MajorDomo — a foundational cloud use case in financial services
— prior publication on LinkedIn Pulse, 26 Mar 2016
In 1999, I was asked to create a business plan (a use case really) to illustrate the key ideas in a patent (Distributed Adaptive Computing (DAC), #6,480,861) developed by a team that, at the time, was viewed on Wall Street as the best technical visionaries in the business: the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management technologists. They are some of the very brightest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with (and I’ve worked with a few Nobel laureates…). They are also, more importantly, friends.
While the use case below is dated, you can see in it some concepts that are now used by Amazon, Uber, and many, many other cloud services market leaders today. Of course, back then, the “app” didn’t yet exist. Nor did the cloud, although the DAC patent is a (and some think, “the”) foundation of what we now see in AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft’s Azure hybrid cloud solutions.
Excerpted from the original MajorDomo Business Plan, this post is the first of three articles. Perhaps you might find it of some interest as it was an early view into what we are beginning to see everywhere now.
The MajorDomo Business Plan
“Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time.”~ Stephen Swid
Throughout recorded history the truly wealthy and powerful have known how to cope with the burdens of success, among them: information overload, increasingly busy lives, and diminished privacy.
To better shield themselves from the many intrusions and stresses of everyday life, and to protect their assets, families, time and privacy, the world’s elite have for generations relied on that most trusted and dependable of servants, the majordomo:
Major-domo n: the chief steward, concierge or butler of a great household. Someone who has authority to act, within certain limits, as master of the house; a highly trusted steward or concierge; also, a chief minister, director or officer.[1]
Unique in his responsibilities, authority, and resources, the majordomo was proven, skilled, and intimately trusted by those he willingly served. His was the demanding task of getting things done, discretely.
Jealously safeguarding his master’s privacy, position, and wealth, the majordomo was invested with substantial fiduciary powers and obligations. Included among them were managing and increasing the household income, ensuring his master’s comfort and lifestyle, and brokering the mundane affairs of state, business and the home. The majordomo: uniquely trusted personal servant to the world’s elite.
MajorDomo LLC: the ultimate in intimately personalized services to the wealthy and affluent because, although everybody wants one, only the truly elite could afford a majordomo… until now.
The Concept
Never in human history has there been such a rapid, enthusiastic and pervasive acceptance of technology or its wide-spreading effects. This ongoing transformation and integration and expansion of our global economies has also created another first: never before have there been so many affluent people at one time on the planet. And most of them need what MajorDomo will provide.
MajorDomo will be the world’s premier personal services brokerage firm, consistently meeting the uniquely demanding needs and desires of the elite, affluent and influential at home, at work and at play — anywhere, any time.
Based on the proven “brokerage” concept, sophisticated distributed technology infrastructure, a service-oriented logistics and secure client management platform, and an innovative hybrid “clicks & mortar” e-business franchise model, [2] the corporation’s mission is to create, grow, and manage a global chain of franchised elite “ultra-concierges” or “Domo’s” who broker highly personalized services and customized upscale products to the world’s affluent.
Our Clients
MajorDomo has three target market segments, categorized by assets, demographics and geography: Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (“Ultra-HNWIs”), High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), and the Affluents. [3]
- Ultra-HNWIs — approx. 150–350K households with > US$30MM net investable asset and annual income of at least US$700,000
- HNWIs — approx. 9.5MM households with > US$1MM net investable assets and annual income of at least US$350,000
- Affluents — approx. 40MM households with > US$500K net investable assets and annual income of at least US$200,000.
Combined Ultra-HNWI and HNWI total financial wealth is expected to reach US$51.6 trillion by 2012, growing at an annual rate of 6.8%,[4] with about 50% of that increase in the former segment. Add in the financial wealth of the more than 50 million Affluents, and as much as 70% of the world’s wealth is contained within these market segments.
While by far the greatest concentrations of HNWI wealth remain in the US and Europe, Singapore, India, Russia, and Indonesia experienced the highest growth in HNWI populations in 2006. China, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East are also growing rapidly.
Ultra-HNWIs: At the most elite and demanding level of personalized service, MajorDomo will focus on the ultra-wealthy, including “A-List” celebrities, those whose net investable assets exceed US$30MM and account for about 150–350K of the most desirable clients, as well as political and financial elites around the world. [5]
MajorDomo services to this group will consist primarily of highly personalized and very private services delivered through a “Domo” team assigned to the individual or household (enabled and supported by the MajorDomo technology infrastructure). Annual fees will probably begin at the $250,000+ level.
Carefully selected Ultras will also be the “engine” that helps us develop a stealth campaign to attract the next two segments: HNWIs and the Affluents.
HNWIs: Aggregated, the assets of all the world’s wealthy are more than US$37 trillion. The assets of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) are now more than $20 trillion (2006). And the world’s High Net Worth population currently stands at 9.5 Million. There were 6.3 million HNWIs in 2000 — numerically, this is the fastest growing segment of the world’s wealthy.
Most HNWI’s are characterized as active, involved, and financially astute and for personalized services they focus on “value received for money spent.” They also have very little time for mundane tasks; many are highly compensated professionals, business owners or executives in Fortune 1000 corporations.
MajorDomo services to this group will focus on leveraging personalized “Domo” touchpoints with technology (Web portals, PDAs, etc). Annual fees will probably begin at the $50,000+ level.
Affluents: There are more than 40 million individuals and households with at least US$500,000 of net investable assets (not including a primary residence or retirement savings). This segment has been characterized as the emerging HNWI, but there are two key differences — accumulated wealth and availability of leisure time.
Affluents are very often two-income households. Many are professionals and small business owners who work in excess of 60 hours a week, including some amount of week-end commitment to the job.
Because their free time is very limited, they must rely on technology to help complete their daily household and personal tasks. Affluents use the Web to book flights, make event reservations, setup appointments and arrange for a multitude of other service needs. But, they tend to do most of it themselves, which robs them of even more of the scarce time they have available for personal and family needs.
MajorDomo’s lower cost services will fit well into their lifestyles and budget. Where they require more personal services through a Domo, the additional cost will be justifiable due to the saving in time, effort, and money that we deliver elsewhere.
This segment is an ideal market opportunity for MajorDomo’s technology-based services and product delivery model. They are technology aware and comfortable with the hybrid online concierge and personal service concept. MajorDomo’s franchised Domo’s will provide most services to this client base through electronic and partner channels. Annual fees will probably begin at the $2,500 level.
What Your MajorDomo Would Look Like
As the world’s premiere “broker” of upscale products and personalized services, we simply make good things happen for our clients. How would it work?
To begin: you can only become a MajorDomo client “by invitation only.” Only those whose assets, position, influence, and spending patterns meet our stringent requirements will be offered the opportunity to become a MajorDomo client at one of the several levels of membership.[6]
To access your “Domo,” you can visit our Web portal (a prototype is shown below) or use the personalized secure app that will be provided as part of your membership to you to contact your Domo by secure phone or email/IM.
The “public” MajorDomo Web portal will only hint at the services we can deliver. Well hidden from the general public, MajorDomo will be that “mysterious” thing that celebrities and global “A-listers” rely upon and that celebrity gossip columns, paparazzi blogs, and television chat shows whisper about. It will be positioned as the “must have” for those in the know.
MajorDomo (at the “elite” level) will be available to select, “invitation only” clientele. Monthly fees and service charges will reflect the value of the brand and the quality of its services. And carefully targeted whisper campaigns will be conducted to announce, enhance, and maintain the MajorDomo cache` as the “must-have” for the affluent and influential worldwide.
As described above, you can engage your Domo via the secure Web portal — personalized to YOUR lifestyle, preferences, language and location, and affluence. You can contact your Domo through the customized Blackberry or other high-end PDA/phone — with a single button or voice-activated command (“My DOMO”) or by secure email/IM.
Or, you can visit one of our local MajorDomo franchisees at their offices or even contact a MajorDomo licensed provider of services and products directly (but why would you bother?) Your time is far too valuable to spend it on searching for the right solution to nagging problems or trivial tasks. Your Domo will take care of all those details for you.
There have never been so many affluent clients whose newly-acquired wealth and lifestyle choices, education, and consumer sophistication offers them a richer and more meaningful interaction with diverse “communities of affluence, further “empowering each to better live “la vida larga” — the affluent life — and to live it truly the way they want to.
There have also never before been so many affluent people who simply have no time to manage a frustrating multitude of tasks and relationships. But, to get where they want to be in their intensely busy lives, most of these overburdened people need a little help now and then — and once they know about it, they will want their own MajorDomo.
MajorDomo is about creating a better way to satisfy the growing market demand by the affluent for delivery of personalized goods and services; for unmatched attention to their every desire; and for new levels of customer care based on mutual trust that assures privacy and discretion in everything we do for them.
MajorDomo’s goal: to offer such compelling personalized services that the wealthy and affluent (all 50+ million of them worldwide) will find that MajorDomo is irresistible and simply indispensable.
Three Crucial Points
We want you to get three crucial points:
- MajorDomo is a “services broker, aggregator and provisioner” to the wealthy and affluent worldwide. This is the “logistics” and operational piece of the puzzle.
- MajorDomo is based on a “clicks & mortar” services franchise delivery model. It will integrate thousands of existing high-end purveyors of personalized services and products to their clients. This is the integrated “global reach, local presence” and Web aspect.
- MajorDomo’s delivery infrastructure will be an integrated technology platform AND highly trained “domo” professionals. This is the ‘technology and management” part of the MajorDomo equation.
MajorDomo’s key advantage here is in its focus on a specific target market, its advanced technology infrastructure, and an operationally efficient franchise organization, enabling our ability to cost effectively identify, “package,” deliver, and support personalized services, and ensure the high quality and privacy of services provided locally or worldwide to our clients.
(Part 1 of 3)
References
[1] Oxford English Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, Encyclopedia Britannica, Catholic Encyclopedia
[2] The MajorDomo personal services franchise concept is based on the integration of Web 2.0 architectures and a franchise chain business model, discussed in the Appendix.
[3] Data from the Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini World Wealth Report (updated with 2007 data)
[4] Merrill Lynch, Cap Gemini World Wealth Reports (updated with 2007 data)
[5] Forbes “500 Richest in the World”
[6] Basic MajorDomo membership requirements and profiles will be developed using the Private Client programs offered by leading brokerages and other wealth management programs as a guide.
[7] Domo services and staff availability are dependent upon the level of client membership. Each Domo leads a team of skilled representatives and professionals, and your personal Domo is globally available 24x7x365 (subject to staffing and availability constraints)
