Jeff Hoffman: bringing customer demand to suppliers
When Jeff Hoffman discussed Priceline in his event talk, he described a change in the direction of the search. Customers could state what they wanted and what they could spend, and the business could bring that demand to suppliers.
The buyer provides the request
Hoffman contrasted a buyer searching through suppliers' offers with collecting the buyer's request first. In the model he described, the buyer specified the desired purchase and available money. The business then brought consumer demand to the supply side.
He identified the patent and founder
Hoffman attributed the reverse-auction patent to Jay Walker and identified Walker as Priceline's actual founder. That attribution belongs with the story. Hoffman used the model to illustrate a business value equation in a broader talk about work, personal goals and what a company makes possible.
In Jeff Hoffman's words
"we will harvest consumer demand and we will sell it to the supply side" (Jeff Hoffman, Jeff Hoffman's recorded Family Office Club event talk)
How to use this
- Map whether the customer searches existing offers or submits a request first.
- Preserve the named creator's attribution when retelling a business model example.
Questions and answers
Who did Hoffman identify as Priceline's founder?
He named Jay Walker as the founder and patent holder.
What changed direction in the model?
The business collected buyer demand and brought it to suppliers.