by Anu Hariharan1/21/2021

Online marketplaces bring efficiency to traditional sectors. They offer a betteruser experience and increase margins for participants. They can accrue hugevalue by reducing friction and aggregating supply and demand — particularlybecause they have the ability to build network effects and economies of scale.

by Anu Hariharan7/24/2020

COVID-19 has accelerated the digitization of commerce globally. In the US,e-commerce penetration increased from 16% at the end of 2019 to 27% in April 2020. While most of the news covering the pandemic’s impact on commercehas highlighted the growth in business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce, little hasbeen said about how business to business (B2B) commerce has changed. This focuson B2C makes sense.

by Anu Hariharan5/6/2020

Across the globe, as the novel coronavirus moves us from communal spaces intothe confinement of our homes, our social experiences are forced to adapt. Beyondthe social networks we already know and use, we are finding new ways tointegrate social into our online lives. At Y Combinator, we are considering whatthis might mean for the future of e-commerce. For several years, we have had oureye on Pinduoduo as an interesting case study.

by Anu Hariharan7/15/2019

With special contributions from Nic DardenneOne of the most common questions we hear from founders is “How do I manage myboard?” It’s something that provokes anxiety, because this is the first time thefounder/CEO is subject to external supervision, and the board has powers thatinclude the firing of the CEO and the senior management. It is natural to feelthis way.

by Anu Hariharan10/12/2017

Special contributions from Luke Pryor and BradLightcap .Disclosure: I’m a personal investor in Toutiao.

by Anu Hariharan7/20/2017

with special contributions from Gustaf AlstromerAdvice from 25 preeminent growth experts at top startups“Growth hacks,” like Hotmail’s inclusion of a signup link in its user’s default email signature, can be extremely helpful in driving viralgrowth early in a product’s path to product market fit (PMF).

by Anu Hariharan4/12/2017

Founders are increasingly pointing to Asia when asked for an example of aproduct they aspire to create, and WeChat is very often that aspirationalproduct. My friend and former colleague Connie Chan described WeChat as “the one app torule them all ”. Itdominates the Chinese mobile market with 889 million monthly active users1.