From E-Commerce to Web 3.0: Amazon Threatens Etsy

In our continued coverage of e-commerce entrepreneurs and their broadening horizons of online user experiences, this post focuses on Etsy’s post-IPO journey.

Earlier I spoke about how the VC funding frenzy has resulted in astronomical valuations for companies making it difficult for them to maintain these valuations if and when they go public. Niche e-commerce player and Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) is one such player who has seen valuations fluctuate since they went public.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Luxury Retailer Moda Operandi on the Club’s Runway

According to a Bain and Company research report, the global luxury market was estimated to grow 5% in 2014 to €223 billion (~$234.5 billion). Within the market, luxury accessories accounted for 29% of the market and grew 4% over the year. Bain estimates that across all personal luxury categories, the retail channel grew and accounted for 30% of the market. Billion Dollar Unicorn club prospect Moda Operandi is a leading player in this segment.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Funding Circle is UK’s Latest Entry to the Club

According to market reports, the peer-to-peer lending platform market is estimated to be worth $350 billion by the year 2025. Already, there are several Billion Dollar Unicorn club members operating in the space. One such member is UK-based, US-focused Funding Circle.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Twilio is Revolutionizing Telecommunications

According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the global Unified Communication as a Service market is projected to grow 12% annually from $13.1 billion in 2014 to $23.3 billion by the year 2019. San Francisco-based Twilio is a leading player in the market which is helping other customer service providers to reap the benefits of Communication-as-a-Service. Earlier this month, Twilio joined the ranks of the Billion Dollar Unicorn club. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: New Relic Getting Ready to Battle with Microsoft

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced the release of Application Insights, a solution to help organizations monitor and track their application performance. The move marks Microsoft’s entry into the application performance monitoring (APM) market. Among its competitors, Microsoft will also have to count Billion Dollar Unicorn club member New Relic.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Zendesk Targets the Live Chat Market

According to a RnRMarketResearch report, the global customer experience management market is estimated to grow 17% annually over the period 2014 through 2019 to be worth $8.39 billion in 2019. The industry was estimated to be worth $3.77 billion in 2014. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Zendesk is a leading player in the industry.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: InMobi Wants to IPO in India

According to an eMarketer report, the global advertising market is projected to grow 6% this year to $592.4 billion. eMarketer estimates mobile advertising to account for $64.3 billion of this spend, recording a 60% growth over the year. Total mobile advertising is estimated to grow to $158.55 billion by the year 2018 and will account for 22.3% of the total advertising spend that year. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member InMobi is helping brands realize the potential of mobile advertising.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Freshdesk is a Prospect

A Gartner report published last year on the global customer relationship management (CRM) software market projects the industry to grow 15% annually through the period 2013 to 2017. The growth in the industry is estimated to be driven by increasing adoption of cloud based offerings which are expected to grow 22.6% annually over the same period. Freshdesk is a fast growing player in the industry, and was incubated in the 1M/1M program since early 2011. In 2013, Freshdesk joined the 1M/1M Million Dollar club and now, it is aiming for the Billion Dollar Unicorn status.

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Will Priceline Acquire HomeAway?

The online travel industry was in the news lately when travel giant Expedia announced the $1.6 billion acquisition of Orbitz Worldwide. Many believe that this is just one of the many acquisitions to happen in the industry. Vacation house rental firm HomeAway (Nasdaq: AWAY) is one such potential target that is expected to be bought. For now, though, the company has managed to stay independent. But, given their financial performance, I wonder for how long they will be able to sustain themselves.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Will Cloudera Sustain $5 Billion Valuation Post IPO?

According to IDC, the global Big Data and Analytics market is expected to grow to $125 billion in 2015. The Big Data growth will be driven by the increasing adoption of mobile devices, social media activity, and the rise of the Internet of Things. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Cloudera is delivering on this growth by leveraging the power of open-source tool Hadoop for Big Data Analytics.

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