The Big Idea
Fiber optic components are one of the building blocks of high-speed data and communications networks. This market gets a lot of press coverage and investors are generally well aware of fiber optic component suppliers for the telecom and datacom markets.
A lesser but...
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The Big Idea
If you want to find markets where purpose-built software can make life a lot easier look no further than life sciences and high tech.
Both are defined by the ever-present need to develop new products, launch them into the market, appropriately manage through...
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The Big Idea
How psyched would you be if you went to your healthcare provider and they said the following:
“I can make a health optimization recommendation for you, informed not only by the latest clinical trials, but also by local and regional data about like...
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THE BIG IDEA
In its 2017 infrastructure report card the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave America’s infrastructure a grade of “D+”.
America received the same grade in 2013. That was an improvement over 2009 (and 2005) when we received a “D”.
Suffice to say, room...
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THE BIG IDEA
There are over 100 million people around the world suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition in which a partially blocked airway prevents airflow to the lungs when a person is asleep. The typical length of a breathing pause is seconds...
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THE BIG IDEA
I have vague memories of the Electrolux vacuum salesman coming to our house to sell his wares. Over the last 40 or so years, the basic idea of enticing people to take advantage of a “deal” hasn’t changed much. But the and...
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THE BIG IDEA
Back in the late 1800s if you called a company for information you were routed through a telephone exchange and were able to speak with a person that could help.
The last switchboard operator for a hand-crank phone, Susan Glines, walked away her...
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THE BIG IDEA
A few years back the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report with an astounding conclusion:
Most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences.
That’s not cool.
Diagnostic accuracy of some conditions is staggeringly bad. For the...
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THE BIG IDEA
On a whim, I recently reviewed our car insurance.
Something didn’t feel right, so I went online and got a quote from another provider. It turns out they could cover our two cars with essentially the same coverage – for half the was...
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THE BIG IDEA
One of the big challenges for organizations in the fast-moving digital age is to understand what’s going on in their businesses right now.
Look at Facebook (FB). For a company that specializes in harvesting detailed user data and selling targeted ads you’d they...
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THE BIG IDEA
What if your doctor had a simple blood test that could predict Alzheimer’s Disease 15 years before any symptoms begin? Would you take it?
How about a test that could predict the likelihood of getting Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, and dementia?
Let’s say Miracle...
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THE BIG IDEA
Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “I’m fired up to buy stock in an Enterprise Work Management software company today.”
But not all investment ideas are sexy. Or make for a good story to tell friends. Or even sound a bit...
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THE BIG IDEA
On June 21, 2018 Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued his final decision before retiring, and reshaped the laws that will govern future taxation on interstate e-commerce sales.
For decades, states had been prohibited from collecting sales taxes on residents’ transactions when were...
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THE BIG IDEA
Fortunately, most people don’t ever have to think too seriously about donating an organ, or receiving an organ transplant. Perhaps they ponder it for a few moments when getting a new driver’s license. But that’s often as far as the thought goes...
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THE BIG IDEA
Let’s talk proteins.
Proteins are the large, complex molecules that do the lion’s share of the work in your cells and are essential for all living organisms. They’re made up of hundreds of thousands of amino acids, smaller units that are attached long,...
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THE BIG IDEA
A lot of attention is given to the companies that develop blockbuster drugs. Far less attention is paid to those that make the sophisticated manufacturing equipment that allow drugs to be developed, made for clinical trials, then produced at scale when approved.
These...
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THE BIG IDEA
Read slowly. This will take some time to digest.
We are on the verge of a renaissance in the industrial manufacturing industry that will forever change how products are designed, built and introduced to market.
This renaissance is being driven by the same that...
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THE BIG IDEA
Warren Buffett is widely considered one of the best investors in history. Over the last 53 years Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/A) per-share market value has grown at an average annual rate of 21%. That works out to 10% better, every year, than S&P...
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THE BIG IDEA
The size of the market for electronic business-to-business (B2B) payments is hard to wrap your mind around. In the U.S. alone, it’s estimated that current B2B payment volume tops $20 trillion.
That’s a lot of Benjamins exchanging hands.
Even in such a big there’s...
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THE BIG IDEA
The year was 1956. Peter Pappas, originally from Cyprus, had recently returned to New York City after fighting in the Korean War. Sensing a need for food deliveries to local restaurants, Mr. Pappas teamed up with his cousin and founded the Butter...
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