Anu Hariharan is a Partner at Y Combinator. She was previously a partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
Check out this study Anu put together on network effects - http://a16z.com/2016/03/...
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Anu Hariharan is a Partner at Y Combinator. She was previously a partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
Check out this study Anu put together on network effects - http://a16z.com/2016/03/07/all-about-network-effects/
Anu and Craig go over the core learnings from her research, discuss examples, and share advice for entrepreneurs.
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0:10 - Anu's background.
0:50 - What is a network effect?
1:35 - What's the difference between a network effect and growth? What is virality?
3:45 - What's a good example of virality?
4:55 - Airbnb's word of mouth growth.
5:48 - How product decisions influence growth.
6:29 - Facebook's focus on engagement for long-term growth.
8:40 - What are effective tactics for growing a consumer product today?
11:38 - Two ways to test for a network effect: barriers to entry for competitors and barriers to exit for users.
13:06 - Are businesses with network effects winner-take-all?
13:45 - What will happen with Uber and Lyft?
16:40 - Will self-driving cars create a monopoly?
18:29 - What other markets have weak network effects?
19:05 - Will international messaging apps gain traction in the US?
20:44 - Can small improvements to your product create a network effect?
23:00 - Will there eventually be only one messaging app?
23:50 - What should founders building a product with a network effect ask themselves?
24:20 - Are you a network, a marketplace or a platform?
25:25 - Questions to ask yourself if you're building a network.
27:43 - Questions to ask yourself if you're building a marketplace.
28:35 - Tips on getting over the chicken/egg problem.
31:22 - Questions to ask yourself if you're building a platform.
32:40 - Find your money side and your subsidy side.
33:37 - If I want to learn more about network effects, what should I do?