1Mby1M Udemy Courses with Sramana Mitra: Domain Knowledge

At 1Mby1M, we believe in learning from case studies of successful entrepreneurs. These case studies involve discussions on opportunities and challenges specific to the domain such as Generative AI, E-Commerce, Digital Health, Cyber Security, and FinTech. 

2016 IPO Prospects: The Honest Company Makes the Online to Offline Model Work

According to a report by Grand View Research, the market for global organic personal care products was estimated at $8.43 billion in 2013. Driven by increasing customer awareness about organic products, this market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. In North America, the organic personal care product market was estimated to be worth more than $2.5 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow to nearly $5.5 billion by the year 2020. Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company is an IPO prospect from this market. >>>

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Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Flywire CEO Mike Massaro (Part 1)

Have you ever been an international student in a US college or university that required your parents having to transfer money to your school?

Or perhaps have a child studying abroad for whom you have to do this? In either case, you may want to read this interview to learn about how cross-border payments are transforming the efficiency in the sector.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to yourself as well as to Flywire.

Mike Massaro: I’m the CEO of Flywire. We’re an international payments company. We help global consumers make large payments around the world.

Sramana Mitra: What are the key trends driving your space? >>>

Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Brian Rigney, CEO of Zmags (Part 1)

Content and Commerce are trying to integrate, albeit at  a slow pace. The world order is very far still from my 2007 vision: Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS). Nonetheless, read on to learn about some very interesting developments in the industry.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to yourself as well as to Zmags.

Brian Rigney: I’m the CEO of Zmags. I joined Zmags just about two years ago. My background before that has been a series of startups including companies like CashStar that does digital commerce through gift cards and other applications.

Sramana Mitra: That’s a Maine company right?

Brian Rigney: That is a Maine company, yes. You can find them at CashStar.com. >>>

From Unicorn to Unicorpse: Etsy Falters on Amazon’s Entry

Etsy (Nasdaq: ETSY) went public earlier this year, a much awaited IPO at an $1.8 billion valuation. But since listing, serious issues with the company have resulted in a tumbling valuation under public market scrutiny. At its current stock price, Etsy is still appearing above the billion dollar mark, but barely so. And its trajectory indicates that Etsy is on its way from being a prized Unicorn to a faltering Unicorpse.

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From E-Commerce to Web 3.0: Wayfair Impressive Even Under Public Scrutiny

According to an IBIS World report, the US online home furnishings market has grown 20% annually over the period 2010 through 2015 to be worth $8 billion. Over the same period, the US online house furniture market grew 16% to $16 billion. Wayfair (NYSE: W) is the largest pure-play online retailer of home goods in the country. Last year, it went public and even under public scrutiny, its performance remains impressive.

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From E-Commerce to Web 3.0: MercadoLibre Still Dominates Latin America

According to a Forrester research report, Brazil’s business-to-consumer e-commerce sales are projected to grow from $17.8 billion in 2014 to $40.8 billion in 2019. Argentina, the second largest market in the region, is expected to see e-commerce sales grow from $3.4 billion in 2014 to $8.3 million in 2019 and over the same period, Mexico will see revenues grow from $2.8 billion to $6.7 billion. Latin America’s e-commerce leader MercadoLibre is continuing to thrive in this rapid growth market. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: Coupang Raises the Banner for South Korea

According to a recent eMarketer market, the total retail e-commerce market in South Korea is estimated to grow 11% this year to $36.76 billion, making them the third largest e-commerce market in the Asia-Pacific region, after China and Japan. E-commerce is expected to account for nearly 10% of South Korea’s total retail market share. The South Korean market is expected to grow to $47.8 billion by the year 2018. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Coupang is already making big strides in the region.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Etsy Continues to Fumble

I have repeatedly spoken about Billion Dollar Unicorns who have entered the club due to the frenzied investments by VCs who partake in initial funding rounds at spectacular valuations. Some of these companies are not able to address the expectation of a public company and implode when listed on the stock exchanges. One such instance is that of niche e-commerce player Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY), which appears to be stuck in a bit of a rut. Recent disappointing quarterly results accompanied with continuing absence of profits had sent the stock tumbling to below list price levels. As competition in the niche space increases, Etsy will have tougher battles to fight in the next few months.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Zulily Attempts to Make a Turnaround

Billion Dollar Unicorn club member and online niche flash sales site Zulily (Nasdaq: ZU) appears to be making a slow turnaround according to recent quarter results. The stock’s performance has been rather weak of late and it had entered the list of the Wall Street’s worst performing stocks for 2015 after having dropped 47% during the year. Their recent moves suggest that things may improve in the future.

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Thought Leaders in Sales 2.0: Carol O’Kelley, CEO of Salesfusion (Part 1)

A short discussion on how marketing and sales technologies are evolving.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start with introducing our audience to yourself as well as to your company.

Carol O’Kelley: Thanks for having me. I’m the CEO of Salesfusion. I joined the company earlier this year after having spent most of my career in technology, marketing, and operations. I’ve done a number of very small entrepreneurial things – everything from being the 34^th employee at Retek, which was ultimately acquired by Oracle to starting and managing a self-storage business. I’ve also worked at larger companies like Red Prairie and Oracle. I’m passionate about technology. I love the pace of this business.

Sramana Mitra: Where are you based?

Carol O’Kelley: I’m based in Atlanta, Georgia. >>>