July 28, 2021 Sign Up

by Overheard on Wall Street

"The smallest of implementations is always worth more than the grandest of intentions." — Robin Sharma

Good morning! Tech giants (Apple, Google, Microsoft) all reported blockbuster earnings yesterday, with Apple posting its best third quarter in its 45 year history with iPhone sales surging nearly 50%. US gymnastics star, Simone Biles withdrew from the gymnastics final at the Olympics because she was afraid she would be injured if she continued in a rattled state of mind. It is not clear whether she will compete in her individual events.

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1. Story of the Day: BuzzFeed's Struggle & IPO

Buzzfeed, the 15-year old digital media company is going public via a SPAC and is targeting a $1.5 billion valuation, with expected close in Q4. BuzzFeed bought HuffPost and said it would acquire another publisher, Complex, as part of its plan to go public.

Not long ago, newspapers and magazines were going out of business, and newcomers like BuzzFeed, Vox and Vice Media seemed like the future of the news business. That has changed now as Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal have flourished, thanks to emphasis on digital journalism and subscription-based business models.

The newcomers are facing an identity crisis. BuzzFeed, Vice, Vox find themselves in a difficult competition with the legacy publications for general readers but also with Facebook and Google for ad dollars. BuzzFeed agreed to cut a quarter of its valuation for the transaction, setting a bad precedent for rivals seeking to go public.

Short Squeez Takeaway: BuzzFeed plans on using the cash raised from the IPO for more acquisitions. It is also considering a subscription-based model like its legacy rivals, which might be the need of the hour given the company's recent struggles. It is an exciting time in the digital media space with all the M&A activity and upcoming IPOs. We only expect to see more consolidation in the industry with the cash raised.  

2. Markets Rundown

• US stocks ended lower for the first time in six sessions Tuesday, as the Nasdaq took the brunt of the selling, posting its worst daily decline since mid-May

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Inovalon ($INOV) +13% on a Bloomberg report about private equity firm Nordic Capital being in advanced talks to buy the company.
• (+) TriNet ($TNET) +8% on strong Q2 earnings.
• (–) Li Auto ($LI) -14% on growing concerns about the Chinese government's ongoing actions to restrict technology companies.

3. Top Reads

4. Book of the Day: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and fake news stories circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas - entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, and journalists - struggle to make them “stick.”

In Made to Stick, the authors (Chip and Dan Heath) reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps.

It’s a tour of success stories such as the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers, the charities who make use of the Mother Teresa Effect and the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice.

Provocative, eye-opening and surprisingly funny.

5. Daily Visual: Leonardo Dicaprio Refuses to Date a Woman Over 25

6.  Daily Acumen: Emails People Can’t Ignore

If you write a long message, break it up into two parts. Start with a quick summary at the top and then go into the details afterward. It makes or breaks whether someone responds to your message.

If you’re trying to make a decision with someone, present them with options. Don’t just write, “Thoughts?” or “What do you think?” Instead, ask them, “Would you like to go with A, B or C?” This makes it easier for them to make a decision rather than putting the burden on them to figure out what kind of decision to make.

If you want to get to the point quickly, use clear acronyms that your team understands. For example, some teams use the acronym WINFY – which means ‘what I need from you’ to get to the point quickly.

Source: Dan Pink

7. Memes of the Day

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