Hi there, 

Groupon clone ✓ 
Pinterest clone ✓
Airbnb clone ✓

Back in the day, Germany’s Rocket Internet shamelessly and aggressively copied successful startups, including the names above.

Later on, it’d often then sell the clone to the originator of the idea.

And guess what, it’d make coin. It was an innovative and unique playbook.  

It also got no love. In fact, people in tech hated it.  

Rocket Internet and the Samwer brothers behind it were vilified.

They were dismissed as a clone factory that simply and shamelessly copied high-growth businesses.

At the time, Uber angel investor Jason Calacanis tweeted, “The Samwer brothers are despicable thieves.”

Now, the copying of startups is happening again.

This time, it’s not Rocket Internet. This time, companies like LinkedIn, Slack, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, among others, have indicated plans to copy hot new audio social network Clubhouse.

And there’s been zero outcry. No vilification, no victimhood, not really a peep. Even some takes that copying Clubhouse is smart. Yup — basically just another day at the office. 

So what’s changed? I asked on Twitter and got some varied and interesting thoughts in response, which I’ll share below.

WTF NFTs

From Beeple’s $69M JPEG to Jack Dorsey’s $2.9M tweet, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are blowing up. 

Are they just a cash grab or something more? We dig in here.

Bird’s-eye view

Incorporating geospatial data can help insurers improve the quality of their core insurance data while also decreasing expenses. 

We analyze vendors in geospatial analytics in this client-only ESP Vendor Assessment Matrix.

That jugaad life

The Indian VC market is birthing lots of unicorns this year.  

Through the early part of 2021, there have been 35 deals over $20M and, as the view below shows, some huge investments and valuations. It’s $1.7B more vs. the same period last year.

The most active investors in these larger deals are Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global.

Clone wars

So back to Rocket Internet and some theories on why copying is now ok. Here are the 3 common themes I've found in responses:
 

Copying is now just ok

Many said China has normalized a culture of copying, as have Facebook and Instagram. In essence, cultural expectations change over time. When Rocket did it, it was a faux pas. Now, it’s just business.

People just didn’t like Rocket 

My favorite quote in response came from Twitter user The Louder Founder, who said, “It’s never the act people despise. It’s always the actor.” Fred Destin of VC fund Stride commented: “Not that they copied, but how they acted.” This was a recurring theme in DMs I received as well. The Samwer brothers had sharp elbows which made them "easier to hate." Nobody was rooting for them. The Samwer brothers also gave zero Fs so they didn’t care to be liked.

Silicon Valley double standard

Some folks commented that this copying isn’t that different than what Rocket did, except Rocket was a Silicon Valley outsider and SV doesn’t like when outsiders enter their territory. Many folks said the same angst that you hear today about Tiger Global (or SoftBank before it) comes from Silicon Valley not liking when someone doesn’t play by the rules they follow.

What do you think? Why is copying startups more ok today than it was previously? Or maybe it still isn’t?

Speaking to the crowd

We have a fantastic speaker lineup for CB Insights Tech Market: Digitizing P&C Insurance (May 13-14). 
 

We have firesides and panels featuring:

• CTO, Metromile (NASDAQ: MILE)

• CTO, Pie Insurance ($118M Series C led by Allianz X, Acrew Capital to expand technology)

• President, North American Construction, AXA XL ($115B in gross revenue)

• Managing Director, Re/Insurance & Risk Management Solutions, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)

• CTO, Hippo ($5B SPAC deal)

And case studies, workshops, and roundtable discussions led by:

• SVP & CIO, Claim Technology and Claim Business Intelligence & Analytics, Travelers (NYSE: TRV)

• Chief Growth Officer, Arrowhead (NYSE: BRO)

• Head of Insurance, North America, Earnix (unicorn; $2B valuation)

• VP, Customer Transformation, Quadient (OTCMKTS: NPACY)

• Co-founder & Partner, astoryaVC (seed investor in European insurtech startups)

Register today for your chance to learn, network, and grow before prices go up this Thursday 4/15. Save $50 with code speakers.

Checking all the boxes

Amid a hot IPO market, firms looking to go public must address key priorities in workforce management.

Read about the 3 human capital issues companies should consider in this guest post from Aon.

Adweek. Patrick Kulp (@patrickkulp) discusses gaming platforms’ metaverse moves with CB Insights managing analyst Thomas Sineau (@TSineau). 

Wall Street Journal. Betsy Morris (@BetsyMorris2) covers the health-tracking movement and cites CB Insights data. 

Business Insider. Blake Dodge (@dodgeblake) reports on Microsoft’s acquisition of Nuance and quotes CB Insights principal analyst Jeffrey Becker (@BeckerJMB).
 

P.S. We’re hiring a lead test engineer. Check out the role here. 

In writing. Researchers are pushing to digitize more of the 1B scientific specimens in storage in the US before they’re forgotten.

NPR 

CoroNaspresso. An experimental at-home Covid-19 test was developed using empty Nespresso capsules. 

Fast Company 

Boutique bedrooms. As Americans shop more online, some are turning spare rooms into showroom-style closets.

The Atlantic 

Flying colors. Designing a flag for Duolingo’s Yiddish course was no easy task, as the language does not have a widely accepted flag.