Page 177 - (DK) The Business Book

WORKING WITH A VISION 175

See also: Beating the odds at start-up 20–21 ■ How fast to grow 44–45 ■ The weightless start-up 62–63 ■ Creativity and
invention 72–73 ■ The long tail 212–13 ■ M-commerce 276–77 ■ Feedback and innovation 312–13

A seller in Japan can A buyer in India
source and sell a blue, wants to buy a green,
customized widget. customized widget.

You don’t need a
The Internet connects buyers
and sellers, and manufacturers huge company, just
and suppliers; it acts as a global a computer and a
marketplace. part-time person.

A seller in Poland can A buyer in France
source and sell a green, wants to buy a blue,
customized widget. customized widget.

understood that the pointer was an auction service, eBay sees itself Before the existence of the Internet,
broken. The buyer assured him that as in the business of linking users, if someone wanted to sell their
he was a collector of broken laser not selling them things. products, a physical presence was
pointers. One year later, with two necessary: a store, market stall, or
full-time employees, the soon-to-be- Starting small going door-to-door. Generally, the
renamed eBay sold goods to the Both eBay and Amazon started bigger the presence, the more
value of $7.2 million. By acting as small, and their platforms have successful the business. Success ❯❯
empowered countless other small
businesses around the world. Their
pioneering use of the Internet
changed the way that businesses
and consumers interact, putting
A business succeeds not buyers and sellers in touch with
because it is long established one another in a way that had not
or because it is big, but been possible before. Amazon and
eBay demonstrate the power of the
because there are men and
idea that “small is beautiful.”
women in it who live it,
Anyone can sell products from their
sleep it, dream it.
J. W. Marriott platforms, from individuals selling
unique items to “power sellers”
US businessman (1932–)
who set up virtual stores, either
In the pre-Internet age, vast numbers
within the platform or linked to it.
of people were often necessary for
In the online marketplace the same administration. The combined power
opportunities exist for every of computing and the Internet changed
business, whether large or small. organizational structures forever.