Unlocking value along the chain

Been following the conversation generated by Umair’s “Is Etsy the next Google?” post pretty closely. There are some interesting parallels to what we’re developing and what we’re going to develop. This comment in particular really struck me.

Etsy, like Amazon before them, can atomize the value chain, allowing individuals to hop on at exactly the point at which they create the most marginal value.

(His whole comment is well worth reading.)

Think about the education industry. Think about what a poor job the industry does in recognizing marginal value. Such a poor job that many teachers are increasingly frustrated, just about all feel they are underpaid and the satisfaction of students and parents…don’t get me started.

Now imagine a radically different system. One where you as a teacher (don’t read too much into the connotation of that word…just think “teacher = someone with knowledge to impart”) can step in and out of the value chain wherever (and whenever) you’d like. Wanna work a 40 hour week and support yourself entirely from your teaching? Go for it. Wanna teach a few things on the side because you’re passionate about them? Do that if you’d like. Wanna teach people one at a time? Here’s your opportunity. Wanna teach a huge class of people. Yup, we got that too.

Or maybe you actually want to do a ton of work up front and then generate a passive income stream from your teaching. That too is available to you (I have a friend currently embarking on just such a mission…fun case study to watch).

So one killer part of the equation is the ability to jump in and out of the chain of your own freewill (vs. traditional teaching which jams people into a limited subset of possible options).

The other killer part of the equation is that the market determines what the value is. That’s the other part that the education industry misses out. Instead of the market determining your value some HUHA executive is determining it.

I saw this first-hand working for Kaplan.

Mediocre GMAT Teacher? You get paid $20/hour.

Excellent GMAT Teacher? You get paid $20/hour.

Teacher of the Year? Well, let’s just say you likely don’t stick around long.

It’s semi-insane to me that such a system has lasted long. It’s all but a certainty that it won’t last much longer.

Just as Etsy and others are unlocking incredible value along the chain for people producing goods, there’s an amazing opportunity to produce value along the chain for people sharing expertise. That’s exactly what we’re working on and it’s gonna be a lot of fun to crack the NUT.

As my co-founder likes to say…l8es!