10.11 / Globalisation in Retreat & more.

Globalisation in Retreat

⁠

⁠

⁠

Better-educated workers in the west can take advantage of global mobility, as their skills are more sought after, so they tend to be pro-globalisation—hence the electoral split.

...

Within the developed economy, bringing companies home will mean that costs (and prices) are higher, eating into the living standards of ordinary workers. No matter, you might argue, well-paying jobs will be back. But here is the problem. Unless global trade dries up completely (devastating the economy for everyone, as in the 1930s), companies will still face foreign competition. So they may replace foreign workers, not with domestic ones, but with robots.

⁠

⁠

⁠

Product-Market-Fit

Products with product-market fit should bring real value to users. At the end of the day, products that don’t bring value are not sustainable. Value can take many guises — money, time-saving, enjoyment, etc. But it has to produce real value for users in order for product-market fit to be genuine.

....

Founders are often misled by good acquisition numbers into thinking they’ve found product-market fit (PMF). But just because people are signing up for your product or downloading your app at a low acquisition price doesn’t mean you’ve found PMF.

..

Engagement and retention numbers will tell the real story. If your product doesn’t have real value for customers, you’re going to see horrible engagement numbers and even worse retention metrics. Real PMF shows up both in user acquisition and in user retention. Top-of-funnel growth means nothing if the users all churn.