Andre Siregar

startup

Whether it's online articles or books, I read a lot. One of my favorite apps supporting this hobby is Pocket, a read-it-later app that I've been using for more than ten years. It's an essential tool in my information-consumption workflow, and it is one of the first apps I install when I set up a new phone or browser.

Earlier this month, I discovered another app in the read-it-later category called Matter. Although Matter is less than two years old, it already has features I did not know I wanted from Pocket. I also found its user interface to be very thoughtful and well designed. After a couple of hours of using Matter, I was convinced. I replaced Pocket with Matter on all my devices.

My experience above illustrates that there is rarely a winner-takes-all in today's business world. In a platform economy (such as ride-sharing and food delivery), while the incumbents may have years of market leadership, a new competitor can launch quickly at a low cost. There is rarely price competition because most apps have a free tier. As a user, I can always switch to a different app quite easily.

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