The Minutes of Bill Gurley on incumbents https://minutesof.com/bill-gurley/on/incumbents/ Everything Bill Gurley has said on incumbents: 11 verbatim quotes between December 2012 and July 2026, each with a timestamp and a link to the recording… en Sun, 30 Aug 2026 16:21:59 +0000 Gurley coined the phrase regulation is the friend of the incumbent to describe how incumbents use regulation t https://minutesof.com/q/071a9fbf-9796-4a05-b974-2d0f48956429/ https://minutesof.com/q/071a9fbf-9796-4a05-b974-2d0f48956429/ “I have I have a phrase I use, regulation is the friend of the incumbent.” — Bill Gurley Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:02:49 +0000 incumbents Gurley says regulation is the friend of the incumbent, used to raise prices and prevent competition. https://minutesof.com/q/5088e7fd-cd96-490d-8e28-742996e15d58/ https://minutesof.com/q/5088e7fd-cd96-490d-8e28-742996e15d58/ “I have a phrase I use, regulation is the friend of the incumbent. So they use it to actually raise prices, prevent competition, and further in ensconce themselves in the leadership role they're already in.” — Tom Bilyeu Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:01:05 +0000 incumbents Gurley argues regulation most often protects incumbents despite public perception to the contrary. https://minutesof.com/q/ccc05c29-4691-41ad-8142-64dbb600f1a9/ https://minutesof.com/q/ccc05c29-4691-41ad-8142-64dbb600f1a9/ “regulation, I'd say most often ends up protecting the incumbent and the world thinks the opposite is true.” — Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:34:22 +0000 incumbents Gurley argues AI wave is unprecedented because incumbents like Microsoft moved fast from the start, unlike typ https://minutesof.com/q/8c0cf8d3-e9ed-4b6e-a347-e11f3ef7ce9e/ https://minutesof.com/q/8c0cf8d3-e9ed-4b6e-a347-e11f3ef7ce9e/ “This is one of the very first waves where the incumbents were eyes wide open at the beginning of the technology shift.” — BG2 Pod Fri, 09 Aug 2024 00:27:40 +0000 incumbents Gurley argues Silicon Valley must actively engage in Washington to fight incumbent regulatory capture. https://minutesof.com/q/c6bb012e-afba-490d-83ba-71420c1256d7/ https://minutesof.com/q/c6bb012e-afba-490d-83ba-71420c1256d7/ “I think, that engagement by Silicon Valley to fight back against the incumbents who are trying to do the capture. Right?” — BG2 Pod Thu, 25 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000 incumbents Gurley states regulation favors incumbents and government should not pick AI winners now. https://minutesof.com/q/bfba2390-afed-4183-a10e-768810893e8b/ https://minutesof.com/q/bfba2390-afed-4183-a10e-768810893e8b/ “Regulation is the friend of the incumbent. It's not time for the government to start picking winners.” — Forbes Tue, 04 Jun 2024 13:00:12 +0000 incumbents Gurley quotes Nobel laureate Stigler that regulation is acquired by industry for its own benefit. https://minutesof.com/q/0ceb6ad8-9cc2-4f00-b88e-4e66c28597e2/ https://minutesof.com/q/0ceb6ad8-9cc2-4f00-b88e-4e66c28597e2/ “As a rule, regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit.” — All-In Podcast Sat, 16 Sep 2023 01:49:57 +0000 incumbents Gurley argues regulation typically locks in incumbents who write rules blocking new entrants. https://minutesof.com/q/2c5c683e-4d2d-4ad7-9b02-d679af50346a/ https://minutesof.com/q/2c5c683e-4d2d-4ad7-9b02-d679af50346a/ “regulation's the friend of the incumbent. Most of the time when Washington DC leans into a new to to a new industry, you lock in the incumbents, and and the rules are written by the incumbents and make it very hard for new entrants to come up behind them.” — Bloomberg Tech Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:47:45 +0000 incumbents Gurley argues regulation is the friend of the incumbent, locking in dominant players when Washington intervene https://minutesof.com/q/ca239027-75a6-4de6-b6be-80e6280af82c/ https://minutesof.com/q/ca239027-75a6-4de6-b6be-80e6280af82c/ “Most of the time when Washington DC leans into a new to to a new industry, you lock in the incumbents,” — Bloomberg Tech Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:47:45 +0000 incumbents Gurley argues regulation locks in incumbents and makes entry harder, so more regulation favors existing stocks https://minutesof.com/q/cce45c87-478a-4494-b39f-92c15095aaa0/ https://minutesof.com/q/cce45c87-478a-4494-b39f-92c15095aaa0/ “So I would say the more regulation actually, the more you wanna own the stock.” — Bloomberg Tech Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:47:45 +0000 incumbents Gurley identifies taxi commissioners and taxi fleets as drivers of all Uber legal issues. https://minutesof.com/q/16c4605a-2c12-4aae-a523-9da6f266ef22/ https://minutesof.com/q/16c4605a-2c12-4aae-a523-9da6f266ef22/ “The predominant driver of most 100% of the legal issues is either a taxi commissioner or a taxi fleet.” — SVTV Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:59:38 +0000 incumbents