Platform Variety

November 02, 2022

Read The Full Prompt

Digital technologies give rise to a variety of platforms. Think about how iTunes makes apps available for iPhone users or Match.com helps those seeking partners.

For this assignment, please pick ONE of the following two options:

1) Identify a firms that operates a platform. Describe how it creates and capture value, and evaluate its scalability and sustainability.  To make it interesting, please stay away from well-known platforms such as those owned by Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Netflix.

2) Identify a firm that tried to work with a platform (e.g., Epic on the Apple platform, or Zynga on the Facebook platform). Describe the opportunities and challenges in this firm’s journey as it tried to create and capture value. Again, evaluate its sustainability.

In both cases, stress the strategy for value creation, but feel free to make observations about aspects of value capture.

750 words max

Assignment

Create an approximately 750-word post. Make your contribution by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2.

Please use graphics, data, videos, and links to other sites to corroborate your points. These additional links do not count against your word limit.

Please also comment on three other posts. Comments are due by 9 a.m. on November 3.

Selected posts will be discussed in class. Please prepare a 2-3 min summary of your blog post before class.

 

If you have any problems with the d3.hbs.org platform, please and visit the digital platform resources page for helpful advice. or email diplatform@hbs.edu for help.

Submitted (41)

Bagging Up Value at Instacart
Julien Clayton
Last modified on November 2, 2022 at 4:13 pm
In 10 years Instacart has grown from a scrappy startup to a household name with a $13B valuation. Is their business model sustainable at scale though?
Udaan – Digitizing and Transforming the Indian Trade Industry
Karthik Sajikumar
Last modified on October 30, 2022 at 10:24 pm
Udaan is India’s largest business-to-business e-commerce platform. It has operations across categories including lifestyle, electronics, home & kitchen, staples, fruits and vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys and general merchandise.
Duolingo: Platform to Learn a New Language
Isha Khambra
Last modified on November 1, 2022 at 10:58 pm
Duolingo is an EdTech platform that leverages gamification thereby helping millions of people learn language in a fun and easy way.
Gympass: Classpass reimagined for B2B
Steph Denoyer
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 11:21 pm
Gympass offers a solution to provide wellness as a benefit to corporations and their employees, as firms are competing to attract, support and retain top talent.
A Closer Look at South Korea’s Beloved “Neighborhood Market” Platform
Susan Cho
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 2:14 pm
What exactly makes Karrot work and does it make sense to go global?
Opensea: the first and largest marketplace for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Carlos Ludowieg
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 5:57 pm
Opensea: the first and largest marketplace for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
StockX: Bullish on NFTs’ Potential to Transform Resale Marketplace Economics
Nthato Moagi
Last modified on November 2, 2022 at 5:56 pm
StockX, the world's largest resale marketplace, is attempting to leverage Blockchain Technologies and NFTs to overcome operational friction & expenses and improve profitability. Will this innovative approach spur growth and engage customers, or burn bridges with key stakeholders like Nike?
A Little Ray of Sunshine – How BlockEnergy Platform is connecting Roofs to Rooftop Solar
Kate Saulenas
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 7:25 pm
BlockEnergy helps connect homeowners with utilities to create more resilient energy infrastructure
The Other (less Epic) Epic.
Saad Hirani
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 5:21 pm
Epic Systems, a system of record / the data layer on which healthcare systems sit, is benefitting from the decision to open up access to its data to everyone.
Teladoc: Getting your healthcare from anywhere
Aniruddh
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 6:00 pm
Teladoc - getting healthcare from anywhere
Zillow — A Strong Study in Defying Disruption
Jonathan
Last modified on November 2, 2022 at 6:00 pm
How Zillow has created a difficult to disrupt platform through strong complementary services
OnlyFans: Democratizing the creator economy
Daniel Quiroga
Posted on November 28, 2022 at 6:40 pm
OnlyFans is a subscription-based social media service based in London, United Kingdom. The platform allows creators to charge for access to their content through a subscription fee. In OnlyFans words: “OnlyFans empowers creators to own their full potential.”
Swiggy: From food-delivery to comprehensive urban convenience provider
Anand Trivedi
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 5:56 pm
Swiggy is transforming customer value creation and capture through an integrated multi-platform operating model.
Blockchain Protocols as Platforms: Lightning Labs and Building the “Layer-Two” for Bitcoin
Louis Hunt
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 5:54 pm
Can Lightning Labs facilitate an app ecosystem and platform to help Bitcoin achieve greater scalability?
Copart – The Monopoly You’ve Never Heard Of
James Scott
Last modified on November 2, 2022 at 9:39 am
"Think of [Copart] like the local sewer system. We’re a utility. Nothing can get rid of us - nothing. ... We are like the septic tanks of the sewer system. You can’t have the system without us.” - Willis Johnson, [...]
Grainger – B2B eCommerce Perfection
Riya C
Posted on November 2, 2022 at 5:51 pm
Industrial supply parts eCommerce platform - the perfect platform?
Substack: when paid newsletters beat the NYT
ecerri
Posted on November 3, 2022 at 3:02 am
The creator economy is all the rage nowadays. A “creator”, person skilled at their craft such as videos or writing, attracts a significant audience which can then monetize – disrupting traditional media and creative-type employment. Can Substack become the platform [...]
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