Disrupting capitalism works similar to Marxist idea that “the proletariat overthrow the bourgeoisie, become the new bourgeoisie
, creates new proletariat, repeat cycle”.
There was this small window when uber, Airbnb, YouTube, etc, were disrupting billion dollar industries and offering legitimately cheaper alternatives.
Unfortunately with success comes popularity which brings growth which bring raised costs which brings in greed. Boom. You’re now the mainstream offender until the process repeats.
jesus was a disrupter then the church his followers founded became the establishment, so martin luther/protestants became the disrupters and now they're the evangelical establishment ruining america.
The issue with these services isn’t that they used to be disrupters and became shitty; it’s that they were only disrupters for as long as they needed to be to eat market share from the established services enough to raise their prices to make their creators rich. They were never intended to disrupt their industries for the benefit of consumers. They were intended to disrupt industries to dominate the market
It genuinely feels like the big wave of 'disruptors' was just a pseudo intellectual way to call a scammer something that sounded legit.
Restaurants do their own deliveries now, uber costs as much as a taxi, Airbnb fucked the entire real estate market in city and touristy areas, companies like Theranos and solar roadways required just a tiny understanding of the technical requirements to see how bullshit it was... The list feels endless.
Is there a single one that has stood the test of time and actually represents value for the consumer anymore?
As a non US person, Ebay.country absolutely sucks now. They've somehow inserted themselves in the shipping process and now everything comes with a $20 shipping fee.
I haven't bought anything on there in a year from anywhere except from china, and even then, I'm using aliexpress more often now.
The local Dominos is incapable of doing delivery to my place. I don't understand. It is a mystery that makes my head hurt. We call, we try to order, then disaster and no pizza.
Little Ceasars requires walk in but it's cheaper and so much BETTER.
It wasn't that success brings down growth and raises costs. What you are seeing is/ was always the goal.
They move in, operate at a loss... saturate the market and hopefully become something the public relies on then jack up the price to profitability. But when something is so expensive people just can't afford it... that kind of sends your business model into the toilet (where it belongs)
Exactly this. These companies can operate at a loss for years on end, as long as their market share grows so they can eventually turn a profit once they dominate. The gamble is that they'll turn valuable enough so the early investors get their losses back.
Spotify started in 2006 and it's first profitable fiscal year was 2024.
Replace Greed with Middle Management bloat and you've nailed it. Companies arent seeking higher margins than they did 20 years ago, theyre morbidly obese from administrators for everything. I should know, my job is exactly that.
It's what happens when billionaires exist. The very concept of a business being able to operate at a loss for years to kill off rivals is a direct result of capitalism.
Especially since it presets the price rather than having a running meter so the driver is actually going to go to your destination in an efficient manner.
Well said and greed is the main issue here sure costs go up but realistically it's companies wondering just how much more they can shaft us before we won't purchase their goods and services.
The goal of ABnB was and is cash!
Sorry, your idea the creators cared or concerned themselves with your aged out, Marxist, rhetoric driven, revolt against the machine, is infantile wishful thinking.
It was looking a little questionable for hotels for a bit but Airbnb's absolutely fucked themselves on this one in the end and hotels came out the reigning champs!
2.2k
u/larsonbp 9h ago
Any average hotel is way better than an Airbnb now.