To our readers:

This book and its insights is the result of a journey that we began around 2000.

The journey began with discussions with our colleagues Jean-Charles Rochet and Jean Tirole at the University of Toulouse in France. They had the deep insight about "two-sided businesses" and were the first to recognize that these two-sided businesses do not follow many of the traditional laws of economics or business.

In late 2004 we began a long-term research and industry project to understand what made these so-called two-sided businesses tick and to plan a book about our findings. To complement the emerging literature, we initiated a study of large number of businesses throughout the global economy.

With the help of Market Platform Dynamics (MPD), a consulting firm with which we are both affiliated, we learned from some of the most interesting (and profitable) companies of all time, holding in-depth personal interviews with key players representing catalysts across a variety of verticals, many of whom you'll find in this book.

These frank conversations, along with our own experiences as consultants to many of these companies, drove the insights in this volume.

We hope you find our discoveries in this area of business strategy--one that we view as revolutionary and critical for profitability in the next decade--eye-opening.

David S. Evans            Richard Schmalensee