I love the idea of a marketplace. It’s so simple, yet so difficult to execute correctly. But if done right, it can be a very valuable and viable business that brings buyers and sellers together.
The hardwork is creating a marketplace that people want. There are already so many competing marketplaces that its hard to find something to distinguish yourself. But people keep trying.
I don’t know the exact history of marketplaces but I’m going to venture a big guess and say Amazon was one of, if not the, first marketplace. PayPal and eBay are other great marketplaces. Lesser known ones that are becoming more popular include Airbnb and Odesk. Then there’s Uber and all the spinoff “uber for….you name it.”
Right now a lot of marketplaces are popping up. Everything from tuxedo rentals to skill sharing to who knows what’s next. Go on a tech blog and you’ll see a new marketplace pop up. Unfortunately, everything thinks they can just create a market and people will show up. It’s not that easy.
Executing an effective marketplace is difficult.
- First you need to build something. And that something you build needs to be something people want.
- Then you need to create a great user experience so people actually want to be a part of your marketplace.
- Next you need to build out the marketplace. How do you do that?
Before you think about building your next marketplace, make sure you have a strategy in place. A marketplace needs to have transactions to survive. It needs to have enough volume to make it a profitable enough business that investors want to be a part of your up and coming marketplace.
I’m personally trying to build out a marketplace and believe marketplaces are one of the best platforms to start (if done right). I plan to share the knowledge I have gained and the advice and lessons I have learned from others in the next few weeks.
I hope everyone is as excited as I am.
Marketplaces for the win!