Something Interesting Is Happening
Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening.
Something interesting is happening, indeed. This is a good article by Tom Goodwin. He categorizes companies into full stack companies (like Tesla) and the interface owners (like Airbnb, Twitter, WhatsApp). He argues that it's the interface where the profits are, the "value is in the software interface, not the products." That's a fundamental shift in the business model.