Breaking Duopolies

Duopolies in sectors such as food delivery are begging to be broken; a move that would benefit small business and consumers alike

- SHUTAPA PAUL

There is a ruthless side to technology. As it disrupts, automates, and builds scale for some, it has almost always caused the downfall of others. These "others" have mostly been traditional businesses that offered a ready arena for tech disruption. Therefore, even as technology brought convenience to us, it decimated mom-and-pop stores, terminated age-old services, and forced business shifts. A sentimental and wistful person like me would shed a tear not at the tech-tonic shifts, which were frankly necessary, but rather for the business and people that couldn't adapt quickly enough.

The growth opportunity created by startups then needed capital as fuel, and along came big VC (venture capital) bucks to propel those aspirations. Growth at all costs, meant wiping out the market, obliterating or buying out competitors, and acquiring customers with the unavoidable double charm offensive of convenience and discounts. But as always, the other shoe finally drops, and then the bloodbath begins.