Basedoneightyearsofresearchvisitingdozensofstartups,techcompaniesandincumbents,HarvardBusinessSchoolprofessorThalesTeixeirashowshowandwhyconsumerindustriesaredisrupted,andwhatestablishedcompaniescandoaboutit--whilehighlightingthespecificstrategiespotentialstartupsusetogainacompetitiveedge.Thereisapatterntodigitaldisruptioninanindustry,whetherthedisruptorisUber,Airbnb,DollarShaveClub,Pillpackoroneofcountlessotherstartupsthathavestolenlargeportionsofmarketsharefromindustryleaders,ofteninamatterofafewyears.AsTeixeiramakesclear,thenatureofcompetitionhasfundamentallychanged.Usinginnovativenewbusinessmodels,startupsarestealingcustomersbybreakingthelinksinhowconsumersdiscover,buyanduseproductsandservices.Bydecouplingthecustomervaluechain,thesestartups,insteadoftakingontheUnileversandNikes,BMW’sandSephorasoftheworldheadon,peelawayapieceoftheconsumerpurchasingprocess.Birchboxofferedwomenanewwaytosamplebeautyproductsfromavarietyofcompaniesfromtheconvenienceoftheirhomes,withouthavingtovisitastore.Turodoesn’tcompetewithGM.Instead,itofferspeoplethebenefitofdrivingwithouthavingtoownacarthemselves.Illustratedwithvivid,indepthandexclusiveaccountsofbothstartups,andreigningincumbentslikeBestBuyandComcast,astheystruggletorespond,UnlockingtheCustomerValueChainisanessentialguidetodemystifyinghowdigitaldisruptiontakesplace-andwhatcompaniescandotodefendthemselves.
