The Difference Engine | B2B Category Design | Private Equity | Venture Capital

Pat Morrissey has been at the epicentre of category creation throughout his career. His impressive curriculum includes industry heavyweights Salesforce, Simpplr and Business Objects. Currently, he is the Chief Customer Office at Hirevue, a game changing AI hiring platform that owns the category of Human Potential Intelligence. Over 1,150 companies are currently using Hirevue’s game-changing platfo...

Why did Starling Bank decide to switch its concentration from consumer banking to B2B? We talk about the bold choices that led to this change and the comparable action taken by industry titans Ocado. If you want to play with the big boys you need to be able to adapt. Just look at Starling bank. CEO Anne Boden is overseeing their pivot from from B2C to B2B. So what are the bold choices that led to...

‘Europeans can’t do category design.’ We hear this a lot, particularly from our friends across the pond. However, the company behind London’s record breaking $11 billion IPO might disagree. Wise (formerly known as TransferWise) has successfully built and dominated a category within the retail banking space. And, they’re from the UK. So what’s their secret? Why has Wise succeeded where so many othe...

 WeWork founder Adam Neumann was never short of ambition. He set his sights on becoming the world’s first trillionaire and expanding his desk rental business to Mars. However, earlier this month Adam came crashing back down to Earth. Nearly $40 billion of value floated away into the stratosphere as WeWork entered chapter 11. So what was behind WeWork’s spectacular meltdown? In today’s episode, we...

I reckon you’re using some of ARM’s technology right now. Their designs are found in 95% of the world's smartphones including Apple, Android and Samsung. But it doesn’t stop there. If you’re in an electric car, using your passport, or even walking under a streetlight you’re likely benefitting from ARM’s product - a best in class semiconductor chip. To put it frankly, ARM is everywhere. And now the...

Welcome aboard project HS2. Calling at broken promises, lost billions and total political turmoil. Ever since its announcement in 2009 HS2 has been pummeled by a litany of set backs, protests and management disasters. The knockout blow came in July of this year when the government’s infrastructure watchdog labelled HS2 “unachievable” citing “major issues with project definition”. So was HS2 doomed...

Is Microsoft and OpenAI a marriage made in heaven? Microsoft has its fair share of category leaders. Xbox, Azure, Teams, the list goes on. But for every win, there's a less successful skeleton lurking in their closet. Do you remember the Zune music player? Probably not. This was Microsoft's challenge to the iPod which had the questionable feature of being able to ‘squirt’ songs to other Zune devic...

Are Apple going to change the world? Again? Three months ago an iPhone 1 in its original packaging sold at auction for $145,416. A whopping 300 times its original price! That’s how much a moment of tech history (in its original packaging) is worth. This legendary device and its many iterations have changed the world. So, will Apple Vision Pro do the same? Should you keep one in its original packag...

The unstoppable rise of Elon Musk. Whether you love him or loathe him there is definitely something you can learn from him. From electric cars to telecommunications and even space exploration. The serial category creator knows exactly how to create, define and dominate entire industries. So what is Elon’s secret sauce?  In today’s episode, we look at how Musk crushes the competition. We pinpo...

AI has transformed every industry. Fact. From Open AI's Chat GPT disrupting Google Search, to increased productivity in agriculture, AI is already impacting us on a global scale. But how can you take advantage of this mind bending technology? Should you be looking to do so? And How should you think about it as you build and grow your category? To look forward to in this episode: AI: Is it the ulti...

Can you make a boat load of money by giving away your IP, for free? Imagine you’ve spent years, decades even, developing a product. No competitor can touch you. You’d guard that advantage with your life, wouldn’t you? Anybody encouraging you to share your hard won secrets would be swiftly booted out the door. Yet, they might just be on to something. Releasing Tesla’s IP to the world was a stroke o...

A show for founders, funders and the category curious. In the world of business and tech, people are always telling you to be original, different, think outside the box. Not bad advice, but what about making your own box? You choose the wallpaper, the feng shui, and get the lighting spot on. It's somewhere that everybody else wants to come and play. Well, th...