Monthly Archives: February 2015

Want to crush ISIS? No way but Boots on the Ground

I personally believe ISIS will never become a serious and credible state in the world.

They have made it clear that they don’t care much for international diplomacy or law  and that only Sharia can be used to govern their new state.

A fanatical force like this does well at first; they carry out brutal acts, capture swathes of land, steal, murder, rape, perform forced conversions to Islam and run a well oiled recruiting machine but this can only last for a while because sooner or later their resources are depleted and the circus over.

So you wanna crush ISIS? Better act fast and swift… Here’s a short list of their Achilles’ heal.

1. ISIS is militarily overextended and hopelessly ineffective against a trained and well equipped army. Although they’re led by a few savage Chechen’s and some Arab militants who answer to a mysterious bearded man who calls himself “Abu Bakr Al-Bagdadi”, it will take only one crushing defeat to completely demoralize their forces, who so far have only shown their prowess in gunning down heretics (Shia, Ezidi, Christians and some ethnic Turkmen), beheading children and foreigners and stealing some old military equipment left behind by the US and Russia.

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If I were 22.There is no Substitute for Intelligence gathering & Absorption

There are lots of things I know now that I wish I had known when I was 22.

I would have loved to have known for example that the Middle East was going to turn the way it did and would have capitalized on the opportunities accordingly – both politically and business wise.

In retrospect, I think the “game changer” move that changed the whole Middle East map was triggered under Former President Jimmy Carter and the Shah of Iran. If the Shah had ignored Carter’s advice back in 1977, there wouldn’t be this problem in Afghanistan, nor would there have been the Iran-Iraq war.

 

Iraq would never have dared to even send a plane over Iran. In fact, the Gulf War wouldn’t have happened, nor the clash between East and West nor any of the problems of the past 30 years, including the exporting of religious fanaticism and the eternal problems my homeland Lebanon was and still experiencing over the time period.

 

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Why be a job seeker when you can be a wealth creator and job giver?

A common question that often arises when I sit down with younger people is: ” Now that I am glad to have graduated, how do I find a job, what is your advice? What do I do? Can you really help me given the vast network of contacts you have?”

After listening to that question many times, I came up with a response which I believe says it all.

First off, why should you be looking for a job? Why don’t you think of something else? Why don’t you create for yourself and others a job and acquire the freedom and wealth you really want?  Why don’t you create a new world for yourself rather than wasting yourself in chasing one tiny little job here and one tiny little job there?

For first time listeners and normal people this seems outrageous and a pretty radical and scary concept. They would ask: “How can I create jobs when I don’t have a job myself? It felt so contradictory to them.

 

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Thank You,

My Personal Reflections on Davos 2015

In just a matter of years, we’ve seen the digital revolution transform business, politics, media and society right across the world.

 

The Davos fest early this year only confirms the trend where this revolution is clearly driving a shift from ‘old’ to ‘new’ power in the world.

 

A new power’ world characterized by a shift away from unthinking consumption to people being ever more involved in creating, sharing, funding and owning products, services and ideas.

 

Where old power business models are defined by what one company has that others haven’t, new power models are renewable because they are driven by the passions and energies of the many.

 

Take a close look at Bitpay and Blockchain, both shaking up the banking industry by giving more people access to a new currency in a secure way, without the permission of governments and institutions… Along with Sidecar with their true marketplace experience challenging Uber and Lyft to get people moving.

 

For More: My Personal Reflections on Davos 2015

Thank You,

About Venture capital Money and Startups

Having been in the VC/Private Equity business for three decades now I am often asked if VC money can make a startup successful on its own and if not what really does it.

 
So I thought I’d share with you in here my 2 cents in the hope of further educating entrepreneurs as to the process.

 
First off, let me state that VC money is a first step but it is never enough on its own. Judging from how most VCs and angels fund more losers than winners, there are plenty of examples that will attest to that.

 
Now if you want to go to the root of it I really believe it all depends on the type of business you are in.

 
1. In Consumer Internet entities, it lets you defer revenues, and thus maximize users and go for the viral effect. This for example worked quite well for Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc…. Basically, if you can defer revenues and thereby become a Top 100-200 website, then the result is outstanding…. But if VC money can’t get you to be a Top 400 website — then forget about it altogether.

 

 

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Thank you,