Tag: Finance

  • Tech Game Changers

    Tech Game Changers

    The pandemic has thrown us into a state of flux and some tech entrepreneurs have found opportunities in the funk. One major trend involves playing with blockchain technology.

    Even though most people you come across pretend to understand blockchain, many don’t actually understand its full capabilities. Some clever Trevors, however, are making it work for them.

    DeFi (Decentralised Finance)

    For centuries, our money has been controlled by central banks. But this has given too much power to certain authorities. Now cryptocurrencies are set to help us shake the game up.

    Enter DeFi or Decentralised Finance – an umbrella term that refers to a variety of financial applications in cryptocurrency. These DApps are geared toward changing the roles of financial intermediaries or removing them altogether.

    Essentially, DeFi is a financial system built on public blockchains such as Binance Chain, PolkaDot, and Ethereum.

    It is a relatively new project which started later than Bitcoin in 2014. It was brought into the limelight in 2020 by a little-known South African called Andre Cronje. Cronje created the now almost billion-dollar DeFi-protocol called Yearn Finance (YFI).

    DeFi is an alternative to what people feel is an outdated, clunky financial system that is inefficient and prone to abuse. The idea is that DeFi will be a new digital-only and fully automated financial system which exists separately from our enormous, interlinked financial system.

    When you swipe your card, the institution has control over your transaction and retains the authority to record it in its private ledger, stop or pause it.

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    They also control financial all matters like insurance, loans, and alternative investments like derivatives, crowdfunding, and gambling. All this while literally owning all your data. They can use or share them with their stakeholders as they wish.

    Functionality

    DeFi aims to create an open-source, permissionless, and transparent financial service system. The yields you get from borrowing and lending digital assets on these platforms also put those offered by traditional banks to shame. This system is also relatively safe because lenders are certain to get their assets back because you need collateral (other cryptos) to borrow in the first place.

    You even, in DeFi, have mechanisms to maintain liquidity – just like Central Bank’s liquidity swaps. Some of them have ridiculous names like SushiSwap or PancakeSwap and perform these functions surprisingly well. this is possible because of their underlying computer-backed algorithmic technology.

    The current centralized nature of the global financial system means wealth is only amassed by those that have access to financial services. This has created further inequalities in our societies.

    Nevertheless, DeFi is a rapid technological innovation that is helping us to decentralize financial systems and foster financial inclusion. Cutting out the middleman also involves the use of Smart Contracts. Naturally prone to attach it is evolving but quickly gaining the acceptance of those ‘in the know’.

    Smarter Contracts

    According to Blockgeeks, a smart contract is a computer protocol intended digitally to facilitate, verify or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract. They allow the performance of credible transactions without third parties.

    For example, ordinarily, you would go to a lawyer or a notary, pay them, and wait while you get the document. With smart contracts, you simply drop Crypto into a vending machine-type structure (digital ledger), and your escrow, driver’s license, or whatever, drops into your account.

    Courtesy: Law and Forensics.


    Smart contracts define the rules and penalties around an agreement just like a traditional contract does. Additionally, they also automatically help you enforce those obligations.

    Ethereum is the industry-leading Crypto company/platform that provides that functionality. It is, however, receiving strong competition from newcomer platforms such as Binance Smart Chain – which is actually a revised clone of Ethereum.

    Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

    This is a technology that has been around for a few years but is enjoying new popularity. Fungibility refers to something that is easily interchangeable, such as the exchanging of a $50 note for five $10 notes.

    But non-fungible tokens have been created with the opposite goal.

    These are unique or scarce digital objects represented as tokens that cannot be replicated.

    They are literally anything that can be digitalized to form a collectible item – just like your paintings, collectible cards, or stamps.

    This is why they are infiltrating the auctioneering world. Digital content is tokenized through a process called minting.

    Minting involves assigning a coin on a blockchain to any given work and you can assign as many copies as you so desire.

    A key difference from authenticating other objects is that instead of a physical certificate of authentication, NFTs use blockchain technology as a verifiable digital ledger.

    The NFTs created on Ethereum’s blockchain are immutable, so they cannot be altered. No one can undo your ownership of the NFT.

    Some of the notable tradable (native) NFT tokens include Enjin Coin (gaming), Chiliz (entertainment) and Terra Virtua Kolect (VR artwork).

    Coloured coined NFTs

    In 2017, a game called CryptoKitties was invented. This was a blockchain game that allowed players to adopt, raise, and trade virtual cats.

    At one point, CryptoKitties were selling hundreds for thousands of euros. Since then, people have been pumping money into the NFT market which has more than quadrupled in value since the pandemic.

    Investors saw the value of investing in a verified item of art that no one else possesses. As a result, many new digital (NFT) marketplaces such as OpenSea and SuperRare were established – and thriving. The NBA has also gotten in on the action. NBA Top Shot is a first-of-its-kind collectible website that allows you to collect, trade, and sell your favorite NBA highlights as digital tokens. One of the highest-selling NFTs there (only 2 minted) is one of a reverse dunk by LeBron James – which fetches a cool $210 000.

    Rock band, Kings of Leon earlier in March 2021 became the first musical artist to sell its album as an NFT. Their eighth studio album, When You See Yourself, is being sold in standard digital and physical formats but also has an NFT.

    Within a week, the album had made more than $2m. This includes around $500 000 which was donated to Live Nation’s Crew Nation, designed to support live music crews during the pandemic.

    Enter the Dogecoin

    The year 2021 wanted to add a bit of humor to the world whilst making some people rich. You may call them clever or maybe reckless – or both, but some people traded an invisible investment called Dogecoin and significantly pushed up its price.

    Dogecoin was like a parody of Bitcoin symbolized by its face, the Doge meme. Entrepreneur Elon Musk punted the coin which was actually started as a joke in 2013. The price of dogecoin has exploded by more than 1,100% this year.

    The cryptocurrency has gained increased attention from endorsements by Musk, who at one point was the world’s richest man on paper. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban, rapper Snoop Dogg, and musician Gene Simmons are also backers of the Crypto-coin.

    Now Musk wants you to be able to trade Dogecoin using the Coinbase platform.

    Musk’s Tesla motor car company had allegedly used the Cryptocurrency exchange to buy $1.5bn worth of Bitcoin in February.

    The Gamestop effect

    Also this year, online traders caused chaos among financial systems, showing big institutions that they can beat them at their own game.

    A bunch of people got together on Reddit and discussed how they would pump up the price of Gamestop, a US rental games company. Gamestop saw its fortunes wane as people turned away from buying or renting disc versions of games in favor of downloads. The Reddit ‘movement’ was aided and abetted by a group called WallStreetbets.

    The group has since pledged millions of dollars from the proceeds towards saving Gorillas – epic!

    Its founder, Jaime Rogozinski, has also signed a deal in Hollywood to make a film about the incident.

    The price went through the roof as Gamestop became a gambling tool, with little underlying value in the company.

    A number of people won big but others who got in late weren’t as lucky. The price later crashed, costing gamblers a lot.

    It has since fluctuated wildly and is now on a downtrend. For every new multimillionaire, there has been someone who has lost their life savings.

    Tread carefully with new technologies

    It will take time for the use of these new technologies to settle in our society. You must, however, be skeptical even when Musk, who recently changed his designation from CEO of Tesla to ‘Technoking’ posts such things on a social platform.

    Whenever he tweets something, people react. Musk convinced scores of people to buy Dogecoin and now he is quite excited about NFTs.

    The Billionaire recently actually turned down a $1.1m offer to buy one of his tweets as an NFT after putting it up for sale, quoted saying: “it doesn’t feel quite right.”

    Musk said that he was going to sell a tweet of a song about NFTs as an NFT. This was days after an NFT had sold for a record $69m. But it turned out he was joking around when he tweeted: “Actually, doesn’t feel quite right selling this. Will pass.”

    Elon’s $1m NFT

    Musk’s tweet was listed on the blockchain-backed auction platform valuables and has attracted a bid of $1.12m from a user called @sinaEstavi.

    The tweet is of a techno song about NFTs, with the lyrics: “NFT, for your vanity, computers never sleep, it’s verified, it’s guaranteed.”

    If you don’t believe how volatile these currencies are, just check out how Bitcoin lost more than 80% of its value from December 2017 to May 2018. It is currently hovering just below $60,000 after a low of around $3,500 only in March 2020.

    If you decide to invest, do so knowing that rapid price fluctuations come with the territory.

    Remember these new blockchain assets are highly volatile investments. Their values can swing literally like a yoyo, based on the jokes made by a multi-billionaire who wants to live in space.







  • 2020: Year of the PC

    2020: Year of the PC

    People will always find an opportunity in a crisis. This year has been one of the strangest years we will ever experience. Because of the global pandemic, we have been ‘shut-in’ physically and mentally. Hiding in our homes in an effort to save the lives of the elderly and sickly.

    Technologies that enable people to communicate with each other from different locations and work remotely have had an excellent year because of this.

    Who needs phones & email?

    The pandemic may have stopped us from having face-to-face meetings because of self-isolation and social distancing. So just like that, we all needed to have online meetings and digital collaborative meetups.

    In 2020, we just stopped phoning people. We needed to see what other humans looked like. So, we engaged more in video calling, using whatever technology available that supports that functionality.

    The online video-conferencing tool Zoom, therefore, went from being a company you’d probably never heard of, to global ‘overnight’ success. It was founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan, a former Cisco engineer, and executive, who then launched it in 2013 as software for companies. It was valued at $1bn in 2017 because it enjoyed very strong revenue growth and was easy to use, and became profitable in 2019, and listed on the Nasdaq.

    “You’re on Mute! “

    Quote of 2020

    Come early 2020, Zoom entered a boom period as most of us used it while in quarantine. Its share price, therefore, grew more than 490% from $68.72 to around $406.

    MS Teams, Microsoft’s answer to Zoom. is believed by many to be more reliable and secure than Zoom – which suffered a major breach earlier in the year. Google’s Meet also features on the list of top video calling/conferencing apps.


    We won’t delve into comparison here. The pros and cons are highly dependant on what you use it for and your business size/budget. The usage stats below speak volumes though albeit just for the two major economies.

    Other tools

    When we weren’t working, we were using social communication applications such as House Party which, apart from allowing you to stream music and play virtual DJ, enabled you to play games with one another.

    They were mostly silly general knowledge games but hangman made a welcome comeback to society thanks to this app.

    Discord, an American Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that uses instant messaging and runs a digital distribution platform also gained new users. It no longer just relies on gamers and people in creative computer development roles to drive its usage.

    The Home Office

    We started (forcibly) working from home and those who believe it made them more efficient and productive are considering carrying on with it in 2021.
    The working from home concept, therefore, changed from being something associated with putting in half the effort and lazy lie-ins.

    Companies at least in the developed world, have to offer the option of working from home. Like any viral pandemic, Coronavirus will still be around in 2021 as the vaccine could take a while to ‘take effect’. Working from home isn’t disappearing any time soon!

    To operate a home office though, you need to have an advanced enough computer system, the right anti-virus software, and other methods of securing your work. Companies became concerned that people were using their personal computers to log onto work servers and bringing problems along with that. It’s not just good enough to get a laptop to have a ‘home office’.

    We have also had to set up reliable phone systems for business. Landlines are becoming old-fashioned plus virtual phone systems that are simple to set up and use are becoming popular.

    Smart speakers are also becoming popular. You can use them to play music via Spotify or the radio but can also be used to create the right audio ambience for your meetings and remind you about important events, tasks, and meetings.

    It’s all about getting tech products and virtual assistants to make working easier. People also invested in better desks and other office accessories such as computer or mobile-phone-operated coffee machines. Yes, those do exist! Expect the internet of things (IoT) to play a bigger role in your life next year and beyond.

    Cybercrime on fleek

    Naturally, because we are all forced online, this is no better time for cyber-thugs. They have upped the ante with cleverer ways to dupe you out of your already diminishing funds. Here some of the highlights of 2020 when it comes to crime on the web according to cybersecurity provider ID Agent:

    A cyberattack is attempted every 39 seconds.
    -700 million people in 21 countries experienced some form of cybercrime.
    The damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021.
    -Ransomware attacks rose 148% in March 2020.
    -Cloud-based attacks rose 630% between January and April 2020.
    -Two in five SMBs have been the victim of a ransomware attack.
    -More than 80% of reported cyberattacks are phishing.
    -Phishing attempts have increased by more than 660% since March 1, 2020.
    -Organized crime gangs account for 55% of attacks.

    The rise of AMD

    Chipmaker AMD has had a stellar year as it has brought out some of the most advanced (yet affordable) computer chips ever built and has managed to outshine rival behemoth, Intel.

    Its share price on the Nasdaq bounced from $49.10 to about $95.92. The company has been a runaway success story, especially over the past five years. At the end of December 2015, AMD stock was a paltry $2.87, that’s 3242% growth in half a decade!

    Another contributing factor for the company’s success is that AMD’s Ryzen line of processors has been a huge hit since its release. They are used in some of the best mining CPUs money can buy.

    Mining is the process of acquiring Bitcoins and other Cryptocurrencies using special software together with your PC’s hashing power.

    Crypto makes a comeback!

    Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced returns of more than 216% and 390% year-to-date respectively.
    The argument is that institutional investors including some of the world’s largest finance houses and banks are now backing the world’s most popular digital currency.

    This is despite the fact that most ‘9-5 people’ are not using Bitcoin to buy much on a daily basis – but this trend is changing.
    It is still purported to be a means for criminals and drug dealers to help avoid banking authorities from checking their transactions. Or maybe that is just an underground rumour (or FUD) created by the fearful banking system.

    But seriously, a few things are speculated to be behind the Crypto surge.
    The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates, loaned more than $1.5 trillion to banks and financial institutions. It also increased its purchases of US treasury securities to stabilize the economy when the pandemic struck.
    This response was very strong and helped to weaken the effects of a national lockdown on the largest economy in the world.

    These actions created a favourable ‘macro environment’ in which to invest in an asset that is perceived as very risky given its lack of use and lack of clarity around what it can be used for. The high returns compared to Gold, interest-bearing and other traditional assets have certainly got the major asset managers excited.


    The second trend that propelled cryptocurrencies was the above-mentioned expansion of digital life. This may have lead to more investors feeling comfortable using a digital wallet. From payment systems, storage, finance, to gaming, gambling and sports: There is now literally a crypto-based coin for anything under the sun! This digital transformation has even prompted global Central Banks to seriously consider a move away from paper money.

    The Future

    Our lives are progressively going digital. Many older people who had never used a computer to shop online before, did so for the first time in 2020. They also using messaging apps for the first time as well as streaming entertainment services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus.

    To sum up, the year 2020 has been an abomination of a year. Who knows what 2021 will bring? Maybe (tech-driven) Tesla stock will keep on rallying after successfully listing on the S&P500. But maybe also because owner, Elon Musk kind of took an interest to Bitcoin. This year has indefinitely made us aware of two things: proper sanitization and the practical use of computers.

  • Banking on Crypto

    Banking on Crypto

    The world is slowly realizing that it needs to rely less on old systems in order to manage its way out of financial crises. One of the oldest systems which saw the US dollar as the vehicular currency of the world may be slowly coming to an end.

    Enter the Bitcoin: the brainchild of cryptocurrency, a means of exchange that is less regulated and which is built on the Blockchain, a technology that is supposedly difficult to hack into.

    A quick recap for those of you not familiar with the tech: A Bitcoin is a computer file that can be stored in a ‘digital wallet’ app on your smartphone or computer. With this technology, every single transaction you make is recorded in a public list or publicly distributed ledger.

    This makes it easier for authorities to track and record your transactions but not you personally. We will not, however, get into the potential abuse of such anonymity in this article.

    Adoption

    We have been very slow to adopt new financial technologies for two reasons. First, there are many regulations that help maintain the US dollar as the vehicular currency, used by central banks and other financial institutions to secure assets. Second, many developers of the technology are hesitant to throw it upon us – yet.

    But this will change as the robustness and reliability of cryptocurrencies is proved study by study and case by case. One method is by using cryptology.

    Cryptology is used to protect your information from hackers. In fact, the protection of your data is more important than ever before. We have made our lives more public thanks to social media.

    While you may not mind so much if hackers get unauthorized access to your pictures and social media profiles, some information is actually valuable. This includes your banking details, birth certificate, licenses, and intellectual property.

    The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us all to work from home. Those employees of numerous companies are accessing commercial information using personal computers instead of office computers. But personal computers might lack anti-virus software, firewalls, and other security measures.

    Right now, cybercrime is costing companies at least $45bn a year worldwide.

    This is why now is cryptology’s time to shine. It will also be used to protect your online purchases made using cryptocurrencies instead of traditional money. It will help ensure that funds go from your bank account to a retailer’s quickly but securely.

    Using Crypto for daily activities

    Digital Cash

    Let’s face it, we are going to use Blockchain for shopping: Lamborghini already accepts purchases in Bitcoin. The concept might still be difficult for you to grasp, but they are still being developed and soon it will be near impossible to live without them.

    Read more about Distributed Applications ‘DApps’ here

    Gaming companies are already embracing cryptocurrencies. Fortnite, a popular online game, with more than 250-million players, allows you to buy in-game products using cryptocurrencies.

    Beyond regular shopping, you could soon buy a house using a cryptocurrency. Blockchain technology and the underlying distributed ledger technology is being used to increase transparency in real estate transactions using smart contracts.

    To reiterate the use case for Crypto, many countries like Germany are relaxing laws and giving licenses to allow ‘Crypto Banks’ to operate. This is one effort to ensure that your Cryptos are properly taxed when used for investment purposes.

    One such bank, Bitwala, allows you to purchase Bitcoins or Etheruem securely and quickly from a charges-free bank account which they provide.

    Your transactions are then documented so that you can seamlessly submit reports of the purchases to the local tax authorities (Finazamt) to avoid penalties. You can do this all directly from the Bitwala App.

    The blockchain and cryptocurrency are even being explored on national levels: China is allegedly creating its own national digital currency.

    The way forward

    Monetary systems will continue to be tested every day. Banks the world over are spending big bucks to protect themselves from hacks. But one day, a hacker could throw them into turmoil.

    When that happens, you might be unable to withdraw your money. A central bank’s database could be hacked making it difficult for it to work with other banks. In the meantime, alternatives to classic monetary systems need to be developed.

    Cryptocurrencies backed by cryptology could be a very strong alternative. There are also some valid cases for using Bitcoin as a global currency. This, however, will only become a reality if it shakes off its high trading volatility to become more stable.

    We live in a world where we need to be cognisant of our health and how viruses can spread easily and quickly like wildfire. It equally is imperative to realize that cyber attackers could get and infect our data just as swiftly. Using modern technologies can help prevent these intruders from creating a ‘digital security collapse’ pandemic.

  • Sell easily with the aid of smart tech

    Sell easily with the aid of smart tech

    Practical online software can – without a shadow of a doubt – help your business (large enterprise or Start-up) get on top of its operations.

    The most common operational tasks most of us use are sales and customer support. Though very important they cannot, however, be used in isolation to other business processes.

    There are also other ‘bits’ and ‘bobs’ that can be built-in or integrated to ensure that your business processes are fully automated. And automation saves you time and therefore, money!

    Core operations that a good ERP can manage for your business are not limited to the following:

    • Sales (the lifeblood of your business)
    • Customer Support (now extended to Customer Engagement)
    • Accounting and Finance (all your banking, invoicing, payments and taxation)
    • Supply chain and logistics management (Cataloguing, Inventory, stock management, warehousing, storage and deliveries)
    • Retail (B2B, eCommerce, Point of Sales)
    • Human Resources (Staffing, holiday bookings, Salaries and wages, recruitment).
    • Marketing (Branding, campaign management, targeted ads etc.)

    Can you imagine these have been in use since the industrial revolution and the introduction of chain stores? 

    Trading
    Trade with IQOption

    ERP is the abbreviation for Enterprise Resource Planning and is basically the software your business uses on PCs/cashier systems, scanners, and all points of sale devices.  

    One of a kind

    We identified and reviewed a specialized ERP called  SmartSaleERP. It is an integrated tech platform targeted for retail business owners to help you get in control of your business. 

    Granted, there are hundreds of ERP solutions out there including those from known brands such as Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, Zoho etc.

    A distinguishing feature on SmartSaleERP however, is the kind of technology they use over and above the traditional features and user interfaces (UI).

    This ‘edge’ comes from the use of biometric and smartcard tech to provide you with a better customer/user experience.  The sales experience can be derived from both the customer and the business side.

    Read the full feature to find out more about this distinct ERP here.

  • BTC running low on battery?

    BTC running low on battery?

    bitcoin-1813505_1280.jpg__740x380_q85_crop_subsampling-2
    Good explanation of what the declining BTC dominance means for other Alts

    On August 11 2018, the Bitcoin dominance level (market share) touched 50% for the first time in 2018. However, the move didn’t come amid a Crypto market rally. In fact, the cryptocurrency space has been in free fall until mid-August, moving in a sideways trend since then.

    Read more via BTC running low on battery?

  • Financing your Small Business

    Financing your Small Business

    When considering small business financing, it is important to understand all your available options. If not, investors can easily take advantage of you and offer unfair terms.

    So before raising any money, find out if using equity, debt, or convertible debt financing makes the most sense for you to grow your business.

    Equity


    Raising capital through equity is popular, if not the most popular choice, for entrepreneurs to pursue. Investors buy stock (or shares) in your company, giving them a financial stake in the future success of your business.

    How It Works:

    • You set a specific Dollar/Euro amount for what your company is worth.
    • Based on that valuation, investors agree to give you money in exchange for a certain percentage of your company.
    • Investors receive compensation based on the percent of stock/share they own once you sell the company or go public.

    Pros:

    • All your cash can go toward your business rather than loan repayments.
    • Investors take on some risk and don’t have to be paid back until you’re doing well.
    • Investors often have valuable business experience.
    • Since investors have a financial stake in the success of your business, they are motivated to offer sound guidance and valuable business connections.

    Cons:

    • Selling shares of your company will make it very difficult to get them back.
    • You will also most likely lose control of part of your board to your investors.

    Debt


    Debt-based fundraising is the form of small business financing that most small businesses end up choosing, according to Fundable. It is also the easiest to understand. Money is loaned to you with the agreement you’ll repay it over time with an established interest rate.

    Get a quick loan for your business here: N26_banner-320x50-EN

     

     

    How It Works:

    • You borrow money with an agreement to pay it back with interest within a specific time frame.
    • You will also have to offer your lender some form of collateral, which are liquid assets you will give up if you cannot make your loan payments.

    Pros:

    • You will raise capital much quicker than with equity small business financing. This is especially true of smaller cash amounts.
    • You can keep 100 percent ownership of your company, along with 100 percent of its profits.
    • Interest payments are tax-deductible.

    Cons:

    • You must be completely confident you can make your loan payments in cash each month. If you don’t, lenders can make you sell your business in order to get their money back.
    • Interest payments can become one of your largest business expenses.
    • Commercial lenders will demand small business owners to personally guarantee the loan and offer personal assets as collateral. This even if your company is structured as a corporation or limited liability company, according to Forbes.

    Convertible Debt


    A convertible debt small business financing structure is a mix of debt and equity financing. The money raised is considered a loan, but at some future date, the loan can convert to equity if the lenders so choose.

    How It Works:

    • You will negotiate an interest rate to pay back the loan. This will also be the interest rate for those lenders who decide not to convert any debt into stock.
    • The details concerning how lenders can convert the debt into equity are negotiated at the time of the loan. For the most part, that means agreeing to give lenders a discount or warrant on an upcoming round of equity fundraising.
    • You will also set the valuation cap, or maximum company valuation, at which lenders can convert debt into equity. If investors decide not to trade in their loan for shares at this predetermined valuation level, they can no longer do so at a future date.

    Pros:

    • Transaction costs are low and the process moves quickly.
    • If you don’t want to set a company valuation, which involves a lot of uncertainty and risks for new startups, a convertible debt structure for small business financing makes a lot of sense, according to Covestor CEO Asheesh Advani.
    • Using convertible debt protects investors from dilution in future financing rounds.

    Cons:

    • Investors are uneasy about giving money without knowing the exact share of a company they will own. You might have to offer steep discounts on equity in order to get them to agree to the terms.
    • You may be forced to set a valuation before you are ready in order to avoid unaffordable loan repayment expenses.

    In the end, it’s best you make your final choice, based on which of the mentioned options works best for you, not just now, but in the immediate future.

    Read more: about other investment methods.

    This article was originally Written by Alex Liu and published on UpCounsel

    UpCounsel is an interactive online service that makes it faster and easier for businesses to find and hire legal help solely based on their preferences.
  • Can’t Get No Satisfaction

    Can’t Get No Satisfaction

    In economic terminology, the term “utility” has not much to do with multifunctionality nor completing specific useful tasks.

    It does in context, relate to the level of satisfaction or “completeness” one derives from the consumption of a product or service. For example, there is only so much pizza you can eat before feeling ill from satiety.


    On a broader and more macroeconomics spectrum, our utility levels will also help determine how resources are allocated and consumed.

    Definition

    The concept, a brainchild of Daniel Bernoulli, has so many relevant connotations. As humans, we individually have a maximum biological boundary which when reached, signals absolute satisfaction. This in economic terms is called maximum (total) utility.

    Total utility is the complete satisfaction that you can get from consuming all units of a specific item.


    Economists are more interested in the changes in levels of utility or what is referred to as the marginal utility.

    We will return to its application to the economy.

    Applying utility

    N26_banner-160x600-EN

    Incidentally, the utility has no formal unit of measurement – though we coined the term “utils”. These so-called utils equate a number to utility levels in a controlled sample experiment.


    Understandably it can be quite a feat to quantify utility as it is based on human behavioural preferences. The closest we got to quantifying such was via the marketing concept of the consumer black box.


    As an illustration, the concept can be applied to something as basic as eating a delicious meal.


    Depending on how hungry you were, you would derive the highest utility from the first few bites of your meal.


    As you progressed and depending on your appetite, each additional fork/ spoon, or handful would provide fewer levels of satisfaction. As you reach your stomach’s capacity (towards satiety) your utility diminishes.

    This can be applied to the taste of the meal. It specifically explains why we tend to eat something sweet after a main (savoury) meal.

    The appreciation of ice cream when you are starving would diminish quickly as you concentrate on filling up your stomach. This as opposed to enjoying the taste.

    When compared to the running of an economy, governments and policymakers can determine which goods and services yield the most utility.


    This helps them to consequently direct expenditure to identified priority areas (products/services).

    It is a long term concept

    Education, for instance, may not provide immediate utility (gratification) for scholars and pupils. However, when appropriately harnessed, could yield higher levels of satisfaction. This is when you enter the job market with better remuneration packages.


    Tweaking education curricula, taking into consideration levels of utility to whip up your interest for the good or service. This should, therefore, be a prime focus for legislators.


    Inputs such as maximum times you can concentrate and the length of study for a course should be offered without compromising the substance.


    Without a doubt, there would be considerations, at a micro-level to assist in enhancing both marginal and total utility in the education sector.

    Read more about fiscal policy and budgets here

    More life-related uses

    The concept of utility is a lot less ubiquitous as we think and relates to the unsavoury phenomenon of megalomania and why there is greed.
    When levels of self-gratification diminish quickly, it takes longer for those with lower levels of marginal utility to reach a plateau of pleasure.


    Drug addiction, sexual appetites, and fetishes would then kick-in. In such cases, people upgrade the “product or service” that they have already maximized utility in. At that stage, another level of fulfillment would be sought.

    The utility applied to finances

    120x600

    It also explains why you lose a lot of money gambling or investing in stocks. The satisfaction of gaining more for a little outlay will often drive you to take more risk until a level of risk aversion kicks in.


    High-risk investors “called whales”  are now delving into the Crypto market to maximize their utility. They are diverting their funds from property and stocks into digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.


    The saying too much of a good thing is inevitably bad for you applies. It can be countered by diversifying the things that deliver pleasure or satisfaction to you.


    This is to ensure that you do not maximize utility on them too quickly and lose interest.  Worse case, you end up delving into the dangerous territories of addiction.


    Economists need to be relevant, more than ever before. They also need to formulate a means to measure and quantify utility or provide “utils” for at least, the most common goods and services.

    With such a strategy, policy-making, product pricing, and the efficient allocation of resources would be more effortless.

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