Nerd Out on Business

Like Netflix, but for business nerds.

Short addictive breakdowns of weirdly profitable and interesting companies.

Take their tactics. Apply them to your business or career. Scale smarter than your competitors.

Archive

A Case Study in High Switching Costs

A Case Study in High Switching Costs

Guidewire sells software that insurers rely on to run their most important workflows. The company’s strength comes from being deeply embedded, arguably insulating them from AI-powered pricing pressure

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The pet app with low switching costs

The pet app with low switching costs

Rover runs a simple pet-care marketplace, one with very low switching costs. but I found a few specific strategies that they smartly used to combat that reality.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
A unique way to grow a marketplace business

A unique way to grow a marketplace business

Xometry operates a marketplace for custom manufacturing. In many ways, it's a typical double-sided marketplace, but the work they enable opens the door for a rather sticky feature of their product and marketplace. Collaboration.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Breaking the Chicken and Egg: How to Bootstrap a Double-Sided Marketplace

Breaking the Chicken and Egg: How to Bootstrap a Double-Sided Marketplace

I profiled Etsy yesterday. They are a prime example of one of the most amazing business models, a double-sided marketplace. But this is an incredibly hard business model to build

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The best, and most difficult, business model?

The best, and most difficult, business model?

Etsy is one of my favorite businesses, but it's also one of the hardest to start. Marketplaces are insanely difficult. And Etsy has some unique challenges around trying to walk the fine line of delivering on their uniqueness to buyers while still offering a ton of value to sellers.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
What's the deal with all of the car washes?

What's the deal with all of the car washes?

If your neighborhood is anything like mine, you're seeing car washes pop up all over the place. Today I try to peel back the onion on why that's the case.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Don’t Copy the Steakhouse. Copy the Playbook.

Don’t Copy the Steakhouse. Copy the Playbook.

Texas Roadhouse is often admired for its fun experience, but the experience is isn't what matters to us operators. The real advantage is a tightly run operating system built for scale.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Is AI a risk or an opportunity for this business model?

Is AI a risk or an opportunity for this business model?

AI can make advertising agencies faster and more efficient. It can also make them easier to replace.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
A Business Model Not To Copy

A Business Model Not To Copy

EVgo operates a network of EV charging stations. It is a capital-intensive business with low margins and little room for competitive differentiation. Ouch.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Services Matter in Commodity Businesses

Services Matter in Commodity Businesses

Greif’s packaging is commodity-like. This report looks at how reconditioning, take-back programs, and digital portals can help commodity businesses build sticker customer relationships.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Two gyms that couldn't be more different

Two gyms that couldn't be more different

Planet Fitness and Life Time both sell gym memberships, but their businesses could not be more different. Today, I break down how pricing, scale, and fixed costs show up in the numbers.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
A Powerful Lesson in Operating Leverage

A Powerful Lesson in Operating Leverage

Gyms are a high-fixed-cost business. Rent, staff, and maintenance don’t change much day-to-day. Life Time shows what happens when revenue grows faster than those costs, and why you should care about utilization and operating leverage.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
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