Nick Johnson
Aug 22, 2017 · 1 min read

How would you explain Etsy, then? There are lots of other places to sell handmade goods, and once a supplier is sufficiently successful, they can (and many do) go and start their own website using Shopify or something similar. By the framework laid out here, Etsy shouldn’t be successful.

The point you’re getting at, which I broadly agree with, has to do with the strength of the network effect. But there are a lot more components to that than the one piece you’re describing here.

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    Nick Johnson

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    Author of Modern Monopolies, the bestselling book on platform businesses. World-first Pokemon Go master (yes, really). Head of Platform at Applico