Disrupted

Disruptors have been changing the way we work and live for generations. Sure, it may not have been called “disruption” in the days of the Industrial Revolution, but a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…or bad, depending on your perspective.

The insurance industry is ripe for disruption, as evidenced by the rise of InsurTech and digital direct channels. But ours isn’t the only industry being disrupted. Without further ado—and we promise this isn’t much ado about nothing—here’s a look at three of the biggest private business disruptors of 2017.

Uber

All the bad press hasn’t slowed down Uber, which had US$20 billion in gross bookings in 2016. You can now hail a ride using the app in more than 500 cities in 75 countries. The company also launched UberEATS in 2016, a food delivery service available in 71 cities worldwide.

Airbnb

The home-sharing behemoth is valued at US$31 billion. It has more than 3 million listings in 65,000 cities across the world. And, according to Airbnb, its listings even include 3,000 castles and 1,400 treehouses. (Couches are available, too.)

WeWork

WeWork offers shared office space for start-ups and entrepreneurs that comes with everything you need to do business: internet access, printers and even free coffee. The company has offices for hire in more than 100 cities worldwide, including Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

Sources: CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List, William Shakespeare

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Copyright © 2017 Transcontinental Media G.P. This article first appeared in the November 2017 edition of Canadian Insurance Top Broker magazine

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.