Build and Scale Your Own
Get Started Today!What is a Multi-Sided Platform?
Multi-sided platforms create a central hub where buyers, sellers, and other stakeholders seamlessly interact, fostering mutually beneficial connections. Famous platforms like Uber and Airbnb exemplify how connecting multiple user groups in one space can generate value.
The meaning of “multi-sided” often originates from an entrepreneurial journey. Imagine an entrepreneur who runs a successful business and recognizes the opportunity to scale her influence beyond her individual business by building a collaborative marketplace. She decides to build a platform where other businesses, like the one she previously managed, can connect with their clients. She transitions from managing a business to orchestrating a dynamic ecosystem, earning a margin from every transaction that occurs on the platform.
In academic terms, a multi-sided platform enables different groups of users to interact and transact with each other more efficiently. It serves as an information aggregator for the industry, streamlining processes that would typically require extensive communication, asset preparation, and activity coordination.
With the platform in place, businesses (the supply side) can focus on meeting the needs of their customers (the demand side) more effectively, as many traditional barriers are eliminated. The platform provides a set of standardized rules and processes, allowing business transactions to be conducted more smoothly and autonomously.
For end-clients, this means they can actively participate in shaping the deals they are interested in, while businesses can respond quickly and efficiently. The result is a reduction in transaction costs for all participants, fueling industry-wide growth and fostering innovation.
By lowering costs and simplifying interactions, multi-sided platforms play a significant role in advancing industries to a new level, driving economic efficiency and fostering innovation.
Examples of Multi-Sided Platforms Reshaping Industries
Multi-sided platforms (MSPs) have transformed entire industries by redefining their structures, relationships, and value chains. These platforms create new ecosystems where producers, consumers, and intermediaries interact seamlessly, reshaping how industries operate and compete. Understanding the connection between an MSP and its industry is critical to grasping its transformative nature.
Here are some notable multi-sided platform examples that demonstrate this impact:
- Airbnb: Revolutionized the hospitality industry by enabling individuals to monetize their properties, challenging traditional hotel chains and reshaping travel experiences.
- Uber: Disrupted the transportation industry by connecting drivers with riders through a scalable digital platform, altering urban mobility worldwide.
- Amazon Marketplace: Redefined retail by creating a global marketplace where independent sellers thrive, shifting the dynamics of commerce and logistics.
- PayPal: Transformed the financial services industry by providing secure and flexible payment solutions, bridging businesses and consumers across borders.
- Udemy: Revolutionized the education sector by connecting learners with independent educators, enabling the creation and consumption of online courses at a global scale, and challenging traditional educational institutions.
These examples highlight how multi-sided platform companies don’t just operate within industries — they reshape their foundations, create new opportunities, and redefine competition.
The Information-Driven Nature of Multi-Sided Platform Business Model
The multi-sided platform (MSP) business model stands out as one of the most information-intensive ways to operate in today’s economy. At its core, an MSP aggregates vast amounts of industry-wide information, which becomes the backbone of its operations and the foundation for its value proposition.
Key aspects of the MSP business model include:
- Data Aggregation: MSPs collect and process enormous amounts of data from various user groups, including preferences, transactions, and interactions. This aggregated information drives decision-making, personalization, and optimization across the platform.
- Market Intelligence: By consolidating industry-wide data, MSPs gain insights into market dynamics, enabling them to act as knowledge hubs that benefit all participants.
- Network Coordination: Redefined retail by creating a global marketplace where independent sellers thrive, shifting the dynamics of commerce and logistics.
- Revenue Generation: The platform’s ability to connect users, such as buyers and sellers or service providers and consumers, relies heavily on its data infrastructure to ensure seamless and efficient interactions.
By leveraging information as their core asset, multi-sided platforms are not just intermediaries — they become the driving force behind industry-wide innovation and efficiency.
What We Do
At Multi-Sided Platforms, we specialize in transforming visionary ideas into fully functional multi-sided platforms tailored to specific industries. Drawing from years of expertise in platform design and development, we help businesses harness the power of the multi-sided platform business model to revolutionize their industries.
Our work goes beyond technical development:
We guide you in defining the right approach for your platform, ensuring it effectively aggregates and leverages industry-wide information.
Whether it’s a simplified version to validate your idea or a complex, fully functional platform, we deliver scalable solutions aligned with your business goals.
Platforms are dynamic. We provide ongoing support to adapt and grow your platform in line with your industry’s needs and opportunities.
By partnering with us, you gain access to a team of professionals who understand the intricacies of multi-sided platforms and their transformative potential to reshape industries. We don't just build platforms — we empower businesses to lead in their sectors.
Why Choose us?
Every business is unique, and so are its needs. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all platforms. Instead, we tailor our solutions specifically for your industry and business model, ensuring that your platform is perfectly aligned with your goals. Whether you're looking for a simple marketplace or a fully functional multi-sided platform, we design and develop with your specific vision in mind.
Your Ownership Options and the Development Journey
We understand that every business has different needs, so we offer flexible ownership and development models to match your goals:
Ongoing Support
monthly fee of€3,299 during the development phase
We handle the technical development while retaining code ownership, allowing you to focus on growing your business. Once development is complete, we shift to a revenue-sharing model of 17-21%, ensuring continuous support and platform evolution.
Full Ownership
monthly fee of€7,499 during the development phase
You own the code outright, giving you full control over scaling and managing your platform. After development is complete, you have the option to continue with ongoing support through a revenue-sharing model of 8-12%.
Revenue Sharing
monthly fee of€899 during the development phase
If you prefer to minimize upfront costs, we offer a revenue-sharing model where we handle all technical development. Once the platform is operational, we shift to a 32-36% share of the platform’s revenue, ensuring our continued investment in your success.
What to expect during the development phase?
While we manage the technical aspects of development, your business knowledge remains essential. Our process is collaborative, not fully autonomous. We collect requirements from you and plan each step together, ensuring alignment with your goals. Before development begins, we prepare an architectural design for the future platform. Once development starts, we follow agile methodologies, providing you with demos every one to two weeks, keeping you informed and involved throughout the process.
Development timelines depend on the complexity of the solution:
- Simplified versions: 2–3 months.
- Fully functional platforms: 7–9 months.
Even after development, we can remain your tech partner, offering ongoing support and enhancements for a revenue share. This typical arrangement ensures that we remain invested in your platform’s growth potential.