Ben Thompson (founder of Stratechery) is the hidden force shaping Silicon Valley’s thinking. He explains why Facebook’s real influence isn’t what you think, how Google’s dominance secretly controls your business, and why successful companies fail precisely because they’re successful. Listening to Ben is like getting secret access to tech’s invisible playbook.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript
Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
- Learn once and for all how to pronounce Stratechery. :)
- How Ben’s business model was developed and how he massaged it over the years to become what it is today
- The one metric Ben looks at each day to gauge the health of his business
- How Ben deals with people who rip off his work and pass it off as their own
- Ben’s thoughts on pricing, free trials, content and other important aspects of online membership sites
- How Ben structures his day to churn out such incredible content so consistently
- How Ben handles being wrong on his site, and his process for screening his work for confirmation bias
- How the internet has changed the traditional view of supply and demand, and what companies should do about it
- What Ben would teach an MBA class about internet strategy (if you do any business online, you need to hear this)
- What it would take for a start-up to overtake Google or Apple, and the vulnerabilities that all companies share, no matter how big or profitable
- The new era of technology and how companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and Amazon are doing it right (and what you can do in your own business to take full advantage)
This is one of the most jam-packed interviews I’ve done on the Knowledge Project. Ben’s answers are so thoughtful and informative that you’re going to want to have a notebook handy.
Enjoy!
