This week, we had the opportunity to sit down with Adrien Nussenbaum, Co-founder and CEO of Mirakl. With over 400 marketplaces powered by its technology and surpassing $6 billion in gross merchandise volume, Nussenbaum is an invaluable resource into the industry's trajectory and the future it holds. From humble beginnings in 2012, Mirakl has become a driving force behind the B2B marketplace revolution. The company empowers businesses to create and operate their own online marketplaces,...

In this interview, we sit down with Tyler Ellison, the founder of ChemDirect, a leading B2B marketplace connecting buyers and suppliers in the chemical industry. Tyler shares his insights on how logistics and supply chain services have been a key driver for ChemDirect. He also discusses the unique characteristic of having users who are both buyers and sellers on the same B2B platform. This interview provides a fascinating look into the world of B2B marketplaces and the challenges and...

Alex Moazed speaks with Bar Geron, founder of Balance, a fintech company that focuses on digitizing B2B e-commerce payments by developing one-click checkout payment tools. Balance was co-founded by Bar Geron and Yoni Shuster, who were former employees of PayPal, the company helps B2B e-commerce merchants and marketplaces to get paid instantly, process any payment method, and offer flexible terms. Balance has raised $87 million in total funding, including a recent $56 million Series B...

In this interview, I speak with Fabrice Grinda, a founder of FJ Labs. With over a thousand unique investments made across different life cycles of FJ funds, Fabrice shares his Marketplace-centric approach to investing, and the importance of investing in extraordinary people who are trying to solve the world's problems. Fabrice also talks about his accidental transition from being a tech founder and CEO to becoming a VC and why he chooses to invest in network effect businesses and...

In this interview, we speak with Rob Johnson, the President of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, about the state of the U.S. economy in 2023 and the recent closure of Silicon Valley Bank. Johnson shares his insights on a range of topics, including: - The overall health of the U.S. economy and its prospects for growth in the coming year - The impact of inflation on consumers and businesses, and whether it is likely to persist - The role of the Federal Reserve in shaping economic...

In this interview, I sit down with Sultan Meghji, a seasoned  entrepreneur and former Chief Innovation Officer at the FDIC. Sultan was  the FDIC's first ever Chief Innovation Officer and ended up leaving the  position and penning an op ed in Bloomberg titled: Why I Quit as FDIC  Innovation Chief: Technophobia. I talk with Sultan about the blockers he  ran into at the FDIC and what he witnessed as the agency continuously  jury-rigged 20th-century rules to cover 21st-century technology.   Get...

We open the show with a look at the ongoing turmoil around TikTok and parent company ByteDance. We look at what AI ChatGPT thinks of TikTok and at news that ByteDance is expanding into enterprise software offerings. Next, Twitter files have revealed that the Federal Government sent payments to Twitter. We look at the emerging evidence about these payments and ponder what Elon being Cheif Twit means for these arrangements. Also covered, the long term effects of the FEDs rate hikes and...

I connect with Kristin Savilia to talk about JOOR, a platform that connects brands and retailers globally to deliver seamless digital wholesale management from connection to payment. Applico ranked JOOR #2 in our 2022 Top 50 B2B Marketplaces ranking.   00:00 - Follow Applico for the latest on platforms 00:20 - Joor in Applico's Top 50 B2B Marketplaces ranking 00:44 - Kristin Savilia background 01:31 - What does Joor do? 02:58 - Joor growth and GMV 04:19 - Joor's hybrid apporach to the...

It's a packed episode with analysis of Amazon's complaints about regulation in India, YCombinator changing up it's president to Garry Tan, and Home Depot moving into B2B. Also covered in this episode, Reid Hoffman sticks by the blitz scaling strategy, and what Zuckerberg said during his visit with highly scrutinized podcast kingpin Joe Rogan.   00:00 - Subscribe and fight big tech! 01:28 - Amazon vs India regulators 09:27 - YCombinator Exec Changes 15:39 - Home Depot and Lowe's target B2B...

The episode kicks off with an in-depth look at Farfetch's deal to buy  Yoox Net-a-porter from Richemont. The luxury fashion space is an  especially interesting vertical for platform innovation and there's a  lot of unpack and ideate on with this new deal. Next, news has come out  that Chinese tech giant Tencent is divesting its assets under pressure  of an economic downturn and aggressive tech regulation in China. We  close the show with a laugh at GameStop's newly launched NFT  marketplace....

The show opens looking at the Twitter leak from whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. Next, eBay has purchased a trader card company called TGCplayer. Is this a good move for the struggling auction based eCommerce platform? Also covered, Penn National completing its acquisition of Barstool sports and DoorDash teaming up with Facebook to deliver marketplace items.   00:00 - Subscribe and fight big tech! 00:18 - Twitter Whistleblower 11:56 - eBay buys TCGplayer 23:50 - Penn National acquires...

Elon Musk has successfully completed his $44 billion deal to purchase  Twitter. The newly self dubbed "Chief Twit" walked into Twitter offices  carrying a sink. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal have left  the company after day one of Elon's takeover. Musk will take the company  private and many reports indicate Twitter will see trimming of  unnecessary staff members. The Tesla CEO marked the occasion by tweeting  “the bird is freed".   #elonmusknews #breakingnews #twitterdeal  

We kick off the show with an update on Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter.  Next, I document why I think manufacturers are making a big mistake  around tech investments and why B2B distributors need to be weary. We  close the episode with a look at two happenings out of China, a new  article detailing how Chinese startups depend on U.S. market public  offerings and what is going on with  Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming.   00:00 - Subscribe and fight big tech 01:29 - Elon is Buying Twitter...

It's a quick episode of the show covering two topics! First off, I look  at the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, a bill that prohibits  certain large online platforms from giving preference to their own  products on the platform. I look at how this bill could benefit  companies damaged by big tech's ongoing anti-competitive practices and,  to be fair, also look at Amazon's literature on the subject. Next, I  detail continued investments from Manufacturers into tech startups. I...

We kick off the show looking at a new leak showcasing Facebook's devious  actions in Australia after Australia had passed a world-first law aimed  at making Google and Facebook pay for news content on platforms. Also  as a bonus, we have a laugh at Facebook's anti-facebook chat bot. Next,  video platform Rumble is suing Google for suppressing search results and  favoring YouTube. Also in this episode, continued volatility of tech  and PE valuations and why startup debt deals may become more...

The episode starts with a look at tech companies big and small cutting  back on workers and slowing hiring. Next, an in-depth look at grocery  delivery analyzing what incumbent grocers are rolling out delivery tech  and whether or not they're keeping up with disruptive startups in this  space. Also in this episode, startup accelerator YCombinator pivots away  from having larger class sizes and Google faces a new antitrust battle.  The show closes looking at Butler Hospitality's sudden closure...

Applico CEO Alex Moazed and Director Nick Johnson sit down with 3 time  tech disruptor Mitch Lowe. Lowe is known for heading up MoviePassas CEO,  being a founding executive at Netflix, and President of RedBox. Mitch  has detailed his amazon journey from high school dropout to tech  executive in his new book Watch and Learn: How I Turned Hollywood Upside  Down with Netflix, Redbox, and MoviePass—Lessons in Disruption.  We asked Mitch about the new relaunch of MoviePass, the role Web3 will...

We start the show with a look at the bizarre narrative around inflation  and why so many sources are trying to claim that a recession is not  happening in the United States (and how big tech is helping spread this  misinformation). Next, Amazon has made waves with its proposed  acquisition of One Medical,  a technology-powered national primary care  organization. Also covered, how some big tech players have failed to  innovate around health, Twitter's kerfuffle about user growth before the...

The show opens with a look at LIV, a new professional golf tour funded  by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. LIV has quickly become a  challenger to the PGA via a marquee strategy. I do some analysis on how  sports leagues can be considered platforms and what strategies are being  employed in this new battle for the top spot. Next, a look at how  members of congress trade stocks and a bill that may put a stop to  lucrative trading on insider information. We close out with a look at...

To start the episode we take a look at a recent Financial Times story  detailing how fake social media posts from Chinese misinformation groups  attempted to derail a new rare earths mining operations in the U.S..  Next, Alex looks at TikTok's response to the BuzzFeed leaks and a report  detailing how China is putting pressure on Elon Musk over Starlink  internet being used in the Ukraine. The show concludes with a look at  the U.S. potentially limiting tech investment into China.   #podcast...

The episode kicks off with a look at inflation and some real estate data  that may hint as to whether or not the FED's rate hikes are working  effectively. Next, we take a look at Elon Musk announcing that he is  backing out of the Twitter deal and I discuss if I think this  transaction will ever actually happen. Also covered, Amazon striking a  deal with Grubhub that could net the eCommerce giant a 15% stake in the  delivery platform and a look at the livestream shopping landscape in the...

It's the first official day of the recession in the U.S. and we kick off  the episode looking at what this means and why the media doesn't seem  to be paying attention. Next, in a move predicted on WTA pre pandemic,  Pinterest has finally made a change at CEO. Will new CEO Bill Ready be  able to finally tackle commerce on the platform? Also covered, venture  capital firms hurting as startup valuations continue to drop and Netflix  announcing they will offer an advertisement supported...

We're back and broadcasting from Minnesota for the summer! The show  starts with a look at rising inflation in the U.S. as we question how  the Federal Reserve is measuring and reacting to the tumultuous economic  environment. Next, a look at how startup valuations are falling and the  changing relationships between VCs and early stage startups. We also  have some new research from Applico on B2B tech acquisitions and whether  distributors or manufacturers are leading investment into new...

The episode opens up with a look at Airbnb's decision to exit the  Chinese market, a move that I see as part of a larger exodus of foreign  tech companies who've been unwelcome in China and continuously managing  complicated relationships with the Chinese government's regulators.  Next, as we see foreign companies exiting China, the government has  pledged to now support its domestic tech enterprises. Is this the end of  China's "crackdown on tech" or just more posturing? Also covered in...