Today, we will be breaking down Invisalign. Founded in 1997, Invisalign pioneered clear aligners as an alternative to metal braces. Today, Invisalign generates over $2bn of revenue and accounts for roughly 20% of the orthodontic market.   To break down Invisalign, I am joined by Nick Greenfield, CEO of Candid. Nick co-founded Candid in 2017 as an e-commerce solution to teeth aligners. Candid now offers a broad range of clear aligners and teeth whitening solutions across retail, e-commerce, and the professional market.   Nick's experience in the industry makes him an ideal person to explore Invisalign. We dive deep into the origin of the business, the unique relationship between Invisalign and orthodontists, the economics of orthodontics, and how Invisalign successfully used its patents to maintain its lead in the clear aligner industry.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss   Show Notes [00:02:43] - [First question] - Overview of Align Technologies and their scale [00:03:31] - What Invisalign is and the problem it solves [00:04:43] - The footprint Invisalign has in the dental industry [00:08:40] - Defining orthodontics and the size of the market [00:09:49] - Why market penetration may double over the coming years [00:14:42] - What the market was missing in the 90s and allowed Invisalign to arise [00:16:20] - Unit economics across the value chain of orthodontics [00:19:40] - Economics of an entire practice built on Invisalign [00:20:34] - How they came to dominate and cement their market position [00:22:44] - Vertical integration and other ways held a majority in the clear liner space [00:25:02] - Branding, distribution and further means of competitive advantage [00:27:05] - Why not move further up the value chain and buy orthodontic businesses [00:28:40] - Invisalign’s P&L in gross margin and major item categories [00:31:49] - What share of chair means and why it’s important [00:32:56] - How many cases can currently be handled by clear alignment trays [00:34:52] - Orthodontists will remain employed once aligners achieve widespread adoption  [00:37:16] - Driving factors for Invisalign doubling over the next five to ten years [00:39:03] - China’s push for training orthodontists and clear aligner adoption [00:39:50] - Other reasons Invalisgn may double their market cap over the coming years [00:40:26] - Competitors and disruptors that may hinder their growth [00:42:01] - Joy dichotomy between patients and businesses [00:43:40] - What happened in 2017, how it changed the marketplace, and the road ahead [00:45:08] - Market share and penetration in today’s landscape [00:46:23] - An analog that can be used to explain Invisalign writ large [00:47:31] - What could revert Invisalign’s growth and market share [00:50:22] - uLab and orthodontists making aligners themselves  [00:51:53] - Other potential threats to Invisalign [00:53:26] - Patenting your IP and gaining an advantage in healthcare [00:55:28] - Lessons for builders and entrepreneurs from the Invisalign story [00:56:39] - Lessons for investors watching Invisalign’s growth over the years [00:58:07] - Where you can learn more; dentaltown Podcasts

Today we will be breaking down Ethereum. Launched in 2015, Ethereum is an open-source, blockchain-based platform with a native cryptocurrency, Ether. Today, ETH stands as the second most valuable cryptocurrency to Bitcoin, and Ethereum is the preferred platform for blockchain projects. To help me break down Ethereum, I am joined by Justin Drake. Justin is a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. During our conversation, we cover what differentiates Ethereum from Bitcoin, the increasing number of projects being built on the Ethereum platform, and what a shift from proof of concept to proof of stake means for Ethereum. I particularly enjoy Justin’s framework for defining money and various analogies to better conceptualize the blockchain. I hope you enjoy this breakdown of Ethereum. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss   Show Notes [00:03:02] - [First question] - What a blockchain is on a fundamental level [00:04:36] - A core overview of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin blockchain [00:06:40] - Proof of work and why security is so important [00:08:38] - How much miners spend to secure the network [00:10:20] - Early days of Ethereum and what separates it from Bitcoin [00:12:02] - Vitalik’s role in the rise of Ethereum [00:13:14] - What can currently be built on top of the Ethereum blockchain [00:16:28] - Gas fees and an overview of ETH as a triple point asset [00:19:42] - What generates ETH and decides its value [00:22:36] - Defining proof of stake, how it works, and staking incentives [00:25:10] - Yields from staking ETH in the form of newly minted tokens and tips [00:29:15] - Load to power ratio of the Ethereum network [00:33:38] - Terms for staking your ETH and how much is expected to be staked [00:39:19] - Sequence of events when using ETH to buy an NFT [00:43:13] - Transaction fees how they’re calculated when buying and selling ETH [00:46:11] - Pros and cons of high network demand while trying to scale the Ethereum blockchain [00:50:41] - Defining money and why Ethereum’s design makes it optimized to become an economic engine [00:55:11] - Defi Pulse - The Decentralized Finance Leaderboard [00:55:47] - Ethereum’s rigorous decentralization standards and best in class proof of stake [00:58:57] - Overview of Bitcoin Wrapped and ETH as the native currency writ large [01:01:16] - A further in-depth analogy to better understand the Ethereum network [01:05:19] - Potential competitors and new DeFi blockchain innovation [01:08:27] - Key lessons for builders when studying Ethereum and decentralized finance [01:11:03] - Bankless, Epicenter.tv, Zeroknowledge.fm, Into The Ether