Rob Walling

And of course, there are also driving conditions, like all the testing is being done. It's usually on the West Coast or the Southwest. It's not done in the snow. So it may be a very long time until we see them in rougher climates. My ninth prediction is that platform risk will intensify in 2025. There are more platforms to build on. There are larger, more monopolistic platforms that exist.

And of course, there are also driving conditions, like all the testing is being done. It's usually on the West Coast or the Southwest. It's not done in the snow. So it may be a very long time until we see them in rougher climates. My ninth prediction is that platform risk will intensify in 2025. There are more platforms to build on. There are larger, more monopolistic platforms that exist.

The Shopify's, the Facebook's, the Reddit's. And I think bootstrap founders will face increased challenges with platform dependence.

The Shopify's, the Facebook's, the Reddit's. And I think bootstrap founders will face increased challenges with platform dependence.

And if you listen back to episode 735 of this very podcast, just not even 15 episodes ago, the eight levels of SaaS platform risk, where I talk about the three key factors within platform risk, replacement, customer concentration, and lead flow, you will hear that it's not just one or zero. It's not just on or off.

And if you listen back to episode 735 of this very podcast, just not even 15 episodes ago, the eight levels of SaaS platform risk, where I talk about the three key factors within platform risk, replacement, customer concentration, and lead flow, you will hear that it's not just one or zero. It's not just on or off.

But I have eight levels where I talk about almost no platform risk, relying on a commoditized platform, all the way up to aggressive platforms, few replacements, and you have high customer concentration. So what does this mean for entrepreneurs? Well, be aware of platform risk. Be aware of the types of it, the dangers of it. Know what you are getting into.

But I have eight levels where I talk about almost no platform risk, relying on a commoditized platform, all the way up to aggressive platforms, few replacements, and you have high customer concentration. So what does this mean for entrepreneurs? Well, be aware of platform risk. Be aware of the types of it, the dangers of it. Know what you are getting into.

It's not to say you should never build on a platform. I think step one and step two businesses can be incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs.

It's not to say you should never build on a platform. I think step one and step two businesses can be incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs.

As long as you're aware of what you're getting into, I would not want to build a 10-year business on any of these platforms because they do not give a shit about you and they will sooner cut off your API access accidentally, say, oops, killed your business, They will build the feature directly into their platform. Oops, killed your business. They don't care. They're like Honey Badger.

As long as you're aware of what you're getting into, I would not want to build a 10-year business on any of these platforms because they do not give a shit about you and they will sooner cut off your API access accidentally, say, oops, killed your business, They will build the feature directly into their platform. Oops, killed your business. They don't care. They're like Honey Badger.

They do not care. So know what you're getting into. If I were starting out trying to get my first app or first couple apps trying to quit the day job, I am all for platforms because I think platforms lend, you know, it's all the reasons the stair-step method exists.

They do not care. So know what you're getting into. If I were starting out trying to get my first app or first couple apps trying to quit the day job, I am all for platforms because I think platforms lend, you know, it's all the reasons the stair-step method exists.

But if I were looking to build my next app to seven or eight figures, I would think long and hard about whether or not I wanted to be on a platform that could take over the whole business, could kill it. Now, realistically, the hard part is this changes, right? Because WordPress, I feel like, has always been a pretty friendly platform until this year.

But if I were looking to build my next app to seven or eight figures, I would think long and hard about whether or not I wanted to be on a platform that could take over the whole business, could kill it. Now, realistically, the hard part is this changes, right? Because WordPress, I feel like, has always been a pretty friendly platform until this year.

Matt Mullenweg slash WordPress, you know, made the decision to be very aggressive with WP Engine and take apparently take over plugins. I mean, there's a whole, there's a whole story there that I'm not going to cover here, but realize that platform risk exists in a lot of places, but it doesn't exist everywhere in the same level.

Matt Mullenweg slash WordPress, you know, made the decision to be very aggressive with WP Engine and take apparently take over plugins. I mean, there's a whole, there's a whole story there that I'm not going to cover here, but realize that platform risk exists in a lot of places, but it doesn't exist everywhere in the same level.

And you will want to educate yourself, know what you're getting into as we head into 2025. So thanks so much for joining me today to hear my nine startup predictions for 2025. Some of them are positive. Some of them are downright gloomy. But I did want to share these with you as I've been thinking about them. Thanks for joining me this week and every week.

And you will want to educate yourself, know what you're getting into as we head into 2025. So thanks so much for joining me today to hear my nine startup predictions for 2025. Some of them are positive. Some of them are downright gloomy. But I did want to share these with you as I've been thinking about them. Thanks for joining me this week and every week.