When the conquering consumer arrives at the big pearly gatekeepers, what might she say? She might ask why she didn’t have a more direct relationship with her beloved brands. She might ask why she had to watch so many ads. It was the last thing she saw while glued to her phone before she walked into the…ok that’s enough.

From the financial crisis to the covid crisis we’ve seen a wave of bundling and the emergence of Big Tech on an unprecedented Googol scale. Gatekeepers have lived well. There’s something going on though. Connecting directly with consumers is in. Intermediaries are in trouble! The big internet platform aggregators are reaching an inflection point forced upon them by government antitrust concerns and other social forces. It’s unbundling time.

Inspiration for this post begins with the debut of Epic Games’ courtroom battle against Apple this week for their alleged anticompetitive app store practices. Facebook too has come under fire for their oversight board’s (non)decision to keep Trump suspended but deferring the decision back to the regular board. Twenty independent members deciding the platforming or de-platforming of an individual that can reach billions? Talk about a big bundle of messiness.

Charlie Munger, a legendary investor and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, expressed his distaste for Bitcoin over the weekend calling “the whole development disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization”. Frankly, his point makes sense if you understand the centralized, slightly more orderly world in which he has lived his life.

On the tinier of gatekeeping scales we’ve seen things go slightly awry as well. Google tried to get more of its employees back to the office before rolling back their ambitions. And Basecamp, as you surely saw, attempted to assert control over workplace discussions and were met with ~1/3 of their employees peacing out!

The power of gatekeepers is being unbundled alright!

Democratization of finance, work, content and more is rapidly advancing. Employees, consumers, or really groups of any kind can organize quickly through the internet and wield power that makes any centralized fortress tremble. The people have more power. Gatekeepers of the past generation are vulnerable. We aint even talking about the blockchain! These are political and social forces that have been simmering for quite some time.

The ‘20s might be ruled by going more direct with consumers and aligning with their views. Middlemen, aggregators, and systems of the past could struggle. Managers – which brands are you supporting? Distribution channels? Political movements? You can organize the future. Align yourself accordingly then, right?