Tuesday, August 17, 2010
TCTV Fight! “Crowdsourcing Movies Will Cause America’s Creative Collapse”
It’s not often that we fight. Actually, no, that’s not even slightly true. It’s not often that we fight on camera. But this week’s episode of Too Long; Didn’t Watch is one of those times.
Our guest is Gene Massey from Cinema Shares - an LA-based startup that hopes to allow filmakers and other media moguls to do mini-IPOs to raise capital for their projects. Both of us were excited by the idea of the business – but when it came to whether the idea of fan-funded films will be good or bad for the world… or whether Paul was suggesting that Christians and NASCAR fans are idiots… well, watch the video to see what happened.
Video below. Note: due to some choice language, this week’s episode is more not safe for work than usual.
Precise Path Robotics, Purveyor Of Hat-Wearing Lawn Mowing Robots, Raises $4.5 Million
The above video reveals exactly why Precise Path Robotics just received $4.5 million in funding. Once you’ve seen the RG3 Robotic Greens Mower, or as I like to call it “Hat-Wearing Golf Course Roomba,” in action it’s pretty hard to imagine a golf course being mowed in any other way.
Did you know there were 32,000 golf courses in the world? Neither did I, but the RG3 is the quickest and most stylish way towards significantly slashing the amount of money each and every one spends on lawn mowing. That’s two billion dollars worth of mowing annually! Serious business for the world’s first robotic mower.
But why stop at mowing? The RG3 technology, which is actually superior to a Roomba because it can travel in straight lines, can be applied to almost any outdoor grooming endeavor.
Says Jason Zielke, Precise Path’s President and COO. “Mowing is the first in a long list of applications we have envisioned — from spraying to snow removal to carving advertising logos in lawns.”
There is such a thing as the perfect job for a robot.
Here’s a video of two RG3s mowing together, peacefully at dawn.
Cash is king, so work your working capital
Kevin Kaiser and S. David Young surveyed many companies for their recent Harvard Business Review article and found that the traditional business focus on the bottom line actually ties up working capital, setting managers on a death march towards bankruptcy. They have come up with a six-part strategy to squeeze more funds from business balance sheets.
The value creation imperative
It's been just over 400 years since a Dutch company became the first organisation to sell shares and became publicly traded. By 2007, more than one billion people owned a stake in the world's companies worth more than $75 trillion.
Kevin Kaiser, INSEAD Affiliate Professor of Finance, says that's a dramatic change from the days when monarchs and dictators owned everything and used their country's resources for their good alone.
Collaborating for results
As much as we think that collaboration makes good business sense, there are times where it can go horribly wrong, so says Morten Hansen, a professor of entrepreneurship at INSEAD.
INSEAD-Tsinghua SEM Partnership
Yingyi Qian, Dean of Tsinghua SEM, and INSEAD Dean Frank Brown, discuss Dual EMBA Programme
Women and Money
"This is not only a fun question but it is of great practical value," says INSEAD Assistant Professor of Finance Lily Fang, who hosted a Women and Money forum at INSEAD recently.
INSEAD Executive MBA: hear what participants have to say
You are committed to learning and care about your development. You have achievements but want to advance your career. You want to make a difference in the world; you want to make the most of your life. You have been thinking about doing an Executive MBA - now think harder.
Hear what the participants have to say.
One year to challenge your thinking, change your outlook and choose your future
One year to challenge your thinking, change your outlook and choose your future
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