Platform Scale: How an emerging business model helps startups build large empires with minimum investment
Product ID: 18579275
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Over the last decade or so, we're seeing the emergence of a new form of scale. Today's massively scaling startups - which rapidly grow to millions of users and billions in valuation - do not sell a product or service. Instead, they build a platform on which others can create and exchange value. The many manifestations of the platform business model - social media, the peer economy, cryptocurrencies, APIs and developer ecosystems, the Internet of things, crowdsourcing models, and many others - are becoming increasingly relevant. Yet, most new platform ideas fail because the business design and growth strategies involved in building platforms are not well understood. Platform Scale lays out a structured approach to designing and growing a platform business model and addresses the key factors leading to the success and failure of these businesses. Six core concepts for successful platform business model design 1. Re-imagine your business for platform scale The mechanism by which these new business models scale so rapidly. Understand the shift in thinking needed to manage businesses with platform scale and the impact of network effects, virality, behavior design and data. "We are not in the business of building software. We are in the business of enabling interactions." 2. Leverage interaction-first design How detailed consideration around designing the producer-consumer core interaction is critical for building business models that leverage platform scale. "The design of the platform business model involves the design of a core interaction followed by the design of an open infrastructure that will enable and govern this interaction." 3. Build cumulative value and minimize interaction failure Know the key managerial decisions to focus on while managing platform scale businesses, all geared towards maximizing the ability of these businesses to enable interactions by scaling producer participation and minimizing interaction failure. "Platform scale is achieved by maximizing the repeatability and efficiency of the platform's core interaction." 4. Solve chicken and egg problems Platform business models face an all too familiar catch-22 chicken and egg problem on the way to scaling. This can be overcome by designing the conditions for sparking interactions. "The solution to the chicken-and-egg problem requires a bait that can break the vicious cycle of no activity." 5. Design viral engines Understand the drivers of viral growth in a world of networks and apply the viral canvas design-first approach to viral growth. "Virality is a business design problem, not a marketing or engineering effort. It requires design before optimization." 6. Account for reverse network effects Consider the counter view on platform scale and be on the lookout for conditions where scale can be detrimental to platform businesses. "The goal of platform scale is to ensure the simultaneous scaling of quantity and quality, of interactions." Platform Scale is a maker's guide for entrepreneurs, innovators and educators looking to understand and implement the inner workings of highly scalable platform business models. Review: In-depth coverage with case studies and strategy patterns for designing platform businesses that scale - Choudary provides theory, examples, real-world strategies, and models for understanding and designing platform businesses. This book describes how "pipe" businesses are being usurped by platforms and how to design a platform business. Platform Scale contains an up-to-date and insightful look at platform patterns and clear strategies for how growth and scale are achieved. The models Choudary uses are presented in illustrations at the end of each chapter and build on each other to form a complete picture of platform dynamics. He gives two diagnostic and strategic views of platforms: 1) the platform components and participants; and 2) the platform stack including data, infrastructure and services. He uses these throughout the book to illustrate how to achieve scale and create value. Choudary dissects various platform businesses and specific interactions to give detailed advice for interaction design, incentives, and network effects, and virality The key to designing a platform business is the interaction between consumers and producers. The platform must build incentives for producers, long term value for all participants, strong curation mechanisms for content, and effective filters for relevance. To achieve platform scale, owners must select the right type of interaction driver and remove friction between participants. At its inception, every platform must find a way to jump start its usage to gain critical mass for survival. Choudary provides a catalog of strategies, patterns, and case studies for each of these challenges. He includes a design canvas for both platforms and virality to help with planning and strategy. After reading this, you'll have several great models to use for analyzing your own and other platform businesses along with strategies for growth. There's only one other book on platforms which covers more ground: Platform Ecosystems by Amrit Tiwana. Review: A MUST READ for anyone wanting to build and scale an Internet Platform! - While this book may be 10 years old, having thoroughly it read through it and highlighted it TWICE, it is truly a timeless book worth its weight in 100 Bitcoms!! If someone has any thoughts of building a platform for producers and consumers to connect and mutually benefit, don't proceed before digesting the valuable principles of this book. THANK YOU for investing the time in documenting your wisdom, Sangeet, so that many of us can SCALE in businesses rather than FAIL in business! (I valued this book so much, I purchased 3 copies to hand out to my colleagues to read through and discuss together.)
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,213,874 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5,768 in Economics (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 462 Reviews |
A**R
In-depth coverage with case studies and strategy patterns for designing platform businesses that scale
Choudary provides theory, examples, real-world strategies, and models for understanding and designing platform businesses. This book describes how "pipe" businesses are being usurped by platforms and how to design a platform business. Platform Scale contains an up-to-date and insightful look at platform patterns and clear strategies for how growth and scale are achieved. The models Choudary uses are presented in illustrations at the end of each chapter and build on each other to form a complete picture of platform dynamics. He gives two diagnostic and strategic views of platforms: 1) the platform components and participants; and 2) the platform stack including data, infrastructure and services. He uses these throughout the book to illustrate how to achieve scale and create value. Choudary dissects various platform businesses and specific interactions to give detailed advice for interaction design, incentives, and network effects, and virality The key to designing a platform business is the interaction between consumers and producers. The platform must build incentives for producers, long term value for all participants, strong curation mechanisms for content, and effective filters for relevance. To achieve platform scale, owners must select the right type of interaction driver and remove friction between participants. At its inception, every platform must find a way to jump start its usage to gain critical mass for survival. Choudary provides a catalog of strategies, patterns, and case studies for each of these challenges. He includes a design canvas for both platforms and virality to help with planning and strategy. After reading this, you'll have several great models to use for analyzing your own and other platform businesses along with strategies for growth. There's only one other book on platforms which covers more ground: Platform Ecosystems by Amrit Tiwana.
M**T
A MUST READ for anyone wanting to build and scale an Internet Platform!
While this book may be 10 years old, having thoroughly it read through it and highlighted it TWICE, it is truly a timeless book worth its weight in 100 Bitcoms!! If someone has any thoughts of building a platform for producers and consumers to connect and mutually benefit, don't proceed before digesting the valuable principles of this book. THANK YOU for investing the time in documenting your wisdom, Sangeet, so that many of us can SCALE in businesses rather than FAIL in business! (I valued this book so much, I purchased 3 copies to hand out to my colleagues to read through and discuss together.)
M**P
Platform Scale provides some excellent frameworks to work from for designing platforms
I am an advocate for the Business Model Generation book by Osterwalder and Pigneur. Platform Scale takes the platform business model to the next level in terms of detail, strategy and practicalities. The challenge now is to put it into practice. In doing so, Platform Scale provides some excellent frameworks to work from for designing platforms, ie. the Platform Canvas and Platform Stack. In section 5, the Viral Canvas is also a very good tool for planning viral growth. There is a lot of detail to take in with this book and I just find frameworks (with additional notes) easier to recall information rather than having to refer to the book all the time. Therefore I would have given Platform Scale five stars if frameworks were provided for Section 3 Building Interaction-First Platforms and Section 4 Solving Chicken-and-Egg Problems (instead I will have to summarise myself). I very much look forward to reading Platform Revolution. As Choudary says, "the platformed world is here to stay".
P**D
Platform Scale has become our Bible
This book has been hands-down the best resource for our platform to date. Not only does the author clearly articulate his thoughts about the disruptive platform business model but he goes places with his theories and methodologies where all other technology pundits fall short. Platform design, as Sangeet points out, has allowed services like Uber, Facebook, and Twitter to get to the burgeoning user base and the multi-billion dollar valuations they have achieved to date. Sangeet pierces the veil of traditional analyses that chalk up theories of tremendous growth due to "technology," "technology making it more efficient," "software eating the world," or "growthhacking." He takes it one step further in saying that a platform must first and foremost tackle an already existing interaction in the world, isolating it, and handling that core interaction for users. It must first be able to operate without a technological foundation but it is the open and voluntary access for producers and consumers, specific rules of access (like 140 character messages), filters, tools and services to handle quality, and the ability to continuously match the market as it scales that leads to success. Platform Scale has become our Bible we appeal to everyday when making platform design decisions.
R**E
Great read for anyone building a platform.
The book is able to articulate clearly how to architect an interaction-first platform. The concepts in the book are in-depth and repeated throughout to reinforce the framework he lays out. From the concept of the architectural framework (network-marketplace community, infrastructure or data) stack, to the platform canvas concepts, he gives specific case studies and examples to support. As a tech entrepreneur, I highly encourage anyone who has not built a platform before to read this book and make sure that everyone on your team does as well. It will be critical to speak the same language.
A**N
A must read for anyone building a platform based business.
Excellent book on the shift from the pipe business model to the platform model that we see used by companies like Airbnb, Uber, UpWork, and several other thriving businesses. Sangeet does an excellent job of dividing each section into easy to understand chunks of information that allow you to quickly work through the book, but comprehend the information at the same time. I highly recommend this book to any platform based startup business or if you are just curious how many of the new tech giants, that are quickly becoming household names, came to be.
K**N
THE go to book if you want to understand the principles of building a platform business.
Most other books of this genre are little more than historical disections of emerging platforms. While this book also has that background, it provides a clear 6 step process to evaluate and create a roadmap for your business. Sangeet has also produced a 'platform canvas' which will surely be welcome to those who are already familiar with the Business Model Canvas, touted by folks like Steve Blank. I'm on my second reading!
S**L
The PLATFORM.
If you are starting your startup today, i.e., on the verge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution think again, you are going to have a tough time. The tried and tested approach has already filled the space, and you need to understand the value of a platform regarding a real PLATFORM (it is different from what you have learned in the past). The book gives a remarkable insight on how to build the future companies as a platform where data is the new dollar & the network effect is the new driver for scale. Sangeet is an exceptional Thinker & the entire book involves you in the cognitive processes while reading by giving new ideas to do things differently. Learn to build the companies that matter.
B**N
Hilfreiches Buch über Platformmärkte
Für den Job als Consultant in einer Unternehmensberatung hat mir das Buch ungemein weitergeholfen. Wer sich für das Thema interessiert, sollte das Buch in Betracht ziehen. Die Zeit war nicht vergeudet. Deswegen kann ich das Buch nur weiterempfehlen.
O**Z
This is one of the best books on the topic of interactive platform such as FB, Airbnb, etc.
This is one of my two prefered books on the topic together with Platform Revolution. You may find books with lots of words but zero ideas. None. Nil. Ninguna. Nada. This book is not the case. Every single paragraph is valuable and well thought. The author does not only knows his topic, worked on it and thought on it. The design of the book itself is wonderfull because it will take you from the preliminary ideas of design, business model depiction and further development of the platform. I.E the real life of platforma development. By the way, the authos does not waste your time telling stories about Amazon, FB or Zuckerberger or the like. He goes to his point. If you are looking for no excess of words and plenty of ideas and concepts on platforms, THIS IS IT. BUY IT! No kidding
M**E
Five Stars
Great book about platform thinking
A**O
Good reference
Valuable explanation about platform stuff including business and technical perspectives
A**R
Insightful
Very useful models and good examples of platform scaling as is happening around us in our daily lives. Makes you think about the business that the company I work for is active in.
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