One segment I have been absolutely upbeat is IT/Tech. Tech has always been the hidden moat for many companies - AP/BFL to name a few. Tech is no longer a vertical in market. It has become horizontal that cuts across every single vertical.

Be it Pharma/API, Finance, Insurance, Manufacturing, Retail, CD, or any other segment, Tech is going to give you edge over peers.
The spend on IT/Tech is going to increase stupendously in coming 4/5 years to levels we haven't even imagined. The investment in tech is going to help big get even bigger and put very hard survival barriers to new entrants.
BFL/HDFC Life from Fin/Insurance segment have one of the best tech platforms. IndiaMart relies on customer data monetization, Dmart has a very small but extremely strong team of data scientists
Even Nestle has very strong data scientist pool, Asian Paints story is well knows to everyone now. Not investing in IT/Tech is going to be your biggest mistake in investing journey.
If you think API/Pharma is in structural bull-run, Tech is on the next level. Pick right companies and just sit back!
Platform based companies know how best to monetize customer data. Retail companies like Dmart know how to slice customer segments are draw build demand & advance planning for days/months/years to come.
Nestle knowns which flavor in which segment (city/rural) in which area/locality would sell best. HDFC Life knows which profile, at what age is more prone to buy & continue paying premiums for the lifetime of the policy
To conclude: Do not take IT/Tech lightly. The IT spends going to go up. DeFi, FinTech are only going to intensify the spends.
Time to reach 50mn users is reducing at rapid pace. It took 68yrs for Airlines to have their first 50mn customers, 18 yrs for ATMs, 4 yrs for YouTube, and Pokemon Go took 19 days. Ref: HDFC Life Tech Insights
Only the payments segment is decently penetrated by PhonePe, Gpay, Amazon etc. Marketplace lending, Fintech Enablers, P2P lending, Insurance are still in early phase of tech revolution
The slice & consume approach is going to bring a lot many opportunities for tech startups. Unbundling of services will give rise to many companies, and even increased money flow in Fin/Tech/IT space
This will enrich digital/tech value chain across different segments such as consumer/insurance/pharma/services/retail/Auto etc.
The role of underwriter will go eventually once adoption of tech gets commoditized. The role of DP/Validator must go eventually as well.
The consumer experience will lead the way. People would want seamless experiences across different situations - be it work/leisure/personal. Whoever enables seamless consumer experience will have sticky customer base
The revolution that rocked enterprise software i.e. move from inside to outside (product to customer) also rock many companies including likes of HDFC Life/Dmart/Relaxo and many more. Names are not reco. Just for example
Digital assets will be on rise for all companies eventually as they continue to invest into core systems, enables, and consumption front.
With this, a lot of products will undergo on the fly transformations. Products will be made to suit individual customer and one product fit all time is now gone. Be it custom pricing algos or custom insurance products, cognitive platforms/algos will witness humongous rise
We are staring at scenario where we go from days to hours, and hours to minutes before a product is put together and consumed.
The next phase of growth will come from channels that were not existent earlier, enabled by technologies that were not used earlier. Hence, spend on tech is only way to accelerate growth & lead on.
For e.g. Swiggy integrating into OLA is one example of new channels based growth. Or purchasing a smartphone and bundling an insurance along. Platforms will provide some amazing integration capabilities to whoever is ready to grab such opportunities.
Embedded Finance/Insurance is already present in India & have integrated at platforms level quiet well. See those add insurance while you buy air ticket or a smartphone? That is embedded insurance
Taking example of insurance & how tech can being in growth: Automation in claim settlements can bring in as high as 30% reduction in costs - You don't need underwriter/claim validation officers
Companies will look to avoid risks rather than fighting to mitigate risks. Reason? - Tech will enable insights/analytics to such finer levels that you can actually know how to avoid risk. Earlier, such insights were unknown
Insurance companies are only spending 2% of their innovation efforts on claims automation, while distribution remains highest at 9%. Imagine the growth lined up ahead.
New data will give rise to new insights which will in turn give rise to new products and new business models, companies will transform from traditional insurance to InsureTech, Financials to FinTech
Even companies that haven't digitized their core yet can double their profits in 5 yrs only by digitizing existing business (even if we say now new business growth comes in)
We are at a tipping point in digital revolution where big becomes bigger, and laggards/late adopters will eventually die. So go back to your PF and see where does your company fits in.
As Tom king says - “It doesn’t matter how much business you sell today, it’s whether or not you can identify where [future] profits and losses lie, and what you need to jettison.”
And when we look back at companies now with this context, how on earth businesses such as Dmart/Bajaj/HDFC Life/Relaxo are expensive? Not at all. Change your perspective else you will forever remain at sidelines

More from Ameya

After getting good feedback on yesterday's thread on #routemobile I think it is logical to do a bit in-depth technical study. Place #twilio at center, keep #routemobile & #tanla at the periphery & see who is each placed.


This thread is inspired by one of the articles I read on the-ken about #postman API & how they are transforming & expediting software product delivery & consumption, leading to enhanced developer productivity.

We all know that #Twilio offers host of APIs that can be readily used for faster integration by anyone who wants to have communication capabilities. Before we move ahead, let's get a few things cleared out.

Can anyone build the programming capability to process payments or communication capabilities? Yes, but will they, the answer is NO. Companies prefer to consume APIs offered by likes of #Stripe #twilio #Shopify #razorpay etc.

This offers two benefits - faster time to market, of course that means no need to re-invent the wheel + not worrying of compliance around payment process or communication regulations. This makes entire ecosystem extremely agile

More from Tech

I could create an entire twitter feed of things Facebook has tried to cover up since 2015. Where do you want to start, Mark and Sheryl? https://t.co/1trgupQEH9


Ok, here. Just one of the 236 mentions of Facebook in the under read but incredibly important interim report from Parliament. ht @CommonsCMS
https://t.co/gfhHCrOLeU


Let’s do another, this one to Senate Intel. Question: “Were you or CEO Mark Zuckerberg aware of the hiring of Joseph Chancellor?"
Answer "Facebook has over 30,000 employees. Senior management does not participate in day-today hiring decisions."


Or to @CommonsCMS: Question: "When did Mark Zuckerberg know about Cambridge Analytica?"
Answer: "He did not become aware of allegations CA may not have deleted data about FB users obtained through Dr. Kogan's app until March of 2018, when
these issues were raised in the media."


If you prefer visuals, watch this short clip after @IanCLucas rightly expresses concern about a Facebook exec failing to disclose info.
Recently, the @CNIL issued a decision regarding the GDPR compliance of an unknown French adtech company named "Vectaury". It may seem like small fry, but the decision has potential wide-ranging impacts for Google, the IAB framework, and today's adtech. It's thread time! 👇

It's all in French, but if you're up for it you can read:
• Their blog post (lacks the most interesting details):
https://t.co/PHkDcOT1hy
• Their high-level legal decision: https://t.co/hwpiEvjodt
• The full notification: https://t.co/QQB7rfynha

I've read it so you needn't!

Vectaury was collecting geolocation data in order to create profiles (eg. people who often go to this or that type of shop) so as to power ad targeting. They operate through embedded SDKs and ad bidding, making them invisible to users.

The @CNIL notes that profiling based off of geolocation presents particular risks since it reveals people's movements and habits. As risky, the processing requires consent — this will be the heart of their assessment.

Interesting point: they justify the decision in part because of how many people COULD be targeted in this way (rather than how many have — though they note that too). Because it's on a phone, and many have phones, it is considered large-scale processing no matter what.
"I really want to break into Product Management"

make products.

"If only someone would tell me how I can get a startup to notice me."

Make Products.

"I guess it's impossible and I'll never break into the industry."

MAKE PRODUCTS.

Courtesy of @edbrisson's wonderful thread on breaking into comics –
https://t.co/TgNblNSCBj – here is why the same applies to Product Management, too.


There is no better way of learning the craft of product, or proving your potential to employers, than just doing it.

You do not need anybody's permission. We don't have diplomas, nor doctorates. We can barely agree on a single standard of what a Product Manager is supposed to do.

But – there is at least one blindingly obvious industry consensus – a Product Manager makes Products.

And they don't need to be kept at the exact right temperature, given endless resource, or carefully protected in order to do this.

They find their own way.
Ok, I’ve told this story a few times, but maybe never here. Here we go. 🧵👇


I was about 6. I was in the car with my mother. We were driving a few hours from home to go to Orlando. My parents were letting me audition for a tv show. It would end up being my first job. I was very excited. But, in the meantime we drove and listened to Rush’s show.

There was some sort of trivia question they posed to the audience. I don’t remember what the riddle was, but I remember I knew the answer right away. It was phrased in this way that was somehow just simpler to see from a kid’s perspective. The answer was CAROUSEL. I was elated.

My mother was THRILLED. She insisted that we call Into the show using her “for emergencies only” giant cell phone. It was this phone:


I called in. The phone rang for a while, but someone answered. It was an impatient-sounding dude. The screener. I said I had the trivia answer. He wasn’t charmed, I could hear him rolling his eyes. He asked me what it was. I told him. “Please hold.”

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And here they are...

THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE

Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.

#24hrstartup

The winners 👇

#10

Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.

https://t.co/M75RAirZzs

@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.

A great product for a great cause.

Congrats Chris on winning $250!


#9

Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.

https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy

A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.

Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!


#8

SayHenlo - Chat without distractions

https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6

Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲

Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.


#7

CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!

https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY

Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.

I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!