James Cakmak is a cofounder of Clockwise Capital, an investment management firm. He was a Wall Street security analyst for over 10 years covering the Internet sector. He has been frequently cited across major media outlets including CNBC, Bloomberg, and WSJ.
Written Articles View All 25
Big Tech and Media in 2020: What to Expect
Here are four trends to watch for in the coming year--regulation comes to big tech, FANG stocks peak, traditional media's swan song, and CEOs continue their exodus.
What’s Holding Back Cryptocurrencies?
Technology goes through four steps on the path to adoption: innovation, the entrance of risk takers, rejection by the establishment, and the eventual distribution of trust. Here’s how this framework applies to cryptocurrencies.
Money’s Evolution is Built on Trust. Can Crypto Follow?
In a new essay, the authors explain why cryptocurrencies represent one of the most powerful evolutions in money--and it's mainly being driven by trust.
Money–Mankind’s Greatest Innovation
This story kicks off Techonomy's original series about the evolution of money.
China’s Best Strategy for Trade Negotiations: Cooperation
China faces difficult realities that must be balanced in the trade talks. Ultimately, the U.S. will force the creation of a more level playing field.
In the Media’s New Battles, Consumers Will Win. Here’s Why.
Cable and wireless internet companies are in trouble, as consumers demand more for less.
Don’t Break Up Big Tech. Reduce Founder Control Instead.
If you want to hold big tech companies accountable, get rid of the corporate structure that overly empowers founder-led management teams: dual-class shares.
Why E-Sports Will Be Bigger Than Live Sports
The number of people watching e-sports content globally is set to balloon to over 450 million this year. Here's why that matters.
Get Ready for the Decline of Live Sports
Our bandwidth for media is saturated. The sports media industry’s players must find new areas of growth.
Disney May Not Remain Content’s King. Here’s Why.
Disney must adapt to the evolution in content creation by moving from a centralized studio model to a highly fragmented one.
How Facebook and Google Changed Privacy’s Meaning
To understand privacy, you have to define it. Our writers unpack the evolving meaning of privacy in the digital age.
Why Breaking Up Big Tech Isn’t the Answer
There’s lots of talk about breaking up the world’s largest tech companies. You do deserve to be mad and even grab your pitchforks and demand justice. But simply breaking these companies into pieces is not...
What’s Missing From Pinterest’s IPO?
Why won't Pinterest's IPO price much exceed its private valuation of $12 billion? It seemed to have a great product/market fit, but there's a problem, especially compared to arch-rival Instagram. It doesn't offer sufficient incremental...
Goodbye, Hollywood
Hollywood is now irrelevant. The assets of the old studios barely matter anymore. The media companies that succeed will be those that can capitalize on lower cost formats while maximizing reach.
Why Big Cap Tech is So Big
Uneven outcomes, for companies and people, are inescapable. And uneven outcomes often lead to gigantic companies. That is often good for all of us, but when data is mishandled, even the biggest net giants risk displacement.
Why Amazon Will Keep Winning
Amazon's latest results only underscore the scale of the company's opportunity. Our resident analysts deconstruct the earnings and explain why you should be optimistic, if you weren't already, about this amazing company's continuing potential to...
The Media Industry Explained: Hidden Costs and 3 Hindenburgs
What the hell is going on with media? By virtually all measures, confidence in it has eroded. To bring clarity as to why and how this happened, it’s helpful to understand the components of the ecosystem.
Time is Money, Money is Time, and What That Means for Tech
Once you start thinking about time as the currency, it becomes easier to see which companies will succeed and which will fail. The ones that save us time will become the most valuable.
The Facebook Paradox: Both Overvalued and Undervalued
Analyst-turned-entrepreneur Cakmak has waffled on Facebook. Is it a perfidious social blight or an indispensable social service? It all depends which lens you're using.
2019 Market Predictions: Apple and Amazon Bounce, China Caves
Markets may be haywire now, but next year Amazon and Apple could head back to the trillion-dollar mark, says our analyst. He also sees China caving on trade and Uber capitalizing on ads. Privacy, though,...
What Tech Investors Get Wrong About Privacy
Data breaches are now so commonplace that consumers have become conditioned to them. In 2018, personal information was compromised by airlines, mobile carriers, and of course social networks. As today’s tech giants mature, they all...
Apple Doesn’t Need to Sell More iPhones for its Stock to Rise
Apple’s stock is off nearly 25 percent from its high earlier this year and red flags are waving around slowing iPhone sales, yet the author sees Apple stock on the rise as the company transitions...
Tech’s Wild Ride — Why FAANGs Are Down As Smartphone Boom Wanes
With tech stocks declining, it it time to rethink the FAANG group? Some of the biggest concerns are regulatory risk, over-investments by fund managers in the FAANGs, and a worry that the incremental utility of...
Why Bezos Deserves to be The World’s Richest
As Amazon gets ready to announce its new headquarters, the company continues to dazzle both consumers and competitors. Given its overwhelming scale, a breakup of the company is likely, but as long as it continues...
Value Tech Companies by How Much Time They Save
Technology’s purpose is to save time, the author writes. Whether this purpose is achieved determines a successful company versus one that fails.
Videos
What You Don’t Know About Food Delivery and Tech
Eating Matters Noah Glass, founder & CEO, Olo; You haven’t heard much about food delivery giant Olo because it works in the background enabling all the ones you have heard of. Glass explains how eating...
Events
NYC 19
The world is in sad shape, which means, among other challenging realities, that all of us need to ensure our work contributes to larger solutions. Tech changes everything, which we love, but it can’t just...