than what was available at the time. Our initial X-Race evolved into our current Ultra 65 race ski. We have continually improved performance while reducing weight.The Hagan race team is an integral part of our product testing and development. Subjecting our test products to their tough use shows us how to reduce every last unnecessary gram while not losing focus on durability, safety and performance.Over the last several years we pushed the weight of our race ski to its lowest practical limit. To offer our athletes the best performance and durability, we don’t participate in the low weight at all costs madness — which sacrifices reliability, durability and downhill performance for the sake of a few grams. We would rather have the best performing skis than a rather empty claim of the absolute lightest skis.We use our expertise from developing race skis and apply that technology to our wider backcountry skis. Originally we just had skis, but we now have backcountry ski touring bindings and boots. Our new race binding is among the lightest, and certainly best performing, bindings available. It is simply outstanding. We now have 9 different ski touring bindings. While race skis established the foothold here in the U.S. (my family and I participate in many of the races and have many great friends in the small field of participants) the full range of Hagan skis and bindings is gaining recognition and sales. We have three specialty skis including two approach skis that are ideal for mountaineers and ice climbers. Our new Boost Series skis are fantastic — great shape, weight and width for backcountry and powder skiing — popular and helping us make additional headway into the market beyond ultralight and narrow skis.Costs, in general, must be carefully controlled. Lacking economy of scale, costs, especially transportation and marketing expenses, take a big bite out of income.Launching the businessI started selling to specialty retailers, friends and racers I got to know at competitions. I didn’t have a website. After a couple of years, I created a website myself, using the old Apple website builder. I can’t even remember the name. It didn’t have an online store. I took “direct sales” via email and phone calls, and tracked sales on a spreadsheet.The whole process has been self-funded. I took out a small business loan at one point of tight cash flow, but have managed to avoid any other financing.Two years ago, I updated by website with e-commerce capabilities. (Using the Shopify platform.) That has created much higher, and more efficient, direct sales.Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?I contact specialty retailers personally, largely in conjunction with travels to ski mountaineering races. Quality independent retailers who know their products well, and base their business on educating their customers, quality and service over volume are the type of retailers Hagan matches up with well.Currently, Hagan Ski is my family and me. My next step to increase wholesale distribution is finding motivated, knowledgeable sales reps particularly outside of the Colorado and Utah region.The future, though, is definitely direct online sales. I am trying to increase online sales without damaging relations with my retailers. It is a difficult balancing act.I tried Amazon but it failed. Amazon’s orders were piecemeal. The shipping costs, following all the specific and demanding Amazon requirements, etc. made the workload much too high for the measly if any profits. I am considering using Amazon Seller Central, but while it appears to have advantages for my product niche, I’m still not convinced it is a great fit.I have quite a few Hagan Ambassadors - fans and users of Hagan that help spread good word of mouth. I reward good ambassadors with discounts and free gear.I am also currently setting up accounts with online services that cater to Pros - Backcountry Guides, Ski Patrollers, Ski Shop personnel, etc. This is another effort at increasing word of mouth referrals.How are you doing today and what does the future look like?I study and try to emulate the success of brands who have earned a solid reputation with a focus on quality and specialty products instead of following the mass market routine. I have no business or marketing background. I’ve relied on word of mouth and referrals for a lot of growth. That demands outstanding service and quality. It isn’t a fast growth path and it isn’t a plan to create a huge money-making business, but it is an approach and philosophy that I am comfortable with.With the big corporate downhill brands jumping onto the backcountry skiing bandwagon, it is difficult to make headway. I am relying on a slow, deliberate growth strategy. The one hook I am hoping on is for customers and retailers that appreciate and respect a company with a heritage that specializes in ski mountaineering. Hence the tagline on my signature block and elsewhere - Pure Ski Mountaineering. Hagan is also appropriate for specialty retailers that want to be unique, offering a brand that isn’t available in big box and chain retailers.There is no doubt that a retailer has to work more for a less known brand. Some are ready to do that, some not. Specialty retailers who want to stand out are open to new and innovative brands, otherwise only big and established brands would be sold. In that way a good shop can steadily sharpen its competence and profile. Also, smaller brands are not so exposed towards price competition. And last but not least, not all consumers enter shops with predetermined opinions. Many rather expect good and sound advice from a shop — and have a bit of an independent streak themselves — and prefer a lesser-known product that better suits their needs.Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?I made a bunch of mistakes along the way. With no business or marketing background, everything was self-research and learn by doing.The most costly mistake was a $3000 contract with a service that promised to help me create more sales to retailers. It was a complete, and at the time very heavy, loss.We try to keep costs down by focusing intently on performance and value — and then letting the skis speak for themselves. We don’t do much marketing and admittedly are not great at it. Word of mouth is our most effective advertising.We aim to provide backcountry skiing's best value and combination of weight, durability and performance and make our fans eager to spread the word.What platform/tools do you use for your business?I use Shopify and write all the product descriptions myself. The Shopify apps I’ve had the most success with are Conversio for reviews, abandoned cart emails, etc. and Make an Offer.Make an Offer does what it says. It does lead to some sales, as well as some ridiculously low ball offers.The prime benefit for me is obtaining email addresses. I use MailChimp for email, and am in the process of automating emails, but could much improve this.What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?I listen to a variety of podcasts from time to time. I use the Overcast App and listen to them in double time.Podcasts include:Unofficial Shopify PodcastShopify MastersOne Stop ShopSide Hustle ShowI also read a lot, too much, marketing advice online.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Move fast and don’t try to be perfect. I spent (and still spend) far too much time researching/studying and delaying implementation. I’d have been better off just doing things imperfectly and then improving, instead of trying to determine the absolute best approach from the start.I probably tried to do too much myself (which is almost everything.) Not having any business experience, there weren’t a lot of people I could reach out to for assistance.Don’t use too many apps on your Shopify store. In line with the above, I spent too much time researching and installing apps. Many made little to no difference on sales and slowed down the online store.Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?I’m at the point of having enough success that I can’t do everything myself. I am looking into hiring assistance with marketing and social media, and customer service. I am considering virtual assistants.My products are so specialized and niche though, that the learning curve will be very steep. It will be difficult to find assistants with subject matter expertise.Where can we go to learn more?www.HaganSkiMountaineering.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/haganskiusaBlog: https://www.haganskimountaineering.com/blogs/newsInstagram: @[email protected] you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!imageLiked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos, tools, books, and other data.For more interviews, check out r/starter_story - I post new stories there daily.Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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