Switching costs are another aspect of a startup’s business model that I pay attention to. Together with Network Effect, Intangibles, Cost Advantages, and Efficient Scale they form the source of economic moats.1 In this post I will discuss switching costs; what they are, how they develop and evolve, and how switching costs can help or […]
Tag Archives | Economic Moat
Question Everything; My Remarks At FOCUS100 2014
Background: I gave these remarks at Digital Undivided’s FOCUS100 2014 Conference which was held between October 3rd and October 4th in New York City. A number of investors were invited to explain to the audience how they ought to pitch venture capitalists in order to win funding. Digital Undivided is a social enterprise that develops programs […]
Revisiting What I Know About Network Effects & Startups
‘One IPO that is probably worth the hype.’ – Chris Beauchamp on the # with @kerushton in the Telegraph. http://t.co/l8FqFRYwzJ — IG (@IGcom) September 1, 2014 The recently announced IPO of Alibaba got me thinking last week about network effects1 – what they are, how they develop and evolve, and how network effects can […]
Why Tech Startups Can Gain Competitive Advantage from Operations
Started From the Bottom Now They’re Here: Why Startups Are Racing to Build Operations Teams http://t.co/o2kMPA966I [new blog post] — Hunter Walk (@hunterwalk) August 8, 2014 Hunter Walk’s blog post serves as the inspiration for this one. He points out that operations is key for startups operating in the on-demand economy. I want to pick […]
A Reexamination: Can Venture Capitalists be Value Investors?
Let’s begin with some disclaimers. I have never actually been a value investor. I have also never made individual picks of stocks traded on the public markets. I was completely oblivious of stock markets until soon after I had graduated college in 2001. Before I arrived in the United States in 1997, I would not […]