Tom SpencerOne of the attractions of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is the idea that they are not regulated by a central banking authority. It has led to some spectacular jumps in the price of Bitcoin, which is controlled by a relatively small number of global investors. The volatility in the market was even more obvious this […]
For those struggling to understand blockchain, think of it this way. It will be the digital connection between people as well as between machines – starting with your cell phone. It will be used to tell your washing machine when to run. It will also be used to bill you for the electricity and water […]
One of the most important things to remember about a digital currency is that it is just a way of transferring ownership and assets electronically. In fact, for those who are scrambling to understand both cryptocurrency and blockchain, this idea is the first, and unfortunately all too often, the only port of call. That said, […]
No matter one’s professional background, these days it is almost impossible to escape at least a very basic introduction to “blockchain.” At its core, blockchain has the potential to give every individual access to data, processes, and the ability to transact with others on a scale that was never before possible. From a strictly mid-20th […]
There are many people who cringe when they think about what is going to happen to healthcare under a Trump administration. Healthcare is a subject which has wormed its way into everyday conversation since Ronald Reagan was in office. Back then “entitlements”, specifically social security, were a supposed “third rail” that could not be touched, […]
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets or “tokens” – akin to the idea of money – specifically designed to take advantage of the architecture of the Internet. Unlike traditional currency they have value not because of the guarantee of a financial institution or government. Instead, they have value for three reasons: their ability to be accurately “confirmed” […]
Striding along Omotesando Street in Harajuku, Tokyo in summer 2 years ago, I came across Pepper, an emotionally intelligent humanoid robot created by Softbank Robotics Holdings Group (SBRH) in one of its more grandiose Softbank Mobile stores. She greeted and guided customers through the shop. She danced to requests and wittily answered customers’ questions on […]
Imagine a world where one can rate the popularity of any individual from 1 to 5 using a mobile device. And in this imaginary world, these ratings are important for determining one’s employability, social status, and where one can live. Furthermore, each person’s name and rating is visible to everyone else through the use of […]
While “Bitcoin” has become a household word over the past several years, the concept of what cryptocurrency actually is goes far beyond traditional concepts of “money”. First invented by the individual or group of people known as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, the original concept was to create a decentralized automated cash machine (in very simplified […]
The year 2017, for everything else it may or may not be, is already heralded as “The Year of Blockchain.” But what exactly is “blockchain” – and why is it slated to be the debutante of the ball across multiple industries? Essentially blockchain is a way of connecting distributed databases to each other. In other […]
Blockchain, the underlying technology used by Bitcoin, has implications that reach far beyond the financial services community and banks. This is where new development and implementation may have focussed so far. However, as the technology and its implications become better understood, it will rapidly expand to new industries and verticals. Blockchain systems operate as a […]
It is not just the stunning reversal of fortune for Hillary Clinton at the beginning of November which has stimulated a renewed interest in more diversity in the world of start-ups, and FinTech in particular. The conversation has been underway for quite some time. Part of the drive for diversity, to be honest, is caused […]
Frankfurt is one of the oldest business centres in the world. From at least Roman times, the low-lying city, bifurcated by the welcoming River Main, has been a hotspot for global endeavours that changed the nature of many industries – including but not limited to banking. Mayer Rothschild, a courtier to the German king of […]
When news broke in late October that some of London’s largest banks were investing in Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies in general got another boost. According to reports, however, this latest move to embrace Bitcoin was not a positive embrace of the digital currency per se, but rather a move to stockpile Bitcoin to fend off denial of […]
This is a guest post from Sarah Smith. How do people decide which online university will meet their needs? What drives a student to choose one option over another — especially when both schools have little name recognition? No one decides on an online education based on a single advertisement or one aspect of a […]
This post is a collaboration between BROSO™ and Tom Spencer, and was originally posted on Truth Has No Temperature. Why is the Australian venture capital industry almost non-existent and irrelevant on a global scale? Three reasons: A massive misallocation of capital, particularly when it comes to Australia’s $1.7 trillion superannuation bolstered capital pool, the fourth largest capital pool in […]
Crowdfunding is a growing trend that allows individuals, non-profits and start-ups to fund projects by raising money from the crowd using an online platform. Last week I attended a crowdfunding discussion at the Oxford Launchpad with Jonathan May, CEO of Hubbub, and representatives from the development offices of various Oxford colleges. Asking for donations from alumni is one […]
(Source: Techworld) Phil Libin, founder and CEO of Evernote, was one of the guest speakers during Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford which was hosted at Oxford’s Said Business School a fortnight ago. As part of the conference there was a debate held at the Oxford Union, the world’s oldest debating society, the motion being “This […]
A revolution in energy technology? Elon Musk launches the Tesla Powerwall Elon Musk, CEO and product architect at Tesla Motors, has just announced the launch of the Tesla Powerwall. Musk was a co-founder of Paypal with Peter Thiel (who I talked about yesterday), and has since gone on to found Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity. The new product is […]
(Source: Flickr) Yesterday we read an article in The Australian Newspaper entitled “The career advice I wish I had at 25“. It was an insightful article in which The Australian’s Queensland Editor Shane Rodgers provided thirteen pieces of advice that he wishes he had had back when he was 25 years old. We were going to […]
In an infinite channel world, not-for-profit may just be the new normal We were recently invited to attend Professor Donnie Maclurcan’s talk in Islington, London entitled “Not-for-profit enterprise will be at the heart of the global economy by 2050”. We were unfortunately unable to attend Donnie’s talk, and haven’t yet read the book, but on first […]
Late last year at the Oxford Union we had the opportunity to talk with Tim Ferris, author of the 4-Hour Workweek, about his tips for successful blogging. Tim’s key piece of advice, an echo of every good guidebook we’ve read, is that bloggers who are just starting out should focus on producing “evergreen content”. That […]
The key is to know when correlation is enough, and what to do when it is not David Ritter, director at BCG, has explored the world of big data and when companies should take action based on observed correlations in the data. His ideas have big implications for business because, if correlation is enough, then […]
Evans explains that business strategy is premised on assumptions about technology, that those assumptions are changing dramatically, and that this will lead to a different concept of what we mean by business strategy
The illusion of permanence, and the persistence of innovation (Source: Tom Spencer) IN a recent FT article, Chairman of Risk Capital Partners Luke Johnson made some interesting comments about his alma mater, Oxford University: Oxford University, my alma mater, is a classic case of a complacent establishment that is refusing to reinvent itself. It will consequently […]
Look mum, no hands! Mercedes-Benz S500 Intelligent Drive has driven itself 125km through Germany without driver intervention MERCEDES-BENZ has demonstrated its capabilities with self-driving technology and provided a glimpse of the future by successfully driving its prototype S-Class from Mannheim to Pforzheim without driver intervention. Mercedes has successfully tested autonomous vehicles before. For example, in 1995 […]
THE advent of blogging during the late 1990s significantly lowered the barriers to entry in the publishing industry. Any person with a computer, a blogger account and a half baked idea could get into the industry, and they did. To shake things up further, the advent of blogging reduced the cost of distribution and the […]
ON 1 August 2009, at the opening of its new global headquarters in Yokohama, Nissan launched its first fully electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf EV. Nissan appears to have made a long term strategic commitment to electric vehicles. According to one source, Nissan has been busy developing electric vehicles since 1992. Nissan, with alliance partner […]