“We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!” ― Benjamin Franklin The phrase “software eating the world” is a co…
Consumer
A collection of insights around the trends in consumer marketplaces.
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—highlig…
The Hype Around a New Model for Trust—in Sneakers
“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 Partn…
The Realtors’ Last Hurrah
If you’ve ever bought or sold a home, you know the complexity and frustration—and the high fees—involved in this critical transaction. You proba…
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, cons…
Why This Tech CEO Keeps Hiring Humanities Majors
One Y Combinator–incubated startup founder makes the case for “STEAM” over “STEM.” The push to teach kids coding and technology now extends even to Se…
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 harassme…
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…
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 …
Why Hasn’t the Traditional Banking Industry Been “Amazon-ed”?
In the last two decades, dozens of traditional industries have been “Amazoned”—turned upside down by new business models made possible by the Internet…