Maybe Silicon Valley companies succeed because their founders care more about what they do than where they do it

Maybe Silicon Valley companies succeed because their founders care more about what they do than where they do it

BY SARAH LACY 
ON JULY 22, 2013

Michael has a great story this morning on why big companies tend to come out of Silicon Valley. It’s in response to a story aboutwhy they don’t come out of Canada. Meanwhile there’s still handwringing going on over my post about why Waze shouldn’t be the exit Israelis’ are high-fiving about. (Still.) My guess is on any given day there are posts like these on blogs all over the world. I’m not aware of a city that doesn’t want to be “the next Silicon Valley.” And yet, New York may have come the closest — and it’s still a gulf away in terms of jobs, exits, and economic impact. Read more of this post

What Bill Gates is reading this summer

What Bill Gates is reading this summer

By Ritchie King @RitchieSKing July 20, 2013

If you’re in the market for a light, sunshine-friendly novel—something with an up tempo narrative and relatable characters—then Bill Gates’s summer reading list is not for you. But if you’re a non-fiction buff with a wide range of interests, then it might be the perfect place to look for a new book. The list, which the Microsoft chairman posted on his blog Gates Notes, is his own personal reading agenda for the season—not a collection of books that he’s already read and feels inspired to promote (with the exception of one of them). It includes eight titles in all, and seven are non-fiction. “I don’t generally read a lot of fiction,” Gates writes next to the entry for Robert Cook’s Patriot & Assassin, the sole novel in the list. Taken together, the lineup reveals Gates to be a total intellectual omnivore. Notably, there isn’t a single book about computing or technology. The non-fiction titles range from a psychologist’s exploration of stereotypes to a history of the shipping container and its impact on globalization. He’s already finished reading the first book on the list—Jared Diamond’s The World Until Yesterday—and hasposted his own review of it. Here’s the list in full: Read more of this post

Brazilian Billionaire Who Lost A Massive Fortune Wonders Where It All Went Wrong

Billionaire Who Lost A Massive Fortune Wonders Where It All Went Wrong

LINETTE LOPEZ JUL. 22, 2013, 12:51 PM 21,037 11

Things are worse for Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista than they have ever been before. Now he has written an open letter in the journal Valor International to express his intense regret to the public. Over the last year Batista’s gone from being the 7th richest man in the world, to hemorrhaging $2 million a day. His fortune comes from his holding company, EBX. Under its umbrella are six companies that all deal with Brazil’s natural resources and logistics. The Brazilian resource industry has gotten crushed as part of the overall emerging market slowdown. They’ve lost a combined $10 billion over the last year, says Bloomberg. What Batista wants is to be the country’s champion again, and to have investors believe in him. To regain their trust he wrote:

More than anyone, I wonder where I went wrong. What should I have done differently? A first question might be linked to the funding model I chose for the companies. Today, if I could go back in time, I would not have resorted to the stock market. I would have a structured private-equity firm that would allow me to create from scratch and develop over at least 10 years each company. And they would all remain private until I was sure that it was time to go public. In the projects that I conceived, time proved a vital stress factor for the reversal of expectations on companies bearing broadly satisfactory results and valuable assets. Read more of this post

How To Self-Publish A Bestseller: Publishing 3.0

How To Self-Publish A Bestseller: Publishing 3.0

AMES ALTUCHER

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

104 Comments

Editor’s note: James Altucher is an investor, programmer, author, and several-times entrepreneur. His latest book, “Choose Yourself!” (foreword by Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter) came out on June 3. Follow him on Twitter @jaltucher.

My most recent book, “Choose Yourself!” sold 44,294 copies in its first month out, hit the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list, was No. 1 on Amazon for all non-fiction books for a few days and is still flirting with No. 1 in its various categories. This post is about what I did differently, why I did it differently, and how I think anyone can do this to self-publish a bestseller. I describe all the numbers, who I hired and why, and how I made the various choices I did.

Every entrepreneur should self-publish a book, because self-publishing is the new business card. If you want to stand out in a world of content, you need to underline your expertise. Publishing a book is not just putting your thoughts on a blog post. It’s an event. It shows your best curated thoughts and it shows customers, clients, investors, friends and lovers what the most important things on your mind are right now. Read more of this post

The House That Lego Built

July 22, 2013, 6:15 p.m. ET

The House That Lego Built

Lego balked at licensing warlike ‘Star Wars’ toys. But then anthropological research convinced company executives that kids like to compete.

DAVID A. PRICE

The patents on the core product of the Lego Group—its famous build-it-yourself bricks—expired decades ago, yet the company seems to be thriving: Its gross profit margin of 71% is far higher than that of other major toy companies and, for that matter, Apple. It was not always thus. Only 10 years ago, Lego was posting record losses; retailers were backlogged with unsold Lego toys; and it was unclear whether Lego would survive as an independent company. An internal review discovered that 94% of the sets in its product line were unprofitable. The turnaround story that followed is well told by Wharton professor David Robertson in “Brick by Brick.” Read more of this post

How an Introvert Can Be Happier: Act Like an Extrovert

July 22, 2013, 6:57 p.m. ET

How an Introvert Can Be Happier: Act Like an Extrovert

Extroverts are generally happier, studies show. And research shows introverts feel happier when they act extroverted.

SUMATHI REDDY

Both introverts and extroverts can be adept at public speaking. But whereas an extrovert might afterward want to interact with others in a large group, introverts might feel the need for self-reflection and time alone, such as by taking a walk. Extroverts, those outgoing, gregarious types who wear their personalities on their sleeve, are generally happier, studies show. Some research also has found that introverts, who are more withdrawn in nature, will feel a greater sense of happiness if they act extroverted. Experts aren’t entirely sure why behaving like an extrovert makes people feel better. One theory is that being talkative and engaging influences how people respond to you, especially if that response is positive. Others speculate that people get more satisfaction when they express their core self and opinions. Another possibility: Happiness might come simply from having successfully completed a goal, such as giving a speech. Read more of this post

From Hello Kitty to Harajuku Girls, Japan’s kawaii culture isn’t just about being “cute”; contrary to popular belief, kawaii products need to be cute, but not too cute – otherwise they won’t sell.

July 23, 2013, 10:24 AM

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kawaii

Top of Form

By MANAMI OKAZAKI

If you’ve ever been to Japan, whether you know it or not, you will have encountered multiple examples of kawaii, the country’s dominant pop-cultural aesthetic. That bus stop shaped like a watermelon? Kawaii. Adorable police mascots? Kawaii. Harajuku fashionistas with pink tutus and purple bangs, Hello Kitty TV sets, fish cakes that look like pandas, girls in manga with sparkly eyes, construction signs that take the form of frogs? All kawaii. Kawaii culture has many guises, but what exactly is it? If it’s just the Japanese word for “cute,” as it’s usually translated, why not just call it that? In my book, “Kawaii!: Japan’s Culture of Cute,” I spoke to product designers, manga artists, fashion luminaries, event organizers, scholars and artists who deal in kawaii. One thing they made clear is that contrary to popular belief, kawaii products need to be cute, but not too cute – otherwise they won’t sell. Conflicting views abound as to what kawaii is and isn’t. In light of this, below are five things about kawaii that go against common misperceptions. I hope they help you look at kawaii in a different light. Read more of this post

KFC, McDonald’s Ice Cubes in China Found Dirtier than Toilet Water

KFC Ice Cubes Found Dirtier than Toilet Water

07-22 14:43 Caijing

CCTV said test results of samples from stores of KFC, McDonalds and the Chinese brand the Kung Fu at the same location found excessive levels bacteria colonies in their ice.

Global fast food chain KFC apologized Sunday over a central television report that ice cubes supplied in stores were found even dirtier than the public toilet water. “We are sorry about this,” KFC (China) said in the entries of its verified official micro blog on Sina Weibo, “Our quality department has inspected the restaurant and urged the staff to immediately clean and sterilize the ice-makers and other equipment strictly in accordance with our standards.” The China Central Television (CCTV) revealed on Saturday in a program that test results of samples from stores of KFC, McDonalds and the Chinese brand the Kung Fu at the same location, found excessive levels of bacteria colonies in their ice. The amount of bacteria colonies was 19 times higher than allowed under China’s national standard, and 12 times than that in the toilet water, the report said. Ice cubes in the Kung Fu were also dirtier than toilet water but not in the McDonalds, although the bacterial level there also exceed the national standard. Read more of this post

Megastore for Thai Monks Brings One-Stop Retail to Buddhism; Big Box Is a Draw for Men in Robes; Air Conditioning a Blessing to Shoppers; “Even when the economy slows down and political crisis [hits], people still want to make merit,” or do good deeds. “They want to be happy and have good fortune.”

Updated July 22, 2013, 11:13 p.m. ET

Megastore for Thai Monks Brings One-Stop Retail to Buddhism

Big Box Is a Draw for Men in Robes; Air Conditioning a Blessing to Shoppers

WILAWAN WATCHARASAKWET

Sakol Sangmalee has the biggest monk-supply store in the country.

One Bangkok megastore is making it easier for monks to find supplies as Buddhist Lent season begins in Thailand this week. WSJ’s Wilawan Watcharasakwet reports.

BANGKOK—On the western outskirts of town here, Hang Sangkapan sells everything the well-turned out Buddhist acolyte could need. At the store, which translates as “Monk Supply,” aisles are stocked with candles, Buddha statuettes (both seated and standing) as well as altar tables, CDs, books and innumerable odds and ends for monks—be they novice or abbot. Thailand has 61.5 million Buddhists among its 65.9 million people, nearly all of them practicing in the Theravada tradition. Males are expected to take the robe at least once in their lives. With heads shaved, they spend a few weeks seeking offerings and learning the Buddha’s teaching, disciplines and meditation. Read more of this post