Leonard Sherman | Source | Adjunct Professor & Executive in Residence at Columbia Business School

Peloton announced blowout earnings last fall, which helped it join an elite club that includes Apple, Netflix, and Tesla. These companies not only delight their customers and create enormous shareholder value, but they’re also rewriting some specific, outdated rules on what drives effective business strategy: vertical integration

While product used to be king (or at least more defensible), strong functionality is now considered table stakes by discriminating consumers, who increasingly are making choices based on their overall customer experience and the authentic appeal of a company’s brand story.

Uber's faux optimism is wearing thin, and belies the elephant in the room. Fundamental flaws in Uber’s business model will continue to keep the company from achieving anywhere near the growth and profits required to justify its current valuation. This leaves Uber in the uncomfortable position as other players in this space: needing to squeeze drivers, merchants (and more recently customers) in vain pursuit of the elusive profits and growth.