Somali Pirate Business Model

The United Nations has released this report about the Somali pirate business model.

Here's a quick summary (see annex 4.3 in the link for the good part):

A basic piracy operation requires a minimum eight to twelve militia prepared to stay at sea for extended periods of time, in the hopes of hijacking a passing vessel. Each team requires a minimum of two attack skiffs, weapons, equipment, provisions, fuel and preferably a supply boat. The costs of the operation are usually borne by investors, some of whom may also be pirates.

To be eligible for employment as a pirate, a volunteer should already possess a firearm for use in the operation. For this ‘contribution’, he receives a ‘class A’ share of any profit. Pirates who provide a skiff or a heavier firearm, like an RPG or a general purpose machine gun, may be entitled to an additional A-share. The first pirate to board a vessel may also be entitled to an extra A-share.

At least 12 other volunteers are recruited as militiamen to provide protection on land of a ship is hijacked, In addition, each member of the pirate team may bring a partner or relative to be part of this land-based force. Militiamen must possess their own weapon, and receive a ‘class B’ share — usually a fixed amount equivalent to approximately US$15,000.

If a ship is successfully hijacked and brought to anchor, the pirates and the militiamen require food, drink, qaad, fresh clothes, cell phones, air time, etc. The captured crew must also be cared for. In most cases, these services are provided by one or more suppliers, who advance the costs in anticipation of reimbursement, with a significant margin of profit, when ransom is eventually paid.

When ransom is received, fixed costs are the first to be paid out. These are typically:

• Reimbursement of supplier(s)

• Financier(s) and/or investor(s): 30% of the ransom

• Local elders: 5 to 10 %of the ransom (anchoring rights)

• Class B shares (approx. $15,000 each): militiamen, interpreters etc.

The remaining sum — the profit — is divided between class-A shareholders.

Book Review: Brewing Up A Business

Beer entrepreneur Sam Calagione shares his story of creating one of the most successful microbreweries out there - Dogfish.

Yeah, there's lot of fun anecdotes about getting Dogfish off the ground - he's a free spirit to say the least.

But the real value here is a case study of watching a small business grow from incubation to being an established success story. In fact, the book is organized more about business principles than beer per se.

You're going to learn a lot about managing growth, product diversification, bouncing back from mistakes (not all of his competitors do so), identity as a brand, listening to customers, and a lot more.

Another cool thing about this book is that it addresses a basic reality in our economy: forget about taking on the big boys and find that long tail of the niche market.

Working In A Foreign Country

If you have an adventuresome spirit, you might want to check this out:

Guides to working abroad in the database Business Source Complete

1) Hit country reports (kinda on the right side)
2) Choose your country
3) Career guides will be mixed in your results.

Once you get past some boilerplate text in the guides, there's some good specific information here.

Music Industry Books

Hey, here's some stuff about the business side of music.

The books can be found under music trade and sound recording industry.

Oh yes, there's music marketing.

Be sure to read this sobering article from The Root about the artist's portion of sales....

Tracking the Most Popular Viral Ads (and More)

Here's something interesting - a website that tracks the most popular viral ads, movie trailers, and webisodes....

Also interesting: a big viral hit does not necessarily translate into bigger sales....

Update: Despite a few naysayers, it appears that Old Spice sales (one of the most popular viral ads) have spiked recently. Of course, it's correlation not causation, but highly likely to be related to the campaign's popularity.

Still, popular ad campaigns don't always increase sales.

Book Review: The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else

Here's an argument for individual rights, openness and equality before the law:

Hernando de Soto: The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else

De Soto is a Peruvian economist that tackles one of the oldest mysteries: how can societies unlock their human potential? The answer, as he argues, lies in individual rights and a predictable, open legal system. Which the third world poor lack.

But how do you establish such a thing? De Soto's central idea is that the poor need titles for their often informally owned land and property. If you have legal title, you can get loans, and grow economically with that capital. But obtaining titles to some of these holdings would be fraught with controversy and entanglement....

This book is more of a thought piece and critics have noted De Soto's lack of empirical data in his work. But it's an interesting idea and ideas have to start somewhere.

Examples of Texas Law Forms and Find a Texas Law

We've got two books in the reference section that will help with Texas laws.... There's Texas Transaction Guide, which contains sample forms of contracts, custody, etc... and a few restatements of law.

Then there's Texas Law Finder. This book refers you to the laws you'll need given your problem.

Then you can check the actual Texas Code to read the law.

I would also suggest Lexis Nexis to find the actual text of the law.....