
Hundreds of businesses have been started from unbundling other platforms like Craiglist or Reddit. You’ve probably seen the famous image (above) of all the dozens of spin-offs from Craiglist, attributed to Andrew Parker in 2010. Businesses like AirBnB, eLance, PlentyofFish, oDesk, StubHub, CouchSurfing, and Homeaway all focused on a narrow Craiglist niche. Jakob Greenfield suggests more opportunities with the unbundling of Reddit, spreadsheets, WordPress, hippie culture and more.
The flipside of this argument is also interesting. Many of these initial spin-offs are now out of business and there is a re-bundling as the industries consolidate.
Business Opportunities: What sub Reddits or Craiglist categories are underserved? Spending a few hours thinking about interesting niches like this is bound to lead to some cool opportunities.