Book
Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms
David S. Evans, Richard Schmalensee · Harvard Business Review Press Paid Intermediate
Evans and Schmalensee studied why most attempts at multisided platforms fail, and a recurring reason is founders never nailed a precise definition of either side before trying to scale both. This gives you failure cases alongside the well known winners, which is rare in marketplace writing. Read the chapters on pricing and design once your two ICPs are drafted.
- Most multisided platform attempts fail, often from spreading thin across undefined segments
- Pricing and rules should be designed around your narrowest, clearest definition of each side
- Failure cases teach as much here as the familiar success stories do
