The business of platforms and platforms as brands

In this "Influencers" podcast JP Kuehlwein talks with Sangeet Paul Choudary about the unique and exponential business- and brand building opportunities the platform business model offers – but also its limitations.    Web-based platform businesses seem to have grown into becoming dominant players in the most diverse industries like transportation (think Uber), hospitality (Airbnb), social media (Facebook), entertainment and communication (Apple and iTunes) or knowledge management (Google), retail (Amazon) and so forth.  They have become some of the most highly valuable assets in the world – it seems like overnight.  -- No wonder that there is an army of start-ups trying to convert yet more sectors to be organized by the platforms they design.  And no wonder that traditional manufacturers and service providers try to figure out how to counter this development or – increasingly – get ahead of it and become platforms themselves.  Jp and Sangeet will talk about the essential components of platform business and how to harness 'network effects'.  They will discuss how to predict if a platform will grow to become a desirable brand and financially attractive business long-term.  What drives the success of an Amazon, Uber or Facebook? How can traditional 'pipeline businesses'  compete?  What are the  vulnerabilities and downsides of this business models when it comes to branding, financials, operations and organization?    JP Kuehlwein is Leader of the Marketing and Communication Institutes at The Conference Board and Principal at Ueber-Brands Consulting, New York. He consults, writes and teaches on the subject of brand elevation applying over 20 years of marketing and management leadership experience in the Consumer Products industry. His clients include CPG blue-chip and platform-based start-ups, alike. Sangeet is a consultant based in Singapore and entrepreneur in residence at the renowned INSEAD Business School as well as a fellow at the Center for Global Enterprise. He has co-authored what has become the 'bible' on how platforms work -- entitled "Platform Revolution" in 2017 together with Prof Geoffrey Parker of Dartmouth and Prof Marshall Van Alstyne of Boston College and continues to research what drives success and failure in the platform space. www.platformthinkinglabs.com. To get an invite-only access and a 100% discount code to Sangeet's course on platforms, write to [email protected] with the Subject: Playbook Access.