Tayyib Parrish 
In a recent blog, Benchmark Capital’s Bill Gurley outlined the parameters for creating successful marketplace startups. He cited oDesk as an example, which enables companies to source programming talent from around the world. AirBNB is another example of a bi-directional advantage. By focusing on the needs of consumers, marketplace startups can achieve high levels of growth by engineering growth directly into their core products. The first step in building a consumer-marketplace business is to find the niche that your target audience is in and then meet those needs.
Once you have an idea for a new marketplace, you will need to raise seed capital. This financing is small enough to help you hire people and write a business plan. However, it will not be enough to run a marketplace at scale, and you will need investors to continue growing the company. If you can raise seed capital, you can continue developing the business. However, it will take time, and you’ll probably need to raise a second round of financing.
Another way to fund a startup is to look at the existing industry structure. There are many startups in the marketplace space. The food delivery industry, for example, is a $22 billion industry. As the market for food delivery increases, these startups are acquiring large swaths of college and urban professionals. Many of them have social features as well, making them an attractive option to investors. While this is a huge business opportunity, it’s not without risk.
To be successful, you need to be realistic about the level of success you can expect. A marketplace isn’t going to be a billion dollar business overnight, so don’t expect overnight success. In addition to a strong business model, marketplace startups should also focus on building a revenue stream. Growth should be based on smart decisions and acquiring new customers. You should also consider viral marketing as an option, which encourages existing users to bring new users. In this way, your customers become your best advocates.
Marketplaces are at the center of many society’s key trends. The rise of microentrepreneurship, new forms of creative work, and the rise of digital media are all taking place within these markets. The marketplace industry is the future of commerce. By taking advantage of these opportunities, marketplace companies are poised to take their business to the next level. The future of the internet economy depends on marketplace startups. With these innovative platforms, the world’s largest industries are changing their models and businesses.
There are several examples of innovative marketplace startups. These include Pickright, a popular online marketplace for stock market advisors and investors. A consumer-to-consumer marketplace, Verkoop, is based in New York and also has branches in South Africa and the Netherlands. It offers a wide range of products and services. Another popular marketplace is Bookla, which connects social sellers with brands in LatAm. The platform aims to bring together different fields of interest into one marketplace.
