Le Web London 2013
LeWeb visited London for the second time in 2013 bringing together start-ups, entrepreneurs, venture-capitalists and the technorati from around Europe and beyond for two days to talk about the sharing economy. With my press pass in hand, courtesy of The Fetch, I was ready for an action packed two days to learn and hear from companies such as Airbnb, Yelp, Etsy, Google Campus, Taskrabbit and Burning Man to name a few.
Day one and day two have both been covered in detail by a range of different media outlets and all the videos from the talks can be found online here. So rather than just repeat what you can find elsewhere I decided to sum up my favourite talks into tweetable quotes and bring them all together to highlight some of the key themes from the two days.
Day One
What conditions are required in your business to collaborate and share.
Ideas can come from anywhere. But an idea is worth pursuing if you’re married to the idea and you know that in 10 years time you’ll still be thinking about in the shower.
If the 1st and 2nd acts of the internet were to get people to the internet and connecting then the 3rd will be how to get people back offline.
We will soon be able to use technology and the connectivity around us to help find a private space anywhere in the world to work in peace and gather your thoughts.
75% of the world population will be living in a city by 2050. This will cause excess capacity and goods that can then be married with a large marketplace ready and willing to use them.
By 2050 sharing in a large city will be second nature.
You never truly know how someone will use your product, platform or service. Sometimes the feature that you’ve hidden will end up becoming the most important part.
A small idea has the ability to change an entire industry. Taskrabbit started as a task and errand service that now has the ability to disrupt the whole jobs market and the way people find work.
This last point is not unique to this conference, it has been echoed by all start-ups and is constantly blogged about. One of the biggest problems start-ups face is recruiting. Finding people as passionate as you are, so that you can create a culture of cofounders.
Day Two
The hippies from the 60s and the digital hippies today are not that different. Both of them search for meaning. Digital hippies want to create and purchase from meaningful businesses.
The sharing economy is not just a fad. There is now a financial component to sharing as well as platform to compare and share the services you use.
The legal implications that come with the sharing economy haven’t yet caught up entirely to this new model.
We are sharing so much that we are nearly at the moment when anyone could know what can be known about anything.
When a government can no longer help its people, then people will look to help themselves and then look to help others.
Don’t be limited by pursuing small ideas. Pursue a quest and a brand adventure and make the world a better place along the way.
Summary
I think most people will agree that access is becoming more attractive than ownership. But in order to provide a rebuttal, LeWeb invited Milo from Kernel Magazine to tell us 10 reasons why the sharing economy is bollocks. In summary, I walked away from the two days incredibly inspired and excited about what the future holds, but as I left, one question sat in the back of my mind. Where do we draw the line at what we personally make available to the world?
Damon Klotz 
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