Why we will see more startups built on platforms like Slack

When building new software, you need to consider how to reach users as efficiently as possible. More and more, especially for startups developing software for businesses, a counter-intuitive response is beginning to appear: take advantage of someone else's platform.

A year or two ago, the opportunity to rely on the code and the customer base of a third company was nascent. While a few key success stories have illuminated a path (for example, based on Salesforce), the consensus was that this strategy was burdensome or risky.

Today, it seems that almost all D-series technology companies, crazy about IPOs, tout their ecosystem approach and their wide range of them. A key example is Slack, a publicly traded company, which has spawned a generation of venture-backed companies that would likely not exist without the potential of the ecosystem.

By leveraging a demand aggregation platform, many next-generation business applications will likely be commercialized, despite the risks of starting on a single platform. Here's how to think about the pros and cons.

Pro: You fish where are the fish

Software platforms are increasingly aiming to be aggregators of demand. In other words, the key customers you want to adopt with your product have already invested a lot of time and capital in a platform product and are looking to leverage the value of this platform. You can position yourself as one of the means to take advantage of a commitment of time and resources, which could allow a quick adoption of your product.

For example, products that have adopted an integration approach with Salesforce and HubSpot have been able to seamlessly reach customers focused on sales and support. And Slack is now where you will find aggregation of demand if you build internal tools such as expense reports, project management or people-related operations. Indeed, Slack's direct referencing hardware clearly indicates its ambition to be the WorkOS on which all other applications are based. Exploiting a pool of highly invested and fully prepared customers can be a great badet.

Pro: No additional login for customers

There has been a rapid proliferation of software in recent years. It is estimated that the total number of cloud products per enterprise exceeds 1,000. Dealing with each application in its own context, with its own set of rules and its own user interface can be very complicated. This has sparked increasing skepticism about the return on investment of adding additional technology and is a key driver of the recent rise of ecosystem-centric technology giants. Applications that are positioned as native to a known commodity can escape this objection and a frictionless adoption.

Pro: It's easier and cheaper to be in the market

Since you do not need to create an entirely new user interface, you are investing less money in developers, designers, and front-end product managers. In a market where these skills are more and more in demand, the fact of not needing a new user interface costs less and leads to a faster validation of your idea and your strategy. Slack, for example, launches Block Kit, which is a way to "drag-and-drop" without code to create applications designed to enhance the advantage of speed-to-market for companies on this platform.

In addition, the platforms are investing heavily in the support of their application ecosystems, that it is worth investing in their own money as tools of venture capital platform, or strong developer support resources and an intentional community culture.

Pro: You are immersed in the culture of your customers

When choosing to rely on an existing platform, be sure to choose a platform that shares your values. This can be a commitment to open source, a design aesthetic, a brand position or a customer profile. My company, Hooky, for example, is focused on the business culture and the development of its employees, and Slack is the new home in this field. Thus, developing our application natively in this context helps us better adapt to existing customer practices.

Con: Small pool of customers

Certainly, you will need to make sure that the platform you select has generated sufficient demand and that the profile of the aggregated companies matches your target.

For example, Slack's current customer base includes nearly 100,000 companies, many of which are technology startups that look a lot like our beta customers. You will inevitably miss out on potential customer offers that are not on this platform. But you'll also benefit from a defined customer pool, which will narrow your prospect qualification criteria and help start-ups and growing companies avoid a "boiling ocean" sales strategy.

Against: You can fight for visibility

The customer acquisition strategy centered on the platform will change according to the maturity of the platform. At the beginning of a successful platform's lifecycle, when new businesses adopt it en mbade, these customers will see how to move quickly to integrations and applications. During this window, in which many key platforms are currently located, companies can hyper-grow in a symbiotic relationship with the platform. Later in the platform lifecycle, as in the Apple App Store, thousands of results appear for each keyword search and the challenge becomes that of results engineering, or "SEO of platform ".

Con: You are at the mercy of the platform

Slack aims to be the "operating system" of the workplace, a horizontal layer between employees and the explosion of technology. This level of ambition is an excellent partner, just like iOS when Apple launched the ambitious project to be the store where you engaged with all mobile software. Not all platforms will want to invest in such a robust ecosystem, and some (Twitter) have even closed their ecosystem after a while. Make sure you choose a partner that creates a wave large enough to be worth driving.

Despite these risks, a friction-free, low-cost marketing strategy offered by a platform's development will be too attractive for many entrepreneurs. More and more startups looking at the current eco-systemic technology landscape will see the same opportunity, especially in management software, creating deeper gaps for key players in the platform.

Andrew Kirchner is co-founder of Hooky, a professional development application for Slack.