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By Marc Emmer for Inc.: Why Mid-Market Companies Should Use Dynamic Pricing
Last February, in a debacle that will be taught in business schools for years, Wendy’s announced that it would be moving toward dynamic pricing. The backlash was swift and fierce, igniting intense debates across social media and rattling investor confidence.
It was curious that critics overlooked comparisons to hotels, airlines and concert promoters who have been using this tactic for years. A restaurant selling fresh fish in Boston or Seattle can set its prices daily, but for a public fast-food operator, the idea of changing prices based on demand struck a nerve.
While Wendy’s appeared tone-deaf in how it positioned dynamic pricing, we are shifting toward a day where it will be more readily accepted by consumers. As a reality in a supply-shock world, many restaurants and retailers are introducing electronic menu tags. Airlines are implementing dynamically priced loyalty points. Amazon dynamically prices…well, everything. And Facebook and Google ad prices are entirely set by the market.
The Race for Space and Connectivity
While rockets splashing in the ocean get all the press, Starlink is breaking out as the most valuable satellite network in the galaxy, and one of most significant strategic importances to the United States.
Starlink reached operational profitability last year, signaling a seismic shift in what might become the most valuable asset in SpaceX’s portfolio. In fact, with nearly 6,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, Starlink is transforming from a satellite project into a potential $100 billion cornerstone of global infrastructure.
Starlink satellites operate in low Earth orbit, utilizing solar panels that collect sunlight to generate electricity. It’s now the largest satellite constellation ever deployed, serving over 2.6 million subscribers and growing by hundreds of thousands each quarter. The technology is being leveraged by governments, militaries, cruise ships, airlines—even Antarctica. And the Pentagon? They’ve already inked a deal.
The ambition? Nothing short of global coverage and financial domination. According to Morgan Stanley, Starlink could generate over $30 billion annually by the end of the decade—more than all of SpaceX’s other revenue streams combined. Contrast that with SpaceX’s traditional bread-and-butter—rockets and launches—which are profitable but capital-intensive and less scalable. Starlink, with its subscription model and low marginal costs, could become the AWS of the sky.
But Starlink’s value isn’t just economic—it’s geopolitical. As tensions between the U.S. and China rise, satellite internet has become a new theater in the great power competition. China’s own low-Earth orbit system, “GW constellation,” aims to launch 13,000 satellites. Starlink is the West’s answer to that—a digital Maginot line, offering communication resilience in a world increasingly shaped by cyberwarfare and information control.
So while the world watches for rocket landings and Mars missions, the real value may lie in these silent satellites blinking across our skies. Starlink is no longer a side project. It’s the main event.
Podcast Recommendation: Should America be run by Trader Joe’s?
The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, and team spirit.
The Strategy Experts
Marc Emmer is President and Chief Strategist & Facilitator at Optimize Inc.
He is an author, speaker and consultant recognized as a thought leader throughout North America as an expert in strategic planning.
