Launching a Rocketship Off Someone Else's Back

Launching a Rocketship Off
Someone Else’s Back
How to Build on Other Platforms
Josh Elman

Everybody warns you not to build on top
of other company’s platforms.

Which have gone on for a while..

And platforms spin it like this
“More control for our community” “To help further our
company’s vision”

Is it worth the risk to build on
a platform?

The Short Answer:
Yes.
(It’s the only way to get big.)

And everyone starts by hustling
Snapchat CEO
Evan Spiegel
originally marketed
his app by email
blasting his network
and posting in
online forums.

Hustle: Building on top of Craigslist
In the early days, the
Airbnb founders built an
integration with Craigslist
for their ads to reach a
larger audience. (They
also sold politically themed
cereal to get out of debt.)

Hustle: Google Friends Newsletter
Google co-founder
Larry Page sent out a
monthly newsletter to
inform fans about
company news.
(The company looked a
lot different back then)

Virality is the goal
... but you don’t have any users.

The Longer Answer:
You need to get in front of users to grow.
All companies start with zero users.
You need to go where the users already are.
Big platforms have lots of users.
&

We live in an era of HUGE platforms
3.5B searches per day
1.5B users
1B+ active users
1B active users
700M active users
400M active users
300M active users
300M users
Growing very fast

These companies want to grow too..
Better results for a query
Friends sharing more content
Users sharing and watching more videos
Friends and family talking more
Sharing and viewing more pictures
Sharing and viewing more content
Professionals sharing more content
More content
Friends and family talking more

Partnerships used to require massive
BD Deals.
The little startup Google
partnered with Yahoo to
power their search
function until 2004. Today,
partnerships between big
and small companies are
harder to come by than
ever.

Platforms are partnerships.
Stop asking and start building.
The New Partnership:

Let’s try and understand why
companies open a platform.
But first..

Every company has a massive product wish list with
thousands of features.

But even the biggest companies have resource constraints.
“The Top 20”
If they are lucky,
companies can
build out their top
top 10 features,
maybe 20.

Their roadmap is
huge and they
must prioritize top
features.
Why would a company want a platform?
Platforms offer a
powerful network
effect.
The fastest way to
more features is to
get others to build
them.
1 2 3

If we build it (a platform), they
(developers) will come.
True or False?

False.
Developers will only come when there are
clear incentives and opportunities to build a big
business on top of a platform.
True or False?

Every successful platform needs:
Clear incentives for developers to get value.
“Show me the users or money!”
Clear value for users.
More to do on the product = more time & more fun
Trust from users.
Users have to trust that the platform protects them.
1
2
3

1
2
But here’s what they are afraid of:
“Pee in the pool”
Platforms fear developers will spam their users.
“Robbers”
Platforms fear losing data and monetization
opportunities. If you are building a core feature, they
may compete with you or even just block you.

The win-win platform model
Startup
Massive userbase
Useful features
More
engagement,
More $$$
Quickly gain
users

Platforms are not there to help you
build your company. Their goal is to
grow their own business.
But, remember:

Knowing that, here are things to keep in
mind when building on platforms.
Do not fill gaps.
Don’t build a product that solves a temporary
deficiency in the platform.
Do not expect platforms to be constant.
Prepare for inevitable platform shifts.
1
2

Why do platforms shift?
Users of the main product want new experiences.
If any consumer product stops getting better, it will die.
The platform’s business model will keep evolving.
Opportunities to make money can radically shift the platform
strategy.
Users stop trusting or using apps.
The platform has to address bad behaviors and increase
user trust.
1
2
3

Build your product to be
independent.
Only use the platform for
acceleration.

Examples of hitting the platform risk
Slide built on top of Facebook, but failed to generate “front door” direct traffic
and lost users when Facebook shifted their platform.
SocialCam used the Facebook graph and created an auto-share loop. Facebook
found the loop to not match user’s expectations, and changed its algorithms.
Meerkat used the Twitter social graph to accelerate growth, but Twitter shut
them down to promote Periscope, the live streaming app they had bought.

Examples of success
Instagram grew quickly by making it easy to post photos on Facebook and
Twitter, but also successfully became a destination that users visited everyday.
YouTube made it simple to embed videos on Myspace, and then drew the
Myspace user base to their site to watch more content.
Dubsmash integrated with WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for easy
distribution, creating a viral share loop.

Platforms can work for you.
Remember the value exchange.
In exchange for giving the platform users better content or
features, the platform provides users and usage.
They are an accelerant. Never get comfortable.
Platforms can change. Take advantage of the moment at hand.
Only core users who come through your front door matter.
Don’t ever get confused with big numbers of visitors who pass
through.
1
2
3

Again..
Build your product to be
independent.
Only use the platform for
acceleration.

New platforms to start thinking about
Slack Pinterest FB Messenger
(Maybe Snapchat?)

Launching a Rocketship Off Someone Else's Back

Launching a Rocketship Off Someone Else's Back

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Launching a Rocketship Off Someone Else's Back