The phone of the future began as a thought, flourished through social media, and has now landed itself a run at the market with help from Motorola. Ali Jatoi comments on the rise of PhoneBloks and possibilities for the future.

Source: http://cdn1.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/09/Phonebloks.png

PhoneBloks is a revolutionary concept; a modular phone that allows for endless combinations of innovations from many companies whose technology would previously not be seen together. Ali speaks of the collaboration between Motorola and PhoneBloks for Team Ara, the first modular phone on the market. For me, this idea is especially attractive; the possibility of adding a high quality camera to my phone without replacing the entire phone is great. From a business point of view I agree with Ali. For PhoneBloks to work companies will have to ditch their flagship phones and move to creating components for modular devices, and with the current performance of the Big Two, (Apple, Samsung) I do not see PhoneBloks working in the short run.

After reading Claire Pourbaix’s post on picking stocks, I did a little research of my own on stocks to pick when investing. There are a lot of things to consider when choosing which company to invest in. Typically, higher risk delivers higher reward, which can be great for some people looking to get rich quick. Others are a lot steadier in growth and are a lot safer for people without a large income.

Source: http://awadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-depot-graph-01.jpg

Personally, I’ve recently started investing and playing around in the stock market. I’ve found a serious interest in commodity and tech stocks. Maybe it’s just because I love the risk factor, but also because I think it’s a lot more interesting than watching an ETF grow over time. Commodities are very volatile markets, especially due to supply factors. Commodities like oil and gold mining can be very risky, since one poor venture into a lowly supplied resource area could spell bad earnings reports and drop a stock’s price.

I do like that commodities don’t rely on consumer preferences, like tech stocks. Picking the next best thing is hard in technology. The best specs doesn’t always mean the best profits.

TOMS, the shoe company, is a great example of social entrepreneurship — companies who add moral standards to their value propositions without government regulation. TOMS has a program called the One for One Movement, where for every product purchased, TOMS will help one person in need. Currently, they give shoes to children in countries such as Ethiopia, Ghana, China, and the Philippines. These shoes help to assist children with their health, education, and confidence. Also, TOMS gives away glasses, sight-repairing surgery, or medical treatment to people in Cambodia, Guatemala, Nepal, and the United States.

Source: http://www.toms.ca

The whole movement just provides all sorts of good to the world. TOMS does it because it’s what they believe in. They want to make the world a better place and give back. Nobody forces them to do it, but it makes them unique. It works as a great marketing technique, but also does a lot of good for the world, and makes the company a great place to work too.

Organizational culture is a very important aspect of any business, and it is what makes employees want to work where they do. I watched a video called FISH! which was about the Pike Place Fish Co. in Seattle. The culture there is quite unique; the workers are essentially playing with the customers and the fish that they sell. The whole ritual of yelling and playing while working started with the owner, who got his workers to treat the job in such a way very early on. It began with making jokes, which made the team feel good and began all sorts of rituals and traditions. The company has since become an attraction to regular customers and tourists alike.

Source: http://www6.clikpic.com/StruanSheltie/images/IMG_0571_thumb.jpg

Now, of course, not all companies can simply throw fish around and expect to have a culture like the Pike Place Fish Co. But, cultures can be started and kept by simply having teams express the beliefs, values, and assumptions that they want to have in the workplace. Workers begin to act in particular ways, and if done the right way, can make a company that much more productive.

Naked Coconuts is a firm which was started by the entrepreneurial mind of Sauder-alumnus, Paul Gill.

Source: http://www.nakedcoconuts.com

The company produces all-natural, nothing hidden, eco-friendly coconut products. Those products being organic virgin coconut oil, raw organic coconut nectar, and coconut soy-free seasoning sauce. On Naked Coconut’s website, there is a page that discusses the story of the company, and how it came to be. The company’s value proposition?

It is to provide you with unquestionable honesty, trust, and truth in everything we do.

Gill’s vision included products in grocery stores where every little aspect of the products was out on display. Nothing to hide. Just good things on the shelves. He realized how often companies would deceive consumers, and wanted to change that. He lived in the future, and decided to build what was missing.

A great idea and a great line of products — however, I would list Naked Coconut’s products as “vitamins,” rather than “painkillers,” seeing as the need is emotional, and the market is unknown. People might buy these products because they feel good, but most people are quite satisfied with whatever else is on the shelves. Perhaps one day those consumer preferences will change.

After the lecture on Brand Positioning, I happened to stumble upon an article on one of my favourite business magazines, Entrepreneur, that further explained the idea of brand positioning and how it can relate to oneself and their own selling points. Brand positioning involves figuring out how the brand fits in a person’s mind. In essence, how they feel about you or your product — not just what is brought to the table. Personally, I have lots of experience in leadership, teamwork, and working under pressure. I am also a perfectionist, and I believe in professionalism and being well-rounded. But all that does not capture what I will do for my peers, bosses, or others.

Source: http://original-ventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/apples-close-up_crop_iStock_000012524067Medium1.jpg

A better way to present myself would be as a “versatile, get-it-done” kind of worker. I can have a large variety of skills, and if I don’t have the know-how, I can learn it quickly, and do it all with a professional attitude and output. I can work with anyone, whether I need to take the initiative or do what I’m told.

That would be my elevator pitch. That’s how I would position the brand of myself.

The social-media giant, Twitter, released its IPO filing to the public, as it plans to begin trading publicly under the ticker TWTR.

Source: https://www.twitter.com

The IPO revealed information about Twitter’s 2012 financial statements, with numbers including a 198 percent increase in revenue to about $317 million, and a net loss decrease of 38 percent to $79 million. Investors now begin their analysis as to whether they should purchase Twitter shares, although pricing nor number of shares has been released. The public offering forces the company to begin releasing its financial information, which includes Income Statements and Balance Sheets. With this IPO, Twitter now has the opportunity to expand and grow if investors deem it to be worthy of obtaining shares. Twitter will also be able to offer employee stock ownership to attract talent and increase productivity. The company will also be subject to a lot more scrutiny from the public and from the Securities and Exchange Commission to avoid fraudulent behaviour. Also, previous stakeholders can now turn their equity into liquid stock or cash and become very wealthy. The IPO opens many financial doors, and puts Twitter in a position to expand and grow.

The typical thought that comes after the mentioning of the words “no-name brand” is likely to be associated with cheap, low quality products, for those who cannot afford otherwise. As a part of Porter’s Five Forces generic categories, they’d be listed as a Cost Leadership brand. But recently, Target has come out with two store-branded lines of food that have become increasingly competitive with the larger national brands. Both of which are considerably healthy and high-end, yet affordable. Target has been able to change the perception of the “no-name brand” and has relocated their products into the Focus Strategy category.

Source: http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/images/US_AHTTP_AP_FINANCIALTIMES/93077669156c1713340f6a70670096f7_original.jpg

The brands are specific to foods that are organic and are without GMO’s, allowing them to target a consumer market which is concerned with what they’re eating, but doesn’t want to break the bank to eat naturally. Their points of parity are having 40% of Simply Balanced’s foods being organic, and the majority of them being GMO-free. The main difference and selling point is that they are cheaper. The down-side, however, is that these products will only be sold by Target, since they are strictly a Target brand. Profits will be lower, but consumers will definitely be attracted.

Business ethics refers to firms’ social responsibilities of producing so that the well-being and needs of all stakeholders is met. In this article, “Whole hoods,” [http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/09/food-stores] the author examines the decision for the pricey, healthy-eating supermarket chain, Whole Foods, to expand to the small and generally poor town of Englewood, which posts a less than modest 40% unemployment rate, with an average income of $11,993. The choice for Whole Foods to build a location in Englewood puzzled many. But the decision does help to fulfil the social responsibilities of the firm. Englewood has a limited variety of choices for groceries. The main source of groceries comes from Save A Lot, which does not offer very healthy options, due to its very low prices. With the addition of Whole Foods to the town, the author suggests that it will bring greater motivation for citizens to achieve a level of wealth to afford the products. Also, it suggests that the option for healthy eating has now been provided, and so now 2,648 residents will be within a mile of a store with healthy fruits and vegetables for them to eat. Henceforth, Whole Foods has put aside potential profits to satisfy its social responsibilities.