The Branded and Gilded Life

Do you dream of climbing Mount Everest?


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The road to the tallest mountain in the world is getting crowded.

There's competition between local sherpas and the foreign guides who take a few people to the summit every year.

And the money generated makes up 10% of the GDP of Nepal.

Everest ascent has become a badge to wear pursued with zeal and single-minded commitment.

Success means you can spin stories about the exploits and and hold audiences spellbound. By regaling them with stories of avalanches, frostbite and near misses 

It's not cheap by any means. The investment is nearly Rs. 50 lakhs per climber, even at reduced rates.

A photograph published last year shows a long line of people in a queue waiting to get to the top.

If this is what an Everest ascent looks like in 2019, imagine what it could become in a few years from now.

Maybe it is all worth it.

The oxygen deprivation and the brush with real danger for a few weeks.

Pushing yourself beyond ordinary limits to fulfil a deep-rooted wish.

Perhaps you'll find something deep within to cherish for a lifetime.

Even if all you bring back is a selfie at 29000 feet.

Banking on teenagers

The cliché is that young people are great at spending, not saving

But there's another lesser known cliché

Bank accounts are among the most stable customer categories.

In the US, the average tenure with a bank is for a couple of decades.

How many businesses can count on that kind of stickiness?

That's why a new bank is making a play exclusively at teens. 

The pitch is that young people need to learn to be financially independent.

True. But the real reason is that they are unlikely to change their bank accounts as they move into a job and higher earning.

The lure of no banking fees, ever, is a big draw.

The entire model shifts to fees from merchants and keeping the costs of servicing this category low.

Young people are digital natives. They prefer to manage everything from their phones or swipe a card.

In India, we call young people minors.

Parents are the ones pitched and they retain control. The same conditions apply. 

Like everything else, banking is only managed under close adult supervision.

Financial literacy begins with financial independence. And helping young people understand that responsibility and risk are linked.

Fashion by subscription

Would you rent clothes like the movies?

Companies are betting that it could happen.

One of them is Rent The Runway.

The big appeal - get the latest clothes every month at a fraction of the retail costs.

Obviously the clothes are used by multiple members.

So, you have to overcome a mental barrier

But people do rent suits for occasions. So making the leap to party clothes or designer wear may not be that much of a stretch.

The benefits are quite substantial.

No washing or maintenance, for example.

And your wardrobe does not pile up with clothes you haven't worn for years.

That's a huge space saving. Plus you don't have to worry that you're behind the trend curve.

So for those fashion conscious on a budget, this could be the perfect match.

Sure, people may wonder how you manage to wear the latest outfits all year round.

That's an advantage.

You could take your Instagram account a few notches higher, for example.

Question is, will this narrow the options to look different as well?

Let's say this is one trend that could trim the waste in fashion

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