Winner Take All

The first half of the episode contains a deep dive into 5 new bills to curb the power of big tech and dominance of their platforms. Alex takes a look at the American Choice and Innovation Online Act, the Ending Platform Monopolies Act, The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act,  the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, and The Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act. In the second half of the show, discussion of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos traveling to space in a Blue Origin rocket, Microsoft subsidising the cost of Xbox consoles, and hospitality data comparing the recovery of Hotels vs Airbnb.   Originally Aired: 06/15/21 #Legislation #Airbnb #JeffBezos  00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 00:22 - New Platform/Tech Legislation 27:07 - Xbox Console Profits? 30:11 - Jeff Bezos Space Trip 34:21 - Airbnb vs Hotel Bounce Back

Alex sits down with Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior intelligence officer in the CIA overseeing clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia. Marc retired after 26 years of service as one of the CIA’s most decorated field officers. The two discuss how the tech landscape has impacted CIA operations over the past 3 decades, the United States facing new near-peer threats, and Marc being targeting by a Russian energy weapon that ultimately lead to an early end of his CIA career. They highlight leadership principals from Marc's new book, Clarity in Crisis, that are applicable for anyone looking to grow as a leader and as a human being.   Originally Aired: 06/18/21 #CIA #Leadership #Author  00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 00:14 - Marc Polymeropoulos Intro 01:16 - CIA Ranking - 4 Star General 02:00 - Leadership Parallels Between CIA and Startup World 03:32 - Keys to Having Clarity in Crisis 05:02 - Harrowing Moments Where Marc Had to Keep Composure 08:51 - Embracing Change as a Leader 11:51 - U.S. and Foreign Intelligence Love to Use Social Media 15:13 - Do Your Kids Use TikTok? 15:31 - Tech Companies Influence Abroad 19:36 - Being Attacked in Moscow 22:08 - Energy Weapon Being Used Outside Russia? 24:23 - Do CIA Agents Have a "License to Kill"? 27:33 - Cyber and Information War 31:25 - Near Peer Competition from China + Russia 34:20 - Constant Change and Innovation in Intelligence Space 38:05 - Closing Thoughts

Alex opens the show with two Applico announcements, the public release of Dot Food's press release detailing Applico's advisory of the ShopHero acquisition, and MDM featuring Applico's B2B Top 50 report. Next, Alex's take on whether or not inflation is coming to the USD and content platforms flipping their stance on COVID origin discussions. Also discussed, the mess that is Twitter's new "premium" feature, Nigeria banning Dorsey's social platform, and Tesla's declining sales in China. The episode closes out with a look at Spotify entering the audio book business and Gucci partnering with Roblox.    00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 00:28 - Applico and Dot Foods 05:38 - MDM Features B2B Top 50 Report 10:36 - What Inflation?! 21:56 - Virology Lab Talk Unbanned 25:57 - Twitter is a Mess 36:59 - China Turning Against Tesla 39:03 - Spotify Audiobook Deal 41:31 - Roblox + Gucci   Originally Aired: 06/11/21 #Food #Roblox #Inflation

Scott Barrows jumps on Winner Take All to discuss his chemical market  network startup, BluePallet, coming out of stealth to launch its online  marketplace backed by The National Association of Chemical Distributors  (NACD). Scott and Alex discuss BluePallet's formation, a merger between  echosystem and B2B FinTech engine Velloci, and securing BluePallet's  seed funding. Also discussed, how BluePallet was able to partner with  the NACD while other marketplaces got turned down, BluePallet's unique  platform business model, and why the chemical industry requires a  bespoke platform solution.   Originally Aired: 05/26/21 #Chemicals #BluePallet #Startups   CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BluePallet, a digital marketplace built with  the support of The National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD)  and backed by major industry players, today announced it has exited  stealth mode. The online market network was built by the same founders who built the  e-commerce platform used by LiveNation and the NFL for ticket reselling.  Set to transform the chemical industry, BluePallet is an exclusive  strategic partner of the NACD through 2024, the industry’s leading trade  organization. “BluePallet (formerly known as EchoSystem) has been an invaluable  strategic partner to NACD,” said Eric R. Byer, NACD’s President and CEO.  “BluePallet understands that in order to advance the chemical  distribution industry, we must look toward a digital future. As we  celebrate NACD’s 50th Anniversary of serving chemical distributors and  the supply chain, we are proud to continue partnering with an  organization that creates e-commerce solutions which are custom-built  for the future of our industry.” The United States is one of the world’s largest producers of chemical  products, representing nearly $1 trillion in chemical shipments  annually. But the industry has lagged others in digital commerce,  instead relying on more traditional methods such as sales teams.     About BluePallet: BluePallet is the world’s first market network that gives verified  industrial buyers and sellers control over their supply chain. Built  with the support and advice of the NACD [National Association of  Chemical Distributors] and its 400-plus member and affiliate companies,  BluePallet was formed through a merger between Velloci, a  consumer-oriented FinTech platform adapted to the B2B FinTech ecosystem,  and EchoSystem, a chemical marketplace founded in 2017 and based on the  platform founded by Scott Barrows and now employed by Ticketmaster,  Live Nation, and the NFL.

Alex opens the show with a look at Florida's newly proposed law to protect social media users from being unjustly banned from platforms. Next, a look at how Facebook has internally been classifying user's "vaccine hesitancy" levels and the Cyberspace Administration of China citing 105 apps for allegedly violating privacy laws. Also covered in this episode, a New York Times story covering the shocking privacy concessions Apple has made to operate in China, YouTube starting a fund to support #shorts creators, and the DC attorney general filing a new antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. The show closes out with Alex discussing Amazons imminent acquisition of movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (aka MGM).   00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 00:44 - Florida Deplatforming Law 05:00 - Facebook "Vaccine Hesitancy" 10:34 - China Data Privacy Sanctions 13:57 - Shorts Creator Fund 16:11 - Apple's Chinese Data Center 20:59 - New Amazon Antitrust Suit 24:20 - Amazon Buys MGM   Originally Aired: 05/25/21 #MGM #Apple #ChinaData

Alex kicks off the show with news of the Cathie Wood led ARK Next  Generation Internet ETF selling off shares of Netflix and buying into  Disney. Alex pulls a WTA clip from a month ago where he warned that  Wood's decision to "buy the dip" on Netflix was a bad move. Next,  discussion on AT&T's decision to sell its WarnerMedia assets and  TikTok CEO Zhang Yiming "stepping down". Also covered, does Epic have a  chance to beat Apple in the ongoing legal battle over app store  policies, Fred Wilson talks decentralized social media, and why  corporate development is a waste of time for startups. 00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 00:23 - ARK sells NFLX 02:33 - AT&T Sells WarnerMedia 12:53 - ByteDance Founder Steps Down 14:58 - Can Epic Beat Apple? 23:04 - Decentralized Social Media 31:09 - Corp Dev Doesn't Work Originally Aired: 05/21/21 #AT&T #CorpDev #NFLX

Alex opens up the episode by announcing Applico's new partnership with  Laz Parking, one of the nation's largest parking companies operating  over 1.3 million parking spaces in 35 states and 439 cities across the  United States. Next, a look at Amazon possibly utilizing malls as last  mile fulfillment centers and two stories out of China detailing  Meituan's CEO posting a controversial poem to social media and H&M  disappearing from Chinese platforms. The show closes out with some  discussion about Elon Musk appearing on SNL and news regarding Tesla's  expansion of its Shanghai giga factory. 00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 00:18 - Laz Parking Partners w/ Applico 07:50 - Amazon in Malls? 13:43 - Meituan CEO Posts Poem 17:12 - H&M Firewalled! 19:42 - Elon News Originally Aired: 05/12/21 #LazParking #Platforms #Podcast

Tiny Capital Co-founder Andrew Wilkinson calls into the show to discuss  his approach to buying wonderful internet business, taking WeCommerce  Holdings public on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and what he thinks the  future could be for crypto and NFTs.   Andrew is Co-founder of Tiny, a technology holding company using a  simple one-month acquisition process, then leaving the companies alone  to do their thing. Home to companies like Dribble, Flow, Creative  Market,  and Unicorn Hunt. 00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 00:58 - Bringing WeCommerce Public 06:06 - RTOs and SPACs 09:03 - Quick Deal Making Process 11:25 - Losing $10 Million vs Asana 17:34 - Profitable and Sustainable Tech Businesses 20:39 - Staying Under the Radar 21:49 - Meeting w/ Dustin Moskovitz 24:51 - Evaluating Potential Acquisitions 26:39 - Crypto Aligning Users and Owners 30:23 - Would You Issues a Dribbble Coin? 33:11 - Altcoins vs Marketable Securities 37:51 - Crypto, a Feature or a Product? 38:59 - BitClout 41:09 - What's Interesting About NFTs 42:19 - Impossible to Regulate? 43:42 - Next Trends Andrew is Watching 45:36 - Closing Remarks Originally Aired: 05/18/21 #VentureCapital #eCommerce #Investments

Alex does an in-depth analysis of the centralized power of big tech  using 1984, Star Wars, Modern Monopolies, and Rules For Radicals to draw  parallels and exemplify concepts.   Originally Aired: 05/11/21 #1984 #BigTech #Monopolies

Alex analyzes some excerpts from Berkshire Hathaway's 2021 Annual  Shareholders Meeting that touch on changes in top market cap companies over the past 30 years, Apple's innovation, how inflation impacts asset  prices, Charlie Munger's thoughts on SPACs and Robinhood. To close the show, Alex touches on Elon Musk's upcoming SNL appearance.   00:00 - Subscribe for Tech & Business News Daily 01:44 - Top Market Cap Platforms 10:06 - Berkshire and Apple 25:40 - Market Froth + Inflation 34:57 - Munger on SPACS + Robinhood 36:14 - Elon Musk on SNL Originally Aired: 05/02/21