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The Platform Delusion

Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans

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The Platform Delusion

By: Jonathan A. Knee
Narrated by: Jonathan A. Knee
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About this listen

An investment banker and professor explains what really drives success in the tech economy.

Many think that they understand the secrets to the success of the biggest tech companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. It's the platform economy, or network effects, or some other magical power that makes their ultimate world domination inevitable. Investment banker and professor Jonathan Knee argues that the truth is much more complicated - but entrepreneurs and investors can understand what makes the giants work and learn the keys to lasting success in the digital economy.

Knee explains what really makes the biggest tech companies work: a surprisingly disparate portfolio of structural advantages buttressed by shrewd acquisitions, strong management, lax regulation, and often, encouraging the myth that they are invincible to discourage competitors. By offering fresh insights into the true sources of strength and very real vulnerabilities of these companies, The Platform Delusion shows how investors, existing businesses, and start-ups might value them, compete with them, and imitate them.

The Platform Delusion demystifies the success of the biggest digital companies in sectors from retail to media to software to hardware, offering listeners what those companies don't want everyone else to know. Knee's insights are invaluable for entrepreneurs and investors in digital businesses seeking to understand what drives resilience and profitability for the long term.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Jonathan A. Knee (P)2021 Penguin Audio
Business Development Business Development & Entrepreneurship Management Management & Leadership New Business Enterprises
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Critic Reviews

"In The Platform Delusion Jonathan Knee takes apart the magical aura of one of Silicon Valley's biggest conceptual exports." (The New York Times)

"A cogent, arresting argument...Knee’s untangling of the complexities of platforms and their backers is steadily accessible and surprising." (Publishers Weekly)

"In pursuit of what makes for a powerful and successful tech company, The Platform Delusion by Jonathan A Knee opts for the broad scope." (Financial Times)

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