Driving Platform Innovation

October 17, 2019

Read The Full Prompt

Digital technologies give rise to a variety of platforms. Think about how EBay matches suppliers and buyers, or iTunes makes apps available for iPhone users.

For this assignment, please identify companies/organizations that you think have an innovative platform. Focus on how it creates and captures value. Why are they innovative? Identify the core processes for the platform, and describe how those processes create value for participants, such as buyers or sellers. If this platform invites applications or advertising, explain what value goes to the applications or advertisers. Identify two or three interesting elements of the platform, such as its scale, prevalence of multi-homing, or pricing. Stress the strategy for value creation, but feel free to make observations about aspects of the platform’s value capture strategy. (To make it interesting, please stay away from platforms owned by the big five – Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.)

800 words max

Submitted (23)

TikTok: Transforming Video-Sharing
Kemi Akenzua
Last modified on October 18, 2019 at 3:23 pm
TikTok is part of the most valuable startup in the world, yet few smartphone users outside of Gen Z have not heard of, much less used, it. When ranked by number of daily active users, TikTok is the only social [...]
Tentrr – Your Private Camping Experience
cpassarella@mba2020.hbs.edu
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 11:15 pm
Tentrr is a shared economy camping company that connects those looking for a fun camping experience with private landowners who share a portion of their land in order to facilitate an awesome camping experience.
Old Clothes, New Strategies: ThredUP’s Evolution
C. Williams
Posted on October 16, 2019 at 10:18 pm
ThredUP, the self-proclaimed “world’s largest fashion resale marketplace,” began as a pure multi-sided platform, matching sellers with buyers to trade their clothing directly. In an effort to create a better experience and more value for both sides, ThredUP pivoted to [...]
Kaggle: How a Platform Democratizes AI
Sarkis
Posted on October 17, 2019 at 8:23 am
How a platform initially coded in a Bondi bedroom became the world's center for data science
Airbnb – Stay in a home away from home wherever you travel
Dominika Sarnecka
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 6:44 pm
Airbnb has taken travel industry by storm. Twenty years ago letting strangers stay in your home when you are away for vacation seemed unthinkable. Today, staying in a hotel and staying in a local's home, or "AirBnB-ing", seem equally favorable [...]
StockX – Trading Exchange for Sneakers
Keagan Pang
Posted on October 16, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Buy high, sell higher. Sneakers are too big to fail! - Overheard in a Nike elevator, probably.
Would you rather lead a light or a heavy company?
Luca Vendraminelli
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 11:34 pm
Technology changes habits. It seems like it was only a few years ago, when we had no choice but to go to the grocery store and wander around the shelves and be stuck in endless lines...
The democratization of fine art: How much for 0.02% of that Picasso?
Rocco Puno
Posted on October 17, 2019 at 1:09 am
Using blockchain technology, Maecenas is democratizing the fine art market by building a platform that tokenizes masterpieces. Similar to the way an individual can own a piece of a large company, so too can an investor own a piece of [...]
KRY: Adressing rising healthcare cost with platform technology
Peter Wintermaier
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 7:47 pm
Swedish telemedicine startup KRY connects the right doctor with the right patient at the right time.
Nextdoor Platform: Connecting Neighbors
KO
Posted on October 17, 2019 at 7:40 am
According to Nextdoor, “There are so many ways our neighbors can help us, we just need an easier way to connect with them.”
AI-as-a-service with Scale
Tommy PF
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 5:10 pm
Scale combines human intelligence and platform algorithms/services to enable companies to build better AI. It has created a platform that connects companies and contractors who can label data.
Power Ledger: democratizing clean energy
Short Apple
Last modified on October 17, 2019 at 12:16 am
Through its blockchain-enabled P2P trading platform, this Aussie startup is matching reneable power supply and demand in decentralized microgrids.
Carmax
Paxton
Posted on October 17, 2019 at 7:56 am
Carmax is one of the leading car resale platforms that allows buyers and sellers to seamlessly exchange cars.
Coinbase Envisions an Open Financial System
Jackson Howell
Last modified on October 17, 2019 at 12:41 am
Coinbase’s vision extends beyond simply trading digital currencies, with the stated goal of becoming the platform at the center of a revolutionary, "open financial system". Its core processes can be divided into five primary lines of business: Coinbase, Coinbase Pro [...]
GoodRx or GreatRx?
LoremIpsum
Last modified on October 17, 2019 at 8:04 am
GoodRx is taking the healthcare industry by storm. In an industry that relied on trade secrets to thrive, GoodRx in employing a unique digital platform strategy to increase price transparency to end customers. What makes them click?
Getaround’s platform: A vision of a world where all cars are shared
Leonardo Leal
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 11:10 pm
By focusing on the growing need for millennials and working professionals to minimize their transportation costs, Getaround connects car owners with renters through a scalable platform that benefits both the supply and demand side through the use of innovative technology.
Yelp: A Recipe for Success
Leo Li
Last modified on October 17, 2019 at 12:52 am
Yelp isn’t merely a review platform, but a one-stop shop that provides a comprehensive set of services for consumers through vertical expansions from the upstream (information & review seeking) to the downstream (product purchasing).
Mighty Networks, the new digital fireside for niche audiences
CM
Posted on October 17, 2019 at 2:01 am
Mighty Networks is allowing online brands to create the customer’s digital experience of tomorrow through its platform.  MN can be used by businesses to gather and connect online communities around discussions on specific interests, reach directly to members, bolster interaction [...]
DroneBase: Business at 400 Feet
Matthieu
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 7:27 pm
DroneBase is a platform that connects customers needing aerial photos or videos and professional drone pilots.It streamlined the creation process and made it easy for companies to leverage its proprietary technology and pilots’ network to attain aerial footage at a [...]
OYO – Standardising budget hotels across India
Riddhi Shah
Last modified on October 17, 2019 at 7:59 am
OYO is an online,curated, hotel room marketplace that provides reliable and quality budget rooms.
Steam
Theon Greyjoy
Last modified on October 16, 2019 at 9:46 pm
How a tool for fixing an annoying problem for an online game became a money printing press (literally billions of dollars)
Lending Club: A Marketplace for Loans
MAO
Posted on October 16, 2019 at 10:32 pm
Lending Club is a platform that matches loan borrowers and lenders.
Turning Paper into Gold: How EquityZen helps create markets for illiquid stocks
Crimson_Ranger
Posted on October 16, 2019 at 11:24 am
EquityZen has created a platform that helps employees get value from their equity compensation and investors get access to some of the most sought after opportunities in the economy.