el producto #290 🚀
Big tech Q2 results, Critical startup skills, Product frameworks, Apple watch redesigned, Amazon increases prices, Structuring product teams, Product growth strategies for downturn times & more
Hey team,
Happy weekend & welcome to a new edition of el producto
🎰 The week in figures
$255M: Seedtag, a provider of machine learning-based contextual advertising solutions, said it has raised over €250M ($255M); the company developed a proprietary ML engine called Liz that analyzes articles and translates the findings for advertisers to understand consumer interests and improve their targeted advertising
$192M: Health tech startup Cleerly, a developer of AI software that spots early signs of heart disease, announced a $192M financing round; the software analyzes heart CT angiography scans to gauge plaque build-up and calculates a patient's risk of a heart attack
$150M: Layer 1 blockchain Aptos Labs, which is made up of former employees from Meta, raised $150M Series A; the company is building a blockchain to be the reliable foundation for Web3; due to issues like outages and downtime, current blockchains are not fit for purpose when it comes to mass Web3 adoption
$65M: Web3 startup Unstoppable Domains hit unicorn status after a $65M Series A at a $1B valuation; the company offers NFT domains that give people control of their digital identity
$60M: British firm Onto secured $60M from its Series C; Onto provides an electric car subscription service in the U.K., which includes insurance, servicing, and free public charging; incoming funds will enable the firm to expand its presence into Germany by 2023, with an aim to further expand into other European markets
-10%: Shopify announced it’s cutting 10% of its global workforce (1,000 employees)
💸 Q2 results
Alphabet: slightly missed analysts’ expectations on revenue and earnings; total revenue of $69.7B, up 13% y/y; its slowest growth rate in 18 months; Net income $16B or $1.21 a share; Alphabet noted that the stronger U.S. dollar affected y/y revenue growth by 3.7%:
Google Services, which includes Search, YouTube, and hardware, generated $62.8B in revenue, up 10% y/y. Google Search & other revenue was $40.7B, up ~14% y/y, and YouTube ads brought in $7.3B
Google Cloud, which includes its Workspace platforms, Google’s cloud services, and other enterprise services, earned $6.3B in revenue, up 37% y/y
The company’s Other Bets unit earned $193M in revenue, a $1M increase y/y
Google’s workforce rose 21% to 174,014 full-time employees. Last month the company said it will be slowing hiring and investments through 2023
Alphabet is down ~22% YTD; it completed its 20-for-1 stock split on July 15
Apple: revenue grew by 2% y/y in Q3 to $83B; net income declined by 10.6% y/y to $19.4B:
iPhone revenue rose by 2% y/y to $40.7B
Service revenue rose by 12% y/y to $19.6B
Other products revenue fell by 8% y/y to $8.1B
Mac revenue rose by 10% y/y to $7.4B
iPad revenue fell by 2% y/y to $7.2B
iPhone shipments in China rose 25% YoY last quarter even as overall smartphone sales have plummeted in the country
Apple lost less than $4B in revenue due to factory shutdowns in China designed to curb the spread of COVID-19
Apple said demand for the iPhone remains "very strong," and the company is expected to face fewer supply chain issues in Q4
The company has 860M paid subscriptions across services, a 160M increase y/y
Amazon: revenue increased by 7% y/y in Q2 to $121.2B; net loss of $2B, compared to the $7.8B in net income a year ago, due to its stake in electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian (Rivian’s shares declined by 49% in Q2, causing Amazon to suffer a $3.9B loss):
E-commerce sales declined by 4% y/y to $50.9B
Amazon’s workforce declined by 6% q/q to 1.5M, and CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company would slow down its hiring pace compared to previous years
AWS sales rose by 33% y/y to $19.7B
The company’s ad revenue increased by 18% y/y to $8.8B
Meta: Meta saw its first decline in revenue and issued a bleak outlook on digitals ads as its platforms continue to compete with Tiktok; quarterly revenue came to $28.8B, down 1% y/y and slightly below the $28.9 predicted; weak ad demand was seen in its average price per ad with a 14% slump in the quarter:
Overall profit dropped by 35% to $6.7B
Reality Labs, its metaverse division, lost $2.8B
Revenue: $28.82B vs $28.94B expected
DAU: 1.97B vs. 1.96B expected
The average revenue per user: $9.82 vs. $9.83 expected
Shopify: revenue increased by 16% y/y in Q2 to $1.3B; the company posted a net loss of $1.2B, compared to the $879.1M net income it recorded in Q2 2021; gross merchandise volume rose by 11% YoY to $46.9B:
Shopify said 2022 will be a "transition year" for e-commerce, noting that sales growth will return to its pre-COVID-19 levels, and consumers are facing high inflation
CFO Amy Shapero said the company will "slow hiring" one day after it let go of 10% (1,000 employees) of its workforce
Shopify's stock is down 75.7% year-to-date, and it has a market cap of $39.8B
Microsoft: revenue: $51.9B (up 12% y/y), net income: $16.7B (up 2% y/y), 2022 FY revenue: $198.2B (up ~18% y/y), 2022 FY net income: $72.7B (up 18.7% y/y), Azure and other cloud services revenue was up 40% y/y in Q4, LinkedIn revenue was up 26% y/y in Q4
📰 What’s going on
Apple hired a top car development manager from Lamborghini as it pushes toward its self driving EV project; Lamborghini’s previous head of chassis and vehicle dynamics, Luigi Taraborrelli, is tasked with helping lead the design of the Apple car; Taraborrelli is now one of the most senior managers on the EV team, signaling Apple is committed to the project despite years of setbacks
A high-end Apple Watch due out this fall will feature the first redesign of the wearable since 2018; the Apple Watch Pro is expected to have a larger screen and battery along with a Low Power Mode to last multiple days on one charge
Spotify is no longer producing "Car Thing," its dashboard accessory for controlling music in cars, signaling an end to its initial move into hardware
Amazon is raising membership prices in Europe by up to 43% annually; the retailer's second biggest market, Germany, will see prices for Prime rise 30%, and its third most prominent market, the UK, will see prices rise 20%; the changes will start September 15th when members join or renew
Twitter has scheduled a shareholder meeting for Sept. 13th at 10am PT to vote to approve the company’s $44B acquisition by Elon Musk; Twitter’s board has previously encouraged shareholders to approve the sale
Twitter is testing statuses that let users tag posts similarly to MySpace; when users click on the status badge of a tweet, they can see what other public posts have been shared; the test is running for a limited time with a select group in the US and Australia
The cost of a Twitter Blue subscription is increasing from $2.99/month to $4.99/month; the platform claims the price increase will include new features and improvements on existing features; new features incl. a customizable navigation bar and a list of Top Articles shared by accounts they follow
Instagram is walking back on recent changes following backlash from users; over the next few weeks, the platform will be phasing out its test that opened the app to full screen photos and videos; recommended posts in the app will also be reduced as the company improves its algorithms
Google introduced an updated UI for its Workspace suite in an effort to provide a more unified style and new AI powered features; the change includes moving the Mail, Meet, Spaces, and Chat buttons into one list at the top left; users are still given the option to revert back to the original UI
Google Maps for Android and iOS is rolling out a feature that displays 3D aerial views of 100 famous landmarks; Immersive View mode combines satellite and Street View imagery to render a video clip of sights such as the Empire State Building and Big Ben
Snap is launching the Snapchat Sounds Creator Fund; Snap will provide monthly grants up to $100K for indie artists that distribute their music on Snap via DistroKid; the company will provide grants of $5K per song for 20 songs/month based on engagement; the program is for artists that have opted into Snap’s deal with DistroKid by granting all rights
Snap Inc launched Ghost Phone, the first in-app AR-based game;Ghost Phone was established to showcase the company's augmented reality capabilities by bringing users into an immersive experience involving supernatural beings and engaging in interactive experiences
Sony confirmed its PlayStation VR2 Headset will include: a see-though view, a broadcast mode for filming while playing, and a cinematic mode for non VR media content; devs will get access to the latest UX experience in a new software update coming soon; the price and release date have not been announced yet
📚 Good reads
How to reinvent your Product growth strategy for the tech downturn. A very timely piece by one of the most important voices in growth strategy, Andrew Chen. “Much of the last decade has been focused on growth by any means — and investor subsidies, chasing volume via high CACs, have all played a key role. But in the next phase, efficiency means that we’ll need to retrench within the industry and talk about quality and efficiency“
Structuring teams for growth. Simone Basso, CTPO at Indie Campers, shares a list of basic principles that have helped him scale and get teams ready for success at global orgs like Just Eat and GetYourGuide
How to kickstart and scale a consumer business - how to get your first 1k users. Lenny Rachitsky has updated his popular article with more success examples
When (where and how) to expand your marketplace business, according to 14 operators. “For most early-stage marketplaces with limited time and resources, expansion feels like an existential risk. But when executed correctly, expansion has immense rewards: it can supercharge your business and put you on a new growth trajectory. Deciding when, where, and how to expand your marketplace is both a challenge and an opportunity.“
Revolut’s quest to become a financial superapp. Overtime, Revolut has developed and integrated a notable amount of financial services into its app. More importantly, it has managed to keep a smooth UX, and it has set a great base to become a financial superapp. This article explores in which verticals is Revolut in, and how it got there.
10 popular Product frameworks explained - While working at Booking.com, I once heard from a Product leader I admire: “I don’t use out-of-box frameworks. I create my own frameworks as I need them.” Every company, product, context is different, and it is essential for a good product management practice to examine and understand what’s the best approach to your product’s challenges. While these frameworks can give you a kick-start, don’t let them stop you at the surface of your challenges
Critical startup skills. Once again First Round Review puts together a great compilation of advice based on their recent interviews with successful startup leaders
The difficulty of building simple products. A good and insightful reflection on the craft of building simple products, by András Juhász
🔮 Emerging trends
What’s After Proof of Stake for Ethereum?
The upcoming Ethereum upgrade will bring proof of stake to the network. But what’s next? Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan explains when staked ETH will get unlocked, details the path forward for scalability, and delves into the possibility of stateless Ethereum. Complement with the 1st part diving into what the Merge means for Ethereum
That’s all for today! Let me know what you think by replying back to this email
Angel
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