Comments on: UX Fund Matures, Up 39.3% http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/ Double True! Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:21:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jon Lax http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-109230 Jon Lax Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:21:46 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-109230 The problem is that large public companies don't report spending like that. Also some companies are so large that certain business units are very good at UX while others aren't. Microsoft is a good example of this. The XBox unit, I think, is very good at UX /CX but the other units aren't. But we can't invest in just the XBox division. UX or CX when done well is a value of the company rather than a specific line item on the balance sheet. Our investing philosophy was very subjective and entirely based on being a customer of the company. We did not look at financials or management as part of the criteria. It is not a perfect investing philosophy but based on the results just picking stocks using the criteria we set out has been successful over a 4 year period. The problem is that large public companies don’t report spending like that. Also some companies are so large that certain business units are very good at UX while others aren’t. Microsoft is a good example of this. The XBox unit, I think, is very good at UX /CX but the other units aren’t. But we can’t invest in just the XBox division.

UX or CX when done well is a value of the company rather than a specific line item on the balance sheet.

Our investing philosophy was very subjective and entirely based on being a customer of the company. We did not look at financials or management as part of the criteria. It is not a perfect investing philosophy but based on the results just picking stocks using the criteria we set out has been successful over a 4 year period.

]]> By: kaa http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-109224 kaa Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:49:36 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-109224 very interesting post. One thing which intrigues me is whether the 'great ux' can be quantified. I guess you invested in these companies because you might have used there products/services and felt the great UX. what I am wondering is can there be a objective quantity, which can help one to judge something which they have not used? something like the percent budget spent by the company on UX, that sort of thing. do you have any ideas? very interesting post. One thing which intrigues me is whether the ‘great ux’ can be quantified. I guess you invested in these companies because you might have used there products/services and felt the great UX. what I am wondering is can there be a objective quantity, which can help one to judge something which they have not used?

something like the percent budget spent by the company on UX, that sort of thing. do you have any ideas?

]]> By: Janne http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-103011 Janne Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:40:36 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-103011 Thanks for answering so soon. I totally agree with your picks. One company I’d still add is Nintendo, the most innovative gaming company IMO. Wii and DS have made playing a lot more fun and easier to pick up than it was few years ago. They have brought games to people who didn’t normally play them. Thanks for answering so soon. I totally agree with your picks. One company I’d still add is Nintendo, the most innovative gaming company IMO. Wii and DS have made playing a lot more fun and easier to pick up than it was few years ago. They have brought games to people who didn’t normally play them.

]]> By: Jon Lax http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-103010 Jon Lax Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:06:13 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-103010 I'm not sure how it would change. I think JetBlue has really stunted its innovation and UX and so has Yahoo. On the flip side Netflix really ramped it up delivering set top boxes and streaming services. I think Netflix shows that good UX/CX translates into stock price (+23.38% 1 year). Think about that up 23% in a market (Nasdaq) that is -40% in the same period. When we closed the fund we were really down on Netflix since they had just stagnated in terms of innovation. Amazon is a company that I wish we had added to the fund from the beginning. If we had bought it on Nov 1, 2006 it would be up 91% as of close of trade today. It would have been up 164% in the time period we ran the fund. I’m not sure how it would change. I think JetBlue has really stunted its innovation and UX and so has Yahoo.

On the flip side Netflix really ramped it up delivering set top boxes and streaming services. I think Netflix shows that good UX/CX translates into stock price (+23.38% 1 year). Think about that up 23% in a market (Nasdaq) that is -40% in the same period. When we closed the fund we were really down on Netflix since they had just stagnated in terms of innovation.

Amazon is a company that I wish we had added to the fund from the beginning. If we had bought it on Nov 1, 2006 it would be up 91% as of close of trade today. It would have been up 164% in the time period we ran the fund.

]]> By: Janne http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-103009 Janne Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:45:19 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-103009 This was really interesting "experiment". If you would start the fund today, would the portfolio look still about the same? Which stocks you would keep and which you'd remove from the portfolio? What companies you'd add outside your current list? Well, aswering these questions would need some further analysis, but I'd love to see "UX fund 2.0" some day. This was really interesting “experiment”. If you would start the fund today, would the portfolio look still about the same? Which stocks you would keep and which you’d remove from the portfolio? What companies you’d add outside your current list?

Well, aswering these questions would need some further analysis, but I’d love to see “UX fund 2.0” some day.

]]> By: January UX Roundup | UX Booth http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-102892 January UX Roundup | UX Booth Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:06:07 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-102892 [...] Ray Gulick discusses usability and web accessibility and compares it to the laws that require buildings to be handicap accessible. He discusses there are no such laws for websites in the US yet, while Britain has had such laws for 4 years. A study following companies that take UX seriously sees a 39.3% gain in their stocks [...] [...] Ray Gulick discusses usability and web accessibility and compares it to the laws that require buildings to be handicap accessible. He discusses there are no such laws for websites in the US yet, while Britain has had such laws for 4 years. A study following companies that take UX seriously sees a 39.3% gain in their stocks [...]

]]> By: UX Fund down 22% as DOW freefalls - bplusd http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-102384 UX Fund down 22% as DOW freefalls - bplusd Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:56:06 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-102384 [...] invested $50,000 in ten companies that are solid innovators for user experience and design. One year later, in 2007, the fund was up 39.3%. It’s a great story of how design helps companies outperform (the UX Fund handily beat [...] [...] invested $50,000 in ten companies that are solid innovators for user experience and design. One year later, in 2007, the fund was up 39.3%. It’s a great story of how design helps companies outperform (the UX Fund handily beat [...]

]]> By: TwentyThreeSeven » Blog Archive » Believe in JetBlue http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-95576 TwentyThreeSeven » Blog Archive » Believe in JetBlue Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:40:48 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-95576 [...] Before the Valentine’s Day massacre and the subsequent resignation of founding CEO, David Neelman, JetBlue was the darling child of the airline industry. Every decision was hailed as a victory for those, who like me and the crew at teehan+lax, believe that a customer experience focused company is a successful one.  [...] [...] Before the Valentine’s Day massacre and the subsequent resignation of founding CEO, David Neelman, JetBlue was the darling child of the airline industry. Every decision was hailed as a victory for those, who like me and the crew at teehan+lax, believe that a customer experience focused company is a successful one.  [...]

]]> By: Jon Lax http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-79599 Jon Lax Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:08:41 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-79599 We began to look at that but found it tough to compile a list. At first we tried finding an opposite company for each on our list but struggled a little compiling the list. I would be glad to put together some analysis if we can comprise a good list of companies. We began to look at that but found it tough to compile a list. At first we tried finding an opposite company for each on our list but struggled a little compiling the list. I would be glad to put together some analysis if we can comprise a good list of companies.

]]> By: Pat M http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/2007/11/06/ux-fund-matures-up-393/comment-page-1/#comment-79598 Pat M Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:03:13 +0000 http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=293#comment-79598 Sorry - I'm late to the chat. However, would be interesting to test the converse -- do companies that espouse BAD design perform poorly? Sorry – I’m late to the chat. However, would be interesting to test the converse—do companies that espouse BAD design perform poorly?

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