Communiqué 18: Bloomberg’s vision
Over 30 years ago, Michael Bloomberg saw something that many of us are only just realising.
Today, I’ll tell you a story in two parts -- the first is about an American billionaire who saw the future, and the second is about a young Nigerian code-named ‘Bartimaeus’.
Part 1: Bloomberg’s vision
In 1990, American businessman Michael Bloomberg approached Matthew Winkler, a former journalist at the Wall Street Journal, with a proposition to help build a news service. Eight years before, Bloomberg had founded Innovative Market Systems (now Bloomberg LP), a financial analytics and data services firm for Wall Street.
A core part of the firm’s success was a computer terminal, Bloomberg Terminal, which provided financial news and information to clients. With Merrill Lynch as its first customer, the business began to blossom, but Bloomberg needed to step things up. His idea? Create a news service (or content platform) to expand the company’s reach and acquire more customers.
And so, starting with a team of six led by Winkler, Bloomberg News was born. Over 30-plus years, that team would ball…
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