Startups are Experiments

Writing in the Harvard Business Review in 1998, the organizational theorist Thomas W. Malone claimed “electronic networks” would dissolve the corporation as the main unit of the economy, and replace it with “flexible, temporary networks of individuals” who self-select their work. The next decade saw dozens of platforms launch with some version of t... See more

The rapid development of platforms and services that empower individuals to build a business around themselves is a major one. Top talent wants more control and ownership over their work, having options to transcend their reputation and financial success from a parent brand.

We’re still in the early days of individuals leaving their firms as they seek additional freedom, flexibility, and ownership over their work. We’re also in the initial stages of the software platforms that can identify and provide the core, company-provided services these workers previously relied upon. By enabling individuals to make the leap from... See more

The broader trend here is the disaggregation of work. Younger people are more distrustful of institutions and “traditional” careers—having been burned by both the Great Recession and the Covid-19 economic crisis—and are turning to freelance work.

In this case, traditional employment is becoming unbundled and people are choosing to bundle back up with each other. We’re doing it from a place of increased individual empowerment, with more flexibility and optionality baked in.

It’s our prediction that large corporations will adopt the gig-economy and freelancer network-style operational approach adopted by SMBs over the last 8 years. EGMs are how large corporations will implement this shift.

Firms (and its many incarnations, like agencies, salons, etc) are a relic of a time when skilled professionals didn’t have easy-to-use tools to handle operations, manage clients, and grow their businesses. There were no social graphs or systems to track reputation. For the first time ever, a truly independent career is possible, which calls the exi... See more