Platform businesses are matchmakers. Matchmaking is nothing new. As early as 1100 BC, matchmakers in China assisted women and men to find spouses. Ancient Greek grain exchanges and medieval fairs operated similarly, connecting people wanting to trade (Wikipedia, 2021). More recently, but before the internet, printed newspapers had trading sections that helped sellers find buyers and helped buyers find sellers by posting classified ads or reading and responding to them. The internet has revolutionised the platform business model (Bieger & Reinhold, 2011), making matchmaking much more efficient for all involved.
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