Self-love is a tricky issue, and the right amount of it has always depended on perspective. I have healthy self-esteem; you’re a bit full of yourself; he’s a total narcissist. But in a world where you can buy a stick to hold your phone at the approved distance to take a photograph of yourself, has it all gone a bit too far?
Read MoreIt was in September last year that Hamilton revealed that for health and environmental reasons, he was to become a vegan, removing all animal-based products, such as meat, seafood, dairy, even honey, from his diet. Many people questioned this mid-season lifestyle change. They talked of the potential harm to his "racing edge," due to a possible drop in testosterone, the lack of protein, iron and Vitamin D deficiency. However, the dietary change did not do the 32-year-old any harm. Two months after announcing his switch, Hamilton won the world title, creating history in the process by becoming the first Briton to win four F1 world titles and made Hamilton feel "better than ever".
Read MoreSalad. Suitcases. Razors. Face wash. None of these products typically race eyebrows and inspire enthusiasm. However, when associated with certain fast-growing ventures, the reactions may change. Sweetgreen’s Nicolas Jammet, Away’s Jen Rubio, Walker & Company’s Tristan Walker, and Glossier’s Emily Weiss talk to Fast Company about creating products that provoke passion.
Read MoreIn 2005 Petrus Palmér co-founded the studio Form Us With Love straight out of design school in Sweden. By 2012, FUWL’s clients already included Ikea, Cappellini, and Muuto. It was hard to imagine how things could go better, but Palmér felt a nagging discontent in what he was doing. He was stuck between designing for the biggest mass market imaginable or for the 1% who could afford a USD 10.000 couch.
Read MoreAn Instagrammer with over 1,000 followers can get paid upwards of GBP 130 for a single promotional post. Big social media stars with hundreds of thousands of followers can make thousands from one post. Being an Insta influencer is now a bona fide career. More so, as Instagram has started to allow its user to shop-as-you-scroll by adding a new level tools and nurture the Instagram’s billion-dollar influencer economy.
Read MoreWhat exactly is digital M&A and how does it compare with garden-variety deal making? The buzz in the world of mergers and acquisitions these days around technology and digital businesses. BCG latest report conculded that one out of every five transactions has a clear link to some form of technology.
Read MoreThe future of brick-and-mortar bookstores has been in peril for at least a decade. But whether you are actually shopping for a book or not, you might actually find yourself wandering into a bookstore by accident. Fashion brands, from French icon Sonia Rykiel to New York City-based Warby Parker, or concept stores like Colette and 10 Corso Como are curating books not as objects to read but as objects of décor.
Read MoreRay Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, is known as much for his unique approach to corporate culture as he is his investment philosophies. After founding Bridgewater Associates in 1975 at the age of 26, Dalio began chronicling the reasons behind every business and leadership decision he made, a 40-year exercise that culminated in his recently released book Principles. In a recent discussion with Goldman Sachs, Dalio describes the two predominant themes that have framed these principles and thus shaped the culture at Bridgewater over the years – idea meritocracy and radical transparency.
Read MoreWhat most people do not see in TBH, an app sold for around USD 100m to Facebook, only nine weeks after its launch are that it requires hard work and overcoming failure before successful deploying an app. Whilst the time to exit was short for TBH, it was most certainly not an overnight success for the makers behind the app.
Read MoreSpeaking of the death of retail and the end of physical shopping experiences, in late November Alibaba was investing announced that it invested nearly $3 billion for a 36% stake in China hypermart operator Sun Art Retail. It looked like the Chinese e-commerce titan was copying a page from Amazon’s strategy plan, after Jeff Bezos’ company stunned U.S. supermarket operators by acquiring high-end grocer Whole Foods for more than $13 billion.
Read MoreTo understand Amazon’s role, let’s take a closer look at how WyzeCam leveraged the power of Amazon. Wyze’s device sells for $20 plus shipping if you buy directly from the company’s website or $30 on Amazon, where members of the company’s Prime service can get it delivered within two days. Nest’s and Netgear’s comparable indoor cameras sell for around $200 each. Similar to its branded competitors, Wyze Labs' gadget is a small, internet-connected video camera, which one might use for security or to keep an eye on your dog or your baby. The single biggest difference is that it is being sold for an unbelievably low price of $20.
Read MoreEurope’s biggest commercial property company is to buy Westfield, the Australian company behind the UK’s two highest-earning shopping centres, in a $25 billion deal that will create the world’s largest mall operator. French Unibail-Rodamco plans to roll out Westfield centres in Europe and the US. The planned tie-up comes as the growing number of people buying items online, fuelled by Amazon, forces shopping centre operators to focus on their best assets.
Read MoreTwo years ago, I had witnessed the start of the Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc. I left Chamonix with the goal to run the epic race in 2018. It became my dream and I turned the journey towards it into my personal ascend of Mount Everest. A few weeks ago, I signed up and I read about the opportunity to support a charitable organisation, as part of the admission and registration process. While running more often than not is an individual sport, I like to add a social team element to my sport. I want to use my undertakings as an outlet to mobilize people and to open their eyes for important issues.
Read MoreAs 2017 was heralded to see the death of retail, as boutiques and department stores were closing its doors driven by changing consumer habits, price wars and the threat of Amazon, high-end e-commerce remains a bright spot in the shopping landscape. Online luxury sales jumped by 24 percent this year, according to a recent study by the consulting firm Bain & Co. and the online sales of personal luxury goods are expected to make up 25 percent of the market by 2025.
Read MoreBelonging has always been an essential ingredient in the business of brand building. However, as attention spans decline, the use of multiple screens rises and fragmentation grows, this fundamental need has been increasingly on our minds. What does this erosion of “belonging-ness” mean for individuals, society and businesses? How have and will these shifts change people’s expectations of brand experiences and the role brands play in their lives?
Read MoreTechnology-savvy Millennials are seen by many in the travel and tourism industry as the new key segment to generate much of the targeted growth in the coming years. And, those 1.8 billion people worldwide do display particular characteristics that will heavily influence the future. According to recent data, Millennials are more optimistic and plan to travel more frequently and spend more on travel than boomers in the next five years. This global generation seeks authenticity and is very adaptable yet also has come of age with a built-in expectation of having control of their activities. They want to experience new cultures, blend experiences across different types of trips, encounter and engage with local people and have authentic experiences.
Read MoreWhat customers want and what businesses think they want are often two different things, which is why personalization can be a huge advantage for businesses and consumers alike. Targeted communications that are relevant and useful can create long-lasting positive customer experiences and impact the business revenue growth of up to 30 percent. Customers see value as a function of how relevant and timely a message is in relation to how much it costs. In other words, how much personal information has to be shared and how much personal effort does it take to receive useful content.
Read MoreIn 2005 Steve Jobs gave his infamous commencement speech at Stanford University. It was six years before people would revisit it and hang on every word out of grief. Standing before the nation's next generation of innovators was the genius who never graduated from college. Jobs told the story of how he came to connect the dots of his past and went on to revolutionize technology.
Read More“You never find a place that is total silence,” Mr. Kagge said. “I’ve been looking, and I have not found it.” Erling Kagge is a 54-year-old Norwegian explorer, author and publisher. The closest he came was trekking to the South Pole, which he reached in early 1993. He was alone in frozen isolation for 50 nights and days. Given a radio to make emergency calls, he’d tossed the batteries on Day 1. “When you start, you have all the noise in your head,” Mr. Kagge said, but by the end “you feel your brain is wider than the sky. You’re a guy being part of this bigness, this greatness. To be alone and experience the silence feels very safe, very meaningful.”
Read MoreTech is not just for tech companies anymore. Nearly every industry has been affected by digital and mobile technologies disrupting their market and no company can afford to ignore the impact of technology, starting with supply chains to customer engagement, and continuous with even more advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things. The question is, how do companies rapidly access the technologies that can advance their businesses and integrate them successfully with their current operations?
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