Launching a Rocket off Someone Else’s Back:How to build on other platforms

Josh Elman @joshelman

May 1, 2015

Just Yesterday…

This has gone on for a while

Should you even touch a platform?

YES

Short answer:

Everybody starts at zero

And everybody starts by hustling

Virality is a goal

Longer answer:

1) Companies start with zero users. They need to get in front of users to grow.

2) Big platforms have a lot of users. There are lots ways to get in front of those users.

We live in an era of HUGE platforms

3.5B searches per day

1.3B users

1B+ active users

800M active users

600M active users

300M active users

300M active users

300M users

growing very fast

What would they love to see:

the best results for a query

friends sharing more content

users sharing and watching more videos

friends and family talking more

friends and family talking more

sharing and viewing more pictures

sharing and viewing more content

professionals sharing more content

more content

Partnerships sure can be nice…

But very rare and hard to balance

Stop asking and start building:

Platforms are partnerships

Are you sure? Platforms seem so shaky

Why does a company want a platform?1) Their roadmap is HUGE and they can only build so

many things at once to achieve goals (“Top 20”)“Every user or customer wants their own special feature. How can we build features 21-1000?”

2) The fastest way to more engineers is to outsource “What if we could entice people to build things for us?”

3) Platforms offer a powerful network effect“If everyone uses us, it’s harder for them to leave”

Let’s open a platform!

Every successful platform needs:1) Clear incentives for developers to get value

Show me the users Show me the money $$$

2) Clear value for usersMore to do on the product = more time, more fun

3) Trust from usersUsers have to trust the platform protects them

Why does a company fear a platform?

Why does a company fear a platform?

Platforms have to keep changing1) The users of the product want new experiences

If any consumer product stops getting better, it will die

2) The platform’s business model changes or solidifiesOpportunities to make money shift platform strategy

3) Users stop using appsThe platform has to address bad behaviors and increase user trust

Some examples

YouTube and MySpace (Embedding)

Slide, Zynga, and Facebook

Socialcam and Facebook

Facebook and media sites

Twitter, Clients, and Hootsuite

Twitter and Meerkat

Instagram is a huge success

Dubsmash and Whatsapp

The next platforms!FB Messenger Snapchat? Pinterest?

Platforms can still work for you…1) Remember the value exchange

Give the platform’s users better features, content, etcThe platform gives you users and usage

2) They are an accelerant. Never get comfortablePlatforms always change. Take advantage of a moment.

3) Only core users who come to your front door matterDon’t ever get confused with big numbers of visitors

Launching a Rocket off Someone Else’s Back:How to build on other platforms

Josh Elman @joshelman

May 1, 2015