The CEO of Sandstorm, Nolan Watson, video chatted with us from Singapore earlier today. He told us his experience in the business world, and how he started his now one of the most profitable companies–Sandstrom Gold. I am greatly inspired by his experience and his words.

Graduated with an accounting degree in Sauder, Nolan started off in Deloitte and became the youngest CFO in Silver Wheaton at the age of 26. Always wanted to start his own business, Noland quitted his job in 2008 and started Sandstorm Resources. He then talked to us about the challenges and difficulties the company has to deal with alone the way.

The video chat with Nolan gave me great inspiration. The most important lesson I learnt was “never give up”.  Starting a business can be hard, but as long as you have faith and keep on fighting for what you want, you will succeed eventually. Nolan also inspired me to go around when solving a problem. When the financial crisis in 2008 affected the trust between the banks and the company, Noland went around raising money from the rich. From Nolan’s hiring policy, I learnt that we need to be good at what we are currently doing to get better opportunities.

A blog I found about Netflix was quite a shock to me. In Maclean’s Business Blog, Nick revealed how Netflix, the biggest provider for movies and television shows online, knows which TV shows and movies its subscribers are dying to watch— by tracking piracy sites to decide which content to purchase.

Opposite to Nick’s view, I believe it is a smart strategy for Netflix to track piracy sites to decide what to add to its online streaming service. Buying content on popular movies and televisions shows is a fundamental strategy for Netflix. As we have talked about in COMM 101, this strategy allows the company to know what to expect from the customers. It is of the best interest for the company to invest their money before they know the qualities of the products. And the most direct and accurate way is to check customers’ view through the torrent sites.

In addition, the service Netflix offer can solve  piracy problems. As was said by Netflix’s ted Sarando, “the best way to combat piracy isn’t legislatively or criminally but by giving good options.” (Stuff (May.1st, 2013)). Since people are provided with a more convenient way of watching the shows on Netflix, they will chose Netflix over the torrent sites, which are illegal and has lower image quality.

Links:

Maclean’s Business Blog (Oct.10th, 2013) How Netflix knows who wants to watch what

BBC News (Sept.16th, 2013) Netflix studies piracy sites to decide what to buy

Stuff (May.1st, 2013) Netflix’s Ted Sarandos talks Arrested Development, 4K and reviving old shows

Mazda company is launching a brand new Mazda3, the 2014 version. Mazda, still in the early stages of a transformation, needs a unique brand positioning in order to get into the mind of the customers.

The competition in car industry is brutal. With the existence of hundreds of  car companies, it is difficult for one company to have a much better sell over other companies. Mazda is neither the first to enter the car industry, nor is it a huge manufacturer like Honda or Toyota. Therefore, it is essential for Mazda to find an unoccupied position where it can be the first. However, Mazda3 is trying to enter the compact car segment with the image of a better design and the guarantee of a better performance. According to the customers, the quality of Mazda was not the best. The company promised to fix the problems and come up the the new product promise to run faster and longer in the new Mazda3. However, this can hardly be considered a unique brand because the company is simply fixing the disadvantages. It will strengthen the customers view of the cars low performance if not given a new brand image on Mazda3. The company needs a unique brand to differentiate itself in order to attract more customers.

Below is a perceptual map I drew to see the points of difference between Mazda and other car companies.

Resources:

Mazda company(2013). Mazda3, 2014 version. Revived from Mazda Car Company

The Globe and Mail (2013, October 3rd). New Mazda3 enters the toughest market in Canada.

National Post (2013, October 1st). New Mazda3 takes a good thing and makes it even better.