Build Platforms: Be The New-Age Entrepreneur/Firm
Build Platforms: Be The New-Age Entrepreneur/Firm
In the medieval periods, Kings and Queens have all kinds of slaves, from sex slaves to gardening and farm ones to messengers and other kinds named in line with the tasks assigned to them.
During that age, news and most information travelled hand to hand, people to people, animals to people, symbols etc while entertainment was purely an on-site activity that required performers/artistes to exhibit/showcase their talents/crafts right in front of their audience in the form of amusement and/or enjoyment.
Centuries after, Marconi in 1895 and John Logie Baird in 1925 invented radio & television respectively which are the “platforms” that provided the opportunity for news and artistic endeavors to be transmitted to several audiences across multiple locations possibly at the same time.
Fast forward to the new millennium and in fact in our dear country Nigeria, firms such as interswitch, SystemSpecs etc instead of pursuing a banking license to start competing in the banking sector chose to simple build several “platforms” that powers the critical electronic operations of banks and in the process banks became their customers and when the wind of recapitalization swept many banks under, they simply kept moving up strong and expanding their territories. Today, Interswitch can conveniently buy a Bank if it wants to!
Ladies and gentlemen, the age we are right now is purely a knowledge driven age where “innovation and wealth” are incontestably standing at equilibrium making it become much clearer than ever that we have a major shift in the definition of the “factors of production” as we know it.
It is my humble submission that all serious Companies and Entrepreneurs as a matter necessity must think “platform”. So, rather than investing your time, money and other valuable resources into budgeting around competing in a fiercely contested markets/territories, just build a platform that will turn entities who would have hitherto been your competitors to your customers.
I would like to take you through 5 simple steps to building a sustainable platform that will convert your competition to clients. These steps would be developed around questions as they relate to your business internal/external structure viz a viz your business’ value chain:
- What input is common to you and your competitors?
- How much of these input is currently being consumed by you and your competitors?
- How many suppliers are available in that space supplying you the input? And by your judgment, do you think the suppliers are at the best efficiency level they can be?
- How freely available are these inputs right now?
- Do you think the input is rightly priced currently?
You may require some high level research efforts to get accurate answers to some of these questions but if they are adequately answered, they will definitely point to the types of decisions to be made. However, there are many other sophisticated research and/or management decision making tools that can be applied for better precision i.e Porter’s five forces, strategic value chain analysis, financial analytics, investment structuring frameworks, market efficiency and intelligence frameworks, scenario analysis etc
Happy New Year Everyone
?Abayomi Michael Osho