Recording of the Everything Marketplaces Group Chat #182 (2/4) with Jason Bornstein, who’s a Partner at Forerunner. Forerunner is a leading venture fund that's backed marketplaces like Faire, HotelTonight, Curated, Wonder, Fora, and more. Jason is also Head of Research at Forerunner and behind their recent post "Our Source of Truth on Marketplaces".
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0:06 Intro
‍2:07 Why marketplaces are great businesses
‍3:47 An overview of Forerunner as a venture fund
‍4:34 What Forerunner looks for in marketplaces when investing
‍7:13 A walkthrough of "Our Source of Truth on Marketplaces"
‍10:14 How public markets are valuing marketplaces
‍15:26 An overview of Forerunner's Marketplace Scorecard
‍17:44 The criteria Forerunner uses to evaluate marketplaces when investing
‍21:14 Opportunities for marketplaces to leverage AI
‍23:40 Tips for early stage founders
‍24:27 Group Q&A on supply curation
‍26:53 Group Q&A on investor pet peeves
‍27:43 Group Q&A on marketplace expansion
‍29:25 Group Q&A on marketplace acquisitions or roll-ups
‍32:09 Group Q&A on early marketing tactics & strategies
‍34:59 Parting marketplace advice
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Jason on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/jasondbornstein
Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-bornstein
Forerunner: https://www.forerunnerventures.com
Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/yoroomie
Mike (Yoroomie) on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoroomie
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You can also find this group chat in audio format as an episode on our 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.