Everything Marketplaces

Neel Murthy, Partner at Pioneer Fund and former Head of Growth at Goldbelly, shares his journey from marketplace founder to investor. He dives into the challenges of launching Swapbox and how to navigate competition from giants like Amazon. Neel reveals key strategies for scaling marketplaces, emphasizing agility and creative marketing. He discusses fundraising intricacies and the impact of AI on marketplace evolution, highlighting opportunities for innovation in various sectors. His insights on building strong relationships with merchants are invaluable in combating competitive pressures.

The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Amir Nathoo, who's the Co-founder of Outschool. Outschool is a leading online education marketplace that makes it easy for kids to access education & learning through virtual classes. Outschool has been listed on a16z's Marketplace 100 list as one of the fastest growing marketplaces the past few years and they've also raised over $190M+ in capital from top investors like Lightspeed Ventures and Union Square Ventures. Amir on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirnathoo Outschool: https://www.outschool.com Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.x.com/yoroomie⁠ Mike (Yoroomie) on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoroomie⁠⁠⁠ Everything Marketplaces:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com⁠

The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Ramesh Johari, who’s a Professor at Stanford University. Ramesh has also advised marketplaces like Airbnb, Uber, and Upwork. Ramesh is a leading mind when it comes to marketplaces, specifically with data science methods & practices. Ramesh on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/rameshjohari Ramesh on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rameshjohari Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: ⁠⁠https://www.x.com/yoroomie Mike (Yoroomie) on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoroomie⁠⁠ Everything Marketplaces:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com⁠

Connor Finlayson, Founder of Unicorn Factory, shares his insights on building marketplaces without heavy coding. He emphasizes the power of no-code tools like Webflow and Airtable for rapid development and automation. The discussion highlights integrating payment solutions with Stripe and utilizing OpenAI's API to streamline job briefs. Connor shares real-world success stories while advising first-time founders on mastering one tool at a time. He also covers the importance of user feedback and effective cost strategies to enhance a marketplace's growth.

Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite and an SEO expert for leading marketplaces like MasterClass and Upwork, discusses the crucial role of SEO in marketplace growth. He shares strategies for leveraging auto-generated content and the balance between automation and manual optimization. The impact of AI technologies on SEO practices is explored, along with essential tools for founders. Ethan also highlights the challenges of using subdomains vs. subdirectories and offers insights on improving editorial content ranking. Tune in for actionable tips and strategies!

The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with John Mark (JM) Nickels, who’s currently the Senior Director of Product at Uber. Prior to Uber, JM was the Senior Director of Product Management at DoorDash, then before that was early at Uber, where he led the launch of Uber Pool in 2014. John Mark on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/nickelsjm John Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmnickels John Mark’s website: https://www.rhythmofbeing.com Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/yoroomie Everything Marketplaces:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com

Recording from our Everything Marketplaces office hours series, where we cover marketplace topics, address questions, & even common mistakes that we're seeing early stage founders making. This episode is with Mike Williams and our community Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR) Blake Hirt sharing why marketplace frequency and Average Order Value (AOV) are important considerations when building a marketplace. Blake on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-hirt Mike Williams (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/Yoroomie Everything Marketplaces: https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com

The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Matt Bendett, who’s the Co-founder of Peerspace. Peerspace is one of the largest marketplaces to book spaces & venues for activities & events like photo shoots, weddings, meetings, pop-ups, and more. Peerspace has also raised over $39M+ in capital from top investors like Foundation Capital and Google Ventures. Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendett Peerspace: https://www.peerspace.com⁠ Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/yoroomie⁠⁠⁠ Everything Marketplaces:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com

The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Reham Fagiri, who’s the Co-founder & CEO of AptDeco. AptDeco is a leading marketplace for buying & selling used furniture. They’ve been listed on a16z’s Marketplace 100 as a top 100 marketplace the past few years and have also raised $19M+ in capital from top investors like Initialized Capital. Reham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reham-fagiri-97683b1 AptDeco: https://www.aptdeco.com Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: ⁠⁠https://www.x.com/yoroomie⁠⁠ Everything Marketplaces:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com

The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Kevin Hartz, who's the Co-founder & former CEO of Eventbrite. Eventbrite is one of the largest ticketing & events marketplaces. Kevin is also a prolific investor, as an early angel investor in notable startups like PayPal, Uber, Airbnb, Opendoor, and more. Kevin is now investing through A*, which is an early stage venture fund he started. Kevin on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/kevinhartz Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com A*: https://www.a-star.co Mike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: ⁠https://www.x.com/yoroomie⁠ Everything Marketplaces:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com