Month: November 2014

On the topic of social enterprise, I recently began looking at the recent social entrepreneurs of today. Looking at Forbes list of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, of the top 30, one of their stories caught my attention. In 1984, a bright and young optometry student, Jordan Kassalow thought of the idea to supply cheap and affordable eyeglass to those who could not afford them.He then founded VisionSpring in 2001 and now, 50, has spent most of his time building his company in the hopes of making the eyeglass business a self-sustaining operation. Kassalow’s vision, synonymous with the mission statement of VisionSpring, is “to ensure affordable eyeglass is available to every individual to live a productive life.”

I think that Kassalow’s idea and notion on the supply of cheap eyeglass is just marvellous. His contributions to society has already resulted in many individuals being more productive in life. As a pair of spectacles only costs between $4-7, almost anyone can afford a pair of them.

Looking at the way social entrepreneurs change society sometimes just leaves me in awe. I really admire the contributions they have done and their passion towards creating a better future for the coming generations. What I personally think is that charities and donations should be given to the social entrepreneurs as they act as the catalysts to provide the needy with the ability to self-sustain and live independently. Read more about Jordan Kassalow’s story here.

In recent years, HTC has seen a spectacular uprising in rankings, generating high revenues due to the sales of their smartphones. Ever since HTC created their first android device, sales of their smartphones has continued to skyrocket beyond expectations.

However, in a recent article I read about HTC on the famous tech blog Engadget, HTC’s sales seem to be going in a downward spiral. The article talks about the HTC’s revenues dropping at alarming rates. This might have seemed like a joke about a year ago, where HTC was doing so well and revenues were rising extremely high (read here). It seems so unreal that the success of a huge smartphone company can fluctuate so quickly in the matter of a year.

HTC’s downfall could have resulted from Samsung’s uprising with its new flagship model, the Galaxy S3 and also Apple’s newly launched iPhone 5. In order to keep up with this two tech giants, HTC has to alter its strategies and rethink its ways.

Innovation is seemingly becoming more important and is one of HTC’s weak points. To win back sales, HTC must first be able to win back customers’ loyalty towards the brand. Having good hardware is no longer a point of difference, but a point of parity for any top smartphone company. The biggest point of difference would be to excel in the innovation department as it is becoming increasingly important in the tech world. By implementing these effective strategies, they can reverse their decline and continue to imprint themselves into the minds of the consumers.