#500Distro

1. Launching a Rocket off Someone Else’s Back:
How to build on other platforms
Josh Elman @joshelman
May 1, 2015

2. Just Yesterday…

3. This has gone on for a while

4. Should you even touch a platform?

5. YES
Short answer:

6. Everybody starts at zero

7. And everybody starts by hustling

8. Virality is a goal

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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

13. Partnerships sure can be nice…

14. But very rare and hard to balance

15. Stop asking and start building:
Platforms are partnerships

16. Are you sure? Platforms seem so shaky

17. 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”

18. Let’s open a platform!

19. Every successful platform needs:
1) Clear incentives for developers to get value
Show me the users
Show me the money $$$
2) Clear value for users
More to do on the product = more time, more fun
3) Trust from users
Users have to trust the platform protects them

20. Why does a company fear a platform?

21. Why does a company fear a platform?

22. Platforms have to keep changing
1) 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 solidifies
Opportunities to make money shift platform strategy
3) Users stop using apps
The platform has to address bad behaviors and increase
user trust

24. Some examples

25. YouTube and MySpace (Embedding)

26. Slide, Zynga, and Facebook

27. Socialcam and Facebook

28. Facebook and media sites

29. Twitter, Clients, and Hootsuite

30. Twitter and Meerkat

31. Instagram is a huge success

32. Dubsmash and Whatsapp

33. The next platforms!
FB Messenger Snapchat? Pinterest?

34. Platforms can still work for you…
1) Remember the value exchange
Give the platform’s users better features, content, etc
The platform gives you users and usage
2) They are an accelerant. Never get comfortable
Platforms always change. Take advantage of a moment.
3) Only core users who come to your front door matter
Don’t ever get confused with big numbers of visitors

35. Launching a Rocket off Someone Else’s Back:
How to build on other platforms
Josh Elman @joshelman
May 1, 2015