PNolan2015

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Rise of the Machines: Is Betterment a Better Business for Wealth Management?
PNolan2015
Last modified on December 8, 2015 at 2:25 pm
Betterment leads the fray in a group of financial technology (FinTech) companies known as Robo-Advisers who seek to use automated investment platforms to disrupt the wealth management industry as we know it.

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On December 9, 2015, PNolan2015 commented on Chick-Fil-A: A model that has us all EATING MOR CHIKIN! :

This is a great analysis. The efficient operational process that goes into preparing the chicken cooking seems incredibly effective. My one question for this model is how scalable it might be. You mention the rigorous process each applicant must go to to become an operator of a Chick-Fil-A. As the restaurant gets larger and looks to expand (potentially internationally), will management be able to devote the level of due diligence necessary to maintain the quality of its operators? Furthermore, you mention that Chick-Fil-A maintains the power to change operators if necessary. Understanding from LEAD that the cost of replacing someone is typically 3x his/her salary, and understanding the thorough due diligence of each operator, it might be incredibly costly to replace an operator should he/she not work out.

On December 9, 2015, PNolan2015 commented on Hospital for Special Surgery :

As someone who got surgery at HSS (shoulder labrum repair), I can attest to its excellence as a hospital. I think its interesting that their low infection rates and high low cycle time can be attributed to limiting doctors to one specific surgery so that they become experts. While we’ve seen a number of cases where similar approaches have been taken (highly specialized tasks for workers to improve throughput and reduce error rates), a potential downside has always been worker boredom. When this technique is applied to highly qualified and intellectual surgeons, can the same thing be said? Does HSS ever allow doctors to “rotate” to a new surgery to alleviate boredom as Wang did with his workers at BYD?

On December 9, 2015, PNolan2015 commented on Domino’s India – 30 min or free..creating the market :

Fascinating post. The immediate question that popped into my mind as I began reading was how they navigate the infamous traffic in India. It seems that motor bikes are a logical and practical solution for this. One question that looms is how scalable this business model is. As internet usage and the popularity of Domino’s pizza grows in India, do you think that the company will be able to maintain the 30-minute promise that you consider to be the primary driver of its growth? Understanding urban environment in India, the cities are incredibly populous, so I can see an overwhelming amount of incoming orders as a potential problem for a restaurant with limited numbers of delivery boys.