Stefan Gross-Selbeck: Business model innovation - beating yourself at your own game

Summary

This talk highlights the disruptive power of startups, using Uber as an example of how a small company can reshape entire industries. It explores the difference between startups and large companies, emphasizing the importance of a startup's mindset, agility, and acceptance of failure. The speaker discusses how companies like Netflix and Uber have disrupted traditional business models through innovation and adaptability. The key takeaway is that in the digital age, companies must embrace new business models and learn from startups to stay competitive, or risk being left behind.

Takeaways

• 🚕 Taxi drivers' strikes protesting Uber backfired — the disruption drove strong user adoption (usage jumped dramatically).
• 📈 Digital disruption can be amplified by competitors' publicity — sometimes your opponent performs your PR for you.
• 💡 Startups succeed not just because of technology but because they discover new business models that redefine value chains.
• ⚙️ Size doesn't guarantee digital innovation — launching digital products is cheaper and easier today thanks to platforms and open-source tools.
• 🏢 Large companies excel at executing existing business models but often struggle to discover new ones.
• 🧭 Execution (optimizing a value chain) and discovery (redefining the value chain) require different skills and mindsets.
• 🎯 Managers should adopt an attacker mindset: ask how someone could disrupt your business and redesign the value chain accordingly.
• 🏃‍♂️ An agile mindset — rapid experiments, fast customer feedback, and iteration — is essential for discovering successful digital products.
• 🧪 Embrace failure as part of innovation; startups treat failure as learning, enabling pivots (e.g., a product being killed and replaced).
• 🎬 Netflix is a rare example of a big company that both executed a model and successfully disrupted itself into streaming.
• 🌐 The economics of digital innovation (Google, Facebook, Rails, etc.) level the playing field, letting small teams compete globally.
• 🛠️ Managers must learn from startups (speed, focus, mindset) or risk having software 'eat' their business — adapt or be disrupted.

Q & A

Why did taxi drivers across Europe go on strike?

Taxi drivers went on strike to protest against Uber, which they saw as a competitor disrupting the traditional taxi business model.

What was the effect of the taxi drivers' strike on Uber usage?

The strike led to an 800% increase in Uber usage on the day of the strike, highlighting the unintended positive PR for Uber.

What is the key lesson from the taxi drivers' strike?

The key lesson is that disruption often cannot be stopped once it gains momentum, and sometimes, competitors can inadvertently promote their rival’s business.

How does the digital age impact innovation and competition?

The digital age makes it easier and cheaper to launch digital products and services, enabling small startups to compete with larger, more established companies.

What distinguishes startups from big companies in terms of business models?

Startups are focused on discovering new business models, while big companies tend to be more focused on executing existing business models that have already proven successful.

Why did Uber succeed in disrupting the taxi industry despite not owning any cars?

Uber succeeded by rethinking the traditional taxi business model, leveraging digital platforms to manage car access rather than owning the cars themselves.

How does Netflix demonstrate the ability to execute and discover new business models?

Netflix initially disrupted the video rental business and later pivoted to streaming media, showing the ability to both execute an existing business model and innovate with a new one.

What mindset does a big company need to adopt to compete with startups?

Big companies need to adopt a startup mindset, which includes an attacker mindset, an agile approach, and a tolerance for failure to successfully innovate and compete.

What does the concept of 'agile' mean beyond software development?

Agile, in a broader sense, means being adaptable, willing to experiment, and quickly testing ideas with customers to gather feedback and improve the product or service.

What example of failure leading to success is given in the script?

The script mentions the startup 'Audio,' which initially failed to gain traction with its podcast platform. They pivoted and created Twitter, which became a huge success.