Recording of the Everything Marketplaces Group Chat #110 (9/20) with Sameer Shariff, who’s the CEO of Cambly. Cambly is a marketplace for people to access on-demand English speaking tutors. They've been mentioned as one of YC's top companies to watch in 2022 and have raised over $60M+ from top marketplace investors like Bessemer, Benchmark, and more.

0:06 Intro
‍1:06 Sameer's background
‍3:00 Initial learnings from Google that Sameer has taken with him to Cambly
‍4:59 The founding story of Cambly
‍7:46 The first steps for starting Cambly
‍11:26 The market opportunity for Cambly on a global scale
‍15:11 The nuances across each market & how Cambly has taken a localized approach
‍17:30 The Cambly new market launch & expansion playbook
‍18:56 The Cambly team & marketplace org structure
‍21:40 Key points in growth for Cambly as a marketplace
‍24:02 The fundraising journey raising $60M from top marketplace investors like Bessemer & Benchmark
‍28:13 Tips for early stage marketplace founders
‍32:40 Group Q&A on marketplace pricing & subscription models
‍36:10 Group Q&A on how subscription pricing impacts unit economics
‍38:10 Group Q&A on how Cambly recruits & vets tutors
42:12 Group Q&A on tutor retention
‍45:19 Group Q&A on how Cambly focused on being cash flow positive in 2017
‍53:31 Group Q&A on how Cambly thinks about increasing engagement & LTV
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Sameer on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/SameerAShariff
Cambly: https://www.cambly.com‍
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‍Connect with Sameer in the Everything Marketplaces community.