StorySherpa: Shattered Vaporware

On first blush, WhatsApp seems like an incredibly durable business. Strong network effects. Incredible distribution. An unassailable giant. But WhatsApp wasn’t the first messaging app, nor will it be the last.

I don’t know about you, but my time is increasingly in messaging small groups, not Facebook. Small groups are the new social networks. The next counter-cycle to the giant island of Facebook and Twitter will be an archipelago of different groups, one for each niche and community. Mobile distribution has gotten quite good. Downloading an app is almost as easy as joining a WhatsApp group. If you made something good, it’d spread quite rapidly amongst a small group.

There are two banking systems in the world today: one for people with money (or good credit), and another for people without. But neither of these systems work well. People with money have gotten used to clunky user experiences and low expectations. For everyone else—that’s most Americans and billions worldwide—banks don’t serve them well, or sometimes, at all. Not only that, but the current system actually extracts from the very people who need financial services the most. The poorer you are, the fewer options you have and the more you will pay.