PLATFORM TYPES I GROW

Industry Platforms and Consortia

Sometimes also called Industry Clouds, these platforms connect different types of industry participants within one vertical.

Value Propositions

Almost every industry has one, or more, platform companies trying to become the industry’s “go-to” marketplace for buyers, sellers, financial intermediaries, credentialers and other service providers to meet and transact more efficiently. Some of these companies are start-ups created by entrepreneurs with deep vertical knowledge and some are buyer- or supplier-led consortia created back during the Internet bubble. While most of the latter died, a few have thrived.

Strategic Issues

Industry cloud and consortia platforms face similar issues to the ones faced by my other clients, plus a few additional ones:

Acquisition Strategy

Many successful industry platforms have grown through add-on acquisitions and are seeking to emulate this strategy. I help develop and execute such strategies.

Serial Verticalization

The advantage of an industry approach is the depth of business processes a platform can tackle and the defensive moat that can be built as a result of this depth. The disadvantage is that a single industry may not support the type of return on investment expected by shareholders. I have helped several clients identify and expand to adjacent industries, or find non-adjacent industries with similar business processes.

Data Monetization

Because of their deep domain knowledge, industry cloud companies develop tremendous databases of information that can have tremendous value to industry participants. I help clients think through the technology architecture, privacy/ownership, and data presentation issues associated with becoming a data-as-a-service provider.

About Platforms and Consortia

Connect all of an industry’s participants on a common platform for automated transactions and collaborative project management.

Here are some examples:

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