I recently learned about the flywheel effect.
The flywheel effect, coined by Jim Collins, explains how small, consistent efforts build momentum over time, leading to exponential growth. Once in motion, it requires less energy to sustain, just like Amazon’s strategy of improving customer experience, attracting more sellers, expanding product selection, and driving down prices - creating a cycle of growth.
Similarly, YouTube follows the same playbook: incentivizing creators with ad money, attracting viewers who would watch ads. hence feeding the platform’s growth.
To succeed in this economy, a platform must have a large user base balancing supply and demand, keeping both sides satisfied. The supply is sellers in the case of Amazon, hosts in the case of Airbnb, drivers for Uber, and creators for social media. The demand is those that purchase the goods or services.
Besides the tech giants mentioned, emerging platforms are using flywheels in smaller niches too:
bTaskee (Vietnam) matches cleaners and requesters while ensuring users don’t meet after a bad interaction.
TaskRabbit (North America) connects users with local handymen for almost any projects.
Too Good To Go (North America) sells mystery bags of food from restaurants at the end of the day.
Carpooling apps let drivers offer seats on trips they’re already taking.
So, what niche do you think has untapped potential in the Sharing and Crowdsourcing Economy?
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