Login to access Everything Marketplaces
Don't have a member account? Join here.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
This blog post helps highlight some of our recent group chats that we’ve had with founders from marketplaces like OfferUp, Whatnot, Zillow, SidelineSwap, AptDeco, and Peerspace sharing how they solved the initial cold start problem. We recommend referencing these clips from our past group chats to learn how these founders solved the chicken & egg or cold start problem that marketplaces face.
Nick Huzar is the Co-founder & former CEO of OfferUp, which is the largest mobile-first marketplace for buying & selling items from others nearby. Nick shared how they initially solved the cold start problem with OfferUp and constrained markets as a hyperlocal marketplace to start building up liquidity.
Note that you can also see the full recap post with the recording, notes, & highlight clips from our group chat with Nick here.
Grant LaFontaine is the Co-founder & CEO of Whatnot, which is the largest live shopping marketplace in the US. Grant shared how they initially solved the cold start problem with Whatnot by constraining initial categories to Funko Pop collectibles.
Note that you can also see the full recap post with the recording, notes, & highlight clips from our group chat with Grant here.
Spencer Rascoff is the Co-founder & former CEO of Zillow, which is the largest residential real estate marketplace for buying & selling homes. Spencer shared how they initially solved the cold start problem with Zillow by launching Zestimate, which is a tool for finding estimated home values.
Note that you can also see the full recap post with the recording, notes, & highlight clips from our group chat with Spencer here.
Brendan Candon is the Co-founder & CEO of SidelineSwap, which is one the largest marketplaces for buying & selling sporting equipment. Brendan shared how they initially solved the cold start problem by recruiting initial sellers to list their equipment on SidelineSwap.
Note that you can also see the full recap post with the recording, notes, & highlight clips from our group chat with Brendan here.
Reham Fagiri is the Co-founder & CEO of AptDeco, which is the largest marketplace for buying & selling furniture. Reham shared how they solved the cold start problem with AptDeco by leveraging existing platforms like Craigslist.
Note that you can also see the full recap post with the recording, notes, & highlight clips from our group chat with Reham here.
Matt Bendett is the Co-founder & CEO of Peerspace, which is the leading marketplace for booking spaces & venues. Matt shared how they solved the cold start problem when starting Peerspace by constraining initial markets to onboard their first venues.
Note that you can also see the full recap post with the recording, notes, & highlight clips from our group chat with Matt here.
The founders above have been incredibly generous in contributing their time to share more about their experience, insights, and learnings with the Everything Marketplaces community. We'd like to mention a big thanks to them for doing so and also actively supporting founders in the community. Hopefully these clips are helpful references for founders at the earliest stages on how to solve for the initial chicken & egg or cold start problem.
Want to connect with other founders to discuss this in the community? You can see where this was posted in the community and join the discussion here.
