I agree with the argument but not with the channel bundling analogy:
> But this is like one group of people enjoying just the history channel, and the other group of people enjoying just the sports channel. They start wondering, “Maybe I could specifically pay for the sports channel?”
TFA and the linked older article from cdixon [0] present paying $11.70 for the bundle as better for the consumer, but the consumer has limited time/focus and would often prefer paying $9 just for the channel they want.
So with the analogy breaking, I'm wondering, if perhaps there is a new unbundled model to be had here for startup acquisitions too. We've seen some interesting arguments in the past few years for hiring teams instead of individuals (e.g. [1][2][3]), so maybe there's an argument to be made that if a company can be sold-off piecemeal, then we'll see more acquisitions with more overall utility to the individuals involved. Note that I'm not necessarily advocating for it, but just suggesting that we don't outright reject it.
> But this is like one group of people enjoying just the history channel, and the other group of people enjoying just the sports channel. They start wondering, “Maybe I could specifically pay for the sports channel?”
TFA and the linked older article from cdixon [0] present paying $11.70 for the bundle as better for the consumer, but the consumer has limited time/focus and would often prefer paying $9 just for the channel they want.
So with the analogy breaking, I'm wondering, if perhaps there is a new unbundled model to be had here for startup acquisitions too. We've seen some interesting arguments in the past few years for hiring teams instead of individuals (e.g. [1][2][3]), so maybe there's an argument to be made that if a company can be sold-off piecemeal, then we'll see more acquisitions with more overall utility to the individuals involved. Note that I'm not necessarily advocating for it, but just suggesting that we don't outright reject it.
[0] https://cdixon.org/2012/07/08/how-bundling-benefits-sellers-...
[1] https://faculty.tuck.dartmouth.edu/images/uploads/faculty/sy...
[2] https://www.expx.nl/news/hire-innovation-teams-not-freelance...
[3] https://harri-thomas.medium.com/better-together-lets-hire-te...