The race to platform models closely resembles the 1848 gold rush: many are called, few are chosen. For SME and mid-cap leaders, the real question is not becoming the next Uber, but understanding where value really lies.
Published on 2018-10-25 by Nathalie Lamborghini Dumas.
The race to platform models closely resembles the 1848 gold rush: many are called, few are chosen. For SME and mid-cap leaders, the real question is not becoming the next Uber, but understanding where value really lies.
"All that glitters is not gold." This medieval proverb has never been more relevant than today, when every company dreams of becoming a platform.
1848-2001: same frenzy, same illusions
The California Gold Rush attracted 300,000 prospectors. A few became millionaires. Most left as poor as they came.
The "platform rush" began on January 9, 2001, when Apple announced iTunes. Since then, Amazon, Google, Salesforce, Facebook have fueled the dream. Today, becoming a platform remains the most coveted objective. Who doesn't want to be the Amazon of their sector, the Uber of their vertical?
The platform model has become the new Eldorado of business. But as in 1848, the gold isn't where the crowd rushes.
Technology platform or business model: the confusion that costs dearly
First fatal error: confusing the technology platform and the business model that exploits it. Technology is the easy part. It will be useless without the right business model.
What is a platform, in the strategic sense? It's an architecture that connects multiple groups of actors (suppliers, customers, partners) to facilitate direct exchanges and create network effects. Value lies in orchestration, not in ownership.
Intermediation platforms (Airbnb, Uber, PayPal) facilitate "one to one" transactions. Production platforms (YouTube, App Store) allow a creator to reach a large audience "one to many." In both cases, the platform owns neither the assets nor the content: it organizes flows.
The virtuous circle : and the funding wall
To work, a platform must solve the chicken-and-egg problem: simultaneously attracting supply and demand. More buyers attract more sellers, who attract more buyers. This is the network effect.
Technology amplifies this circle: more users generate more data, which enables better algorithms, therefore better services, therefore more users. This is the data network effect : the real engine of astronomical valuations.
But this virtuous circle has a cost: it requires funding years of growth without profitability. Uber, Airbnb, Tesla burned billions before reaching breakeven. This level of funding constitutes a considerable entry barrier : and an illusion for most companies thinking they can replicate the model.
Tomorrow's gold: data, not the platform
Why did investors value Tesla at General Motors' level when Tesla sold a hundred times fewer cars? Because Tesla vehicles are rolling sensors. It's not the car they're buying, it's the data.
Why is Airbnb, which owns no hotel, worth tens of billions? Because it holds unmatched knowledge of global accommodation supply and demand.
The platform model is attractive for investors because it allows collecting massive amounts of data. And data is tomorrow's gold. But for every unicorn, how many companies learned the hard way that this model is highly competitive and technical?
Where does the opportunity lie for SMEs and mid-caps?
My conviction is clear: most companies are not meant to become platforms. There can only be very few marketplaces in a given sector : often only one dominates.
However, SMEs and mid-caps possess considerable and underexploited assets in this economy: business data, sector expertise, trust relationships, industrial capabilities. These assets can feed the "intelligence" and "infrastructure" layers of emerging sector platforms.
The strategic alternative is therefore not "become a platform or stay linear." It is to choose your role in the ecosystem: orchestrator (rare and risky), key supplier (accessible and defensible), or infrastructure partner (strategic and sustainable).
Three questions to avoid the mirage
Before launching into the platform race, ask yourself these questions.
First: do you have the ability to fund several years of growth without profitability? If not, the pure platform model probably isn't for you.
Second: is there already a dominant player in your market? If so, the window is closed. Look instead for how to become a strategic partner of that ecosystem.
Third: what unique assets do you possess that giants cannot replicate? That's where your real advantage lies : and your sustainable positioning.
The Eldorado is elsewhere
In 1848, those who truly made fortunes weren't the gold seekers. They were the sellers of shovels, jeans and provisions.
In 2025, the lesson remains the same. The Eldorado is not in the platform itself. It is in the ability to identify where value is created in the ecosystem : and to position yourself indispensably there.
For European leaders, this is excellent news: you don't need to become Amazon to prosper in the platform economy. You need to understand the rules of the game : and choose the right role.