How the Internet Economy Changes the Rules, with Robin Chase

In 2000, Robin Chase co-founded Zipcar under a new business paradigm: “Peers Inc.” This model harnesses collaboration between individuals with “excess capacity” – “something that already exists, that’s already been paid for, but there is more value there” – and corporations that build platforms of participation to leverage latent capacity. This idea is reshaping capitalism. The bed-sharing industry illustrates the huge commercial potential of the model: It took InterContinental Hotels Group, the world’s largest hotel company, 65 years to grow to 640,000 rooms. After just four years, Airbnb had amassed 650,000 rooms.