Evaluate platform opportunities with a 6-step framework before building
Use a structured framework to assess platform opportunities: 1) Find a growing platform (use tools like Exploding Topics), 2) Find a pain point in forums/Reddit/Twitter, 3) Borrow a proven add-on pattern from an established platform, 4) Check for public API and marketplace/SDK, 5) Do napkin math on opportunity size (users × problem frequency × willingness to pay), 6) Assess platform risk (will they build this natively?). This systematic approach reduces risk of building on the wrong platform.
When to use
Before committing to building on any platform—this framework helps you evaluate whether the opportunity is real and defensible
Don't do this
Jumping on the hottest new platform (like ChatGPT) without checking competition levels, or building on platforms without clear marketplace distribution
1 Founder Who Did This
Applied 6-step framework to Airtable opportunity: growing platform, forum validation, borrowed Google Sheets pattern, checked API/SDK, estimated opportunity from Google Sheets pricing, assessed Airtable unlikely to build mid-complexity tool