Getting started with online platforms: build, belong, or buy?

Starting successfully and especially scaling with a platform requires the right balance. You add value for the user of your platform. For example, because you have a unique offering, provide services that are indispensable to your target audiences, or offer a competitive price. An important factor in this is how you proceed with the online platform. In other words: which strategy you choose. There are three options: build, belong, and buy. But which route do you choose? That depends on your market, the opportunities available, and your goals with the online platform.

Three routes to start with an online platform

1. Build: you build your own online platform. (For example: like OFED ETD Academy, YoungOnes, or Werkspot).

2. Belong: you use an existing online platform. (Example: you sell your products via Bol or Amazon or share job openings via Indeed).

3. Buy: you purchase an existing software product. (Example: you run your webshop via Shopify or build a platform with Sharetribe).

Build: high effort, high unique value

With a self-built and thus custom online platform, you can stand out. Such a proprietary platform contributes to a unique experience, branding, and value of your organization. You build the platform from scratch, allowing you to design every step yourself—matching what you want to convey and the desires of your target audience.

Good to know if you choose this:

• It generally takes a little longer for your platform to become operational. You can have a first working version within four to six weeks. But: keep an eye on the rise of AI tools, LowCode, and NoCode. These technologies accelerate the development of custom online platforms.

• Activating users takes time, unless you already have customers or users.

• With a self-built platform, you can create a (dedicated) custom community in one ecosystem, providing a seamless experience for users.

• You need a good business case: a custom online platform is an investment that should eventually pay off.

• Your organization must have a strong ambition to digitalize. To do this, you need to have (or get) the right people on board.

• Building yourself ensures flexibility and future prospects: once the platform is up, you can relatively easily plug in additional or new online services.

Belong: quick start, low unique value

Existing platforms often have a large network (audience). Take Bol.com or Amazon: selling products there requires little of your own marketing. Potential customers already know how to find these platforms. Indeed, for example, or Werkspot are more platforms with significant reach that you can (at a cost) benefit from.

Good to know if you choose an existing platform:

• You partially give up your data to the platform.

• There is little to no room to project the USPs of your organization. Your offering is one of many.

• Customers do business with Bol.com, Amazon, or Indeed, and not with your organization. This means there is hardly any connection with your brand or company.

• Conversely, an existing online platform has a large audience that you reach in one go.

• An existing platform is a good environment to test whether there is any demand for your products or services. If you achieve enough volume there, you could eventually transition to a buy or build strategy.

Buy: an own platform, but less flexible

A middle ground between belong and build is buy. In this case, you purchase existing platform software: it requires an investment. But the investment is less than building a custom platform. Additionally, you're quickly operational. Software like Shopify, Sharetribe, and Yaper, a platform for the HR market, are designed for you to get started easily and quickly.

Good to know if you choose existing software:

• What you buy is what you get. You have to work with the software you purchase. This means adapting your organization and workflows to the mold of the existing platform.

• There is little room to project the USPs of your organization. So ask yourself: how distinctive do you want to be compared to competitors?

• With this strategy, you focus on speed: you can quickly get started with your platform.

No black-and-white choice

This article provides insight into the different platform strategies and considerations for your choice. Do you have a strong business case and wish to stand out? Then you build your own platform. Do you want to start quickly and is that distinctive character less important? Then you use an existing platform. Do you want your own platform, and do you use standard work processes? Then existing platform software may suffice.

But this is not yet the whole story. Because the choice for build, belong, or buy is not black-and-white. In practice, it is usually a combination of multiple solutions (‘Best of Breed’). Take the example of energy supplier Energiek. This start-up connects different tools like puzzle pieces, think of: Trustpilot, Ecedo, Freshdesk, Gridhub, Twikey, and Payt. They select what suits their business and create a custom solution on top of that.

What other gray areas are there between build, belong, and buy? Suppose: you have a plan with high unique value. By starting with a platform based on existing software, you already build a community of users. A nice additional benefit: with such a standard software package, you can test with relatively little effort whether your idea has potential. Is it successful? Then you can transition behind the scenes to a build solution to which you add custom services.

Or: you work on your own webshop but first sell your products via Bol.com to get in the picture with potential buyers and sellers. Building a custom solution on top of an existing platform is also an option. However, there are risks involved. Take the example of a party that developed a service on top of Airbnb for exchanging keys and cleaning. Clever, but it also made them very dependent on an existing platform. Airbnb didn't like it and closed part of their API. As a result, this party was immediately out of play.

Developing a successful platform often goes in phases. Choosing the most suitable strategy (or a combination of strategies) is an important first step.