Side Notes by Zerodha Varsity

American Express - Why Buffett likes it more than Visa and Mastercard?

American Express is one of Warren Buffett's longest-standing bets. For over three decades, Berkshire Hathaway has held onto AmEx, through recessions, market crashes, and massive shifts in the payments industry. This is interesting given that AmEx operates a far smaller network than Visa and Mastercard. So what makes AmEx different? Why has Buffett never sold? And how does a company with fewer cards and lower acceptance still generate outsized returns?  Listen to American Express' interesting story in this season finale. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Is Louis Philippe Indian or French?

Louise Philippe, Monte Carlo, Blackberrys, Bella Vita, and Da Milano are all foreign names of Indian brands. Is there a reason why Indian brands adopt English or European-sounding names? Does it have to do with perceptions of quality and trust? Or is it because we have not yet gotten out of our colonial mindset?   Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

What went wrong with Intel? What is it up to now?

Intel's quintessential Intel Inside sticker on laptops and in the marketing materials of other PC brands helped it achieve global dominance in processing chips.  However, another brand, TSMC, without any marketing and visibility on any computing products, somehow managed to take over Intel and become a far bigger semiconductor company. TSMC now commands more than half of the world's chip market today. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Poka Yoke - Toyota's design thinking

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a manufacturing system to ensure minimum wastage while constantly striving to improve quality. TPS is efficient, flexible, and extremely quality-conscious. Poka Yoke is one of the many ideas developed under the TPS. This revolutionary system has inspired everything from a washing machine to aircraft. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

How Lenovo took over IBM to become the world's largest PC maker?

In 2004, Lenovo bought IBM’s iconic PC division. But this wasn’t an overnight leap — it was the result of years spent learning inside the value chain. Starting as a distributor of laptops for global brands like HP, Toshiba, and IBM in China, Lenovo moved up the value chain to become a manufacturer and is now a global leader with over one-quarter of the market share for laptops worldwide. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.