{"id":7006,"date":"2018-03-05T16:47:46","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T21:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/tile-the-use-of-a-platform-to-location-your-belongings\/"},"modified":"2018-03-06T23:53:31","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T04:53:31","slug":"tile-dude-where-are-my-keys","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/tile-dude-where-are-my-keys\/","title":{"rendered":"Tile: Dude, where are my keys?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tile is creating the Internet of Things for those things that we often lose, namely our wallets and our keys.\u00a0 The company has created Bluetooth trackers which pair with a mobile application.\u00a0 While the original trackers were intended for keys, the company released the Tile Slim in 2016 intended to slide into a wallet, and the Tile Sport in 2017 with an enhanced water-proof design intended for outdoor objects.\u00a0 The battery life of a Tile lasts for a year, at which point one has to use the company\u2019s replacement program, essentially creating a yearly subscription.\u00a0 By January 2018, the company had sold 13 million Tiles.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Scaling its Platform:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tile sells new users the Bluetooth trackers for $35, however existing users can \u201creTile\u201d for $25 by sending in their old tracker to the company, enticing existing users to continue to use the subscription.\u00a0 This low price point, yet sticky model allowed the company to bring in $100 million revenue in 2016.<\/p>\n

However, the company has broader plans than a subscription model, as it has focused primarily on partnerships to scale it platform (see partners below).\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tile states that it can help its partners to \u201ccreate goodwill and differentiation with enhanced functionality that delivers real benefits to your customers.\u201d[2]<\/a> \u00a0Tile is partnering with both Bluetooth enabled and non-Bluetooth enabled products.\u00a0 In January 2018, the company announced a partnership with Bose that will allow users of Bose wireless headphones to locate their headphones using Tile\u2019s technology embedded within the headphones.\u00a0 Samsonite is also planning to integrate Tile\u2019s technology into their luggage this year.\u00a0 Lastly, Tile is aintegrating with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant so users can use either the Echo or Google Home to help locate their items.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Network Effects: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Tile is attacking the main pain point with its product (the Bluetooth trackers only have a range of ~200 feet) by creating a Tile community and leveraging the inherit network effects.\u00a0 The Tile Community Find feature \u201callows you to anonymously enlist the help of our entire community in your search. It works both ways\u2014if you\u2019re running the app in the background and come within range of someone\u2019s lost item, we\u2019ll let the owner know where it is.\u201d[3]<\/a> There are obvious Network Effects here as the Community Find feature becomes more effective and useful when more and more people are on the Tile app.\u00a0 However, the very short tracker range will limit Tile\u2019s ability to create far-reaching global network effects as the company will only be able to leverage network affects within densely populated urban areas.<\/p>\n

New Entrants:<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Tile has undoubtedly had a lot of success in its first five years, there is not a lot preventing competitors to enter the \u201cLost & Found\u201d technology market.\u00a0 TrackR, founded 3 years before Tile in 2009, has 5 million devices in market compared to Tile\u2019s 13 million.[4]<\/a> Chipolo, founded in 2013, has sold over a million devices.\u00a0 In order to differentiate in this market, Tile must continue to focus on scaling its platform through partnerships.\u00a0 The more partnerships Tile will be able to create, the more users the company will have, and the more powerful the network effects will be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2018\/01\/08\/lost-item-finder-tile-will-work-with-bose-headphones-and-other-new-partners\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.thetileapp.com\/en-us\/smart-location-platform<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.thetileapp.com\/community-find?utm_source=pepperjam&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_term=21181<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3069233\/bluetooth-trackers-and-the-race-to-help-you-find-your-stuff<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tile is creating the Internet of Things for those things that we often lose, namely our wallets and our keys.\u00a0 The company has created Bluetooth trackers which pair with a mobile application.\u00a0 While the original trackers were intended for keys, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2517,"featured_media":7007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-7006","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/growing-businesses-in-the-age-of-platforms-2018\/","yoast_head":"\nTile: Dude, where are my keys? - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/tile-dude-where-are-my-keys\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tile: Dude, where are my keys? 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