Game of Thrones is one of the most popular TV shows in the world. But if you don’t pay attention, the plot will sometimes be difficult to grasp. The main point though is that a couple of houses are fighting for one throne. Of the 9 houses in the series, 5 are featured more prominently than the others. Each house reminds me of certain startups, recent and not recent.
Here they are:
House Lannister – Uber
House Lannister happens to be the richest and most powerful house in Game of Thrones.
The power and wealth of House Lannister brings to mind a certain Uber. This ride-sharing app has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence, not unlike the Lannisters. Uber has also become ubiquitous in many countries. They also attained the $50 billion valuation faster than Facebook did when it started out.
House Tyrell – Blue Apron
House Tyrell is popular for food production and the power of their allegiances.
Blue Apron, a food ingredient delivery company, embodies these qualities. Blue Apron’s business is centred around the quality of their partnerships and the quality of the ingredients they deliver. While Blue Apron doesn’t produce food, the ingredients they deliver are gotten from strategic partners. This, and their quality delivery service, is the mainstay of their business.
House Stark – Airbnb
Of all the houses in Game of Thrones, House Stark were the most trusting and hospitable. Trust and hospitality are two virtues Airbnb represents. While Airbnb doesn’t own a single hotel, they own a large network of bed and breakfast outlets.
Despite what has befallen the Starks so far, most Game of Thrones fans still root for them, with some of the house members as their favorite characters.
House Targaryen – MySpace
The house that used to rule Westeros until Robert Baratheon’s rebellion overthrew them. Myspace used to be king of social networking, until Facebook stepped in knocked them off their perch.
House Baratheon – Twitter
This could have easily been Uber or Airbnb, but they have been appointed as ministers elsewhere. House Baratheon are notorious for being rebellious and going against the grain. What we call ‘disruptive’ in business.
Twitter has disrupted a lot of things. It has changed the limit with which we send words online, the way news is reported, the way people connect, meet spouses and get new jobs. Twitter even catalyzed the Arab Springs in 2011. Of the three: Airbnb, Uber and Twitter, Twitter’s existence has shifted earth’s core the most.
