Big Technology Podcast The Platform Delusion — With Columbia Business Professor Jonathan Knee
Sep 2, 2021
Jonathan Knee, a Columbia Business School professor and senior advisor at Evercore, delves into the misuse of the term 'platform' in tech. He questions whether brands like Sweetgreen truly fit the bill. The conversation critiques market valuations and regulatory challenges for giants like Amazon and Google. Knee discusses how students today are shifting career aspirations from finance to tech startups, emphasizing the need for experience and mentorship. He also highlights the resilience of the new generation in navigating an evolving tech landscape.
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Platform Delusion
- The term "platform" is overused and doesn't guarantee a business's success.
- A platform's value comes from enabling and enhancing connections, not simply avoiding making physical products.
Sweetgreen's Platform Delusion
- Sweetgreen, a salad restaurant, calls itself a "food platform."
- This demonstrates the overuse and misapplication of the term "platform" for inflated valuations.
Career Advice for Students
- Don't choose careers based on hype or social pressure.
- Focus on developing valuable, transferable skills and understanding a business's true strengths, not just buzzwords.