How to Build 2-Sided E-commerce Marketplaces | Sramana Mitra
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The 1Mby1M Methodology is based on case studies. In this course, Sramana Mitra shares the tribal knowledge of tech entrepreneurs by giving students the rare seat at the table with the entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders who provide the most instructive perspectives on how to build a thriving business. Through these conversations, students gain access to case studies exploring the alleys of entrepreneurship. Sramana’s synthesis of key learnings and incisive analysis add great depth to each discussion.
Two-sided marketplaces in all kinds of verticals and niche markets have become a key trend in the e-commerce startup space. In this course, 1Mby1M Founder and CEO Sramana Mitra explores the various nuances and case studies of how entrepreneurs are building two-sided marketplaces. The goal is to learn from people who have done it before. Lessons from the trenches abound in the interviews showcased. Insights, including esoteric ones, offer invaluable guidance for new entrepreneurs building businesses in this category.
All the methodology building blocks you have been learning through Sramana’s entrepreneurship fundamentals courses apply. You can, for instance, bootstrap a two-sided marketplace as a solo entrepreneur, with a paycheck, then raise money (or not). You can build the venture as a virtual company. You can build a Unicorn (or not). You can build a capital-efficient business.
In addition, you will learn domain specific lessons from entrepreneur case studies and thought leader interviews. You will also listen to investor perspectives on marketplace ventures and new trends they (and Sramana) have identified.
Two-sided marketplaces still have a lot of white space. Therefore, entrepreneurs looking for ideas to develop as new startups would do well to study the trend and the opportunities thereof.
The 1Mby1M courses are all heavily based on interview-based case studies on Innovation, Business Models, Go To Market Strategies, Validation Principles, and various other nuances of an entrepreneur’s journey. We offer extensive opportunities for entrepreneurs to learn the lessons from the trenches from successful entrepreneurs who have done it before and Investors who support their ambition.
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How to Build a Two-Sided E-commerce Marketplace
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Building a 2-sided Farm to Table Marketplace from Indiana
CEO Nick Carter tells a wonderful story of building Market Wagon into a thriving marketplace. Covid has been an immense force multiplier for the venture.
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From Developer to Serial Entrepreneur: Michael Morris, CEO of Torc
Michael Morris, CEO of Torc, has not only transitioned successfully from a developer to an entrepreneur, he has built communities of developers and 2-sided marketplaces around them over and again. Torc is his third run at this overall mission of enabling and empowering developers to have great careers.
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Dutch Students Build a Large EdTech Marketplace: StuDocu CEO Marnix Broer
We’ve done a lot of EdTech case studies and also a lot of 2-sided Marketplace Case Studies. Here’s one from The Netherlands that compares/competes with CourseHero and Quizlet. Terrific story!
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Building a High-Growth Startup From Brazil: Revelo CEO Lachlan de Crespigny
Revelo CEO Lachlan de Crespigny has built a wonderful company from Brazil that has emerged as a pandemic beneficiary. Listen in for the nuances of his journey.
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Seeding Two-Sided Marketplaces with Mark Dorsey, Bonanza
Mark Dorsey, Co-founder at Bonanza, discusses how the company found its unique angle to break into a group of sellers looking for specific solutions. The company has ONLY raised $1M in funding and has delivered over $75M in revenues. Great story.
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Building a Fast-Growth Marketplace with Stefania Mallett, ezCater
Stefania Mallett, CEO at ezCater, who raised multiple seed rounds, and then, over a period of a decade, $70 million. Stefania describes her journey of building a 2-sided marketplace for catering services that will do a billion dollars in billing soon. Great story of a woman entrepreneur who focuses on data, metrics, and results, not bias!
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Auctionata CEO Alexander Zacke Brings Art Auctions Online from Berlin
Alexander Zacke, Founder and CEO of Auctionata, discusses his online auction house business and how he has built a quintessential Web 3.0 business taking advantage of the web’s building blocks: commerce, community and content in the context of online auctions. And, as Alexander tells us, he is an art guy, not a tech guy.
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More on Two-sided Marketplaces with Jon Staenberg, Staenberg Venture Partners
Jon Staenberg, Managing Partner at Staenberg Venture Partners, discusses the trends he is seeing and investment thesis he is following, including two-sided marketplaces.
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Capital Efficient Entrepreneurship with David Ciccarelli, Voices.com
David Ciccarelli, Founder and CEO at Voices.com, has scaled a two-sided marketplace to $20 million in net revenue and discusses his inspiring journey.
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Discussing Two-Sided Marketplaces with Hamiz Awan, Plutus21 Capital
Hamiz Awan, Founder and Partner at Plutus21 Capital, and I start out discussing BlockChain infrastructure and platforms, and end up having a great discussion around the two-sided art marketplace from the previous lecture.
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From Teen Student Entrepreneur in Australia to Global E-commerce Entrepreneur
Spacer CEO Mike Rosenbaum started his journey as a 14-year old student entrepreneur, then built a $20M eBay PowerSeller business. Thereafter, he built a $100M e-commerce business. Today, he’s building a two-sided marketplace business. All from Australia. Wonderful story!
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Bootstrapping a 2-sided Marketplace with SudShare CEO Mort Fertel
This is an insightful story of how SudShare CEO Mort Fertel and his family have built an interesting 2-sided marketplace business for outsourcing laundry services.
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Building a Two-Sided Marketplace with LawnStarter Co-founder Ryan Farley
As you are learning, we really like niche two-sided marketplaces a lot. Here’s another one to study. Please note, this company went through TechStars, and had a validated business before getting into TechStars, as we have seen in several other case studies.
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Disrupting the Floral E-Commerce Industry with Farbod Shoraka, BloomNation
You must have heard of 1-800-Flowers. Did you know that the company takes 50% of the order value, while the local florists fulfill the orders? That’s a hefty customer acquisition cost. Learn how CEO Farbod Shoraka and his co-founders are disrupting the industry.
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Bootstrapped a Two-Sided Marketplace to $10M w/ Sal Akbani, Gateway Classic Cars
Founder CEO Sal Akbani has bootstrapped Gateway Classic Cars to over $10 million in revenue. Another great story of how a two-sided marketplace was masterfully seeded and scaled in a niche market.
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Building a Fashion Accessories Marketplace with Kiyan Foroughi, Boticca
I continue to be interested in how the fashion industry finds innovative ways to leverage the Internet. Boticca Founder Kiyan Foroughi created a marketplace for fashion accessories that was scaling nicely and helping new designers find a customer base when we spoke. Boticca was acquired by Wolf & Badger in 2015.
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E-commerce Startup Trends with Investor Daniel Gulati, Forecast Fund
Excellent discussion with Daniel Gulati, Founding Partner at Forecast Fund, on the e-commerce startup trends and what can and cannot be venture financed at this stage, and why. When we spoke in 2017, he was Managing Director at Comcast Ventures, and said, “I focus 100% of my time on seed and early stage investments in consumer internet companies. About half of my work is in e-commerce and marketplaces.”
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More Case Studies of Two-Sided E-commerce Marketplaces
Here are several excellent case studies for you to learn from. The first two companies, Elance and oDesk, merged together to form Upwork in 2015.
Founding Elance, then Webaroo: Beerud Sheth’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Outsourcing 2.0: oDesk CEO Gary Swart
Ultra-light Startup with $6 Million Revenue: Car Part Kings CEO Michael Dash
Bootstrapping a $10M Creative Marketplace: Envato Founders Collis and Cyan Ta’eed
Creative Serial Entrepreneurship: 99Designs and DeveloperAuction Co-founder Matt Mickiewicz
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Two-sided Marketplace Mentoring Session
Listen to Chandra Subramanian from Helsinki, Finland, pitch Foodoop, a two-sided marketplace for home cooks to offer their services to consumers.
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Two-sided Marketplace Startup Idea for Artists and Collectors
As you may know, I have a special interest in Art, and have observed its dynamics for many years. I have concluded that the time has come for Artists and Collectors to move online and interact in a fluid marketplace. The idea that I discuss here is a Unicorn idea with the potential to become a highly valued company that would achieve a billion dollar plus valuation.
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Building a Sizable Two-sided Marketplace with Gene Caballero, GreenPal
Gene Caballero is Co-founder of GreenPal, a company that was bootstrapped with a paycheck, and has built a sizable two-sided marketplace. I’m also sharing our previous conversation from 2018 as an external resource.
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Deep-dive into SaaS-enabled Marketplaces with Stefan Batory, Booksy
Stefan Batory is Co-founder and CEO of Booksy, a SaaS-enabled marketplace venture.
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Discussing Vertical Marketplaces with Garrett Goldberg, Bee Partners
Garrett Goldberg, Partner at Bee Partners, discusses his firm’s enterprise focused investment thesis, including some unique insights on SaaS-powered vertical marketplaces.
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Enterprise SaaS Through the Marketplaces with Robert Weber, Great North Labs
Robert Weber is Managing Partner at Great North Labs located in Minneapolis. He says, “The most common business model that we are most interested in iis enterprise SaaS throughout the marketplaces.”
