A Matter of Scale

We already know Amazon and Google are positioned incredibly well to enter any market they like because of the scale of their existing businesses. The leap for Google to launch a travel site is more of a baby step as the company already has the core search technology needed and a flood of people looking on Google for flight options already.

What some don't realize though is this winner-take-all nature of the Internet is repeating in virtually all markets. Uber is a good example. In recent conversations with restaurant workers in Fairfield County, Connecticut, they explain Uber Eats is far better at getting food picked up quickly. Many said they have a great advantage over Grubhub - a company specializing in food delivery.

What this means for the future of competition and antitrust action is unclear. Can current regulations deal with the new monopolies in search and social? Even if we decide change is needed, BigTech is spending record amounts on lobbying, meaning they effectively own the politicians.

Even if they didn't, it is tough to envision how the government can come together to do anything these days.

The history of monopolies is that they eventually get disrupted - especially in the last few decades. This past week, Microsoft decided they weren't going to compete in smartphones and smart speakers with Apple, Google and Amazon. Even though they had a huge head-start, they were the loser in each space.

But it does seem , this time, things are different. Google, Amazon and Facebook seem like an impenetrable wall to many startups. And they also show us why when a startup comes up with a new idea, their need to grow rapidly to stay ahead of BigTech is more crucial than ever.