You built a platform. Great APIs. Developer-friendly docs. Compelling value proposition.
Launch day arrives. Crickets.
No developers without customers. No customers without developers. You're stuck in the cold start problem.
Platform launches aren't product launches. They require different strategies.
The Cold Start Problem
Traditional product launch:
- Build product
- Market to customers
- Customers buy/adopt
- Success
Platform launch:
- Build platform
- Need supply side (developers, sellers, drivers)
- Need demand side (users, buyers, riders)
- Neither shows up without the other
- Failure
Uber's solution: Start with one side, solve manually for the other.
Uber's Launch Playbook: Single City Saturation
San Francisco, 2010:
Supply side (drivers):
- Recruited black car drivers personally
- Guaranteed hourly rate (subsidized by Uber)
- Built density in small geographic area
Demand side (riders):
- Focused on South Park neighborhood (tech workers)
- Free rides for early adopters
- "Get a ride in 5 minutes" promise only worked because driver density
The strategy: Saturate one neighborhood before expanding. Prove the magic works.
Then: Expand neighborhood by neighborhood. Each has working supply/demand before moving to next.
Not: Launch entire city at once with sparse supply.
Shopify's Developer Platform Launch
2009 challenge: App platform with no apps. Merchants won't use platform without apps. Developers won't build without merchants.
Shopify's approach:
Pre-launch (6 months before public API):
- Invited 50 developers to private beta
- Gave them direct access to Shopify product team
- Funded development of first apps
- Launched with 20 apps already in marketplace
Launch day:
- Merchants found 20 useful apps immediately
- Social proof: "Used by 500+ stores"
- Created FOMO for other developers: "These 20 are making money already"
Post-launch:
- Featured early apps prominently
- Revenue sharing made early developers profitable quickly
- Success stories drove developer recruitment
The lesson: Seed the supply side before opening the platform.
Airbnb's Launch: Manufactured Supply
2008 problem: No hosts, no guests. No guests, no hosts.
Airbnb's controversial solution:
Supply generation:
- Scraped Craigslist for people renting rooms
- Contacted them: "List on Airbnb too, we'll send you guests"
- Offered professional photography (free)
- Manually improved listing quality
Demand generation:
- Posted Airbnb listings back to Craigslist
- Drove Craigslist traffic to Airbnb
- Converted Craigslist users to Airbnb
Was it scalable? No.
Did it work? Yes. They reached critical mass, then grew organically.
The lesson: Do things that don't scale to solve cold start.
API Platform Launch: The Stripe Model
Stripe's 2011 launch strategy:
Private beta (12 months):
- Invite-only access
- Target: YC companies and influential developers
- Collect feedback, iterate rapidly
- Build word-of-mouth in developer community
Controlled launch:
- Public API, but onboarding waitlist
- Created scarcity and demand
- Ensured quality of early integrations
- "Request invite" generated press
Scale phase:
- Removed waitlist once infrastructure proven
- Early success stories as social proof
- Network effects kicked in
Why waitlist worked:
- Scarcity created desire
- Controlled quality of early partners
- Generated PR ("exclusive API access")
- Prevented overwhelming support team
Twilio's Launch: Developer Evangelism First
Twilio's 2008 strategy:
Pre-launch (6 months):
- Spoke at developer conferences
- Ran hackathons
- Built relationships with developer influencers
- Created demo apps showing what's possible
Launch:
- Developer-first announcement (not press release)
- Posted on Hacker News
- Live demo at TechCrunch50
- Free tier with immediate access
First 30 days:
- Founder responded personally to every developer question
- Fixed bugs in real-time
- Showcased creative developer projects
- Built public roadmap from developer feedback
The metric: 1,000 developers signed up in first month. 200 built something.
The lesson: Developer platforms launch with developers, not with marketing campaigns.
Platform Launch Sequencing
Wrong sequence:
- Build platform
- Launch publicly
- Hope both sides show up
Right sequence:
Phase 1: Private Alpha (Supply Side)
- Invite 10-20 strategic partners
- Fund their integrations if needed
- Build reference implementations together
- Iterate on API based on feedback
Phase 2: Controlled Beta (Expand Supply)
- Invite 100-200 partners
- Require application/qualification
- Ensure quality over quantity
- Build ecosystem foundations
Phase 3: Public Platform (Add Demand)
- Open platform publicly
- Market to end users
- Supply side already creating value
- Demand drives more supply
Salesforce AppExchange followed this:
- Alpha: Built first apps internally
- Beta: Invited strategic ISV partners
- Public: Opened to all developers with proven marketplace
Subsidy Strategy for Launch
Platforms often need to subsidize early participants.
AWS's launch strategy:
- Free tier for developers
- Credits for startups
- Initially subsidized to build ecosystem
- Now profitable because scale
Shopify App Partner program:
- Free development stores
- Revenue sharing favored developers early on
- Marketing support for successful apps
- Investment in partner success
The framework: Subsidize until network effects kick in. Then economics normalize.
Geographic Launch Strategy
Platform launches benefit from geographic focus.
DoorDash's approach:
Not: Launch in 50 cities at once Instead: Dominate Stanford campus first
Strategy:
- Perfect product in small area
- Build restaurant supply density
- Prove fast delivery works
- Expand to adjacent areas
Why this worked: "5-minute delivery" only works with density. Spread too thin = slow delivery = poor experience.
Then: Replicate playbook city by city.
Platform Launch Metrics
Different from product launch metrics.
Track:
Supply-side metrics:
- Partners registered
- Partners activated (built something)
- Partners generating value
- Quality distribution
Demand-side metrics:
- Customers aware of platform
- Customers using partner solutions
- Average solutions per customer
- Customer satisfaction with ecosystem
Network effects metrics:
- Supply attracting demand? (customers seeking partners)
- Demand attracting supply? (partners joining because of customers)
- Organic growth rate
- Viral coefficient
Salesforce's target: 30% of new AppExchange installs driven by customer search (not Salesforce marketing).
Messaging for Platform Launch
Wrong message: "We launched a platform!"
Nobody cares about your platform. They care about outcomes.
Right message (for each side):
To developers: "Build on Shopify and reach 1M+ merchants"
- Access to customer base
- Revenue opportunity
- Technical capabilities
To merchants: "Connect your Shopify store to 5,000+ apps"
- Solve problems faster
- Avoid custom development
- Best-in-class integrations
Notice: Neither mentions "platform." Both mention value.
Launch Content Strategy
Pre-launch (Stripe's approach):
- Technical blog posts showing what's possible
- Demo applications with source code
- Developer testimonials from beta
- Architecture deep-dives
Launch:
- Developer-focused announcement
- "Get started in 5 minutes" tutorial
- Live demos and workshops
- Founder availability for questions
Post-launch:
- Partner spotlights
- Use case libraries
- Customer success stories
- Ecosystem metrics
Common Platform Launch Mistakes
Mistake 1: Launching too broad
Example: API available globally day 1 Better: Focus on one market, prove value, expand
Mistake 2: No supply at launch
Example: Marketplace with zero sellers Better: Seed supply before opening demand side
Mistake 3: Treating platform like product
Example: Traditional product marketing campaign Better: Developer evangelism and partner recruitment
Mistake 4: No subsidies for early adopters
Example: Charge same price from day 1 Better: Free tier or credits until network effects
Mistake 5: Launch and walk away
Example: Big announcement, then months of silence Better: Continuous launch cadence with new partners/features
The First 90 Days
HubSpot's App Marketplace launch timeline:
Days 1-30: Early wins
- Feature best apps prominently
- Publish partner success stories
- Host developer office hours
- Fix critical issues immediately
Days 31-60: Build momentum
- Add 10-20 new partners
- Launch partner showcase
- Start community initiatives
- Gather usage data
Days 61-90: Prove value
- Publish ecosystem metrics
- Customer case studies using apps
- Partner revenue milestones
- Expand marketing
The goal: Prove ecosystem works. Then scale.
When to Declare Success
Platform launch success criteria:
Supply-side proof:
- 50+ active partners (not just registered)
- Partners generating revenue from platform
- Organic partner growth (not all marketing-driven)
Demand-side proof:
- 40%+ of customers using partner solutions
- Customer retention lift from ecosystem
- Organic demand for partner solutions
Network effects proof:
- Partners recruiting customers
- Customers recruiting partners
- Growth rate accelerating
Stripe hit this at ~6 months post-launch. Then hockey stick growth.
Launch Is Just Beginning
Platform launches don't end. They evolve.
Post-launch phases:
- Prove the model (first 90 days)
- Scale what works (months 4-12)
- Geographic/segment expansion (year 2)
- Platform maturity (year 3+)
The companies that win treat platform launch as continuous process, not single event.
Solve the cold start problem. Build density before breadth. Subsidize early adopters. Prove value before scaling.
That's how platforms launch successfully.