Vigorish

What's your cut? The vigorish?

Your juice, take, margin, edge - the vig - the fee charged for the value you add? 

Most start-ups, entrepreneurial ventures and nonprofit organizations are the product. People give to them, and get what produce or service they provide in return.

But there's another model of businesses and organizations - and it's very common and sometimes much more difficult to justify.

It's the pass-through or service provider, like Uber, Expedia, Upwork, or even nonprofits who act as pass-throughs for individuals or smaller organizations providing direction, training and business services.

These pass-throughs give us access to something or someone we want to connect with (a driver, a flight, a gig-worker or even a missionary).

The BIG question is whether they're a brand to trust or just a portal, interface, app or mission in-between the consumer and what they really want.

We've learned to trust a user-friendly experience, but their vigorish or cut is like a fee or tax on the relationship between the consumer and what they consume, and we either don't know what it costs us or we don't care.