Ed King, Chief Strategy Officer at Startups.com, explains where sustainable value is captured in the e-commerce ecosystem.
Insight
King: Wealthy early adopters make the most effective evangelists for new products
“Instead of trying to sell to the base, which is probably your late majority, if you're looking at the innovation adoption curve, you know, crossing the chasm, or your even early majority, the majority, the biggest part of the bell curve, It is just asinine. It…”
Insight
King: Never launch e-commerce without manually pitching 200 potential direct buyers
“And I say, if you can't ring up 200 people and get them either interested in buying your product directly or know someone who would like that product, then you shouldn't get into it. You shouldn't begin.”
Insight
King: Founders should build owned distribution channels before launching physical products
“I think it's the single greatest thing that a founder or entrepreneur can do is become a channelpreneur first. What I mean is develop channels, own those channels, own the audience, have the email addresses, be on the multiple platforms, make that bulletproof,…”
Insight
King: Administrative friction destroys unit economics on five-dollar physical e-commerce orders
“The administration for e-commerce is just
Absolutely crazy, and that's where a lot of my e-commerce ventures have gone to die, but everything coming together, it was one of those ideas that if it worked,
And we started a new trend and don't get me wrong.
We…”
Insight
King: Commute habits dictate Asian visual mobile dominance versus Western audio dominance
“In the East, everyone's on a train, so they're on their phone, so they're scrolling.
In the West, everyone's driving, so they're listening, and that's the reason podcasts and audiobooks.”
Insight
King: Healthy e-commerce brands use cheap bank debt, starving private lenders
“Now you look at it and the healthier they are, the less they're going to need your money. So now you're competing against other forms of finance and banks. So that's where things get really tough is quality deal flow.”