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.