May 2012
1 post
I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every...
April 2012
1 post
WatchMake sure you are in the guest list.
February 2012
1 post
November 2011
1 post
October 2011
3 posts
“He had his own way of defusing the madness. In 1999, on the 30th anniversary of...”
– Financial Times interview with Bill Clinton
Netflix
There have been some big changes here at Netflix. Way back in July, your company’s market value was $16bn. We think shareholders may prefer our new, more manageable market cap of about $7bn. This exciting shift means new investors can buy our shares for almost 60 per cent less than they cost just a few months ago.
Some of our longer-term investors may find this transition a little bit confusing....
September 2011
1 post
June 2011
2 posts
“Being 90% right is sometimes completely wrong.”
March 2011
1 post
February 2011
1 post
“You need to go down from molecules to electrons.. if you want to change the...”
– Shai Agassi
January 2011
1 post
“…iki saat sonra kalabalığın içinde, sinemadan bir dar sokağa çıkan sanki başka...”
– Yusuf Atılgan, Aylak Adam
December 2010
3 posts
“Müzakere ve pazarlıklar sanıldığı gibi masada halledilmez, aslında masaya...”
– Reha Tanör
1 tag
Bir gün bir derviş, bir kucak dolusu elma ile bayırlar aşan bir genç kıza rastlamış.. Bozkırın sıcağında yorgunluktan al almış kızın yanakları..
“Nereye gidersin? Ne doldurdun kucağına?” Diye sormuş derviş.
Uzak bir tarlayı işaret etmiş kız: “Sevdiğim çalışıyor orada… Ona elma götürüyorum.”
“Kaç tane” diye soruvermiş derviş.
Kız… şaşkın: ...
November 2010
2 posts
“If you build it, they won’t come.”
– /efe
1 tag
October 2010
3 posts
1 tag
January 2008
1 post
“Social is the new .com”
December 2007
2 posts
1 tag
“..and don’t be so gloomy! After all, it’s not that awful. Remember what the...”
– Harry Lime, Third Man, 1949
1 tag
why some countries grow rich and others do not?
As I strolled down the streets of Paris and London last week, I thought why these countries prospered and Turkey, my country, did not. After all, Ottoman Empire (1299-1922) was the foremost power in the world at the height of its power in the 16th and 17th centuries. Of the many proposed solutions (technology, geography, history of lucrative colonization) the current favorite among economists is...
October 2007
1 post
1 tag
“A small piece of chocolate from la Maison du Chocolat is worth twenty-two...”
September 2007
1 post
1 tag
two reasons why people say NO! to your idea
it’s been done before
it’s never been done before
August 2007
1 post
1 tag
wit and frédéric bastiat
Wit is a wonderful thing, especially when it’s both relevant and amusing. I’m convinced at this point that the most important insights we hear that shape our character and business judgment has an element of wit in it. Think about it. So why it’s rare to use wit in our serious dealings? Certain mornings I wake up and decide to be wittier! And, I usually give up by the time I have my mid-morning...
July 2007
1 post
pizza
Living in Silicon Valley and running an internet start-up, I often think technology is the only place where the action is. Then, I come across some numbers from other industries that change my perspective (briefly!). Listen to this: Dominos Pizza, US’s largest pizza delivery company, cites the statistic that by 4.30pm on the average afternoon, almost three-quarters of Americans still have no idea...
June 2007
1 post
1 tag
smultronstället (wild strawberries)
Last night I watched, for the second time, this Ingmar Bergman film. And I realized how much I love subtle and intelligent storytelling. The movie explores the disillusionment of an aging physician, Isak Borg, as he reflects on his life. Borg reminded me of judge-penitent Clamence in Albert Camus’ The Fall, as they both tell their life story - their quest for meaning; the process of their life...
May 2007
1 post
“A person usually has two reasons for doing something: a good reason and the real...”
– JP Morgan
April 2007
2 posts
1 tag
Islamic Finance and Venture Capital
It’s not difficult to see how Islamic banks turn Islamic finance into a charade. Since Koran prohibits interest, all financing must be done on a profit and loss sharing basis. In practice, no more than 5% of Islamic financing is done this way. Instead, Islamc banks use a structure called murabaha, or cost plus predetermined profit. Remarkably, the “profit” in a murabaha transaction and the...
“And let it be noted that there is no more delicate matter to take in hand, nor...”
– Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
March 2007
1 post
1 tag
Office Life
Quinn Goldstein, one of my closest friends, sent me a brilliant note on office conduct this week. It’s so good that I had to share with you in its entirety: ….I always teach my team to be helpful to everyone in the company regardless of what’s being asked. I hear too many people say they can’t help because that’s not their job. And there’s a fine line between helping everyone and being the office...
February 2007
1 post
1 tag
“I’d rather have a first-rate execution and second-rate strategy any time than a...”
January 2007
3 posts
1 tag
Iran and Palestinian-Israeli Peace
The rise of Iran has made the timing ripe for a new strategy for an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Here’s why: The primary divide in the Middle East is between the forces of moderation and those of extremism. Iran and the radicalism it supports has created a potential alliance among moderate Palestinians, Israelis and the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the gulf states. And, it’s in all of...
1 tag
private equity
A $100bn LBO no longer seems unthinkable. Home Depot, which is rumored to be a target, has an enterprise value of about $90 billion. Add a premium, and you are close to that number. If a deal goes through, it is feasible that private equity groups could find, say $25 bn equity, and raise a further $75 bn in today’s extraordinarily generous markets. But what about the exit?? A trade sale is...
December 2006
1 post
1 tag
Google Options
Stop me if you heard this before. Google is trying his hand again at financial innovation with their attempt to create a market for employee share options. The theory is sound. Many employees do not recognise the real value of their options, so allowing them to be sold in a transparent market, once vested, would demonstrate their value. It should also help Google recruit those who are worried that...
November 2006
1 post
1 tag
October 2006
2 posts
1 tag
Drawing Room
Good ideas are the best distributed thing in the world, for everyone thinks themselves to be so well endowed with it (especially, here in Silicon Valley) that those who are the most difficult to please in everything else are not at all wont to desire more of it than they have. It is not likely that everyone is mistaken in this. Rather, it provides evidence that the power of judging well and of...