In September 2012, at the Business Innovation Factory annual confab, BIF-8,
I had the opportunity to hear Robin Chase
tell her story. She talked a
little about what she learned from co-founding Zipcar, and a lot about
how she wanted to push the envelope with her newest company, Buzzcar.
Robin conveys infectious enthusiasm, not just about car-sharing and environmental sustainability and making our cities livable
communities. She’s also enthusiastic about a “new” business model which
she has studied and adopted. She calls it “Peers Inc.” I really like the way that Robin has
“unpacked” a business model that has become very popular in the past
decade. Her main point is this: if you want to grow a sustainable
business really fast, you should COMBINE a peer-to-peer network with a
company. The company does what companies do best: It provides economies
of scale, it invests in long-term assets and intellectual property, it
mitigates risk, it provides recourse, and it wraps that all in a brand
promise. However the company doesn’t provide the products. The products
and services are provided by the customers. That means they can be
highly customized, specialized, localized, and diverse. Customers use
their own social networks to promote their wares and to attract other
buyers and sellers.
Robin
exhorted her audience to consider using a Peers, Inc. model not only to
grow businesses, but also to solve big complex problems (like climate
change). As she says, a Peers Inc. organization “delivers the speed of
collective action while preserving the ingenuity and creativity of
individuals. It’s a fabulous partnership. The internet has empowered
people. Peers, Inc., takes it up a level with the power of companies.”
Here's the case study I wrote after hearing Robin's talk at BIF-8:
BuzzCar—Peer-to-Peer Car Rental
Building a Platform for Participation for a “Peers Inc.” Business Model
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