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Tuition, drug prices, self storage, cardboard, direct sales, and barber shops turn on the same question — who else is allowed in. One page per Modern MBA episode on the sector: what keeps competitors out, and what happens in the businesses where nothing does.

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8 case studies

Case study — ServicesWhy college is so expensive in AmericaHarvard holds $57B and charges $82,866 a year. Tuition isn't the business — the undergraduate is the seed, not the customer.16 min readCase study — ServicesWhy Ozempic is so expensiveThe same two companies that quintupled the price of insulin now want obesity classified as a disease.16 min readCase study — ServicesHow private equity took over your gymYour gym was bought with a loan secured on your own monthly dues. That is why it makes quitting so hard.23 min readCase study — ServicesWhy almost nobody makes money in an MLMTupperware went bankrupt and Avon was dissolved. The model works spectacularly, and then it always fails.10 min readCase study — ServicesWhy ADT has to lock you into a contractADT loses money on every new customer for two to three years. Then 13% of them leave each year.9 min readCase study — ServicesWho makes all the cardboard boxesTwo of every three Amazon boxes is International Paper. Every pizza box is WestRock. Neither company is visible.10 min readCase study — ServicesWhy private equity can't kill your barberRegis spent forty years consolidating barbering. The stock went $725 to $9, and independents still hold 80%.15 min readCase study — ServicesWhy self storage is so profitableA building with no plumbing, no insulation, and no staff, on land nobody else wanted, netting $958,000 a year.10 min read