"Square Square Square Square".......

Last weekend I was in Paris for the MBA Olympics and I have a few fantastic stories from that weekend that I would really like to blog about but before that I have a compelling urge to create a blog about four square and it's business model. (Ok - I admit, I need to write this blog as part of my Information Systems class).

For those that are not quite at the forefront of technological trends, four square is a new start-up technology company that enables users to "check-in" to locations and write reviews about locations. The locations can be restaurants, shops, bars, clubs or just general places of interest. The idea is that once a place has been checked-in and reviewed, people interested in viewing a review of a place can use four square to do so. People can use the application on mobile devices, hence people are able to view reviews for locations that are close to their current positions.

Four Square is typically a mobile application used on devices such as iPhones, Blackberrys, etc. However, the reviews generated from Check-Ins can be view online through the four square website. There are trends emerging that compensate frequent users with discounts in stores, bars and restaurants.

Basically, the major stakeholders involved in the four square's business sphere are:

1. End Users: This refers to the consumers that use the mobile four square application on their portable devices.
2. Customers: This will be the segment of the market that compensates four square for the services they provide. This is unlikely to be the end users. Once users are required to pay four square for using their services, the number of four square users is likely to decline.

At the moment, the value proposition provided to each of these groups is as follows:

Value for end users:

• End users are able to access customized information about places of interest close to their current location. If an end user wants to view the reviews of restaurants around a certain area, the user is able to do so while being on the move.
• Through the points structure currently setup on Four Square, users that gain a lot of points are awarded titles that implicitly give them bragging rights over their friends and peers. This is an incentive for users to continue using the application and "Checking In" at every possibility.
• A new trend has emerged where retailers, bar owners and restaurant owners are giving end users a direct financial benefit for their presence on four square. That is, a consumer with a four square title of "Mayor" is able to walk into a number of bars and is able to receive a first drink free, or a discount of some other kind.

Value for businesses:

• Business that provide goods and services to the end users of four square are able to benefit from the application by being able to gain data on their own customers. This data can be valuable for Goods and Services providers in making critical strategic decisions.
• Although not currently available, it is expected that four square will enable businesses to post customized advertisements on the mobile application. This will enable businesses to post specific advertisements to consumers through four square depending on the current location of the consumer.

Thus, it can be seen that four square can add value to two separate groups. However, the value that the application provides to end users does not seem to be compelling enough to justify a charge for using the application. If end users are forced to pay for using the application it is quite likely that they will seek to avoid using the application. However, since four square could help businesses increase their own revenue, it seems reasonable to charge the businesses.

At the moment, four square is still running on it's start up money, there are no major sources of revenue. However, four square might eventually be able to generate revenue from some of the following methods:

1. Four Square could charge businesses for placing advertisements on it's application. This is the most obvious method of generating revenue and this method is currently utilized by several applications designed for the iPhone.
2. Four Square could also charge businesses on a cost-per-checkin basis. This would be quite a unique charging model. In this model, an increase in the number of check-ins will increase the online visibility of the businesses. An increase in the online visibility of a business is likely to bring in a greater number of customers and this will also compensate four square accordingly.

Now, is four square the new golden child of the internet ? Well, that is a multi-million dollar question now, isn't it ? Personally I believe that four square needs to re-position it's offering in such a way that value delivered to end users is more compelling. At the moment, the odd free beer and some bragging rights do not seem enough of an incentive for the vast majority of people. While I feel that the localized search on places of interest is useful, four square is hardly the first application that tries to do this.

On the other hand, customized data on consumers is something that businesses in general would love to attain. In fact, I think they would be willing to pay good money to attain this data.

In conclusion, I feel that if four square is able to overcome some of it's early teething problems, it could very well be an extremely successful online business.

The download dilemma....

We were having a discussion in class about moral validity of MP3 downloads and it's impact on the music industry in general. There were a couple of people from the music industry in the class so we did get a bit of a "industry view". Essentially, there were 2 points of view:

1. Downloading of music from Peer to Peer networks is akin to stealing. Producers and artists should be compensated for their work. The general public, downloading music and other content from free sources is doing so on unethical and immoral grounds.
2. The current digital music distribution framework has been essential in providing a global voice to artists that would have been otherwise unknown. The large artists seem to be quite financially successful already. The producing companies need to re-invent their business models in order to adapt to the changing needs and usage patterns of the consumer.

Personally, I am in favor of the 2nd point of view. I believe that the producing companies need to adapt their ways of doing business and need to stop throwing their toys from their cots and crying foul. In my view success in business is intrinsically tied to one's ability to adapt to change (& lead the change process). In our time of existence, the rules of the game, whatever game, are constantly changing and they are changing at a faster rate than ever before.

The tactic of using corporate muscle to crush the free exchange of digital music is a knee-jerk reaction that has lasted a decade. I know it is quite cliche for me to post an online blog on the power and necessity for the free transfer of information. But one of my pet-peeves is watching bureaucracy and change-fobia stifle the road of the change agent.

Anyway, if you are still reading, my ramblings must have been somewhat interesting (even if they may be infuriating for some of you).

So till the next time something inspires me or grinds my gears - Caio.

Spain in Spring

It has been an eternity since I last posted on the blog, so I think its time to get it active once again. I have been in Spain for 2 months now, and the MBA is in full swing. I have had an amazing time so far but I think life is about to get a whole lot tougher....

For my first month or so, the optional Spainsh course provided by IE was the only item on my academic agenda. That automatically translated into a whole lot of fun and "networking" for an entire month. Discovering the nightlife in Madrid was certainly one of the many "culture shocks" I have experienced so far. Wrapping up a party at 5am equates to having an "early night" in Spain, bars dont get going till about 11-12 or so and the clubbing scene only starts at about 4am.

Along with the nightlife though, there was a lot of time spent discovering Madrid, it's snaking alleyways, regal museums and serene parks. Over the Easter holidays some friends and I managed to organise a road trip to the south of Spain. The experience there was stupendous .....Spain is a very Catholic country and festivals such as Easter are celebrated with gusto. Each city or town we visited had an extravagant parade composed of people dressed in what appeared to me as "KKK" costumes. Needless to say, the entire procession was completely peaceful and had no similarity to the aforementioned clan....

The MBA officially started on the 13th of April and by this time I had already been in Spain for a full 6 weeks. I was beginning to feel a great pang of guilt. I had been unproductive for far too long for my liking and I was eager to start challenging myself once again. For the first 2 weeks of the MBA, we had a program called LAUNCH. The LAUNCH program is basically a series of modules that foster Leadership, Teambuilding, Culutral Awareness and Creative Thinking. According to one of the professors at IE, other business schools dont really have a program similar to LAUNCH and LAUNCH is one of the things that differentiates IE. For the most part, I thought LAUNCH was useful, infact some of the classes were fascinating, but there were a couple of times when I could not really see the relevance of the exercise. The schedule for LANUCH though, was quite intense, usually starting at 9am and finishing at 8 or 9pm, and the whole thing made me feel somewhat productive again :).

Well at the moment, LAUNCH is finished and the grind has really begun. Many people who have done the MBA or are nearly finished with the MBA claim that this is the hardest they have ever worked in their life. I cant really make a comment on that right now, its still too early, but I am glad that I am challenging myself once again. I do expect that by the time the MBA is over, I would have redefined what my limits really are.

I am now about to make a resolution and announce it on this semi-public forum. One of the things they have told us here at IE is that if you announce your resolution, you are much more likely to stick to it. So, on that note, I resolve to blog once a week from here on until the end of the MBA....:).

Till next time - adios.

My first week in Madrid

Its been just over a week since I arrived in Madrid. So much has happened in the last week it almost feels like I have been staying here for a month.....

I finally got to meet quite a few of my fellow MBA classmates in person. They seem like a great bunch of people and I am quite hopeful that I will be able to make some very long lasting friendships in my time here....Of course the backgrounds of my classmates are very impressive, and it is quite obvious that many of my classmates are accustomed to working 70-80 hour weeks. However, for the moment everyone is very relaxed. We are currently only taking Spanish classes so my classmates are taking this opportunity to discover Madrid (especially the nightlife)........

I spoke very very basic Spanish before I got here and I have realised that one can actually get around Madrid with a basic knowledge of Spanish. Actually there are a few people here (non-professionals) who have been surviving in Spain for a number of years without actually being able to speak much Spanish...... Its funny how far a little bit of eye contact and some hand gestures can take you...

Of course, I know this is a fantastic opportunity to properly grasp another language and I intend to make every effort to learn Spanish properly.........Somehow I managed to get myself into the more advanced Spanish class.....and its quite an experience :). The teacher is very animated and he speaks almost exclusively in Spanish, and going to his class is a very entertaining experience .........I think my knowledge of Spanish is among the weakest in the class, but Im doing my best to keep up with the rest. I think I will learn a lot more in doing that than if I went to the less advanced class and I had knowledge of more of the material being taught.......However, it does feel like the teacher is moving at a 100 miles per hour so I always have to concentrate 100% (and frequently check my iPhone dictionary) in order to keep up......but its an invigorating experience and Im loving it......

On another note, I have found a great flat and I will be sharing it with some fellow IE MBA students. Its a very spacious flat, with 5 bedrooms, of which 3 are currently occupied. My flatmates are a very energetic and enthusiastic bunch.....I think I have made a great choice:)........Shortly there will be a couple of native Spanish speakers arriving and I think that would be a real boon as we will be able to practice our Spanish at home on a daily basis...

Its Saturday morning here, and I am going to be spending most of the weekend getting to know Madrid more intimately......

Till next time - adios.

Two sleeps to go ....

So the time has finally arrived. Two more sleeps before I head off to Madrid and undertake an opportunity of a lifetime !!

I have been on a bit of a sabbatical from work so I have had plenty of time to prepare for my departure. I have had a 3 month holiday, probably the longest holiday I will have for a very, very long time, sure am glad I gave myself such a long break before the MBA. I think I am going to need all the reserves of energy that I have accumulated....

The visa application process was quite tedious but thankfully all that has been sorted. For those of you looking to do your MBA in foreign countries, do remember to allocate plenty of time to the visa application procedure.

Well, my Spanish is not really where I thought it would be at this point. I am still only capable of holding some very very basic conversations. So getting around and getting things done in Madrid should be a nice challenge :). I've also heard that it is snowing in Madrid........You see in Australia one very rarely sees snow outside the ski resorts so the whole concept of snow in your backyard is a bit of novelty for me.

I think the whole experience would be tremendous and I cant wait to get stuck into the adrenalin charged, action packed, sleep deprived, eye-opening, life-changing, ego-building, ego-destroying, friendship forming & opportunity grasping MBA @ IE !!!

Adios.

Why I joined IE

A prospective MBA student asked me about IE recently, and I gave them a bit of a spiel on why I joined IE, etc. Since I have crystallized my thoughts on the matter, I might as well blog about it:

Hi XXX,

Well I am not officially part of the school as yet but I will be starting my MBA in April this year. I will be heading over to Madrid in a couple of weeks to attend the Spanish classes and pre-courses provided by the school.

In regards to the school, I think it would probably be best if I explained my reasons for choosing IE. I have a financial services technology background from Australia, and I've worked closely with a few blue chip companies. Post the MBA I am endeavoring to transition into Management Consulting, hopefully at a top 4 firm.

I decided to choose Europe for an MBA because I thought the perspective provided by the American schools was quite inwardly focused and the European MBAs provided more of a global experience. Also, I thought the return on investment was much better, as the cost, monetary and opportunity cost, was much lower.

In terms of consulting schools in Europe, I thought the best schools to consider were LBS, INSEAD and IE. I thought my 4 years experience was a bit short for IMD so I didnt apply there. I applied in a pretty tough application cycle (09) and I got waitlisted at LBS and INSEAD so I chose IE. I did consider HEC Paris but I decided against it because I thought the school was too French and did not quite have the diversity and the international flavour of IE. I also thought about Oxford / Cambridge but they are better known for fields outside of business, so I didnt apply there either.

In regards to job prospects, the Spanish economy is in a pretty poor state. However, I think the rest of Europe will be on a pretty steady road to recovery this year. I also believe that my best shot at a consulting career is in London, so it is likely I will be there after my MBA. IE has a very strong record of placing students in top consulting firms. When comparing with European schools IE is probably only second to INSEAD in this department.

Of course IE is also very strong in the Entrepreneurial and Corporate Social Responsibility fields.

Anyway, I hope my spiel above was helpful. I would be glad to help by recalling my experience in the INSEAD/LBS/IE interviews.

All the best with your MBA search.

Meeting my classmates online

Ok - so I have been procrastinating this whole blogging business for quite a while now. I thought it was time to get back into it.

I am about 4 weeks away from traveling to Madrid and starting my MBA. I have started talking to a few of my future classmates through Facebook and it has been great. Im looking forward to meeting this amazing group of people shortly.

I am currently reading a book called "Ahead of the curve - two years at Harvard Business School". Its written by an ex-journalist who is describing his time at Harvard. The professional backgrounds of the people I have met so far seem quite similar to the MBA class at Harvard. Probably the biggest difference being that there are less Investment Bankers at IE and a few more people with a general management background. Of course the class at IE is much more diverse than the class at HBS. The book is a great read, I would recommend it to anyone who is considering an MBA or is about to start an MBA - its very insightful.

Alright then, I'll sign off for now - back to the Spanish lessons.

Adios.