Ola Cabs: The “Copy-Cat” beating Uber at its own game in India.

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Ola Cabs, which built its business model on Uber’s success in the US, is significantly ahead of Uber in India with estimates suggesting an almost 80% market share to Ola. How could an India based start-up beat a giant like Uber which has expressed a strong intent to win the Indian market? What lessons can be learnt from the Ola success for other players planning a similar strategy? Is this initial success of Ola Cabs sustainable in the long term?

thredUP utilizing network effects

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thredUP owners increased their control of the multi sided platform by transferring it from a marketplace to a re-seller and grew their network by utilizing direct and indirect network effects. However, they are still at risk of imitation and substitute, as there is no affiliation and no switching costs both from the supply side and the demand side.