Building Marketplaces: Strategies and Insights

This chapter explores the intricacies of launching a marketplace by addressing the challenges of supply and demand. It offers practical strategies for founders, including grassroots marketing tactics and effective engagement methods to build initial traction. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of understanding customer motivations and the diverse paths to success, stressing that the right approach is often context-dependent.

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Today’s show: Jason and Alex dicsuss Jony Ive's $6.5B deal with OpenAI and what it means for the future of AI hardware, Tesla’s push into robotaxis vs. Waymo’s 10M paid rides, and Microsoft’s latest move partnering with xAI. We dive into the GENIUS Act and what it means for stablecoin regulation, explore practical, gritty tactics for launching and scaling a marketplace from scratch, and debate the ethics of AI-powered smart glasses and always-on recording. Plus, Jason reflects on the legacy of Scott Adams and the power of systems thinking.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Episode Teaser(2:00) A broadcaster-to-broadcaster moment for Scott Adams(5:18) OpenAI teams with Jony Ive, and why wearables are banned from the J-Ranch(10:16) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist(16:11) From Partnership to Purchase: The M&A Story(20:09) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST(25:42) Robotaxis EVERYWHERE, and thoughts on the continuing self-driving car rollout(30:12) Brex. Get the business account trusted by 1 in 3 US startups at ⁠https://www.brex.com/banking-solutions(34:41) Should we trust stablecoins now? And who is actually monitoring this?(42:54) Polymarkets: Checking in with some of our favorite market(49:58) REDDIT QUESTION: How do I build a marketplace?(58:53) Customer feedback's role in product iteration(58:55) Every piece of SaaS advice EVER

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Links from episode:

Polymarket: https://polymarket.com/

Polymarket for AI Leaderes: https://polymarket.com/event/which-company-has-best-ai-model-on-june-30

LMArena: https://www.lmarena.ai

Real Coffee with Scott Adams: https://www.youtube.com/RealCoffeeWithScottAdams

Follow Lon:

X: https://x.com/lons

Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex