In 2009, a batch at Stanford was divided into 14 groups - each group was given $ 5 in an envelope ✉️and tasked to generate maximum ROI. They had a few days to plan but once they opened the envelope and took the money, they had 2 hours. Each group was then to present the findings in 3 minutes the following Monday.
🚲 One group built a stand and offered to fill air pressure in cycles for the uni students (pay for convenience). Since they charged $ 1, the expected returns were also low.
🍔 Another group made reservations at sought after restaurants and then sold these reservations to those waiting in long queues with a low chance of getting one on the spot. Many paid for upto $ 20 for such timely reservations (pay for scarcity). The team raked up a decent profit.
💸However the winning team exhibited business acumen like no other group, generating record profit without spending a dime of the $ 5 given to them - they didn't open the envelope ! They clawed back to fundamentals of 'how can we maximise value' without getting constrained by the $ 5 or the 2 hours. While the other teams focused on the physical realm around them, this team thought of the most opportune moment to catch everyone's attention - the Monday presentation and sold ad space on their slide to a student recruiting firm for a whooping $ 600.
This is one of the finest examples of first principles thinking and also reflects on how valuable every inch of digital real estate is. The above was in 2009 at a micro level, imagine the potential of Adtech in 2022. Advertising in general gets a bad notion since it gets aggressive and intrusive but done with the right control measures, is the most effective medium for business reach and growth.