Disruptive companies fundamentally change their industries. While many entrepreneurs tout that they will be disruptive — in fact, almost every one that I have ever heard pitch for money has made such a claim — very few actually deliver on their intended disruption.
Every year CNBC identifies fifty companies that they believe are truly disruptive. I have had the pleasure to serve on the Board of Advisors for the CNBC Disruptor 50 List for the past several years.
Nothing has created more opportunity for disruption in my life time than has the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying economic collapse. The creation of this year’s list included explicit consideration of the impact that the coronavirus is having on the potential growth and disruption of this year’s finalists.
The coronavirus is transforming how we shop, how we work, how we seek healthcare, how we play, how we learn, and how we get our food. This year’s Disruptor 50 covers a broad spectrum of industries, which illustrates the fundamental economic transformation now at work around the globe.
Top 5 Disruptors of 2020
The top five are as follows:
- Stripe — digital payment platform company that has now created a financing program, Stripe Capital, that is a quick and easy source of funding for small business
- Coupang — the “Amazon” of South Korea that delivers packages ordered by midnight before 7:00 the next morning
- Indigo Agriculture — seeks to use natural microbiology and technology to improve sustainability, profits for growers and consumer health
- Coursera — hitting close to home, this company offers individuals anywhere in the world access to online courses and degrees from top universities at a fraction of the cost
- Klarna — this already profitable Swedish fintech company has an app that lets customers buy at their favorite stores now, entering only their email and Zip code, but pay later
You can see the entire fifty companies on this year’s list here.
I planned to get this posted as soon as the list came our earlier this morning. However, I got lost reading about all of this year’s startups. What an amazing group of companies! Just as in past economic crises, there is fertile ground for disruption, and this year’s Disruptor 50 offer us a peak into our future.
Methodology
Here is how CNBC describes their methodology:
All private, independently owned start-up companies founded after Jan. 1, 2005, were eligible to be nominated for the Disruptor 50 list. Companies nominated were required to submit a detailed analysis, including key quantitative and qualitative information.
Quantitative metrics included company-submitted data on workforce size and diversity, scalability, and sales and user growth. Some of this information has been kept off the record and was used for scoring purposes only. CNBC also brought in data from a pair of outside partners — PitchBook, which provided data on fundraising, implied valuations and investor quality; and IBISWorld, whose database of industry reports were used to compare the companies based on the industries they are attempting to disrupt.
I can’t believe you have gotten to be on the CNBC Board of Advisors for this list. That is so cool! This list must be great to look at for future entrepreneurs to get inspired about the innovations happening right now. I have used Stripe in a co-op and it was a pretty good platform. I’m glad I have that skill under my belt since it’s really blowing up. That’ll be a good resume booster for my technical skills! The other four sound amazing too. Get me Coupang in the United States. Heck with Amazon, give me that! I love that the other three companies are about sustainability, education, and saving. All great things to be pushing for in our society.
I was unaware of this top 50 list! Reading through the companies and their descriptions amazes me. People really have such amazing ideas. Coupang in particular made me do a double-take; the idea that you can get a delivery within not days, but hours of ordering it seems unreal! I can only imagine as time goes on, that the ideas for business startups will only become more creative and efficient as we progress as a society.
There are a lot of businesses that are talked about booming but usually those media article are only talking about American businesses. This top fifty list is insane but these top ones are interesting. Amazon has made breakaway success amongst the pandemic but hearing about a South Korean company deliver packages faster than Amazon is amazing. It’s also hard to put your head around Klarden in Sweeden having a company that can allow you to purchase items with very little information and pay later. These new companies are pivoting the world in the right direction through efficient innovation. The amount the world can maintain gradually innovating new businesses and products is inspiring.
What an awesome opportunity to be on the committee that helps pick the top 50 list! I found the criteria and methodology of how you pick the businesses for this list interesting. I didn’t know that this list was a thing but wonder how many entrepreneurs have a goal to be on this list?
I read through the top 50 list that was linked in the blog post, and it was so interesting to read through names of companies that probably existed before the pandemic, but I had never heard of them before, and yet now they are commonly known companies. Some of these include DoorDash, goPuff, Airbnb, and Chime. It’s kind of crazy to think about how these companies potentially only got as big as they were because they had this insane opportunity to disrupt the way things were done, because of the pandemic. Even with all the negative impacts that COVID had on the economy, there is some kind of silver lining with all these new companies that have only excelled because of it.
I think Coupang is super cool! I’ve never received a package that quick, and it is amazing that it can be done. My aunt was talking to me about how she took her daughters charger, ordered a new one on Amazon, and it was delivered later the same day.