Brian Arthur - The New World of Business, Part One - Increasing Returns to Scale

In 1996, Brian Arthur wrote an article essay called Increasing Returns and the New World of Business. The piece burst network effects and the idea of increasing returns to scale. It was foreshadowing very much the next 25 years of investment returns with tech.

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We’re very excited for this one. Part of our mission with Making Media is to highlight great content across the internet. Today, we’re starting with business essays and to bring some wisdom to the conversation, we enlisted one of our favorite writers, Packy McCormick. Hear us break down our most influential business essays, read them through the links in the shownotes, and let us know what you think on Twitter or hello@joincolossus.com. Enjoy!

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

(00:02:59) - [First question] - The Not Boring back story and what he learned from his time at Breather

(00:05:06) - Aggregation Theory by Ben Thompson

(00:09:42) - The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius by Paul Graham

(00:13:45) - Letter to a friend who may start a new investment platform by Graham Duncan

(00:17:05) - Positional Scarcity by Alex Danco

(00:22:23] - The Three Sides of Risk by Morgan Housel

(00:26:56) - Salary Negotiation by Patrick McKenzie

(00:31:47) - Sam Hinkie’s resignation letter

(00:37:10) - Increasing Returns and the New World of Business by W. Brian Arthur

(00:41:54) - 10 Tips on Writing by David Ogilvy

(00:44:46) - The next big thing will start out looking like a toy by Chris Dixon