How did Airbnb beat Craigslist? What's special about the Medium blogging platform? How did LinkedIn eat Monster for lunch? How do Youtube and Vimeo coexist? Why was Mint.com so successful? Using the Platform Stack framework, this deck explains 10 startup business puzzles and creates a framework to solve many more.
13. Airbnb is a platform,
but so is GE's industrial
internet approach.
Medium is a platform
but so is Nike.
How do you make sense of
this? What exactly is a
platform?
”
“
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
14. Read on to get
all the answers
”
“Different questions,
similar answers
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
15. Too busy to get all the answers?
Download this deck
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
22. But everyone has a different definition
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
23. The platform stack helps
us understand this…
... and visualize any digital
business model
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
24. So WHAT is a platform?
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
25. So what is a platform?
A platform is a plug-and-play
business model that allows
multiple participants (producers
and consumers) to connect to it,
interact with each other and
create and exchange value.
”
“
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
26. A lot of what we see today follows
the platform business model
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
27. Buzzword alert...
all of these use
platform business models
Wearables
Sharing Economy
Industrial Internet
3D Printing
Internet of Things
Social media
App economy
Crowdsourcing
Gig economy
Crowdfunding
!
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
28. The goal of a platform is
to enable interactions between…
Producers Consumers
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
30. Across all platforms, we observe
the following three layers3
Network / Marketplace / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
31. Network / Marketplace / Community Layer
Users may
connect explicitly
Users may
interact without
connecting explicitly
Users may be connected implicitly
E.g. Individual usage is benchmarked against others
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
32. Technology Infrastructure
External producers build on top of this infrastructure
On Android,
developers
build apps
On Youtube,
video creators
host videos
On Ebay,
sellers create/host
product availability
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
41. Why do YouTube and Vimeo coexist
despite being similar offerings?
“
”Source: PLATFORM THINKING
42. YouTube Vimeo
Network / Marketplace /
Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Marketplace /
Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
43. YouTube Vimeo
Network / Marketplace /
Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Marketplace /
Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Improve viewer engagement and
match-making
Improve hosting
infrastructure
44. YouTube Vimeo
Network / Marketplace /
Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Marketplace /
Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Youtube and Vimeo co-exist by focusing on different layers
of the stack
45. How did Airbnb disrupt
Craigslist?
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
46. Craigslist Early Airbnb Airbnb
Network /
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
47. Craigslist Early Airbnb Airbnb
Network /
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Strong network layer only, low
focus on tech and data
Started with strong tech and
data layers
Built strong network effects and
community over time
48. Craigslist Early Airbnb Airbnb
Network /
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Marketplace /
Community
Technology
Infrastructure
Data
Airbnb beat Craigslist through superior execution on all layers
49. It was Instagram, before Instagram
existed
Why did it fail?
Ever heard of
Hipstamatic?
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
54. Monster LinkedIn
Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
55. Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Lower network effects, focusing only
on active job seekers
Much stronger network effects and higher data leverage
lading to activation of passive seekers
Monster LinkedIn
56. Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
By focusing on overall data acquisition about professionals, LinkedIn
has better data to match the recruitment market
Monster LinkedIn
57. “ What's so special about
Medium, isn't it just about
blogging? ”
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
60. Wordpress Medium
Technology Infrastructure
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Medium is gaining rapid traction leveraging network effects and
data and a simpler creation infrastructure
61. How did a 3-year old startup like
Mint beat a three-decade old
software like Quicken?
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
63. Quicken Mint
Technology Infrastructure
Network / Marketplace
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Focused only on provision of
software
Software as a means to build a data driven
business and the creation of a marketplace
between consumers and FIs
67. Flickr Facebook
Photos
Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Better hosting but lower
community engagement
Stronger network effects and usage data of overall
social network enabled better engagement
68. Flickr Facebook
Photos
Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Facebook’s stronger network effects and better capture of data allowed
its Photos feature to power stronger engagement
70. MS Windows
Android +
Play Store
Technology Infrastructure
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
71. MS Windows
Android +
Play Store
Technology Infrastructure
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Focused only on infrastructure for
app development
Combines infrastructure with app store,
enabling creation or marketplace
72. MS Windows
Android +
Play Store
Technology Infrastructure
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
The app store powers a new market for developers, thereby
attracting a larger ecosystem much faster
73. How did Facebook
eat MySpace and build
an entirely different
business?
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
74. MySpace Facebook
Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
75. MySpace Facebook
Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Strong network effects but poor usage
of data and lower curation
Much stronger network effects and higher data leverage
through the creation of the news feed
76. MySpace Facebook
Network / Community
Technology Infrastructure
Data
Network / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure
Facebook’s news feed leverages data to drive much stronger
network effects than any social network before it
77. Different platforms have different
stack configurations
There are
3 basic
configurations
Source: PLATFORM THINKING
78. Your turn:
Analyze your platform using the platform stack
Network / Marketplace / Community
Data
Technology Infrastructure