Platforms & Marketplace Advisory
Advisory for Builders → Clarity, structure, better decisions
Building a platform or marketplace is rarely the hard part.
Deciding what kind of platform you’re actually building — and what not to do — is where most people get stuck.
Platform decisions compound quickly.
Small choices made early can either create momentum or quietly lock you into complexity that’s hard to undo.
My role is to help founders, solo builders, and operators think clearly about platform and marketplace models — before things become heavier, more expensive, or harder to change.
Build Smarter Platforms
Platforms are not just products or technology choices.
They are decision systems.
They connect different groups of people, shape behaviour, and amplify both good and bad decisions over time.
That’s why clarity matters more than speed in the early stages.
Often, the most valuable work happens before anything is built — when assumptions are still flexible and options are still open.
How I Help
I work as a thinking partner to help people:
• Clarify whether they’re actually building a platform or marketplace — or something else entirely
• Understand who the real sides of the platform are
• Identify where value is created (and where it isn’t)
• Avoid overbuilding, premature automation, or unnecessary complexity
• Decide what to focus on now — and what to leave alone for later
• Recognise when a platform model may not be the right answer at all
This work is grounded in real-world experience — not theory, templates, or hype.
Why Platform Advisory
Platforms magnify decisions.
They reward clarity and punish confusion.
Once multiple sides, incentives, and behaviours are in play, it becomes harder to “fix things later.”
That’s why early thinking matters — even (and especially) when things still feel simple.
Good platform advisory doesn’t tell you what to build.
It helps you see the trade-offs clearly so you can make better decisions with confidence.
Who This Is For
This work is for:
• Founders and solo builders exploring platform or marketplace ideas
• Operators refining or rethinking an existing model
• Teams unsure whether a platform approach makes sense
• Builders inside existing businesses exploring new connection-driven models
You don’t need to be technical.
You don’t need to be building software.
And you don’t need to have everything figured out.
How We Start
We start with a single conversation.
A focused advisory session where we think things through properly — your context, your questions, your decisions.
No obligation beyond that.
If it’s useful, we continue.
If not, you leave with clearer thinking.
A Note on Tools
Where useful, I use AI as a thinking partner — to explore scenarios, surface blind spots, and accelerate sense-making.
Always in service of clearer decisions, not automation for its own sake.
Related Work
Alongside my advisory work, I co-run DNA-Business, where I help founders connect with trusted experts when specialist support is needed.
Sometimes clarity leads to connection.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
Both outcomes are valuable.
If something here resonates, feel free to reach out.
Ready To Get Clarity?
Insights and Tools
→ Read Alan's Founder Story
→ BUILDING SMARTER Newsletter via Linkedin .
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