McKinsey on Start-ups

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What tech innovation means for the business of fashion Nov 18, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 39:42) > When you think about the pandemic’s impact on fashion, what comes to mind? For most people, the answer is probably sweatpants or jeans and t-shirts, really any super casual attire or cozy athleisurewear that so many of us around the world started wearing every day as our homes suddenly became (and have remained) our offices. But behind the scenes the business of fashion has been undergoing a much more serious, technology-fueled makeover. This has impacted not only how the customer interacts with brands and retailers, but just as critically, how the industry operates far from the spotlight, whether managing its inventory, pricing and supply chain or designing and producing its products. A growing wave of fashion tech startups is both driving and benefitting from this shift, and venture investors’ interest in the sector is likewise growing. To help us understand how technology is fundamentally reshaping the business of fashion and fashion innovation, we are pleased to be joined today by Anita Balchandani, a McKinsey partner based in London who leads the firm’s Apparel, Fashion & Luxury Practice in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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Can fintech fuel Nigeria’s economic resurgence? Nov 11, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 33:13) > Like several countries in Africa, Nigeria was already enduring tough economic times even before the pandemic. Yet one of the real bright spots in the economy of the continent’s most populous country has been its burgeoning fintech sector. Nigeria has a large, young population, accelerating digital and smartphone adoption, and a focused regulatory drive to increase financial inclusion, conditions that create a strong foundation for fintech to become a major economic engine. Between 2014 and 2019, the fintech sector in Nigeria raised more than $600 million in funding; in 2019 alone, it attracted fully 25% of the nearly $500 million raised by all African tech startups. In an episode of the McKinsey Africa podcast from earlier this year, Kerry Naidoo, McKinsey Director of Communications for Africa, spoke to two partners based in the firm’s Lagos, Nigeria office, Topsy Kola-Oyeneyin and Mayowa Kuyoro, about the state of fintech in Nigeria, the challenges and opportunities it presents, and what the various stakeholders may need to do in order for the sector to reach its full potential.

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How online marketplaces are making secondhand fashion a first choice Nov 04, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 39:39) > Buying used clothes is far from a new phenomenon; a certain segment of every new generation of teens and 20-somethings invariably gets drawn into spending time combing through the racks at thrift shops. But in the last decade, the emergence of online, peer-to-peer fashion resale marketplaces has turned the act of purchasing and selling used clothes into a much more mainstream activity. Even before the pandemic, the growing interest in sustainability and the circular economy had helped increase interest in this brand of grassroots-driven ecommerce. Once Covid-19 began, more and more people forced to stay at home found themselves going through their closets to see what potential merchandise they had to offer. Vestiaire Collective is one of the top start-ups helping to drive this trend, and its CEO, Max Bittner, joins us to talk about the challenges and opportunities in the thriving space.

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Insurtech stakes its claim Oct 21, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:07) > In our information-driven era, no sector is immune to digital disruption, and this includes the once staid world of insurance. Just as financial services has been forced to grapple with a slew of new potential competitors (and partners) from fintech, established insurance giants have seen their business impacted by insurtech upstarts. In a recent episode of the McKinsey on Insurance podcast series, a panel of McKinsey leaders discussed how insurtechs are driving innovation and disruption in the insurance industry. Senior partners Pradip Patiath and Tanguy Catlin, along with partners Alex Kimura and Simone Kaesler, weigh in on rising valuations, examine how insurtechs can learn from established insurance companies, look at both the benefits and challenges of collaborations, and comment on trends impacting insurtechs in various markets globally.

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Driving motors into a digital, sustainable future Oct 14, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:39) > For a technology that powers so much of today’s global economy, the electric motor hasn’t really advanced all that much since it was invented in the mid-to-late 19th century and helped to usher in the industrial revolution. That may explain why today fully a quarter of global electricity consumption is wasted by legacy, inefficient electric motors. Many people think that plotting a truly sustainable future that can slow climate change requires a new kind of mechanical revolution in electric motors. Ryan Morris believes his company, Turntide Technologies, is poised to lead that revolution. As chairman and CEO, Morris heads a start-up that has developed and is commercializing what it calls a Smart Motor System, which is more energy efficient and cost effective than traditional motors. Combined with automation, intelligence and features such as remote monitoring, Turntide’s technology is already starting to be installed in building HVAC systems, agricultural smart barns, and commercial and industrial vehicles.

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Can Japan Finally Become a Start-up Power? Sep 30, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:50) > Once known for technology innovations such as the Walkman, gaming systems and bullet trains, Japan has long been a laggard when it comes to venture capital and startup success. The world’s third-largest economy has produced just a handful of tech unicorns, and funding for new businesses has been a relative pittance compared to the massive flows in the US, Europe or other parts of Asia. More recently, however, there have been encouraging signs of change in Japan’s startup ecosystem. Several major western VCs and other institutional investors, as well as a growing number of domestic players, have been funneling money into new ventures. To help understand the evolving environment in Japan, we talk to Paul McInerney, a general partner at Incubate Fund, a leading seed-stage investor in Japan with over $840 million in assets under management.

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Electric Commerce: Volta Trucks’ vehicle for sustainable, urban freight delivery Sep 23, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 36:18) > If you have noticed what seems to be even more delivery trucks crowding streets these days, you’re not alone. Ecommerce was already growing at a healthy clip before the pandemic, but the explosion in online shopping ushered in by COVID has left city streets often feeling more traffic-clogged than ever before. Whether idling at the curb or slogging through traffic, those commercial trucks are a major source of the emissions and pollutants that contribute to global warming. Carl-Magnus Norden is one of the people trying to change that. Norden is the founder and executive chairman of Volta Trucks, a Sweden-based electric truck manufacturer and services provider that has developed what it describes as the world’s first purpose-built, full-electric 16 ton commercial truck, designed specifically for freight distribution in city centers. Norden’s goal isn’t just to improve the sustainability of cities, but also the safety of their streets and the truck drivers themselves as well. On this episode, we talk to Carl-Magnus Norden about Volta Trucks’ disruptive model and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the electric truck space.

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Keeping pace with ecommerce deliveries: Ninja Van’s CEO on express logistics Sep 16, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 47:08) > Ecommerce success isn’t just about getting more folks to order more products online; the ability to deliver the soaring volumes of orders in an efficient and customer-friendly manner is, of course, an essential ingredient. That’s where a company like Ninja Van, a Singapore-based express delivery provider with operations throughout Southeast Asia, plays a key role. In a recent episode of McKinsey’s The Venture podcast, Ninja Van’s CEO and Co-Founder Lai Chang Wen spoke to Associate Partner Andrew Roth about innovation drivers in the express logistics sector, the importance of excelling at your core business before branching out, and the challenge of maintaining a competitive differentiator. Please enjoy this special guest episode of McKinsey on Startups.

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Material matters and climate change: Giving goods a sustainable future Aug 26, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:06) > The scope and severity of extreme weather events seems to be increasing exponentially these days, with the devastating impacts of climate change and global warming never far from our minds. Yet for all the attention this existential threat to our planet rightfully receives, the myriad causes of it don’t always get the focus they warrant. While the well-known use of fossil fuels for energy produces more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions, another, less well-known source is responsible for a sizeable portion of the problem: the materials traditionally used to make all manner of both consumer and commercial goods and products in our world, which today account for close to half of emissions. On this episode, we talk to John Bissell and Rich Riley, co-CEOs of Origin Materials, a more than decade old start-up that is on a mission to solve this urgent environmental challenge.

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From existential threat to change agent: Airbnb’s Brian Chesky on navigating the pandemic Aug 18, 2021

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Listen to the podcast (duration: 43:25) > For Airbnb and its co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, the pandemic crisis was a crazier roller-coaster ride than almost any other organization experienced. The online lodging marketplace went from predictions that it might not survive the COVID-19 crisis to staging a successful IPO less than nine months later. In this special, guest episode of McKinsey’s Inside the Strategy Room podcast, senior partner James Manyika, who chairs the McKinsey Global Institute, learns from the Airbnb leader what that ride was really like.

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