Massively profitable gaming company Blizzard Entertainment just recently purchased IGN Sports league in a move that signals the increasing popularity and influence of E-Sports & Competitive Gaming events. I have also posted an great video below.
Some more facts on the rise of competitive gaming from Venture Beat and Forbes HERE and HERE
Great article in WSJ posted HERE on the enormous gambling market of March Madness, some facts/excerpts below:
“When it comes to betting, experts expect more money to be spent on March Madness than the Super Bowl. According to RJ Bell, the owner of Pregame.com, $12 billion dollars will be spent worldwide on March Madness betting. This exceeds the $10 billion bet on the Super Bowl worldwide. However, Bell notes that comparing the amount of money spent on betting for the two events may not be wise, as the Super Bowl draws that amount of bets for just one game, whereas March Madness sees its amount over the span of 67 games.”
Also to my fellow Bruins, take note of the below before placing a bet based on seeds:
“Minnesota is an 11-seed, but they’re favored by three points over UCLA. If UCLA loses this game, the guys on TV will call it an upset. The reality though, is it wouldn’t be an upset because Vegas says Minnesota is supposed to win that game.”
Tony Horton profile yesterday on WSJ worth sharing.
Horton describes why/how he created P90x, his humble beginnings and what keeps him inspired
P90x is always good after a cheeseburger and donut combo at Tim Horton’s in Canada.
There is a common saying that “a dog is a man’s best friend”. However, man’s new best friend undoubtedly has to be the George Foreman Grill.
Everyone knows heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman promoted the product, and therefore receives all the recognition and fame (supposedly Hulk Hogan was originally offered the gig but passed on it).
However I wanted to take a look at the genius behind its invention, creation and overall movement. The device which sold over 100 million units was created by Michael Boehm.
I was pleased to find this interview of Boehm located HERE.
Most important in Boehm’s interview is to notice his thoughts on why the product worked, and what he attributes to the grills fantastic success.
In the interview conducted by Venture2, Boehm states “There are a great number of inventions out there that are very cool and unique, but if they don’t satisfy a consumer need that either already exists or is identified as a result of the invention, they don’t go too far. Conversely, there are many inventions that satisfy a consumer need, but don’t receive the backing necessary to bring them to market.”
Even though “The Michael Boehm Grill” doesn’t sound very marketable, take a moment to appreciate this man next time you’re conveniently grilling steak, burgers or hotlinks.
Below is an outstanding video on the behind the scenes rise of MMA apparel brand TAPOUT. Co-founder Dan Caldwell is interviewed and details the beginnings of the company and the various problems he faced, like credit card companies halting expansion once large amounts of orders began rolling in. Not having a business model at the time, Dan sought the help of music Mogul Marc Kreiner who actually co-signed with his own money to get the credit card companies off their back. With the help of the reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter boosting the popularity of MMA, Tapout reaped the benefits of staying loyal to this previously unknown sport. The company is now represented by talent agency CAA, has 160 employees and generates over $200 million in sales .
Read more about the TAPOUT Brand HERE.
The below link is an entertaining brief interview by Men’s Fitness with Mike Repole, the co-founder of Glaceau Vitamin water, which was bought out by Coca-Cola for 4.1 Billion Dollars in 2007. Repole discusses his “coaching” style, and also what he looks for in an employee. A great read for anyone interested in brand development or marketing. You can read the interview HERE . Read more about Coca-Cola’s acquisition HERE .
Rob Dyrdek grew up in Ohio (not the typical skateboarding Mecca), and after discovering the skateboard became ingrained in the small but passionate local skate scene. Quickly becoming a pro, he moved to San Diego to engulf himself in the real skateboarding Mecca at the time, San Diego, and received lucrative sponsorships.
Most interesting about Rob’s rise to wealth is that during his early career he would negotiate a small equity stake in his sponsors (similar to Jay Z’s approach when dealing with interested record labels). After this, Rob began to branch out his business enterprise but was unsuccessful in his first few ventures, one of which was a skateboarding retail store (similar to Mark Cuban’s first few ventures failing).
In this video below from Inc., Dyrdek describes his upbringing, and also some of the important lessons he learned while pursuing different business opportunities.
One of the first ventures to really burst Rob’s popularity and exposure was [Read more...]
NBA Basketball season is right around the corner and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, the new owner of the New Jersey Nets, has much to prove with his new franchise. Prokhorov however is a veteran in turning struggling franchises into winners.
Below is a fantastic video from 60 Minutes profiling Prokhorov’s extraordinary lifestyle and previous struggles as a young businessman in Russia. Prohkorov studied at the Moscow Financial Institute, and later bought Norilsk Nickel, a huge mining and metals operation, from Kremlin leaders. Through hard work Prokorov managed to make his new company Norilsk Nickel more profitable, and sold his shares for 10 billion dollars, two months before stock market crisis. Prokhorov thus became the wealthiest individual living in Russia. Hopefully Prokhorov can apply his proven business skills to the basketball court as the Nets take on The Lakers, and the new dream team in Miami.
Sean Parker (better known as the guy Justin Timberlake played in film The Social Network!) was profiled on the cover of Forbes recently. Despite looking like a jacka$$ in the film, the real Parker is a serial entrepreneur with immense accomplishments. Really interesting article, and the guy is only 31 years old. Article located HERE. [...]
One of the books I really enjoyed reading recently was BAG THE ELEPHANT! by Steve Kaplan (New York Times’, Wall Street Journal’s, USA Today’s, and Business Week’s bestseller list). In seven years, Steve grew his marketing company SCA from a start up to $250 million in sales with offices in 14 countries. One of the [...]
A stock I have been following for a while, simply because of the HUGE dividend (32%) is YPF, the large Argentinean energy company. YPF has a very interesting back story, as the government of Argentina recently took over the company. The Argentinean government is basically demanding YPF to use its earnings to develop the country [...]
Great old school video below of Steve Jobs rocking a solid beard and dishing some sound advice. Jobs discusses how he called Bill Hewlett (co-founder of HP) at age 12, landing a summer job.
Wanted to share this very interesting article from MSN MONEY. It highlights the entry level positions that some of the wealthiest and most influential people had at the beginning of their careers. Interesting to notice that Buffett took a tax deduction during his teens on his bicycle for running his newspaper delivery business. Also, Bloomberg [...]
A great series on China’s Rise on Hulu, video/link below. Watch Episode 5,2, and 1 (in that order). http://www.hulu.com/china-rises Episode 5 below follows 3 British entrepreneurs making their millions in China. They experience immense opportunity, unique challenges, and obscure environments. Also interesting to see entire cities dedicated to one product like zippers, underwear, or faucet [...]
I read a very interesting article today in the February issue of Vanity Fair about Warren Buffett. The online version of the article, which is shorter, is located HERE. The article (like many others) details Buffett’s modest lifestyle despite being a mutli-billionaire. However most impressive is the articles discussion on who may helm the mega [...]
