Network Effects, Moats, & the Business of web3

Sonal ChokshiScott Duke Kominers

with @skominers @smc90

In this deep dive and tour through key business concepts, from theory to practice, we cover the topics of strategy, competitive advantage,  network effects, moats, and more — covering both both basic foundations, as well as the tricky nuances in a new world of open source, including web3.  In the first half of this discussion, we cover foundational business concepts and questions — such as the nature of competition, and how it *really* changes in web3; as well as how network effects really work — and then, in the second half (in case you want to skip ahead), we cover mindsets and general guidance for builders…

Our expert guest — in conversation with editor in chief and host Sonal Chokshi — is a16z crypto research partner Scott Duke Kominers, who is also a professor at Harvard Business School; a faculty affiliate in Harvard’s Department of Economics; and advises several companies on marketplace development, incentive design, and more; as well as advises, and is directly involved, in several NFT communities.

Scott also teaches on these topics — both at Harvard and also recently at our Crypto Startup School — so be sure to subscribe to our playlist for those talks on the a16z crypto YouTube channel to get the latest updates as we release more videos from the 2023 cohort.

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As a reminder: none of the following is investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information — including a link to a list of our investments.