Apple's iPhone launch was iconic! As Steve Jobs said, they reinvented the phone in 2007.
Clearly, Apple is such a cult because of revolutionary products & marketing.
But Apple's future is NOT the iPhone, iPad or Mac. It's a SaaS business that makes 2x profits!
Let's find out🧵
Structure: 1. What are Apple Services? 2. Apple’s top SaaS 3. Services revenue 4. Vs iPhone 5. Vs Top SaaS companies 6. Why move from hardware to SaaS? 7. Will Apple no longer make hardware?
B) Apple Services
• Revenue: ~$68bn
• ~64% margin
• Profits: ~$44bn
When you look at those profit numbers, the difference between the two looks much smaller!
5/ Apple Services vs. World’s top SaaS companies
Apple Services has more revenue than any of the world's top SaaS companies!
In fact, if I combine the revenue of Salesforce, Adobe & Zoom, I’ll arrive at the number of ~$39bn.
Apple Services alone makes >1.5x of that revenue🤯
6/ But why move from hardware tech to SaaS?
- Firstly, Apple can make a LOT more money (2x) from services than selling hardware products.
- More importantly, Apple’s hardware sales are stagnating. iPhone & iPad sales have dropped 10-15% every year from 2015 to 2019.
(contd.)
There’s strong competition in the phones & tablets market. Growing popularity of Chinese companies like Xiaomi & Huawei has been the primary reason for the drop in demand for iPhone & iPad.
7/ Will Apple no longer make iPhone, iPads, Macs? 😧
So now that Apple has an alternate revenue stream, will it stop making iPhones, iPads, Macs?
Or will Apple no longer launch amazing new hardware and spend on research?
Well, NO and NO
(contd.)
- Hardware products are the face of Apple - without them, the software is nothing
- Apple is also planning to rent out their hardware - more like “hardware as a service”
On top of this, although iPhone sales were consistently dropping, they peaked in 2020, beating 2015 numbers!
8/ In conclusion
It looks like Apple is doing well on all fronts (hardware & software) OR 2020 could just be an exception.
But overall, Apple’s move to SaaS is its need of the hour.
And it will surely be interesting to see how it shapes Apple’s business over the next decade!
Is Kunal Shah a visionary "Not everyone gets" OR does his startup burn cash because...he can!
Sure, Dravid’s "Indira Nagar ka Gunda hoon main!" was iconic!
But are IPL ads worth it for CRED? After all, they spend 50-60% on marketing & still make huge losses 🤯
Let's find out🧵
Structure 1. What is CRED trying to do? 2. What’s the visionary move? 3. How does a “Trusted network” help? 4. CRED IPL Ads 5. IPL customer acquisition cost - The Math 6. Verdict
Time to become a Unicorn startup:
- PayTM & Flipkart: 5 years
- Ola: 4 years
- Udaan: 2 years
⇒ Mensa Brands: 6 MONTHS!
Best part ⇒ It is NOT an "original" idea — just great timing & execution!
Why are VCs going gaga about Mensa Brands? Let's uncover 🧵
Outline: 1. What are Thrasio-style startups? 2. Is the space heating up in India? 3. What's Mensa really about? 4. How did they raise such a big round? 5. Where does the money go? 6. Future for this space
PayTM's IPO is the biggest ever in India — INR 18,300 Cr!
A huge moment for the Indian startup ecosystem!
But, do you really understand all that's being said?
- What these numbers mean?
- Where the money goes?
- What PayTM's future looks like?
Let's uncover the PayTM IPO 🧵
Structure of the analysis: 1) Understanding the IPO 2) Is PayTM that big? Is it profitable? 3) Is this exciting? What's the future? 4) OK, I'm happy - but, is it worth it?