EL-ERIAN: Airbnb and Uber used the same 3 factors to disrupt huge industries
Thomson Reuters
You ignore the email because you have more important things to worry about.
Eight years later, you have a newer iPhone and a bigger competitor. Airbnb was the startup mentioned in that email, and it now has the ability to serve more customers a day than your nearly 100-year-old company.
"If you are Hilton, if you are Starwood, if you are Hyatt, you didn't see Airbnb coming because Airbnb had none of the characteristics of a traditional competitor," Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz's chief economic advisor, said to journalists Monday.
"Whats amazing about Airbnb is that the disrupters never built a hotel. What they knew was three simple things."
Uber is another prime example. Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, entrenched taxi companies across the nation have a huge competitor they weren't prepared for. This has led to legal battles for Uber as the incumbents fight back.
But it's not just Airbnb and Uber that used these three factors. Nearly every disruptive startup we're familiar with today used them, according to El-Erian.
Here's what they are:
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- "To sit and talk in the box...!" Kohli's message to critics as RCB wrecks GT in IPL Match 45
- 7 Nutritious and flavourful tiffin ideas to pack for school
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance