Imagine spending four hours just to buy a single item. You’d have to travel to a crowded marketplace, search through dozens of vendors, haggle over prices, and hope the quality matched your expectations. This wasn’t unusual—it was how shopping worked for most of human history. Fast-forward to today, and you can order almost anything with a few smartphone taps and have it delivered to your door within hours. This dramatic transformation didn’t happen overnight; it’s the result of centuries of innovation that has fundamentally changed not just how we shop, but how millions of people make a living.
Continue reading… “From Ancient Bazaars to One-Click Shopping: How Marketplaces Changed Everything”What sharing-economy startups know that you don’t
What goes on behind the scenes that the general public or entrepreneurs don’t see?
Whatever you want to call “the sharing economy” or “marketplace startups,” peer-to-peer marketplaces continue to gain popularity, with a flurry of startups growing rapidly to keep up with all of this “on-demand” demand.
Continue reading… “What sharing-economy startups know that you don’t”
Mobile marketplaces are creating a million new jobs in the U.S.
These emerging new businesses are already on track to create one million brand-new jobs in the U.S.
Uber and Instacart are just two examples of online marketplaces that are rapidly transforming the way people get what they want when they want it, whether it’s a ride, a meal, or a pet sitter. These companies are on a hiring spree in order to make this happen, one that’s gone virtually unnoticed by the statisticians and economists who track the labor market.
Continue reading… “Mobile marketplaces are creating a million new jobs in the U.S.”
The growing success of piggybacking
Piggyback on a thriving network as long as your platform is contextual and complementary to that network.
When creating a two-sided network one of the key challenges is deciding how to get both sides on board. What does a marketplace do first – get the consumer or the merchant first? Why would either side join without the other? It’s a chicken and egg problem that often occurs during the initial stages of seeding. A great way to gain traction for such a network is to steal traction from another one.
Continue reading… “The growing success of piggybacking”
6 reasons why half of us may soon be freelancers
Shane Snow and his cofounders started Contently in 2010 because they saw the world of journalism shifting. Where newspapers and magazines once provided stable, salaried jobs for reporters, writers and editors, they now largely shun fixed costs for an employment model that relies on an increasing percentage of freelancers.
Continue reading… “6 reasons why half of us may soon be freelancers”
