Ask the CEO: A Customer Day Q&A with Tien Tzuo
Tien Tzuo
Welcome! We’re having an exciting Customer Day here at Zuora, gaining insights from the collective intelligence of our… Read More
Talking Leadership with IBM, Microsoft, and Coursera
Tien Tzuo
Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a great Fortune Executive Leadership Roundtable called “Capitalizing on the Subscription Economy.” It was hosted by… Read More
What Will Travel Look Like Next Year?
Tien Tzuo
Did you know that the largest evacuation effort of British citizens since Dunkirk happened just over a year ago? Over 150,000 British citizens were… Read More
Disruption & Transformation with Omar Abbosh
Tien Tzuo
This week I’m talking about disruption and transformation with Omar Abbosh, Corporate Vice President of Cross-Industry Solutions at Microsoft and Zuora’s newest board member. He… Read More
The Unbundling of the Automobile
Tien Tzuo
Appropriately enough, the first mobile phones were car phones. Lars Magnus Ericsson (yes, of that Ericsson) developed the first car phone prototype in… Read More
More Inclusive Economies
Tien Tzuo
This week I’m very happy to chat with Zuora’s new Chief Diversity Officer, Valerie Jackson. Valerie has been leading inclusion and talent initiatives in global… Read More
Q&A with Zuora Chief Diversity Officer Valerie Jackson
Tien Tzuo
Here at Zuora we believe that subscriptions and subscription platforms have the power to provide easier and more equitable access to products and services when… Read More
Twilio & Customer Signals
Tien Tzuo
Last week Twilio spent $3.2 billion in stock to buy Segment, an API platform that helps companies make sense of their customer data. Twilio wants… Read More
Why Disney’s Reorganization is a Lesson for Every Media Company
Tien Tzuo
About five years ago I bumped into Greg Hywood at the airport. Greg was then the CEO of Fairfax Media (which is now called Nine… Read More
Every Day is Prime Day
Tien Tzuo
Last week, Amazon announced that Prime Day this year will be October 13-14th, and the retail industry cheered. For those not following along, Amazon’s… Read More
Lessons from Quibi’s Streaming Service
Tien Tzuo
Six months after launching, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s short-form video streaming startup Quibi is now “exploring strategic options,” including a possible sale, according to the Wall… Read More
Fortune CONNECT with Alan Murray
Tien Tzuo
Alan Murray is the president and CEO of Fortune Media Group. He started his career as a cub reporter at the age of nine and… Read More
Apple One Steals the Show
Tien Tzuo
It sure seems like everyone is expecting me to comment on Apple this week. Happy to oblige! So what was the highlight of Tuesday’s virtual… Read More
B2B Pricing Strategies from the Subscribed Institute
Tien Tzuo
Pricing ambiguity is inherent to the subscription model. This can be either empowering or paralyzing. There’s a lot of pressure not to mess it up. Read More
The 40-Year College
Tien Tzuo
Welcome to the weirdest back-to-school season of our lifetimes. If the current crisis is forcing us to rethink the ways we teach our young people,… Read More
Getting IoT Right: A Conversation with Honeywell’s Usman Shuja
Tien Tzuo
While GE Digital’s struggles with IoT services generated headlines, one company quietly executed on digital transformation. That company? Honeywell. In recent… Read More
SaaS Origin Stories: An Interview with Legendary CFO Steve Cakebread
Tien Tzuo
Steve Cakebread is the “OG” SaaS CFO. The man who took Salesforce, Pandora and Yext public is also the author of the upcoming “The… Read More
The Subscription Economy Comes to Government
Tien Tzuo
“Citizens tend to think of government as a kind of vending machine. They put in taxes and get out services that governments provide. However, this… Read More
Video Games & Subscriptions: A Conversation with Xbox’s Sarah Bond
Tien Tzuo
Zuora’s newest board member Sarah Bond leads Microsoft’s Gaming Ecosystem organization, an integrated engineering and business unit. Her team’s mission is to empower game creators… Read More
Do You Trust Twitter Enough To Subscribe?
Tien Tzuo
Are you a Twitter user? Congratulations! Not only are you making the company around $50 a year from its advertising business, but you’re also… Read More
The New Back Office: A Conversation with Megan Murray of eMoney & Fidelity
Tien Tzuo
Our ongoing CFO series continues with an interview with Megan Murray, Head of Finance at eMoney, a financial planning platform for financial advisors and firms. Read More
The Adobe Story: A CFO Discussion with Mark Garrett
Tien Tzuo
This is the first in a two-part interview series with Mark Garrett, the legendary ex-CFO of Adobe. Under his guidance as Executive Vice President and… Read More
Freemium or Free Trial: We Have a Winner!
Tien Tzuo
Quick, what’s your immediate answer to the following question: In order to attract new subscribers, should a subscription business offer them unlimited access to a… Read More
The Agile CFO: A Conversation with Todd McElhatton
Tien Tzuo
Over the next several weeks, I’ll be talking with some CFOs that I admire about the massive disruption happening in finance departments today. I’m kicking… Read More
Do We Really Need CFOs?
Tien Tzuo
Let me begin this week’s newsletter by stating for the record that I think most CFOs are fine people. They are responsible and detail-oriented. Lots… Read More
Netflix Marks a Turning Point in the Subscription Economy Again
Tien Tzuo
This is a story that begins with Charles Darwin’s grandfather. He was an Englishman named Josiah Wedgwood, and he was one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs… Read More
Voices Against Injustice
Tien Tzuo
The Subscribed Weekly newsletter is about the future, and one thing we can all agree on is a future where injustice no longer exists. That’s… Read More
Fender Plays at Home
Tien Tzuo
Everyone knows Fender. They make amazing guitars, amplifiers and more. They also have a popular digital learning program called Fender Play, and judging from responses,… Read More
COVID-19 is the Best Thing to Happen to Retail
Tien Tzuo
It’s a deathwatch for retailers. In just the last few weeks, we lost J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, and J.C. Penney. The National… Read More
HP is Doubling Down on Customer Relationships with Subscriptions
Tien Tzuo
“Companies are reimagining the products and services they offer — rethinking their roles within their own industries, and outside of them as well,” says Kevin… Read More
7 Responses to COVID-19: Doubling Down on Relationships
Tien Tzuo
If you’re a subscription business that has avoided the worst of the crisis so far, the two most important assets you have right now are… Read More
Subscription Businesses Prove Their Resilience (Surprise, Surprise)
Tien Tzuo
This is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Every sector of the economy is being hit, and technology is no exception. An online… Read More
How Publishing is Doubling Down on Relationships
Tien Tzuo
Across the board, digital media companies have seen a sharp spike in engagement and subscriptions over the past month, and traffic to local news sites… Read More
Subscription Giving: NonProfits Double Down on Relationships
Tien Tzuo
A Conversation with Bill Strathmann of Network for Good Nonprofits are clearly facing some steep challenges during the COVID-19 crisis. Even during good times, around… Read More
How One Subscription Coffee Company is Doubling Down on Relationships
Tien Tzuo
It sounds like last week’s post resonated with lots of people, so I thought I’d spend the next few weeks exploring how different subscription… Read More
Now is the Time to Double Down on Relationships
Tien Tzuo
It’s a stressful time, to be sure. What’s most top of mind right now is keeping each other safe, and doing our part to avoid… Read More
Three Things to Get Right When Monetizing IoT
Tien Tzuo
IoT is exploding. The Economist Intelligence Unit just released its latest IoT Business Index, and it’s worth a look. They interviewed 825 business executives… Read More
Book Review: Fighting Churn with Data
Tien Tzuo
Zuora’s Chief Data Scientist Carl Gold has written a great new book called “Fighting Churn with Data.” It’s a must-read for subscription businesses, and… Read More
Finance is the Next to Fall
Tien Tzuo
Fintech is on fire these days. Morgan Stanley just bought E-Trade for $13 billion. Intuit bought Credit Karma for $7.1 billion. Visa bought Plaid for… Read More
What WeWork Got Right
Tien Tzuo
Last week, I joined my fellow ZEOs at Zuora to celebrate our new HQ. It’s a really exciting time. We’ve got a great new building… Read More
Netflix, the New York Times & the Evils of Advertising
Tien Tzuo
In the 1970s the average U.S consumer was exposed to about 500 ads a day. Today that number is around 5,000. Ads are everywhere,… Read More
2022: The Last Year of Television?
Tien Tzuo
Last week’s Super Bowl was a huge ratings success: just over 102 million viewers watched the Chiefs beat the 49ers. That made it the 10th… Read More
Five Ways to Monetize IoT & Connected Devices
Tien Tzuo
Readers of Subscribed and this newsletter know that I’m a big believer in the future of connected devices and their potential to transform and… Read More
GDP and the Subscription Economy
Tien Tzuo
The technology stories coming out of this week’s World Economic Forum’s event in Davos share a common theme, one of anxiety. As technology continues to… Read More
How to Raise Your Prices
Tien Tzuo
With all the talk of video streaming, a recent headline caught my eye the other day: “Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn Wants DAZN To Double Its… Read More
Amazon, FedEx & the Customer-Focused Company
Tien Tzuo
Happy New Year! Are you still digging your way out of a pile of cardboard boxes? It’s not just you — over 2.75 billion packages… Read More
Ford, Daimler, and Toyota take over CES
Tien Tzuo
Remember when CES used to be about nifty gadgets? Curved televisions, robot dogs, tiny drones that fit in your pocket. These days, however,… Read More
Coke’s New Subscription Signals the End of Advertising
Tien Tzuo
Any self-respecting professional the advertising industry should know the answer to the following question: What is the most popular and successful TV ad of all… Read More
Do Connected Devices Dream of Electric Sheep?
Tien Tzuo
CES is just around the corner! Soon, we can look forward to a flurry of announcements about new connected devices: televisions, wearables, appliances, cars, you… Read More
Black Friday & The Death of Retail
Tien Tzuo
The silly season of retail is upon us. Last week was the biggest Black Friday ever, and continues to be the busiest shopping day… Read More
Satya Swallows the Fish
Tien Tzuo
Satya Nadella was recently named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year. It’s well deserved. I’m old enough to remember Microsoft as being sort of like… Read More
Usership Saves the World
Tien Tzuo
In the fire department of Livermore, California, there is a light bulb that has been burning since 1901. Yes, that’s over 100 years that the… Read More
The Digital Future of Farming: Could This Mean the End of World Hunger?
Tien Tzuo
Source: www.worldometers.info/world-population This is a pretty remarkable graph. It depicts the growth of the world’s population since roughly 200 AD. Talk about hockey… Read More
How Much Is An Active User Worth? Lessons from the Sale of Fitbit
Tien Tzuo
Google just bought Fitbit for $2.1 billion, and the press seems to hate the deal. Judging from what I’ve read, here are the main reasons:… Read More
Disney Versus Apple: Who Has The Upper Hand In The Streaming Wars?
Tien Tzuo
The Battle of the Plus Signs is here! Apple TV+ launched on Friday, and Disney+ is arriving in a couple of weeks, reshaping… Read More
How Brands Succeed or Fail
Tien Tzuo
Last week, Charles Trevail, CEO of Interbrand, sent me their list of the top 100 global brands of 2019. This is a company that… Read More
It’s Not About The Box
Tien Tzuo
I love Sonos. I’ve had their speakers for years — they sound great, they sync well, and they’re affordable. Sonos taught everyone that you don’t… Read More
Whirlpool, the 108-Year-Old Startup
Tien Tzuo
Quick – when you think of Whirlpool, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? Probably a bunch of appliances, right? Most of us… Read More
Banks: The Thrill is Gone
Tien Tzuo
How would you describe your relationship with your bank? Is it full of engagement and discovery? Probably not. In fact, most of us are stuck… Read More
When Is A Car Not A Car?
Tien Tzuo
Last summer several Japanese car-sharing services (think the “Uber of Japan”) shared the same interesting problem. After checking mileage records, they noticed that almost one… Read More
A Different Kind of Apple
Tien Tzuo
If you’re an Apple fan, or even just a casual observer, you’ve probably noticed that their keynotes are different these days. There’s rarely any new… Read More
The Future of Fitness
Tien Tzuo
If you had $100 to spend on personal fitness every month, how would you spend it? Historically, the toughest decision would be which gym to… Read More
The End of Payments
Tien Tzuo
Apple’s new credit card launched last week. It’s a joint venture with Mastercard and Goldman Sachs. Pros: It gives you cash back on Apple… Read More
When Will Retail Fight Back?
Tien Tzuo
Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo offers insight into the latest explosion of subscriptions in retail, and what it means for the industry. Read More
The Sneaker Wars Come to the Subscription Economy
Tien Tzuo
Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo weighs in on Nike's new subscription service. Read More
Why gaming is ditching Hollywood for Silicon Valley
Tien Tzuo
Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo on how the gaming industry is moving to a subscription model. Read More
