Beyond Uber: How the Platform Business Model Connects the World

BEYOND UBERNICK JOHNSON, HEAD OF PLATFORM

“Software alone is a commodity. There is nothing stopping anyone from copying the feature set, making it better, cheaper and faster.”

FRED WILSON, FOUNDER OF USV

a multi-sided business model focused on creating value by facilitating transactions between two or more interdependent groups (usually consumers and producers).

PLATFORM: (n)

OTHER USES OF ”PLATFORM”

COMPUTING PLATFORMS

PRODUCT FAMILY PLATFORMS

INDUSTRY PLATFORMS PLATFORM AS A SERVICE

Linear Business• Sells a product or service to a

consumer• Owns one side of the transaction• Products have inherent value

“I derive value from my use of a product.”

Platform Businesses• Facilitates a transaction between

multiple parties• Owns infrastructure that

facilitates the transaction• Platforms add network value

“I derive value from other people’s use of the platform.”

VS

THE VALUE CHAIN

THE VALUE ECOSYSTEM

PLATFORMS IN THE S&P 500

PLATFORMS TOTAL % PLATFORMS

United States 35 79 44.3%

China 17 21 80.9%

India 8 9 88.8%

UNICORN ($1BN+) STARTUPS

PLATFORM LINEAR

Average Valuation $4.51B $2.49B

Average Funding $46,240M $21,962M

Total Funding $642.22M $406.07M

% of Valuation / Funding 14.23% 16.34%

UNICORN ($1BN+) STARTUPS

Source: CB Insights, Crunchbase, Applico, August 2015

WHERE NEXT?

EDUCATION FINANCE

HEALTHCARE INTERNET OF THINGS

IDENTIFYING PLATFORM OPPORTUNITIES

Reduce high transaction costs or remove gatekeepers ZocDoc

Underserved groups that need each other GrubHub

Potential Complements iOS

Latent supply Airbnb

Large, fragmented supply Rubicon

C H E C K O U T

MODERN MONOPOLIESMay, 2016 (Macmillan)http://amzn.to/1PpXgGz

Applico:http://www.applicoinc.com

THANK YOU