July View Report over 1,000 views (Ford, Elon Musk, Bank of America, more)

There were over 1,000 views of KeaneVCC and partners posts during the month of July. This is the most ever had. The simple reason is that popular topics with thoughtful analysis is happening for these posts. The quality of the ad placement through Google Adsense is also improving as the views are increasing.

Some of the popular posts are below

 - From KeaneVCC

1) Thoughts on Musk's "Master Plan" (link here)

2) Charity Heroes (ALS Version) (link here)

- From KDK Fund

1) Additional Shares of Ford Purchased (link here)

-From KDK Options

1) BAC Call Trade Now Profitable (link here)


**As always, this blog is to be read as opinion. Please do your due diligence before acting on any information read here.**

Thoughts on Elon Musk's "Master Plan"

by Michael Keane

Some people have been heavily questioning the “Master Plan” of having all electric vehicles including large trucks created by Elon Musk. But there might be a misconception within that “questioning” thought pattern. For one,  notoriety might not matter to Musk. It may not be that Musk is looking to be the sole or primary supplier of the vehicles. He might know of other companies working on the issue and feels his vocal support of the project will give the industry a boost.  Ultimately, though, this is only a part of his master plan. It is well known that his true master plan is to see humans get to Mars and that means fuel.

Mr. Musk has clearly and regularly shown his indifference towards others opinions of him and his strategies. Part of the reason is that he understands that he is going after some seriously large issues and knows that a straight line to success is laughable but also that success is attainable. When you look at his history, it is full of both successes and failures. But there is always progress. When the project is successful, the progress is paradigm changing. A great early example is Paypal. Even when there is a failure (think projects for Tesla and SpaceX), there is still progress.

There are many small companies doing great work on creating this reality. But because of uncertainties, some companies are nervous about their own sustainability. Hearing positive comments and support from Mr. Musk gives a sense of inspiration to continue the hard work of innovation that currently going on in this space.

Environmentally speaking, there are few people that are driving the needle forward in getting the rest of us off of fossil fuels. This master plan seems to be the next step in the process. If you could have this as your legacy, wouldn’t you try and do the same. At the very least, we should be out in the marketplace supporting these missions in any way possible. This article is one of those ways.

With all of that said, the main master plan is what is probably driving all other master plans of Mr. Musk. Getting humanity to Mars is not easy. Especially from a private citizen like Mr. Musk. It is really something that he and his team are not afraid to take on other master plans in order to succeed in the Mars master plan. They have found success in driving down rocket costs and fuel is one major component of that plan.

Moving the process of electric vehicles is one major goal of Elon Musk. His announcement of the master plan for it undoubtedly will move the process forward. Will it end up exactly how his master plan expects? Probably not. But it will probably be darn close. It will probably be even better as now more people and visions will influence and be influenced by the announcement. Now is a great time to get that electric vehicle idea out and worked on!

Per disclosure, KeaneVCC’s partner KDK Fund owns shares of Ford. KeaneVCC has also recently written blog posts on the effects of the electric vehicle on the insurance, oil, and local taxing authority areas. You can find the link here.     

KVCC Person of The Week

Hey all

Each week, a person or group is promoted for their work in creating or improving a product or service. If Keane Venture Capital and Consulting has any relationship with the person or group, it will be disclosed. The weekly highlight does not mean that KVCC is recommending a purchase of a product or service. The article is not sanctioned by the individual or group.

This week, we are highlighting Nest CEO Tony Fadell. Tony is a former Apple employee that worked on the original design of the ipod. In 2010, he started Nest. Its first product, a thermometer, brought today's technology into managing heating and cooling in the household. Now, Nest is releasing a new smoke detector named Protect that has technology that will bound to change the industry surrounding the home smoke detector. There is a story in Wired magazine that covers the release of the product.

Tony Fadell is being promoted because of his ability to disrupt the status quo on products he and the companies he has worked on have developed. Even with design accolades, articles highlighting his success, and many patents, he still is an unfamiliar name in regular America. KVCC feels that he is up there with the likes of Elon Musk and Johnny Ive. Mr. Fadell was a major contributor to Apple's ipod design. Now, with Nest, he's now worked on a couple of products within the home that matter to a family's security and safety.

It would seem that if you are looking to disrupt an industry with a certain product in mind, getting into Mr. Fadell's circle would be beneficial. The experience that Mr. Fadell and his team have should be very helpful and inspirational for those aspiring disruptors. If you know of anyone you would like

Please check out the following links for more information on Tony and Nest:

Nest
Tony Fadell - Wikipedia