Recording of the Everything Marketplaces Group Chat #146 (11/28) with Brendan Candon, who's the Co-founder & CEO of SidelineSwap. SidelineSwap is the largest marketplace for buying & selling sporting goods and has been listed on a16z's annual Marketplace 100 as one of the fastest growing marketplaces by GMV. They've also raised $18M+ from investors like 500 Startups, FJ Labs, and eBay Ventures.

0:06 Intro
‍1:09 Brendan's background
‍3:00 The first steps for starting SidelineSwap
‍6:32 How SidelineSwap onboarded their first supply & solved the cold start problem
‍11:20 An Overview of SidelineSwap as a marketplace for sporting goods & equipment
‍14:44 How SidelineSwap launched a trade-in program
‍18:25 SidelineSwap's recent growth
‍23:42 The fundraising journey for SidelineSwap
‍28:06 Group Q&A on SidelineSwap's refund process
‍30:16 Group Q&A on how SidelineSwap built trust by offering a buyer guarantee
‍31:41 Group Q&A on category expansion & overlap
‍34:40 Group Q&A on disintermediation
‍38:29 Group Q&A on considerations with owning inventory as a marketplace
‍41:48 Parting marketplace advice
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Brendan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendancandon
SidelineSwap: https://www.sidelineswap.com
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You can also find this group chat in audio format as an episode on our new Everything Marketplaces podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also connect with marketplace founders & leaders from our group chats in the Everything Marketplaces community.