Business Models
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The Athletic Reaches 500,000 Subscribers, Brute-Forcing the Bundle, Local Bundles
The Athletic has 500,000 subscribers and continues to pursue growth over profitability. It’s an approach that makes sense, and the demise of local bundles helps explain why.
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Microsoft Earnings, Teams Passes Slack, The Partner Advantage
Microsoft continues to crush earnings with its integrated approach. Then, Teams passed Slack, and its lead will likely widen, because it is a sustaining technology, not a disruptive one. Plus, the importance of Microsoft partners.
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Netflix Earnings; Reasons for Concern, and Optimism; Apple Reportedly Pursuing Exclusive Podcasts
Netflix’s earnings are worrisome, but for predictable reasons; ultimately, the company remains in a strong position. Then, Apple’s rumored move into exclusive podcasts doesn’t make sense and is in fact good for Spotify.
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Substack Raises Series A, An Interview With Substack Co-Founders Christopher Best and Hamish McKenzie
An interview with Substack Co-Founders Christopher Best and Hamish McKenzie, who recently raised a Series A to enable newsletters from Andreessen Horowitz.
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Shopify Follow-up, Defining Definitions, OpenDoor Partners with Redfin
More on Shopify, including why I was reluctant to cover the previously, but now see the promise of the Internet in their model. Then, why I’m excited about being uncertain, and how Redfin and Opendoor’s partnership helps define the market in home-buying.
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Shopify and the Power of Platforms
It is all but impossible to beat an Aggregator head-on, as Walmart is trying to do with Amazon. The solution instead is to build a platform like Shopify.
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HBO Max and Friends; British Airways, Marriott Hit with GDPR Fines; Zoom’s Vulnerability
HBO Max is AT&T’s new streaming service, and it is paying a lot for Friends. Then, the best part of GDPR has its intended effect, while Zoom shows that security still isn’t a priority
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Walmart’s E-Commerce Struggles, Textbook Disruption, The Benefits of Not Competing
Walmart is struggling in ecommerce for very predictable reasons; the company — and economy — is better off leveraging its assets and not competing directly with Amazon.