Stoa Digest #105: 🔥 Rekindle the Fire 🔥
Seek, critique, tweak and strive for the peak.
🔎 Desperately Seeking Curiosity 🔎
So I’m a big fan of comic books & movies. A lot of my curiosity about business, innovation, and design got seeded from the things I consumed when I was younger.
When I heard about Iron Man getting a movie made in 2008, I was a bit surprised, given that Iron Man, at that point wasn’t the most valuable IP to get an adaption. Keep in mind this was released in the same year as Dark Knight (Sequel to Batman Begins), The Incredible Hulk (more popular IP) & Hancock (led by megastar Will Smith).
One could even argue it was the precursor that seeded the disruption of the entertainment industry. (Sorry Batman)
Directed by Jon Favreau (your favourite Chef) and starring Robert Downey Jr. (Your second favourite Detective). It also kicked off a business revolution with a lasting impact.
At the end of the day, a movie goes into production with the eventual goal to turn a profit. A movie production employs 100s of people at different legs of the production journey. From location scouting to manufacturing to poster design, transportation & logistics.
Iron Man's success laid the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a web of films, TV shows, and merchandise. With the movie grossing over $585 million globally, it was the foundation stone paving the way for the MCU to amass a staggering $29.611 billion at the box office by 2023.
But Iron Man's influence wasn't limited to ticket sales. The film's success and popularity spawned a merchandising empire, catapulting Marvel's licensing revenue from $150 million in 2008 to over $5 billion annually by 2020-2021. Action figures, apparel, and video games flew off the shelves.
On the other side of things, Iron Man's ascent had a ripple effect on the industry, creating thousands of jobs in production, marketing, and merchandise manufacturing. As the MCU expanded, it stimulated growth in related sectors, including cinema technology and visual effects.
I’ve also read that Iron Man's cultural impact inspired advancements in technology, as entrepreneurs and innovators looked to replicate Tony Stark's futuristic inventions.
Now you might be wondering, why am I sharing this story?
Well, it's because sometimes the strings of business or business operations are largely invisible to the consumer.
If you want to find an intrinsic path to learning business, look at the things you love consuming, and ask yourself. How did it get here? Why does this exist?
More often than not, you will find an itch to go deeper, to understand more.
And that’s how you get answers.
Cheers!🌈
~Shelton, Team Stoa
🫡 People of Stoa 🫡
Check out our new feature on our YouTube series Stoa Scenes with Akash Agarwal from Cohort 11 sharing his experience of transitioning from a business to a job. 🚀
Hit him up to know more about his current role.
🐝 Community Buzz 🐝
Last week, we saw our Charter Holders from Bangalore make a trip down to the Stoa office to receive their Charter kits. 🔥
L-R: Rahul Dixit, Madhu, Anjika, Gowtham, Jahnavy, Akshay Gugale, Iwank, Basavana, Rohit Nambiar, Abhiram
⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯
Here’s a great podcast on insights around asking the right questions with a new startup on the verge of disrupting the alcohol industry.
Yathish from C11 launched a new product with a bunch of AI tools to improve workflow efficiency for a Product Manager.
Check out this interesting read on community-driven product businesses.
Ever wondered how you can do better? Read this to find out more.
Funeral Tech?! An interesting article on the potential of this industry.
cheers amigos!