Written by Liwen Xu Airbnb, Uber, WeWork. Everyone’s heard of these unicorns— in just a few years, they grew from spur-of-the-moment ideas to full fledged platforms with over $10 billion valuations. These companies helped create the sharing economy, where demand meets supply by sharing partially available resources with others in need— an extra seat in a car, room in a house, desk at a workspace. A key differentiator that propelled their growth was their low fixed costs; the companies themselves owned little other than their brand and platform. Even WeWork, which has to rent buildings via long term contracts, does…
By Bobby Wilson – – – With confirmed cases now over six million worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic is striking like no other. Fortunately, damage control in the form of hand washing, social distancing, and global quarantining has mitigated the spread. However, a proactive approach—a vaccine—is what the world needs and impatiently awaits. Why, then, is it so hard to get a vaccine? While a vaccine is more important now than ever, the business model for vaccines is unappealing on all counts. The vaccine’s commodity, exorbitant cost, and risk leave little room for profits, and by extension, a business model. The…
Written by Melissa Harari – – – As someone who lived in three continents and has an Instagram dedicated to pictures related to my travels, connecting with people and cultures around the world has always been my passion. That’s why I’m a bit disappointed to share that the pandemic is already reducing globalization. I believe that most of us from business school would agree that the last 30 years of free-trade has lifted millions of people out of poverty – and while not perfect – is a good thing. The signs of slowbalization The slowdown of globalization, or “slowbalization” as…