Tag: Uber

How Crypto Tokens Will Enable the Disruption of Businesses like Uber and Airbnb

Businesses that are two-sided marketplaces, built around network effects and transaction fees (Uber, Lyft, eBay, Airbnb), will be especially vulnerable to disruption from businesses built around crypto tokens.

I have spent much of the past six months trying to understand the world of Bitcoin, Ethereum, alt-coins, crypto currencies, crypto commodities, and crypto tokens.

If history teaches us one lesson, it is those who adapt will survive, and those who fight tooth and nail for the status quo will flounder when the world invariably changes. If many smart people say that something “is the future”, it is generally worthwhile to try to figure out why.

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Confession: I Don’t Think Uber is Actually a Great Business (Yet)

Additional Background If You Stumbled on this Post Randomly

Uber is everywhere – especially in the startup/technology world that I follow closely, mostly through podcasts. It is the source of deliciously spirited debate because it is a wonderful blend of ubiquitous consumer product and highly publicized startup juggernaut. And whenever I get in too many debates with people about one topic and get stuck on a plane with no wi-fi, I write out my arguments, which I occasionally publish and commit to the public record. 

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