The Flash led the cheers for Etsy when the online crafts seller debuted on Wall Street in April, while noting that it was the largest B-Corp to go through the IPO process. Etsy now contends with a new opponent. Amazon announced last week the launch of Handmade, a new section of its site aimed squarely at Etsy. Etsy has a head start in this race to sell the most artisanal goods, but Amazon has more than 10 times Etsy’s 22 million active buyers. We’ll be watching this one closely.
Speaking of Amazon, and challengers…let’s talk about Amazon challengers! Less than 3 months after unveiling what was supposed to be a direct challenge to the online retail giant, Jet.com is fundamentally changing its entire business model by ditching the annual $50 membership fee it was charging any customer who wanted to shop on its site.
These stories and more in this week’s edition of Founders Flash!
- Amazon launches Etsy competitor Handmade (Wall Street Journal)
- Jet.com overhauls its entire business model (Re-code)
- Inside Reddit’s plan to recover from its epic meltdown (Wired)
- Cloud computing finally gets some startups (Bloomberg)
- How to build a scalable tech business without VC funding (Inc)
- Can the Pentagon do business with Silicon Valley? (California Sunday Magazine)