In this final episode of the “New Frontiers” season, the team examines strategies for scaling a platform business.  Platforms require volumes of both suppliers and customers/buyers, so how do you achieve this? 

An interesting conundrum when starting a platform is the “chicken or egg” dilemma – suppliers won’t sign on without trusting that the buyers will be there.  Buyers won’t participate if there aren’t a significant number of suppliers.  The team discusses different ways to solve this early-stage platform problem.

In this episode you will learn:

• How a gas card scaled it’s platform through an investment in attracting customers
• How X-box scaled its developer relationships in its early days
• How Google used a cooperative platform strategy to counteract Apple’s approach

Here are some quotes from the team’s discussion:

• “Segmentation of suppliers will help platform owners strategically attract them.”
• “Instagram’s platform developed organically after being, originally, a one-sided utility”
• “Influencer marketing can be highly-effective in attracting suppliers.”

We hope you enjoy the discussion and gain some helpful insights!