Sara Du, co-founder and CEO of Alloy, on building the Switzerland of ecommerce software

Creators still use the big platforms for discovery because they offer the best opportunity to get in front of people and find new potential fans. The difference is that they’re no longer reliant on the platforms for monetization, which ultimately puts them in better alignment. By decoupling the content they make in order to get top of funnel traffi... See more

Last month, Tobi Lutke, the co-founder and CEO of Shopify, was asked if ‘Shopify was the next Amazon.’ His response was incredible, and he said this: “Amazon is trying to build an empire and Shopify is trying to arm the rebels.”

In this way, Instagram, and not Amazon, is building the closest analog to China’s Tmall with a collection of modern and luxury goods that appeal to younger and more affluent audiences. Facebook is building the anti-Amazon. Mosseri and team have developed a resource that serves as a marketing engine and audience development tool. They’ve taken Veris... See more