The Platform Business Strategy (2nd edition): A Practical Guide for Busy Product Leaders [Book]

Are you a founder, product manager, or other leader about to enter the world of platforms? Platform businesses are among the most successful companies of the past few years (think Uber, Meta, Airbnb, or Amazon). This updated second edition helps you navigate the unique challenges of platform strategy—network effects, chicken-and-egg problems, regulation, and the impact of AI — with practical tools you can use immediately.

This book complements your existing product and strategy references rather than replacing them. It’s written in everyday language, with real-world examples and exercises you can apply to your own business.

What’s inside

  • Platform fundamentals and identifying the core job
  • Network effects and solving chicken-and-egg problems
  • The platform-as-product mindset
  • The Platform Business Strategy Canvas framework
  • New: AI and platform disruption
  • New: Navigating platform regulation (DMA, DSA, and beyond)
  • Reading list, acknowledgements, and endnotes

What’s new in the second edition

The fundamentals haven’t changed—but the world around them has. Since the first edition in 2022:

  • AI is reshaping how platforms create and capture value
  • Regulators in the EU, UK, and US have moved from watching to acting
  • Reader and workshop feedback has highlighted areas to clarify and expand

This edition adds two new chapters (AI and regulation) and refines existing content throughout. The book remains deliberately short—practical guidance without the fluff.

Already read the first edition? Chapters 7 (AI) and 8 (Regulation) are entirely new. Existing chapters have smaller updates based on feedback. The Canvas and core frameworks are unchanged.

Get the book

Kindle eBook: Available for pre-order on Amazon

Paperback: Coming soon

Workshops

The book mirrors the structure of workshops I’ve been running since 2020, including sessions at Productized and JAM conferences. You’ll certainly get the most out of it if you attend such a workshop. Stay tuned for more editions of it and feel free to reach out to discuss holding one for your team.

Free resources