Sign in

Weak Signals

How to see markets beyond the curve, catch weak signals, and anticipate turnarounds to leverage change and disruptions

And in the end, the network effect wins...

And in the end, the network effect wins...

When we mistakenly think that products and features are center-stage for winning the market over, it's worth remembering what happened to Slack and why network effects are such game-breakers in business. Slack is a SaaS team collaboration software that was launched in 2013 and managed to recruit a

Anticipating network effects in the eighties

Anticipating network effects in the eighties

As much as network effects have been the beating heart of the digital wave that submerged most markets since the early 2000s, in the eighties, they were still very much underappreciated. Michael Dertouzos on NBC’s Today Show, August 8, 1983. pic.twitter.com/EIyNprSjgX — MIT CSAIL (@MIT_CSAIL) August

ROCKR E1, the forgotten iPhone

ROCKR E1, the forgotten iPhone

Another summer video I wanted to dig out from the archives for quite a long time. Remember the first iPhone? No, not the 2007 one, but the 2005 Motorola ROCKR E1... If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a seat and enjoy: This is

Why Soviet computers failed

Why Soviet computers failed

To kick off the week, let me share an 18 min video by Asianometry on why Soviet computers failed (they have an excellent newsletter that I can only recommend too): This is clearly a story of adjacency and feedback loop between science, technology, and innovation. But past the obvious struggle

What if vertical farming wasn't about food?

What if vertical farming wasn't about food?

One of the many difficulties to cope with in innovation is how it never really fits in a pipeline. While technology outputs are essentially linear and predictable (they're mostly aiming for increased performances), changing a market is always a bifurcating, twisting, and turning road. A potentially spectacular illustration

🟢 Cracking the code for blending technology and luxury together

🟢 Cracking the code for blending technology and luxury together

For years I've been consulting and working on how to crack the code for blending technology and digital with luxury. I might just have a fair idea of how to get there now (and no, it's not easy).

Summer reads for innovators (2022 edition) 📚

Summer reads for innovators (2022 edition) 📚

As every year, last July, I shared a list of five books to boost your innovation mindset. Let's update the list with five new books that you might find interesting if you've been reading us for a while or just started. My mindset when recommending books