Exploring Alternative Solutions

Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) is a simple concept but behind the scenes lies a complex engine of credit risk, compliance, funding, and monetization decisions. Let’s see how it works. BNPL is unsecured consumer credit. Similar to credit cards, but with one major difference: whereas the risk assessment for credit cards takes place ahead of the purchase and is based on hard, income-sided facts, BNPL manages credit risk by accessing alternative data sources in real-time that enable instant approve/decline decisioning. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗡𝗣𝗟 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄: 1. 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲: A customer shops online or in-store and selects BNPL at checkout, i.e. $300 purchase.     2. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹: Real-time credit check using soft credit pulls, behavioural data, and machine learning: a) decision time: 1-3 seconds b) BNPL provider assumes credit risk.     3. 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: Either credit-card based or not (via bank account).     4. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Split in 3 or 4 models are quite typical. First instalment (e.g., $75) is charged immediately. Remaining $225 is scheduled across future periods (bi-weekly or monthly).     5. 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱: BNPL provider pays merchant upfront: $291 (after 3% fee). Settlement typically within 1–7 business days.     6. 𝗕𝗡𝗣𝗟 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: i.e. via own balance sheet (uncommon) or partner bank facilities (overdraft). There are also hybrid models where the transaction is converted into card-based instalments. In this case the customer sees the charge on their card as an instalment plan (e.g., 3x $100).     7. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 & 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: failed or late payments may trigger late fees (i.e. $5-10). Unpaid balances may go to collections.     In terms of monetization , there are both merchant and consumer fees, but under the basic model the merchants bear the costs, whereas consumers are lured by 0% fees and instalment options. 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀: • Merchant discount fees • Affiliate/referral fees from traffic or conversions • Integration/setup or premium support fees • Value-added services (i.e. data analytics) 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀: • Late payment fees (usually a significant revenue driver) • Subscription or premium app features • Interest on long-term financing plans • FX/conversion fees on international purchases • Penalties or service charges for failed payments BNPL has become a staple of consumer checkout - both online and at POS. What began as a standalone financing model is now evolving into an ecosystem play, integrated into in-app marketplaces, digital wallets, and Super Apps. Opinions: my own, Graphic source: PYMNTS Intelligence 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: https://lnkd.in/dkqhnxdg

Why wait until employees leave to understand what matters to them? Instead of conducting exit interviews to understand why people LEFT, let's start doing "stay interviews" to understand why they STAY. Companies like Google, Salesforce, and LinkedIn (yes, this platform!) have already embraced this proactive approach. The results? Higher retention rates and more engaged teams. What makes stay interviews different? • They focus on what's working, not what failed • They give you time to act on feedback • They make employees feel valued NOW Key questions smart leaders are asking: 1. "What growth opportunities are you seeking?" 2. "How can we better support your career goals?" 3. "What's one thing we could change to make your experience better?" Studies show that by the time an employee gives notice, they've been mentally checked out for an average of 6-8 months. Why wait that long? I recently spoke with a tech lead who said, "Exit interviews are like asking for relationship advice after the divorce." Ouch, but true! Don't wait until it's too late. The best time to understand what keeps your top talent engaged is while they're still passionate about their work. Has your company tried conducting stay interviews? #exitinterviews #stayininterviews

On this fine Friday, allow this VC to pitch you a business idea born out of personal frustration. I’m a dedicated DAU (only because we don’t yet track Hourly Active Users), and yet these models barely know me. At this point, I feel like a traveling salesman from the 1800s, lugging a little suitcase of context from one AI to the next: “Here are my preferences. My priorities. My professional history. Please remember me.” And I do it. Because when you feed these tools the right context, they’re remarkable. But that potential - so close you can practically taste it - remains just out of reach. Instead, we’re stuck in a Groundhog Day loop of contextless first dates with memoryless machines. The intelligence is there. It’s the memory that fails you. What we need is a Personal Memory Vault: 🔐 Secure, encrypted, private by default 🔄 Portable across models - plug-and-play with any LLM, agent, or assistant 🧩 Composable and modular - you choose what to share, with whom, and for how long 📜 Versioned and auditable - full transparency into how and when your data is used We can build: 🔑 APIs that give developers secure, permissioned access to memory bundles - like professional context, health profiles, or travel preferences 📈 A user dashboard to track which apps have access, what they know, and when they’ve used it 💵 A freemium model for consumers - and licensing options for apps or agents that want to deliver memory-powered experiences Think: a personal OS that updates passively through your interactions. Plaid, but for context - storing a growing, contextual understanding of your life. Yes, it’s about making AI more useful. But it’s more about control. We need the memory layer to be model agnostic and platform independent, because Big Tech’s next move is obvious: offer “personalized memory” - and use it to lock you in tighter than ever. Sam Altman has already said he wants ChatGPT to remember your whole life. Look, I’m an OpenAI fan. But I reserve the right to change my mind the moment Google DeepMind, Anthropic, or xAI drops something better. What I don’t want is to spend my weekends migrating my digital soul like it’s an IBM mainframe in 1986. I don’t want a hundred context engines. I don’t want to be platform-loyal out of sunk-cost guilt. I just want to stop going on first dates with my own data. I’m just a girl, standing in front of an AI, asking it to remember her. 💔

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀: 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀 For years, Indian founders thought incorporating in the US or Singapore made fundraising and exits easier. In 2025, that’s outdated. Today, incorporating in India isn’t just patriotic—it’s pragmatic. Here’s why: 1️⃣ 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗩𝗖𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 – You don’t need an overseas entity for easier fundraising ability. Indian investors now back all kinds of startups, including DeepTech and AI and one doesn't need to find investors overseas to fund these spaces. 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗮𝘅 & 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁y – India now offers startup-friendly tax policies, DPIIT benefits, and simplified compliance, unlike US/Singapore structures, which often create double taxation issues. 3️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 – If your customers, revenue, and operations are in India, local incorporation simplifies compliance, contracts, and access to government incentives. Also, you can easily sell as an Indian company to the world by setting up an overseas subsidiary. Infosys does it and so can you. 4️⃣ 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘀 – The success of IPOs like Zomato, Nykaa, Unicommerce proves that Indian markets are ready. If you plan to list in India, incorporating here avoids costly "flipping" later. 5️⃣ 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 – US/Singapore incorporation seems easy initially but brings long-term compliance headaches, legal costs, and money repatriation issues. 6️⃣ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜𝗙𝘀 – Indian Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) need SEBI approvals to invest in overseas entities, limiting access to domestic institutional capital. You will lock out most of the Indian VC capital by incorporating overseas! 7️⃣ 𝗟𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘀 – Many Indian angels can’t invest significant amounts in overseas startups due to RBI’s LRS limits, making early-stage fundraising harder if you incorporate abroad. 8️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 – Pitching to Indian VCs means competing with other Indian startups. In the US, you are competing globally for capital, making fundraising harder for yourself. For Indian startups in 2025, the choice is clear: 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮, 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮, 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 🇮🇳 Piyush Goyal Sanjiv Singh Sanjeev Bikhchandani

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸. Japan has experimented with floor tiles that generate electricity from people's footsteps. The amount of energy each step produces is tiny, which means this isn't going to replace the power grid. But I don't think the electricity is the interesting part. Every day, thousands of people walk through the same station. Most of us see a crowd moving from one platform to another. Someone else looked at those same footsteps and saw energy that had been ignored all along. That is a very different way of thinking. We often assume innovation begins by building something bigger. And yet many breakthroughs begin by asking a much simpler question. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲? The same principle applies far beyond energy. The strongest organizations don't always win because they have more resources. Quite often, they win because they redesign existing systems to recover value that everyone else has accepted as waste. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. What is one process in your organization that everyone takes for granted, but might actually be hiding untapped value? #OrchestrationDesign #SystemsThinking #SustainableInnovation #AIReadiness

Should you stop using UUIDs? UUIDs (Guid in C#) are widely used as unique database identifiers. UUIDs are random, which makes them popular in distributed systems. However, UUIDs have two big drawbacks: 1. UUIDs slow down database inserts. They also increase index fragmentation. 2. Higher storage costs. A UUID is 128 bits long, and it's even longer if you store it in human-readable format as a string. A ULID solves the first drawbacks of UUIDs. Unlike a UUID, ULIDs are sortable. The first 40 bits of a ULID represent a timestamp, making ULIDs monotonically increasing. Another cool thing - we also have UUID V7 now. It's very similar to a ULID and available in .NET 9 via Guid.CreateVersion7 Which one will you use?

When people think of intellectual property (IP) disputes, they often picture courtroom battles – teams of specialist lawyers and litigators, long proceedings and complex arguments. It’s a familiar scene, but it’s not the only way of resolving things. In fact, there’s another approach that can be quicker, less expensive and more flexible. As IP becomes more important to enterprises and economies, the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) like arbitration and mediation for IP and tech disputes is gaining momentum. I wanted to share three key insights we’re seeing through the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (AMC), which was established in 1994 to offer tailored ADR services to IP owners around the world and is part of WIPO’s Global IP services. First, our user base is becoming more diverse. Last year was the AMC’s busiest yet. Almost 900 cases were resolved through the Center – up 25% from the year before and nearly 400% in the last five years. What’s really encouraging is that SMEs, startups, creators and individual innovators now make up half of users. We’re also seeing more national courts referring cases to WIPO mediation, showing growing trust in the process. Second, the topics we’re handling are becoming more varied. Some of the busiest sectors last year were software, video games and eSports – a clear sign of the digital acceleration. Other areas like standard-essential patents and FRAND, digital copyright and life sciences are also picking up. Third, interest in ADR is going global. We’re now working with nearly 100 national entities, signed around a dozen new agreements in the past year, from Brazil to Qatar. Disputes handled through our co-administration programs with IP and copyright offices also rose by over 50%. And the AMC has handled more than 76,000 domain name disputes, or cybersquatting cases, in close to 190 countries (in fact, we just celebrated 25 years of the UDRP system to address such disputes). As intangible assets like data and IP drive the global economy, the need for smart, flexible dispute resolution for intangible assets is only going to grow. WIPO will continue working hard to make sure that there is range of options available to innovators and creators worldwide. More: https://lnkd.in/ekHMJ2qE #WIPO #IntellectualProperty #Arbitration #Mediation #wipoCenter

In many parts of the world, the standard $20,000 fetal monitor simply isn't an option. This portable alternative uses AI to help health workers get accurate readings at a fraction of the cost—no specialized training required. It can spot warning signs like a slow fetal heartbeat in time to consult a specialist, begin treatment, or get a mother to a hospital. In maternal health, that can mean the difference between a dangerous complication and a healthy birth.

I've got bad news you're not going to want to hear: Adding more people won't solve your problem. Chances are, it'll make things worse. Most teams fall into this pattern: ❌ Problem → ❌ Add People → ❌ More Complexity → ❌ Bigger Problems → ❌ Add Even More People In their effort to add capacity, They drown themselves in complexity. They've fallen into a trap: The 'More People' Paradox. Capacity grows linearly.  Complexity grows exponentially. High-performing teams know this.  They choose a different path: ❌ Problem → ✅ Diagnose → ✅ Delete, Simplify, or Automate → ✅ Refocus & Execute → ✅ Scale They know pruning supports healthy growth. They fix the model to scale.  They don't hope scale fixes the model. Ask these 3 questions before you hire: 1️⃣ What could we stop doing? • Nice-to-have projects • Low-impact meetings • Redundant reports 2️⃣ What are we overcomplicating? • Communication channels • Project workflows • Decision making 3️⃣ What are we avoiding? • Technology improvements • Difficult conversations • Priority decisions BONUS: What could AI handle? • Document processing • Standard responses • Data aggregation • Routine analysis ✅ Remember: Our optimal path to greater success... Doing half as much, twice as well. If this post resonated with you... 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more ♻️ Share to help others go big by thinking small What complexity are you ready to eliminate?

If I were rebuilding my GIS stack from scratch today, coming from traditional GIS, here’s exactly how I’d do it on Day 1. 1. Start with the interface layer Your hub for seeing and interacting with data. That's QGIS. This is your control center for everything. Just a powerful client that connects to everything else. 2. Replace the "GIS server" with a real data layer: PostGIS This becomes your source of truth. Store vector (and raster) data in a real database. Query it with SQL Control access and permissions, updates and transactions Run locally or in the cloud You now separate storage from visualization, which is the first big architectural shift. 3. Use modern storage formats, not proprietary files GeoParquet for vectors. Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF for rasters. Zarr for array based formats. Key difference: Leave large datasets in cloud storage. Pull only what you need, when you need it. These formats can be queried directly by analytical engines or selectively loaded into PostGIS. 4. Add an analytical/processing layer (this is where modern GIS really starts) Choose one or more: Apache Sedona SedonaDB DuckDB This layer handles: Large joins Aggregations Feature engineering Pipeline style transformations Outputs go back to PostGIS or to lightweight files for visualization. You’ve now built a small but powerful spatial data engineering pipeline that can run as frequently as you need. 5. Present your data in any way you want. Pick the tool that fits the audience: GIS-native: Felt, Atlas.co Web maps: MapLibre or Mapbox BI dashboards: Apache Superset Python: Geopandas, Rasterio, Leafmap Maps, dashboards, applications, all from the same underlying system. What’s the real difference with modern GIS? You choose the pieces, take what you need. You decide where complexity lives. Yes, you have to architect it yourself. But the tradeoff is freedom. No lock-in. No single vendor bottleneck. A system that grows with your needs, not against them. Curious who’s already moving in this direction, or planning to in 2026? 🌎 I'm Matt and I talk about modern GIS, earth observation, AI, and how geospatial is changing. 📬 Want more like this? Join 11k+ others learning from my newsletter → forrest.nyc