To support its Emmy-nominated program “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon’s marketing department partnered with dozens of businesses in Los Angeles for ‘Maisel Day’ on August 15th. From a gas station charging 30 cents a gallon to burgers, fries, and a slice of pie for 80 cents at a diner, this clever marketing campaign uses some … More ‘Maisel Day’ and the Power of Nostalgia
Have you ever wondered why gas prices can vary significantly, even when the gas stations are within a block of each other? There are a lot of factors in play that cause these price differences, and with a few economic models and methods, we can start to tease out reasons for the variation. Focusing on … More Econ in the News: Gas Price Variation from Pump to Pump
Just like many other Stanford students about to switch from full-time student to full-time in the business world, I’ve spent the past 1.5 months looking for housing. Last year, my housing search prompted me to write about the search itself. This time, I want to focus in on Facebook Marketplace’s “Rentals” housing tab. Instead of a … More Product Improvement: Facebook Marketplace Rentals
It’s remarkable how many talented musicians I know who haven’t played their instruments in years. They practiced for hours a day, went to competitions, mastered the standard repertoire, and, somewhere along the way, forgot about the joy of making music with a group of people. For the last five years, I was both a violinist … More Musician Burnout and Rekindling Joy
“Suppose you need to borrow $100. Which is the lower amount to pay back: $105 or $100 plus three percent?” Half of the adults surveyed in a huge Gallup poll got the answer wrong (the correct answer, in case you were wondering, was $100 plus three percent: $103 < $105). In a humorous article on … More What about Financial Ed?
Turo is a car sharing platform that I first heard about at the Stanford fall career fair, where an engineering VP and I had a good chat about how their market had grown thanks to the increasing acceptance of “sharing economy” transactions. Now that I’m using the app myself to plan transportation for a future … More Product Teardown – Turo
I want you to try something. It’s not that novel, and it isn’t very revolutionary, but so few people seem to do it nowadays, especially adults: Take five minutes out of your day, sit down, and do nothing. In our modern world, we face endless distractions from notifications on our phones, echoes in the back of … More Rekindle your Imagination
Instagram recently released Checkout, its new all-in-app service for brands to sell products directly to consumers with a couple clicks on a photo. The beta release is rolling out with heavyweight brands, including Zara, Nike, and Prada. For this teardown, I’ll walk through the overall product, my impressions from the buyer and seller perspective, and … More Product Teardown – Instagram Checkout
I’m starting a new series, putting skills I learned from my Master’s degree to work. Drawing on design methodology and PM fundamentals, I’m exploring various companies’ products in “Product Teardown” case studies. First up is Pokemon Go, which has made quite the mark on mobile gaming since Niantic launched the game in 2016. Millions of … More Product Teardown – Pokemon Go
“How’s it going?” “Good.” And so ends another conversation. In our modern society (at least in the United States), we’ve become accustomed to little pleasantries throughout the day, offering mechanical responses to superficial questions. In other words, we habitually engage in “small talk.” What, then, is Big Talk? Started by Kalina Silverman, Big Talk attempts … More Big Talk, Small Talk
