“Hip hop used to be a niche music market—now it’s pop music. The same is happening with sneakers and streetwear.” – Alex Benik, Battery Ventures Partner It’s not every day that our Battery consumer-te…
How Startups Can Avoid Paying for Customers
Lately, I’ve heard a lot of pessimism around the outlook for consumer-facing startups, both from investors and operators. While I remain optimistic that there are still large opportunities that will b…
Venture Capital and Basketball
To the casual observer, investing is nothing like the exciting game of basketball. Instead of evaluating a player’s jump shot or ability to slip a screen, VCs are looking at financial statements or pi…
EmBARKing on a new journey: Dog Walking and the Power of Online Marketplaces
A little less than a year ago, we published the Battery Network Effects Index, a market index including 36 current or previously publicly traded, consumer-Internet companies, each valued at $1 billion…
Uber and Airbnb: Not All Marketplaces are Created Equal
So far, 2017 has been a non-stop PR headache for Uber, and that’s putting it mildly. From the online #DeleteUber campaign to explosive sexual harassment claims against the ride hailing company to the …
Snap: Rewriting The “Art of War” for Social Networking, By Not Documenting Anything
Social networks may be the most valuable and durable types of businesses powered by “network effects,” the phenomenon of products or services becoming more powerful the more people use them. The socia…
Network Effects – The Keys to Ascending the Consumer-Internet Throne
“Category kings”, defined as market-share leaders in particular business sectors, often wind up creating the majority of the market value relative to their competition. This advantage is particularly …
Battery Ventures Network Effect Index
The Battery Ventures Network Effect Index—which includes 36 current or previously publicly traded companies, each valued at $1 billion or more—highlights companies that exhibit profound “network effec…
Video: Sam Shank on High-Supply Marketplaces and the Power of Three
In the second half of Jeff Lu’s interview with HotelTonight Co-Founder and CEO Sam Shank, Shank discusses the mechanics of HotelTonight’s high-supply marketplace and how the company taps i…
Video: HotelTonight’s Sam Shank on “Mobile Only”, and the App Store as the New SEO
HotelTonight’s Co-Founder and CEO Sam Shank sits down with Battery’s Jeff Lu to discuss HotelTonight’s recent growth, international expansion and “mobile only” business s…