
Everything Marketplaces
Welcome to the Everything Marketplaces podcast, which is the audio format for our group chats that we have with marketplace founders & leaders for the community every week. Each episode features a guest sharing their specific marketplace experience, learnings, insights, and tips for marketplace founders. Some of our past guests include marketplace founders & leaders like Grant LaFontaine from Whatnot, Bastian Lehmann from Postmates, Marco Zappacosta from Thumbtack, Andrew Chen from a16z, and Pete Flint from NFX. Learn more about Everything Marketplaces at www.everythingmarketplaces.com
Latest episodes

Feb 24, 2025 • 53min
Starting & Scaling Papa As A Leading Healthcare Marketplace With Andrew Parker
The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Andrew Parker, who’s the Founder & CEO of Papa. Papa is a marketplace that pairs older adults and families with companions (Papa Pals) for assistance and care. Papa is one of the fastest growing marketplaces in healthcare and they’ve also raised over $220M+ in capital from top investors like Y Combinator, Initialized Capital, and SoftBank.Andrew on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/aparkthelarkAndrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-parker-30904417Papa: https://www.papa.comMike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/yoroomieMike (Yoroomie) on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoroomieEverything Marketplaces: https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com

Feb 17, 2025 • 37min
Marketplace Deep Dive & Investor Insights With Jason Bornstein From Forerunner
The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Jason Bornstein, who’s a Partner at Forerunner. Forerunner is a leading venture fund that's backed marketplaces like Faire, Wonder, Fora, and more. Jason is also Head of Research at Forerunner and behind their recent post "Our Source of Truth on Marketplaces".Jason on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/jasondbornsteinJason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-bornsteinForerunner: https://www.forerunnerventures.comMike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X:https://www.x.com/yoroomieMike (Yoroomie) on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoroomieEverything Marketplaces:https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com

Feb 8, 2025 • 47min
Starting & Scaling SidelineSwap As A Leading Resale Marketplace With Brendan Candon
The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Brendan Candon, who’s the Co-founder & CEO of SidelineSwap. SidelineSwap is the largest marketplace for buying & selling sports gear. They've been mentioned on a16z’s Marketplace 100 list as one of the fastest growing marketplaces and have also raised over $18M+ in capital from investors like 500 Startups, FJ Labs, and eBay Ventures.Brendan on Twitter/X:https://www.x.com/brendancandonBrendan on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendancandonSidelineSwap:https://www.sidelineswap.comMike (Yoroomie) on Twitter/X:https://www.x.com/yoroomieMike (Yoroomie) on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoroomieEverything Marketplaces:https://www.everythingmarketplaces.com

Jan 27, 2025 • 49min
Scaling Skillshare As A Leading Online Learning Marketplace With Matt Cooper
The Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Matt Cooper, who’s the CEO of Skillshare. Skillshare is one of the largest marketplaces for online education & learning in creative categories like music, film, creative writing, and more. Prior to joining Skillshare as the CEO in 2017, Matt was the CEO of Visually, and before that was an early executive at Upwork.
Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cooperm
Matt’s profile on Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/en/user/matt-skillshare
Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.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

Jan 21, 2025 • 59min
Learnings From Leading Growth At Goldbelly & Now Investing In Marketplaces With Neel Murthy
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.

6 snips
Dec 22, 2024 • 50min
Starting & Scaling Outschool As A Leading Education Marketplace With Amir Nathoo
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

Dec 16, 2024 • 59min
A Masterclass On Marketplaces & Data Science With Ramesh Johari
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

9 snips
Dec 10, 2024 • 46min
Building A Marketplace MVP Using No & Low Code Tools
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.

13 snips
Dec 3, 2024 • 45min
A Deep Dive Into Marketplace SEO With Ethan Smith
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!

Nov 19, 2024 • 46min
Learnings & Insights From Launching Uber Pool With John Mark Nickels
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