Category Kings: Their Technologies and Business Models [Podcast]

This Podcast Tekedia Daily by Ndubuisi Ekekwe, inspired by the recent important step in the assessment of the Nvidia market, provides a historical and contemporary analysis of the “King Companies categories”. He maintains that market domination is not only a function of technological innovation but also, above all, effective commercial models.

The discussion begins by tracing the evolution of market leadership through different times. Us Steel, at the beginning of the 20th century, illustrated a King category motivated by its mastery of steel technology, which was fundamental for industrial expansion. After that, IBM appeared as a dominant force in the middle of the 20th century, propelled by its pioneering work in computer science between mainframe and other catalytic technologies which automatize and transform the American industries.

However, the story moves with General Electric (GE) at the end of the 20th century. The success of GE, in particular under Jack Welch, was less attributed to revolutionary technological inventions and more to its revolutionary management systems and to commercial models which allowed the effective functioning of a large diversified conglomerate, offering an exceptional shareholders’ value.

The presentation then brings the discussion to the present day, highlighting Apple, Microsoft and in particular Nvidia, as current category kings. Nvidia’s ancestry is linked to its supply of fundamental equipment and infrastructure for artificial intelligence, stressing the continuous importance of technological leadership.

A central theme is the symbiotic relationship between technology and commercial models. The speaker uses Tesla as an excellent example of a company whose innovative pricing mechanism – incorporation of continuous subscriptions beyond the initial purchase of the car – notes how a single commercial model can unlock and capture a significant value. Likewise, Microsoft’s success is linked to its ability to establish a model for the monetization of software.

To provide a localized perspective, the presentation examines market developments in Nigeria. The banking sector in the 1990s saw the “new generation banks” become category kings using technology to create network branches, allowing customers unprecedented flexibility. This was followed by the rise of telecommunications companies (Tellcos) like MTN and Glo, which initially offered vocal telephony and later mobile internet, transforming mobile devices into internet knots. Currently, Nigeria is in “the age of public application services”, where new companies emerge by creating services on mobile Internet, proving that category kings can occur even on local markets.

The final remarks focus on the challenges of predicting future market leaders in this “new era”. He reiterates critical information that if technology is vital, it is insufficient alone for sustained domination of the categories. The failures of certain highly anticipated technologies (such as Metaversse and NFTS) to fully establish the status of “King category” highlight the need for a robust commercial model. In the end, the presentation claims that the understanding and development of the good business model alongside technological innovation is essential for any business that aspires to carry out and maintain market leadership.

Download the podcast summary here.

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