Understanding the needs of the businesses you work with is just half of the job. You simply must cater and design for the pains of the customers of these businesses to succeed. In this presentation Itai discussed case studies and real life examples that will bring the point home.

1. Multi-Sided Platforms
field trip
Real stories from real products

2. Hello!
I am Itai Preis
I am here because I love product.
You can find me at itaip@joliper.com

3. 1.What is Two/Multi-
Sided marketplace

4. Two-sided markets, also called
two-sided networks, are
economic platforms having two
distinct user groups that provide
each other with network benefits.
The organization that creates
value primarily by enabling direct
interactions between two (or
more) distinct types of affiliated
customers is called a multi-sided
platform (MSP).[1]

5. Relevant KPIs will be doubled
•Demand/Supply acquisition cost
•Customer/Supplier LTV
•Demand/Supply go-to-market plan
It will be costly, and would take longer
•Competition
•Support
MSP (investment) Notes:

6. Why create MSP?
You need a good reason (efficiency, scale, costs)

7. 2. Stories from the trenches

8. Personal stories
⊸Jolicam: Mobile access to
surveillance cameras
⊸Dealply: Price comparison
engine
⊸SpecifiCare: Personalized
dietary supplement

9. Joliper is a mobile services provider
What: View home and business cameras from mobile phone link
Why MSP:
•B2C proved to be very fragmented and too expensive
•Security companies had huge numbers of installed hardware
•We had extra value as innovation services
PM dilemma: balance end-user UX vs partner needs
Battleplane: Upsell subscriptions to their existing database
1

10. Results:
•Sale cycles were very long
•Super competitive market made margins not appealing to the
customer
•The operational people hated it and eventually blocked it
•iPhone just came out, HW provided the solution for free
Conclusions
•Know all sides of the market inside-out before committing
•B2C <-> B2B needs rebuilding of a company
1

11. DealPly
2

12. DealPly is a price comparison engine
What: open new channels with Operators and ISPs
Why MSP:
•Consumer want to pay less for products
•Brands and retailers want access to many customers who signal
buying intent
•Marketing channels need monetization
PM dilemma: balance end-user UX vs partner needs
Battleplane:
•Main directive: Always require customers to opt-in
2

13. Results:
•Very very long cycles
•Deals went through and were integrated over time
•We used our experience with regulation to enforce marketing rules
•Success varied a lot according to local culture
Conclusions:
•Different cloture and different cycle-times require a lot of attention
•Big markets are slow by nature and innovation will take time
•B2B funnel
2

14. SpecifiCare: a personalized dietary supplement shop
Why MSP:
•Match consumers with Experts, provide manufacturing.
•Consumers love personalization
•Personalization on a huge scale
PM dilemma: Where do you focus next
Battleplane:
•Start by connecting practitioners and customers
•Over the long run it will become automatic
•Methodology: Lean, lean and lean
3

15. SpecifiCare Test #1 – customer interest
Test plan: offer simple wizard style:
•Customers provide details like gender, height, weight, lifestyle etc.
•Once they pass the 15 stages, they get personalized formula
Marketing: PPC
KPI: funnel conversion
Conclusions:
•Validated business model and user's response
•Customers need trust
3

16. SpecifiCare Test #2 – Experts interest
Test plan: Sign practitioners on our Beta
•Create landing page
•Get email and professional details
•Marketing: PPC and guerilla
•KPI: CPC and CPA (conversion)
Conclusion: We have a business
3

17. How should we move
forward?
•Who do you cater first?
•B2C – Facilitate fulfillment, provide
inventory
•B2B – Facilitate formula creation, provide
traffic
•Regulations and legal should be addressed at
some point
•Where do you make your shortcuts? top to
bottom? Bottom to top?
•How can you stay lean?

18. Priorities:
•Expert area:
•Registration
•Formula creation
(Formulator)
•Legal
Assumption:
Experts will
generate (limited)
traffic
Go to market:
meet them,
learn them,
scale up
SpecifiCare Version
1.0

19. Version 1.0 : What happened
•We provided a
Formulator for formula
creation
•We added base formulas
•We offered simple
formula selection
The results:
Embarrassment
The conclusions:
•Test #2 was wrong
•Practitioners
will not convert
in reality

20. Priorities:
•Optimize
customer website
•Optimize revenue
•Optimize
operations
•Legal
Assumption:
We have enough
trust in our in-
house experts
Go to market:
eCommerce
channels -
PPC, Content,
coupons
SpecifiCare Version 2.0

21. Version 2.0 : What happened
•A/B testing with
and w/o Practitioners
•Steady growth
•Found new
The results:
Embarrassment
The conclusions:
•A/B testing with
and w/o
Practitioners
•Steady growth
•Found new

22. •Make sure your market
really does need MPT
•Know all ends of the market inside out
•Be patient, and keep on testing hypothesis
•Go to the a real market as soon as possible
•Be ready for a long ride
MSP Summary

23. Links
•Purple Wave
•SpecifiCare Homepage
•SpecifiCare Admin
•Formulas list
•Formulator

24. Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at itaipreis@gmail.com