One of the ways that businesses and other institutions have leveraged consumer empowerment is to use it to help them cut out the middle man or intermediary … what Sir Martin Sorrell likes to describe as disintermediation. This philosophy has encouraged politicians to circumvent political journalists by communicating directly with voters through social media and brands, such as Doritos, to solicit creative ideas from consumers, rather than advertising agencies.
Will King, the eponymous founder of King of Shaves, has applied disintermediation to the world of corporate finance. Rather than rely on the usual sources of funding, he has launched a Shaving Bond in an attempt to encourage 5,000 consumers to lend his company £1,000. Given the current state of the savings and investment market, and people’s complete lack of trust in conventional financial institutions, I think he will achieve his target.
