As some of you may know, last October I left my role at the global telco operator Orange to start my own investment fund, Funston Capital.
I founded Funston to source, acquire, and operate a rewarding business that provides lasting benefit and impact. My mission is to partner with a company over the long term and to prove that great succession can be more powerful than disruption. Therefore, I aim to help entrepreneurs seeking to transition out of their ventures and onto the next chapter of their lives accomplish just that while ensuring their enterprises remain vibrant and the secrets of their success carry on.
In this spirit, I created this newsletter first and foremost for you, a business professional and member of the tech community. Every month, Funston Brief will deliver useful information and insights at the intersection of business and tech to help your business thrive in the future.
To learn more about Funston Capital and our investment philosophy, check us out at www.funstoncap.com. Lastly, if you or anyone you know is interested in selling a business, please reach out to me at alex@funstoncap.com.
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS.
Consumers prioritize privacy over convenience: As more and more individuals have moved their lives online during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have realized their risk for online threats which has caused demand for online protection and security. Consumers are prioritizing privacy over cost and convenience as we shift into a digital world.
Key insight: Businesses can stay successful by acknowledging how they are going to protect their consumers’ information through this digital shift. Link
‘Asynchronous work’ vs. hybrid models: Matt Mullenweg, founder, and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, talks about ‘asynchronous work’ and why he thinks hybrid models will die out. Asynchronous (async) work is a way for workers to organize the order in which tasks are executed to align with their own timetable.
Key insight: Companies should enable a new communication paradigm, that is not expected to be immediate, in order to enable workers to fine-tune their work and reduce pressure on themselves and their colleagues. Link (Wall Street Journal | Paid)
How poor FP&A may cost your business millions: Most companies don’t use their financial planning and analysis teams as efficiently as they could. Mismanagement of FP&A has cost the US economy billions of dollars by the lack of real-time data and time wasted by gathering information.
Key Insight: Forcing intelligent FP&A personnel to do routine data collection and to use outdated data systems is costing companies a consequential amount of time, money, and resources. Link
EAR TO THE GROUND.
Podcast Episode: Master of Scale - Why we need re-founders
Guest: Satya Nadella
Takeaway:
In this episode of the Master of Scale podcast on “Why we need re-founders” Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock Partners, interviews Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO. Reid argues that Satya has run Microsoft as a type of founder. You can call it being a “re-founder,” or even a “late-stage cofounder.” The late-stage co-founder doesn’t need to have been there “in the garage” from day one. As businesses scale, re-founders keep mission and culture on track, and responsive to a changing world.
“If your company is going to be successful, it will outlast your founders. If it’s going to outlast that founder, the handoff is going to be super critical.”
- Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft
1 in 9
Just one in nine companies achieve sustained, profitable growth over 10 years. And 85% of executives blame that shortfall on internal factors. This is the growth paradox: Growth creates complexity, and complexity is the silent killer of growth.
Discover more on this topic by reading Bain’s full article on The Founder’s Mentality Defined Link
PROFILE.
Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio and author of “Ask Your Developer,” discusses his insights on entrepreneurship, the transformative power of software, and how companies can attract and retain software developers.
“The software mindset is really one where you see a problem - whether it’s a business problem, a global problem, a societal problem, whatever it is - and your instinct says users can actually get their hands on this data, and computers can help us solve this problem.”
ON MY RADAR.
Crypto, metaverse, self-driving cars… Benedict Evans ponders some of today’s hot-button tech topics and doesn’t shy away from the unresolved questions they raise. Link
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