The Unlimited Inventory

My first multi-sided platform lesson

It turns out the biggest thing to happen to me at BIBA2019 last week was the realisation that we had a true shot at building something huge. (And that I could use Neo from the Matrix in a post about it.)

Unless you’re a bit of a geek, I wouldn’t expect you to instantly spot that Worry+Peace has transitioned into a Multi-Sided Platform. We connect buyers and providers - giving both sides benefit, earning a revenue stream at the same time. Everyone wins if we do that right. 

Phase 1 for any ‘MSP’ is to muster the choices. There are no chicken or egg issues. Without the providers, the platform cannot offer great value to buyers and would fail to “ignite” and grow. Thankfully, as I’ve said to a few people - we now estimate to have over 300 products listed - or in the pipeline - by one or more providers. 

Let’s dwell on this a moment. Words matter. I said, “estimate” and “pipeline” in the same breath. You might have mistaken that purely for good salesmanship. It’s actually a little more than that. Product listings are kind of going “internally” viral. 100%. That number will not be the same next month and actually could be a growth factor bigger. I can only help the speed of this...faster, of course!

There was a penny drop moment when a patron of our stand at BIBA2019 asked: “Do you have anyone listing for %this% Insurance?”

“No, I don’t think so…. not yet.” I said too soon. We did. More than one, too.

Then it happened again. And again. Three questions by that same person - three genuinely surprised searches by me. 

I don’t know why I was surprised - this is the point and value proposition of the platform, after all. Consider - if you have dozens upon dozens of providers with unlimited staff “admin” licences, creating content across up to 770 product lines unrestricted, at some point the things they create are going to be ahead of your ability to track them in real time without an algorithmic support crew. There’s a self-replicating track you’re on. 

For an MSP this moment is critical. It’s a key milestone in proving the concept of the model. A simple truth is that I think we’ve done a great job in creating viable terms for the providers. 

Those patient and idealistic (because they know who we’re disrupting, potentially) can afford the very reasonable license fees - with an escrow model and better terms as their reward. Whereas even the cynical and curious can spend a few minutes grabbing their piece of land - wait to see if things pop, trading off some of the big early-adopter license benefits. Both should be happy. Congestion of a fair choice should then be inevitable for the lucky buyers!

We’ve genuinely seen that once providers sift through the various little complexities (predictable for a new platform when you’re onboarding the choice side) they see a clear benefit. 

Given insurance is far more complex than private car hire, takeaway food or renting a space - it’s fitting that a custom built MSP for our great sector would have to have some nuances that take a good demo to get your head around. It's a chess board. It includes lots of pieces. Seeing the board is the issue, understanding the fun game at play.

Remember - we’re on the most complex bit! Phase 1. 

Phase 2 is to shout to buyers that the doors are open. I can’t wait to share our next huge update which includes a lot more about that plan. Our message to buyers will be simpler by far than to providers. Just that they can find and manage a huge range of insurance choice - from a place that brings balance to the market and doesn't take a cut. It’s distilled into our messaging: “We don’t sell insurance, we connect it.” People don’t like buying insurance, in the main - those providing it could do with an arbitrator. 

Given that, as time tends forward, more demos will be done; more providers will onboard one of two ways, then they will share their embracing of the model with their peers, supply chain, partners - this trend is likely to do what it already is doing. It’s organically grown. We have to work hard to keep pushing the platform on. A new update has cut the product listing creation time down hugely! 

The "Unlimited" Inventory is a realistic prospect - because there are literally thousands of permutations of products and search terms waiting to be built by thousands of providers' people. And that’s just in the UK. There is a cap to the number of insurance product varients - but our inventory will NEVER be limited like choices are on searches or PCWs by their very nature. Because the inventory listing is OWNED and created by the very folks who make them. I guess you could say that makes us collectively the Neo to the others' Agent - if we were in the Matrix, of course. (If you know the quote that follows, I like you more.)

It’s my ambition to create a place that connects everything insurance - ensuring in doing it doesn't distort fair choice or the underlying concept of Pooling Risk efficiently. If this little anecdote says anything it’s that we have a great shot at getting there.

Are you in, yet? You probably need a demo... What have you got to lose, apart from a head start?