Sangeet Paul Choudary - Platform Scale: How an emerging business model helps startups build large empires with minimum investment

Platform Scale explains the design of a family of emerging digital business models that enables todays startups to achieve rapid scale: the platform business model. 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 is a builders manual for anyone building a platform business today. It lays out a structured approach to designing and growing a platform business model and addresses the key factors that lead to the success and failure of these businesses.

The leading resource for understanding business models for the networked age.

PATRICK VLASKOVITS,
New York Times Bestselling Author of The Lean Entrepreneur

Many understand the power of platforms. Few understand how they work. Only Sangeet tells you how to build them.

NIR EYAL,
Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of Hooked

Sangeets work brings science and structure to a host of emerging digital business models.

MICHAEL KARNJANAPRAKORN,
Founder and CEO, SkillShare

The go-to person when it comes to understanding digital economics.

ABC MORNINGS RADIO TALK SHOW,
G20 World Summit 2014

AUTHOR

Sangeet Paul Choudary is the founder of Platform Thinking Labs, a C-level advisor to leading executives globally, a frequent keynote speaker, a fellow at the Centre for Global Enterprise and an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at INSEAD Business School.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

Geoffrey G Parker is a professor at Tulane University and a research scientist at MIT. Marshall Van Alstyne is a professor at Boston University and a research scientist at MIT.

Sangeet, Geoffrey, and Marshall are also the co-authors of the book Platform Revolution and the co-chairs of the MIT Platform Strategy Summit held annually at the MIT Media Labs.

This book is designed by Ideactio.

Today, we all understand the Internet business is not the software business. We strive to build networks and platforms.

Evan Williams,

Founder of Twitter, Medium and Blogger,
Medium is not a publishing tool

PLATFORM SCALE

Sangeet Paul Choudary

How an emerging business model helps startups build large empires with minimum investment

Copyright 2015 by Sangeet Paul Choudary

All rights reserved

First Edition

For information about permissions to reproduce selections from the book, or about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact support@platformthinkinglabs.com.

ISBN No. 978-981-09-6757-4

Platform Thinking Labs Pte. Ltd.

For Devika

PRAISE

A compelling framework for building platforms, networks and marketplaces. Essential reading for every entrepreneur and innovator.

JON ORINGER,
Founder and CEO, Shutterstock

The leading resource for understanding business models for the networked age. Highly recommended for entrepreneurs and innovation professionals looking to build new platforms and networked businesses.

PATRICK VLASKOVITS,
New York Times Bestselling Author of The Lean Entrepreneur

Many understand the power of platforms. Few understand how they work. Only Sangeet tells you how to build them.

NIR EYAL,
Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of Hooked

Sangeets work brings science and structure to a host of emerging digital business models. A must read for every serious entrepreneur and innovator building marketplaces or platforms.

MICHAEL KARNJANAPRAKORN,
Founder and CEO, SkillShare

The go-to authority for the latest on platforms. Impeccably ties theory and business practices with tangible example. His insight and foresight are tremendously helpful.

REUVEN GORSHT,
Global Vice President, SAP

The bible of digital media and emerging business models. I would strongly recommend Sangeets work on this topic to CIOs and Innovation leaders waiting to unlock growth using digital.

UMANG BEDI ,
Managing Director, South Asia, Adobe

Unquestionably the paramount mind in platform thinking.

ANDREW GUNSBERG,
Television Host of Australian Idol, The Bachelor, Live To Dance, The Hot Hits Live from LA

The go-to person when it comes to understanding digital economics.

ABC MORNINGS RADIO TALK SHOW,
Australian Radio, at the G20 World Summit 2014

An excellent source for managers to develop platform thinking and stay up-to-date on the dynamics of platform-based markets.

PROF. FENG ZHU, Professor,
Harvard Business School

A forefront researcher into how businesses can better use metadata and current technology.

4BC 1116 NEWS TALK,
Australian Radio, at the G20 World Summit 2014

Sangeet is one of the deepest thinkers I know. He has helped countless startups understand and unlock their core value as platform businesses. His work sits next to Clayton Christensen and Geoffrey Moore.

MENG WONG,
Co-founder, JFDI

One of the best innovation strategists in the world and an expert on building platforms. His work is a must-read for entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators worldwide.

KEVIN DEWALT,
Former EIR at NSF and Founder, SoHelpful.Me

Sangeets work provides amazing insight into the success and failure of todays business models, a resource that entrepreneurs and innovators cannot afford to ignore.

FANG SOONG CHOU,
General Partner, Pix Vine Capital

Sangeets platform analysis covers the topic with a depth thats unique and desperately needed. Its forced me to rethink how I would structure digital business models to leverage the gains from being a platform v product.

GEORGE BABU,
Founder of Rypple, acquired by Salesforce

Sangeets insights reflect his wisdom across not only platform economics but wider digital disruption issues.

CAT MATSON,
Panel Moderator, G20 Summit Global Cafe, Chief Digital Officer, City of Brisbane

Should be part of the curriculum of every business school throughout the world.

KJETIL OLSEN,
Vice President - International, UpWork

Ive assigned this as mandatory reading for my C-team.

GARY FORNI,
CEO, TuffWerx and former Global Director of Marketing, Intel

A must-read for anyone in the platform business.

AVROM GILBERT,
COO of Seeking Alpha

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sangeet Paul Choudary is a widely published researcher and advisor to C-level executives globally, best known for his work on platform business models and multi-sided network effects. He is the co-chair of the MIT Platform Strategy Summit, held annually at the MIT Media Labs in Boston. Sangeet also acts as an industry advisor to the Global Platform Data Project at Stanford University and is an advisor at 500Startups in Silicon Valley. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD Business School and a Global Fellow at the Centre for Global Enterprise in New York.

Sangeet is an advisor to C-level executives globally and has advised CXOs and board members in multiple industries across Europe, North & South America, Asia and Australia, on the design and implementation of platform business models and network effects.

Sangeet is a regular keynote speaker at leading industry conferences globally (represented by Celebrity Speakers Ltd.) and was invited to speak at the G20 World Summit 2014 events in Brisbane. He has lectured at leading universities in the US, including Harvard Business School, Carnegie Mellon University and the MIT Media Labs. He is a board member (advisory) of CoFounders Lab, the worlds largest community of technology entrepreneurs.

At the G20 World Summit 2014 in Brisbane, he was hailed by the Australian media as a forefront researcher into how businesses can use metadata and technology and the go-to person when it comes to understanding digital economics.