Overview

Platforms have existed for years. Shopping malls link consumers and merchants; newspapers connect subscribers and advertisers. What has changed in this century is that information technology has profoundly reduced the need to own physical infrastructure and assets. Though they come in many varieties, platforms all have an ecosystem with the same basic structure, comprising four types of players. The owners of platforms control that intellectual property and governance. Providers serve as the platforms’ interface with users. Producers create their offerings, and consumers use those offerings. In this practical presentation, I will explain the business models of peer-to-peer platforms and the new “rules of the game” in the sharing economy. Peer-to-peer marketplace platforms are increasingly gaining more attention not only in the rest of the world but also in Iran. There are successful examples like Airbnb, Uber and Linkedln and in Iran like CafeBaazar. NetBarg and Snapp. Many Iranian start-ups work to develop the next Snapp while they carefully observe the progress that is being made in the Iran entrepreneurial ecosystem. We further discuss what factors determine the failure and success of these start-ups in the marketplace particularly from the entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective.