Self-Reflection

Self Reflection Byte – Treasure Hunt with AI

A detour from finance: using Python and generative AI to build a bookmark app for X, and whether to vibe code.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 50 – Strategy & Finance

Fifty posts in: a Chartered Accountant's reflections on strategy, the Playing to Win framework, and a compass from strategy to finance.

Finance

Finance Byte 11 – Product Mix

Contribution analysis across a product mix, why loss leaders exist, and the same logic from a café to Apple.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 49 – Automotive Industry Analysis

Starting an automotive industry analysis: how the industry is segmented by vehicle type and a first-level value chain.

Finance

Finance Byte 10 – Contribution Analysis

Fixed vs variable costs, contribution and contribution margin, explained through a café business.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 48 – Industry Analysis - Why?

Why industry analysis is part of strategy: a discussion template, the value chain and what competitors reveal about an industry.

Finance

Finance Byte 9 – Net Profit

From gross profit to net profit: separating direct and indirect activities and the costs behind them.

Finance

Finance Byte 8 – Gross Performance

An income statement deep dive at the first level: how gross profit shows how efficiently a business runs its core activities.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 47 – New Entrants

Porter's threat of new entrants: regulation, capital requirements, distribution, brand loyalty and economies of scale as barriers.

Finance

Finance Byte 7 – The Income Statement

From first principles: listing and classifying a café's transactions to build an income statement.

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte 33 – FAT Protocol

Where value is captured in blockchain: internet protocols versus blockchain protocols and the fat protocol thesis.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 46 – Porter's Five Forces

The mindset for applying Five Forces, then rivalry among competitors, supplier power and buyer power.

Finance

Finance Byte 6 – Coffee Expenses

Costs and benefits for a café: operating expenses for same-year benefit, capital expenses for multi-year benefit, and the financial statements.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 45 – Industry Structure - Porter's Five Forces

An introduction to Porter's Five Forces through a gourmet burger stall at a food festival.

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte 32 – Blockchain Layers

Blockchain architecture layer by layer, from hardware and networking to protocol, transaction and application, compared with a computer's layers.

Finance

Finance Byte 5 – Coffee Costing

Following Jack's coffee shop: mapping business activities to costs and working out profit or loss.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 44 – Industry Analysis - Strategic GPS

Industry analysis in two layers: business factors such as structure, competitors and regulation, and financial factors such as unit economics.

Finance

Finance Byte 4 – Jack's Coffee

Meet Jack, a would-be café owner: how starting capital is invested and recorded as the first business transaction.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 43 – Industry Analysis

Industry vs sector, how operators and investors use industry analysis, and the layers of analysis that follow.

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte 31 – Blockchain Vulnerabilities

How blockchains can be attacked, from Sybil attacks to 51% majority attacks, and why it matters when choosing a blockchain.

Self-Reflection

A New Dawn – Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025

Year-end reflections for 2024: purpose, creating value, learning by doing, writing consistently and personal knowledge management.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 42 – Case Study Monzo

How Monzo built a digital-first bank: customer-focused offerings, a digital focus and managing uncertainty.

Finance

Finance Byte 3 – The System Mindset

The system mindset for finance: what a system is, first- and second-order effects, and why they matter for decisions.

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte 30 – Types of Blockchain

The three types of blockchain, public, consortium and private, how they differ and where each is used.

Strategy

Strategy Byte 41 – Case Study - Nubank

How Brazil's banking gaps and economic conditions shaped Nubank's early strategy. A systems view of macro variables in strategy.