What Is a Platform Company?

AptDeco, a peer-to-peer marketplace for used furniture in the New York City area, was growing rapidly in the massive $120 billion furniture market, despite its complexity and high costs. Co-founders Reham Fagiri and Kalam Dennis were considering different options to scale the business, including converting sellers into buyers and vice versa, finding superusers to fuel the supply for their platform, expanding to new markets, and rebranding with a sustainability focus.

Harvard Business School associate professor Ayelet Israeli and AptDeco co-founder Kalam Dennis discuss the best way to scale the business in the case, “AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace.”