Winner Take All

In this interview, we sit down with Tyler Ellison, the founder of ChemDirect, a leading B2B marketplace connecting buyers and suppliers in the chemical industry. Tyler shares his insights on how logistics and supply chain services have been a key driver for ChemDirect. He also discusses the unique characteristic of having users who are both buyers and sellers on the same B2B platform. This interview provides a fascinating look into the world of B2B marketplaces and the challenges and opportunities that come with connecting buyers and suppliers in a highly specialized industry. #chemical #supplychain #founderstories —

In this interview, I speak with Fabrice Grinda, a founder of FJ Labs. With over a thousand unique investments made across different life cycles of FJ funds, Fabrice shares his Marketplace-centric approach to investing, and the importance of investing in extraordinary people who are trying to solve the world's problems. Fabrice also talks about his accidental transition from being a tech founder and CEO to becoming a VC and why he chooses to invest in network effect businesses and marketplaces. Throughout the interview, Fabrice discuss various topics related to investing in marketplaces, including investing in marketplaces all over the spectrum from B2C to B2B, both product and service-oriented platforms. This interview is packed with valuable insights for anyone interested in the world of marketplaces and VC investing! Fabrice talks about how he believes B2B marketplaces are at the very beginning of their journey both in the US and globally. Fabrice highlights that the penetration of digital is very low in B2B and about how the entire supply chain needs to be digitized, including ERP integration, payments tracking, and how suppliers are involved. Grinda suggests that in some cases, the elasticity of supply and/or demand is such that a platform cannot have a take rate. Fabrice suggests that there are many tricks to making B2B marketplaces work, such as offering a free tool to the supply side or demand side to help them manage their business better. Also highlighted, that monetization of B2B marketplaces may not come from the transaction of the marketplace component. Instead, B2B marketplaces may monetize through SaaS or by offering ancillary services for insurance, factoring, or logistics. Fabrice gives an example of a hairdresser and barber shop marketplace that grew to a volume of billions of annual GMV and monetized by getting an extraordinary deal on payments and sharing part of that discount with the barber shops. #venturecapital #marketplaces #investorinsights —

In this interview, I sit down with Sultan Meghji, a seasoned  entrepreneur and former Chief Innovation Officer at the FDIC. Sultan was  the FDIC's first ever Chief Innovation Officer and ended up leaving the  position and penning an op ed in Bloomberg titled: Why I Quit as FDIC  Innovation Chief: Technophobia. I talk with Sultan about the blockers he  ran into at the FDIC and what he witnessed as the agency continuously  jury-rigged 20th-century rules to cover 21st-century technology.   Get an inside look into Sultan's journey from his background in finance  to his innovative work at the FDIC, and gain valuable insights into his  thoughts on the future of innovation, crypto, and global leadership in  the financial sector.   Why I Quit as FDIC Innovation Chief: Technophobia: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-02-22/i-quit-as-fdic-innovation-chief-because-of-regulators-technophobia   #FDIC #Fintech #innovation  —   📚 Grab a copy of the Amazon Best Seller Modern Monopolies: https://amzn.com/B017RC8CBC  

I connect with Kristin Savilia to talk about JOOR, a platform that connects brands and retailers globally to deliver seamless digital wholesale management from connection to payment. Applico ranked JOOR #2 in our 2022 Top 50 B2B Marketplaces ranking.   00:00 - Follow Applico for the latest on platforms 00:20 - Joor in Applico's Top 50 B2B Marketplaces ranking 00:44 - Kristin Savilia background 01:31 - What does Joor do? 02:58 - Joor growth and GMV 04:19 - Joor's hybrid apporach to the fashion industry 06:33 - Brands and catagories on Joor 08:59 - Fashion is a relationship business 10:09 - Will Joor look to monetize building new connections/relationships for brands? 11:01 - Marketplace is only one segment of Joor's business 14:18 - The SaaS to marketplace trend 16:47 - Rollout of Joor Pay 20:36 - Joor's international geograpies 22:01 - Partnerships vs building tech yourself 25:01 -- Do retailers get product data from Joor? 26:26 - A one stop procurement solution for retailers, buyers and merchandisers 29:33 - Will Joor expand into other verticals like cosmetics and home? 31:50 - How Joor is approaching sustainability and supply chain vetting 35:39 - Kristin Savilia bullish on this kind of fashion marketplace 37:50 - Joor's focus and priorities for 2023 39:35 - Why DTC brands need to consider wholesale 41:01 - Closing remarks    JOOR | The World's Premier Wholesale Management Platform - https://www.joor.com/  #Joor #fashion #wholesale  —

The episode kicks off with an in-depth look at Farfetch's deal to buy  Yoox Net-a-porter from Richemont. The luxury fashion space is an  especially interesting vertical for platform innovation and there's a  lot of unpack and ideate on with this new deal. Next, news has come out  that Chinese tech giant Tencent is divesting its assets under pressure  of an economic downturn and aggressive tech regulation in China. We  close the show with a laugh at GameStop's newly launched NFT  marketplace.   00:00 - Subscribe and fight big tech! 00:44 - Farfetch YNAP Deal 20:27 - Tencent sells off investments 28:40 - Gamestop's NFT Marketplace   Tencent divestment strategy sends chill through China’s tech sector: https://www.ft.com/content/24f7b605-3052-4476-ae2d-a2d0028e70a4   #businessnews #B2Bnews #platformbusiness  —

Elon Musk has successfully completed his $44 billion deal to purchase  Twitter. The newly self dubbed "Chief Twit" walked into Twitter offices  carrying a sink. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal have left  the company after day one of Elon's takeover. Musk will take the company  private and many reports indicate Twitter will see trimming of  unnecessary staff members. The Tesla CEO marked the occasion by tweeting  “the bird is freed".   #elonmusknews #breakingnews #twitterdeal  

It's a quick episode of the show covering two topics! First off, I look  at the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, a bill that prohibits  certain large online platforms from giving preference to their own  products on the platform. I look at how this bill could benefit  companies damaged by big tech's ongoing anti-competitive practices and,  to be fair, also look at Amazon's literature on the subject. Next, I  detail continued investments from Manufacturers into tech startups. I  analyze some recent deals and question whether or not manufacturers may  just be teeing up the B2B industry for a big tech takeover.   #BigTech #Podcast #Anticompetitive

The episode starts with a look at tech companies big and small cutting  back on workers and slowing hiring. Next, an in-depth look at grocery  delivery analyzing what incumbent grocers are rolling out delivery tech  and whether or not they're keeping up with disruptive startups in this  space. Also in this episode, startup accelerator YCombinator pivots away  from having larger class sizes and Google faces a new antitrust battle.  The show closes looking at Butler Hospitality's sudden closure in what  appears to be a catastrophic management failure.   #podcast #MBA #bigtech  —

We start the show with a look at the bizarre narrative around inflation  and why so many sources are trying to claim that a recession is not  happening in the United States (and how big tech is helping spread this  misinformation). Next, Amazon has made waves with its proposed  acquisition of One Medical,  a technology-powered national primary care  organization. Also covered, how some big tech players have failed to  innovate around health, Twitter's kerfuffle about user growth before the  whole Elon Musk Saga, and a hindsight view at the tech valuation mania  of the past few years.   #podcast #startupinvesting #venturecapital  —

To start the episode we take a look at a recent Financial Times story  detailing how fake social media posts from Chinese misinformation groups  attempted to derail a new rare earths mining operations in the U.S..  Next, Alex looks at TikTok's response to the BuzzFeed leaks and a report  detailing how China is putting pressure on Elon Musk over Starlink  internet being used in the Ukraine. The show concludes with a look at  the U.S. potentially limiting tech investment into China.   #podcast #businessnews #China

It's the first official day of the recession in the U.S. and we kick off  the episode looking at what this means and why the media doesn't seem  to be paying attention. Next, in a move predicted on WTA pre pandemic,  Pinterest has finally made a change at CEO. Will new CEO Bill Ready be  able to finally tackle commerce on the platform? Also covered, venture  capital firms hurting as startup valuations continue to drop and Netflix  announcing they will offer an advertisement supported subscription  tier. We close out the show looking at news that TikTok's U.S. user data  is being accessed from China, something the platform had claimed was  not happening.   #Podcast #NetflixAds #businessnews

The episode opens up with a look at Airbnb's decision to exit the  Chinese market, a move that I see as part of a larger exodus of foreign  tech companies who've been unwelcome in China and continuously managing  complicated relationships with the Chinese government's regulators.  Next, as we see foreign companies exiting China, the government has  pledged to now support its domestic tech enterprises. Is this the end of  China's "crackdown on tech" or just more posturing? Also covered in  this episode, SoftBank's LatAm division leaving to start a new outside  venture and Ford CEO Jim Farley's comments on taking Ford's EV sales  direct-to-consumer, potentially cutting out Ford's vast American  dealership network.   #podcast #Airbnbstock #techindustry