Transitioning From a Product Company to a Platform Company

<p>In this episode of <em>SaaS Connect </em>by <a href="https://www.cloudsoftwareassociation.com/"><u>Cloud Software Association</u></a>, Jeff Gardner, head of platform partnerships at Intercom at the time of the recording, and now VP of product and partnerships at api.video, shares Intercom’s journey making the transition from a product-first company to a platform-first company.</p> <p>The following points are shared:</p> <ul> <li>The problem with products, and the problem with platform-first companies.</li> <li>Lessons learned from transitioning from a product-first to platform-first business:</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Know your audience and serve them in the right order.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- You can offer great apps but if your audience either doesn't know about them or doesn’t know what value they offer, they will flop.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Make improvements based on user feedback (once they educated their users, they experienced an upsurge in usage of about double).</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- It takes a lot of product thinking to get a platform right. You must understand the value it provides from a user’s point of view.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- It’s not product or platform, it’s both. The competitive edge comes from the entire structure and how each thing connects with the other,</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and it is that which becomes difficult for any competitor to duplicate, unlike products alone.</p> <ul> <li>Lessons for those wanting to improve their careers:</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Know your audience. Focus on providing value to others first, before yourself.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Understand your goals and where you wa