The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 10 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
James: Facebook Algorithm Change Dropped Acumen Brands Below $100M Run Rate
“We were on a run rate before Facebook changed their algorithm over a hundred million dollars, and it dropped south of a hundred million dollars during the, in between the time of the investment and when I left.”
James: Do not build your business on third-party platforms
“And so, you know, the advice and the learnings there is, you know, don't build your business on someone else's platform. Don't be Facebook's bitch. Don't be Google's Move it onto your own platform.”
John James: Walmart overpaid for Jet.com, but Marc Lore is a genius
“Well, of course they did, but Mark Lohr's a genius. There's only two of him, and one's named Jeff Bezos, and then Mark's the other one. So yeah, of course they overpaid.”
James: General Atlantic Acumen Brands Buyout Valued Company at $157.5M
“They took a majority stake in it. I think post money on it, and there was some money on the balance sheet. I think it was 157 and a half. Million post money.”
Country Outfitter organic Facebook reach plummeted from 56% to 0.5%
“So I think we had 56% reach when we'd post an organic Facebook post. And literally overnight, over a span of about three different algorithm tweaks, that went to .5%.”
Acumen Brands abandoned 19 stores when Country Outfitter hit 90% of revenue
“So we had 20 stores running and then we look up one day and realize that country outfitter is 90 plus percent of our revenue. So we abandoned the rest of them”
James: Majority of General Atlantic's $83M Acumen Deal Was Secondary Liquidity
“Most of that was secondary, and in fact, the majority of it was, so you know, depending on who you're talking to, it's, it was a venture event, or it was a secondary liquidity event”
Acumen Brands grew Country Outfitter to 11 million email subscribers
“In fact, we had more email subscribers, eleven million email subscribers.”