Welcome, this industry newsletter shares key market changes, in a twice-monthly publication, curated by Jeremiah Owyang, Founder of Catalyst Companies™, you can subscribe to the email newsletter on the footer of the homepage.

GM Unveils All-Electric Chevy Bolt, Designed for Car-sharing
At the Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas, GM introduced a prototype of an electric-only Chevy Bolt that will go into production later this year. The Bolt will get 200 miles per battery charge and is expected to cost less than $30,000, according to Yahoo! Autos. GM stated that it designed the Bolt’s interior to be easily used for car-sharing services like Lyft, where the company recently invested $500 million. While GM proactively invests in a Collaborative Economy partnership and inevitable customer behaviors, San Francisco’s largest taxi company, Yellow Cab Co-Op, is edging toward bankruptcy. The San Francisco Examiner reports the filing is due in large part to fierce competition in recent years from Uber and Lyft.

Indiegogo Launches an “Enterprise Crowdfunding” Platform for Business
Peer-to-peer crowdfunding platform Indiegogo released a new B2C platform, “Enterprise Crowdfunding” last week. The platform will provide large corporations access to Indiegogo’s audience of early adopters, entrepreneurs, and makers, according to Digital Trends. The goal? To validate and optimize product concepts and source new innovations during R&D efforts. Other predicted benefits for companies include more engaged customers, a brandable experience, access to crowdfunding data, media buzz, “pre sales” to determine market need, and fostering the highest form of loyalty––shared destiny. Indiegogo is part of the Catalyst Companies Innovation Network.

Virgin America Rewards Elevate Points to Airbnb Guests and Hosts
Thanks to a new partnership between Virgin America and Airbnb, Virgin American customers who book their Airbnb stays through Virgin.com now receive one Elevate® rewards club point for every $1 spent. The prize is even greater for Virgin customers who become hosts via the company’s website, as they’re rewarded 20,000 Elevate® points after hosting their fifth guest. Travel and hospitality booking go hand-in-hand, and with this partnership Virgin is doubling down on its bet that Airbnb will continue to grow as a major threat to the hotel industry. This trend was shown to be especially true in 2015, as Airbnb reportedly made up 5-7% of hotel demand in major cities. Read more about the study on Quartz.

We want to hear from you! What are the market impacts are of this week’s news stories? Email Catalyst Companies™ Founder Jeremiah Owyang directly to share your thoughts.

Image from Chevrolet