How tech startups have disrupted the market

Last week at the A-ha! Conference, Anand's keynote entitled "Gradually, Then Suddenly" discussed the impacts of technology and data on the pace of business and how corporations generally get caught flat-footed responding to these changes.
About Techcelerate Ventures

Tech Investment and Growth Advisory for Series A in the UK, operating in £150k to £5m investment market, working with #SaaS #FinTech #HealthTech #MarketPlaces and #PropTech companies.
Source company CB Insights State Source CB Insights Source https www product
About Techcelerate Ventures

Tech Investment and Growth Advisory for Series A in the UK, operating in £150k to £5m investment market, working with #SaaS #FinTech #HealthTech #MarketPlaces and #PropTech companies.
Source company CB Insights State Source CB Insights Source https www product
<p>1
Gradually, 
then suddenly
DECEMBER 13, 2017
2
CEO and Co-Founder of CB Insights
-
Inc 5000 company
- Glassdoor best places to work (#9 in USA)
- 5th fastest growing SaaS co in NYC (47th in USA)
Ran AmEx $50M Chairman's Innovation Fund
Prior work in VC and M&A
Graduate of Wharton (Finance and Accounting) and the 
University of Pennsylvania (Chemical Engineering)
asanwal@cbinsights.com
@asanwal
About Me 
3
What We're Going to Cover
Markets are moving 
faster than ever 
before
Why corporations 
have trouble 
responding
The impacts of 
failing to respond
How to see around 
corners
1
2
3
4
#AhaCBI
Markets are 
moving faster 
than ever
5
"How did you go bankrupt?"
E R N E S T  H E  M I N  G  W A  Y ,  T H E  S U N  A L S O  R I S E S
6
"Two ways
Gradually and then suddenly"
E R N E S T  H E  M I N  G  W A  Y ,  T H E  S U N  A L S O  R I S E S
7
Corporations are not immune 
to this acceleration
T H E  N E E D  F O R  S P E E D
8
52% of S&P 500 companies have disappeared
I N  T H E  L A S T  1 5  Y E A R S
Source: INNOSIGHT/Richard N. Foster/Standard & Poor's
61-years
1955 lifespan
17-years
2015 lifespan
9
Technology is eating every industry
10
Technology adoption is quicker than ever
Source: Michael Felton, The New York Times
11
And technology adoption is getting faster
Source: Facebook
12
Technology
Data
The two things making business faster
A  M A R R I A G E  M A D E  I N  H E A V E N
13
They've changed how & what we think about
T H E  I M P A C T S  H A V E  B E E N  P R O F O U N D
Rational, empirical 
decision-making
Constant redrawing of 
competitive lines
Faster product, process, 
distribution innovation
14
Public co execs talking FAMGA on earnings calls
T E C H  I S  G E T T I N G  M O R E  M I N D S H A R E
Mentions of the 5 largest tech companies in earnings calls by quarter
Source: What tech company are public company execs most obsessed with?
Apple
Google
Microsoft
Amazon
Facebook
15
A more rational, empirical world
D A T A  O V E R  D E C I B E L S
Moneyball / 
Sabermetrics
Discover Weekly 
Playlists
Pregnancy 
Prediction Score
Predicting Elections
16
With new business models and 
technologies coming to the 
market, new competitors emerge.
And even prior partners start to 
resemble competitors.
Stay in my lane? What lane? 
N E W  F O E S  A N D  N E W  F R E N E M I E S
17
Benz competitors were BMW and Lexus
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
18
Benz competitors were BMW and Lexus
Now it's Tesla, Uber, Google
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
19
Walmart competitors were Target, Costco
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
20
Walmart competitors were Target, Costco
Now it's Amazon, Alibaba
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
21
Comcast vs. Time Warner vs. Verizon
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
VS
22
Comcast vs. Time Warner vs. Verizon
Now it's them plus Netflix, Youtube
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
VS
VS
23
Amex vs. Visa vs. MC vs. Citi
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
VS
VS
24
Amex vs. Visa vs. MC vs. Citi
Now it's Paypal, Alipay, Stripe and Adyen
C O M P E T I T I V E  L I N E S  B E I N G  R E D R A W N
VS
VS
VS
VS
25
Volumes up 48x in four years ($81.6B to $3.9T)
L I F E  C O M E S  A T  Y O U  F A S T
Source: Better Than Cash Alliance
26
P R I V A T E   L A B E L S   M E A N   C O M P E T I T I V E   S E T   I S   B E I N G   R E D R A W N
Old friends become foes?
HemisFares
Big K
Fresh Selections 
by Kroger
Comforts for Baby
Home Sense
Kroger Products
Pet Pride
Private Selection
Quality Guarantee
Simple Truth
Value Brand 
Products
Water Quality
Abound
Luvsome
27
Public co execs talking Amazon on earnings calls
B E Z O S  O N  T H E  B R A I N
Mentions of the 5 largest tech companies in earnings calls by quarter
Source: What tech company are public company execs most obsessed with?
Apple
Google
Microsoft
Amazon
Facebook
28
The Amazon Impact on Walgreens
T H E  T H R E A T  O F  E N T R Y  I S  N O W  E N O U G H
Oct 6th - Amazon rumored 
to enter pharmacy business
October 5th at $76.95
2 days later at $70.87
29
The insurgent competitors are multiplying
N E W  B U S I N E S S  M O D E L S ,  P R O D U C T S ,  D I S T R I B U T I O N  I N N O V A T I O N S  C O M I N G  Q U I C K
Cost to launch 
a tech startup
Source: Upfront Ventures
2000 
        2005        
 2009 
2011
$5k
$50k
$500k
$5,000k
open source and 
horizontal scaling
cloud and AWS
30
The battle between every startup and 
incumbent comes down to whether the 
startup gets distribution before the 
incumbent gets innovation.
Alex Rampell
A16Z, Partner
31
Faster product, process, distribution innovation
H O W  B U S I N E S S E S  C O M P E T E  I S  C H A N G I N G
D2C in consumer 
packaged goods
(think Dollar Shave vs Gillette)
Netflix thrashed
Blockbuster and targets 
Hollywood
Airbnb attacking 
Hyatt and Starwood
32
Airbnb's valuation is greater than 
Hyatt and Starwood / Marriott 
COMBINED
F A S T E R  P R O D U C T ,  P R O C E S S ,  D I S T R I B U T I O N  I N N O V A T I O N
#AhaCBI
Why 
corporations 
have trouble 
responding
34
You need both will and skill
T O  R E S P O N D  T O  Q U I C K E R  M A R K E T  C H A N G E S
35
Source: Paypal filings
WILL
A culture that is not dismissive of emerging 
trends and shifts and openly communicates 
these shifts within the organization.
SK ILL
A structured method to identify, recognize 
and react to non-incremental market shifts 
early and quickly.
It's part culture and part knowledge/process
C R E A T I N G  A N  O R G A N I Z A T I O N  T H A T  M O V E S  Q U I C K
36
Corporate dismissal playbook
 Talk isht
 Pretend they don't exist
Dismissive is deadly. It's good to be paranoid.
T H E  I N T E L L E C T U A L L Y  L A Z Y  S T R A T E G Y
37
"Neither RedBox nor Netflix 
are even on the radar screen in 
terms of competition."
B L O C K B U S T E R  O N  N E T F L I X
 Jim Keyes, CEO of Blockbuster (2008)
38
"We've learned and struggled for a few years 
here figuring out how to make a decent phone 
 PC guys are not going to just figure this 
out.  They're not going to just walk in."
P A L M  O N  T H E  I P H O N E
CEO 
Ed Colligan in 2006
39
We do not believe our vendors selling product 
directly on Amazon is an imminent threat. 
There is no indication that any of our vendors 
intend to sell premium athletic product, $100-
plus sneakers that we offer, directly via that 
sort of distribution channel."
F O O T L O C K E R  O N  A M A Z O N
Footlocker CEO and Chairman
Richard Johnson
40
"Google's not a real company.
It's a house of cards."
M I C R O S O F T O N  G O O G L E
Former Microsoft CEO
Steve Ballmer
41
Amex just mentioned Venmo for 1st time in a 10-k
V E N M O  G R O W I N G  A T  1 0 0 %  Y O Y  C O N S I S T E N T L Y
Source: Paypal filings
Venmo Quarterly US Payment Volume ($Ms) Q3 2013  Q3 2017 
42
45.5%
EXTREMELY  
IMPORTANT
39.4%
VERY
IMPORTANT
12.1%
MODERATELY  
IMPORTANT
3%
SLIGHTLY
IMPORTANT
85% of corporations view innovation 
as very important
T H E  G O O D  N E W S
Innovation 
importance
Source: CB Insights State of Innovation Report  a survey of 677 strategy leaders
85%
EXTREMELY / VERY  
IMPORTANT
43
Customers
Employees
Competitive  
intelligence
Suppliers /
vendors
Academic partners
and / or scientific 
literature
The things that cause sudden changes don't 
come from the sources they use
G R E A T  I N C R E M E N T A L  I D E A S
Ranking of sources of innovation
Source: CB Insights State of Innovation Report
1
2
3
4
5
Industry
analysts
Accelerators &
incubators
Corporate  
venture capital
External
ideation  
consultants
Bankers & VCs
6
7
8
9
10
44
Generate revenue by 
enhancing existing 
products & services
Generate revenue by 
launching new products 
& services
Improving customer 
satisfaction
Wringing revenue out of existing products & 
services leads to incrementalism
A  F O C U S  O N  T H E  E X I S T I N G
Ranking of goals
Source: CB Insights State of Innovation Report
1
2
3
Improving operational  
effectiveness / 
productivity
Reducing costs for 
existing products and 
services
Reducing environmental 
impact
4
5
6
45
It just can't be all you do
F L A V O R  I N N O V A T I O N  I S  F I N E
46
More than  of corporations want to build
I N V E N T E D  H E R E
Source: CB Insights State of Innovation Report
31%
PARTNER
51%
BUILD
18%
BUY
47
60% take more than a year to launch new 
(incremental) ideas
B U I L D I N G  I S  S L O W
Average time from 
ideation to launch
Source: CB Insights State of Innovation Report
< 6 Months
24%
36%
31%
9%
7  12 Months
13 - 24 Months
> 24 Months
One Year
#AhaCBI
The impacts 
of failing to 
respond
49
Suddenly comes quickly
Y O U  D O N ' T  H A V E  T H A T  K I N D  O F  T I M E
50
Which company is this?
G R A D U A L L Y ,  T H E N  S U D D E N L Y  I N  A C T I O N
Apple launches 1st iPhone
Gradually 
(21 months)
Suddenly
(5 months)
51
Nothing to worry about, right?
E V E R Y T H I N G  L O O K S  G R E A T
52
Which company is this?
G R A D U A L L Y ,  T H E N  S U D D E N L Y  I N  A C T I O N
Gradually 
(21 months)
Suddenly
(5 months)
53
Now, shareholders are getting 
increasingly impatient
G R A D U A L L Y ,  T H E N  S U D D E N L Y  I N  A C T I O N
54
Now, a failure to move quickly opens up potential 
battles with shareholders
"Jana Partners had snatched 
up almost 9 percent of 
Whole Foods' stock "
"Bill Ackman says his 
'transformation plan' for ADP will 
more than double its stock price"
55
which can become about CEO & executive survival...
"If I could go back 10 years, I might have done 
some things earlier." - Mickey Drexler
56
Former Gillette employees, according to Nelson Peltz, say P&G should have come up with a strategy 
to beat Dollar Shave Club and Harry's.
"That's what should have happened years ago. It didn't happen," Peltz says.
Peltz's $12.7 billion hedge fund, Trian Partners, is seeking to elect Peltz to P&G's board of directors.
Billionaire activist blasts P&G for letting 
online shave clubs obliterate Gillette
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/17/billionaire-activist-blasts-pg-for-letting-online-shave-clubs-obliterate-gillette.html
57
"Accelerate investments in necessary product and back-end improvements."
"Accelerate product migrations, sunset back-end systems, and cut associated legacy spend, with some 
reinvestment in product and other back-end improvements or other growth initiatives (i.e., Big Data)."
"Increase sales force productivity with better product offering."
Bill Ackman says his 'transformation 
plan' for ADP will more than double its 
stock price
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/17/bill-ackmans-transformation-plan-for-adp-to-more-than-double-its-stock-price.html
58
Ford Motor Co.'s recent decision to boot then-Chief Executive Mark Fields, a 28-year veteran of the company, exemplified a 
shift in the priorities of big companies across the U.S. The message is simple: In an age of rapid disruption by the software
and tech industries, a leader has to pick up the tempo and make riskier bets sooner or else.
Mr. Fields even set a course for adopting these emerging technologies. He just couldn't do it fast enough for Ford and 
its shareholders.
Wall Street to CEOs: Disrupt Your 
Industry, or Else
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-to-ceos-the-future-is-now-1495791003
59
A hedge fund in New York called Jana Partners had snatched up almost 9 percent of Whole Foods' stock and 
announced that it would pressure the company to either overhaul its business or sell itselfperhaps to another 
grocery giant, such as Kroger, or to a less traditional player, such as Amazon. Mackey and other leaders might 
have to be replaced. 
The Shelf Life Of John Mackey
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-to-ceos-the-future-is-now-1495791003
60
"I've never seen the speed of change as it is today," the 72-year-old chairman and chief executive 
of J.Crew Group Inc. said in an interview at his New York office. "If I could go back 10 years, I 
might have done some things earlier."
J.Crew's Mickey Drexler Confesses:
I Underestimated How Tech Would 
Upend Retail
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/j-crews-big-miss-how-technology-transformed-retail-1495636817
61
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/j-crews-big-miss-how-technology-transformed-retail-1495636817
62
The Insurgent Impact
Activist threat
Activist threat
CEO fired
CEO fired
CEO fired
CEO fired
CEO fired
CEO fired
Activist threat
Multi-year sales decline
#AhaCBI
A skill to see 
around corners
64
Knowing what you don't know
M O R E  N O N - I N C R E M E N T A L  I D E A S
There is an immense amount of 
data and technology out there to 
help you see these trends, 
technologies and insurgents
65
The information to predict and 
identify the drivers of these future 
trends and shifts is available
9 0 %  O F  T H E  W O R L D ' S  D A T A  H A S  B E E N  C R E A T E D  I N  T H E  L A S T  T W O  Y E A R S
66
But we need to realize that the ways 
we've been taught to figure out 
what's next were made for a world 
that no longer exists
B R I N G I N G  A  K N I F E  T O  A  G U N F I G H T
67
Customers
Employees
Competitive  
intelligence
Suppliers /
vendors
Academic partners
and / or scientific 
literature
Organizations have to look beyond typical 
sources of innovation
L O O K I N G  B E Y O N D  T H E  U S U A L  S U S P E C T S
Ranking of sources of innovation
Source: CB Insights State of Innovation Report
1
2
3
4
5
Industry
analysts
Accelerators &
incubators
Corporate  
venture capital
External
ideation  
consultants
Bankers & VCs
6
7
8
9
10
68
Methods used were designed for a bygone era
S L O W ,  A D - H O C  A N D  I N C O M P L E T E
" D E S K T O P  R E S E A R C H "
Rich with info but only useful 
if you know the questions to 
ask. Too often you don't know 
what you don't know.
P U N D I T  A R M Y
Sundry management 
consultants & advisors. There 
is simply a volume of info 
beyond human cognition.
N E T W O R K
People and organizations 
consistently overestimate 
the quality and value of 
their network. 
69
Technology
Data
Use the things that are making business faster
S E E I N G  W H A T ' S  N E X T
70
Understanding 
consumer 
habits using 
technology
M A R K E T  R E S E A R C H 2 . 0
Source: Next Gen Focus Groups (CB Insights)
71
Expert 
Automation & 
Augmentation 
Software
T H E  E C O S Y S T E M
EAAS (\z\) is AI focused 
on algorithms and 
technology that replicate 
human cognition. 
72
Machines take over the thankless tasks 
that were, until recently, too complex to be 
automated, and humans get to immerse 
themselves in the most creative and 
rewarding aspects of their jobs.
Source: WIRED, "Welcome to the Era of the AI Coworker"
#AhaCBI
A view into what 
the CBI machine 
will soon enable
74
It's in the data exhaust
W H E R E  I S  T H E  S I G N A L
- Patents
- Web traffic
- News
- Social media
- Earnings transcripts
- Financial statements
- Regulatory Documents
- Clinical trial data
- Website descriptions
- Partnerships
- VC, M&A
75
"The problem is not information 
overload. It's filter failure."
W H A T  W E ' V E  L E A R N E D  O V E R  T I M E  A S  W E ' V E  S T U D I E D  T H E  M A R K E T
Clay Shirky
76
Our fundamental goal is extending 
the business graph we have for 
companies and industries by 
ingesting new datasets to .
And then ultimately making them 
available and combining them in 
novel ways.
Extending the business graph
D A T A .  D A T A .  D A T A .
77
Going beyond 
private markets
Ingesting public company 
data from 50 global 
exchanges:
 Stock prices
 Fundamentals (P&L, 
Balance Sheet, etc)
 Ratios (P/E, P/S, % on 
R&D
78
Enjoy finding 
logos on Google?
Market Map Maker lets 
you map industries and 
market landscapes in 
seconds
 Categorize companies
 Visualize 
 Present and Share 
Note: our development team used the Binary Tree Bin Packing algorithm to position 
the company logos 
79
Less pivot tables
You can now generate 
beautiful reports on 
topics of interest with 
just the click of a button.
80
No more control-F 
on transcripts
Earnings transcript 
search engine
Ingesting transcripts for 
6500 public companies 
over last 10 years.
Analyze public 
companies' interests in 
topics overtime.
Rough Wireframes
81
Transcript 
analytics
Extracting topics from 
transcripts to provide you 
an an informational edge 
on company strategy and 
trends.
82
Database of 
market sizings
We've created the largest 
global database of 
market sizings (9000+) 
via crowdsourcing and 
extracting estimates from 
unstructured documents.
Rough Wireframes
83
Lucy
lhuang@cbinsights.com
Justine
jkolsky@cbinsights.com
Alex
atestu@cbinsights.com
If you want to talk product
WHO TO TALK TO
84
Trends and technology infiltrate new industries
Liza Landsman
Jet.com President
Michael Vaughan
Venmo COO
Othman Laraki
CEO, Color Genomics
CONVERSATIONS TO WATCH THIS AFTERNOON
85
Gradually, 
then suddenly
DECEMBER 13, 2017
86
cbinsights.com
@cbinsights
</p>