How are multi-sided platforms like Amazon and Airbnb dominating? and Alumni discussion panel

Why is Airbnb more valuable than most hotel chains, even though it is only a few years old and does not own any real estate? What other aspects of online commerce will Amazon dominate, and how? The fundamental economic principles of multi-sided marketplace platforms are different than for most other companies. This requires that they embrace different strategies for growth and investment. In this masterclass, we explore how to create and analyze a marketplace where buyers and sellers find each other to transact. This session is ideal for innovators and for people who work in traditional industries who fear the approach of a multi-sided platform into their industry.

After this info session, we will have an alumni discussion panel with the founders of two start-ups who were created by our alumni, like Atlas Go.

Ted Ladd is dean of research and professor of entrepreneurship at Hult, specializing in the methods used by entrepreneurs to construct successful business models for high-tech start-ups. Ted holds a PhD from Case Western Reserve, an MBA from Wharton, a master’s in international economics from Johns Hopkins. He was the director of ecosystems at WIMM Labs, which pioneered wearable consumer computing devices (i.e. smartwatches) and was subsequently purchased by Google.

Ted is also an instructor at Harvard University. His work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and several academic journals.